May 2023 - The Monthly is Back!
This month you'll get a rundown of what we published in April, a note from Josh, Hot Take on Google's Bard, Spatial Audio and Star Trek Picard Season 3, plus recommendations.
A Note from Josh
Hey Everyone,
Now that I’m working on 6 Months Later full-time, I have the bandwidth to bring this newsletter back! The goal is to provide you with a monthly recap of everything published by 6 Months Later, plus exclusive hot takes and recommendations that you’ll only find here on Substack.
As we experiment with new forms of content (like write-ups of our videos) you’ll also be the first to hear about them.
If you have any ideas about how I can improve your experience with this newsletter or 6 Months Later in general, you can send your feedback to newsletter@6-months-later.com
Thanks again for subscribing!
Josh
What We Published - April 2023
Apple Music Needs Better AI
Apple Watch Series 8 Review - 6 Months Later
Aqara FP2 Presence Sensor - First Look!
Google Pixel Watch Review - 6 Months Later
Google Pixel 7 Review - 6 Months Later
Google Pixel 7 Pro Review - 6 Months Later
Google Nest WiFi Pro Review - 6 Months Later
Hot Takes:
In this section you’ll see a selection of hot takes I’ve written each month. I had so much fun writing these — unfortunately it ended up making the newsletter too long. So, I created a separate newsletter feed 6 Months Plus for all hot takes, plus exclusive review follow-ups. Below you’ll see a preview of the hot takes and you can then click the “Read More” button to read each one.
By default, all 6 Months Later Newsletter subscribers have access to the 6 Months Plus feed. This feed will post more regularly than The Monthly (no more than once a week) and you can control which email newsletter feeds you receive in your Substack email notification settings.
Google’s in a Pickle
I’ve been using Google’s new Bard Large-Language-Model (LLM) for the past few weeks now. While I agree with the general consensus that it’s not as impressive as OpenAI’s ChatGPT, it’s not THAT far off.
What I think should really worry Google and Google Investors (I don’t hold single stocks for any tech company and am not a Google investor) is that ChatGPT and Bard are more compelling products than the old Google search bar for many scenarios.
One main reason for this is: The results that aren’t littered with SEO SPAM.
The perfect example of this is a recipe:
I may have been wrong about Dolby Atmos Music
Ever since Apple Music supported Dolby Atmos Music, I’ve wanted to like it more than I have. When listening to Atmos mixes with headphones, I’ve found most to be underwhelming. Vocals sound too distant, and some overdo the spatial effect, bouncing too many objects around.
Recently, however, I’ve had much better experiences with Atmos Music thanks to two things:
Quick Takes:
Star Trek Picard Season 3 Embraces Legacy
Part of Star Trek Picard Season 3’s success for me has been this new season’s score. While Picard’s composers developed new musical themes that stand on their own, they also mesh very well with the Trek music that predates it. Unlike Trek music of the past two decades, this music is much more aligned with the style of scores from composers Jerry Goldsmith and James Horner, two of the greatest composers in Trek history.
In fact, the end credits music for each episode is ripped directly from Goldsmith’s Star Trek First Contact score. Read more about the different approach the creative team took with this season’s music.
Pre-Shredded Parmesan Cheese is a Bad Idea
It's just not worth it. Just buy it as a wedge and grate it with a microplane grater. It’s not hard. It tastes better. It won’t get moldy. It’s more expensive up front (maybe like $9-$12 USD per wedge) but it’ll keep for months. You get more cheese for your money. And you won’t get yelled at by Gordon Ramsay.
Recommendations
Recent Product Recommendations
(Note, these are Amazon Affiliate links. They help pay the bills.)
Article Recommendations
Inside Amazon Studios: Big Swings Hampered by Confusion and Frustration by Kim Masters - The Hollywood Reporter
SpaceX’s Starship blew up after launch - it also caused ‘catastrophic’ damage on the ground by Georgina Torbet - The Verge
The R.T.O. Whisperers Have a Plan by Emma Goldberg - The New York Times
Why Kids Aren’t Falling in Love With Reading by Katherine Marsh - The Atlantic
Amazon HQ2 was thought up pre-pandemic. But the world is hybrid now. by Teo Arums - The Washington Post
How Elon Musk knocked Tesla’s ‘Full Self-Driving’ off course by Faiz Siddiqui - The Washington Post
How Goldman’s Plan to Shore Up Silicon Valley Bank Crumbled by AnnMaria Andriotis - The Wall Street Journal
Feedback
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