Tech News and Commentary

Dave and the team discuss the Moon's 4G LTE network, Google's anti-trust problems, Charlie Brown specials leaving broadcast TV, paid Zoom events, measures against phishing attacks, and more.

Our guest this hour:

Dan Diliberti, Head of Mobility Product Management and Market Strategy of Panasonic

Michael in Tyler, Texas listens on KTBB and asked: "What is a good watch? Would it be the Apple Watch, or would you go with the Android? I have both phones."

https://www.intotomorrow.com/media/podcasts/2020/10-23-2020/10-23-2020-H1S1.mp3

Michael, there are going to be a few things to consider. The first is what do you want the watch to do? If you have both Android phones and iPhones then you probably use one for work and one for your personal life. Which do you want the watch to be involved in? Which phones notifications are important enough to get on your wrist? Which things do you want to track the most?

The other big thing is an Apple Watch is an Apple Watch, theyre solid, they last a long time, they work well, but most importantly they are made by Apple and no one else.

Android watches are really WatchOS watches and there are lots and lots of different ones. If you look at something like Samsungs Galaxy Watch line, theyre all going to be pretty good. They make different kinds of different lifestyles, some more discrete, some more rugged, but theyre all good watches and its mainly a matter of choosing the one that adapts to your use (for example, running in the rain a lot may call for the Active models).

If you look at some of the generic ones out there, your experience may vary. Even some recognizable brands have put out watches that havent lasted and havent fared well.

If you go with an Apple Watch youll have support and updates for quite a few years, if you go with one of the more solid Android brands like the Galaxy line we mentioned you probably will as well, but if you go with a budget brand your experience may differ greatly.

StarFortress asked: "Four printers in the house and EVERY ONE OF THEM is an epic struggle against the forces of evil to get them to do anything. Any ideas for a GOOD printer under $100? I have a Brother HL2140, two Canon MX922's, and a Canon TS6220 already. Perhaps a scanner with resolution higher than 600 dpi? I'd like to do some semi-archival family historical photo scanning."

https://www.intotomorrow.com/media/podcasts/2020/10-23-2020/10-23-2020-H1S5.mp3

If all you want the scanner and not the printing feature, there are scanners that are built to just scan documents in bulk. Have a look at the Xerox Documate series for several of them.

There are also scanners that are meant specifically for the higher resolution youre after, for example, the Epson Perfection V600 has a resolution of 6400dpi x 9600 dpi and the Epson Perfection V19 which is a more traditional flatbed scanner has a resolution of 4800 dpi.

If you want the combo printer-scanner, look for ones that work with smartphones. Those are built to be pretty easy to use and to play nice with wireless networks. If nothing else the phone features will give you a fallback if your computer still refuses to connect.

Tech News and Commentary

Dave and the team discuss the Moon’s 4G LTE network, Google’s anti-trust problems, Charlie Brown specials leaving broadcast TV, paid Zoom events, measures against phishing attacks, and more.

Michael in Tyler, Texas listens on KTBB and asked: “What is a good watch? Would it be the Apple Watch, or would you go with the Android? I have both phones.”

Michael, there are going to be a few things to consider. The first is what do you want the watch to do? If you have both Android phones and iPhones then you probably use one for work and one for your personal life. Which do you want the watch to be involved in? Which phones notifications are important enough to get on your wrist? Which things do you want to track the most?

The other big thing is an Apple Watch is an Apple Watch, theyre solid, they last a long time, they work well, but most importantly they are made by Apple and no one else.

Android watches are really WatchOS watches and there are lots and lots of different ones. If you look at something like Samsungs Galaxy Watch line, theyre all going to be pretty good. They make different kinds of different lifestyles, some more discrete, some more rugged, but theyre all good watches and its mainly a matter of choosing the one that adapts to your use (for example, running in the rain a lot may call for the Active models).

If you look at some of the generic ones out there, your experience may vary. Even some recognizable brands have put out watches that havent lasted and havent fared well.

If you go with an Apple Watch youll have support and updates for quite a few years, if you go with one of the more solid Android brands like the Galaxy line we mentioned you probably will as well, but if you go with a budget brand your experience may differ greatly.

StarFortress asked: “Four printers in the house and EVERY ONE OF THEM is an epic struggle against the forces of evil to get them to do anything. Any ideas for a GOOD printer under $100? I have a Brother HL2140, two Canon MX922’s, and a Canon TS6220 already. Perhaps a scanner with resolution higher than 600 dpi? I’d like to do some semi-archival family historical photo scanning.”

