Tech News and Commentary

Dave and the team discuss an artificial brain chip for devices, Netflix’s continue watching section, Twitter’s audio record feature, Microsoft closing down their gaming streaming platform, end to end encryption good news, Segway ending production of their iconic product, social watch parties, Olympus leaving the camera business, Flash player’s retirement, a Twitter leak, and more.

Our guest this hour:

Eric Griffith, Features Editor at PCMag.com

Gian in Winter Park, Florida listens online and is calling via the App and asked: "Given the rise of many streaming apps and companies, we're starting to see a whole bunch of them pop up. Given how many there are, do you feel there is a comparison to be made with the dot com bubble and how when that crashed, many companies went out of business because of that? What are your thoughts?"

http://www.intotomorrow.com/media/podcasts/2020/06-26-2020/06-26-2020-H2S1.mp3

Gian, Quibi is probably feeling that way considering how their rollout has been.

The saving grace of the many streaming services seems to be that so far they don’t have a minimum commitment, which is something that will probably change as more of them get into what is a fairly limited field. How many people do you know that kept their HBO streaming subscription after Game of Thrones ended?

Having said that, the market is bloated and it’s hard to imagine that piracy won’t start to creep back up soon.

No one really wants to pay a full subscription for a single show they’re interested in and having to pay 4 to 4 different services to watch exactly 4 shows isn’t too appealing either.

For a while they each thought that they could set themselves apart by making their own content but, realistically, most of the content they make is not good. They sometimes hit upon a good show, but most of what they put out is not interesting to most subscribers and they may start to lose them as they realize that they’re not using these services that looked cheap, before signing up for 10 of them at the same time.

Lee in Windsor, Ontario listens on AM800 CKLW and asked: "I have an iPad but use this “clunker” computer with windows xp. It says Google Chrome updates cant be received because of this. Not concerned about much stuff because I only use this for home fun and not for banking. Just saying hi to family in florida, etc.... Should i be concerned when something pops up sying I have to replace the browser? I really don't want to pay for anything and have been OK for a long time."

http://www.intotomorrow.com/media/podcasts/2020/06-26-2020/06-26-2020-H2S2.mp3

Well Lee, it’s not good, you’re missing security updates and you’re likely far more vulnerable than users on supported systems.

Having said that, Microsoft stopped supporting XP in 2014 and Google dropped Chrome support for XP in 2016, so your situation is probably not about to change. You’re not in a great place, but you haven’t been for a while.

If you’re going to continue to use an operating system that old, you won’t find many if any browsers that still support it, having said that, Microsoft not supporting it either is probably a bigger problem.

Tech News and Commentary

Dave and the team discuss an artificial brain chip for devices, Netflix’s continue watching section, Twitter’s audio record feature, Microsoft closing down their gaming streaming platform, end to end encryption good news, Segway ending production of their iconic product, social watch parties, Olympus leaving the camera business, Flash player’s retirement, a Twitter leak, and more.

Gian in Winter Park, Florida listens online and is calling via the App and asked: “Given the rise of many streaming apps and companies, we’re starting to see a whole bunch of them pop up. Given how many there are, do you feel there is a comparison to be made with the dot com bubble and how when that crashed, many companies went out of business because of that? What are your thoughts?”

Gian, Quibi is probably feeling that way considering how their rollout has been.

The saving grace of the many streaming services seems to be that so far they don’t have a minimum commitment, which is something that will probably change as more of them get into what is a fairly limited field. How many people do you know that kept their HBO streaming subscription after Game of Thrones ended?

Having said that, the market is bloated and it’s hard to imagine that piracy won’t start to creep back up soon.

No one really wants to pay a full subscription for a single show they’re interested in and having to pay 4 to 4 different services to watch exactly 4 shows isn’t too appealing either.

For a while they each thought that they could set themselves apart by making their own content but, realistically, most of the content they make is not good. They sometimes hit upon a good show, but most of what they put out is not interesting to most subscribers and they may start to lose them as they realize that they’re not using these services that looked cheap, before signing up for 10 of them at the same time.

