AI content checkers, analyzing your Kindle library, and a handy filming tool

Plus, the art of good engineering design, it's donation time again, my choice for quick release camera adapters, and a humongous fungus.

May 05, 2025

I’m David Gewirtz. Welcome to this week’s Advanced Geekery newsletter. It’s been an exciting week. Let’s dive in.

My latest video

It’s donation time again. For anyone who ever wondered what happens to the items manufacturers send me to review, here’s your answer.

My articles

Here’s a quick recap of the articles I published in the last week on ZDNET.

I tested 10 AI content detectors - and these 5 correctly identified AI text every time: I've been testing AI content detectors for two years now. They're getting more and more reliable. This is my latest update and a complete retest of all the candidates.

How I used ChatGPT to analyze my massive Kindle library - and the mysteries it revealed: Here's how I used AI to analyze my massive Kindle book collection - and the surprising mysteries it revealed.

Must-watch YouTube

Moving on, let’s queue up some interesting YouTube videos for your entertainment and edification.

This guy thinks he knows what makes Star Trek Star Trek. He broke it down into its 9 key rules for telling stories.
Living in Oregon is interesting. We have the world’s largest living organism here in the state (and I’m not talking about me after Thanksgiving dinner). No, it’s a fungus. The humongous fungus.
My current CNC is from Inventables (who just raised their prices by a thousand bucks, by the way). But another well-respected CNC maker is Shapeoko. Here’s how they manufacturer their machines in Sterling Illinois.

Gadget of the week

I had no idea how convenient this little MagSafe tripod mount would be. I’ve long been using iPhone holders on my tripods, but they’re all of the clamp variety. They’re a bit annoying to mount, they often squish the phone buttons, and sometimes they seem rickety as heck.

But this is insanely simple. Just attach it to a tripod (and I use one of my quick release mounts), and press the phone against it. All edges of the phone are available, nothing is squished, and it’s an instant mount. I am loving it. It’s not expensive, either.

The only thing to watch out for with this MagSafe tripod mount is that if you hang charging cables or a drive off one end of the phone, they tend to pull the phone out of level.

Back in 2020, right after the worst of Covid hit, I recorded a video on those quick release adapters. I’m still using them, so if you’re interested, here it is.

Note: As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.

Interesting reads

And now, some good stuff from around the Internet, well worth checking out.

Vinnie Moscaritolo is one of the smartest people I know. He was one of the engineers on PGP. In this fascinating post, oddly called “For the glory of God,” he discusses the nature of art and how aesthetics can be appreciated in engineering projects as well. Don’t worry, the only preaching he does is about good design.
Tom’s Hardware is running a story about the increasing costs of 3D printing.
ZDNET has launched its official Editors’ Choice Awards. Read all about it. This is gonna be good.

Send in your projects

I’d like to regularly spotlight a reader project or two here. Your project doesn’t have to be a big Kickstarter launch. If you’ve built something cool, it has some pretty pictures, and you’re proud of it, I might be able to share it here.

If you have a photogenic reader project, send an email to me at david@zatz.com with the subject “READER PROJECT,” a few pictures, and a short one-paragraph description. If you have a social media link or a link to the project, include that, too.