Review of the Google Pixel 6a; Samsung set to unveil latest foldables; Netflix cracks down on sharing in a new test; Amazon redesigns prime video; Apple keyboard settlement; Amazon acquires One Medical; Microsoft builds Facebook-esque feature into Teams and Chevy unveils a Blazer EV. Listeners ask how to stop spam emails, why iMessage reactions show up in a group text, if switching to wireless home internet is worth it, recovering deleted files on a drive and best watch for a kid. richontech.tv 
 Pixel 6a Review 
 Netflix Sharing Test 
 Amazon Prime Video makeover 
 Apple Keyboard settlement 
 Chevy Blazer EV 
 Wireless home internet 
 iExit App 
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Google Pixel 6a gives a lot for less

TV Tech Guy Rich DeMuro offers tech news, gadget reviews, helpful apps and answers your questions. 

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Rich talks about the AI war between ChatGPT and Google. Manny in Covina wants to know how much an old computer textbook is worth. Netflix signed a three-year deal with the NFL; they’ll start by showing two games on Christmas Day 2024. Mark in San Diego is getting rid of DSL and wants to know if Internet Air is reliable. Rich says to compare what’s available in his area using SpeedTest’s ISP tool. Also, check to see what the AT&T; internet speed is on your smartphone using Fast.com or an app called Meteor. Twitter has completed its rebranding to X.com, and now all URLs point to X. Microsoft’s Free PC Manager makes it easy to free up storage space, clear cache and find duplicate files. Kathy in Orange County can’t find the voice input on her keyboard ever since she updated her Samsung phone. Kate wants to know about traveling to the UK. The best apps for taxi rides, walking tours and a guided Beatles tour. Rich recommends checking out Mindtrip.AI and GuideGeek.AI for the answers. Google is also launching an AI trip planner soon. Samsung, Google and Apple all have new accessibility features. Angie in Los Angeles is looking for a simple phone for an 80-year-old family member. Rich mentioned looking at dumbwireless for ideas, blindshell phones and Samsung’s Easy Mode. Wen in Yorba Linda wants to know if they should use an iPad Air, iPad or MacBook Air M1 for general web browsing. Rick in Torrance wants to know if the Pixel Watch 2 is suitable for heart rate monitoring. C. Scott Brown, Senior Editor at Android Authority, will discuss Google IO 2024. Hugo shared an update about the Sonos app redesign. Linda in Burbank says her landline is vital. California might not approve AT&T;’s application to end its Carrier of Last Resort designation. Rich mentioned a handy website with working promo codes called SimplyCodes. Rich discussed various tools to help you “listen” to articles on your phone including the free ElevenLabs Reader app, plus Pocket, Speechify, Google Reading Mode for Android and Safari’s Listen to Page. You can also ask Siri to “read this” while on an article. John in Utica, NY was wondering how to see when a file was created vs modified. Jenny Blackburn, VP of UX for Gemini Experiences and Google Assistant, explains how to use Google Gemini AI assistant. 

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AI Wars, NFL on Netflix & Tech Accessibility

