Saving giant files off an iPad, ChatGPT loses its mind, and a tiny drone dolly cam
Plus, Copilot gets a lot better, a plastic welder, the Herkimer Battle Jitney, profane Star Trek, a pet-friendly office chair, and being polite to the AI
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
Breaking news alert: I went out in the sun and didn’t burst into flame! As a programmer who thrives at night (but has to get up at 5:30 every morning), I don’t spend as much time as I probably should in the Blue Room. But now that I have a DJI Neo, a little camera drone that I want to use as a robotic dolly cam for walk and talks, I am going outside.
It’s beautiful here in Central Oregon, and if you watch the video, you’ll be treated to Central Oregon’s Inspiration Garden (as well as test results for the Neo).
My articles
Here’s a quick recap of the articles I published in the last week on ZDNET.
When Google and ChatGPT translated my image text, one failed and the other got weird: I tested Google Translate and ChatGPT side by side on a tricky image. I did get my answer, but I also got to look inside one very disordered AI brain.
How to move massive files off your iPad when all the usual ways fail: I recorded a 20GB video on my iPad but ran into major problems when I tried to transfer it to my Mac, until I found a handy new tool that helped me out of that jam.
Why Synology's new NAS drive support policy isn't as bad as I first thought: After digging into the details, I learned that the situation is not as limiting or problematic as it first appeared. Here's what I found.
I retested Microsoft Copilot's AI coding skills in 2025 and now it's got serious game: Copilot's early coding days were all swing and miss. But now? It's hitting line drives and running the bases with confidence. See for yourself.
Must-watch YouTube
Moving on, let’s queue up some interesting YouTube videos for your entertainment and edification.
This is completely looney stunt video, but fun. Dude says he’s spending three days on a raft using only a 3D printer (and a battery power supply).
Remember the Herkimer Battle Jitney? No? Well, you’re in for a treat. Here’s what happened to it after the movie ended.
These 4 minutes of Robot Chicken Star Trek are bonkers, inappropriate, fairly profane, and fully nuts. This falls into the category of “seriously ain’t right,” so if you get offended easily, do not click that link. Not kidding.
Tool of the week
This is a plastic welder. I had no idea such a tool existed. It basically embeds shaped metal staples into two sides of a broken piece of plastic, strongly holding them together. It also has some other plastic shaping and smoothing attachments.
This isn’t really a tool for 3D printer users. It’s more for fixing plastic car fenders or broken lawn furniture. But it has made it onto my wish list in case I have some plastic mending to do. Now I know what to use. Not expensive, either.
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.
I like to say “please” and “thank you” to AI chatbots because it gets me in the right frame of mind. A Tom’s Hardware writer tested out what happens with the same prompts if you are more or less polite. Fascinating.
This is a pet friendly office chair. I love this idea. If Pixel would sit still in it and not pee on my office floor, I’d get one.
ZDNET’s David Berlind talks about passkeys’ bumpy road. Smart insights.
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!
That plastic welder seems like a great tool. I wish I'd known about something like that years ago. Definitely picking one up for my workshop. Thanks for the recommendation!