Google is ruled a monopoly, so what does that mean for your search? The app that can tell you about flight delays even before the airlines themselves. Another streaming service is raising prices and at rhymes with kidney plus. Your tech questions answered. What's going on? I'm Rich Demiro and this is Rich on Tech. This is the show where I talk about the tech stuff I think you should know about. It's also the place where I answer your questions about technology. I believe that tech should be interesting, useful and fun. Let's open up those phone lines at triple A Rich one oh one. That's eight eight eight seven four to two four one zero one. Again the phone line for the show eight eight eight seven four to two four one zero one. Give me a call. If you have a question about technology, you're confused about something, you need an app for something, you need a website, you need some help deciding between a couple of products, whatever it is, I am here for you. Email is also open. Just go to the website Richontech dot TV and hit contact. This week on the show, We've got Bart Welch of Points. Yeah, this is a website that can help you plan your travel with your points. You're racked up those points. You need to figure out how to use them. It seems impossible to do that in a efficient way. Points yet can help. We'll talk to him a little bit later on. And then what about the idea of a solar electric car. There is one company that is working on one. Steve Fambreau of Aptera Motors is going to join me to talk all about the solar electric car. Well, this was a big week for Google, and not in a good way. A federal judge ruled that Google illegally maintained a monopoly in online search. Now, usually when you hear about monopoly, you're thinking about the game. This is no game, this is real. Now, Google, we all know they have a lot of products. Google is our Search is their largest product. It is a product that makes them a majority of their income, even though they have their hands in many other things. But this was a big ruling against them. This is the first major antitrust ruling against a tech, big tech company in the modern Internet era. The last time this happened was Microsoft with Internet Explorer. Remember they installed Internet Explorer on all of their Windows machines and people got up in arms because Netscape was the big browser at the time, and Microsoft said, hey, wait a second, we want a little piece of that. And so they just went ahead and installed Internet Explorer by default on all their Windows machines and next thing you know, people were like, wait a second, how can you do that?

Google is ruled a monopoly, so what does that mean for your search? The app that can tell you about flight delays even before the airlines themselves. Another streaming service is raising prices and at rhymes with kidney plus. Your tech questions answered. What's going on? I'm Rich Demiro and this is Rich on Tech. This is the show where I talk about the tech stuff I think you should know about. It's also the place where I answer your questions about technology. I believe that tech should be interesting, useful and fun. Let's open up those phone lines at triple A Rich one oh one. That's eight eight eight seven four to two four one zero one. Again the phone line for the show eight eight eight seven four to two four one zero one. Give me a call. If you have a question about technology, you're confused about something, you need an app for something, you need a website, you need some help deciding between a couple of products, whatever it is, I am here for you. Email is also open. Just go to the website Richontech dot TV and hit contact. This week on the show, We've got Bart Welch of Points. Yeah, this is a website that can help you plan your travel with your points. You're racked up those points. You need to figure out how to use them. It seems impossible to do that in a efficient way. Points yet can help. We'll talk to him a little bit later on. And then what about the idea of a solar electric car. There is one company that is working on one. Steve Fambreau of Aptera Motors is going to join me to talk all about the solar electric car. Well, this was a big week for Google, and not in a good way. A federal judge ruled that Google illegally maintained a monopoly in online search. Now, usually when you hear about monopoly, you're thinking about the game. This is no game, this is real. Now, Google, we all know they have a lot of products. Google is our Search is their largest product. It is a product that makes them a majority of their income, even though they have their hands in many other things. But this was a big ruling against them. This is the first major antitrust ruling against a tech, big tech company in the modern Internet era. The last time this happened was Microsoft with Internet Explorer. Remember they installed Internet Explorer on all of their Windows machines and people got up in arms because Netscape was the big browser at the time, and Microsoft said, hey, wait a second, we want a little piece of that. And so they just went ahead and installed Internet Explorer by default on all their Windows machines and next thing you know, people were like, wait a second, how can you do that?

Now?

Now?

That was a major turning point for Microsoft, to major turning point for the Web, major turning point in so many ways. But this is an interesting one with Google, and here is where the judge had a big problem. Google pays billions of dollars to be the default search engine on devices like when you get a device from Apple, you get a device from Samsung, a tablet, a phone, and many other devices. Google has paid those companies many times billions of dollars to be the default search engine, and in particular, Apple is the one that is mentioned many many times because I think they pay them some upwards of twenty billion dollars a year or something like that. I mean, it's just an incredible amount of money. And so if they're paying them billions of dollars, imagine how much Google is making in return. Because you don't just pay something out and not make a return on that investment. You make many, many times a return on that investment. So the fact is Google being the default search engine on these devices makes them a lot of money because when you fire up your web browser and you search for something, what happens You get those little links up at the top that you click by mistake or maybe you just click them because they're relevant, and Google makes a lot of money off of those links. So this case focused on Google's dominance in search, so nothing else about the company, but really the dominance in search. And I thought what was interesting is not only does Google control not only does Google control like ninety percent of the Internet search market, they're really good at it. So the judge had no problem with the fact that Google has a really good search engine. And in fact, there was another story that came out surrounding this about Apple and Microsoft. So I guess Microsoft came to Apple and said, hey, can Bing be the default on the iPhone? And Apple said to Microsoft, there is no money in the world you can pay us to make Bing the default on the iPhone because what would happen if you turned on your iPhone and you had Bing as your default. You'd not be happy because those results are just not the same. They're just not as good as what Google delivers. So the interesting part about this is that Google did this and people didn't mind because they like Google and they like the search results. But the problem is if you are an advertiser, and this is where the anti trust came in. Because Google was so dominant on all of these devices, they could charge as much as they want for those little links at the top of search. And that is where the judge found the problem. He said, because Google controls so much of the industry, and because Google has such a stronghold on all these devices, when a company goes to advertise on Google, Google can charge whatever they want. They are left unchecked because where else are you gonna go If you want to get in front of all of those eyeballs, There is no other place you can go.

That was a major turning point for Microsoft, to major turning point for the Web, major turning point in so many ways. But this is an interesting one with Google, and here is where the judge had a big problem. Google pays billions of dollars to be the default search engine on devices like when you get a device from Apple, you get a device from Samsung, a tablet, a phone, and many other devices. Google has paid those companies many times billions of dollars to be the default search engine, and in particular, Apple is the one that is mentioned many many times because I think they pay them some upwards of twenty billion dollars a year or something like that. I mean, it's just an incredible amount of money. And so if they're paying them billions of dollars, imagine how much Google is making in return. Because you don't just pay something out and not make a return on that investment. You make many, many times a return on that investment. So the fact is Google being the default search engine on these devices makes them a lot of money because when you fire up your web browser and you search for something, what happens You get those little links up at the top that you click by mistake or maybe you just click them because they're relevant, and Google makes a lot of money off of those links. So this case focused on Google's dominance in search, so nothing else about the company, but really the dominance in search. And I thought what was interesting is not only does Google control not only does Google control like ninety percent of the Internet search market, they're really good at it. So the judge had no problem with the fact that Google has a really good search engine. And in fact, there was another story that came out surrounding this about Apple and Microsoft. So I guess Microsoft came to Apple and said, hey, can Bing be the default on the iPhone? And Apple said to Microsoft, there is no money in the world you can pay us to make Bing the default on the iPhone because what would happen if you turned on your iPhone and you had Bing as your default. You'd not be happy because those results are just not the same. They're just not as good as what Google delivers. So the interesting part about this is that Google did this and people didn't mind because they like Google and they like the search results. But the problem is if you are an advertiser, and this is where the anti trust came in. Because Google was so dominant on all of these devices, they could charge as much as they want for those little links at the top of search. And that is where the judge found the problem. He said, because Google controls so much of the industry, and because Google has such a stronghold on all these devices, when a company goes to advertise on Google, Google can charge whatever they want. They are left unchecked because where else are you gonna go If you want to get in front of all of those eyeballs, There is no other place you can go.

