Illustrator AI features, Photoshop vs DALL-E and Midjourney, and NewEgg's troubles
Plus, Demi Moore's fart message (for real), Google's new global database tech, installing Linux on a PC, 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.
Adobe Illustrator's new generative vector fill is game-changing (even if you can't draw): Illustrator's AI features can generate vector creations from basic prompts, making complex art effortlessly accessible. This could be the future of design, but there are limitations and potential legal concerns.
Photoshop vs. Midjourney vs. DALL-E 3: Which AI image generator wins my 5 tests? How does Photoshop's AI hold up against DALL-E and Midjourney? I test their skills in a creative clash involving giant robots and futuristic scenarios.
Google introduces Bigtable SQL access and Spanner's new AI-ready features: Google's latest updates bring SQL to Bigtable and powerful new data features to Spanner, simplifying the integration of AI and enhancing the capabilities of global, scalable databases for enterprises.
Must-watch YouTube
Moving on, let’s queue up some interesting YouTube videos for your entertainment and edification.
Remember NewEgg? They were my go-to site for PC components. But apparently, things have gone waaaay downhill. Here’s the full story (it’s not good).
Good tutorial on how to polish support points when printing with resin.
If I saw this earlier, my 30s would have been so much easier (contains much eff’n profanity)
Interesting reads
And now, some good stuff from around the Internet, well worth reading.
Good step-by-step ZDNET article from SJVN about how to replace Windows with Linux Mint on your PC.
ZDNET’s Adrian Kingsley-Hughes keeps these ten tiny tools on his keychain.
I swear I’m not making this up. And this wasn’t from April Fool’s Day. And it’s been reported in a credible publication. Yes, ladies and gentlemen, Demi Moore has come out as fart positive. Admit it. Stories like this are why you rush to open this newsletter every week just as soon as it hits you inbox.
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!