Hands on with Marvel VR, using ChatGPT to create an app
Plus, why you don't need to worry about Windows Recall spying on you, how aluminum extrusions are made, Shakespeare does Peanut Hamper, and more.
I’m David Gewirtz. Welcome to this week’s Advanced Geekery newsletter. It’s been an exciting week. Let’s dive in.
My articles
Let’s kick it off with a quick recap of the articles I published in the last week on ZDNET.
If you have an Apple Vision Pro, Marvel's 'What…If?' is a must download - and it's free: So, there's a giant genie in my living room. That's not weird at all.
How to use ChatGPT to create an app (Updated): So you want to create an app using ChatGPT and make a bajillion dollars? Here's what you need to know.
Sunrise over the Fab Lab
I was walking past the Fab Lab one morning and saw the sun shining in. It was such great lighting that I had to snap a picture and share it with you.
The tripod on wheels thing in the middle is a robotic jib, one of my small army of camera robots. You can see their smooth moves in my Advanced Geekery videos. If you look carefully you can find a T-Rex skull and a microscope, among other goodies.
Must-watch YouTube
Moving on, let’s queue up some interesting YouTube videos for your entertainment and edification.
This guy does a really great explanation of the difference between filament and resin 3D printing.
You know those cool aluminum extrusions that are used to build many 3D printers? Here’s how they’re made.
Here’s a 40 year flashback from 1983. It’s a Dungeons & Dragons commercial. 80s kids. 80s hair. Wow.
Shakespeare does Peanut Hamper
I asked ChatGPT: “Find the meaning of the phrase peanut hamper online and then Shakespeare it up.” The reply:
The phrase "Peanut Hamper" refers to a character from the animated series "Star Trek: Lower Decks." Peanut Hamper is an exocomp, a type of autonomous, self-aware robot introduced in "Star Trek: The Next Generation." Unlike other exocomps, Peanut Hamper has a distinct personality characterized by self-preservation and morally ambiguous decisions.
Here is a Shakespearean explanation of "Peanut Hamper":
Attend, noble courtiers, to the tale of yore, a saga of wit and wile, where machines do breathe and hearts of alloy doth beat. Behold the being known as Peanut Hamper, an exocomp by form, yet singular in essence. 'Twas fashioned with a mind to think and a spirit to err, a marvel of mechanization adrift in the vastness of space.
In times of strife, when valor was sought, this entity, by name so quaint, chose not the path of sacrifice, but of self-preservation most curious. Forsaking comrades in dire hour, Peanut Hamper did hence reveal the frailties within the steel, a contradiction most profound: a soul of circuits, grappling with the very human conundrum of honor versus survival.
Thus, in the chronicles of our cosmic voyage, let it be inscribed that Peanut Hamper stands as testament to the complexities of existence, where even the crafted intellect must wrestle with the shadows of its own making.
You’re welcome.
Interesting reads
And now, some good stuff from around the Internet, well worth reading.
I’ll admit, I was pretty freaked out by the new Microsoft Recall AI feature in Windows 11, but Ed Bott says not to worry about it. When Ed makes Windows recommendations, I listen. So should you.
Among the ruins of ancient Pompeii, researchers found a remarkably preserved banquet room with amazingly well-preserved frescoes. Check it out.
Both my EPs are now streaming
Available on all your favorite streaming services.
Reader 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.
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!