Get your crashed Chrome tabs back, my most used 2024 AI tools, and safe digging
Plus, David plays with fire, starting a new project, what to do with your crap, some guy makes a vacuum tube, and more
I’m David Gewirtz. Welcome to this week’s Advanced Geekery newsletter. It’s been an exciting week. Let’s dive in.
Looking forward to 2025
We picked up a bunch of new subscribers this week thanks to a mention in Gar's Tips & Tools newsletter. I’ve been a subscriber for years. Thanks Gareth! Welcome everyone!
This is my last newsletter of 2024. The next Advanced Geekery newsletter will arrive after the weekend of January 5. I hope you all have a great intermission, and I'll see you on the flipside.
My articles
Let’s kick it off with a quick recap of the articles I published in the last week on ZDNET.
Chrome crashed and you lost all of your tabs? Here's how to get them back: Stuck in a Chrome crash nightmare? Here's how to recover your precious tabs using a little-known keyboard hack that feels like time travel for your browser.
15 surprising ways I used AI to save me weeks of work in 2024: In 2024, AI became truly helpful. Here are 15 clever ways I integrated it into my workflow for quicker, better results - and what I hope to do with it in 2025.
Programmers, do you get window-switch whiplash? Google's new Code Assist aims to help: Discover why Google calls Gemini Code Assist a paradigm shift in coding, with AI-driven integrations that bring tools like GitLab and Synk directly into your development environment.
The most popular AI tools of 2024 (and what that even means): Want to know which AI tools businesses and creators are flocking to? Here's 2024's AI leaderboard and how ChatGPT, Canva, Gemini, Copilot, and more stack up in market share.
My next project
I’m planning to add some organizational hacks to my Ultimate Space-Saving CNC Cart. My plan is to use thin bars of aluminum, which will need to be bent at right angles. I’ve never worked with aluminum before, so this is an opportunity to get to know a new material.
By the way, if you haven’t seen my CNC cart video, here it is. It saves space by lifting up and out of the way.
Tool of the week
It turns out that the 1/4” aluminum bars I bought need to be heated in order to bend them 90 degrees. That was an excuse for a new tool, the Dremel Versa Flame Butane Torch.
It wasn’t immediately obvious from the package, but you’ll also need to get some butane, which you feed into the torch from the bottom. I also picked up a small welding blanket that’s supposed to be fireproof, so I don’t burn up my workbench while trying to bend my bars.
Note: As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.
Must-watch YouTube
Moving on, let’s queue up some interesting YouTube videos for your entertainment and edification.
This is an old video, but it’s worth it. Dude makes his own vacuum tube. With the exception of some high end amps, there aren’t many uses for vacuum tubes anymore, but it’s still very cool to watch.
Since it’s time for New Year’s resolutions, many of us will probably want to declutter and get organized in 2025. Paul Reiser (yeah, the guy from Aliens) has a really fun rant on getting rid of crap.
CNBC has a fascinating report about the giant new semiconductor fab they’re building in Arizona, which it will use for some of Apple’s advanced chips.
Interesting reads
And now, some good stuff from around the Internet, well worth reading.
The New York Times has an interesting commentary about how remote work is increasingly for the rich. The author makes some good points. I don’t agree with everything, but it’s still a good read.
Johns Hopkins archeologists have uncovered alphabetic writing in a tomb in Tell Umm-el Marra, Syria. The writing seems to be dated at about 500 years before the previously-known oldest example of alphabetic scripts.
I just found out there’s a free service that will survey your underground utilities before you do any digging. Here’s the one in for here in Oregon, but apparently the 811 service is available all over the US.
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!