Stanford's holographic headset, an Ethernet KVM, and how not to use AI at work
Plus, peacocks with lasers in their tails, an AI image fumble, a drill bit you should use, a collapsing hose, and an impressive upcycle project
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.
My articles
Here’s a quick recap of the articles I published in the last week on ZDNET.
Why the best fix for headless server frustration might be a little box named Comet: Struggling with monitors and mice crowding your server rack? This $90 device could be the remote-access solution your home lab or NVR setup has been missing.
Stanford's holographic AI glasses are coming for your clunky VR headset: Can AI, waveguides, and holography pass the visual Turing Test and finally make mixed reality mainstream?
9 things you shouldn't use AI for at work: AI can boost productivity, but it can also derail your entire operation. From fake legal advice to customer service nightmares, here are nine places AI doesn't belong at work.
AI fumble of the week
I was thinking of using the following image of my Comet box (see the article above) as the hero image for this issue. But, as you can see, the Synology server is pretty dusty.
So I brought the image into Photoshop, selected it, and typed “Clean up the dust” into Photoshop’s generative fill. Instead of the effect you’d get using the healing brush or retouching the image, I got this.
Yep, we still have quite a ways to go with AI.
Must-watch YouTube
Moving on, let’s queue up some interesting YouTube videos for your entertainment and edification.
Ethan James provides a helpful reminder about a very overlooked (and very useful) drill bit.
David Picciuto does an amazing upcycle transformation of a thrift store end table.
Dude shares an awesome ode to the original Highlander movie.
Tool of the week
It’s summer here in Oregon, which means that the blue room shines down bright yellow beams that make programmers burst into flames. It also means that water flows out of spigots and outdoor hoses have to be used for green stuff.
Am I the only person who thinks “garden” is a four-letter word? Anyway, having grown sick of fighting with the old style garden hoses, my wife and I went on a quest for a better solution. Event though this product seemed way too overhyped, we decided to give it a try. Surprise! It works.
Once you drain the water, it shrinks down to about the size of a shoebox, but open the water blocking spinning contraption and it extends long enough to do outside water stuff.
I don’t recommend outdoor activities to anyone who can code, but if you can’t find a good enough excuse to avoid broad-spectrum electromagnetic radiation and ambient low-velocity air movement via external environment exposure, and you need to water nature, this is a workable solution.
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.
Apparently, according to Science Alert, peacocks have lasers in their tails.
ZDNET’s Jack Wallen tried Google’s Firebase Studio IDE and was blown away.
Washpo says the semi-colon is semi-dead.
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!