You have to go to Google.

You have to go to Google.

And Google knows that, and so they charge as much as they want because there's really no alternative. And that is the issue that they took with Google. Now I would agree with this. I think that it is true. We love Google. But yeah, if you've ever done a search, you know, if you've ever bought search ads, and I've helped small businesses do this, including my father's business. It is basically just a spigot of money for Google. You have no idea what's going on. You kind of set a budget and next thing you know, Google just runs through that budget and they say, Okay, you want to do more. You want to do more, you want to do more, and you don't know if it's working or not. I mean, sometimes you can tell, but for a lot of these businesses, they're just spending money and Google's just collecting the money. And you don't know if you could have better results somewhere else. Maybe you could go to Yelp, maybe you can go I mean, where else would you go? It's really just Google if you want to reach these foot folks. Sorry, my phone, my phone keeps activating because it keeps hearing me say Google, and so it is responding.

And Google knows that, and so they charge as much as they want because there's really no alternative. And that is the issue that they took with Google. Now I would agree with this. I think that it is true. We love Google. But yeah, if you've ever done a search, you know, if you've ever bought search ads, and I've helped small businesses do this, including my father's business. It is basically just a spigot of money for Google. You have no idea what's going on. You kind of set a budget and next thing you know, Google just runs through that budget and they say, Okay, you want to do more. You want to do more, you want to do more, and you don't know if it's working or not. I mean, sometimes you can tell, but for a lot of these businesses, they're just spending money and Google's just collecting the money. And you don't know if you could have better results somewhere else. Maybe you could go to Yelp, maybe you can go I mean, where else would you go? It's really just Google if you want to reach these foot folks. Sorry, my phone, my phone keeps activating because it keeps hearing me say Google, and so it is responding.

That's how powerful Google is.

That's how powerful Google is.

It's even responding to what I'm saying right now here on the radio. But that is what the judge found. And so what's going to happen here? What's going to happen we don't know. Is this judge going to try to break up Google? Are they going to try to separate Google's advertising business from Chrome? I mean, really, when you look at Google, they have a couple of major businesses that make them money, and I would say that's probably YouTube and advertising. Those are the two main things that make Google money.

It's even responding to what I'm saying right now here on the radio. But that is what the judge found. And so what's going to happen here? What's going to happen we don't know. Is this judge going to try to break up Google? Are they going to try to separate Google's advertising business from Chrome? I mean, really, when you look at Google, they have a couple of major businesses that make them money, and I would say that's probably YouTube and advertising. Those are the two main things that make Google money.

Gmail.

Gmail.

I mean, that's just kind of that's just a way to get people to use Google and some of the other things they've worked on, you know, maybe some of the web stuff and the cloud storage that's that's not returned in a huge way like some other companies like Apple. Oh my gosh, they my. Google just keeps telling me stuff right here. I thought you had to say, hey, Google, are okay?

I mean, that's just kind of that's just a way to get people to use Google and some of the other things they've worked on, you know, maybe some of the web stuff and the cloud storage that's that's not returned in a huge way like some other companies like Apple. Oh my gosh, they my. Google just keeps telling me stuff right here. I thought you had to say, hey, Google, are okay?

Google?

Google?

Apparently I can just say, oh my oh, I'm activating Bobos too.

Apparently I can just say, oh my oh, I'm activating Bobos too.

Oh my gosh. Okay.

Oh my gosh. Okay.

So here is the question. There's two things I see here. Number One, if you're talking about Google right now, I think there are so many headwinds against them. Right So, you've got Google, You've got Ai, which is coming along here. And I would say Google is probably in the worst position they have been in in a long time, because if you think about it, who are you going to go to for Ai? You're probably not going to Gemini unless you see that little thing and it pops up, You're probably going to chatch Ebt. So I think that AI has the potential to upend twenty five years of progress with Google.

So here is the question. There's two things I see here. Number One, if you're talking about Google right now, I think there are so many headwinds against them. Right So, you've got Google, You've got Ai, which is coming along here. And I would say Google is probably in the worst position they have been in in a long time, because if you think about it, who are you going to go to for Ai? You're probably not going to Gemini unless you see that little thing and it pops up, You're probably going to chatch Ebt. So I think that AI has the potential to upend twenty five years of progress with Google.

We will see.

We will see.

I mean, Google's putting a good fight in here. The other question is if you had a choice, Let's say, when you fired up your iPhone or when you fired up your Samsung for the first time, it gave you a choice screen and it said, Hey, which search engine do you want as your default? Would you choose different one? Now, for what it's worth, you can go in on the iPhone and choose a different search engine. You can go into Settings, you can go into Safari and then search engine. Now that your choices there are Google, Yahoo, Bing, Duck, Duck Go, and Ekoshia.

I mean, Google's putting a good fight in here. The other question is if you had a choice, Let's say, when you fired up your iPhone or when you fired up your Samsung for the first time, it gave you a choice screen and it said, Hey, which search engine do you want as your default? Would you choose different one? Now, for what it's worth, you can go in on the iPhone and choose a different search engine. You can go into Settings, you can go into Safari and then search engine. Now that your choices there are Google, Yahoo, Bing, Duck, Duck Go, and Ekoshia.

I think that's how you say it.

I think that's how you say it.

For every search I think they plant like a tree, or every ten searches whatever, they plant a tree. So it's like an Earth friendly search engine. Would you choose one of those over Google? I would personally not. I'm sticking with Google. Un Android, you can open Chrome. You can tap the three dots in the upper right hand corner and then tap settings search Engine, and they give you a choice of Google, Yahoo, Bing, Yan Dex.

For every search I think they plant like a tree, or every ten searches whatever, they plant a tree. So it's like an Earth friendly search engine. Would you choose one of those over Google? I would personally not. I'm sticking with Google. Un Android, you can open Chrome. You can tap the three dots in the upper right hand corner and then tap settings search Engine, and they give you a choice of Google, Yahoo, Bing, Yan Dex.

What's yandex? Is that like the Russian one? I gotta see what that is? Yand dex. Yeah, I think that's the Russian search engine. Wow, I'm surprised that's a choice. And Duck duck go again. I'm not switching to any of those. I'm sticking to Google. That's why I like Chrome, That's why I use Google. Now where it gets interesting is, of course I'm using Google for search. But what am I using for AI? I'm not using Google majority of the time. What am I using I'm not even using chat GBT. I'm using something called Claude from Anthropic. I find it to be far superior to anything out there, especially when it comes to text.

What's yandex? Is that like the Russian one? I gotta see what that is? Yand dex. Yeah, I think that's the Russian search engine. Wow, I'm surprised that's a choice. And Duck duck go again. I'm not switching to any of those. I'm sticking to Google. That's why I like Chrome, That's why I use Google. Now where it gets interesting is, of course I'm using Google for search. But what am I using for AI? I'm not using Google majority of the time. What am I using I'm not even using chat GBT. I'm using something called Claude from Anthropic. I find it to be far superior to anything out there, especially when it comes to text.