Lee in Windsor, Ontario listens on AM800 CKLW and asked: “I have an iPad but use this “clunker” computer with windows xp. It says Google Chrome updates cant be received because of this. Not concerned about much stuff because I only use this for home fun and not for banking. Just saying hi to family in florida, etc…. Should i be concerned when something pops up sying I have to replace the browser? I really don’t want to pay for anything and have been OK for a long time.”

Well Lee, it’s not good, you’re missing security updates and you’re likely far more vulnerable than users on supported systems.

Having said that, Microsoft stopped supporting XP in 2014 and Google dropped Chrome support for XP in 2016, so your situation is probably not about to change. You’re not in a great place, but you haven’t been for a while.

If you’re going to continue to use an operating system that old, you won’t find many if any browsers that still support it, having said that, Microsoft not supporting it either is probably a bigger problem.

With something that’s been out of date for so long you will probably notice that many parts of the modern internet won’t work for you either, and more will start to fail as time goes by.

You may want to think about buying a cheap replacement for that computer when you can, but you’ve been on an unsupported system for a long time already.

Son in Houston, Texas listens to the podcast and asked: “I have a question about 3D printing. What is it,

Tech News and Commentary

Dave and the team discuss an artificial brain chip for devices, Netflix’s continue watching section, Twitter’s audio record feature, Microsoft closing down their gaming streaming platform, end to end encryption good news, Segway ending production of their iconic product, social watch parties, Olympus leaving the camera business, Flash player’s retirement, a Twitter leak, and more.

Gian in Winter Park, Florida listens online and is calling via the App and asked: “Given the rise of many streaming apps and companies, we’re starting to see a whole bunch of them pop up. Given how many there are, do you feel there is a comparison to be made with the dot com bubble and how when that crashed, many companies went out of business because of that? What are your thoughts?”

Gian, Quibi is probably feeling that way considering how their rollout has been.

The saving grace of the many streaming services seems to be that so far they don’t have a minimum commitment, which is something that will probably change as more of them get into what is a fairly limited field. How many people do you know that kept their HBO streaming subscription after Game of Thrones ended?

Having said that, the market is bloated and it’s hard to imagine that piracy won’t start to creep back up soon.

No one really wants to pay a full subscription for a single show they’re interested in and having to pay 4 to 4 different services to watch exactly 4 shows isn’t too appealing either.

For a while they each thought that they could set themselves apart by making their own content but, realistically, most of the content they make is not good. They sometimes hit upon a good show, but most of what they put out is not interesting to most subscribers and they may start to lose them as they realize that they’re not using these services that looked cheap, before signing up for 10 of them at the same time.

Lee in Windsor, Ontario listens on AM800 CKLW and asked: “I have an iPad but use this “clunker” computer with windows xp. It says Google Chrome updates cant be received because of this. Not concerned about much stuff because I only use this for home fun and not for banking. Just saying hi to family in florida, etc…. Should i be concerned when something pops up sying I have to replace the browser? I really don’t want to pay for anything and have been OK for a long time.”

Well Lee, it’s not good, you’re missing security updates and you’re likely far more vulnerable than users on supported systems.

Having said that, Microsoft stopped supporting XP in 2014 and Google dropped Chrome support for XP in 2016, so your situation is probably not about to change. You’re not in a great place, but you haven’t been for a while.

If you’re going to continue to use an operating system that old, you won’t find many if any browsers that still support it, having said that, Microsoft not supporting it either is probably a bigger problem.

With something that’s been out of date for so long you will probably notice that many parts of the modern internet won’t work for you either, and more will start to fail as time goes by.

You may want to think about buying a cheap replacement for that computer when you can, but you’ve been on an unsupported system for a long time already.

Son in Houston, Texas listens to the podcast and asked: “I have a question about 3D printing. What is it,

Tech News and Commentary

Dave and the team discuss Walmart cutting cashiers, COVID-19 phishing campaigns, layoffs at Sonos, Fortnite dropping police cars, Amazon video news, and more.

