My Baby Yoda creation, write an app with one sentence, why surgeons need AR
Plus, what happened to nicknames, a giant sphere from twigs, Microsoft's massive Windows 10 problem, and the rising cost of hobbies
I’m David Gewirtz. Welcome to this week’s Advanced Geekery newsletter. It’s been an exciting week. Let’s dive in.
My latest video
What makes this video special is that it showcases how amazing a multicolor 3D printer can be. This Baby Yoda (OK fine, Grogu) print is astonishing in its overall quality. Also, I show what I needed to do to customize the supports, and the overall process for colorizing and post-processing this amazing print.
My articles
Here’s a quick recap of the articles I published in the last week on ZDNET.
How I used GitHub Spark to build an app with just a one-sentence AI prompt: It's exciting, it's limited, and it might be a peek into the future of no-code development.
Notion Mail offers AI perks - but skips a few crucial Notion features: If you're already using Notion, their new email tool might seem like a no-brainer, until you realize what it doesn't do.
This AR headset is changing how surgeons see inside their patients: What if a headset could make surgery safer, faster, and less physically taxing? Surgeons are embracing DigiLoupes, a powerful new tool combining magnification, AR overlays, and ergonomic design.
Apple's bold idea for no-code apps built with Siri - hype or hope? What would it take for Apple to enable vibe-coded applications? Citizen developers, I'm here to manage your expectations.
Project of the week
I’ve been fascinated by the idea that the little tiny DJI Neo drone could produce dolly tracking shots, or function as a camera person with a Steadicam for walk-and-talk shots. There’s a mode called Direction Tracking that configures the drone to fly backwards, with the camera focused on the face of the subject.
It’s finally spring here in Oregon, so I’ve been testing out this feature. The camera is a little unsteady and has some tracking issues moving backwards, but it does produce usable footage.
Unfortunately, my drone is only able to record four minutes of footage before running out of juice. I’m sending it in to DJI for in-warranty service, since the camera should really run for 10-20 minutes before running out of power. So no walk-and-talks for a while, but kudos to DJI for being willing to check it out.
Stay tuned. I’m sure I’ll have some walk-and-talks to share sometime soon.
Must-watch YouTube
Moving on, let’s queue up some interesting YouTube videos for your entertainment and edification.
Shout out to Leo Laporte’s TWiT podcast network, which is celebrating its 20th year online.
I’ll balance my positive comments about DJI above with this guy’s epic rant about DJI and licensing. It’s funny and profane. No matter what he says, I still really like the DJI gear.
Dude made a giant sphere out of twigs. What more can I say? This guy is talented. Here’s his portfolio page. Enjoy!
Tool of the week
We have a bunch of knot holes in our outdoor porch ceiling. This stuff is the way to go. It squishes in, cures fast, and locks in there forever. It’s a bit annoying to work, but if you smush it up enough, you’ll be good to go. I bought five sticks of this KwikWood. Hopefully, that will be enough.
Note: As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.
Interesting reads
And now, some good stuff from around the Internet, well worth reading.
Hobbies are going up in price. This article shows why hobbies are important and what happens if we can’t afford them anymore.
Do you have a nickname? Your kids probably don’t. This article discusses what happened to nickname culture in the 2020s.
ZDNET’s Ed Bott talks about Microsoft’s massive Windows 10 problem. Yeah, Windows 10.
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!