Rich remembers his colleague Sam Rubin. Apple unveiled new iPads at an event called Let Loose. We saw new iPad Air and Pro models, a new Apple Pencil Pro, and updated Final Cut and Logic Pro apps. Jeff, in Fort Worth, Texas, is trying to connect LED lights that use 2.4 GHz to his Google Nest Wifi. Chris Sheldrick, creator of the app What3words, will explain how to use it to tell someone your exact location using simple words. Samsung is rolling out Galaxy AI features to more devices, including the S22 Series, the Z Flip 4, the Z Fold4, and Tab S8. John in Lake Forest and his Mom is addicted to home shopping channels. Is there is a way to restrict them. Rich says to check parental controls on the device. Serphane in Studio City wants a TV with dedicated bright and dim buttons. Rich says a universal remote might do the trick to quickly change the settings. Marcel in Brooklyn wants to know how to lock down his social media accounts like Instagram. Rich recommends being aware of scam messages trying to hijack your password and turning on two-factor authentication using an app. Craig in Iowa wants to know how to find the AI features on his Samsung S24 phone. Brad in West Los Angeles wants to know how to connect the iPhone 15 in Europe. WSJ says T-Mobile and Verizon are in talks to split up U.S. Cellular towers and spectrum. Eli Blumenthal of CNET joined to explain how your cell phone carrier tracks you and how to change that. Rich in Colorado Springs wants to know when to use a VPN. Linda in Burbank wants to know what will happen to the MVNO carriers when there are just three big networks in the United States. Rich talked about Moms and technology, 47% own a smartwatch, 43% listen to a podcast weekly and spend an average of 4 hours and 4 minutes online daily. Textnow has an interesting new plan called Free Essential Data, which gives you free access to text, talk, and essential data for email, maps, and rideshare apps. Google unveils the Pixel 8a for $500 and it gets seven years of software updates. Olga wants to know how to get her phone un-hacked. Rich mentioned Recovery Mode. Gary in Laguna Nigel has an Amazfit watch and wants to know if he can use it without his phone nearby. Allconnect has a great article about 5G Home Internet explained! Michael Motamedi will talk about how he traveled the world for a year using AI from GuideGeek. Disney, Hulu and Max will have a bundle soon. Apple releases a security update for iTunes on Windows. Don’t fall for the Stolen iPhone Activation Lock Scam. Richard in Hilton, NY recommended the New bee earpiece. He said he paid $10 and it sounds great. 

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Apple's New iPads & A Free Cell Phone Plan

Rich opens the mailbag to answer listener questions. Victor asked if Apple will introduce a new iPad Pro this year. Rich says Apple’s Let Loose event on May 7 is expected to unveil new models. Tish asks if she should use AT&T; Internet Air or Spectrum Fiber at 1 gigabit speed. Michael, who is in Kentucky, asks how to hide his real phone number when signing up for services. Rich mentioned Cloaked, Burner App, T-Mobile DIGITS, Verizon’s Second Number and Google Voice. Sue asked why she and her significant other’s iPhone accounts seemed intertwined. Rich says to set up separate Apple IDs but link them up using Apple Family Sharing. Bonnie in Santa Barbara wonders if she should switch from faster to slower internet to save money. Brian Chesky, co-founder of Airbnb, and Jay Carney, who leads public policy, will talk about their new icons offering and more. Sara in Ventura has mistakenly locked up her phone and can’t access her two-factor authentication codes. T-Mobile now owns Mint Mobile. Roku devices will soon have home screen ads. Kathy in Laguna Niguel wants to know if she should pay to replace the modem on her solar system or connect it using a wired connection. Sam’s Club is replacing receipt checkers at the exit doors with AI and computer vision to do the job automatically. Jack Winston, founder of BePresent, discusses how the app can help users use their smartphones less. John says he’s running out of space on his hard drive and wants to know how to free up storage. Rich mentioned BleachBit and WinDirStat. You could also change the default storage location for documents. LinkedIn now has three new games: Crossclimb, Pinpoint and Queens. Brad in Key West says he lost photos on his iPhone during a recent software update. Rich mentioned checking the Recently Deleted album in the Photos App and backing up photos to a third-party service like Amazon Photos, Dropbox, OneDrive, or Google Photos. UnitedHealthcare says 1/3 of Americans might be involved in their data breach. Anthropic releases Claude AI as a free app for iOS. John in Bakersfield had online banking fraud and needs help. John Faulkner of Clean Fleet Report will join to give a review of the all-electric Acura ZDX. Mindtrip.AI is a new way to use AI to plan travel. The popular Arc web browser is now available on Windows. Shaka Guide is an app that turns your smartphone into a GPS audio guide for places around Hawaii, national parks and scenic drives. 

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Cloaked Calls & AI Checkouts