Our guest this hour:

Robin Daniels, Chief Marketing Officer of Matterport

Clark in Ocean Springs, Mississippi listens on SuperTalk Mississippi and asked: "Would like to find an economical way to pickup my home Internet in a cottage that is next door to our home - probably 40 yards away."

http://www.intotomorrow.com/media/podcasts/2020/06-26-2020/06-26-2020-H3S1.mp3

Clark, technically any WiFi access point should cover 40 yards, but the reality is that depending on walls, trees and whatever else is in the way, that may not work in the real world.

A good solution for you may be an RV long range WiFi antenna. You can think of them as just large antennas that plug into your computer to act as an additional wireless network card.

In the past we’ve had success with the C. Crane Super USB WiFi Antenna 3 which you can buy for around $60. There really isn’t much to using it, just plug in the USB cable and make sure your computer is using that antenna rather than the built in WiFi.

If you want WiFi for multiple devices you may be in the market for either a repeater or a mesh network. The mesh network will work if you get WiFi somewhere in the cottage that it can repeat, otherwise it probably won’t be an option. And the most popular options right now are probably Google WiFi, Netgear’s Orbi, and the Eero. For two stations you’re probably already looking at a cost in the low hundreds.

The repeater generally has the same restriction as the mesh networks and they’re harder to set up and use, but they’ll cost you significantly less.

At 40 yards you do have the option of running a network cable from your home to the cottage and just plugging in an access point on that end. That’s also a pretty inexpensive solution, it will probably cost you under $100, but it does require laying down 40 yards of cable and somehow getting it inside the buildings at both ends of the run, so it’s definitely not the easiest way to go.

Jake in Illinois called in to help another listener.

http://www.intotomorrow.com/media/podcasts/2020/06-26-2020/06-26-2020-H3S5.mp3

Jake said: "Perhaps something to add on to your response to a caller question regarding upgrading from Windows 7 to Windows 10… While the free upgrade period ended in 2016, Microsoft does provide the option to create the installation medium to allow the upgrade to Windows 10 via a USB flash drive. Using this tool will essentially utilize the license from Windows 7 and apply it to the Windows 10 upgrade. As someone whose primary work is in I.T., I have about six copies of this tool to allow the upgrade to take place on multiple computers simultaneously. The tool can be downloaded here. https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/software-download/windows10"

Thank you, Jake.

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.

Tech News and Commentary

Dave and the team discuss Walmart cutting cashiers, COVID-19 phishing campaigns, layoffs at Sonos, Fortnite dropping police cars, Amazon video news, and more.

Clark in Ocean Springs, Mississippi listens on SuperTalk Mississippi and asked: “Would like to find an economical way to pickup my home Internet in a cottage that is next door to our home – probably 40 yards away.”

Clark, technically any WiFi access point should cover 40 yards, but the reality is that depending on walls, trees and whatever else is in the way, that may not work in the real world.

A good solution for you may be an RV long range WiFi antenna. You can think of them as just large antennas that plug into your computer to act as an additional wireless network card.

In the past we’ve had success with the C. Crane Super USB WiFi Antenna 3 which you can buy for around $60. There really isn’t much to using it, just plug in the USB cable and make sure your computer is using that antenna rather than the built in WiFi.

If you want WiFi for multiple devices you may be in the market for either a repeater or a mesh network. The mesh network will work if you get WiFi somewhere in the cottage that it can repeat, otherwise it probably won’t be an option. And the most popular options right now are probably Google WiFi, Netgear’s Orbi, and the Eero. For two stations you’re probably already looking at a cost in the low hundreds.

The repeater generally has the same restriction as the mesh networks and they’re harder to set up and use, but they’ll cost you significantly less.

At 40 yards you do have the option of running a network cable from your home to the cottage and just plugging in an access point on that end. That’s also a pretty inexpensive solution, it will probably cost you under $100, but it does require laying down 40 yards of cable and somehow getting it inside the buildings at both ends of the run, so it’s definitely not the easiest way to go.

Jake in Illinois called in to help another listener.

Jake said: “Perhaps something to add on to your response to a caller question regarding upgrading from Windows 7 to Windows 10… While the free upgrade period ended in 2016, Microsoft does provide the option to create the installation medium to allow the upgrade to Windows 10 via a USB flash drive. Using this tool will essentially utilize the license from Windows 7 and apply it to the Windows 10 upgrade. As someone whose primary work is in I.T., I have about six copies of this tool to allow the upgrade to take place on multiple computers simultaneously. The tool can be downloaded here. https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/software-download/windows10”

Thank you, Jake.