If all you want the scanner and not the printing feature, there are scanners that are built to just scan documents in bulk. Have a look at the Xerox Documate series for several of them.

There are also scanners that are meant specifically for the higher resolution youre after, for example, the Epson Perfection V600 has a resolution of 6400dpi x 9600 dpi and the Epson Perfection V19 which is a more traditional flatbed scanner has a resolution of 4800 dpi.

If you want the combo printer-scanner, look for ones that work with smartphones. Those are built to be pretty easy to use and to play nice with wireless networks. If nothing else the phone features will give you a fallback if your computer still refuses to connect.

When you participate on the show – anytime 24/7 – and we HEAR you with any consumer tech question, comment, help for another listener, tech rage or just share your favorite App these days … you could win prizes.

The 2020 COOL “Into Tomorrow” HOT Summer Giveaway:

The 2020 COOL “Into Tomorrow” HOT Summer Giveaway: Call anytime,

Tech News and Commentary

Dave and the team discuss machine learning selecting and printing pictures for you, a quick trip to the space station, retweets, satellite TV and 5G, next hour mail, Venmo credit cards, and more.

Our guest this hour:

Thuc Vu, CEO and Co-Founder of Ohmni Labs

Mark in Tupelo, Mississippi listens on SuperTalk Mississippi and asked: "I purchased an older car that does not have a backup camera. I would like to install one. I have no clue what kind or how to begin."

https://www.intotomorrow.com/media/podcasts/2020/10-23-2020/10-23-2020-H2S1.mp3

Mark, your first step will be deciding how committed you are to the camera and that will narrow your options a little bit.

One obvious aspect of that is deciding how much money you want to spend, but beyond that theres also the pain of the installation itself.

You can find solar powered wireless cameras that output video either to their own monitors or via WiFi to your phone. Those are super, super easy to install, basically just mount them using the same screws that are holding your licence plate up and youre good to go.

There are some downsides to them, though. They tend to be slower to connect, some require you to connect your phone to them before you can see the video which is obviously a problem when youre just trying to quickly park and be done with it, and the ones that use a solar panel are great in that they dont usually need to be plugged in to recharge, but if you keep your car in a garage a lot, they may lose that edge and they may be harder to recharge since theyre not meant to be plugged in often.

On the other end of the spectrum you have the fully wired cameras. Those take power from the car so theres no recharging, they connect right away since theyre always fully powered and physically connected to their screens and generally work a little bit more like the cameras that come built-in by the factory.

The downside with those is that you will need a pretty involved install. Your camera will be mounted on the outside and the back of the car, the driver will be on the inside and towards the front, so that whole distance needs to be wired, and that means taking an awful lot of stuff apart to hide the wires.

If you dont mind the cost and higher risk of something rattling afterwards, those cameras are very good though.

When you participate on the show – anytime 24/7 – and we HEAR you with any consumer tech question, comment, help for another listener, tech rage or just share your favorite App these days … you could win prizes.

The 2020 COOL “Into Tomorrow” HOT Summer Giveaway:

The 2020 COOL “Into Tomorrow” HOT Summer Giveaway: Call anytime, 24/7 – 800-899-INTO (4686) Or use the “Message to Studio” option on the FREE Into Tomorrow App!

All CALLERS -- using the AUDIO option on our Free App or 1-800-899-INTO(4686)  - automatically qualify to win prizes.

Audio archived for at least 6 months

Tech News and Commentary

Dave and the team discuss machine learning selecting and printing pictures for you, a quick trip to the space station, retweets, satellite TV and 5G, next hour mail, Venmo credit cards, and more.

Mark in Tupelo, Mississippi listens on SuperTalk Mississippi and asked: “I purchased an older car that does not have a backup camera. I would like to install one. I have no clue what kind or how to begin.”

Mark, your first step will be deciding how committed you are to the camera and that will narrow your options a little bit.

One obvious aspect of that is deciding how much money you want to spend, but beyond that theres also the pain of the installation itself.

You can find solar powered wireless cameras that output video either to their own monitors or via WiFi to your phone. Those are super, super easy to install, basically just mount them using the same screws that are holding your licence plate up and youre good to go.

There are some downsides to them, though. They tend to be slower to connect, some require you to connect your phone to them before you can see the video which is obviously a problem when youre just trying to quickly park and be done with it, and the ones that use a solar panel are great in that they dont usually need to be plugged in to recharge, but if you keep your car in a garage a lot, they may lose that edge and they may be harder to recharge since theyre not meant to be plugged in often.

