Tech News and Commentary

Dave and the team discuss wireless technologies and elder care, mandatory working from home, hacking an IoT coffee maker, malicious Android apps, and more.

Our guest this hour:

George Shchegolev, Co-Founder and VP of Operations of Route4Me

David in Lincoln Park, Michigan listens on AM800 CKLW and asked: "Why is it that, in the days of the Commodore 64s, 128s and Amigas, that cool games and programs ran on minimal storage and speed just fine, and now everything takes massive storage and speed to work?"

https://www.intotomorrow.com/media/podcasts/2020/10-02-2020/10-02-2020-H3S1.mp3

David, its because they were crap. You may remember them as cool games, but they were extremely basic go play them again if you want to see how they hold up.

You can play much better games than the ones that you played on those devices on a $5 Raspberry Pi. Just install RetroPi and youll be able to play games that were released with the Nintendo, Super Nintendo, various Sega platforms and more.

The hardware is both as cheap and as minimal as they come, and the games are miles ahead of Commodore 64 of Amiga games, but if you compare them to what you can play on modern consoles or PCs well theyre also crap.

Dont think of it as your phone is more powerful than the Commodore 64, think of it as the shutter button in your camera app uses an image that displays more colors and takes up more room than those computers were capable of, let alone the pictures the camera takes. Better things are more resource intensive.

Victor in North Pole, Alaska listens on Newsradio 970 KFBX and asked: "I have Internet access with the Gigabit speed. I recently purchased a Netgear Nighthawk mesh that gives me better coverage throughout my house. But the Internet provider is now saying that I'm using too much bandwidth. Just this month alone, they say I've used over 5 terabytes of downloads. I can't figure out what is using - I haven't added any other hardware other than my router. They suggest it's either a virus - and I've run virus scans, or somebody using my Internet - which I changed everything when I put the new router in. So I'm wondering if there's some app or program that can tell me what device is using the most bandwidth and using the most data."

https://www.intotomorrow.com/media/podcasts/2020/10-02-2020/10-02-2020-H3S2.mp3

Victor, your router will do it for you.

The first thing we should mention is that you may need to upgrade its firmware, since older versions didnt have this feature.

After you do that, go into the settings and turn on something called Dynamic QoS, or Dynamic quality of service.

The idea is that the router analyzes what devices are using more bandwidth and tries to prioritize the things you need, which is nice and all but what we want is the reporting functionality that comes with it.

If you let it run for a while and go back to the settings youll find a table listing each of your devices and next to each youll see how much bandwidth theyve been using.

After that its just a matter of figuring out why. For example, 4K TV will use several gigabytes per hour, so maybe the culprit is something like that,

Tech News and Commentary

Dave and the team discuss wireless technologies and elder care, mandatory working from home, hacking an IoT coffee maker, malicious Android apps, and more.

David in Lincoln Park, Michigan listens on AM800 CKLW and asked: “Why is it that, in the days of the Commodore 64s, 128s and Amigas, that cool games and programs ran on minimal storage and speed just fine, and now everything takes massive storage and speed to work?”

David, its because they were crap. You may remember them as cool games, but they were extremely basic go play them again if you want to see how they hold up.

You can play much better games than the ones that you played on those devices on a $5 Raspberry Pi. Just install RetroPi and youll be able to play games that were released with the Nintendo, Super Nintendo, various Sega platforms and more.

The hardware is both as cheap and as minimal as they come, and the games are miles ahead of Commodore 64 of Amiga games, but if you compare them to what you can play on modern consoles or PCs well theyre also crap.

Dont think of it as your phone is more powerful than the Commodore 64, think of it as the shutter button in your camera app uses an image that displays more colors and takes up more room than those computers were capable of, let alone the pictures the camera takes. Better things are more resource intensive.

Victor in North Pole, Alaska listens on Newsradio 970 KFBX and asked: “I have Internet access with the Gigabit speed. I recently purchased a Netgear Nighthawk mesh that gives me better coverage throughout my house. But the Internet provider is now saying that I’m using too much bandwidth. Just this month alone, they say I’ve used over 5 terabytes of downloads. I can’t figure out what is using – I haven’t added any other hardware other than my router. They suggest it’s either a virus – and I’ve run virus scans, or somebody using my Internet – which I changed everything when I put the new router in. So I’m wondering if there’s some app or program that can tell me what device is using the most bandwidth and using the most data.”

Victor, your router will do it for you.

The first thing we should mention is that you may need to upgrade its firmware, since older versions didnt have this feature.

After you do that, go into the settings and turn on something called Dynamic QoS, or Dynamic quality of service.

