This Week in AI: Siri, Voice Models, and Safety Brakes
Siri AI, Gemini 3.8 Live, Claude Docs, Jev, Neon, Koa, Astra for Law, OpenAI safety disclosures, and the week’s practical AI news explained.
Blog category
Creative Technology Posts
Published Colin Michaels blog posts in the Creative Technology category.
UMG vs. DistroKid: What AI Artists Should Know
I use DistroKid for the Dreadnauts. Here is what UMG alleges, what DistroKid denies, and which distributors accept original AI-assisted music.
Hypershell Halo Preview: 10 Questions Before You Buy
A practical Hypershell Halo preview with 10 questions about fit, weight, battery, safety, trail rules, returns, rehab claims, and real testing.
This Week in AI: Astra and ChatGPT Images 2.5
GPT-6 Astra, ChatGPT Images 2.5, Meta Muse, OpenAI Agents API, AlphaGenome Atlas, Suno v6, and this week’s practical AI news explained.
Project Turbine: A Jet-Powered Paramotor Has My Attention
A look at Tucker Gott's Project Turbine, its Parajet Zenith frame, and my FPV drone chase with David Farmer on his paramotor at Jupiter Beach.
Last Year's Next Big Thing Is in an AI Graveyard
A funny, fact-checked tour of retired AI tools, who's behind the shutdowns, and why I'm still calling Astra the next big thing—with a shovel ready.
This Week in AI: GPT-6 Astra, Fable 5.1, Gemini 3.8 and More
GPT-6 Astra, Claude Fable 5.1, Gemini 3.8, Muse Spark 1.3, NVIDIA’s Hugging Face deal, local AI, safety, and school limits explained.
A Drone Pulled a Wakeboarder—What Else Can Drones Do?
A giant drone pulled a wakeboarder through a German city. Here’s what the build reveals about rescue, farming, medicine, fire safety, and science.
This Week in AI: The Agents Left the Chat Window
This week's AI news in plain English: vision, voice and video models, browser agents, local AI, faster chips, memory controls, and a security report.
Bodycam: A PhD in FPS Realism, FPV, and the Matrix
Bodycam's Locked & Loaded update turns reloads, optics, sound, body movement, and FPV flight into a thrilling and unsettling new level of FPS realism.
Flying Car Drones You Can Buy: FAA Rules & Reality
Compare YIVTOL, Pivotal Helix, Jetson ONE, and LIFT HEXA, plus FAA Part 103 rules, training, airspace control, and backyard flight reality.
Gravity Jet Suit vs Real-Life Jetpack Competitors
Gravity’s arm-mounted Jet Suit looks like real-life Iron Man. Compare its controls, speed, flight time, price, and availability with three rivals.
Is Temu Worth It? Quality, Knockoffs and the Shopping Trap
Is Temu really worth the savings? A sourced look at product quality, safety tests, knockoff risks, app gamification, and a practical buyer checklist.
DJI Osmo Nano for FPV: Is 52 Grams Light Enough?
Could DJI’s 52-gram Osmo Nano work as an FPV recorder? Here is the honest test plan for weight, mounting, vibration, heat, handling, and footage.
How I Brought The Dreadnauts to Life With AI
Behind the scenes of The Dreadnauts: ChatGPT-assisted lyrics, Suno music, audio cleanup, Project Sequencer, videos, website, merch and more.
HOVERAir VERSA vs DJI Pocket 3: Is It Worth It?
HOVERAir VERSA adds removable wings to a pocket gimbal camera. See how its camera, full-kit value, and real usefulness compare with DJI and Insta360.
AI News This Week: Specialized Models & Safety (Aug. 14–20)
Open models, audio and robot tools, OpenAI's Astra pause, and major acquisitions show why AI is becoming specialized tools—not one chatbot race
The Tools Are Here. Now It Is About Imagination.
AI has put powerful creative tools within reach. Now the real challenge is imagination, taste, persistence, and choosing what is worth building.
How to Put Your First Web Page Online with Firebase Hosting
Learn how to publish a first personal website with Firebase Hosting, then buy a domain, point DNS, and deploy without treating it like magic.
I Tried ChatGPT Live: Why Beginners Should Care
A beginner-friendly look at ChatGPT Live, why voice conversations feel different, and how voice brainstorming can turn into a real blog workflow.
GPT-5.6 and Codex in ChatGPT: New Models Explained
OpenAI released GPT-5.6 and brought Codex deeper into ChatGPT. Here are the verified model differences, key capabilities, and practical reasons they matter.
What to Check in Google Search Console After You Launch Your First Website
A beginner-friendly Google Search Console checklist for checking indexing, submitting a sitemap, inspecting one page, and reading early search data.