On the other end of the spectrum you have the fully wired cameras. Those take power from the car so theres no recharging, they connect right away since theyre always fully powered and physically connected to their screens and generally work a little bit more like the cameras that come built-in by the factory.

The downside with those is that you will need a pretty involved install. Your camera will be mounted on the outside and the back of the car, the driver will be on the inside and towards the front, so that whole distance needs to be wired, and that means taking an awful lot of stuff apart to hide the wires.

If you dont mind the cost and higher risk of something rattling afterwards, those cameras are very good though.

When you participate on the show – anytime 24/7 – and we HEAR you with any consumer tech question, comment, help for another listener, tech rage or just share your favorite App these days … you could win prizes.

The 2020 COOL “Into Tomorrow” HOT Summer Giveaway:

The 2020 COOL “Into Tomorrow” HOT Summer Giveaway: Call anytime, 24/7 – 800-899-INTO (4686) Or use the “Message to Studio” option on the FREE Into Tomorrow App!

All CALLERS — using the AUDIO option on our Free App or 1-800-899-INTO(4686)  – automatically qualify to win prizes.

Audio archived for at least 6 months

Tech News and Commentary

Dave and the team discuss Quibi shutting down, a sneaker authentication service, Google's hum to search, Netflix and their new customer goals, G Suite becoming Workspace, and more.

Our guest this hour:

Lawrence Kosick, Co-Founder of GetSetUp

Mike in Chesterfield, Michigan listens on AM800 CKLW and asked: "My e-mail has been taken away from me four times this year by somebody changing my password. Went to the guys at Geek Squad at Best Buy for help and the best they could do is help me change the password. I learned how to do that myself. So I don't do anything by e-mail that they can steal from me. I don't shop on Amazon, I don't put any kind of credit card numbers or anything else on there. So I need your guys help more than anything. I'm the guy that needs your show more than anybody."

https://www.intotomorrow.com/media/podcasts/2020/10-23-2020/10-23-2020-H3S1.mp3

Mike, the big question is how that email password is being stolen. Its not normal to have something like that happen several times in one year.

The most typical way for that to happen these days is through phishing, basically page pretending to be your email login screen or a password reset screen but being in fact a malicious website set up to steal your data.

Most modern browsers will alert you to that now if they detect it, and generally speaking you should avoid clicking on a link to log in and instead just type in the URL yourself.

Since this has happened so much and so often you should probably scan your computer with antivirus and general antimalware scanners. There may be something logging your keystrokes or otherwise recording your password that attackers could be using to get in.

If you are able, set up 2-factor authentication for your email account. That will require that you type in a code texted to you to be able to log in to your email, which should make it much harder for anyone who doesnt currently have a device that receives your text messages to get in (keep in mind that that device is not just your phone these days, it may also be a tablet or computer).

When you participate on the show – anytime 24/7 – and we HEAR you with any consumer tech question, comment, help for another listener, tech rage or just share your favorite App these days … you could win prizes.

The 2020 COOL “Into Tomorrow” HOT Summer Giveaway:

The 2020 COOL “Into Tomorrow” HOT Summer Giveaway: Call anytime, 24/7 – 800-899-INTO (4686) Or use the “Message to Studio” option on the FREE Into Tomorrow App!

All CALLERS -- using the AUDIO option on our Free App or 1-800-899-INTO(4686)  - automatically qualify to win prizes.

Audio archived for at least 6 months

Tech News and Commentary

Dave and the team discuss Quibi shutting down, a sneaker authentication service, Google’s hum to search, Netflix and their new customer goals, G Suite becoming Workspace, and more.

Mike in Chesterfield, Michigan listens on AM800 CKLW and asked: “My e-mail has been taken away from me four times this year by somebody changing my password. Went to the guys at Geek Squad at Best Buy for help and the best they could do is help me change the password. I learned how to do that myself. So I don’t do anything by e-mail that they can steal from me. I don’t shop on Amazon, I don’t put any kind of credit card numbers or anything else on there. So I need your guys help more than anything. I’m the guy that needs your show more than anybody.”

Mike, the big question is how that email password is being stolen. Its not normal to have something like that happen several times in one year.

The most typical way for that to happen these days is through phishing, basically page pretending to be your email login screen or a password reset screen but being in fact a malicious website set up to steal your data.