The idea is that the router analyzes what devices are using more bandwidth and tries to prioritize the things you need, which is nice and all but what we want is the reporting functionality that comes with it.

If you let it run for a while and go back to the settings youll find a table listing each of your devices and next to each youll see how much bandwidth theyve been using.

After that its just a matter of figuring out why. For example, 4K TV will use several gigabytes per hour, so maybe the culprit is something like that, still 5TB is a good deal of data, so its worth having a look youll probably be able to cut that down.

Mike in Belmont, Mississippi listens on SuperTalk Mississippi and asked: “I’m trying to find a good Bluetooth soundbar to put in my bedroom. What I’d really love to do is put it on my back wall away from the TV kinda behind the bed, to where I feel like I’m in a movie.”

Our guest this hour:

Presented by Jonathan Nowak, CEO of SPREE Interactive

David in Oxford, Mississippi listens on SuperTalk Mississippi - calling in via the app and asked: "My mother is in her early 90s and still drives. My siblings and I are very concerned when she is on the road. We are looking for a practical solution to monitor her travel for safety purposes. A cell phone is not on the list of possibilities. Do you have any suggestions?"

https://www.intotomorrow.com/media/podcasts/2020/09-25-2020/09-25-2020-H1S1.mp3

David, if a phone is out of the question, your best bet is probably an OBD2 tracker.

Theyre great in the sense that they require virtually no installation, theyre just plug and play, and theyre not expensive, but they do require a monthly plan.

T-Mobile and AT&T are currently giving the device itself away if you sign a $10/month contract, but you can also buy devices and get your own plan without a contract if you prefer.

The reason this may work well for your mother is that it will give you her cars location, you can set boundaries to get geofencing alerts, and you can typically set speed limits and other triggers for safety alerts.

If you think you can talk her into accepting a smartwatch and wearing and keeping it charged, there are smartwatches with their own phone plans that can basically do the same thing and will also pinpoint her location when shes out of the car.

The advantage of a smart watch is that it could alert you of other things (like falls) and it would give her a phone line in case of an emergency in a more compact package.

The disadvantage of a smartwatch is that it does need to be charged regularly, and possibly more importantly, worn.

One other thing Chris can recommend is a product he uses in his car. Its the Viper Connect. This is a small device that plugs into the cars OBD port. It allows you to track the vehicle in real time, which is great for keeping an eye not only on elderly parents, but teeneagers. You can also setup geofencing, so that if your mom drives out of a certain area, it will alert you. It also has lockdown alerts, and can notify you anytime the vehicle is moved. You and your siblings can all download the app and keep an eye on your mom. The Viper Connect device sells for about $150 and the service plan, for the GPS tracking is $120 a year. You can buy it at many 12v dealers and since its plug and go, theres no installation to pay for.

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

David in Oxford, Mississippi listens on SuperTalk Mississippi – calling in via the app and asked: “My mother is in her early 90s and still drives. My siblings and I are very concerned when she is on the road. We are looking for a practical solution to monitor her travel for safety purposes. A cell phone is not on the list of possibilities. Do you have any suggestions?”

David, if a phone is out of the question, your best bet is probably an OBD2 tracker.

Theyre great in the sense that they require virtually no installation, theyre just plug and play, and theyre not expensive, but they do require a monthly plan.

T-Mobile and AT&T are currently giving the device itself away if you sign a $10/month contract, but you can also buy devices and get your own plan without a contract if you prefer.

The reason this may work well for your mother is that it will give you her cars location, you can set boundaries to get geofencing alerts, and you can typically set speed limits and other triggers for safety alerts.

If you think you can talk her into accepting a smartwatch and wearing and keeping it charged, there are smartwatches with their own phone plans that can basically do the same thing and will also pinpoint her location when shes out of the car.

The advantage of a smart watch is that it could alert you of other things (like falls) and it would give her a phone line in case of an emergency in a more compact package.

The disadvantage of a smartwatch is that it does need to be charged regularly, and possibly more importantly, worn.

One other thing Chris can recommend is a product he uses in his car. Its the Viper Connect. This is a small device that plugs into the cars OBD port. It allows you to track the vehicle in real time, which is great for keeping an eye not only on elderly parents, but teeneagers. You can also setup geofencing, so that if your mom drives out of a certain area, it will alert you. It also has lockdown alerts, and can notify you anytime the vehicle is moved. You and your siblings can all download the app and keep an eye on your mom. The Viper Connect device sells for about $150 and the service plan, for the GPS tracking is $120 a year. You can buy it at many 12v dealers and since its plug and go, theres no installation to pay for.