They Bought a Full-Size Temu Mega Drone—and Flew It
Goonzquad ordered a full-size human-carrying mega drone through Temu, assembled it from crates, translated the controls, and actually flew it.
2,500 Drones and One FPV Pilot Celebrate America 250
Sky Elements’ 2,500-drone America 250 show and Brian Woodward’s FPV collaboration turned a Texas celebration into an immersive viral spectacle.
GOAT Guns, Retro Commercials, and My Creative Pipeline
I discovered GOAT Guns in a Roman Atwood vlog, then turned the obsession into a retro commercial and a real test of my AI-assisted video pipeline.
10 Coolest Tech Gadgets of 2026 (So Far)
Ten inventive 2026 gadgets, from LEGO SMART Play and DJI Avata 360 to MacBook Neo, RayNeo glasses, creator gear, and a tiny smart charger.
10 Simple SEO Fixes Beginners Should Make Before Publishing a Website
A beginner-friendly SEO launch checklist based on Google's starter guide, covering titles, page purpose, sitemaps, images, links, and Search Console.
6 AI Sports Apps You Can Try | AI in Sports
Try six AI sports apps for lacrosse, soccer, golf, baseball, tennis, and basketball, then see how professional leagues regulate AI and player data.
How to Download Google Maps Offline Before a Trip
Learn how to download Google Maps for offline driving before a trip, when it helps most, and which traffic, transit, walking, and cycling features you lose.
Chrome Password Checkup: A 15-Minute Data-Breach Cleanup
Run Chrome Password Checkup, understand exposed, reused, and weak password warnings, and fix one compromised account in a focused 15-minute cleanup.
Meet Beni, the Personal Camera Robot That Follows You
Meet Beni, Mondo Robotics' all-terrain camera robot built to follow, film in 4K, and help solo creators capture hands-free video.
Flying With Drone Batteries: Simple FAA Travel Rules
Learn FAA rules for drone batteries and power banks, including carry-on packing, watt-hour limits, airline approval, and terminal protection.
Crash Roboto: Lore, Tech Stack, and Sound Design
Go inside Crash Roboto, our browser-based robot arena game, including its lore, React and Phaser stack, gameplay, sound design, and open-source repo.
Scan Documents to PDF in iPhone Notes: A Beginner Guide
Scan paper documents into PDFs with iPhone Notes, name them clearly, search the scans later, and start reducing paper clutter one useful page at a time.
Why Won’t My Image Upload to WordPress? First Checks
A beginner checklist for fixing failed WordPress and website image uploads by checking file size, dimensions, format, filename, storage, and connection.
Using Shopping Research in ChatGPT Before You Buy
See how I'd use ChatGPT shopping research to compare products, understand trade-offs, narrow the list, and verify the final details before buying.
Help Build Plunderverse: Playtest the First Haul
Play the Plunderverse First Haul browser-game prototype, help test and build it, and see how The Dreadnauts and Cosmic Reggae Sessions enter the story.
HOVERAir AQUA Beginner Guide: Worth $1,299?
A concise HOVERAir AQUA pre-buy guide covering the $1,299 bundle, water-launch checks, official setup video, maintenance, and who should wait.
New AirTag: What Changed for Travelers and Key Losers
Apple's second-generation AirTag is still $29. See what changed, who should upgrade, how airline sharing works, and what AirTag should never track.
Godox C100: A See-Through Camera With a Real Use
The Godox C100 uses a transparent viewfinder, skips instant playback, and doubles as a film-camera light meter. Clever gadget or useful tool?
Suno BMG Deal and Download Limits: What Changes
Suno's new BMG partnership arrives with September download limits, retired models, and new terms. Here is what changes and why I feel torn.
Project Sequencer: A Future Pro DSP Studio
See how Project Sequencer organizes album order, mix candidates, transitions, and mastering decisions, plus the roadmap for a future pro DSP edition.
Event-Day Power Bank Guide: 5K, 10K, or 25K?
A neutral event-day power bank guide comparing 5K, 10K, and 25K options for concerts, stadiums, travel, venue rules, and airline safety.
GTA 6 August 27: What’s Confirmed vs. Still Rumored
Rockstar’s August 27 Extended Look is not GTA 6 launch day. See what Rockstar has confirmed, what Trailer 2 shows, and what still remains rumor.
Technics SL-1500CS: Why I’m Thinking About Vinyl Again
A nostalgic look at Technics DJ history and the new SL-1500CS, plus a practical test for deciding whether a better home turntable makes sense.
7 Back-to-School Gadgets That Might Actually Help
A practical back-to-school tech checklist for choosing a laptop, earbuds, charger, power bank, hub, second screen, or tracker without buying clutter.
30 Years of Hit Songs: Love, Lyrics, and Language
An analysis of 3,000 hit-song titles and thousands of lyrics reveals less love language, shorter titles, rising stress, and no magic word for success.