Most modern browsers will alert you to that now if they detect it, and generally speaking you should avoid clicking on a link to log in and instead just type in the URL yourself.

Since this has happened so much and so often you should probably scan your computer with antivirus and general antimalware scanners. There may be something logging your keystrokes or otherwise recording your password that attackers could be using to get in.

If you are able, set up 2-factor authentication for your email account. That will require that you type in a code texted to you to be able to log in to your email, which should make it much harder for anyone who doesnt currently have a device that receives your text messages to get in (keep in mind that that device is not just your phone these days, it may also be a tablet or computer).

When you participate on the show – anytime 24/7 – and we HEAR you with any consumer tech question, comment, help for another listener, tech rage or just share your favorite App these days … you could win prizes.

The 2020 COOL “Into Tomorrow” HOT Summer Giveaway:

The 2020 COOL “Into Tomorrow” HOT Summer Giveaway: Call anytime, 24/7 – 800-899-INTO (4686) Or use the “Message to Studio” option on the FREE Into Tomorrow App!

All CALLERS — using the AUDIO option on our Free App or 1-800-899-INTO(4686)  – automatically qualify to win prizes.

Audio archived for at least 6 months

Tech News and Commentary

Dave and the team discuss the new iPhone 12 series, Prime Day, and more.

Our guest this hour:

Steven Scheer, President - Brondell

Tom in Dublin, Ohio listens to the podcast and asked: "I have an Apple iPad Pro that is about 4-5 years old. The battery doesn't seem to last very long anymore. My question is whether you know if the newer iPads have better batteries that might last longer. That might help me decide whether to replace this one."

https://www.intotomorrow.com/media/podcasts/2020/10-16-2020/10-16-2020-H1S1.mp3

Tom, batteries are chemical devices and wear out, so we dont expect that anyone will guarantee a lifespan of more than 5 years, you are likely to still face issues with a 5 year battery on any new handheld device.

There is some potential good news in that batteries wear out after a certain number of charge cycles. The rough number varies between devices, but the constant is that fewer ones are better. Since new iPads tend to have larger batteries than older ones and generally better power management, there may be slightly fewer charge cycles overall and they may last a little longer.

You can also look at replacing that battery. Apple will do it, but you can also look at most phone repair shops if you want to pay less.

OEM replacements do at least come with a warranty, but most 3rd party replacements work just fine and cost less money.

So, if youre only looking into replacing your iPad because its starting to struggle to keep charged you do have options that will definitely cost you less than a brand new tablet.

When you participate on the show – anytime 24/7 – and we HEAR you with any consumer tech question, comment, help for another listener, tech rage or just share your favorite App these days … you could win prizes.

The 2020 COOL “Into Tomorrow” HOT Summer Giveaway:

The 2020 COOL “Into Tomorrow” HOT Summer Giveaway: Call anytime, 24/7 – 800-899-INTO (4686) Or use the “Message to Studio” option on the FREE Into Tomorrow App!

All CALLERS -- using the AUDIO option on our Free App or 1-800-899-INTO(4686)  - automatically qualify to win prizes.

Audio archived for at least 6 months

Tech News and Commentary

Dave and the team discuss the new iPhone 12 series, Prime Day, and more.

Tom in Dublin, Ohio listens to the podcast and asked: “I have an Apple iPad Pro that is about 4-5 years old. The battery doesn’t seem to last very long anymore. My question is whether you know if the newer iPads have better batteries that might last longer. That might help me decide whether to replace this one.”

Tom, batteries are chemical devices and wear out, so we dont expect that anyone will guarantee a lifespan of more than 5 years, you are likely to still face issues with a 5 year battery on any new handheld device.

There is some potential good news in that batteries wear out after a certain number of charge cycles. The rough number varies between devices, but the constant is that fewer ones are better. Since new iPads tend to have larger batteries than older ones and generally better power management, there may be slightly fewer charge cycles overall and they may last a little longer.

You can also look at replacing that battery. Apple will do it, but you can also look at most phone repair shops if you want to pay less.

OEM replacements do at least come with a warranty, but most 3rd party replacements work just fine and cost less money.

So, if youre only looking into replacing your iPad because its starting to struggle to keep charged you do have options that will definitely cost you less than a brand new tablet.

When you participate on the show – anytime 24/7 – and we HEAR you with any consumer tech question, comment, help for another listener, tech rage or just share your favorite App these days … you could win prizes.

