Temu tech haul, less annoying Echo Show, how I test AI
Plus, all you need to know about linear actuators, Apple's worst ad ever, LEGO for adults, and a funny bit about product announcements
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.
How I test an AI chatbot's coding ability - and you can too: This article provides detailed prompts and tests you can repeat on your favorite AI chatbot to see if it can reliably help you program.
How much tech can I get from Temu for $100 (and is it any good)? Dive into my Temu shopping experiment. I spent $100 for 18 gadgets. Did I save money compared to Amazon and/or regret my picks? Read on to find out.
Hate the Apple Vision Pro virtual keyboard? Here's how to use a real keyboard instead: These two devices help me avoid the painful process of using Vision Pro's virtual keyboard.
5 ways to make your Echo Show less annoying: I love my Amazon smart display, but find some of its behaviors distracting, triggering, presumptuous, and just plain pushy. Fortunately, there are easy fixes.
Must-watch YouTube
Moving on, let’s queue up some interesting YouTube videos for your entertainment and edification.
I’ve long wanted to use linear actuators in my projects, but didn’t really know how they worked. This video explains them. They’re a lot easier to use (and less expensive) than you might think.
This video is titled, “Watching Star Wars this way isn't correct, it’s just better.” But it’s not just about Star Wars. What it really shows is how music and cinematography can drive filmmaking, and how Lucas knew that when he made his movies.
If Thunderbirds were made now, here’s what its theme song might sound like.
Interesting reads
And now, some good stuff from around the Internet, well worth reading.
SJVN deconstructs what has to be the most distasteful ad Apple ever produced.
ICYMI, adults are now a big market opportunity for LEGO. WSJ does a full profile on this “new” phenomenon that’s actually been around for almost as long as LEGO itself.
This is Joe Stanganelli’s hilariously on-target send-up of product announcements.
Both my EPs are now streaming
Available on all your favorite streaming services.
Reader 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.
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!