Choose the right chatbot, always-do instructions for my AI, Google exec on the future of Android
Plus, a new David video, a guy builds a bottling plant in his garage, a crazy time-traveling email story, and an important tech tip to increase PC and Mac performance
I’m David Gewirtz. Welcome to this week’s Advanced Geekery newsletter. It’s been an exciting week. Let’s dive in.
Advanced Geekery is published weekly on Substack and LinkedIn. Same content. Choose your favorite delivery method. Back Issues.
Welcome new readers!
We had another big surge in new subscribers this week. Welcome everybody! Grab a cup of your favorite beverage and make yourselves comfortable. Lots to read and do below.
My latest video
What happens to all the 3D printers after I finish reviewing them? You’ve asked. I answer. In this video, I walk you through what really goes on behind the scenes once a printer’s review cycle is complete.
My articles
Here’s a quick recap of the articles I published in the last week on ZDNET.
5 custom ChatGPT instructions I use to get better AI results - faster: Want better ChatGPT responses? I use custom instructions to keep its answers tight and helpful. Here’s how.
Inside Google’s AI plan to end Android developer toil - and speed up innovation: I spoke with Sam Bright, VP and GM of Google Play and Developer Ecosystem, about how Gemini’s expansion in Android Studio can help human devs do more faster - and better.
Is free AI enough? How to choose the right chatbot for you - and when to upgrade: You can do a lot with free AI. But you can do even more if you upgrade. Here’s how to decide between all your options.
Claude Sonnet 4.6 delivers frontier-level AI for free and cheap-seat users: Anthropic is positioning Sonnet 4.6 as a practical daily driver. In many cases, it’s even faster than Opus 4.6.
Must-watch YouTube
Moving on, let’s queue up some interesting YouTube videos for your entertainment and edification.
Solid piece by PBS about the changes colleges and students are facing because of AI.
Dude hand-built a small bottling factory in his garage.
This is what might happen if Encanto’s “We don’t talk about Bruno” went through Google Translate before it was performed. I love the Internet.
Fastener of the week
I have a project where I need to screw into the end grain of either plywood or MDF. Normally, screws don’t hold all that well when driven into end grain, even when glue is added.
But the flat-pack furniture companies have been screwing into end grain for years. Even though you might think they won’t hold, somehow they do. The trick is confirmat screws, named after the Latin word confirmare, meaning “to strengthen” or “to make firm”.
These have a thick shank and a particularly robust thread. Don’t trust the listings, which say you don’t need to pre-drill. You must pre-drill, otherwise you risk blasting apart the wood sheets. But if you do pre-drill, with a bit slightly smaller than the width of the confirmat screw, these screws should hold fast.
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.
Crazy story about what happened when Forbes sent email 20 years into the future.
Scientists may have found evidence of a 7-million year old bipedal human ancestor.
ZDNET’s Lance Whitney on why you might want to change your DNS provider for better PC and Mac performance.
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.
Both my EPs are now streaming
Available on all your favorite streaming services.
More clicky
I’ve got a lot happening all over the web. Here are links to my various stuff:
House of the Head: home for my published music
ZATZ Labs: where I host my published software projects
Feel free to dig around, visit, and say hey!
Leave some comments
Substack supports comments, so feel free to leave some. I promise to read them. Just, please, let’s keep our personal politics out of any discussion.
That should do it for this week. This newsletter is really starting to pick up subscribers. Please help it out by sharing links on all your socials.
Have a great week!