My big GOOG, MSFT, and OpenAI news analysis, start making an iOS app with AI, and an assistive reader project
Plus, my latest review video, Stargate is coming back(!), what I learned about NFC tags, and ancient (literally) salmon.
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.
Happy Thanksgiving
This week, we celebrate Thanksgiving in the United States. I hope you all have a fine feast. Due to the holiday, we will not be publishing next week. The next Advanced Geekery newsletter will be out the week of December 8.
My latest video
The Elegoo Centauri Carbon has been a bit controversial. It has multi-color 3D printing bones, but it only supports single color printing. In my full review, I dive into that issue, as well as other concerns. Kudos for this very inexpensive, very nice printer.
My articles
Here’s a quick recap of the articles I published in the last week on ZDNET.
How to vibe code your first iPhone app with AI - no experience necessary: You can easily create an app today, using AI tools like ChatGPT or Claude. Here’s how.
How Microsoft’s new plan for self-repairing data centers will transform IT roles: Microsoft is pushing enterprise computing toward self-running platforms where AI agents watch, diagnose, repair, and optimize systems continuously. Here’s its vision, and what it hopes to solve.
Microsoft’s new AI agents won’t just help us code, now they’ll decide what to code: From Agent 365 to Foundry’s MCP tool catalog and new IQ services, Microsoft is moving beyond copilots and toward a future where software development becomes an automated assembly process.
Google’s Antigravity puts coding productivity before AI hype - and the result is astonishing: This new AI coding environment looks like a real winner. Here’s why.
OpenAI’s Codex Max solves one of my biggest AI coding annoyances - and it’s a lot faster: GPT-5.1-Codex-Max is ready to take on your next massive coding job. Here’s what’s new.
Must-watch YouTube
Moving on, let’s queue up some interesting YouTube videos for your entertainment and edification.
My absolute favorite science fiction series is Stargate. The SGC has been shut down for about 15 years, but now there’s news. Some of the original production and writing team on Stargate SG-1 are back, and Amazon has greenlit a new series.
Interesting exploration of how self-storage is consuming America’s dollars.
Want to make a Star Wars prop? Here are the three secrets of Star Wars set design.
Gadget of the week
I’ve been working on an app that reads NFC tags. All was good until I stuck one onto a metal rack, and… nothing. All that coding work flashed front of my eyes. Was the entire project doomed to failure? Did I someone miss the fact that NFC tags don’t work on metal?
Well, yes, I missed that fact. But there is good news. You need to get what are weirdly labeled as “anti-metal” NFC tags. They’re a slight bit more expensive than regular NFC tags, but they work just fine on metal racks. So now you know.
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.
This is a fun list. Nature lists seven basic scientific discoveries that changed the world.
One of my biggest regrets was spending a week camping and climbing my way through Alaska and not eating any of the local salmon. That’s okay. We’re having some for dinner tonight. But did you know that there are 73 million year old salmon fossils?
ZDNET is running its pick of the best products for 2025. Check them out.
Reader Project Spotlight: Adaptive Music Master
Vinny Livoti from Enabling Devices tells us his team has been investing heavily in 3D printing to improve both the look and functionality of the adaptive products they create for people with special needs. He says 3D printing has become essential because a one-size-fits-all approach rarely works in this field, and customization can make all the difference.
He points to their new Music Master as a perfect example. Vinny tells us they designed it so a severely challenged person can play music using any capability switch they’re able to control. The amp-style body was designed in-house to echo a retro amplifier, complete with a cloth-front appearance. It’s entirely produced on their own 3D printers. Vinny says they print, assemble, and finish each unit right in their New York shop. Sales are still modest, he notes, because the special-needs market doesn’t always bring high volume, but the Music Master shows exactly how meaningful a custom-built device can be.
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!