Podcasts about nest protect

On this week's show we discuss whether physical media is making a comeback and could a Bezel-less OLED be the future of large format TVs. We also read your emails and take a look at the week's news. News: Google kills off Nest Protect, partners with First Alert for new smart smoke detector Christie to collaborate with Dolby to develop the next generation of Dolby Vision laser projection systems YouTube Sees Record Viewing, Beats Disney in TV Viewing Share Other: 2025 Box-Office Aims To Hit $34 Billion Physical media is finally making a comeback, and here's the proof Despite a decline in overall physical media sales, which dipped below $1 billion in 2024, there are signs of resilience and growth in specific sectors. Major retailers like Best Buy and Target are phasing out physical media, but Sony's announcement of a new Blu-ray player, the UBP-X700/K, set for release in 2025, signals continued investment in the format. This player, while currently only available in Japan, supports 4K Blu-rays, which are region-free and growing in market share despite the higher cost compared to its predecessor. There is a niche but dedicated community keeping physical media alive, supported by boutique retailers like Criterion Collection and Arrow, which preserve films such as David Lynch's catalog, including the upcoming 4K release of Twin Peaks: Fire Walk With Me. Mainstream releases still often get physical versions, and affordable options abound online and in thrift stores, offering DVDs, Blu-rays, and 4K discs compatible with modern players. There are personal advantages of physical ownership, like better quality and reliability compared to streaming, which can be plagued by shifting availability and rising costs. While consoles may soon abandon disc drives and companies like LG have discontinued Blu-ray players, the 4K Blu-ray market is a bright spot, with growing demand evidenced by the sell-out of Oppenheimer's 4K release in 2023. The new Sony player supports Dolby Vision (though it requires manual toggling), enhancing the viewing experience over consoles like Xbox or PS5. The article concludes that 2025 is an opportune time to embrace physical media, especially for those frustrated with streaming, as it offers a tangible, cost-effective alternative with no risk of content disappearing—though it comes with minor inconveniences like disc-swapping for TV binges. The future remains uncertain, but the 4K sector offers hope for collectors. Full article here… Bezel-less tile OLED TVs could be the future of large-screen displays (from Tom's Guide) Samsung Display showcased a variety of innovative display technologies at MWC 2025, with a standout being their "bezel-less" OLED tile design. This concept involves combining smaller OLED panels, such as two 31.5-inch QD-OLED screens, to form larger displays with significantly reduced bezels—40% narrower than typical current market offerings. This makes the seams nearly invisible from a standard viewing distance, opening up possibilities for future OLED TV designs. The bezel-less OLED tiles could revolutionize large-screen TVs by improving portability and setup logistics. Unlike traditional massive TVs (e.g., 98- or 110-inch models), which are cumbersome and costly to ship and install, these tiles could be transported and assembled in smaller, manageable parts—ideal for urban dwellers in older buildings with limited access. Additionally, the design might simplify wall-mounting, potentially eliminating the need for complex mounts by allowing the tiles to sit flush against walls, reminiscent of concepts like Displace TV's suction-cup OLEDs. This technology could particularly enhance lifestyle TVs, such as Samsung's The Frame, by offering a sleek, frameless look that blends seamlessly into home decor. However, challenges remain—similar to MicroLED, the intricate engineering might make these TVs prohibitively expensive initially. While not yet ready for consumers, Samsung Display's tile concept hints at an exciting future for bigger, better, and more practical OLED TVs. Full article here… Let's Discuss Why This is a Good Thing: Easier Transport and Setup for Large TVs Simplified Wall-Mounting  Enhanced Design for Lifestyle TVs Scalability and Customization Improved Visual Experience Easier Transport and Setup for Large TVs The tiled OLED concept tackles the logistical nightmare of moving and installing massive TVs. By breaking a large display (like a 115-inch screen) into smaller, manageable pieces (e.g., two 31.5-inch QD-OLED panels), it becomes far more practical to transport and assemble. This is a game-changer for people in tricky living situations—like those in high-rise apartments with no elevators or tight staircases—where hauling a giant, crated TV is a non-starter. Instead of wrestling with one unwieldy unit, you'd handle smaller components, making setup less of a Herculean task. Simplified Wall-Mounting The ultra-thin, virtually bezel-less design hints at a future where wall-mounting could be a breeze. These tiles seem to sit flush against surfaces, potentially reducing or even eliminating the need for bulky wall mounts and toolkits. While it's not clear if they'd use something like suction cups (à la Displace TV) or another method, the streamlined look suggests a setup that's less about drilling and more about placement. This could make mounting a TV—especially over a fireplace or in tight spaces—more accessible and less intimidating. Enhanced Design for Lifestyle TVs The bezel-less tile concept aligns perfectly with the aesthetic goals of lifestyle TVs, like Samsung's The Frame. A flush, frameless display could elevate the “TV as art” vibe, blending seamlessly into home decor. You could even add a custom frame around the tiles if desired, keeping the versatility intact. This design flexibility could redefine how TVs integrate into living spaces, making them less of an obtrusive tech piece and more of a stylish feature. Scalability and Customization Tiling smaller OLED panels to create a larger screen opens up possibilities for scalable TV sizes. Want a 65-inch TV today but a 98-inch tomorrow? In theory, you could add more tiles. While this might not be fully practical yet, the modular nature suggests a future where screen size isn't fixed at purchase, offering a level of adaptability that current TVs lack. Improved Visual Experience Shrinking bezels by 40% compared to standard displays means the seams between tiles are nearly invisible at normal viewing distances. This creates a more immersive, uninterrupted picture—crucial for OLED's strengths like deep blacks and vibrant colors. It's a step toward making massive OLED screens feel cohesive rather than patchwork, enhancing the viewing experience for movies, gaming, or VR applications. It's Not All Good News: Cost and Accessibility Manufacturing and Durability Challenges Installation Complexity Wall-Mounting Uncertainties Potential Visual Trade-Offs Cost and Accessibility Complex engineering often leads to high costs. Much like MicroLED TVs, which are expensive due to their manufacturing processes, these bezel-less OLED tiles could follow a similar path. If they hit the market, they might be priced out of reach for the average consumer. Manufacturing and Durability Challenges Shrinking bezels by 40% and tiling multiple panels together sounds impressive, but it raises questions about production complexity and long-term durability. Seamlessly connecting 31.5-inch QD-OLED panels could introduce weak points where the tiles meet, potentially leading to issues like uneven wear, panel misalignment over time, or vulnerability to damage during transport or installation. The "bezel-less" claim might also exaggerate real-world performance if micro-gaps or seams remain faintly visible up close. Installation Complexity While the concept promises to simplify transporting and setting up XXL TVs by breaking them into smaller components, the assembly process could still be a hurdle. Consumers might need precise instructions—or even professional help—to align and connect the tiles perfectly. If the panels don't lock together intuitively or require specialized tools, the setup could negate some of the portability benefits, especially for less tech-savvy users. Wall-Mounting Uncertainties The idea of tiles sitting flush against the wall (possibly without traditional mounts) is appealing, but it's unclear how practical this would be. If Samsung Display isn't using suction cups like Displace TV, the attachment method remains a mystery. Adhesive solutions could damage walls or lose strength over time, while a lack of standard mounting hardware might make the TVs harder to secure safely, especially in homes with kids or pets. The "glued-on" aesthetic might also limit repositioning or removal flexibility. Potential Visual Trade-Offs Tiling multiple OLED panels could introduce subtle visual inconsistencies, such as slight color or brightness variations between tiles, especially as they age. While the bezels are minimized, any imperfections in alignment or panel uniformity might become noticeable during close viewing or in scenes with solid colors, detracting from the premium OLED experience consumers expect.

The Nest Protect is the single best piece of smart home hardware I've ever purchased. Not everything in your home would benefit from being connected, but smoke detectors really do.

The Metaverse Is Big Brother in Disguise: Freedom Meted Out by Technological Tyrants   By John W. Whitehead & Nisha Whitehead November 9, 2021 “The term metaverse, like the term meritocracy, was coined in a sci fi dystopia novel written as cautionary tale. Then techies took metaverse, and technocrats took meritocracy, and enthusiastically adopted what was meant to inspire horror.”—Antonio García Martínez Welcome to the Matrix (i.e. the metaverse), where reality is virtual, freedom is only as free as one's technological overlords allow, and artificial intelligence is slowly rendering humanity unnecessary, inferior and obsolete.   Mark Zuckerberg, the CEO of Facebook, sees this digital universe—the metaverse—as the next step in our evolutionary transformation from a human-driven society to a technological one.   Yet while Zuckerberg's vision for this digital frontier has been met with a certain degree of skepticism, the truth—as journalist Antonio García Martínez concludes—is that we're already living in the metaverse.   The metaverse is, in turn, a dystopian meritocracy, where freedom is a conditional construct based on one's worthiness and compliance.   In a meritocracy, rights are privileges, afforded to those who have earned them. There can be no tolerance for independence or individuality in a meritocracy, where political correctness is formalized, legalized and institutionalized. Likewise, there can be no true freedom when the ability to express oneself, move about, engage in commerce and function in society is predicated on the extent to which you're willing to “fit in.”   We are almost at that stage now. Consider that in our present virtue-signaling world where fascism disguises itself as tolerance, the only way to enjoy even a semblance of freedom is by opting to voluntarily censor yourself, comply, conform and march in lockstep with whatever prevailing views dominate.   Fail to do so—by daring to espouse “dangerous” ideas or support unpopular political movements—and you will find yourself shut out of commerce, employment, and society: Facebook will ban you, Twitter will shut you down, Instagram will de-platform you, and your employer will issue ultimatums that force you to choose between your so-called freedoms and economic survival.   This is exactly how Corporate America plans to groom us for a world in which “we the people” are unthinking, unresistant, slavishly obedient automatons in bondage to a Deep State policed by computer algorithms.   Science fiction has become fact.   Twenty-some years after the Wachowskis' iconic film, The Matrix, introduced us to a futuristic world in which humans exist in a computer-simulated non-reality powered by authoritarian machines—a world where the choice between existing in a denial-ridden virtual dream-state or facing up to the harsh, difficult realities of life comes down to a blue pill or a red pill—we stand at the precipice of a technologically-dominated matrix of our own making.   We are living the prequel to The Matrix with each passing day, falling further under the spell of technologically-driven virtual communities, virtual realities and virtual conveniences managed by artificially intelligent machines that are on a fast track to replacing human beings and eventually dominating every aspect of our lives.   In The Matrix, computer programmer Thomas Anderson a.k.a. hacker Neo is wakened from a virtual slumber by Morpheus, a freedom fighter seeking to liberate humanity from a lifelong hibernation state imposed by hyper-advanced artificial intelligence machines that rely on humans as an organic power source. With their minds plugged into a perfectly crafted virtual reality, few humans ever realize they are living in an artificial dream world.   Neo is given a choice: to take the red pill, wake up and join the resistance, or take the blue pill, remain asleep and serve as fodder for the powers-that-be.   Most people opt for the blue pill.   In our case, the blue pill—a one-way ticket to a life sentence in an electronic concentration camp—has been honey-coated to hide the bitter aftertaste, sold to us in the name of expediency and delivered by way of blazingly fast Internet, cell phone signals that never drop a call, thermostats that keep us at the perfect temperature without our having to raise a finger, and entertainment that can be simultaneously streamed to our TVs, tablets and cell phones.   Yet we are not merely in thrall with these technologies that were intended to make our lives easier. We have become enslaved by them.   Look around you. Everywhere you turn, people are so addicted to their internet-connected screen devices—smart phones, tablets, computers, televisions—that they can go for hours at a time submerged in a virtual world where human interaction is filtered through the medium of technology.   This is not freedom. This is not even progress.   This is technological tyranny and iron-fisted control delivered by way of the surveillance state, corporate giants such as Google and Facebook, and government spy agencies such as the National Security Agency.   So consumed are we with availing ourselves of all the latest technologies that we have spared barely a thought for the ramifications of our heedless, headlong stumble towards a world in which our abject reliance on internet-connected gadgets and gizmos is grooming us for a future in which freedom is an illusion.   Yet it's not just freedom that hangs in the balance. Humanity itself is on the line.   If ever Americans find themselves in bondage to technological tyrants, we will have only ourselves to blame for having forged the chains through our own lassitude, laziness and abject reliance on internet-connected gadgets and gizmos that render us wholly irrelevant.   Indeed, we're fast approaching Philip K. Dick's vision of the future as depicted in the film Minority Report. There, police agencies apprehend criminals before they can commit a crime, driverless cars populate the highways, and a person's biometrics are constantly scanned and used to track their movements, target them for advertising, and keep them under perpetual surveillance. Cue the dawning of the Age of the Internet of Things (IoT), in which internet-connected “things” monitor your home, your health and your habits in order to keep your pantry stocked, your utilities regulated and your life under control and relatively worry-free.   The key word here, however, is control.   In the not-too-distant future, “just about every device you have—and even products like chairs, that you don't normally expect to see technology in—will be connected and talking to each other.”   By the end of 2018, “there were an estimated 22 billion internet of things connected devices in use around the world… Forecasts suggest that by 2030 around 50 billion of these IoT devices will be in use around the world, creating a massive web of interconnected devices spanning everything from smartphones to kitchen appliances.”   As the technologies powering these devices have become increasingly sophisticated, they have also become increasingly widespread, encompassing everything from toothbrushes and lightbulbs to cars, smart meters and medical equipment.   It is estimated that 127 new IoT devices are connected to the web every second.   This “connected” industry has become the next big societal transformation, right up there with the Industrial Revolution, a watershed moment in technology and culture.   Between driverless cars that completely lacking a steering wheel, accelerator, or brake pedal, and smart pills embedded with computer chips, sensors, cameras and robots, we are poised to outpace the imaginations of science fiction writers such as Philip K. Dick and Isaac Asimov. (By the way, there is no such thing as a driverless car. Someone or something will be driving, but it won't be you.)   These Internet-connected techno gadgets include smart light bulbs that discourage burglars by making your house look occupied, smart thermostatsthat regulate the temperature of your home based on your activities, and smart doorbells that let you see who is at your front door without leaving the comfort of your couch.   Nest, Google's suite of smart home products, has been at the forefront of the “connected” industry, with such technologically savvy conveniences as a smart lock that tells your thermostat who is home, what temperatures they like, and when your home is unoccupied; a home phone service system that interacts with your connected devices to “learn when you come and go” and alert you if your kids don't come home; and a sleep system that will monitor when you fall asleep, when you wake up, and keep the house noises and temperature in a sleep-conducive state.   The aim of these internet-connected devices, as Nest proclaims, is to make “your house a more thoughtful and conscious home.” For example, your car can signal ahead that you're on your way home, while Hue lights can flash on and off to get your attention if Nest Protect senses something's wrong. Your coffeemaker, relying on data from fitness and sleep sensors, will brew a stronger pot of coffee for you if you've had a restless night.   Yet given the speed and trajectory at which these technologies are developing, it won't be long before these devices are operating entirely independent of their human creators, which poses a whole new set of worries. As technology expert Nicholas Carr notes, “As soon as you allow robots, or software programs, to act freely in the world, they're going to run up against ethically fraught situations and face hard choices that can't be resolved through statistical models. That will be true of self-driving cars, self-flying drones, and battlefield robots, just as it's already true, on a lesser scale, with automated vacuum cleaners and lawnmowers.”   For instance, just as the robotic vacuum, Roomba, “makes no distinction between a dust bunny and an insect,” weaponized drones will be incapable of distinguishing between a fleeing criminal and someone merely jogging down a street. For that matter, how do you defend yourself against a robotic cop—such as the Atlas android being developed by the Pentagon—that has been programmed to respond to any perceived threat with violence?   Moreover, it's not just our homes and personal devices that are being reordered and reimagined in this connected age: it's our workplaces, our health systems, our government, our bodies and our innermost thoughts that are being plugged into a matrix over which we have no real control.   It is expected that by 2030, we will all experience The Internet of Senses (IoS), enabled by Artificial Intelligence (AI), Virtual Reality (VR), Augmented Reality (AR), 5G, and automation. The Internet of Senses relies on connected technology interacting with our senses of sight, sound, taste, smell, and touch by way of the brain as the user interface. As journalist Susan Fourtane explains: Many predict that by 2030, the lines between thinking and doing will blur. Fifty-nine percent of consumers believe that we will be able to see map routes on VR glasses by simply thinking of a destination… By 2030, technology is set to respond to our thoughts, and even share them with others… Using the brain as an interface could mean the end of keyboards, mice, game controllers, and ultimately user interfaces for any digital device. The user needs to only think about the commands, and they will just happen. Smartphones could even function without touch screens. In other words, the IoS will rely on technology being able to access and act on your thoughts.   Fourtane outlines several trends related to the IoS that are expected to become a reality by 2030: 1: Thoughts become action: using the brain as the interface, for example, users will be able to see map routes on VR glasses by simply thinking of a destination.   2: Sounds will become an extension of the devised virtual reality: users could mimic anyone's voice realistically enough to fool even family members.   3: Real food will become secondary to imagined tastes. A sensory device for your mouth could digitally enhance anything you eat, so that any food can taste like your favorite treat.   4: Smells will become a projection of this virtual reality so that virtual visits, to forests or the countryside for instance, would include experiencing all the natural smells of those places.   5: Total touch: Smartphones with screens will convey the shape and texture of the digital icons and buttons they are pressing.   6: Merged reality: VR game worlds will become indistinguishable from physical reality by 2030. This is the metaverse, wrapped up in the siren-song of convenience and sold to us as the secret to success, entertainment and happiness.   It's a false promise, a wicked trap to snare us, with a single objective: total control.   George Orwell understood this.   Orwell's masterpiece, 1984, portrays a global society of total control in which people are not allowed to have thoughts that in any way disagree with the corporate state. There is no personal freedom, and advanced technology has become the driving force behind a surveillance-driven society. Snitches and cameras are everywhere. And people are subject to the Thought Police, who deal with anyone guilty of thought crimes. The government, or “Party,” is headed by Big Brother, who appears on posters everywhere with the words: “Big Brother is watching you.”  

La maison connectée ou domotique, ainsi que les objets de la vie quotidienne eux aussi connectés envahissent nos vies numériques mais pas que. Dans ce Bistroxytude 10, nous faisons le point sur les solutions grand-public, leur apport en terme d'autonomie et sur leur accessibilité. Nous abordons dans ce podcast les solutions utilisées par les animateurs de cet épisode. Animateurs qui couvrent les 3 solutions grand-public que nous avons retenu : Amazon Alexa, Apple HomeKit et Google Assistant. Quelques produits mentionnés dans cet épisode Enceintes Amazon Eco. Enceintes Google Nest. Enceintes Apple HomePod Mini. Pont de connexion Philips Hue. Gamme d'éclairage Philips Hue. Gamme Ikea TRÅDFRI. Gamme Legrand Céliane with Netatmo. Serrure connectée Nuki. Notre article de présentation. Gamme EVE. Station météo netatmo. Détecteur de fumée Nest Protect 2. Notre article de présentation. Contrôleur de climatisation Sensibo Sky. Notre podcast de présentation. Contrôleur de climatisation Tado v3+. Notre podcast de présentation. machine à café SIEMENS EQ.500 Classic Home Connect. Aspirateur iRobot Roomba s9plus. Notre podcast de présentation du petit frère le i7+. Gamme d'aspirateur RoboRock. Robot laveur de sols iRobot Braava jet m6. Four Siemens IQ700 HM676G0S6. Lave-linge Siemens WMH6Y892FF. Gamme Siemens Home Connect. Gamme Bosch Home Connect. Lave-linge Samsung WW10T684DLH. Sèche-linge SAMSUNG DV90T6240LH. Vous avez des questions ? Des produits intéressants sur le thème ? N'hésitez pas à vous exprimer dans les commentaires. Pour animer cet épisode Cédric, Fabrice, Jean-Yves, Philippe et Ultra-son.

Au programme de l’actu des nouvelles technologies et de l’accessibilité pour cette semaine un peu particulière en raison du confiement lié au COVID 19 : Du côté des applications. Médoc (Scan et recherche de médicaments pour Android. Retour sur l’application Medico pour iOS. Seeing Assistant Home Lite pour Android. GitHub pour mobile est maintenant disponible pour tous. Amélioration de l’accessibilité des outils pour développeur sur Microsoft Edge. Bruno est à la recherche d’une application loupe pour ios.. iOS 13.4 sera disponible en version finale le 24 mars, que dit la GM de ce mercredi en ce qui concerne VoiceOver ? Autres actus Confinement Coronavirus - version accessible de l’attestation dérogatoire de déplacement Sur BrailleNet, Format Google Doc, sur handicap.fr.. Un brevet Sony pour des jeux PlayStation plus accessibles. Envision se base sur les Google Glass et promet d’aider les personnes malvoyantes au quotidien. Jonathan Mozen rend gratuit son manuel audio consacré à la messagerie professionnelle Zoom Cloud (en anglais). Monoprix et Franprix ont mis en place un numéro afin que les seniors puissent commander des paniers de courses (livraison gratuite à domicile) - Les aveugles et malvoyants sont également concernés - Monoprix : 0 800 05 8000 - Franprix : 0 805 620 370. Site du gouvernement français - Infos Coronavirus - espace dédié pour les personnes handicapées. Sur le site. Présentation du détecteur de fumée et de monoxyde de carbone Nest Protect. Pour animer cet épisode : Christelle, Fabrice et Philippe.

Au menu de ce quatrième opus : Des maisons plus smart que leurs occupants ? La maison intelligente et connectée de partout. Nous allons passer en revue les différentes plateformes, parler automatisation, gadgets, et sécurité, avec comme invité Cédric Le Blevennec, Director consumer markets, Securitas Belgique. Liens des produits et services cités: IFTTT, Google Connected Home (Google Nest Hub, Google Nest Mini, Nest Protect, Nest Cam, Nest hello Doorbell, Nest Thermostat, ...), Apple HomeKit, ShortCut and Accessories, Philips Hue, Ikea (Hub, Speakers, Stores, Lights, ...), Eve, NanoLeaf Aurora, Logitech Circle 2 (Caméra connectée), Amazon Ring (Sonnette connectée), Danalock (Serrure connectée), Xiaomi Aqara, SecuritasHome Sources de nouveaux gadgets pour votre SmartHome, mais hautement risquées : IndieGogo, KickStarter. Exemples : Garadget (Porte de garage connectée, reçu), Slide (Curtain control, contribué en 2017, jamais reçu). Le gadget geek de Brice: LaMetric

Show Summary: (full transcript below)   With the holidays upon us the deals and bargains are taunting our wallets and curiosities. Do you look for others or just shop for yourself? I make a list of items I am interested in and approach Black Friday from that perspective. Otherwise I am overwhelmed and miss out because there is too much going on. That is just me, so I am joined by Serina and Andy as we contemplate the mad rush, and I’m not talking about busyness, but the rush you get when you find your dazzling treasure. Yes, it may be a gift for someone else, but like most of us, it is something we really want. Now, I did not say need, I said want. Check out the TGI Black FridayApp Serina spills upon us. It is accessible and works great when you’re searching for that special deal. We hope all of you enjoy your Black Friday rush and we wish all of you a wonderful start to the holiday season. Contact: You can follow Tech Abilities on twitter @AbilitiesTech Tech Abilities is part of the Blind Abilities Network and be sure to check out all of our shows and podcasts. Thank you for listening! You can follow us on Twitter @BlindAbilities On the web at www.BlindAbilities.com Send us an email Get the Free Blind Abilities Appon the App Store. Full Transcript: Tech Abilities: Black Friday, Cyber Monday and a Visit with Squirt’s Dad, Crush! Serena Gilbert: I am also looking for the Nest products. Jeff Thompson: Then we have Cyber Monday coming up, after that. Serena Gilbert: First, I was like "Whoa" then I was like "Whoa." Jeff Thompson: Pretty cool that it's... Andy Munoz: Yeah, Santa can't afford me. I can barely afford me. Jeff Thompson: What's on your list? Andy Munoz: What isn't? Jeff Thompson: Just simplifies a lot of things, especially when you're going to that checkout. Boom boom boom, done. Andy Munoz: Yeah, my Apple pay is a beautiful thing. Serena Gilbert: I love Venmo, 'cause you can literally send a text to somebody and pay them. Jeff Thompson: Yeah, there's gonna be some football on. I'll be watching to see how we all did; how much damage was done. When you get that thing in your hand, you're like "Got it!" Serena Gilbert: I got it! But Jeff, the home pod's gonna be $100 off at Best Buy. Andy Munoz: I know when they're talking about Mt. Wannahockaloogie. Serena Gilbert: Did you say boutique stores? Jeff Thompson: Thank you Serena, you're a real friend. Serena Gilbert: I'm their only true friend. Jeff Thompson: Welcome to Tech Abilities. I'm Jeff Thompson and with me are co-hosts Serena Gilbert, how are you doing? Serena Gilbert: I am doing great Jeff, how are ya? Jeff Thompson: I'm doing great. Glad to hear your voice again and we also have Andy Munoz. How you doing? Andy Munoz: Doing awesome, how about you? Jeff Thompson: Ah, just awesome myself and kind of excited here, as Black Friday rolls around here, I've been bombarded by emails and stuff in the mail. Black Friday stuff. Are you guys excited about Black Friday? Serena Gilbert: I love Black Friday, it's my favorite shopping day of the year. I used to, when I was younger and before I had a kid, we used to get up really early in the morning and be the ones standing in front of the stores at like four in the morning, trying to chase down a TV or computer or something. But now, more internet based now. Jeff Thompson: Well now, if you bring the kid with, they would get an extra coupon. Serena Gilbert: Or be the ticket that you need to get in. Jeff Thompson: Mm-hmm (affirmative). That's right. How about you Andy? Andy Munoz: I'm kind of so-so on it. Obviously, I like to see what kind of deals are out there. I've not been as brave as Serena. I've never gone and done the whole "Let's get up at o-dark-thirty and go be in line at the stores." I'm not a crowd person. I think it's certainly interesting to kinda see what's out there. I'm always looking, even if it isn't Black Friday. Jeff Thompson: Yeah. I'm that way too, but this year I'm taking a different approach to it. I'm kind of thinking of the stuff that I really want to get, that I kinda need or come on, right down to it ... I just want it. So, I'm looking for the Nest product line, the Nest thermostat, the Nest Protect. I already have one, but I wanna put some more downstairs. They interconnect, it's a really neat idea. So, I'm gonna key on that. How about you guys, anything you're focusing on? Serena Gilbert: I am also looking for the Nest products. We want to get ... I don't know if it's the Nest Protect, but it's like the alarm system that Nest makes along with the- Jeff Thompson: Yeah, the Nest Protect is for a smoke alarm or CO, carbon monoxide detection and for home security they have the Nest Secure. Serena Gilbert: Yeah, we were just watching YouTube videos like last weekend about it and we were trying to decide between the Ring Alarm System and the Nest, 'cause there's pros and cons of all of them. Ring's a little bit less expensive, but Nest has cooler things and is more expandable. Serena Gilbert: It seems like, to me, it's gonna be a little bit more accessible with the demos, 'cause there's a lot of audible tones when you arm and disarm. You can voice command it a lot. That's what we're looking forward to as well as a robotic vacuum. I am dying to have one with three dogs in the house to just help with getting some of the hair off the wood floor. Jeff Thompson: Oh, I tell ya ours ... you open that thing up and you pull out like two gerbils at one time. It's easy. I was against it in a sense. I didn't voice my opinion because she wanted it and about three months later ... I love this little, I even clean up every once in a while just to make it shine. I like it. Especially when you have like, we have a yellow lab. It picks up lots of hair. Andy Munoz: Yeah. Serena Gilbert: What'd you name him? The Rumba? Jeff Thompson: I just call it Robot but others in the household call it Clyde. How about you Andy? Sounds like you might be interested into these vacuum robots. Andy Munoz: You know, I think they're pretty cool. We haven't bought one, we're still with our Shark. Certainly, when you have kids who don't do their chores, like they're supposed to, having one of those would certainly be a benefit. Serena Gilbert: Well one of the ones that we're looking at getting, because Kohls has a fantastic deal on it, but I don't know if I have to be at the store, or if I can get it online. I believe it's the Shark, the latest model of the robot version of it. I think it was like $199. It was either $199 or $229, something really close to that, plus you get $60 in Kohls cash with it. Jeff Thompson: Right, I wish they sent out those mystery stickers that you pull off. That would be neat. Serena Gilbert: Like a mystery discount? Jeff Thompson: Yeah. Andy Munoz: But even the Kohls cash is still a benefit. Serena Gilbert: I just use it to buy the gifts for the people on my Christmas list. That's a lot of money. Jeff Thompson: It is. That's when I went to Kohls, that's when we got the Rumba. They had one of those deals and everything just piles into discounts. I don't think Kohls ever sold one item at their store, at full price. Serena Gilbert: If you've paid full price at Kohls, you are doing something massively wrong. Jeff Thompson: Yeah. Andy Munoz: Yeah. You were there on June 13th, that one day. 'Cause we're always getting deals, getting Kohls cash. Jeff Thompson: Yeah, it's a good deal. I think Black Friday is one of those times where, you just try and find all these deals, but I don't want to get lost in it, because I've gone through, just like when Amazon had their big day, you just start scrolling through all this stuff and you get nowhere real fast. That's why I'm trying to think of stuff in advance, or certain stores or certain boutique stores that I'm interested in and I'm gonna hound those first and see what's up. Serena Gilbert: Did you say, "Boutique stores?" Are you going clothing shopping? Jeff Thompson: No, specialty stores like Bows. A specific store not like Fleet Farm or Home Depot. Serena Gilbert: Gotcha. Jeff Thompson: Is my metro-sexual side coming out? Serena Gilbert: I wasn't gonna say anything, but ... talking about boutiques over there. Jeff Thompson: Andy's shaking his head yes. So what's your game plan Andy? Andy Munoz: You know, I have a tendency to kind of watch things all year. So, I have certain things that I'm gonna be looking for. Part of it is, there's so much out there. Then it kinda becomes ... like you said, you get lost or you just want freaking everything. I have this small list, short list of "This is really what I'm looking for." And if something else jumps out and I think it's worth it, then I'll explore that or jump on it, whatever the case might be. I usually have just a short list and I usually narrow it down all year. Andy Munoz: I used to be a very big impulse buyer, now I've kinda had to tailor that back. I have eight kids and a wife, so you can't just do that. I kinda take that list and look and see "Okay, is anything on this list potentially gonna be a sale on Black Friday?" Jeff Thompson: Mm-hmm (affirmative). Andy Munoz: That's why we don't let our spouses listen to this podcast. Serena Gilbert: But Jeff, the home pod's gonna be $100 off at Best Buy. Jeff Thompson: I know. That's the best deal so far that I've seen out there. Serena Gilbert: Target has an iPad I believe, it's gonna be either $199 or $229. It's a really good deal. Jeff Thompson: Oh for real? Andy Munoz: Yeah. Jeff Thompson: What model? Serena Gilbert: I don't know 'cause I don't need an iPad ... 'cause I have a Black Friday app that we'll share in the show notes that is totally accessible and searchable. Jeff Thompson: Nice. Serena Gilbert: Very much so usable. I saw it in there 'cause it was one of the top deals. I was like ... if somebody needs an iPad, it's a great deal. Jeff Thompson: So if you go to the app store, look up TGI Black Friday. Speaker 4:           TGI Black Friday 2017 [inaudible 00:07:39]. Jeff Thompson: You may notice that the name still has 2017 on there, but they do address this. Speaker 4:           **Updated for 2018 despite the odd name**you can make a shopping list, get coupons, price compare, plus buy Black Friday deals from your phone. Get instant alerts for new Black Friday ads and never miss a deal. Check out frequently for new ads from your favorite stores such as Best Buy, Target, Walmart, Sears and many more. Search "Sort and Compare" 10,000+ deals in stores. Create the shopping list and mark items as you buy them. Share your list or deals with yourself or others. Compare prices online and confirm you are getting the best deal. Cyber Monday sales and coupons. Jeff Thompson: So let's check it out. Speaker 4:           Open button. Two days until Black Friday. Padding selected, popular deals button. Newest ads button. Coupons button. Jeff Thompson: Here's some of the featured Black Friday ads. Speaker 4:           iRobot vacuuming robot, Sam's Club. iPod 6th generation Target $329.99 $249.99 Apple watch series 3 Target $279.99 $199.99 HP 15T Laptop double use/intel core I7CPU HP $1,239.99 $499.99 Samsung Chrome Book 311.6 intel seller on Walmart $199 $99 Element 55 Smart UHD TV Target $379.99 $199.99 Google Home Hub Chalk Walmart $149 $99 Toshiba 434 KUHD TV W/HBR Fire TV Best Buy $329.99 $129.99 Dell Inspirn 15.6 touchscreen laptop double use/core I5CPU Best Buy $599.99 $399.99 iPad 9.7 tablet up to $100 off Best Buy. Jeff Thompson: Those five tabs at the bottom. Speaker 4:           Selected featured tab one of five. Stores tab two of five Categories tab three of five. Search tab four of five my list tab five of five. Jeff Thompson: Let's see what stores are in Black Friday deals. Speaker 4:           Stores tab two of five. Stores padding Walmart, 290 deals. Kohls 702 deals. Target 322 deals. Best Buy 547 deals. JC Penny, Macy's, Old Navy, Dell, Costco, Dick's Sporting Goods, Bass Pro Shops, Big Lots. Jeff Thompson: And when you tap on one of the ads... Speaker 4:           Black Friday Google Home Hub Chalk $149 $99. Walmart opens 6:00 PM Thurs. Jeff Thompson: You have three choices. Speaker 4:           Shop now button. Add to list button. Share deal button. Jeff Thompson: Great tip Serena. That's the TGI Black Friday app. Andy Munoz: Sweet, that'll be nice. An iPad was kind of on my short list. Serena Gilbert: Yeah, there's gonna be some really good deals. I would check out Target and Best Buy for the iPad. The other thing that some of our listeners may or may not know is that Apple, every Black Friday does ... it's either 10 or 15% off usually, just on Black Friday. It's never advertised in advance, it just kinda pops up. Andy Munoz: That's actually funny because I never even knew that working for them. Serena Gilbert: That's funny. Andy Munoz: I mean for real, I'd get customers calling in "Do you know if you're gonna have a Black Friday sale?" Not to my knowledge. So, that's good info ... I didn't even know that. Jeff Thompson: Sometimes they throw on where you get $100 gift certificate to be used later. Serena Gilbert: Mm-hmm (affirmative). Usually that's when you buy the top dollar things, like the Mac Books. I believe when they did their back to school, which honestly in my opinion's a better sale than the Black Friday sale. Weren't they giving away free Beats headphones when you bought a Mac Book? Andy Munoz: Yeah, I believe that is correct. Serena Gilbert: That's a pretty good deal, especially if you're gonna buy one anyway. Jeff Thompson: Yeah. You make a good point, especially if you're gonna buy one anyway. That's the angle I take a look at this stuff. Then, we have Cyber Monday coming up after that where everything goes crazy on the internet. That's where I start really snooping around, because it's kinda "I didn't spend much here, so it's like I saved money to use here." Jeff Thompson: I really watch it, because sometimes I think a lot of these stores want to clear out their inventory, so they're taking last year's model. That's why when you ask, "Which iPad is it?" Is it their stock, like "Hey, we got to move these refrigerators, we gotta get rid of some stuff.”? Jeff Thompson: That's where somebody else comes in. Jeff Thompson: Yeah. Serena Gilbert: Walmart is particularly notorious for that. 'Cause we are also in the market for a new TV, so Walmart has all these fantastic deals on their TVs. There's some that are only like $200, like ginormous TVs. But then you look into the specs and they're horrible refresh rates and things like that. Not that most of our blind and visually impaired community cares about that, but if you have a sighted spouse, they're gonna care about that. When you're buying that big of a TV, you want it to be quality. So look at that too. Andy Munoz: Or even if you're low vision like me. Serena Gilbert: Mm-hmm (affirmative). Andy Munoz: You could still appreciate some of that. I'm one especially, because I'm a techy, I look into that stuff. There's even certain brands that I'll shy away from just because I don't know anything about them, and I don't know their reputation. Serena Gilbert: Mm-hmm (affirmative). Andy Munoz: Even if they have the specs that I'm kinda looking for, I'll shy away from it, just because it's like eh, I don't know their reputation. Jeff Thompson: You really want to check out HDMI. How many are there? It used to be "Hey, it has HDMI, that's cool." But now, everything hooks up HDMI. So, as soon as you start hooking up ... oh let's see... Serena Gilbert: A cable box. Andy Munoz: Well just for example, I use Dish Network, so I've got a wireless Joey that's downstairs in my family room. That hooks up to an HDMI. MY son's got his Xbox that's connected to it, Apple TV. Serena Gilbert: Yup, a streaming box. Andy Munoz: Yeah, so we've got different apparatuses that are connected. So yeah, you definitely want to make sure you have those ports. Jeff Thompson: At least three. I think three is the standard right now. Andy Munoz: Yeah. Jeff Thompson: And then, having Smart TV where it actually connects up to the internet itself is pretty sweet too. Andy Munoz: It's nice too to have even ... my Vizio's will do Chrome cast. Jeff Thompson: But I get it Serena, you're saying that you used to go in, because of those special TV deals. Each store stocks up about 10 or 20 of these devices or the PlayStation, all these other things. Yeah, people are camping out the day before. It's kind of neat, kind of exciting. Serena Gilbert: And it's hard to get ... you think "Oh, I'll just price match it" or whatever. But it will be the same TV at Walmart and Best Buy, but they'll change the model number by like one letter at the end, so they're like "No, this one's on sale there, but this one's a totally different TV. Even though it's clearly identical, you know? It's kind of annoying. Serena Gilbert: But a lot of the things, you'd be surprised, you can get online. What we usually do is, Thanksgiving night, depending on the store, which for the record, I believe Target is one of the stores that's opening at like 5:00 on Thanksgiving, which I think is absolutely horrible. That means that you can probably, especially if you have a red card or a red debit card from there, you can get their sales the day before, so on Wednesday. Jeff Thompson: I have one. Serena Gilbert: But most of the deals, you can get them online starting at midnight, the night before. And that's midnight Eastern, usually. So log on, when it's midnight Eastern to see what you can get. What we do is, for the big things, we try to catch it online, but then it's a really good day to buy movies too. 'Cause you can usually get Blu rays with the digital copies for like $% on Amazon, Walmart and Target. Andy Munoz: I haven't picked up a disc in a long time. Serena Gilbert: But it's cheaper than buying them on like iTunes. Jeff Thompson: That's true. Serena Gilbert: I mean they're on sale every once in a while, but... Jeff Thompson: iTunes, $19, $14. Serena Gilbert: Mm-hmm (affirmative). Jeff Thompson: Rent ‘em. Serena Gilbert: Yup. Andy Munoz: I think I sprung for like $19 a couple weeks back to buy The Lion King, 'cause my youngest has never seen it. Jeff Thompson: I was in the car yesterday and Lori's son Justin was playing Lion King at about 90% the volume. Serena Gilbert: Nice. You gotta tell our listeners. How old is Justin? Jeff Thompson: He's 19, he's gonna be 20. Yeah so, but it was kinda cool you know, Scar comes on "I'm gonna be king." It was fun. I remember when my kids were little, would turn that up in the morning and have The Lion King just belting out and that's one of the best movies I think there is in that type of realm. Andy Munoz: Yes, I would agree with that. Serena Gilbert: What? Better than Finding Nemo? Andy Munoz: Actually yes, I like Lion King better than Finding Nemo. Jeff Thompson: It is good. Serena Gilbert: Oh, Finding Nemo is my favorite. Andy Munoz: Yeah. We won't deviate too much from our topic 'cause yeah, that could be a debate. Jeff Thompson: For movies that have a toilet in them, yes. Serena Gilbert: What? Oh my goodness. Jeff Thompson: Isn't that how they got back? Isn't that how they escaped? Serena Gilbert: No. You haven't seen it! Jeff Thompson: Yeah, I have. Serena Gilbert: They fall off the counter and roll across the road and then they're in this bag and they're like right by the ocean, but then they're still stuck in the bag, so- Jeff Thompson: Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah. Serena Gilbert: Nemo does go down the toilet, but all the other fish are like- Jeff Thompson: Hello, Hello. Serena Gilbert: In their gallon size bag. Jeff Thompson: See, I was finding Nemo. My favorite part of that movie though, is when they're talking about Mt. Wannahockaloogie. Serena Gilbert: When they're chanting it? Jeff Thompson: Yeah. What's funny is, my niece back in the day, she's the one that picked up on that, so I use that phrase a lot now. Serena Gilbert: Oh, my favorite is the turtle. "First I was like whoa, then I was like whoa." Anyways, we are so digressing. Jeff Thompson: We didn't even talk about Makuna Matata. Serena Gilbert: It's, Hakuna Matata. Jeff Thompson: Oh. Me and Justin will have to go for a ride again. Serena Gilbert: I'm pretty sure it's with an H. Alright, tie-breaker Andy. Andy Munoz: Yeah, I think it is an H. Jeff Thompson: It's Hakuna Matata? Serena Gilbert: What a wonderful phrase. Jeff Thompson: I've been singing it wrong for a long time, wow. Serena Gilbert: Gosh, that movie came out in like what, 92, 93? You've been singing it wrong for like ... 20 something years now? Jeff Thompson: And I've been calling these people friends that been surrounding me, not correcting. Thank you Serina, you're a real friend. Serena Gilbert: I'm the only true friend. Justin:            excuse me, this is Justin, straight from the car, your resident Lion King expert in this situation. I would like to point out that it is indeed Hakuna Matata. Serena, you're right. Jeff, you're wrong. Jeff Thompson: There you go. But with Cyber Monday, we got Black Friday coming up, Thanksgiving. It really kicks off that holiday ... you're gonna hear Christmas music on the sidewalks downtown. It gets you going towards Christmas. Do any of you ... I know we're kind of selfish ... do you treat Black Friday itself as gifts for other people or is it yourself? Serena Gilbert: For me, it's more about things that we've just wanted throughout the year, kinda like how Andy said. Things that have been on our list that we're just like ... let's wait till we ... 'cause it's not anything we need. We're all spoiled and it's only just what we want. Andy Munoz: Yeah, yeah. Well for my wife and I, what we do is we kinda start early. And I'm not talking like July or August, we start kind of at the beginning of November. Kind of start to get all the small gifts for all the nieces and nephews and obviously, for our own kids, they give us kinda their top choices, then we go from there as far as what our budget is. So yeah, Black Friday if I'm looking, it's pretty much just for stuff that I want. Jeff Thompson: Yeah, that's the way I look at it. If I gotta do all the internet searching and all that, or if I'm gonna go to the store. My sisters are the ones who do ... like Serena you said, they got it all mapped out, they got it precisely planned. What is the best door to go in. Serena Gilbert: I actually kinda miss that. I would go with my mom and my sister and they both live in Texas now, but I really do miss, 'cause it's like a rush that you get when you're like "Oh, I got it" like right there in your hand, you know? Jeff Thompson: Mm-hmm (affirmative). Serena Gilbert: I know it's so silly. But it's the only time that you can be at a store at like four in the morning and get free Chick-Fil-Et while you're standing in line. Jeff Thompson: My nephew, two years ago, went into Kohls with my sister and he got the $500 one, where you pull the thing off. Serena Gilbert: I haven't been to Kohls in so long, like for Black Friday. Kohls gets crazy on Black Friday. Andy Munoz: What store doesn't though? Serena Gilbert: Kohls and Best Buy are like the two worst ... Best Buy is worse. Our Best Buy, I'm not sure if you guys in Minnesota have people doing this, 'cause it's probably -3 outside, we will literally have people in tents outside of our Best Buy by like noon on Thanksgiving. Jeff Thompson: Well, the headquarters for Best Buy is in Minnesota. Serena Gilbert: So they're really camping out. Jeff Thompson: Are they ice fishing? Oh, they're waiting for the store to open up. Serena Gilbert: And it's for like five TVs. They usually have five TVs at that super cheap price and you're camped out there. Jeff Thompson: Yeah. And that's the thing, as you get older a little bit, you already have a TV, you already have some stuff. That's why I was saying the boutique stores or specialty stores 'cause I want to kind of narrow it down to see what certain companies I'm looking at. That's what I'm doing, I'm scouring and making a list and checking it twice. Serena Gilbert: What is on your guys' list for what you want Santa to bring you? Jeff Thompson: Oh, for Santa? Honestly, Lori and I have been talking about ... at our club, they have these spin bicycles, it's more like an apparatus for spinning or pedaling. Serena Gilbert: Mm-hmm (affirmative), okay. Jeff Thompson: Yourself. Serena Gilbert: If someone bought me air pods, I'd be happy. Oh, I don't know if you guys saw on Facebook what I shared today. There are jackets and I'm sure I'm like the last person to learn about these, that are heated with a little battery pack in the pocket. They will heat you up till it's like 100 degrees for up to eight hours. Andy Munoz: I'm laughing. A heated jacket, seriously? Serena Gilbert: It's literally a heated jacket that's battery powered, and you could use the battery to charge your cellphone. Andy Munoz: Wow, I have not heard of this, but I'm laughing- Serena Gilbert: I want one. Andy Munoz: ...because I'm sitting here thinking- Serena Gilbert: 'Cause you've already heard of these, huh? Andy Munoz: It's kind of ridiculous, but at the same point, with my job and having to- Serena Gilbert: It's totally needed. Andy Munoz: Having to travel and stuff. Serena Gilbert: You'd love it. That's what I was thinking of it for. For the days where I have to go up to Denver and I'm waiting for the bus. Jeff Thompson: You guys are not snow shoeing and cross country skiing out there to get places. Serena Gilbert: It's uncomfortable outside. We're not all used to -39 degrees Jeff. Jeff Thompson: That's reality over here. Serena Gilbert: So yod really like the heated jacket. Jeff Thompson: I'm really kind of getting back to reality because for the last eight years, prior to working at EBR, I worked from home, so I didn't have to go nowhere. Serena Gilbert: Mm-hmm (affirmative). They do have some stuff they make. I'm laughing because they were Jimmy Shoe or Jimmy Chu, I don't know, however you say it. They were $1,700. Jeff Thompson: Oh my God. Serena Gilbert: And those were heated boots. Jeff Thompson: I'll wear extra socks. Forget that mess. Serena Gilbert: The coat I think was worth it though, it was $139. Jeff Thompson: Yeah, that's still not bad for a coat. Serena Gilbert: No. It wasn't like a big, thick winter coat, it's pretty thin. But the fact that it's got the heating apparatus and stuff and it says you get free customer service. I would totally invest in that. Jeff Thompson: That's pretty cool. Andy Munoz: Santa can't afford me. I can barely afford me. Jeff Thompson: What's on your list? Andy Munoz: What isn't? Couple things that I'm kind looking at. I'm looking at a Chromebook. I want to play with that and check out the accessibility on it and have a little bit of knowledge of something new. Serena Gilbert: Those are pretty affordable. Andy Munoz: Yeah, they are. Serena Gilbert: I bet you could find one for like under $100 on Black Friday. Andy Munoz: Yeah, 'cause even right now, I looked, I found one that was just a little over 100 and it's not even Black Friday. Imagine when that day comes, lunch hour that day, I'll be looking. Jeff Thompson: November 23rd, right? Andy Munoz: Yes sir. Jeff Thompson: Like you were saying Serena, it starts at midnight Eastern time? Serena Gilbert: A lot of the sales, like Best Buy I know does. Walmart does. It's usually midnight Eastern, is when you can usually get on the sales. Amazon, I've never gotten a Black Friday deal on Amazon. Amazon is really weird the way they release them. They release them like ... so these deals come out at eight Eastern. Jeff Thompson: Oh, yeah, yeah. Serena Gilbert: These ones come out at nine. It's just too much to keep up with, so I usually don't even bother with Amazon. Maybe they'll do it differently this year. Jeff Thompson: One thing I've done this year, is I switched over to Apple pay. Serena Gilbert: I love ApplePay. Jeff Thompson: I know. It just simplifies a lot of things, especially when you're going through that checkout. Boom boom boom, done. Serena Gilbert: Yup. Even on your phone it works. Even if you're checking out in Safari, it does it. Andy Munoz: It works on your watch. Jeff Thompson: I just had to set something up, I got the Amazon credit card, Prime I think it's called. Serena Gilbert: Now that'll really get ya. I love it, but then it's disgusting how much rewards you get. Jeff Thompson: It is, but I just paid it. I bought something and then I paid it and I had $10. Serena Gilbert: You have to pay that one off, yeah. Jeff Thompson: Yeah. I think it's 16% interest or something. Serena Gilbert: When you first open it, I believe they give you $70 just right out the gate to you. Jeff Thompson: Oh yeah, yeah. It's really cool how those points add up. Serena Gilbert: You don't even want to know how many ... well put it this way, last year we had enough points, and we didn't get the card until February or March. In December, we were able to buy a cordless Dyson with the points. So that tells you how much that was. It was like, I don't know a couple $300. Then, right now we have enough, where if we were to buy the Shark, we'd only have to pay maybe like $100 for it. Jeff Thompson: It's a good deal, especially what comes with Amazon though is, if you get a product and you don't care for it, you got that 30 day window. Serena Gilbert: Some of it's 90. It just depends on the product. Jeff Thompson: Yeah, you can return it and it's just like that. Snap your fingers, it's almost gone and your credited back. Serena Gilbert: They credit it back as soon as they scan it at the UPS store. Jeff Thompson: Exactly. Serena Gilbert: Yeah. Jeff Thompson: It's not like, if I return something at Home Depot, it might be about four or five days before something happens. But I can get rid of my money a lot faster now that I have Apple pay because it's just boom boom. Jeff Thompson: Or PayPal works pretty good for some situations, especially when you're talking about smaller companies. They usually will have PayPal and that works out, it's pretty smooth. Few more clicks. Serena Gilbert: That's a really good tip, 'cause Best Buy is one even that accepts PayPal. A lot of bigger companies accept PayPal now and I prefer to do that then to type in my credit card number or try to figure out where I saved it. Jeff Thompson: Right. Andy Munoz: Oh, I've just got mine memorized. Serena Gilbert: I used to a long time ago and then I switched banks and I was like "Screw this, I don't feel like memorizing this one." So I never did. Jeff Thompson: I swear I've gone through three cards over the last year or two, because some of these breaches that happen here and there and you just don't know where, but all a sudden you get a new card and it's like "Okay, I used to memorize it." Now with Apple pay, it's locked in, it's ... I don't need to. Andy Munoz: Yeah. My Apply pay is a beautiful thing. Jeff Thompson: It is and there's other companies too. I saw Serena, you posted something about another type of paying format on Facebook. Serena Gilbert: I did. I use Venmo. Jeff Thompson: That's it, is that good? Serena Gilbert: I love Venmo 'cause you could literally send a text to somebody and pay them. Andy Munoz: Well, and you can actually do the same thing if the person has Apple pay, as long as you have your two factor authentication enabled, you can actually use Apple pay to do the same thing. Serena Gilbert: I don't have my two factor authentication turned on 'cause it kept annoying me and it still let me Apple pay someone via text, just over the weekend, yeah. Andy Munoz: Good to know, didn't know that. Serena Gilbert: I did have to authenticate it with Face ID. I didn't have to do the PIN number thing and all that. Jeff Thompson: What do you guys think about the early Black Friday deals? They say "Oh, early Black Friday" I think that's where they're cleaning up inventory. Serena Gilbert: When we're this close to Black Friday, I don't buy anything that's on my list within a month of Black Friday. Andy Munoz: You wait it out. Jeff Thompson: And then how long after Cyber Monday and then those weeks like "Oh, you missed it. You'll never get that deal again." Serena Gilbert: It's not true. They always have great deals. Jeff Thompson: They got inventory, they gotta move it. Serena Gilbert: And the markup on stuff ... electronics, it's not as much, but clothing and things like that, the markup is so high, they can do some massive discounts and still clear tons of profit. Jeff Thompson: I'm looking forward to it. I get excited, I don't try and let Lori know how excited I am, but she even said we should be looking for a refrigerator and I'm wondering it's like ... gosh I never looked for a refrigerator on Black Friday, but I'm sure some of those appliance places want to attract you. Serena Gilbert: They deeply discount that stuff on Black Friday too. You might not think ... 'cause I have some friends that bought the new washer and dryer on Black Friday and it was a really good deal. You won't have to fight people for it 'cause ... there's gonna be people at Lowe's and Home Depot, but they're fighting over some of the Christmas decorations and Christmas trees. They're not looking at refrigerators. Jeff Thompson: Mm-hmm (affirmative) Andy Munoz: That's actually a really good idea. We were actually looking to replace ours. Thanks for the tip on that. I think I'm gonna definitely be looking for that. Serena Gilbert: Yeah, the only thing I don't think they do discount is cars on Black Friday. The salesmen are all bored on Black Friday. Jeff Thompson: All black cars are on sale. Well, we're gonna put some links if we find some good stuff, we'll put them in the show notes here. My favorite spot to go is right to the website and get a lowdown. I don't have too many apps for stores, but I do have Target, Walmart, Macy's, Amazon as well. They'll talk about when their sales are coming up. So pay attention to that. We're gonna put Black Friday app that Serena found, that's accessible, right? Serena Gilbert: It is. It just looks really funny on the larger phone screens, but it still works. Jeff Thompson: It stretches. Serena Gilbert: It just doesn't fill the whole screen. Jeff Thompson: Oh, that's kinda cool. It's kinda like when you watch those old movies on a big, large- Serena Gilbert: It's retro. Jeff Thompson: Well, everybody out there, Happy Black Friday, Cyber Monday and Christmas shopping and stuff. What are you guys doing for the holidays? Big plans? Serena Gilbert: Turkey. We're smoking a turkey. Jeff Thompson: Really? Well you do live in Colorado. Serena Gilbert: Not that kind of smoking, oh my goodness. Jeff Thompson: You're smoking a turkey, so you have a smoker? Serena Gilbert: Yeah, the smoker. We did it last year, it's so good in the smoker. Jeff Thompson: How many hours does that take? Serena Gilbert: It doesn't take that long. I think, maybe three or four hours. I don't remember. It wasn't nearly as long as you would think though, because it's poultry, so it cooks a little bit faster. Jeff Thompson: Oh, cool. Andy, yourself? Staying in town? Andy Munoz: Yeah, we are. We always get together with my wife's family on Thanksgiving so, we'll be going to my sister in laws. I was considering making my own turkey this year but I just don't have enough freezer space right now. Jeff Thompson: Here in Minnesota, there was a big thing for a while, where you deep fry a turkey. Serena Gilbert: Mm-hmm (affirmative), those are delicious too. Jeff Thompson: Yeah. Lori's mom's coming up and we're hosting Thanksgiving here, so I'll let the gals have the kitchen and the guys will probably find the television. Serena Gilbert: That's usually how it ends up. Andy Munoz: There's gonna be some football on. I'll be watching. Jeff Thompson: We have Detroit playing Chicago and the Cowboys and the Redskins. Cowboys and Indians for Thanksgiving. Serena Gilbert: I think there's a golf tournament on Friday too between Tiger Woods and Phil Nicholson. It's like on paper view thing. Andy Munoz: One on one? Serena Gilbert: Yeah. Andy Munoz: Wow. Jeff Thompson: Oh wow, that's interesting. Andy Munoz: I'm just excited that I don't actually have to work on a holiday. Serena Gilbert: I can't believe they had you working on Thanksgiving. Andy Munoz: Oh yeah. We were 24/7 365. Serena Gilbert: Were people calling on Thanksgiving? Andy Munoz: Yeah. Serena Gilbert: Geez. Jeff Thompson: Well, that's the way it is. I would just announce that they're 24/7 every day of the year, so even on the holidays. Andy Munoz: Yep. World never stops. Serena Gilbert: Yeah. Jeff Thompson: Well you guys, good luck with your shopping. We'll get back together and see how we all did; how much damage was done. It's nice when you get a good deal. Like Serena said, when you get that thing in your hand, you're like "Got it!" Serena Gilbert: Oh, I got it! Jeff Thompson: It's a good feeling. Andy Munoz: Aint no waiting till Christmas on that. Jeff Thompson: Then, the next few days when the UPS truck starts pulling up, one after the other. Serena Gilbert: Dang it, it's just the dog food. Jeff Thompson: Well all of you, hope you get some good stuff and you all have a happy Thanksgiving. Best wishes to you and your families. Andy Munoz: Same to you. Serena Gilbert: Enjoy your shopping Jeff and Andy. Jeff Thompson: Well thank you all listening. This has been another Tech Abilities podcast and you can follow us on Twitter @Abilities tech. Thank you Serena, thank you Andy. Once again, want to thank you for listening. We hope you enjoyed. Until next time, bye-bye. Jeff Thompson: For more podcasts with a Blindness perspective, check us out on the web at www.BlindAbilities.com on Twitter @BlindAbilities. Download our app from the app store, Blind Abilities that's two words. Or send us an email at info@blindabilities.com thanks for listening.

Show Summary: Tech Abilities is back in the studio and Serina, Andy and Jeff talk about Smart Devices. From Smart Switches, Smart Thermostats, Smart Smoke and Gas Detectors, Door Bell Cameras and the Google Hub. But is the Apple Home Kit App good enough? Check out this entertaining and informational look at the devices watching you and putting some convenience into your life. How did we get by without it? Hmmm. You can follow Tech Abilities on twitter @AbilitiesTech Contact: Tech Abilities is part of the Blind Abilities Network and be sure to check out all of our shows and podcasts. Thank you for listening! You can follow us on Twitter @BlindAbilities On the web at www.BlindAbilities.com Send us an email Get the Free Blind Abilities Appon the App Store.   Full Transcript: Tech Abilities: Hey Portal, You Watching Me? Smart Home Devices and the Smart Shadow Enters the Thought Bubble Serena Gilbert: It's called the Facebook Portal. Does anyone here trust Facebook? Andy Munoz: Other than the fact that we're tech nerds ... Serena Gilbert: Nope, I don't think I'm going to upgrade, and both of you did in a week. Jeff Thompson: Yeah, an accessible thought bubble. Serena Gilbert: Do you have a smart phonograph, Jeff? What the heck is that? Andy Munoz: Google's your friend, look it up. Serena Gilbert: So, you want a smart shadow. Jeff Thompson: Yeah. Andy Munoz: Having these smart devices, they are truly game changers. Serena Gilbert: Silver. Andy Munoz: Space gray. Jeff Thompson: Gold. Andy Munoz: I smell smoke. Is your Nest going off, Jeff? Serena Gilbert: See what happens when you tell me I'm getting fat? Andy Munoz: I said you could grow into that Blind Abilities t-shirt. Jeff Thompson: Boom, music comes on and six sheets of toilet paper pop out. Serena Gilbert: Exactly. Serena Gilbert: All right, you guys ready? I'm not going to count down. I'm going to make you look for when we start [inaudible]. Good luck. Andy Munoz: Three, two- Serena Gilbert: No. Andy Munoz: One. Serena Gilbert: Nope. All right, I will count down. I'll be nice. Three, two, one. Welcome back to Tech Abilities. This is Serena Gilbert and I am, of course, joined with Jeff Thompson and Andy Munoz. Jeff, how are you? Jeff Thompson: Sorry. Serena Gilbert: Apparently, Jeff is choking. Jeff Thompson: I'm doing great, Serena. Glad to be back. Serena Gilbert: We haven't been around for a while now, but we are back and we've got a great episode. Andy, how are you? Andy Munoz: I'm good. I'm good. I'm actually glad to be back. Serena Gilbert: And, Andy's not choking for the record. Andy Munoz: Nope. No choking here. Jeff Thompson: Ouch. Serena Gilbert: Ouch. You'll be okay, Jeff. You're a big boy. Have you guys heard about the latest news about Facebook? Jeff Thompson: Oh, do tell. Do tell. Serena Gilbert: Apparently, they have a new smart device coming out called the Facebook Portal. Jeff Thompson: I'm got a feeling somebody's watching me. Serena Gilbert: Right? Andy Munoz: Cue the Michael Jackson song. There we go. Serena Gilbert: Perfect timing, Jeff, as usual. Everything about it is ironic from the name of it to all the press surrounding it. It's called the Facebook Portal so theoretically I know what they were going for there. It's like you're in the same room, but does anyone here trust Facebook? Jeff Thompson: How about you, Andy? Do you trust Facebook? Andy Munoz: You know, can you trust anything, honestly? Jeff Thompson: Right. Andy Munoz: Yet, we still use it. The way I look at it is I don't put something out there that I don't want somebody to know 'cause even with locking it down and doing all that stuff, there's people, they want it ... Where there's a will, there's a way. Don't put nothing out there that I don't want nobody to see. Serena Gilbert: The weird thing about Facebook is there's already a theory that we think Facebook listens to us when we're not in it. We've tested this. Start talking about childcare and all of a sudden, you're going to have every childcare center ad in your newsfeed that you ever wanted to see. Andy Munoz: Yep, yep. Serena Gilbert: There's something to it. I really do think that there's something that they're listening to. Imagine putting that in your living room where they're not only able to listen but see what you're doing. Jeff Thompson: Yeah, we could really paint this into a corner if we want to, but when you look at other companies such as Target and Home Depot and various other ones on the internet that have had hacks exposing people's identification and personal information, it's inevitable that stuff like this is going to happen, I imagine. It seems like when something like this happens to Facebook, it seems like it really gets a lot of attention. Andy Munoz: Usually, if you have a big name and something happens ... We've all got these high expectations so then they lose credibility, but it really can happen to anybody. Serena Gilbert: Well, let's hear about the specs on this Facebook Portal and then tell me what you guys think about it too. It's funny when you think about it. There's two different versions. There's the standard one. It will be $199. The Portal Plus, as they call it, is a much larger screen and then it's an HD. That will be $349. Both of them say that the camera essentially will follow you as you're talking to somebody or video chatting with them. Serena Gilbert: They initially said that no data was going to be stored and that everything was nice and secure. They then came back and said, "But, wait. We will the information to target ads to you." Yeah. So, the camera's following you in the room and they're targeting ads at you. Still like it? I don't know. Andy Munoz: Regardless of whether you like it or not, there's just no getting away from it because you get the ads even on Facebook itself. I can go right now and I can do a search on Amazon for smart home devices and I guarantee you as soon as I click into Facebook, it's going to show me what I last searched for. For me, it's more or less going to be about what all can it do? What are all the different features? What's going to sell it to me that's going to allow me to really overlook that targeting commercial stuff to me? Serena Gilbert: You're not taking it off your Christmas list yet? Andy Munoz: I wouldn't say I would take it off. It doesn't matter what you do, you're not going to get away from that stuff. As much as you'd like to, as much as I'd like to, it's there. At this point, again, it's going to go back to, what are the features? What's going to make me want to buy this thing that I can't do with another device? Serena Gilbert: Yeah. Jeff, you have this on your shopping list? Jeff Thompson: No, I don't have it on my Christmas list yet, but I should get that started. The thing is, with all these different devices and ecosystems out there, I'm starting to wonder if someone should start with one ecosystem and stick with just one such as yourself. What benefits does the Facebook Portal have over your Amazon Show? Serena Gilbert: I don't think it offers anything different because they both do the video chatting. The screen does appear to be a little bit larger on the Facebook Portal. I think that the entry-level price on it is cheaper because the Amazon Show is, I believe, $229 and the Facebook Portal would be starting at $199. There's a $30 difference there. Serena Gilbert: It's really funny because I saw the ad on Facebook, of course, and the comments ... I just had to read the comments 'cause they were so funny and everyone's like, "So, why can't I just FaceTime?" Jeff Thompson: Yeah, right? Serena Gilbert: You're offering me a speaker that you say I can make all these calls on, I can just do that on my phone already, so what's the point? 'Cause they're not boosting that it has this awesome sound quality, they're not advertising that it's smart. I guess it will have Alexa built into it. Sorry, guys. It will have the 'A' lady built into it, but why would you spend the money on a third-party device to have the 'A' lady when you can get that straight from Amazon anyway? Andy Munoz: The other part of it too is you can actually video chat via Facebook Messenger just depending upon what device you're using. If I'm sitting at my computer, I've already got a 19" HD display so why would I want to invest in something different other than the fact that we're tech nerds and we like to know these things and we never know when we're going to run across something where we're maybe going to have to maybe troubleshoot something like that. That would be maybe its sole purpose. Jeff Thompson: Well, I think that Facebook is coming late into the game in this. The newness of the new products coming out, everyone wanted to experiment or explore these new gidgets and gadgets and now we all have probably multiple ecosystems in our house. You might have a Google or Amazon or an Apple device going right now. Is it time right now to add one more to the mix that we have in our house? That sometimes I think it's not doing exactly what I thought it would. So, I think people are being desensitized from the thrill of it all, the newness of these types of gadgets and Facebook is just a little late into the game. Serena Gilbert: Yeah, it always makes you wonder, is there really room on my shelf for one more smart device? Where would I even put it? Jeff Thompson: I wonder what we're going to have to say to invoke the Facebook Portal, "Mr. Senator," or "Yo, Zucker." Serena Gilbert: You say, and does this sound at all familiar, "Hey, Portal." Jeff Thompson: Really? Serena Gilbert: Yeah, which those of us who are super lucky enough to have HomePods ... Jeff Thompson: Super lucky. Serena Gilbert: Super lucky. Jeff Thompson: Super. Serena Gilbert: Super- Jeff Thompson: Lucky. Serena Gilbert: ... lucky. We know what the wake word is for that. Very similar. Jeff Thompson: It'd be funny if it was Mr. Senator. Yes, Senator. Yes, Senator. Andy Munoz: What kind of responses does it give if you call it the wrong name? Jeff Thompson: I have no idea. It's not out until, what, November? Mid-November? Serena Gilbert: It says November. It doesn't even have a specific data, it just says November. I predict ... I think this is going to be a big, huge flop for Facebook. I think this is going to be a lot of lost money because who knows how many they've already produced. They'll probably sell maybe 100,000 which is nothing when there's how many billion users on Facebook? Jeff Thompson: Yeah, plus the fact when I looked it up. I think ten things came up when I did my search, nine of them were about, "Is this a good idea? Should they pull the plug now? Should they save their costs? Are the stocks falling on Facebook?" and, "Do you trust Facebook to secure this information that it's gathering?" I don't know. I don't think it's going to be on my Christmas list, Serena. Serena Gilbert: I know one thing that I keep trying to get you to add to the Christmas list, but I don't know if you will. Jeff Thompson: What's that? Serena Gilbert: Remember? I told my bestie that you wanted a HomePod. Jeff Thompson: Oh! And you want to go to CSUN. Serena Gilbert: You know it. Jeff Thompson: That's coming up. That's around the corner. Serena Gilbert: Better get to planning. Jeff Thompson: The more we talk, the closer it gets. Serena Gilbert: There's a really good Christmas gift right there. Andy can go too. Andy Munoz: Hey. Jeff Thompson: There you go. Serena Gilbert: We'll get in all kinds of trouble. It's in Anaheim this time. Jeff Thompson: Someone's got to run that Colorado show out there though. Serena Gilbert: We'll be okay. Andy Munoz: We'll survive. Jeff Thompson: A new device that's out from Google is the Google Home Hub ... Yeah, the Google Home Hub. Serena Gilbert: The need a better name for that one. Jeff Thompson: I was wondering if this was the answer to anybody out there that has collected a few devices, one for their Google Home that works on their ... One works on the Amazon Device. If this is the answer that will solve some of the problems of bringing everything together. Serena Gilbert: How does the Hub work? I don't fully understand it. Jeff Thompson: Okay. A hub is also known as a bridge and what it is is a central location device that actually can control all the different smart devices that you have located throughout your house. If you have smart plugs, smart switches, smart doorbells, smart thermostat, you can actually connect them up all to one spot, which is a hub and then access that. Jeff Thompson: Typically, what people do is access it through an iPad or something so they have one control. From there, you can set up groups, you can set up different modes for things to be on that come on at certain times, go off at certain times. You can group lights together, you can have full control over all these devices in one location rather than using the TP app, the WeMo app, and the Nest app and figure out everything else. You can actually tie them all together and that's what a hub/bridge does. Jeff Thompson: The HomeKit app, that app was put out, is something that was trying to become a bridge in your wi-fi system to tie all these together. Now, you've got to remember that everything has to be able to reach the wi-fi system. You might have a plug or a switch far enough away where your wi-fi isn't that great, so you'll have to do an extender. Whereas, you can get pretty elaborate. You can go into the Z-Wave system, which actually every device that's hooked up becomes a little transmitter too so it can chainlink all these together so it can reach a further distance. Jeff Thompson: Interesting stuff once you get interesting stuff once you get into the high-end of homes, but as for affordability and everything, I think Google Home Hub is an idea. It might be something that works good for you, but I think HomeKit really has the advantage here in wi-fi in the future. If you're just talking about adding some conveniences to your house and not really going into the major planning of a full day operation of automation going on. Jeff Thompson: Shades open. Lights on. Mood setting. Thermostat adjust and someday turn on stereo system. Play phonograph. Set the mood. The possibilities could be endless. You can do some of that with HomeKit, but yeah. Basically, that's was a hub/bridge does. It ties everything together under one physical device that you can access and control everything. Serena Gilbert: I'm just so distracted because I'm pretty sure you said phonograph. Andy Munoz: He did say phonograph. Serena Gilbert: What the heck is that? Andy Munoz: It's a record player. Serena Gilbert: Do you have a smart phonograph, Jeff? Jeff Thompson: I'm just saying, yeah, there probably is one. You can get one to skip and ... Andy Munoz: Yeah, you can get it to do some scratchin'. Scratchin'. You know? You know? Jeff Thompson: Yeah. Serena Gilbert: Yes, Jeff. You are definitely the old man right now. Andy Munoz: Well, it's funny because my kid's now into buying vinyls and I'm like, "Why are they even still making those," and come to find out yeah, they're making record players again. Jeff Thompson: I have two record players and I collected albums back in the day and I still have them. They're popular again. It's kind of neat. Andy Munoz: It's kind of interesting how technology's going full circle. Serena Gilbert: Jeff, for the young ones listening to our podcast, what's an album? You going to tell them that? No, I'm just kidding. Andy Munoz: Google's your friend, look it up. Serena Gilbert: On your smart speaker. Andy Munoz: Ask the 'A' lady, she'll tell you. Serena Gilbert: I am curious, because this is all about smart devices, if we could go around, I guess the virtual table and let's hear about what smart devices you have in your home right now and what you like, what you don't like, maybe, if you're on the market for a new one. We'll start with you, Andy. Andy Munoz: Okay. So, right now, I don't have any. I'm in the market. I've got a pretty archaic thermostat. The thing is huge, but the problem is I can see the numbers, but I can't see how it programs. I certainly want something that I have a little bit more that I can do with it then having to rely on somebody else to set it up. Jeff Thompson: What you're saying is you want to be the master of your own domain. Andy Munoz: There you go. Jeff Thompson: There you go. Serena Gilbert: Seinfeld reference. Andy Munoz: Primarily, I'm just looking for a thermostat. Ceiling fans would be nice. Serena Gilbert: They make smart ceiling fans? Andy Munoz: Yeah, they make ... Serena Gilbert: I didn't know that. Andy Munoz: Oh, yeah. Oh, yeah. Serena Gilbert: That would be really cool. Jeff Thompson: Oh, yeah. They invented the ceiling fan right after the phonograph. When I was looking up the Google Home Hub, the GHH, they claim that it can connect up to 5,000 different devices. So, that probably includes the phonographs and let's see, what came out right after phonographs? Ceiling fans, Serena. Yeah, there's probably a smart gidget or gadget out there for pert near anything. Andy Munoz: Oh, yeah. When I was working with Apple, I got a guy that called in that was setting up a smart garage door opener. Serena Gilbert: Now, why do we need that? I really don't understand that. What does it recognize your car when you drive up to it? Jeff Thompson: Well, when you have your smart Amazon Drive in your car, you can then just say, "Open, sesame." Serena Gilbert: Oh, my God. Jeff Thompson: Lower the drawbridge. Serena Gilbert: Secret passcode, right? I really don't understand what a smart garage door would do that a regular garage door ... You push a button and it opens. What else do we need it to do? Jeff Thompson: You have to actually move your arm to push the button. Serena Gilbert: I get it because ... We laugh at how lazy this is making us 'cause we don't have to leave our couch to turn the light on or off or adjust the thermostat, but it truly does open up accessibility for tons and tons of people with disabilities that have mobility impairments or maybe even a cognitive impairment where it just makes a life a lot more independent and affordable. Before, doing something like this would be thousands and thousands and thousands of dollars, now they can just get it right on the market. Andy Munoz: Or, even just the simple fact that you either make some sort of adjustment cosmetically or what have you so that it could be used or you stay reliant on somebody to help you with that. Having these smart devices, they are truly game changers. For the rest of us, yeah, it makes us lazy. Jeff Thompson: As long as your wi-fi doesn't get knocked down. Andy Munoz: Yeah, that too. Yeah. Serena Gilbert: I was just thinking that. I was just about to say, "Until somebody hacks it." Then, it will drive you crazy. Jeff Thompson: One of the concerns I would be looking into is if I was going to get the Canary or the HomeSafe alarm system that hooks up to your wi-fi and is a smart device, that, just like the bridge and the hub, are these connected to just your wi-fi or if someone cuts your wi-fi cable, will it give you an alert through cellular or run off the cellular? Andy Munoz: I believe that they do because actually my brother-in-law just made some changes. He gave up his business-class wi-fi and went back to residential and they bundled it all and got the security system. Yeah, if the wi-fi goes down it then does go to cellular. Jeff Thompson: Oh, that's nice. Serena Gilbert: Yeah, 'cause we have a Honeywell Lyric. With got it for free from our home owner's insurance company and they gave us four of them. What it is is you put anywhere that there's water that could possibly leak and it's connected to wi-fi. It also puts this obnoxious, loud beeping sound A, when there is water that it detects and B, just when the battery is dying. Andy Munoz: Does it go onto the floor? Serena Gilbert: Well, you can do it two different ways. We have one on the hose of our washer and it's got this cord that you can wrap around it that if it detects the water then it will set off the alarm. Or, you can just set it on the floor and you don't need the cord then. As soon as it detects water it will start beeping and it will send a notification to your phone. Serena Gilbert: When we changed our wi-fi, we never put them back on the new wi-fi 'cause I frankly couldn't remember how to do it. When we changed our router out and had to get a new wi-fi network put up, it sent emails to me saying that they were offline. That's really cool because your hot water heater could be leaking for days and you'd never know. Ours is in the basement. We don't go down there but maybe once a month. Jeff Thompson: That's neat. That's less invasive. There's a more invasive one that actually goes right into your plumbing system. You cut the line and you put this device in there and it will notify you if the pressure drops. If you're on vacation, your lines should have no open valves so there should be a constant pressure and if that pressure drops significantly, then it will give you a signal and notify you that there's been a change, possibly a leak, that could really devastate your home. Serena Gilbert: Yeah, that could save a lot of money. Imagine if you came back from vacation and there were six feet of water in your basement. Jeff Thompson: Swimming pool, yeah. Serena Gilbert: Yeah. Andy Munoz: Well, I was talking to somebody that they were out of town, but their son was there. He didn't realize it, but there had been a leak. So, their basement flooded and, on top of it, they ended up with a $5,000 water bill. That was in the course of three weeks. Serena Gilbert: Oh, my God. I would cry. Oh, my God. Andy Munoz: Yeah, it was pretty crazy. Jeff Thompson: Oh, wow. I think a lot of these devices, like you're saying, for someone that has a speech impediment of some sort or something, that there's alternative devices now that through your wi-fi, making the home smarter. We just usually think about these devices that we're using today, but a lot of these switches and commands that we're using are pretty versatile and available to other people. Like you said, it used to be tens of thousands of dollars to make a home accessible for someone with a disability that it may help them open a door or turn on lights as you said, but now, these devices are stuff we buy off the shelf. Jeff Thompson: You can get the Hue lights and dim your lights and do other things and the switches and put everything on a timer. My driveway lights ... I have a WeMo light switch that my driveway lights come on when it gets dark, sunset, and goes off at a certain time. Then, I have some lamps in the living room that come on at the same time and go off at the same time. I have three switches working like that, plug in switches and one light switch. I like that automation because kind of get it. The lights come on. Oh, it's dark out, if you can sense that. If someone comes over, the house isn't just totally dark. Andy Munoz: Well, it's nice especially in today's society, you definitely want to have those lights on on the outside. You don't want people creeping up on your house. For me, I look at the negative side of that just because it is real. You definitely want to make sure that you have some light so your house can be seen, and I think it detracts from people wanting to do anything to it in a negative manner. Jeff Thompson: Plus, when you're away from home ... When I was in England, I could actually turn the lights off or on just from a flip on my phone, from the app. Andy Munoz: Right. Jeff Thompson: Something to remember about some of these home devices, it seems so great. Hey, just put a light switch in, but to put a light switch in with the WeMo and other ones, you do need all three wires there. You need your positive, your negative, and your neutral wire. Andy Munoz: Right. Jeff Thompson: Typically, a house that was built pre-90s, I believe, somewhere around there, switches were interrupters. So, they only ran the hot wire down to one side and to the other so when you switch is down, it breaks the connection. Lot of houses either had them drop down from the ceiling or they came up from the basement. The switches were not the place to run all the wires. They ran those to the lights above and just dropped down the ones. Jeff Thompson: That may be a problem if you want to add a light switch or a dimmer switch, but you will need to have all three there. If you don't, then you have to have an electrician come in and run a neutral wire up and facilitate it that way. So, that could get expensive. Andy Munoz: Right. It's good just to know that in general. Jeff Thompson: Oh, for sure. It also might justify spending the money for a smart light bulb where you can control that specific light bulb or a group of light bulbs with a command from an app or a voice command directed at one of your personal devices such as an Amazon, Google, Apple device, your smart speaker device. Jeff Thompson: Another device that I'm kind of interested is the Look or Nest makes a product, a couple other people make these products, they're cameras on your doorbell. When motion happens at the front door, you'll get a message on your phone that says, "Motion at front door," and that solves the problem of thinking, "Why do I need a camera at the front door?" Well, the camera does give the indication that there's motion, which then triggers the notification that you'll get, but these two need the existing wire that the previous doorbell used because they need a transformer. So, that's something you want to look into. Jeff Thompson: If you don't have a doorbell, then you'll have to install this pre-wiring beforehand. If you do have one, you have to make sure that it's 24 volts running to it because all these devices do need a power source to be running. Just beware, when you're thinking and considering and buying these products, read the small braille. Andy Munoz: Love it. Love it. Small braille. Serena Gilbert: Oh, man. Isn't all the braille small? Jeff Thompson: There is jumbo braille for people with neuropathy. Jeff Thompson: Serena, what kind of devices are you working with? Serena Gilbert: I have a WeMo plug. One thing I wanted to share with you guys is that, if you have Amazon Prime, there's been a few times just in the last few months where they sent out a deal where you can get a smart plug or a smart light bulb for only $10. We bought one when they did that and, sad to say, it's still sitting in the package because I need two and I've just been too cheap to buy the second one for my lamps downstairs. Serena Gilbert: It was summer when I bought them, so I was like, "Oh, we never need the lights on anyways." Now, it gets dark at like 6:15, 6:30 and it would be nice to just go on my phone and turn them on or use the Echo to turn them on. Jeff Thompson: Yeah, I noticed and that's how I've got ... I don't know why I'm coughing. Serena Gilbert: You're just getting too old over there. Jeff Thompson: Geez, you're sticking with this one. Serena Gilbert: See what happens when you tell me I'm getting fat? Jeff Thompson: I didn't say that. I know not to say stuff like that. Serena Gilbert: Would you like to share what you said? Jeff Thompson: I said you could grow into that Blind Abilities t-shirt. Serena Gilbert: No, you said I'm going to grow into it because of the shake that I had. Jeff Thompson: Why don't you tell the listeners what you put in your shake tonight? Serena Gilbert: Shameless plug for Five Guys Burgers and Fries. I had a shake and I added Oreo to it and Oreo cream and Double Stuff Oreo. I see nothing wrong with that. Jeff Thompson: Plus, some ice cream, right? Serena Gilbert: Milk, with sugar. Jeff Thompson: Yeah, so I'll repeat it. You'll probably grow into that t-shirt. Serena Gilbert: This is not helping you. You're going to get some hate mail from all the ladies out there. Jeff Thompson: If anybody else would like to grow into a Blind Abilities t-shirt, email us at info@blindabilities.com. Andy Munoz: Yeah. Serena Gilbert: Oh, my goodness. Not very nice, Jeff. Andy Munoz: But, it is funny. Serena Gilbert: I'm telling my bestie on you. Jeff Thompson: You do have a HomePod, right? Serena Gilbert: I do. If anyone's ever listened to me on any podcast, they know I absolutely adore that HomePod. Jeff Thompson: Yeah, I hear it is good sound. So are the Sonos. The Sonos are pretty good and with the smart device built into those too. The thing is, with API on those since it's not a true Amazon device, you only get partial use of the full functionality of what you'll get out of an Amazon device like the Dot or the Echo. Sometimes you forget that you only get that limited usage out of them. I wonder how much the Facebook Portal will have? Serena Gilbert: It's probably the same API that they have on the Sonos because the Amazon's got to give you some reason to buy theirs. Why would you ever buy the Amazon one when the Sonos clearly sounds way better sound-wise. There has to be some incentive. Jeff Thompson: Yeah, just be aware when you're buying these devices what they connect up with. Some connect up with more than one platform. It might connect up to Amazon or it might connect up to Apple, but just check that out. Jeff Thompson: With the HomeKit app in your iOS device, that application is your hub, your bridge, and that might be the thing of the future, using your wi-fi. Whereas the hub, it just may be ... Serena Gilbert: I feel like it's another way for them to get you to spend- Jeff Thompson: More money. Serena Gilbert: $100. With me, 'cause I have the HomePod, I have the Amazon device, I'm trying to be smart about the devices that I choose since we don't have a smart home yet where either I can find some that work with both or depending on where the device that I'm buying is going to be, it works with whatever is closest to it. Andy Munoz: Definitely some strategy into it. Serena Gilbert: Yeah. One weird thing that I noticed when I did get the HomePod is, for some reason, and I don't know if it's the way that Apple's system is so locked down, but the devices that say they're compatible with HomeKit, they're never the ones ... They're always more expensive it seems. The ones that are compatible with the Amazon devices, there's so many of them that the price has come down on them. When you look at the ones that say HomeKit, it's like upwards of double the price for the same functionality. Andy Munoz: I'm guessing you're right that Apple is so locked down with everything that they do and you don't have a lot of choice as you do with Amazon or Google. A lot of the coding and development and stuff that goes into all that stuff is open source. Not to dog Google in any way, shape, or form by saying this, but their standards are more open than what you get with an Apple. I would venture to say that you're right on that. Jeff Thompson: When I first started down this path of adding smart switches and smart plugins, outlets to the house, I went with WeMo and I stuck with it. It seems to be doing good and just lately, I got an update and now the WeMo switches, the smart, mini WeMo switches, are able to work with the HomeKit, which is the native app in your iOS device titled, "Home," H-O-M-E. Jeff Thompson: The new ones that you get, they'll have a little code on them and you just scan it and it will register right into your application of your HomeKit and boom, there you go. That is very similar to my Nest Protect because all I did there was scan in the product and boom, it was connected up into my app, which just makes it very nice. Jeff Thompson: In the app, it does incorporate that these devices can now be synced up together. I have them synced up with my Amazon device, my google device, my iPhone. I can make my iPad, which stays at home basically, as the hub. By me invoking the HomeKit as my hub, do I really need a Google Home Hub? Do I really need a central device? I think I'm okay. Andy Munoz: I guess if you look at it from most people's perspective, we want it with generally a handheld device. Let's face it. There's times that we're not going to be in our home, when we want to be able to have that remote access, that remote control. I think that the hubs are a nice thought, but I don't know how realistic it is. Jeff Thompson: Serena, you had mentioned that you were considering a basement remodel. Have you thought about incorporating the smart home features? Serena Gilbert: It would be nice kind of thing, but yeah, we haven't officially done that. All I really want in the house right now is a smart thermostat because I really struggle with what temperature it is in the house. The house is only two years old. I meant the builder if they could put in a smart one for me and then I just spaced it. I regret that. Serena Gilbert: I really have to rethink it 'cause I know that my husband would like a doorbell camera at some point. It's like do we go with Ring; do we go with Nest because I'd like it to just all be the same brand just to make life easy. Jeff Thompson: I have a Nest Protect and that's a smoke alarm that mounts to the ceiling. If I buy another Nest Protect, they communicate with each other and announce their location. In a case of an emergency, you will know where the smoke is coming from. Speaker 4:           Emergency. There's smoke downstairs. Jeff Thompson: If I do get a Nest thermostat, that too will connect to the family of Nest products. If there is a fire, it will shut off the furnace so you don't have the air blowing around and flaming the fire ... Flaming? Wafting the flame. Serena Gilbert: Good job. Your old brain worked. Jeff Thompson: Oh, it may not be as quick as a Millennial, but it's wiser. Jeff Thompson: So, having items from the same family, the same Nest products in my situation pays off for me. I would also like to mention that the Nest Protect, the smoke alarm that's in the ceiling, has a glowing light on it and it comes on when it senses motion. So, in the middle of the night, if you walk past it, it will glow brighter. Serena Gilbert: That's cool. Jeff Thompson: Yeah, so that's a neat little feature that will help family members as well. Serena, you mentioned the doorbell with the camera. Now, some people may say, "Why do I need a camera when I can't see who's out there?" However, the camera senses motion and then it will send you a notification that there's motion at the front door. Serena Gilbert: That's very cool. Jeff Thompson: I see the benefits in that as well. Jeff Thompson: Now, a friend of mine, just to be fair, has the Honeywell thermostat. Serena Gilbert: Is the Honeywell app accessible? Jeff Thompson: He says it is, however, he doesn't use voice over but he tested it and he says it is. I haven't put it through the rigors, but it's $100 cheaper and Honeywell is a good product. It has high ratings on it as well. However, being in the same family and interconnecting as such, I think Nest makes a good line of product that really should be considered. Plus, Nest is owned by Google, right? Serena Gilbert: Is it? Jeff Thompson: Yeah. Serena Gilbert: [inaudible] conspiracy. Andy Munoz: I have to say though, I'm with Jeff on the whole ... Usually, if I buy a brand, that's usually what I like to stick to and keep it consistent. A lot of it, I think, has to do for me about what the previous experiences have been. If I bought something like a Samsung TV and it's worked well for me, I'm going to be more inclined to go back out and buy that same brand just because I've had that good experience and I trust it. I think too, part of it too is if they can communicate with each other in some way, shape, or form, all the better. Jeff Thompson: Yeah, safety first. That brings up home security systems in your house that hooks up with wi-fi from doors to windows. I'm starting to wonder how many devices you can have connected up to your wi-fi system before it becomes over-weighted or strained. That's probably where a hub comes in because it would take that load. Until you get to that point, I think that's when you start wondering about a hub. Jeff Thompson: I just want to use the apps that each thing comes with. Set it up one time and move on. I don't want to have to pull that out all the time and say, "Honey, let's set the mood lighting for this movie," or have all my Christmas lights on my iPad so I can spell words or have special designs going across. That's not my bag. I just want these devices to work out of their own app. I just think the HomeKit, the home app, will suffice for most people that are venturing into the smart home devices. Andy Munoz: Well, because I think too we all have this thing where we generally know when we're going to be home and when we're not unless you have something where you're out of the norm, you have a function that you're going to go to or what have you. In my house, I generally know who's going to be home and when they're going to be home. To be able to say, "All right, yeah, let's have a heat come on at this time. Have it shut off at this time," that kind of stuff is super convenient. Andy Munoz: Because right now, it's one of those things where because I can't program it the way that I want and my wife isn't able to program it, she's [inaudible]. It's just an archaic thermostat. There's times she'll say 8:30 at night, "It's cold." I have to turn it up because yeah, it shut down when it really should have been on. There again, it would be nice to have something where definitely have that control and to be able to do that and know that it's going to be consistent. Jeff Thompson: Serena, do you want the Amazon Bathroom where you walk in and the lights come on, the toilet seat heats up, and boom, music comes on and six sheets of toilet paper pop out? Serena Gilbert: If you can find a way to heat my floor in my bathroom, I'd be happy. Jeff Thompson: Oh, they have that. Serena Gilbert: I don't know if I need the toilet seat heat. I'm okay. But, I was thinking about what you guys were talking about and I was just thinking of the cost savings with that. Just the heat alone to save it ... 'Cause right now, our heat's just either off or on. Then, we all know the theory behind how long it takes to raise the heat so many degrees. It's more expensive then to keep it steady. Serena Gilbert: Then, there's also the cost savings of if you own your house. Especially with the smoke detectors that you have, Jeff, I'm sure you're saving money on your home owner's insurance too. Jeff Thompson: Yeah, that's great, Serena, because if you contact your insurance company you can find out so much more about what you could be doing to your house for safety-wise that will ultimately save you money in the insurance policy premium. Serena Gilbert: It'd be totally worth it. Jeff Thompson: Oh, yeah. You want to tell them you have a smoke alarm. Don't call them and tell them you don't have any. Serena Gilbert: What do you mean you didn't have one? Hold on a minute. We need to raise your premium a little bit. Jeff Thompson: Back pay. It's just really nice that there's devices out there that we can implement into our lives. Like you said, Andy, just make it more convenient and ... Especially the doorbell. I'm really intrigued about that, the camera. I was the one that would always say, "Why do I need a camera? I can't see blah, blah, blah," but that it alerts you, you know? Serena Gilbert: Some of them have it where you can speak to them. Jeff Thompson: Oh, yeah. Yeah. Serena Gilbert: And, hear the sound. Jeff Thompson: That's a neat alert. You know someone's at the front door. Andy Munoz: Yes, I was just going to say, "And, they have no idea that you're not even home." Jeff Thompson: Right. I'm going to get one before trick-or-treaters come out. This will be fun. Serena Gilbert: Scare them. Oh, my goodness. Well, it will especially help during the holiday season when you're expecting your Amazon packages 'cause if there's sound with it too, there's pretty distinct noise when the UPS truck pulls up. Jeff Thompson: I think if you do it right ... We should appeal to all the truck drivers that deliver packages to wear little bells on their shoes so we know it's them. Serena Gilbert: It's like a code. That reminds me though. I was watching Shark Tank a few weeks ago and there was a business on there and they didn't get a deal, but it was a smart device that it was a box that the driver would scan the code on the package, it'd open up the box, they'd put the package in there, and then it would close back up again. They didn't get a deal for obvious reasons because, frankly, the UPS drivers probably aren't going to scan it. They're just going to sit the package on top of the box and keep going. Serena Gilbert: It did bring up an interesting thing though. If they could have licensed that to UPS or FedEx or USPS, made it part of their flow, that could really curb porch pirates. Jeff Thompson: I got a question for you guys. What device isn't out there yet, but you would like to have a smart device as? Serena Gilbert: Oh, you know what I'm going to say as my son always says when I ask him questions. I want my smart self-driving car. Jeff Thompson: That's coming. Serena Gilbert: But it's not accessible. There's too many laws. Jeff Thompson: They'll probably have a little screen to open the door and it will be like, "Everything's accessible except you can't get in the door." Serena Gilbert: Yeah. You have to put in this passcode that's on this touchscreen. Jeff Thompson: They'll have a Captcha. Serena Gilbert: God, I hate those things. Then, you try to listen to it. Jeff Thompson: Oh, yeah. Four seven three apple two orange W. Serena Gilbert: You're like, "Are you in a call center doing this?" I don't understand. Jeff Thompson: I know it's crazy. It's like, "Gosh, I had good hearing until I heard that." Andy Munoz: If you'd get you a tin can that would sound so perfect. Jeff Thompson: Yeah. Serena Gilbert: I hate those things. Jeff Thompson: I was on a website today. I know this is off topic. I was on a website today. It was all about accessibility. It's supposed to be an educational accessibility thing and all this stuff. It was really interesting. I was actually intrigued with the layout and stuff and they had a Captcha that was inaccessible. It's like, "Really? You did all this and now that." Andy Munoz: Somebody did not think that through. Jeff Thompson: No. Serena Gilbert: #accesibilityFail. Jeff Thompson: They have accessibility in their name. Serena Gilbert: Did you send them an email? Jeff Thompson: No. Andy Munoz: Wow. Jeff Thompson: I got off of it and I just sat there for a minute thinking, "That's so stupid." Serena Gilbert: You didn't make your trademark noise? Andy, what's the smart device that you're hoping for? Andy Munoz: Wow. That could be plenty but something that would open up my dryer and pull out my laundry and hang it up. Serena Gilbert: Oh, so you want the robot from the Jetsons. Andy Munoz: There you go. Jeff Thompson: That's be Judy wouldn't it? Serena Gilbert: Just your luck 'cause wasn't George always getting all this technology failing for him? Andy Munoz: Yeah, she malfunctioned one day and she did a bunch of different weird stuff that was all backwards. Jeff Thompson: I think for a device that I'm looking forward to and I hope they have it someday, is really a personal assistant, but not a physical one that would actually do things for me but you know how you think of to-do lists and you think of all this stuff? Something that follows your thought like that. When you wake up the next day, it's like, "Jeff, remember the garbage." Serena Gilbert: You want a chip implanted in your head. Jeff Thompson: Just call it the thought bubble or something. Serena Gilbert: Thought bubble. Jeff Thompson: Yeah, an accessible thought bubble. Just like, "Lori told me three things yesterday. What was that?" "Jeff, you weren't listening where you?" I want that companion, that thing that actually helps me move along. Serena Gilbert: Jeff, all you have to do is win the Powerball and then you can just pay someone to follow you around for the rest of your life. Jeff Thompson: But, I think this would help people. We're talking about old age, but people who have memory issues and stuff. That seems to be a prominent thing in today's world. Everyone knows someone that might be going through it or someone that is affected by it. Something that could shadow you, your shadow. If your shadow could talk, it would remember. Serena Gilbert: So, you want a smart shadow? Jeff Thompson: Yeah. Do you guys think that's far off? Andy Munoz: Time wise maybe. I don't know. Technology's so rapid that anything's possible at any given point. I think, for me, it's even pointless half the time for me to put stuff even as reminders 'cause I just ignore them. Serena Gilbert: I'm the same way. Andy Munoz: For work and stuff, obviously, I pay attention to my calendar and that sort of thing, but outside of that, I'll say, "Yeah, I put it in my calendar. I'll do this, that, or the other." It's like it's there but nine times out of 10 I'm just going to blow it off and ignore it anyway. Serena Gilbert: I have a reminder on my phone right now that's 19 days old but I still didn't do it. Like, "Oh, I'll just ignore it and it will pop back up in a couple weeks." Jeff Thompson: Avoid shakes from Five Brothers. Serena Gilbert: Five Guys, get it right. Jeff Thompson: Avoid shakes from Five Guys. Serena Gilbert: You guys don't have Five Guys up in Minnesota? Jeff Thompson: No. We only got three guys. We're working on it. Serena Gilbert: You don't know what you're missing. You don't have Dutch Brothers. You don't have Five Guys. God, how do you live? Jeff Thompson: Well, you're in the fastest growing city in the United States right now. Serena Gilbert: It's 'cause we've got all these Millennials. They love it here. Jeff Thompson: Really? Serena Gilbert: That's why we're getting all these cool home deliver things. We just got Prime Now here. We can get Whole Food delivered in two hours for free. Jeff Thompson: That's awesome. Serena Gilbert: Yeah. Jeff Thompson: How big is Cold Spring? Serena Gilbert: Old Spring? Jeff Thompson: Colorado Springs. How big is Colorado Springs? Andy Munoz: The general city is like 400,000, but then you've got the surrounding areas that make up more and we're probably closer to 650 to 700,000. Jeff Thompson: Really? Serena Gilbert: I think they said by ... Do you remember what year it was, Andy? Maybe it was like 2050, which sounds far away, but it really isn't if you think about it. We would actually be bigger than Denver technically. Andy Munoz: That's what they're saying. Serena Gilbert: Yeah. Andy Munoz: It's ridiculous to think because when you go to Denver, you go to downtown Denver and you see all the big high rise buildings and stuff and then you come to Colorado Springs and you look at our downtown. It's like no comparison. I think the highest building we have is maybe 20 stories. Serena Gilbert: I don't even know if there's a 20-story one, honestly. If there is, then it's one of the hotels. Jeff Thompson: Which leads into is Colorado Springs going to be a smart city? Serena Gilbert: I don't think we will. Just politically, our city and then the other city, there's another small city that's in between Denver and Colorado Springs called Castle Rock, our two cities had the option to be part of the light rail system that's in Denver and they refused. Every time that it comes back up, they keep resisting and keep refusing because they don't want light rail here for some reason. I don't get it. Andy Munoz: Smart city means that you have to have some intelligence and Colorado Springs operates on the motto, "If it doesn't make sense, do it." Jeff Thompson: Yeah, it's really neat here because we do have the light rail running right through Fridley and it's neat. Even our buses and our light rails now have wi-fi while you're on them. Serena Gilbert: Very nice. Jeff Thompson: Yeah, we're not a bustling city anymore, but it's a big area. I think two-thirds of the population of Minnesota is located right in the twin cities, Saint Paul-Minneapolis and the seven-county area. It's nice that you get those little amenities like that but I always thought Colorado Springs was a ... Well, it's not Denver. It's a quaint little town. But, wow, number one in the United States for growth. Serena Gilbert: Real estate too. Andy Munoz: It's really been in just the last several years. It's just really kind of just took off. Serena Gilbert: Well, a lot of it is the people from Denver have moved down here so they're still making their Denver wages. So, they move down here and we're buying Colorado Springs waged houses and then that's driving it all up, but then they're still commuting to Denver for work. That's contributing to the traffic problems too. The commute's about an hour, hour and 10 if you go early enough. Andy Munoz: Yeah, if you go early enough. Jeff Thompson: They need to get that tunnel. Serena Gilbert: I still want my hyperloop. Jeff Thompson: That's ready to open up, isn't it? Serena Gilbert: No. There's a test track in L.A. it's either two minutes or two miles. It's probably the same difference, but they're going to open that up and let people actually be able to test run it. Like, regular people. Jeff Thompson: As opposed to the irregular people? Serena Gilbert: Hey. Jeff Thompson: No, I think it's really neat that smart cities are coming about. A lot of devices are happening. A lot of transportation things like you want the car and I think everyone's been thinking about that and dreaming about that and wondering. Now, we say it's right around the corner, but that's a long ways to that corner sometimes. Serena Gilbert: You know, it will be interesting though because you just told me the NFB conference next year is in Vegas. Vegas is testing a... Lyft is testing a whole fleet of driverless vehicles on the strip there. Jeff Thompson: So, beware. Serena Gilbert: That would be interesting. Andy Munoz: Stay off the sidewalks. Jeff Thompson: Tap widely. Serena Gilbert: But they're safer than human drivers you guys. The accidents they have are only when the human does something to it to cause it to happen. Jeff Thompson: Well, I think ideally it's all going to be safer when there's more and more of them because they'll be able to communicate with each other just like my Nest will be able to communicate with things. Those cars will communicate with the other cars so it will almost be like a light rail once you get a stream of them going in a sense. Serena Gilbert: The only thing I worry about is because obviously to get where you're going it's reliant on some sort of GPS. So, you know there's a couple things that go with that. When the network's down, what happens to the cars? Or, when you're like my house where you weren't on the GPS for two entire years, where does it go? Does it stop somewhere and say you're there when you're really not? Those are things they'd have to definitely fix. Jeff Thompson: From smart devices, smart houses, it will be interesting to learn more about smart cities and smart automobiles. Probably by next show we could get a smart host. Serena Gilbert: I guess I'm coming down off my sugar high. Andy Munoz: She's thinking, "I smell smoke. Is your Nest going off, Jeff?" Jeff Thompson: Maybe the wi-fi went down and the house is burning. Andy Munoz: Uh-oh. Serena Gilbert: Oh, my goodness. I could just see a comic right now where there's a drawing and there's clearly smoke and fire, but the person's just looking at their phone and it says they are like, "Nope. Smoke detectors say that there's no fire." Serena Gilbert: Well, I have had tons of fun talking with you guys. Hopefully, we've got some ideas for our Christmas list right, Jeff? Jeff Thompson: Mm-hmm. CSUN. Serena Gilbert: Still haven't sold you on the HomePod have I? Jeff Thompson: Well, I'm going to be here to look under my tree or I'll just listen under my tree. Maybe it will tell her how to set it up too. Serena Gilbert: But, it's Apple. It just works, right? Jeff Thompson: Oh, yeah. Andy Munoz: There you go. Jeff Thompson: I have to say that I sit amongst an orchard of Apples. Serena Gilbert: You've got every color Apple there is. Jeff Thompson: Oh, by the way, what color is your iPhone X? Serena Gilbert: Silver. Andy Munoz: Space gray. Jeff Thompson: Gold. Serena Gilbert: You got a pink one, Jeff? Jeff Thompson: No, I didn't get rose gold. I got gold. Serena Gilbert: Are you sure you didn't get rose gold? Jeff Thompson: Well, I don't know. I got the case on. I'll never know. Serena Gilbert: Exactly. I just find it so funny with the last podcast we did how much you guys specifically said, "Nope, I don't think I'm going to upgrade," and both of you did in like a week of each other. Jeff Thompson: I walked into the Apple store. That's what went wrong. Andy Munoz: Yeah, I walked into the Sprint store with my son and there we go. I have to run guys. I do have an errand that I need to run. Serena Gilbert: That sounds awful suspicious considering that it's like 10:00 at night. Andy Munoz: Got to go to the pharmacy. Serena Gilbert: I don't even want to know, Andy. Serena Gilbert: Anyway, I enjoyed talked with both you guys and I can't wait to record the next episode and until next time, bye. Andy Munoz: Peace. Jeff Thompson: Bye-bye. Serena Gilbert: Get off the phone. Andy Munoz: I want to thank you for listening. Be sure to follow Tech Abilities on Twitter. That's @AbilitiesTech. A big thank you to Jeff Thompson for the beautiful music. Once again, I want to thank you for listening. We hope you enjoyed. Until next time, bye-bye. [Music]  [Transition noise]  -When we share -What we see -Through each other's eyes... [Multiple voices overlapping, in unison, to form a single sentence] ...We can then begin to bridge the gap between the limited expectations, and the realities of Blind Abilities. Jeff Thompson: For more podcasts with a blindness perspective, check us out on the web at www.BlindAbilities.com, on Twitter @BlindAbilities. Download our app from the App Store, Blind Abilities. That's two words. Or send us an email at info@blindabilities.com. Thanks for listening.

SP is away this week, but have no fear, GFQ Network's Sunkast is here to fill in. This week we discuss major iOS standby battery problem, Airbus possibly doing a Mars mission, the premiere of Ant-Man and the Wasp, PLUS Nintendo possibly in violation of EU law. Plus Chris reviews three Nest products: Nest Thermostat Gen 2, Nest Protect and Nest Cam Outdoor.  This Week's Hosts: Stephen Jondrew, Chris Ferrell, and Sunkast. This episode was recorded on Monday, July 9, 2018 streamed LIVE at www.Geeks.Live. Full show information (including links related to points discussed) can be found at http://www.geeks.link/246/. The GonnaGeek.com Show is produced and edited by Stephen Jondrew (http://www.stephenjondrew.com) of GonnaGeek Productions, proudly Canadian.

Dieses Mal spreche ich über die Nest Protect Rauch- und CO-Melder. Meine beiden Nest sind seit ein paar Wochen im Einsatz. Ich spreche über die Stärken und Schwächen und was man beachten sollte.

Nest makes a Smoke and Carbon Monoxide alarm that talks right out of the box! With an accessible app from Nest one can be informed of the location and type of detection by voice from the Nest Protect. Multiple devices will relay the alarm/notification as well as sending you a message on your smart phone. The Nest app connects with the iPhone, iPad, apple Watch and the Apple TV.  Two choices of Nest protect are available. Battery or Hard wired. With an alert that clearly speaks, “Low-battery”and an app that will tell you your battery level, there is never an alarming chirp at 3 AM that will need immediate attention. Just a calm voice during your day that will let you know the status when you want and need to know. Another member of the Nest family line of products is the Nest Learning thermostat which works in tandem with the Nest Protect to ensure the highest level of safety when it comes to your home, apartment or dorm. Join Chip orange as he walks us through the Nest protect and how he uses the Nest products to sleep better at night and while he is away.  You can find the Nest products on Amazon and in many electronic stores. You can follow us on Twitter @BlindAbilities On the web at www.BlindAbilities.com Send us an email Get the Free Blind Abilities App on the App Store.

Want to save a lot of money and have a good laugh with us? Check out this show. Seriously, it was a fun one -- and there are a lot of amazing deals. We chat about our experience with the Nest Thermostat (which is on sale), and the Nest Protect (which is also on sale) and how Phillips Hue smart lightbulbs compare to LIFX smart bulbs. We dream about fancy 55" 4K TV's that are on sale (yet we still can't afford). Give us a listen, you'll dig it! Also, happy Thanksgiving!!! :)

In 2010 begonnen ze in een garage met een slimme thermostaat, in 2014 overgenomen door Google, In 2016 leveren ze drie super slimme producten voor in en om je huis. Ik heb het over: NEST Misschien herken je dit: Je wordt wakker omdat je rookmelder begint te piepen. Er is geen rook maar de batterij is leeg. Je pakt een ladder, frummelt wat terwijl je gek wordt van die piep en beukt (in mijn geval) vervolgens het het apparaat van het plafond of draait hem in (in het geval van mijn vriendin) open om de batterij er uit te halen en je gaat weer slapen en dan maan-den later doe je er misschien weer eens een nieuwe batterij in. Zomaar één voorbeeld uit het gesprek dat ik had met met Lionel Paillet de General Manager van Nest Europe. Mijn Engels bleek beter dan zijn Nederlands dus hebben we het hele interview in het Engels gedaan. Vind jij het toch prettig om de inhoud van ons gesprek in het Nederlands te consumeren, ga dan even naar jelledrijver.nl/nest voor een uitgebreide blogpost over de slimme Nest Thermostaat, rook- en koolmonoxide melder Nest Protect én de Nest Cam én “ik hem ‘m zelf ook” een uitpak video. Mijn naam is Jelle Drijver en ik wens je heel veel plezier met deze nieuwe aflevering van de Frankwatching podcast.

The O'Reilly Design Podcast: Designing for the IoT, design's responsibility, and the importance of team dynamics.This week's episode of the Design Podcast features a conversation I had with Martin Charlier last fall. These days, Charlier is a freelance design consultant and co-founder at Rain Cloud. He's also a contributing author to Designing Connected Products and a speaker at the upcoming O'Reilly online conference "Designing for the Internet of Things," September 15, 2016. In our chat, Charlier talks about designing for the IoT, design's responsibility, and the importance of team dynamics.Here are some highlights from our chat: Holistic IoT design How I got into the Internet of Things is an interesting question. My degree from Ravensbourne [College of Design and Communication] was in a very progressive design course that looked at product interaction and service design as one course. For us, it was pretty natural to think of products or services in a very open way. Whether they are connected or not connected didn’t really matter too much because it was basically understanding that the technology is there to build almost anything. It’s really about how to design with that mind. I’ve always looked at products and services that way, that they might be connected or they might not be. It’s really almost like electricity. You might have an electric product or you might have something that isn’t powered. When I was working in industrial design, it became really clear for me how important that is. Specifically, I remember one project working on an oven. ... In this project, we specifically couldn’t really change how you would interact with it. The user interface was already defined, and our task was to define how it looked. For me, that was where it became clear that I don’t want to exclude any one area, and it feels really unnatural to design a product but only worry about what it looks like and let somebody else worry about how it’s operated, or vice versa. It seems to me that products, in today’s world especially, need to be thought about from all of these angles. I think you can’t really design a coffee maker anymore without thinking about the service that it might plug into or the systems that it connects to. You have to think about all of these things at the same time. Designing with the environment in mind Designing a physical object is less, I want to say, less task-driven. The usability, the task aspect of it, is only one facet of the whole experience. You have to think about the aesthetics and much more about the emotional qualities of a product. I think materials and manufacturing processes as well, and that also relates to an environmental responsibility, for example. As an industrial designer, if you design a physical object, you have to think about where that goes when it’s at the end of its life cycle and what kind of material do you use to make it and where do those materials come from. The Fairphone project, for example, is interesting. One of the things they talk about is that they use only conflict-free materials. It’s not just about the material being renewable or coming from a sustainable material source, but it’s actually also about the social responsibility and how do these, especially precious metals, for example—where do they come from? What are the labor conditions where they come from? Combination interfaces What I see already is that there are new combinations of input and output types that are being put together to form interfaces. A really good example is the Nest Protect. It speaks to you; it uses synthesized voice to give you information, like which room was smoke detected in. I think that’s a really interesting one because it’s not really a voice. I wouldn’t classify it as a voice interface because I’m not interacting both ways through voice. Voice, for me, would be something like Siri, where I’m speaking to it and it responds to me. What I’m interested in seeing is products that come up with a certain combination of some kinds of inputs and some kinds of outputs that happen to be appropriate and make sense for their particular product. I think that’s where it starts to feel natural, where you don’t really think about whether Nest Protect is a voice interface or another kind of interface. It just makes sense that the device would try to give you more information through the medium of speech because that’s actually the best way for it to do that. Equally, I think touchscreens are probably going to stick around for a very long time because they’re such a commodity. Everybody knows how to use a touchscreen now. People now go to screens that aren’t touch screens and want to touch them because they have this expectation now that you can touch a screen and interact with the elements on it. I’d like to see these new combinations. A former colleague of mine from Frog, Jared Ficklin, did a brilliant demo. They call it RoomE, which is a connected room. They’re exploring the idea of what room-sized computing would look like. What if the computer was my house, effectively? One of the things they’re doing in the demo is this idea of multimodal input. In his demo, Jared is pointing at a lamp and saying, “Turn this lamp on.” And it knows which lamp you mean and it’s able to make sense of, “What do you mean by this lamp? Which lamp do you mean? And why are you pointing at a lamp?”—it puts them together and figures out, “Right.” It feels like, “Why am I even explaining this? It’s so obvious.” I think it’s a long way away to have that stuff in practice. I’m sure there are a lot of things we have yet to experiment with in terms of whether that actually catches on. I’m not sure.

The O'Reilly Design Podcast: Designing for the IoT, design's responsibility, and the importance of team dynamics.This week's episode of the Design Podcast features a conversation I had with Martin Charlier last fall. These days, Charlier is a freelance design consultant and co-founder at Rain Cloud. He's also a contributing author to Designing Connected Products and a speaker at the upcoming O'Reilly online conference "Designing for the Internet of Things," September 15, 2016. In our chat, Charlier talks about designing for the IoT, design's responsibility, and the importance of team dynamics.Here are some highlights from our chat: Holistic IoT design How I got into the Internet of Things is an interesting question. My degree from Ravensbourne [College of Design and Communication] was in a very progressive design course that looked at product interaction and service design as one course. For us, it was pretty natural to think of products or services in a very open way. Whether they are connected or not connected didn’t really matter too much because it was basically understanding that the technology is there to build almost anything. It’s really about how to design with that mind. I’ve always looked at products and services that way, that they might be connected or they might not be. It’s really almost like electricity. You might have an electric product or you might have something that isn’t powered. When I was working in industrial design, it became really clear for me how important that is. Specifically, I remember one project working on an oven. ... In this project, we specifically couldn’t really change how you would interact with it. The user interface was already defined, and our task was to define how it looked. For me, that was where it became clear that I don’t want to exclude any one area, and it feels really unnatural to design a product but only worry about what it looks like and let somebody else worry about how it’s operated, or vice versa. It seems to me that products, in today’s world especially, need to be thought about from all of these angles. I think you can’t really design a coffee maker anymore without thinking about the service that it might plug into or the systems that it connects to. You have to think about all of these things at the same time. Designing with the environment in mind Designing a physical object is less, I want to say, less task-driven. The usability, the task aspect of it, is only one facet of the whole experience. You have to think about the aesthetics and much more about the emotional qualities of a product. I think materials and manufacturing processes as well, and that also relates to an environmental responsibility, for example. As an industrial designer, if you design a physical object, you have to think about where that goes when it’s at the end of its life cycle and what kind of material do you use to make it and where do those materials come from. The Fairphone project, for example, is interesting. One of the things they talk about is that they use only conflict-free materials. It’s not just about the material being renewable or coming from a sustainable material source, but it’s actually also about the social responsibility and how do these, especially precious metals, for example—where do they come from? What are the labor conditions where they come from? Combination interfaces What I see already is that there are new combinations of input and output types that are being put together to form interfaces. A really good example is the Nest Protect. It speaks to you; it uses synthesized voice to give you information, like which room was smoke detected in. I think that’s a really interesting one because it’s not really a voice. I wouldn’t classify it as a voice interface because I’m not interacting both ways through voice. Voice, for me, would be something like Siri, where I’m speaking to it and it responds to me. What I’m interested in seeing is products that come up with a certain combination of some kinds of inputs and some kinds of outputs that happen to be appropriate and make sense for their particular product. I think that’s where it starts to feel natural, where you don’t really think about whether Nest Protect is a voice interface or another kind of interface. It just makes sense that the device would try to give you more information through the medium of speech because that’s actually the best way for it to do that. Equally, I think touchscreens are probably going to stick around for a very long time because they’re such a commodity. Everybody knows how to use a touchscreen now. People now go to screens that aren’t touch screens and want to touch them because they have this expectation now that you can touch a screen and interact with the elements on it. I’d like to see these new combinations. A former colleague of mine from Frog, Jared Ficklin, did a brilliant demo. They call it RoomE, which is a connected room. They’re exploring the idea of what room-sized computing would look like. What if the computer was my house, effectively? One of the things they’re doing in the demo is this idea of multimodal input. In his demo, Jared is pointing at a lamp and saying, “Turn this lamp on.” And it knows which lamp you mean and it’s able to make sense of, “What do you mean by this lamp? Which lamp do you mean? And why are you pointing at a lamp?”—it puts them together and figures out, “Right.” It feels like, “Why am I even explaining this? It’s so obvious.” I think it’s a long way away to have that stuff in practice. I’m sure there are a lot of things we have yet to experiment with in terms of whether that actually catches on. I’m not sure.

Fumiaki Yoshimatsu さんをゲストに迎えて、Oracle, Google, Java, Google Home, Alexa, AI などについて話しました。 スポンサー: Nature Remo Show Notes Canada’s $6.9 Billion Wildfire Trump Literally Said All Those Things Two Weeks Notice (2002) Donald Trump masqueraded as publicist to brag about himself Android’s nuts and bolts in Oracle v. Google Op-ed: Oracle attorney says Google’s court victory might kill the GPL Android N switches to OpenJDK Java API 訴訟の件で私が Google よりも Oracle の肩を持つ理由 Javaと偽Javaの話 Nature Remo ★ IRKit Create a Smarter Home with Alexa Leaving the Nest Do NOT buy a @Nest Protect smoke alarm. Alexa - Actionable Analytics for the Web Introducing DeepText: Facebook's text understanding engine NHKスペシャル 羽生善治　人工知能を探る ヘイト発言のAI「Tay」と女子高生AI「りんな」の差 Her (2013) Keynote: Consequences of an Insightful Algorithm - Ruby Conference 2015 Google is working on a kill switch to prevent an AI uprising

I’m excited about the wave of new products being released to convert our residences into “smart homes.” Watching the space for the last few years has been exciting. While I enjoy bleeding edge technology, when it comes to my home I usually prefer to wait and let others be the first movers in the space. When a gadget is only being used by me it is fine, but when it effects my whole family I proceed with more caution. There has been enough trailblazing in this space that when Verizon offered to send me a free starter kit of Nest products as a member of their Influencer Team I jumped at the opportunity. Thank you @Verizon for reminding me you sell more than phones. #ad #vzwbuzz A photo posted by C.C. Chapman (@cc_chapman) on May 10, 2016 at 2:20pm PDT If you were not aware, Verizon sells a lot more than just phones and FiOS. In their stores and on their site, they sell a variety of accessories that fit into your total digital life style. I was given a Nest Protect smoke and carbon monoxide alarm, Nest Cam Security Camera and a Nest Learning Thermostat. Set up was super easy for the camera and the smoke detector. It is only a matter of downloading the app to your phone and connecting the devices to your WiFi network. The Nest App is available on Android and iOS and serves as a dashboard for all the Nest products you install in your house. Adding a new device is as easy as scanning the QR Code on the back of it and instantly it is added to your house. One improvement that could be made here would be to one click copy over the WiFi information. Currently have to type it in for each new device you add, which is a pain when first setting up everything. Another design improvement I’d suggest is that since the camera is all black, the power cord should be as well. I don’t understand why they chose to make the cord bright white on a device that is flat black. We are just getting started with all the devices and I plan on sharing a more detailed review after using them for a while, but I can say that so far we are really liking having these. I’ve set it up so that the camera only turns on when my phone leaves the house. I had the motion detector turned on, but with pets the notifications became too much to deal with. While I was on the road this week, my kids had their first experience with the Protect when as they were cooking dinner it began talking to them and vocally warning them that it had detected low level smoke. I wish I could have seen their faces. We all liked that it gave a warning rather than instantly freaking out and going off. They opened a window and no alarm was sounded. We don’t have air conditioning, so the thermostat won’t be doing anything until next winter when we have to turn the heat on. I am super curious about watching it learn, but that will have to wait. Thank you once again Verizon for feeding my digital lifestyle addiction. Disclosure – I am a member of the #LifeOnFiOS & VZWBuzz influencer teams from Verizon. From time to time they provide me with gadgets, information and experiences in exchange for articles focused on my digital life style. I control the topics, words, thoughts and everything else. They just get to read and share them. noC.C. Chapman

The new Nest Protect has been redesigned from the inside out.  Find out how the latest version of this fascinating product can even turn your heat off in the event of a fire or carbon monoxide emergency in this interview with Zoz Cuccias of Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

How do you keep tabs on your home while you’re away?   Nest has a great new security camera called the NestCam.   It records video in 1080p and will send alerts to your phone if it detects something suspicious.   You can also use it to talk to your dog…more on that in the podcast.   Pair the NestCam with the Nest Protect and you’ve got an alert system that can show you if you have a fire.   Nest now has a triple threat in home automation with their thermostat, CO/Smoke alarm, and now the NestCam.   https://nest.com/   Got ants?   Family Handyman has 14 great tips on how to prevent and stop these little guys.   If you have this problem check out their article   http://www.familyhandyman.com/pest-control/how-to-get-rid-of-ants     Don’t forget…you can join our free Home Repair Tutor Facebook Group if you’re a do-it-yourselfer   https://www.facebook.com/groups/hrtcommunity/         HELP US SPREAD THE WORD!   If you liked today’s show please subscribe in iTunes and write us a review! This is what helps us stand out from all the fluff out there.   Ways to Subscribe to Home Repair Tutor   Click here to subscribe via iTunes You can also subscribe via Stitcher      STAY IN TOUCH   Sign up to the Home Repair Tutor newsletter by texting Homerepair to 33444.    You’ll get advice, tips, and learn about all our tool giveaways via the newsletter.  Don’t miss out.     HELP WITH YOUR BATHROOM   Are you a new homeowner?   Does your bathroom make you feel embarrassed, disgusted, or frustrated?   Check out Bathroom Repair Tutor   Our memberships are limited to 100 people on a monthly basis. You get access to the video tutorial library and our great private Facebook group where you can post questions and get answers.     Videos are beginner friendly and come with a printable supply list so you don’t miss anything at the store. 

Nest Cam and Nest Protect 2.0; Oculus Touch; Narro; high-DPI Paperwhite; Free; JuneDownload | Subscribe on iTunes

This week's podcast features Andrew Thomas, cofounder of Skybell, and Ben Stagg, CEO of Halo Smart Labs. In the first segment, Andrew and Mike talk about Quirky's problems, the layoffs at Leeo, and discuss if there is a smart home shakeout coming. They also talk about the Nest press event and Andrew tells Mike he's being a little greedy for wanting more news. In the second half of the show, Mike talks with Halo Smart Labs CEO Ben Stagg about their next generation smart smoke alarm/emergency detector and they talk about the Nest Protect 2 news coming out of the Nest press event. The sponsor for today's show is Soundwall, a company that is making connected art that CEO Aaron Cohen describes as Sonos meets Instagram. You can find out more about Soundwall at www.soundwall.com Find out more about Skybell at www.skybell.com Find out more about Halo Smart Labs at www.halosmartlabs.com Listen to and subscribe to more Smart Home Shows at www.thesmarthomeshow.com Check out our first event called the Smart Kitchen Summit, a conference about the future of the connected kitchen: www.smartkitchensummit.com Image: Wink Robot Butler http://knit.audio/podcast-advertising (via Knit)

This is the smart home weekly news update for the week ending February 17, 2015 (Leonard Nimoy Day). In this podcast, Mike talks about: -The new Bluetooth Mesh working group -ADT's new ad campaign -Nest Protect's very bad week or two -Ways HomeKit could fail -Neo smart jar -Hive smart home system -A connected toilet water device For more smart home shows, go to www.thesmarthomeshow.com Follow Mike on Twitter at www.twitter.com/michaelwolf http://knit.audio/podcast-advertising (via Knit)

This is the smart home week in review for the week ending September 6, 2014! The week started slow as folks recovered from Labor day weekend and shuttled kids back to school, but it finished strong. You can listen to the podcast where we discuss the week that was in smart home, or if you're the TLDL (Too Long, Didn't Listen) type, just read the wrap up below. I am going to try and do a written flash-analysis of the news every week, so if you want to get notified, subscribe to the NextMarket newsletter and you'll get an email each time we publish a wrapup. This week's guest on the podcast is Aaron Cohen, long-time serial entrepreneur, smart home enthusiast and all around smart guy. We get deep on some of market dynamics and business models, so if that's your thing, enjoy this episode! Topics discussed (see full show notes at http://www.technology.fm/thesmarthomeshow/) -Savant gets some $ (2-3 x revenues, same company that invested in Sonos) -Icontrol partners with Indiegogo to try and get in on some startup goodness -Amazon's top 5 “home automation” best sellers - is Sonos and Dropcam home automation? -Speaking of Sonos - they ditch the bridge. You can connect directly to Wi-Fi. -Nest releases Nest 2.0 for Nest Protect (uses built in humidity sensor - tells difference between steam and smoke) This and some bonus stories at http://www.technology.fm/thesmarthomeshow/ http://knit.audio/podcast-advertising (via Knit)

This week, Will, Norm, and Jeremy discuss the Kindle Fire phone, Adobe's first attempt at hardware, the return of the Nest Protect, and the correct pronunciation of GIF. Enjoy!

This week, Will, Norm, and Jeremy discuss the Kindle Fire phone, Adobe's first attempt at hardware, the return of the Nest Protect, and the correct pronunciation of GIF. Enjoy!

External DVD booting options, connecting laptop to TV, using compatibility mode in IE 11 for Outlook, privacy when using public networks, using XP Mode in 64-bit Windows 7 to install 32-bit drivers, Profiles in IT (Ralph H Baer, Father of Video Games), gift guide for home of the future (Wi-Fi egg minder, Doorbot, Resolv Home Automation Hub, Kohler Moxie Showerhead and Wireless Speaker, Belkin We-Mo Switch, Nest Protect and Nest Learning Thermostate, iRobot Looj, Phillips Hue LED lights, Dropcam Pro, Sonos wireless speaker system), and Target data breach (credit cards showing up on black market). This show originally aired on Saturday, December 21, 2013, at 9:00 AM EST on WFED (1500 AM).

External DVD booting options, connecting laptop to TV, using compatibility mode in IE 11 for Outlook, privacy when using public networks, using XP Mode in 64-bit Windows 7 to install 32-bit drivers, Profiles in IT (Ralph H Baer, Father of Video Games), gift guide for home of the future (Wi-Fi egg minder, Doorbot, Resolv Home Automation Hub, Kohler Moxie Showerhead and Wireless Speaker, Belkin We-Mo Switch, Nest Protect and Nest Learning Thermostate, iRobot Looj, Phillips Hue LED lights, Dropcam Pro, Sonos wireless speaker system), and Target data breach (credit cards showing up on black market). This show originally aired on Saturday, December 21, 2013, at 9:00 AM EST on WFED (1500 AM).

Jessica Lessin, formerly of the Wall Street Journal, soon to be launching a new tech site, talks to Rene about Apple's new SVP of Apple Stores, Angela Ahrendts, iPhone 5c pricing, an Amazon phone, the Nest Protect, and the internet of things.

EA announces that it’s “looking into” offline mode for SimCity, and announces the first expansion pack, Cities of the Future featuring maglev trains… and drugs; Samsung announces the Galaxy Gear and the Galaxy Round, and they rip off Apple’s original iPhone ad in the process; and Nest announces the Nest Protect, a smart smoke and CO alarm that talks and responds to motion. Meanwhile, Bean reveals the third member of his “top three actors that should be in everything” list, and Jelly raves about home automation; Also, neither of the boys listen to anything the other is saying.