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

Our guest this hour:

Derek Joyce, Senior Manager of Product and Advanced Powertrain at Hyundai Motors

Russ in Gainesville, Florida listens to the podcast and asked: "My father's blind and in a nursing home. It was tough before Covid, but with the lockdown, he can only be visited by staff. I have a Google Home Mini with a Verizon Jet pack for Internet in his room for Internet access. I need to get some good suggestions for content that he may enjoy. Many of the commands are very lengthy and hard for him to remember, like "Hey Google, play NHL news on iHeartRadio." Do you have any suggestions for content on the Home Mini, or suggestions for other voice command solutions for the elderly?"

https://www.intotomorrow.com/media/podcasts/2020/09-25-2020/09-25-2020-H2S1.mp3

Russ, its hard to say what your father may find useful without knowing what he likes, but there may be a solution that doesnt require that.

If you open the Google Home app you used to set up the device and go to the menu, you should be able to set up shortcuts.

Shortcuts are basically shorter aliases for a longer more complex command, so for example Hey Google, play NHL news on iHeartRadio could be triggered by Hey Google, NHL news or Hey Google, play NHL news, or whatever you think he may remember.

That would enable you to create simple shortcuts for anything you think he may find useful, like calling you, or playing different kinds of news, or music on different apps.

Since hes elderly he may find the medication reminders useful, and since hes blind he may enjoy an easier way to access audio apps, be it news about things he likes, music, radio, or podcasts.

You might also look into audiobooks on the Google Play store. Once purchased, he can simply ask his Google Home Mini to play his audiobook.

Carlos in San Juan, PR listens to the podcast - calling in via the app and asked: "My son's school is requiring the use of a Chromebook and I need to know what kind of mouse would work with it. There is a USB port but I'm wondering if a regular Bluetooth mouse would work with the Chromebook. What are my options?"

https://www.intotomorrow.com/media/podcasts/2020/09-25-2020/09-25-2020-H2S5.mp3

Carlos, mice are universal. Your son's Chromebook should have Bluetooth which means that it will be able to connect to any bluetooth mouse.

The same goes for a wired mouse if you want to go that way, theyre universal and any should work with your sons USB port.

Theres nothing to worry about here, any gear your buy should work just fine with the Chromebook.

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

Russ in Gainesville, Florida listens to the podcast and asked: “My father’s blind and in a nursing home. It was tough before Covid, but with the lockdown, he can only be visited by staff. I have a Google Home Mini with a Verizon Jet pack for Internet in his room for Internet access. I need to get some good suggestions for content that he may enjoy. Many of the commands are very lengthy and hard for him to remember, like “Hey Google, play NHL news on iHeartRadio.” Do you have any suggestions for content on the Home Mini, or suggestions for other voice command solutions for the elderly?”

Russ, its hard to say what your father may find useful without knowing what he likes, but there may be a solution that doesnt require that.

If you open the Google Home app you used to set up the device and go to the menu, you should be able to set up shortcuts.

Shortcuts are basically shorter aliases for a longer more complex command, so for example Hey Google, play NHL news on iHeartRadio could be triggered by Hey Google, NHL news or Hey Google, play NHL news, or whatever you think he may remember.

That would enable you to create simple shortcuts for anything you think he may find useful, like calling you, or playing different kinds of news, or music on different apps.

Since hes elderly he may find the medication reminders useful, and since hes blind he may enjoy an easier way to access audio apps, be it news about things he likes, music, radio, or podcasts.

You might also look into audiobooks on the Google Play store. Once purchased, he can simply ask his Google Home Mini to play his audiobook.

Carlos in San Juan, PR listens to the podcast – calling in via the app and asked: “My son’s school is requiring the use of a Chromebook and I need to know what kind of mouse would work with it. There is a USB port but I’m wondering if a regular Bluetooth mouse would work with the Chromebook. What are my options?”

Carlos, mice are universal. Your son’s Chromebook should have Bluetooth which means that it will be able to connect to any bluetooth mouse.

The same goes for a wired mouse if you want to go that way, theyre universal and any should work with your sons USB port.

Theres nothing to worry about here, any gear your buy should work just fine with the Chromebook.

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

Our guest this hour:

Jens Heithecker, Executive Vice President of Messe Berlin Group and IFA Executive Director

Steve in Lake Villa, Illinois listens to the podcast and is calling via the app and asked: "I've started a brand new job with the health department doing Covid tracing. Looking for a nice headset - something that sounds good so people can hear me and I can hear them. I'm using an iPhone, also using my government-issued laptop. Maybe something Bluetooth, or wired. Just hoping you could give me some advice on that."

https://www.intotomorrow.com/media/podcasts/2020/09-25-2020/09-25-2020-H3S1.mp3

Steve, look at gaming headsets. There are both wired and wireless ones, so you have your choice in that department, but mainly, they are very well suited to what you want.