The 2020 COOL “Into Tomorrow” HOT Summer Giveaway:

The 2020 COOL “Into Tomorrow” HOT Summer Giveaway: Call anytime, 24/7 – 800-899-INTO (4686) Or use the “Message to Studio” option on the FREE Into Tomorrow App!

All CALLERS — using the AUDIO option on our Free App or 1-800-899-INTO(4686)  – automatically qualify to win prizes.

Audio archived for at least 6 months

Tech News and Commentary

Dave and the team discuss Apple's new devices, NASA guidance for its moon landing programs, Google's in-app security alerts, Facebook no longer accessing antivax ads, high tech Halloween, the pandemic and tv shows, and more.

Our guest this hour:

Amir Nathoo, CEO and Co-Founder, Outschool

Lou in Kailua, Hawaii listens online and asked: "I have an old Acer One netbook. It's in fairly good shape, but I'd like to install Linux on it. Can you tell me what the best Linux distribution to use is?"

https://www.intotomorrow.com/media/podcasts/2020/10-16-2020/10-16-2020-H2S1.mp3

No, we cant Lou. If we do, were going to get yelled at by fans of other distributions.

Having said that, you probably want to try Ubuntu. Ubuntu is Debian based and its extremely popular and has been for a long time. It also continues to include a Try Ubuntu feature that lets you sample the OS before committing to install it, which is a nice perk.

MX Linux is another popular choice, its also Debian-based and also very user friendly and polished.

Mint is very well liked. As part of the installation youll be able to select one of several different desktop environments, some of which are relatively similar to Windows at least in the distribution of the Start menu if that matters to you.

Since we mentioned a few Debian-based distributions, we should probably mention Debian itself. Debian is one of the oldest and most widely used flavors of Linux. It powers a good deal of the cloud infrastructure we all rely on and its extremely popular for servers.

Those services typically run headless, so the desktop environment is not necessarily the first thing that comes to mind with Debian, but it is fully capable of running a great UI and its high on features.

When you participate on the show – anytime 24/7 – and we HEAR you with any consumer tech question, comment, help for another listener, tech rage or just share your favorite App these days … you could win prizes.

The 2020 COOL “Into Tomorrow” HOT Summer Giveaway:

The 2020 COOL “Into Tomorrow” HOT Summer Giveaway: Call anytime, 24/7 – 800-899-INTO (4686) Or use the “Message to Studio” option on the FREE Into Tomorrow App!

All CALLERS -- using the AUDIO option on our Free App or 1-800-899-INTO(4686)  - automatically qualify to win prizes.

Audio archived for at least 6 months

Tech News and Commentary

Dave and the team discuss Apple’s new devices, NASA guidance for its moon landing programs, Google’s in-app security alerts, Facebook no longer accessing antivax ads, high tech Halloween, the pandemic and tv shows, and more.

Lou in Kailua, Hawaii listens online and asked: “I have an old Acer One netbook. It’s in fairly good shape, but I’d like to install Linux on it. Can you tell me what the best Linux distribution to use is?”

No, we cant Lou. If we do, were going to get yelled at by fans of other distributions.

Having said that, you probably want to try Ubuntu. Ubuntu is Debian based and its extremely popular and has been for a long time. It also continues to include a Try Ubuntu feature that lets you sample the OS before committing to install it, which is a nice perk.

MX Linux is another popular choice, its also Debian-based and also very user friendly and polished.

Mint is very well liked. As part of the installation youll be able to select one of several different desktop environments, some of which are relatively similar to Windows at least in the distribution of the Start menu if that matters to you.

Since we mentioned a few Debian-based distributions, we should probably mention Debian itself. Debian is one of the oldest and most widely used flavors of Linux. It powers a good deal of the cloud infrastructure we all rely on and its extremely popular for servers.

Those services typically run headless, so the desktop environment is not necessarily the first thing that comes to mind with Debian, but it is fully capable of running a great UI and its high on features.

When you participate on the show – anytime 24/7 – and we HEAR you with any consumer tech question, comment, help for another listener, tech rage or just share your favorite App these days … you could win prizes.

The 2020 COOL “Into Tomorrow” HOT Summer Giveaway:

The 2020 COOL “Into Tomorrow” HOT Summer Giveaway: Call anytime, 24/7 – 800-899-INTO (4686) Or use the “Message to Studio” option on the FREE Into Tomorrow App!

All CALLERS — using the AUDIO option on our Free App or 1-800-899-INTO(4686)  – automatically qualify to win prizes.

Audio archived for at least 6 months