Anyway, big news for Google this week. We will see what happens, any kind of punishment. It might take six months to a year to find out. And Google, of course disagrees with all of this, and they are appealing that ruling. All right, Coming up on today's show, another story about Google. They are killing Chrome casts after eleven years. It's not as crazy as it sounds, I'll explain. But first your turn, your calls coming up at eight eight eight rich one oh one. That's eight eight eight seven four to two four one zero one. My name is Rich Dmuro and you are listening to Rich on Tech. Welcome back to rich on Tech. Rich DeMuro here hanging out with you, talking technology at Triple eight. Rich one oh one. That's eight eight eight seven four four one zero one. Thanks for joining me today. I guess they're the ending the show early with this song.

Anyway, big news for Google this week. We will see what happens, any kind of punishment. It might take six months to a year to find out. And Google, of course disagrees with all of this, and they are appealing that ruling. All right, Coming up on today's show, another story about Google. They are killing Chrome casts after eleven years. It's not as crazy as it sounds, I'll explain. But first your turn, your calls coming up at eight eight eight rich one oh one. That's eight eight eight seven four to two four one zero one. My name is Rich Dmuro and you are listening to Rich on Tech. Welcome back to rich on Tech. Rich DeMuro here hanging out with you, talking technology at Triple eight. Rich one oh one. That's eight eight eight seven four four one zero one. Thanks for joining me today. I guess they're the ending the show early with this song.

Now.

Now.

I'm just kidding, uh that the the intro was so bad that they're like, no more, no more, Rich, Uh No, I'm just kidding, but uh, it just goes to show that uh G O O G L E is always listening, so is s I R I and A L E X A. Who would have thought that you would need a degree in spelling to listen to a tech show, but these uh, you know, it's funny my uh my little uh what's it called a Google Home? That thing now when you look at it, it listens to you. And so every time you even go your eyes even go near the thing, it just starts like in listening mode. And my kid always walks by and he always says to to it. He says, why are you listening to me? Why are you listening?

I'm just kidding, uh that the the intro was so bad that they're like, no more, no more, Rich, Uh No, I'm just kidding, but uh, it just goes to show that uh G O O G L E is always listening, so is s I R I and A L E X A. Who would have thought that you would need a degree in spelling to listen to a tech show, but these uh, you know, it's funny my uh my little uh what's it called a Google Home? That thing now when you look at it, it listens to you. And so every time you even go your eyes even go near the thing, it just starts like in listening mode. And my kid always walks by and he always says to to it. He says, why are you listening to me? Why are you listening?

But it's just what these things want to do.

But it's just what these things want to do.

Uh eighty eight Rich one O one eight eight eight seven four two four one zero one the website for the show richon tech dot TV. Let's go to Adam in Orlando, Florida. Adam, you're on with Rich.

Uh eighty eight Rich one O one eight eight eight seven four two four one zero one the website for the show richon tech dot TV. Let's go to Adam in Orlando, Florida. Adam, you're on with Rich.

Hi, Rich, thank you for taking my call. I have a question about an older Samsung TV that I have. It's I think it was made in twenty seventeen or twenty eighteen. It's a smart TV. I can use Netflix and I'm and all the regular apps, but it has a problem with the paramount Plus app. And so I tried it on a newer TV that I have in another room, and the Paramount Plus app works fine. So I suspect it's my older TV that's having a problem with it, even though the other apps work fine. And I guess my question is I don't want to replace the TV because it only is not working with the Paramount Plus. But I'm wondering if there's a maybe a less expensive way of figuring out this problem, maybe a firestick. I don't want to use rokup. I don't have rokup, but I don't want to use it because I don't want to give them. I believe you have to use a credit card number to use the Roku and I don't want to do that, So I'm wondering what options you may be aware of.

Hi, Rich, thank you for taking my call. I have a question about an older Samsung TV that I have. It's I think it was made in twenty seventeen or twenty eighteen. It's a smart TV. I can use Netflix and I'm and all the regular apps, but it has a problem with the paramount Plus app. And so I tried it on a newer TV that I have in another room, and the Paramount Plus app works fine. So I suspect it's my older TV that's having a problem with it, even though the other apps work fine. And I guess my question is I don't want to replace the TV because it only is not working with the Paramount Plus. But I'm wondering if there's a maybe a less expensive way of figuring out this problem, maybe a firestick. I don't want to use rokup. I don't have rokup, but I don't want to use it because I don't want to give them. I believe you have to use a credit card number to use the Roku and I don't want to do that, So I'm wondering what options you may be aware of.

Okay, Well, first off, yeah, I mean number one. I'm looking at the paramount plus support site and it does say paramount plus works on twenty seventeen Samsung TVs and newer running ties in so that sounds like your set would fit that bill. So I would try to troubleshoot this and get this thing working. I will tell you this, in my experience, paramount Plus has the worst app of any streaming service out there. I have the most issues with it. It does not work half the time, I can't get it to download to my devices, and it's just overall really really poorly done. It stutters, it's just not good. So with that said, once you get it up and running, it's still not that greade of an experience. But I think your model number is on the CUSP pure so it may just be that it's fallen off support. But it does say twenty seventeen models a newer it does not give a specific model number for that Samsung TV. So with that said, what I would do before you go trying something else, I would uninstall this app and then I would as much as you can update any sort of operating system on that Samsung TV. I would restart the TV, do like a nice restart where you go into settings and restart it, not just you know, turning it off and on, and then I would install this app again and log in again and see if it works. Then now, if none of that gets it to work, then I would look into an alternative, and I think the alternative is number one. Typically these TVs have casting built in, so I would just download the Paramount Plus app on your phone and past the picture to the TV. And usually all you have to do is download the app, make sure your phone is on the same Wi Fi network as the TV, and even if you have an iPhone, it should work. To cast this into the Samsung TV as well. You may have to put the Samsung TV. You may have to turn on that feature just to get that to work, but that's probably the simplest and easiest way. The only downside of that is that you're going to be controlling everything from your phone and not from the TV screen itself. But that's an easy way to continue using your TV the way you typically do. Just when you want to watch something on Paramount you've got to stream it. And keep in mind, even if it's coming from your phone, it's not actually streaming the show from your phone. Your phone is just acting as a remote control for the TV, and on the back end, your TV is just calling up that live stream or whatever that stream is and streaming it from its own data and all that stuff.

Okay, Well, first off, yeah, I mean number one. I'm looking at the paramount plus support site and it does say paramount plus works on twenty seventeen Samsung TVs and newer running ties in so that sounds like your set would fit that bill. So I would try to troubleshoot this and get this thing working. I will tell you this, in my experience, paramount Plus has the worst app of any streaming service out there. I have the most issues with it. It does not work half the time, I can't get it to download to my devices, and it's just overall really really poorly done. It stutters, it's just not good. So with that said, once you get it up and running, it's still not that greade of an experience. But I think your model number is on the CUSP pure so it may just be that it's fallen off support. But it does say twenty seventeen models a newer it does not give a specific model number for that Samsung TV. So with that said, what I would do before you go trying something else, I would uninstall this app and then I would as much as you can update any sort of operating system on that Samsung TV. I would restart the TV, do like a nice restart where you go into settings and restart it, not just you know, turning it off and on, and then I would install this app again and log in again and see if it works. Then now, if none of that gets it to work, then I would look into an alternative, and I think the alternative is number one. Typically these TVs have casting built in, so I would just download the Paramount Plus app on your phone and past the picture to the TV. And usually all you have to do is download the app, make sure your phone is on the same Wi Fi network as the TV, and even if you have an iPhone, it should work. To cast this into the Samsung TV as well. You may have to put the Samsung TV. You may have to turn on that feature just to get that to work, but that's probably the simplest and easiest way. The only downside of that is that you're going to be controlling everything from your phone and not from the TV screen itself. But that's an easy way to continue using your TV the way you typically do. Just when you want to watch something on Paramount you've got to stream it. And keep in mind, even if it's coming from your phone, it's not actually streaming the show from your phone. Your phone is just acting as a remote control for the TV, and on the back end, your TV is just calling up that live stream or whatever that stream is and streaming it from its own data and all that stuff.