Gamers wear them for long hours, so theyre built to be comfortable for long term wearing. They usually come with microphones that you can adjust so you can be better heard, and theyre typically clear sounding since sometimes gamers even demand immersive 3D sound.

Prices and quality vary, for example a wireless Turtle Beach Stealth 600 will cost you $100, while a wired Recon will only cost you $40, Razer has models that go for more than $150, and HyperX has models that dont get to $30.

Youll have plenty to choose from at every price point, but if you stick to well known brands youll probably end up with a product that will work well for what you need.

Brandon in Jackson, Mississippi listens on SuperTalk 97.3 and is calling via the app and aseked: "Wanted to know what you thought about data mining as it pertains to the blockchain mining rigs and revenue that they might produce."

https://www.intotomorrow.com/media/podcasts/2020/09-25-2020/09-25-2020-H3S3.mp3

Brandon, if youre thinking cryptocurrencies in particular, if you go with a new one you may get some return, but generally speaking at current prices you will spend more in electricity than you will get back.

That mostly goes for the popular currencies, some of the new ones are still simple enough to mine that they may give you more of a return, but it will still likely be below what youre spending to power your machine.

There are people that still do it successfully to an extent, but that requires having the right equipment and know what currencies to stick to.

If youre mining a different kind of data, your mileage may vary, there are a lots of other blockchain projects and if you found one that can make you some money and you already have a machine set up to try, you might as well, but dont expect huge returns.

Terry in Carthage, Missouri listens to the podcast and is calling via the app and asked: "I'm having trouble getting a wireless signal to my Ring cameras outside my house. Wondering if there's anything I can do to help with that. Bought a new router that's supposed to have better signal coverage but still having trouble."

https://www.intotomorrow.com/media/podcasts/2020/09-25-2020/09-25-2020-H3S3.mp3

Terry, your Ring cameras are just WiFi devices, so you need to somehow make your network stronger ou...

Steve in Lake Villa, Illinois listens to the podcast and is calling via the app and asked: “I’ve started a brand new job with the health department doing Covid tracing. Looking for a nice headset – something that sounds good so people can hear me and I can hear them. I’m using an iPhone, also using my government-issued laptop. Maybe something Bluetooth, or wired. Just hoping you could give me some advice on that.”

Steve, look at gaming headsets. There are both wired and wireless ones, so you have your choice in that department, but mainly, they are very well suited to what you want.

Gamers wear them for long hours, so theyre built to be comfortable for long term wearing. They usually come with microphones that you can adjust so you can be better heard, and theyre typically clear sounding since sometimes gamers even demand immersive 3D sound.

Prices and quality vary, for example a wireless Turtle Beach Stealth 600 will cost you $100, while a wired Recon will only cost you $40, Razer has models that go for more than $150, and HyperX has models that dont get to $30.

Youll have plenty to choose from at every price point, but if you stick to well known brands youll probably end up with a product that will work well for what you need.

Brandon in Jackson, Mississippi listens on SuperTalk 97.3 and is calling via the app and aseked: “Wanted to know what you thought about data mining as it pertains to the blockchain mining rigs and revenue that they might produce.”

Brandon, if youre thinking cryptocurrencies in particular, if you go with a new one you may get some return, but generally speaking at current prices you will spend more in electricity than you will get back.

That mostly goes for the popular currencies, some of the new ones are still simple enough to mine that they may give you more of a return, but it will still likely be below what youre spending to power your machine.

There are people that still do it successfully to an extent, but that requires having the right equipment and know what currencies to stick to.

If youre mining a different kind of data, your mileage may vary, there are a lots of other blockchain projects and if you found one that can make you some money and you already have a machine set up to try, you might as well, but dont expect huge returns.

Terry in Carthage, Missouri listens to the podcast and is calling via the app and asked: “I’m having trouble getting a wireless signal to my Ring cameras outside my house. Wondering if there’s anything I can do to help with that. Bought a new router that’s supposed to have better signal coverage but still having trouble.”

Terry, your Ring cameras are just WiFi devices, so you need to somehow make your network stronger outside your house.

You can look at all weather, external access points, for example the Wavlink AC600 will cost you around $85 and can be mounted outside.

Having said that, it sounds like you may have cameras all around your house, so the house itself may block the signal from an outside access point to the rest of the cameras that are not line of sight.

If the cameras are mounted on the walls of the house rather than away and pointed at it, a mesh system is probably all you need. Those are systems like the Eero and Orbi that allow you to keep adding stations that talk to each other and repeat the connection...

Hour 1 Guests Include:

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