July 13 & 14, 2024 Show Notes
South Island Dragon Boat Festival Weekend Edition
🎙️ Show airs live
Saturday: 10:05am-Noon
🔁 Rebroadcast
Sunday: 1:05pm-3pm
🎧 Podcast
Anytime
The crew this week:
Ricky Winter
Co-Host
Tech Experience Manager at London Drugs Tillicum
store 250-360-2753
2) Nearly every AT&T customer in the USA (that's 110 million people) has had six months of their call and texting logs stolen
The hack actually happened back during a six-month period in 2022, but is only being revealed now because AT&T says it didn't want to undermine the efforts of law enforcement which have been trying to ID the hackers.
AT&T says the hackers got in through cloud analytics platform Snowflake — the same firm involved in the huge Ticketmaster customer breach revealed earlier this month. Snowflake does not require users to use 2FA — two-factor authentication; if they did, this wouldn't have happened.
The hackers got phone call and text message records (but not the actual texts) of nearly all of AT&T cellular customers from May 1, 2022 to October 31, 2022 as well as on January 2, 2023. These records include the numbers that were called or texted (including numbers here in Canada) by some 110 million AT&T customers, as well as total call durations, and counts of calls or texts to any given number.
CBC
AT&T data breach affected nearly all customers after info downloaded to 3rd-party platform | CBC News
The data of nearly all customers of the telecommunications giant AT&T was downloaded to a third-party platform in a security breach, the company said Friday, as cyberattacks against businesses, schools and health systems continue to spread globally.
Tech Deals This Weekend
Big savings on refurbished Epson Eco-Tank printers at London Drugs
Epson has partnered with London Drugs to sell two models of refurbished Eco-Tank all-in-one printer/copier/scanners for 45% off. Both come with bottles of ink for liiterally two years off printing.
These machines come with a full Epson one-year warranty, and are eligible for a reduced-price London Drugs extended warranty, which we recommend. (If you're an LD Extras member, you'll also get an additional $20 off that extended warranty)
The ET-2850 feeds paper from the top so you can print on photo paper or card stock, and is $220 ($180 off the regular price). The ET-4850 is designed for small business or office use, and has a larger internal paper tray, and an ADF (automatic document feeder) which you can use to scan up to 20 pages at a time, as well as scan legal-sized documents. It's $330, which is $270 off the regular price.
Get $500 worth of LDExtras savings all this month at London Drugs
More info at LDExtras.com, or in the LDExtras app.
Monster brand 4K HDMI cables: $10 (save $20) at London Drugs
These are super-high-quality 6'/1.8m HDMI cables, ideal for connecting cable boxes, gaming consoles and other sources to 4K UHDTV's. They can handle audio/video streams up to 21Gbps.
They're being cleared-out for just $10, to make way for newer stock, while they last at London Drugs stores.
50% off all DVDs and BluRay discs at London Drugs
For the rest of this month, while stocks last, you can load up on DVD's and BluRays for half price, at the Tillicum Centre and Harris Green (Yates Street) London Drugs stores.
Tech News Of The Week
Items start at #10, so the numbers don't get thrown-off if we add more security items above!
Tip: if an item in these Show Notes has the icon on the right in the upper-right corner, you can click/tap on it to make the additional info open in a new tab.
10) Samsung has unveiled a new product category — a Smart Ring
The Galaxy Ring is, as its name implies, a smart ring. Just as a smartwatch can be worn on a wrist and offer you info about your fitness & health, a smart ring does the same thing in a much smaller format.
On the outside it looks like a normal ring, but inside the titanium shell is a layer of sensors used to monitor your temperature, heartbeat, and movement via a built-in accelerometer.
The trio of sensors can be used for automatic workout detection, live heart rate checks, heart rate alerts, and sleep tracking. The Samsung Smart Ring can also perform sleep analysis using an AI algorithm to monitor sleep patterns and offer to improve resting habits. Results are shown on the Samsung Health app, which is only available on Samsung smartphones.
The Samsung Galaxy Smart Ring will be available later this month starting at $549 in ring sizes from 5 to 13, and will be offered in Titanium Black, Titanium Silver, and Titanium Gold.
