Google’s creepy video clones, OpenAI’s un-strippable watermarks, and why traditional app security is dead.
Plus, a very cool lift device, a waterlogged Egyptian tomb, how Cuban mechanics keep those 1950s cars going, and what email felt like in the 1980s.
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.
My articles
Here’s a quick recap of the articles I published in the last week on ZDNET.
The patching treadmill: Why traditional application security is no longer enough: Find-and-fix security once made sense, but AI-assisted development, continuous deployment, and exploding vulnerability backlogs are changing the rules. The old application security playbook is breaking down fast.
Google’s new Omni AI tool will let you video clone yourself - I’m intrigued (and concerned): Google Gemini Omni aims to do for AI video what Nano Banana did for images - combining realism, style control, avatars, and natural-language editing into one ambitious tool.
OpenAI’s new image watermarks make it easier to spot AI fakes - here’s how: Older metadata could be stripped out. OpenAI’s new approach hides signals in the pixels themselves.
Must-watch YouTube
Moving on, let’s queue up some interesting YouTube videos for your entertainment and edification.
How Cuban mechanics keep 1950s-era cars running. This video is undoubtedly AI-generated, but it’s still quite interesting.
Email getting you down? Here’s how it felt to use email in the 1980s. Remember those briefcases? My dad had one.
My inexplicable Christopher Walken obsession continues. This is Googly Eyes Gardener.
Gadget of the week
I am fairly obsessed by this thing. It’s a lifting platform, which isn’t anything particularly new. But this one is powered and can be controlled remotely. At 150x150mm, it’s the size of a small 3D printer bed, so it’s actually bigger than the typical coaster-sized platform.
But…what to do with it? The most obvious idea is putting a phone stand and a phone on it, to create a simple vertical filming platform. But what else? Please let us know in the comments below. Hopefully, one of you will come up with the perfect suggestion to help me justify getting one.
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.
A flooded, misidentified tomb offers rare clues about a forgotten pharaoh, Egypt’s royal succession, and later royal tomb design.
ZDNET’s Ed Bott says cloud attacks are getting faster and deadlier. He shows four ways to secure your business.
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!