# Newsletter #3

Published: 2025-09-02T00:00:00.000Z
Canonical: https://wow.pjh.is/journal/newsletter-3

## Good to know

1. **Claude:** If you're chatting with Opus, you should usually [enable extended thinking](https://wow.pjh.is/journal/claude-extended-thinking). Many people haven't noticed this option, which warrants a  🤦 emoji.

2. **Claude privacy**: For personal accounts, "train on my data" is default on when you accept their [new terms & conditions](https://www.anthropic.com/news/updates-to-our-consumer-terms). Turn it off in Settings > Privacy.

3. **Google Docs:** You can now [listen to Google Docs](https://support.google.com/docs/answer/16386234?hl=en_ZA).

## How memory works

4. **ChatGPT:** [ChatGPT gets to know you](https://wow.pjh.is/journal/chatgpt-memory), a bit like a human would. My note explains how it works, and how to control it.

5. **Claude:** Claude does not have memory, but it can [reference past chats](https://wow.pjh.is/journal/claude-reference-past-chats). You'll always see when it does this, and normally you must explicitly request it.

## Apps I like

6. **Claude Code:** It has improved a lot since May. Here are [some impressive examples](https://wow.pjh.is/journal/claude-code-wow).

7. **Codex CLI:** With the release of GPT-5, [some](https://x.com/nabeelqu/status/1962257605021028710) [Twitter](https://x.com/VictorTaelin/status/1958543021324029980) [vibes](https://x.com/francip/status/1960725855149449520) [suggest](https://x.com/ivanfioravanti/status/1959277577920536740) that it's a better coding agent than Claude Code. My early impressions are consistent with this—faster, smarter, cheaper. For now, the Claude Code *UI* remains better, and that matters.

## Apps I still like

*Mentioned before, but worth highlighting again, now that I've learnt more.*

8. **Airtable:** Got a list of names and email addresses? Airtable [AI fields](https://wow.pjh.is/journal/spreadsheet-data-enrichment) can get job titles and LinkedIn URLs from the web. Their [sidebar assistant](https://wow.pjh.is/journal/airtable-spreadsheet-assistant) is good, especially if you're new to Airtable.

9. **Granola:** I've written a [detailed review of Granola](https://wow.pjh.is/journal/call-transcription-with-granola) for call transcription.

## Inspiration

10. **Good framing:** [“AI is great when I’m a noob, but not when I’m a world expert”](https://wow.pjh.is/journal/great-when-noob).

11. **Roundup:** Collection of ["How I use AI"](https://wow.pjh.is/journal/how-i-use-ai-roundup) posts and podcasts.

## Try this

12. **Shortcuts:** [Make keyboard shortcuts for common prompts](https://wow.pjh.is/journal/text-expander-prompts). ⭐

13. **Prompting:** [Ask your LLM to help you write prompts](https://wow.pjh.is/journal/how-to-write-prompts). ⭐

14. **Computer use:** [ChatGPT Agent](https://help.openai.com/en/articles/11752874-chatgpt-agent) can [book you a hotel](https://wow.pjh.is/journal/can-chatgpt-agent-book-hotel), [find the best flights](https://wow.pjh.is/journal/can-chatgpt-agent-find-a-flight) and [record invoice payments in Xero](https://wow.pjh.is/journal/can-chatgpt-agent-record-invoice-payments-in-xero). I will actually use this, which feels like a milestone.

***

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