🦖 Tyrannosaurus Links
In response to questions about the future of this newsletter: "I'm back."
Yes, you read that correctly. Your favourite sarcastic-yet-informative-once-per-month-ish-that-randomly-disappeared-for-a-few-years newsletter is back with a vengeance.
I know it only seems like yesterday that an issue graced your inbox, except there was a pandemic, a move, love, death, robots, and a few trips in my life since I last hurled a list of links in your general direction.
Anyway, hope you enjoy the show. We’re on Substack now!
And now for this month’s links:
💭 ChatGPT’s new voice mode has many uses
If you’ve been following any of the AI stuff these days, you’ll know that voice is the new kid on the block, and OpenAI’s latest version of voice for ChatGPT is one of the best out there.
So good in fact, that people are coming up with hilarious uses like faking a conversation with a store that they are out of stock of something your kid doesn’t really need.
Other fun fact: OpenAI just bought chat.com for what was likely north of $20M. It’s one of the oldest and most expensive domain names on the ‘net.
🧹 The best cleaning is no cleaning
I recently dove into the world of robot vacuums and it’s an absolute game changer.
I’d suggest that if you invest, to get one that has both mopping and vacuuming, and some sort of auto-empty and auto-clean functionality. Otherwise it’s just creating more work for yourself.
This Qrevo Pro model from Roborock does all those without being a top-of-the-line model, so it felt like a good entry point. They also have one of the better app experiences and play nice with my Home Assistant smart home setup.
📱 Translucent is back and here to stay
I love that brands are dipping back into the old-school translucent aesthetic. These cases riff off the look of the iMac G3 to simulate internal components. I went for the blue variant and have been happy with the quality for the price, so far.
🗺️ Scouting some new EV competition
I didn’t know about this brand before, but it’s cool that there’s a legacy to pull from with this reboot of the retro brand Scout Motors. It’s been brought back to life by the VW group, and the styling definitely looks like a lovechild of the Ford Bronco and Rivian vehicles, in a good way. Expected release is 2027–28.
🎧 Best buds (for gaming)
Two things I have always hated about over-ear headphones, despite their quality: (1) how quickly your ears overheat and (2) the way it clamps your head in a painful way if you wear glasses. Both are solved with this pair of buds from Sony. Super lightweight, great noise cancellation, and low latency wireless with a USB dongle that makes them perfect for gaming. Highly recommend.
🔍 Feel like a magician, on the cheap
NFC tags are inexpensive little stickers that you can attach to objects or places in your house so that when you tap them with your phone, they’ll run custom actions. It’s similar tech like when you tap to pay at the store, in this case using the Shortcuts app on your iPhone to do whatever you want.
Here’s a few examples that I’ve been using:
Tap a light switch panel in a room to set a specific lighting scene (tag is hidden behind the panel)
Tap a coffee table to instantly AirPlay what’s on my phone to the TV (tag is hidden under the table)
Tap on a cabinet door to add detergent to the grocery list when we run out
🧠 Severance is back soon
If you haven’t already watched Season One, go check it out! Such a cool concept for a show.
Season Two is coming out on January 17, and I can’t wait.
💨 It’s getting steamy in here, or is it just me?
Nothing says fun like cracking a bottle of wine and steaming up your place, and this thing doesn’t disappoint.
It’s been great for floors, windows, appliances (think BBQ or oven), sanitizing upholstery or beds, or just doing a deep clean in the bathroom. It’s fairly lightweight and holds enough steam to get you through a large area before you need to refill it.
All the attachments are easy to clean and you can wash the fabric pads and covers in the washing machine, which is nice.
🛎️ Graduate, minus the degree
On a recent trip to the UK, we stayed in the Graduate Hotel in Oxford. It takes that old school collegiate feel and blends it with really unique interior design in a way I hadn’t seen before.
What I didn’t know is that it’s part of a network of hotels, each one with an entirely unique look, albeit within the same overall theme. Most of them are in the US, but there are two at Oxford and Cambridge in the UK as well. As you probably guessed, they are all located near universities and colleges.
They were previously independent but recently acquired by Hilton. There’s a cool book that documents all their interiors, too.