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!

Tech News and Commentary

Dave and the team discuss Walmart cutting cashiers, COVID-19 phishing campaigns, layoffs at Sonos, Fortnite dropping police cars, Amazon video news, and more.

Clark in Ocean Springs, Mississippi listens on SuperTalk Mississippi and asked: “Would like to find an economical way to pickup my home Internet in a cottage that is next door to our home – probably 40 yards away.”

Clark, technically any WiFi access point should cover 40 yards, but the reality is that depending on walls, trees and whatever else is in the way, that may not work in the real world.

A good solution for you may be an RV long range WiFi antenna. You can think of them as just large antennas that plug into your computer to act as an additional wireless network card.

In the past we’ve had success with the C. Crane Super USB WiFi Antenna 3 which you can buy for around $60. There really isn’t much to using it, just plug in the USB cable and make sure your computer is using that antenna rather than the built in WiFi.

If you want WiFi for multiple devices you may be in the market for either a repeater or a mesh network. The mesh network will work if you get WiFi somewhere in the cottage that it can repeat, otherwise it probably won’t be an option. And the most popular options right now are probably Google WiFi, Netgear’s Orbi, and the Eero. For two stations you’re probably already looking at a cost in the low hundreds.

The repeater generally has the same restriction as the mesh networks and they’re harder to set up and use, but they’ll cost you significantly less.

At 40 yards you do have the option of running a network cable from your home to the cottage and just plugging in an access point on that end. That’s also a pretty inexpensive solution, it will probably cost you under $100, but it does require laying down 40 yards of cable and somehow getting it inside the buildings at both ends of the run, so it’s definitely not the easiest way to go.

Jake in Illinois called in to help another listener.

Jake said: “Perhaps something to add on to your response to a caller question regarding upgrading from Windows 7 to Windows 10… While the free upgrade period ended in 2016, Microsoft does provide the option to create the installation medium to allow the upgrade to Windows 10 via a USB flash drive. Using this tool will essentially utilize the license from Windows 7 and apply it to the Windows 10 upgrade. As someone whose primary work is in I.T., I have about six copies of this tool to allow the upgrade to take place on multiple computers simultaneously. The tool can be downloaded here. https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/software-download/windows10”

Thank you, Jake.

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!

Tech News and Commentary

Dave and the team discuss Facebook and politics, T-Mobile’s network problems, AT&T cutting jobs, an under-screen front facing camera to create a full screen smartphone, tech companies restricting access to face recognition software, a rumored Samsung event, and more.

Justin in Fairbanks, Alaska listens on AM970 KFBX and is calling via the App and asked: “Yesterday, I took a shot of a group of about 20 ravens. I Googled “What is a gro…” and Google suggested “…group of ravens called.” Is Google analyzing my photos? Also, a group of ravens is called a conspiracy.”

Justin, technically yes, they may be…

If you store images on Google’s cloud they will process them and analyze them. Depending on which camera app and which photo gallery app you’re using, you may be doing just that by default.

You may have noticed that Google’s photo gallery app will allow you to search your pictures by keyword, but if you haven’t you can give it a shot. Just search for something common like “car” or “dog” or “baby” and pictures that Google thinks contain those things will show up.

Google is refining their image recognition over time so it has gotten a lot more precise than when they got started. You may remember a few years ago when they offered automatic gif creation and some image enhancements as a way to get people to agree to share their photo galleries with them.

The point is in part what you’re seeing now, so depending on which software is currently on your phone, yes, Google may be scanning your images.

As usual, you’re the product…

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 Facebook and politics, T-Mobile’s network problems, AT&T cutting jobs, an under-screen front facing camera to create a full screen smartphone, tech companies restricting access to face recognition software, a rumored Samsung event, and more.

Justin in Fairbanks, Alaska listens on AM970 KFBX and is calling via the App and asked: “Yesterday, I took a shot of a group of about 20 ravens. I Googled “What is a gro…” and Google suggested “…group of ravens called.” Is Google analyzing my photos? Also, a group of ravens is called a conspiracy.”