So that's number one.

So that's number one.

The other way is if you already have the Roku and you want to use that. Yes, I do believe that Roku requires some sort of level of payment information if you want to set up an account. These days, it's been a while since I did that. I think some people are grandfathered in, but they may require that. You could use an account like privacy dot com, so that could shield your credit card number. You could just use like a one time credit card or a virtual card number. Your bank might offer that, and that way they can't actually charge you for anything. So you can sign up for the account. They might authorize it for a dollar just to make sure that card works, and then you could just get rid of that card or pause it, and that way you never get charged. So that's another way. But I think the easiest way if you want to is just upgrade this old TV with a with a stick. The fire TV stick, like you mentioned, I think is probably going to be the cheapest and the easiest, and it does support all of these different apps, all of the main apps these days. Adam and Orlando, thanks so much for the call. Eight eight eight rich one oh one eight eight eight seven four to two four one zero one. Coming up, I'll tell you why Google is killing Chrome Cast. Welcome back to rich on Tech. Rich Demiro here hanging out with you talking technology at Triple A Rich one oh one. That's eight eight eight seven four to two four one zero one. The website for the show rich on Tech dot TV. All of the songs today you really liked last week when my mom chose all the songs. My mom is still in town and I said, Mom, you gotta do it again. People liked your eclectics taste in songs, and so she did. She came up with this list of songs and hand wrote it once again. And I think they're pretty good. So that was gosh, that was from a while ago. Aerosmith. Don't want to miss a thing. So speaking to my mom whenever she comes into town, we are pretty much we're like tourists in our own town, which I always it's fun when people come to town because you end up doing things you wouldn't typically do, and so it's always nice. And by the way, she watches my kids without any sort of asking. She'll just be like, go out, go, go go, and so we get to do that as well, which is kind of nice. But my kid has been begging me to play this song that he wrote about my mom, and he made it on his iPad. You know, my kids, I've got two kids ten and just turned thirteen. And when I tell you, they are so ahead of where we were when we were kids, it is incredible and it gives me a lot of faith for the future because these kids are so advanced that when I was a kid, you know, I was playing with dirt and worms and you know, just hanging out in the backyard. These kids, I mean, my kids are literally like hacking on computers, like just kidding, but they want to. I mean, they're literally they're so curious. Anyway, So my kid made this song called Grandma d on an an app called band Lab on his iPad. So take a listen question. Then you found a little home, sit a little hope here. I think he's just yelling.

The other way is if you already have the Roku and you want to use that. Yes, I do believe that Roku requires some sort of level of payment information if you want to set up an account. These days, it's been a while since I did that. I think some people are grandfathered in, but they may require that. You could use an account like privacy dot com, so that could shield your credit card number. You could just use like a one time credit card or a virtual card number. Your bank might offer that, and that way they can't actually charge you for anything. So you can sign up for the account. They might authorize it for a dollar just to make sure that card works, and then you could just get rid of that card or pause it, and that way you never get charged. So that's another way. But I think the easiest way if you want to is just upgrade this old TV with a with a stick. The fire TV stick, like you mentioned, I think is probably going to be the cheapest and the easiest, and it does support all of these different apps, all of the main apps these days. Adam and Orlando, thanks so much for the call. Eight eight eight rich one oh one eight eight eight seven four to two four one zero one. Coming up, I'll tell you why Google is killing Chrome Cast. Welcome back to rich on Tech. Rich Demiro here hanging out with you talking technology at Triple A Rich one oh one. That's eight eight eight seven four to two four one zero one. The website for the show rich on Tech dot TV. All of the songs today you really liked last week when my mom chose all the songs. My mom is still in town and I said, Mom, you gotta do it again. People liked your eclectics taste in songs, and so she did. She came up with this list of songs and hand wrote it once again. And I think they're pretty good. So that was gosh, that was from a while ago. Aerosmith. Don't want to miss a thing. So speaking to my mom whenever she comes into town, we are pretty much we're like tourists in our own town, which I always it's fun when people come to town because you end up doing things you wouldn't typically do, and so it's always nice. And by the way, she watches my kids without any sort of asking. She'll just be like, go out, go, go go, and so we get to do that as well, which is kind of nice. But my kid has been begging me to play this song that he wrote about my mom, and he made it on his iPad. You know, my kids, I've got two kids ten and just turned thirteen. And when I tell you, they are so ahead of where we were when we were kids, it is incredible and it gives me a lot of faith for the future because these kids are so advanced that when I was a kid, you know, I was playing with dirt and worms and you know, just hanging out in the backyard. These kids, I mean, my kids are literally like hacking on computers, like just kidding, but they want to. I mean, they're literally they're so curious. Anyway, So my kid made this song called Grandma d on an an app called band Lab on his iPad. So take a listen question. Then you found a little home, sit a little hope here. I think he's just yelling.

I missed that last.

I missed that last.

Line anyway, So you got Grandma d this is my my ten year old I haven't listened to this, okay anyway, So Tanner, there you go. There's your song that you want me to play on the radio. Eighty day eight rich one oh one eight eight eight seven four to two four one zero one. Uh, clearly use a little bit of auto tune there. But again, Uh, it's just incredible what you can do with apps on your iPad. The stuff that I see my kids do and create, I mean, being a creator now compared to when I was coming up through the world, it is just incredible. I mean, I paid today to buy capcut, which uh is TikTok's editing program, And I mean, it's just incredible what you can do on your phone with a mobile editing program. I grew up editing on tape to tape, three quarter inch tape to three quarter inch tape. Then eventually we got to VHS, and then eventually we got to digital. And now you are shooting on your phone using a microphone that is connected to your phone wirelessly, and you can make an entire video and then you can by the way put the captions on you can it's just quite quite incredible. So I am very impressed with what we are able to do nowadays. Speaking of apps, one of my favorite apps got a big update this week.

Line anyway, So you got Grandma d this is my my ten year old I haven't listened to this, okay anyway, So Tanner, there you go. There's your song that you want me to play on the radio. Eighty day eight rich one oh one eight eight eight seven four to two four one zero one. Uh, clearly use a little bit of auto tune there. But again, Uh, it's just incredible what you can do with apps on your iPad. The stuff that I see my kids do and create, I mean, being a creator now compared to when I was coming up through the world, it is just incredible. I mean, I paid today to buy capcut, which uh is TikTok's editing program, And I mean, it's just incredible what you can do on your phone with a mobile editing program. I grew up editing on tape to tape, three quarter inch tape to three quarter inch tape. Then eventually we got to VHS, and then eventually we got to digital. And now you are shooting on your phone using a microphone that is connected to your phone wirelessly, and you can make an entire video and then you can by the way put the captions on you can it's just quite quite incredible. So I am very impressed with what we are able to do nowadays. Speaking of apps, one of my favorite apps got a big update this week.

It's called Flighty.

It's called Flighty.

You've probably heard me talk about it before if you've ever listened to me for more than a minute. But this is one of my all time favorite apps. But just to give you an example of how tough it is, even when I tell people how great things are, they still don't necessarily do it. So, for instance, I always tell people you got to use a password manager, you got to turn on two factor authentication, And nine times out of ten, when someone emails me and says they were hacked, I said, well did you have the No, I didn't do that.

You've probably heard me talk about it before if you've ever listened to me for more than a minute. But this is one of my all time favorite apps. But just to give you an example of how tough it is, even when I tell people how great things are, they still don't necessarily do it. So, for instance, I always tell people you got to use a password manager, you got to turn on two factor authentication, And nine times out of ten, when someone emails me and says they were hacked, I said, well did you have the No, I didn't do that.

Okay, Well I get it. It's tough.

Okay, Well I get it. It's tough.

I know it's a little bit more work, but please do these things that I mention my sister she was flying and I said, oh, you gotta download Flighty, and she goes, what does it do that my airline app doesn't do?

I know it's a little bit more work, but please do these things that I mention my sister she was flying and I said, oh, you gotta download Flighty, and she goes, what does it do that my airline app doesn't do?

And I'm like, okay, fair enough.

And I'm like, okay, fair enough.

Yes you can track using your airline app, but this is just so much more beautiful and it's not airline specific, and it's just really cool. So the main thing that they did this week they updated it to tell you about flight delays before your airline tells you. So they're now using machine learning AI to forecast delays up to six hours in advance, so before you even leave your house, it might be able to tell you that, hey, your flight's going to be delayed. Now what you do with that information is up to you. Are you going to stay home?

Yes you can track using your airline app, but this is just so much more beautiful and it's not airline specific, and it's just really cool. So the main thing that they did this week they updated it to tell you about flight delays before your airline tells you. So they're now using machine learning AI to forecast delays up to six hours in advance, so before you even leave your house, it might be able to tell you that, hey, your flight's going to be delayed. Now what you do with that information is up to you. Are you going to stay home?

I don't know.

I don't know.

It depends on how seasoned of a traveler you are, But I think where this really comes in handy is when you might need to rebook a flight or change your flight preemptively because you know you're going to miss your connection or whatever because it's going to be late. So they claim up to ninety five percent accuracy. How are they doing this? They are looking at whether they're looking at airport issues, special events, happening, live performance, airport performance trends, FAA and euro controlled data for air traffic controls. I mean they're looking at a whole bunch of stuff, feeding that all into their AI and then coming up with this information. Now, if you're not familiar with FLIGHTY in general, it is just a fantastic way to track your flights. You pop your flight number in there, it lives on your device. It finds all the information. What I particularly like is it tells you how old the airplane is, which is kind of fun because you're like, oh, and it not only tells you how old the plane is, it now tells you the name of the airplane. So Jet Blue and these other smaller airlines they like to have fun names for the aircraft, so they'll show you that. It also tells you if you've ever been on that route before before, how many times you've been on that route, and if you've ever been on that specific aircraft. I mean, it's really quite incredible. It gives you a list of all the different flights that you've been on in the past. You can share your flight information with a friend, you can share it to your social media, and it's just it's so beautifully done that I keep telling the developer, I said, can you please make this for Android as well? So Android folks can enjoy this beautiful flight tracking app. And they're just doing so well on iPhone that they just they don't even have they're just not considering it Android right now. But last he said maybe a couple of years, but that is part of their paid they do have like a pro which is four dollars a week or forty eight dollars a year. Right now, this works on iPhone only if you are Android and you want something. The closest I've found is an app called App in the Air and that's but again not as beautiful, not as well designed. The notifications don't come in as fast, but it is it is a nice app to have. So again, if you're flying a lot, you know, these apps really do help, so check it out, Flighty.

It depends on how seasoned of a traveler you are, But I think where this really comes in handy is when you might need to rebook a flight or change your flight preemptively because you know you're going to miss your connection or whatever because it's going to be late. So they claim up to ninety five percent accuracy. How are they doing this? They are looking at whether they're looking at airport issues, special events, happening, live performance, airport performance trends, FAA and euro controlled data for air traffic controls. I mean they're looking at a whole bunch of stuff, feeding that all into their AI and then coming up with this information. Now, if you're not familiar with FLIGHTY in general, it is just a fantastic way to track your flights. You pop your flight number in there, it lives on your device. It finds all the information. What I particularly like is it tells you how old the airplane is, which is kind of fun because you're like, oh, and it not only tells you how old the plane is, it now tells you the name of the airplane. So Jet Blue and these other smaller airlines they like to have fun names for the aircraft, so they'll show you that. It also tells you if you've ever been on that route before before, how many times you've been on that route, and if you've ever been on that specific aircraft. I mean, it's really quite incredible. It gives you a list of all the different flights that you've been on in the past. You can share your flight information with a friend, you can share it to your social media, and it's just it's so beautifully done that I keep telling the developer, I said, can you please make this for Android as well? So Android folks can enjoy this beautiful flight tracking app. And they're just doing so well on iPhone that they just they don't even have they're just not considering it Android right now. But last he said maybe a couple of years, but that is part of their paid they do have like a pro which is four dollars a week or forty eight dollars a year. Right now, this works on iPhone only if you are Android and you want something. The closest I've found is an app called App in the Air and that's but again not as beautiful, not as well designed. The notifications don't come in as fast, but it is it is a nice app to have. So again, if you're flying a lot, you know, these apps really do help, so check it out, Flighty.

I'll put a link on the website. Rich on tech dot tv.

I'll put a link on the website. Rich on tech dot tv.

Also this week, you might have gotten an email from Cash App saying you're eligible for a settlement. This is related to a data breach in twenty twenty two and twenty twenty three. Is a fifteen million dollars settlement. Eligible class members are current and former Cash app customers that were affected between August twenty third, twenty eighteen, and August twentieth, twenty twenty four. So you use the Cash app in those years, you may get up to twenty five hundred dollars for documented losses related to the data breach. So this is not one of those things where you just get money because you're using the app. I've been using cash App since day one. I did not get an email about this, so I'm curious what makes you qualify For the email from them, maybe they know that your information was out there and you had some sort of loss. But the compensation will cover credit costs, bank fees, travel expenses, and up to three hours of lost time at twenty five dollars an hour, so that you could probably claim without sort of any receipts or anything. Say, yeah, this cost me a couple hours surfing the web seventy five bucks. I mean, if you're eligible, you might as well claim. For filing is November eighteenth, twenty twenty four. You do have to have documentation of losses, so again this is not one of those like automatic things. But if you get an email, and again be careful because what happens is this is real. But scammers will capitalize on this, and so they will email you saying, hey, use the cash app here claim your money. So don't just like start typing in your information when you get something like that. Go to the official website Cashappsecuritysettlement dot com Cashappsecurity Settlement dot com. That is the official website and you can see more information about this. But again, fifteen million dollars settlement for cash App for data breaches in twenty twenty two and twenty twenty three. All right, eight eight eight rich one O one eight eight eight seven four to two four one zero one. Coming up on the show, I'm going to tell you about Samsung. They're announcing a recall. If you have a stove from them, you might want to hear this because they're recalling over a million stoves. And the website for the show rich on Tech dot tv. Can find me online on social media at rich on Tech. And coming up later, I'm gonna have a guest that's going to tell you how you can plan your travel with your points. You are listening to Rich on Tech. Welcome back to rich on Tech. Rich Miro here hanging out with you talking technology at triple eight rich one oh one. That's eight eight eight seven four to two four one zero one. Let's go to Paul in Columbus, Ohio. Paul, you're on with rich.

Also this week, you might have gotten an email from Cash App saying you're eligible for a settlement. This is related to a data breach in twenty twenty two and twenty twenty three. Is a fifteen million dollars settlement. Eligible class members are current and former Cash app customers that were affected between August twenty third, twenty eighteen, and August twentieth, twenty twenty four. So you use the Cash app in those years, you may get up to twenty five hundred dollars for documented losses related to the data breach. So this is not one of those things where you just get money because you're using the app. I've been using cash App since day one. I did not get an email about this, so I'm curious what makes you qualify For the email from them, maybe they know that your information was out there and you had some sort of loss. But the compensation will cover credit costs, bank fees, travel expenses, and up to three hours of lost time at twenty five dollars an hour, so that you could probably claim without sort of any receipts or anything. Say, yeah, this cost me a couple hours surfing the web seventy five bucks. I mean, if you're eligible, you might as well claim. For filing is November eighteenth, twenty twenty four. You do have to have documentation of losses, so again this is not one of those like automatic things. But if you get an email, and again be careful because what happens is this is real. But scammers will capitalize on this, and so they will email you saying, hey, use the cash app here claim your money. So don't just like start typing in your information when you get something like that. Go to the official website Cashappsecuritysettlement dot com Cashappsecurity Settlement dot com. That is the official website and you can see more information about this. But again, fifteen million dollars settlement for cash App for data breaches in twenty twenty two and twenty twenty three. All right, eight eight eight rich one O one eight eight eight seven four to two four one zero one. Coming up on the show, I'm going to tell you about Samsung. They're announcing a recall. If you have a stove from them, you might want to hear this because they're recalling over a million stoves. And the website for the show rich on Tech dot tv. Can find me online on social media at rich on Tech. And coming up later, I'm gonna have a guest that's going to tell you how you can plan your travel with your points. You are listening to Rich on Tech. Welcome back to rich on Tech. Rich Miro here hanging out with you talking technology at triple eight rich one oh one. That's eight eight eight seven four to two four one zero one. Let's go to Paul in Columbus, Ohio. Paul, you're on with rich.

Very great, Rich. Thanks, how you're doing today?

Very great, Rich. Thanks, how you're doing today?

I am doing fantastic. Welcome to the show.

I am doing fantastic. Welcome to the show.

Good thank you.

Good thank you.

Okay, I've got an older iMac the Night twenty fifteen model as a twenty seven inch great screen, and all won't be able to use it anymore. But bottom line, it's kind of pooping out. Wanted to consider another Mac, but concerned about.

Okay, I've got an older iMac the Night twenty fifteen model as a twenty seven inch great screen, and all won't be able to use it anymore. But bottom line, it's kind of pooping out. Wanted to consider another Mac, but concerned about.

The ability to run Windows. I know right now the only way you can do it is with Parallels, which isn't the most economical way. But is there anything coming down the line where we'd be able to with the newer M chips be able to run Windows?

The ability to run Windows. I know right now the only way you can do it is with Parallels, which isn't the most economical way. But is there anything coming down the line where we'd be able to with the newer M chips be able to run Windows?

Great question? Yeah, so I know I was. Let's see.

Great question? Yeah, so I know I was. Let's see.

So boot Camp is what Apple offers for free to install Windows on Mac computers, but like you said, that only works on the old Intel based computers. I don't see anything on their website about the you know, the new Apple Silicon, so like the M chips. Basically, let's see if they say anything about that. Yeah, I don't see anything about that, so it doesn't seem like they're bringing that back anytime soon. So, yes, you would need an older computer to do it that way. And you also mentioned Parallels, which of course is a very popular way to run Windows on a Mac computer virtually, But have you heard of VMware Fusion Pro. So I actually mentioned this on the show. I think, gosh, it might have been a couple of months ago, but they made this free. So this is a program that's typically two hundred dollars, and if you're using it for personal use, you can download this for free and emulate Windows on your Mac computer. So that would probably work for you. And it does work on the the M class chips, so I think that's probably your best bet, Paul, is to download this program if you get a new computer. Ironically or incidentally, I literally just got a new MacBook today using it for the first time. I had the old not old, it was only a year old or two years old, but it was the MacBook Pro and I bought the thirteen inch and it was just I could not deal with the screen size.

So boot Camp is what Apple offers for free to install Windows on Mac computers, but like you said, that only works on the old Intel based computers. I don't see anything on their website about the you know, the new Apple Silicon, so like the M chips. Basically, let's see if they say anything about that. Yeah, I don't see anything about that, so it doesn't seem like they're bringing that back anytime soon. So, yes, you would need an older computer to do it that way. And you also mentioned Parallels, which of course is a very popular way to run Windows on a Mac computer virtually, But have you heard of VMware Fusion Pro. So I actually mentioned this on the show. I think, gosh, it might have been a couple of months ago, but they made this free. So this is a program that's typically two hundred dollars, and if you're using it for personal use, you can download this for free and emulate Windows on your Mac computer. So that would probably work for you. And it does work on the the M class chips, so I think that's probably your best bet, Paul, is to download this program if you get a new computer. Ironically or incidentally, I literally just got a new MacBook today using it for the first time. I had the old not old, it was only a year old or two years old, but it was the MacBook Pro and I bought the thirteen inch and it was just I could not deal with the screen size.

It was so small.

It was so small.

And I put up with it, I think, for two years, and I finally said, Okay, I've got to get a fifteen inch MacBook Air. And because I wanted a lighter computer, you know, that's why I went, not with the sixteen inch Pro. But anyway, I got it today. I I could not be happier with it. It is incredible and I don't run Windows on it. But maybe I'll try it with this you know this Fusion Pro thirteen, but again VMware Fusion Pro thirteen it's free for personal use. Used to be one hundred and ninety nine bucks, and that would let you run the Windows on your new Mac computer even if it has the newer chip. And I highly recommend if you're going to get a Mac at this point, going with the newer chips because Apple has really outdone themselves with this. They have done just such a great job in optimizing those chips.

And I put up with it, I think, for two years, and I finally said, Okay, I've got to get a fifteen inch MacBook Air. And because I wanted a lighter computer, you know, that's why I went, not with the sixteen inch Pro. But anyway, I got it today. I I could not be happier with it. It is incredible and I don't run Windows on it. But maybe I'll try it with this you know this Fusion Pro thirteen, but again VMware Fusion Pro thirteen it's free for personal use. Used to be one hundred and ninety nine bucks, and that would let you run the Windows on your new Mac computer even if it has the newer chip. And I highly recommend if you're going to get a Mac at this point, going with the newer chips because Apple has really outdone themselves with this. They have done just such a great job in optimizing those chips.

So there you have it.

So there you have it.

Thanks for the call today from Columbus, Ohio. Appreciate it, and let's go to AJ in Los Angeles.

Thanks for the call today from Columbus, Ohio. Appreciate it, and let's go to AJ in Los Angeles.

You're on with Rich.

You're on with Rich.

Hey Jay Rich, good morning, how are you.

Hey Jay Rich, good morning, how are you.

I am doing well, Good morning.

I am doing well, Good morning.

Hi.

Hi.

Question.

Question.

I heard your little blurb about the app that allows you great editing on TikTok. I'm a former cio Cto Technology all my lives decades. Love it, love it, love it. But I'm wondering about your take on the security issues around the use of TikTok just in general. Have heard lots of you know, pro cons about it, but wondering what the latest and greatest is from your perspective.

I heard your little blurb about the app that allows you great editing on TikTok. I'm a former cio Cto Technology all my lives decades. Love it, love it, love it. But I'm wondering about your take on the security issues around the use of TikTok just in general. Have heard lots of you know, pro cons about it, but wondering what the latest and greatest is from your perspective.

All right, hold on, let me pour a drink here, let me turn on the fireplace. I gotta gotta get comfortable here in my lazy boy before I talk about this.

All right, hold on, let me pour a drink here, let me turn on the fireplace. I gotta gotta get comfortable here in my lazy boy before I talk about this.

I totally yeah, you know, it's funny.

I totally yeah, you know, it's funny.

I knew when I mentioned that that there would be some people like raising an eyebrow, be like interesting.

I knew when I mentioned that that there would be some people like raising an eyebrow, be like interesting.

So I'll start with this.

So I'll start with this.

Number one. I do not have TikTok on my phone. I think TikTok is pretty horrible. And it's not because of the data. It's actually because of what you see on there. And you know, for me, as a journalist, I deal in facts and I deal in stuff that when I put something on social media, I have fact check it. I fact checked it, I have vetted it. I have made sure that what I'm telling people is right and is truthful. And I feel like all of that is thrown away on TikTok. And not just that when you start watching something on TikTok, what does it do? It puts you down a rabbit hole of that exact content over and over in a thousand different ways. Not to mention that I just can't stand poor, poor quality of videos where people you know they do these things where they hold the microphone in front of their mouth. For some reason, I don't understand that they put the screen screen where it's like not fully green screened out. I don't understand that. Maybe I'm just old and curmudgeonly and I, you know, don't really know what the kids are doing on there. But my concerns with it is more that now, when it comes to data, I think that there is a lot of people out there concerned with how TikTok is using their data. And of course what I was talking about, which is cap cut, the most popular editing app on mobile, and it also has a desktop version as well. And I would be lying if when I installed a cap cut on my old computer, I did not think about the rampifications of China perhaps having some sort of access to data on my computer. And I'll be honest, I did not install it on my new desktop when I got it, because I said, you know what, I feel comfortable with it on my phone. And I'll tell you why I feel comfortable with TikTok and even cap cut on my phone. It's because Apple is the one that is allowing that app on the phone, and Apple does not fool around with privacy and safety and security. So the information that TikTok can gather from your smartphone, and I'm talking iPhone only at this point is limited to what Apple allows every other app in the world to collect. So can they get the information and the maximum information they want out of there, Absolutely, but it's limited by what Apple does. And Apple has done a great thing with iOS where they put everything in these little compartments, and apps are not necessarily allowed to snoop those different compartments. So I do think that a lot of the privacy claims are they're way over sold. When it comes to TikTok Now and Android, I think there's a little bit more concern because the Android operating system does have a little bit more freedom with the apps to kind of snoop around in things that's getting closed up as well.

Number one. I do not have TikTok on my phone. I think TikTok is pretty horrible. And it's not because of the data. It's actually because of what you see on there. And you know, for me, as a journalist, I deal in facts and I deal in stuff that when I put something on social media, I have fact check it. I fact checked it, I have vetted it. I have made sure that what I'm telling people is right and is truthful. And I feel like all of that is thrown away on TikTok. And not just that when you start watching something on TikTok, what does it do? It puts you down a rabbit hole of that exact content over and over in a thousand different ways. Not to mention that I just can't stand poor, poor quality of videos where people you know they do these things where they hold the microphone in front of their mouth. For some reason, I don't understand that they put the screen screen where it's like not fully green screened out. I don't understand that. Maybe I'm just old and curmudgeonly and I, you know, don't really know what the kids are doing on there. But my concerns with it is more that now, when it comes to data, I think that there is a lot of people out there concerned with how TikTok is using their data. And of course what I was talking about, which is cap cut, the most popular editing app on mobile, and it also has a desktop version as well. And I would be lying if when I installed a cap cut on my old computer, I did not think about the rampifications of China perhaps having some sort of access to data on my computer. And I'll be honest, I did not install it on my new desktop when I got it, because I said, you know what, I feel comfortable with it on my phone. And I'll tell you why I feel comfortable with TikTok and even cap cut on my phone. It's because Apple is the one that is allowing that app on the phone, and Apple does not fool around with privacy and safety and security. So the information that TikTok can gather from your smartphone, and I'm talking iPhone only at this point is limited to what Apple allows every other app in the world to collect. So can they get the information and the maximum information they want out of there, Absolutely, but it's limited by what Apple does. And Apple has done a great thing with iOS where they put everything in these little compartments, and apps are not necessarily allowed to snoop those different compartments. So I do think that a lot of the privacy claims are they're way over sold. When it comes to TikTok Now and Android, I think there's a little bit more concern because the Android operating system does have a little bit more freedom with the apps to kind of snoop around in things that's getting closed up as well.

I think Google is doing a much better job.

I think Google is doing a much better job.

But what I think is everything comes down to what you're comfortable with and the information you're giving out. So I think that you need to be careful with any app and anytime you're sharing personal information. Does TikTok have the location of every person that's using the app? Probably are they collecting data on their web surfing habits and things like that. Yeah, if you give them access to that, But I don't think it goes above and beyond what other apps are collecting. But I think, no matter what, you have to remain critical about any time you are installing an app, and anytime you're giving your information anywhere, whether it's on your phone, the web, and no matter what you're doing. Thanks for the call, Aja, Do you appreciate you listening? This is rich on Tech. Welcome back to rich on Tech. Rich DeMuro here hanging out with you, talking technology at Triple eight Rich one oh one. That's eight eight eight seven four to two four one zero one. The website for the show rich on Tech dot TV. There you can get my newsletter. There's a new issue today packed with all kinds of good information. Uh, just looking at some of the feedback so far on the show. We got an email from Gary in Burbank. He said the Flighty app is now also available on Android.

But what I think is everything comes down to what you're comfortable with and the information you're giving out. So I think that you need to be careful with any app and anytime you're sharing personal information. Does TikTok have the location of every person that's using the app? Probably are they collecting data on their web surfing habits and things like that. Yeah, if you give them access to that, But I don't think it goes above and beyond what other apps are collecting. But I think, no matter what, you have to remain critical about any time you are installing an app, and anytime you're giving your information anywhere, whether it's on your phone, the web, and no matter what you're doing. Thanks for the call, Aja, Do you appreciate you listening? This is rich on Tech. Welcome back to rich on Tech. Rich DeMuro here hanging out with you, talking technology at Triple eight Rich one oh one. That's eight eight eight seven four to two four one zero one. The website for the show rich on Tech dot TV. There you can get my newsletter. There's a new issue today packed with all kinds of good information. Uh, just looking at some of the feedback so far on the show. We got an email from Gary in Burbank. He said the Flighty app is now also available on Android.

Check it out.

Check it out.

He searched the playstore and sure enough, if you do search the Playstore for flight Y, there is an app. It says Flighty app flight tracker with five thousand downloads. Do not download that. Well, I mean unless you want that app. But that is not the app I'm talking about. And in fact, it looks like a third grader made this app and just they're playing on the name. So they're playing on the fact that you are searching for Flighty and it's not in it and it comes up as this that's not the same app. So let's see do they have any other apps? Now they have a couple apps, but yeah, so it's only got five thousand downloads. Flighty is not available for Android. I'm looking on the website right now, the official website flightyapp dot com. Be careful, you got it. This is one of the biggest issues with app names is that there are so many companies that prey upon people just searching and using you know, the name and or a variation of the name, or they use a sponsored ad with the name, and it's just you got to be very very careful. That's why I always try to give like official links for things. Over on Twitter, David said, I just got a new Roku device two weeks ago, no credit card needed, so do a little searching online and it seems like it's kind of a debate of whether you can set up a Roku account with a credit card or not. One of the posts I saw said that you can skip it at the bottom of the screen. It's got like a tiny little thing where you can bypass the credit card. Back in twenty twenty, someone posted a link to a forum for Roku where if you go into myrocud my dot Roku dot com slash sign up slash no CC, it will apparently not ask you for the credit card. So I don't know if that's true or not, but there you go. So kind of divided on that. But all these companies, you know, nowadays, all these companies want a credit card because they want you. They want to be able to make the purchase process as seamless as possible. They want you to say, oh, I want to rent a movie, and next thing you know, oh, I already have my credit card in there. Cool, I'll just rent it other than trying to find your card and input it at that time, And that gives you time to think and then you say never mind. Jay wrote in said, my Samsung phone fell in water. Is now done? Can I recycle it best Buy? Since I cannot reset it to factory setting. Is it possible for someone to access the data or is there any other option? Thanks, you could recycle it best buy. Best Buy says, and you can go to best Buy or Staples and recycle this. They both say that they dispose of these things properly, so you know, that means that they're not supposed to have their employees kind of looking at these things. And you know, and everyone I've talked to that recycles electronics, like the companies, if they're reputable, they go through and they make sure that these things are wiped before they actually recycle them, so you can feel comfortable. I mean, it's really how comfortable you feel with putting this phone. If it does indeed have all of your data, then you know there is a risk. But the reality is your phone is probably protected with a passcode, so I think that even if someone got access to this phone, they would likely not get access to your information. So what they're going to do is when they get this phone, they're going to test it. They're going to see if it turns on. If it doesn't, then they're just gonna scrap it for parts. If it does, they're gonna put it on a machine that's gonna wipe it clean and then sort of get it set up again for recycling or for resale or whatever they do with these things. Sometimes they sell them, sometimes they scrap them, sometimes they get the little parts out of them. But I think you should be comfortable bringing it to Best Buy because they do pledge that they recycle these things in a safe manner.

He searched the playstore and sure enough, if you do search the Playstore for flight Y, there is an app. It says Flighty app flight tracker with five thousand downloads. Do not download that. Well, I mean unless you want that app. But that is not the app I'm talking about. And in fact, it looks like a third grader made this app and just they're playing on the name. So they're playing on the fact that you are searching for Flighty and it's not in it and it comes up as this that's not the same app. So let's see do they have any other apps? Now they have a couple apps, but yeah, so it's only got five thousand downloads. Flighty is not available for Android. I'm looking on the website right now, the official website flightyapp dot com. Be careful, you got it. This is one of the biggest issues with app names is that there are so many companies that prey upon people just searching and using you know, the name and or a variation of the name, or they use a sponsored ad with the name, and it's just you got to be very very careful. That's why I always try to give like official links for things. Over on Twitter, David said, I just got a new Roku device two weeks ago, no credit card needed, so do a little searching online and it seems like it's kind of a debate of whether you can set up a Roku account with a credit card or not. One of the posts I saw said that you can skip it at the bottom of the screen. It's got like a tiny little thing where you can bypass the credit card. Back in twenty twenty, someone posted a link to a forum for Roku where if you go into myrocud my dot Roku dot com slash sign up slash no CC, it will apparently not ask you for the credit card. So I don't know if that's true or not, but there you go. So kind of divided on that. But all these companies, you know, nowadays, all these companies want a credit card because they want you. They want to be able to make the purchase process as seamless as possible. They want you to say, oh, I want to rent a movie, and next thing you know, oh, I already have my credit card in there. Cool, I'll just rent it other than trying to find your card and input it at that time, And that gives you time to think and then you say never mind. Jay wrote in said, my Samsung phone fell in water. Is now done? Can I recycle it best Buy? Since I cannot reset it to factory setting. Is it possible for someone to access the data or is there any other option? Thanks, you could recycle it best buy. Best Buy says, and you can go to best Buy or Staples and recycle this. They both say that they dispose of these things properly, so you know, that means that they're not supposed to have their employees kind of looking at these things. And you know, and everyone I've talked to that recycles electronics, like the companies, if they're reputable, they go through and they make sure that these things are wiped before they actually recycle them, so you can feel comfortable. I mean, it's really how comfortable you feel with putting this phone. If it does indeed have all of your data, then you know there is a risk. But the reality is your phone is probably protected with a passcode, so I think that even if someone got access to this phone, they would likely not get access to your information. So what they're going to do is when they get this phone, they're going to test it. They're going to see if it turns on. If it doesn't, then they're just gonna scrap it for parts. If it does, they're gonna put it on a machine that's gonna wipe it clean and then sort of get it set up again for recycling or for resale or whatever they do with these things. Sometimes they sell them, sometimes they scrap them, sometimes they get the little parts out of them. But I think you should be comfortable bringing it to Best Buy because they do pledge that they recycle these things in a safe manner.

So there you have it.

So there you have it.

Let's see Solomon says, I've searched for all of your links trying to find the website for cash App. Where do you post the links to your show notes? Yes, sorry, I didn't mention I typically mentioned where you can find the links for the show notes. It is rich on tech dot TV. You hit the light bulb up at the top of the page and that will bring you to the show wiki. And the show wiki is basically just a list of all of the previous shows by date. This is show number eighty four. Click that and that will give you a list to all the links in real time. So you specifically were looking for that cash app settlement link, it is. It is on there because I keep very good notes, So thank you for that. Eighty eight Rich one O one eight eight eight seven four to two four one zero one. Let's go to Michael in Huntington Beach.

Let's see Solomon says, I've searched for all of your links trying to find the website for cash App. Where do you post the links to your show notes? Yes, sorry, I didn't mention I typically mentioned where you can find the links for the show notes. It is rich on tech dot TV. You hit the light bulb up at the top of the page and that will bring you to the show wiki. And the show wiki is basically just a list of all of the previous shows by date. This is show number eighty four. Click that and that will give you a list to all the links in real time. So you specifically were looking for that cash app settlement link, it is. It is on there because I keep very good notes, So thank you for that. Eighty eight Rich one O one eight eight eight seven four to two four one zero one. Let's go to Michael in Huntington Beach.

Michael, you're on with.

Michael, you're on with.

Rich Hey, Rich Hey, I got a couple of problems with my almost new Samsung TV. It's the eight thousand series, is left twelve, three years old, and half of the screen is darker than the other half. And it started kind of noticeable, but it's like right smack down the middle on the left side where it's darker than the other half.