Rich talked about his experience using high-speed Starlink internet on Hawaiian Airlines. Perry in Glendale needs help with his Outlook. Rich says to check the Spectrum settings here. Ryan Ozawa, Native Hawaiian tech journalist and publisher of the Hawaii Bulletin, will talk about the startup scene in Hawaii. Some Apple users were unexpectedly logged out of their accounts, forcing them to reset their passwords to get back in. Rosemary in Fontana has an issue with her Fire TV stick remote. President Biden signed a law that forces TikTok to be sold to a U.S. company or face a ban. Jose in Santa Clara wants to know if he should update his router firmware. The rumor mill says Samsung’s next Unpacked event will be held in Paris on July 10, 2024. JR Raphael, tech writer and author of the Android Intelligence newsletter. JR recommended the BuzzKill app for managing Android notifications. Apple’s next event is set for May 7. The invitation says Let Loose, and it’s expected to focus on new iPads. Verizon is hiking the price of smartwatch plans by $5 a month starting June 3, 2024. Rick in San Diego is curious about the security of the permissions apps ask for on your phone. Diana in Covina asks about password manager recommendations. Rich mentioned iCloud Keychain, Google Password Manager, Bitwarden, Dashlane and 1Password. The YouTube App is taking over Apple’s TV’s default slideshow; here’s how to fix that. Have you seen the keyboard memes going around on Twitter? Troy Hunt, creator of haveibeenpwned.com, will discuss what to do when your personal information is exposed in a data breach. Rabbit R1 reviews are in and they’re slightly better than the Humane AI Pin. BBB says to be aware of a new text message scam that asks you to pay for a toll road. The FTC is sending Ring settlement payments to people via PayPal. LocalSend is an easy way to exchange files over your network and supports various platforms. SnapDrop is a web-based alternative. Noel in Escondido mentioned some of his favorite flight apps, including FlightRadar24, RadarBox, FlightAware, globe.adsbexchange.com and Flighty. 

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Faster Wi-Fi on Planes & What to Do When Your Personal Info Is Leaked

Rich discusses the current state of self-driving and autonomous cars. Rick in Manhattan Beach wants a way to get music onto his iPod Shuffle. Rich recommended WALTR Pro. On Windows, try CopyTrans Manager. China has ordered Apple to remove WhatsApp, Threads, Signal and Telegram from the App Store. Laura Mae Martin, Google’s Executive Productivity Advisor and author Uptime: A Practical Guide to Personal Productivity and Wellbeing. Angie in Los Angeles has a laptop with a virus and wants to bring it to a store for help. Rich recommends uBreakiFix or search Yelp for “computer repair.” Samsung overtook Apple for the top spot in smartphone sales in Q1 2024. Airchat is the hot new social media network. Think Twitter but with voice messages that are transcribed so you can see and hear what people say. Adam in Orlando is curious about searching for his personal information on the Dark Web. Resources mentioned: Google One Dark Web report, Google Results About You, Keeper Security Dark Web Scan, Aura Dark Web Scan (great results) and haveibeenpwned.com (try this first!) Rich also mentioned DuckDuckGo email protection and cloaked email addresses. Netflix now has nearly 270 million subscribers. Gus in Moreno Valley, CA says Google Chrome disappeared from his computer. Rich says to make sure your Sync is turned on and you can always reinstall to recover your bookmarks, extensions and settings. Dan O’Dowd of The Dawn Project explains why Tesla’s Full Self-Driving software isn’t ready for the streets. William in Chino says his church livestream buffers when Netflix and YouTube work fine. Bill in Santa Monica shares a story about MobileX and Walmart. Edward in Tampa wants to know if he should buy a new iPhone SE now or wait for the new one. Rich recommends checking the MacRumors Buyers Guide. Meta AI launches in a big way in the search bar in Facebook, WhatsApp, Instagram and Messenger. Rich recommends trying out the instant AI image generator called Imagine. Samsung is bringing Galaxy AI features to older devices, including the S22 series, Fold 4, Flip 4, and Tab S8. The update will roll out in early May. Rick in Thousand Oaks wants to know how to tell which carrier signal is best at a certain address. Rich mentioned the OpenSignal App, CellMapper, CoverageMap.com and RootMetrics. Logitech is launching a mouse with a dedicated ChatGPT button. Rosie Okumura, voice actor and content creator, will talk about her viral videos that prank scam callers to waste their time and offer tips on how to stay safe. Amazon is reportedly ditching its Just Walk Out technology for its own stores but will still license the technology to third-party retailers. Google is discontinuing its Google One VPN for everyone except Pixel users. Charter has new streaming TV packages you can bundle with high-speed internet plans from them. Brother sweeps Wirecutter’s new reviews of portable document scanners. Nothing’s new earbuds are actually pretty great and affordable. 

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Google Pixel 6a gives a lot for less

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