Justin, technically yes, they may be…

If you store images on Google’s cloud they will process them and analyze them. Depending on which camera app and which photo gallery app you’re using, you may be doing just that by default.

You may have noticed that Google’s photo gallery app will allow you to search your pictures by keyword, but if you haven’t you can give it a shot. Just search for something common like “car” or “dog” or “baby” and pictures that Google thinks contain those things will show up.

Google is refining their image recognition over time so it has gotten a lot more precise than when they got started. You may remember a few years ago when they offered automatic gif creation and some image enhancements as a way to get people to agree to share their photo galleries with them.

The point is in part what you’re seeing now, so depending on which software is currently on your phone, yes, Google may be scanning your images.

As usual, you’re the product…

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 Facebook and politics, T-Mobile’s network problems, AT&T cutting jobs, an under-screen front facing camera to create a full screen smartphone, tech companies restricting access to face recognition software, a rumored Samsung event, and more.

Our guest this hour:

Sam Yang, Managing Director of Xandar Kardian

Justin in Fairbanks, Alaska listens on AM970 KFBX and is calling via the App and asked: "Yesterday, I took a shot of a group of about 20 ravens. I Googled "What is a gro..." and Google suggested "...group of ravens called." Is Google analyzing my photos? Also, a group of ravens is called a conspiracy."

http://www.intotomorrow.com/media/podcasts/2020/06-19-2020/06-19-2020-H1S1.mp3

Justin, technically yes, they may be…

If you store images on Google’s cloud they will process them and analyze them. Depending on which camera app and which photo gallery app you’re using, you may be doing just that by default.

You may have noticed that Google’s photo gallery app will allow you to search your pictures by keyword, but if you haven’t you can give it a shot. Just search for something common like “car” or “dog” or “baby” and pictures that Google thinks contain those things will show up.

Google is refining their image recognition over time so it has gotten a lot more precise than when they got started. You may remember a few years ago when they offered automatic gif creation and some image enhancements as a way to get people to agree to share their photo galleries with them.

The point is in part what you’re seeing now, so depending on which software is currently on your phone, yes, Google may be scanning your images.

As usual, you’re the product…

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 NASA’s new photos of an alien sky, seamless purchases on streaming video services, drones delivering books to kids, the Rose Bowl and facial recognition technology, Instacart’s success, and more.

Our guest this hour:

Julie Rothhouse, CEO and Founder of SynaVoice SOL

Gary in Michigan listens on AM800 CKLW - "The Information Station" and asked: "I have an iPhone 11 and it makes random Facetime and phone calls when I don't even have the phone icon selected. It'll be in my pocket and all of a sudden it'll be Facetiming or calling somebody and I seem to have no control over it."

http://www.intotomorrow.com/media/podcasts/2020/06-19-2020/06-19-2020-H2S1.mp3

Gary, to be honest it sounds to us like you’re just not locking your phone before you put it in your pocket.

You’re talking about an iPhone 11 which has FaceID, the inside of your pocket shouldn’t look an awful lot like your face so you shouldn’t be able to pocket dial anyone.

With FaceID on, unlocking the phone is pretty effortless, so there’s really no reason to not lock your phone before you put it in your pocket. It’s not any harder than closing a flip phone and it should prevent this issue entirely.

As an iPhone user, Chris can pretty much confirm that's what you're doing. He's famous for forgetting to lock his phone before putting it in his pocket. A few weeks ago, he was out doing some yard work in the 95-degree south Florida sun and he heard my phone ring from his pocket. It was his mom asking if he had just pocket dialed her. She said she got excited that he was actually calling her but when she answered, all she heard were rustling noises and the muffled sound of his cussing. So after the guilt-trip, he took a break and talked to his mom for a while.

Jake in Colfax, Washington listens on KMAX called in to recommend a low-cost phone.

http://www.intotomorrow.com/media/podcasts/2020/06-19-2020/06-19-2020-H2S5.mp3

Jake recommended the Samsung Galaxy A10e.

Thank you, Jake!

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: