014 Rich on Tech Radio Show - April 8, 2023

Rich talked about his trip to Hawaii. You can see the highlights on his Instagram here.

Rich mentioned the Nintendo Game and Watch as a good alternative to phones and tablets for kids on vacation. Also, if they want iPad, Apple Arcade games are great since they don’t require an internet connection and there are no in-app purchases. You can usually find a deal for a few free months in the Target app or through Best Buy.

Rich noticed a lot of restaurants in Hawaii are using the Toast handheld tablet to take orders and process payment at the table, which is good for efficiency and security. Some restaurants are also printing QR codes on the bill which you can scan with your phone and pay via Apple Pay and Google Pay, which is also great when you just want to finalize your bill and be on your way fast.

Rich mentioned a few methods for finding things to do on your trip, including Yelp. He sorts by Most Reviewed to find the most popular places nearby but consider going to the second most popular place since the first might be slammed. On Google Maps, he likes to sort by top rated and narrow down by filters.

Instagram has a hidden feature for finding cool things to do. To find it, type in the city you’re visiting, then hit Search. Next hit Places, then tap the city name. Finally, hit the X and you can now see the most Instagrammed spots and sort by Restaurants, Cafes, Sights, Hotels, Parks and more.

Shirl called in and asked about how to improve her router security. Rich recommended being aware of the links she’s clicking on and watching out for phishing emails. If you really want hardware protection between you and the internet at large, look into a device like Firewalla.

John Simmons of Hyundai joined Rich to talk about the Ioniq 6 EV.

Eileen called in to ask if you can port landline numbers to a cellular service.

Rich talked about Google dropping support for Dropcam and Nest Secure in 2024. Rich recommended going with a service like SimpliSafe or Ring.

Rich mentioned that Disney+ with Ads is now available on Roku.

Kevin called in to ask how to get data off of old cell phones that he wants to donate or recycle.

Rich talked about the Western Digital MyCloud outage due to potential hacking… and explained how you might be able to use a feature called Local Access to enable local, direct access to files stored on the drive in the meantime.

Max called in and asked about how to go completely streaming but wants someone to do it for them. Rich recommended looking up in Yelp for a local tech support person.

Danny Mizrahi of Sunbird Messaging called in to explain how they're building an app that lets you iMessage on Android phones.

Ron called in and asked about CRM software for his small legal business. Rich recommended looking at offerings from Salesforce, Zoho, HubSpot and more. Rich mentioned his “vs” trick for Google searches. If you know one company and want to see the competitors start typing COMPANY NAME vs into Google and see what autocomplete brings up.

Best Buy is now offering gadget recycling boxes. Just order a small or medium box for $23 or $30, load it up with old gadgets, tablets, cords, keyboards and more and send it in. Rich also recommended Gizmogo.com to recycle old gadgets and Staples where you can bring items in for recycling.

Doug called in to vent about his internet service constantly being down. Rich recommended checking service outage pages and services including Down for Everyone or Just Me and Down Detector.

Rich talked about Walmart adding EV charging stations at locations nationwide by 2030.

Dan Ackerman, author of Tetris Effect, joined to talk Tetris movie on Apple TV +!

If you love Tetris, Dan recommended Lumines and Candy Crush.

Rich ran down some tips from the Better Business Bureau about how to do some digital spring cleaning.

Rich talked about how Google Flights now has a price protection guarantee. If the price of your booked flight goes lower, Google will pay you the difference. The catch is that the flight you book has to have the price protection badge.

Ruth wrote in and asked about how to protect her credit card from being hacked. Rich recommended using Tap to Pay when possible, protecting her card number by using one time virtual card numbers from her bank or a third party service like Privacy.com.

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