Apple is expected to launch a similar Apple Ring this fall, for iPhone owners who don't wan't to wear an Apple Watch.
11) Samsung has unveiled its latest generation of folding phones — the Galaxy Z Flip 6 and Z Fold 6
Both smartphones look primarily unchanged from last year, but on closer inspection, you'll discover that the Z Fold 6 is a bit wider, shorter, and lighter — and reviewers say the changes make it much nicer to hold and use. The Z Flip 6’s differences, on the other hand, are almost impossible to spot.
Both are faster and have better battrey life — but they both also remain very pricey, and in fact, are noticably more expensive than the current models which they replace…
The Galaxy Z Fold 6 costs $2,564 CAD, an increase of $165 from the Z Fold 5. The Z Flip 6 costs $1,463. which is $1634 more than the Z Flip 5.
MobileSyrup
Samsung's Galaxy Z Fold 6 and Z Flip 6: Can they keep their crowns?
I got the opportunity to check out the Galaxy Z Fold 6 and Z Flip 6. Both smartphones look mostly unchanged from last year, but closer inspection reveals that the Z Fold 6 has modifications that will enhance anyone's experience
12) Rogers has quietly raised mobile rates with smaller data buckets
The new rates bring Rogers in line with higher rates and less data being offered by Telus and Bell.
You can get much better deals from Freedom Mobile, which is owned by Quebec-based Vidéotron…
..or, if you're on a tight budget or don't need much data…
14) Apple is trying to re-invent group audio chat with no cell or WiFi needed
Apple is developing technology that'd allow any number of willing people in close proximity to start an audio chat, using only an iPhone and a headset like AirPods, with no WiFi or cell service needed.
Instantaneous communication like the Walkie-Talkie feature on the Apple Watch would be possible but with groups of people instead of individuals.
15) More than 44,000 Hatch baby sound machine power adapters are being recalled here in Canada, nearly 1 million more in USA
Health Canada says thousands of power adapters sold with baby sound machines are being recalled due to an electrical hazard. The recall applies to the AC adapter with model number CYAP05 050100U, which is included with Hatch Baby Rest 1st Generation sound machines.
Health Canada says the plastic housing from the AC adapter can become loose when removing it from a power outlet, leading to exposed power prongs which poses an electrical hazard.
If you have one of the affected models, you're urged to stop using the power adapter, cut its cord and contact Hatch for a free replacement power adapter.
16) Elon Musk’s X faces big EU fines as paid checkmarks are ruled deceptive
Elon Musk's overhaul of the Twitter verification system deceives users and violates the Digital Services Act, the European Commission has concluded, in announcing preliminary findings that could lead to a big financial penalty.
The social media platform now called X "designs and operates its interface for the 'verified accounts' with the 'Blue checkmark' in a way that does not correspond to industry practice and deceives users," the EU regulator said. "Since anyone can subscribe to obtain such a 'verified' status, it negatively affects users' ability to make free and informed decisions about the authenticity of the accounts and the content they interact with. There is evidence of motivated malicious actors abusing the 'verified account' to deceive users."
17) Lenovo remains the best selling computer brand in North America, but ASUS is seeing the biggest growth
Lenovo maintained its position as the market leader in the global PC market, shipping 14.7 million units in Q2 2024, reflecting a 4% annual growth. HP followed closely, shipping 13.7 million units, securing the second spot.
Dell ranked third but was the only vendor to report an annual decline, with a 2% year-on-year drop, shipping 10.1 million units. Apple secured the fourth position, shipping 5.5 million units and capturing a 9% market share, marking a 6% increase compared to the same period last year. Asus rounded out the top five, overtaking Acer, thanks to the success of its gaming PCs. Asus had the highest growth in Q2 2024, with a 17% annual increase, shipping 4.5 million units.
18) If you have an EV, you're unfortunately going to need a batch of different apps to find the nearest charging stations on a road trip
Taking our international students on a nine-day road trip through the Rockies, the Okanagan, and Whistler before they flew home, we put 3530km on our new Chevy Bolt, and had no problem finding charging stations — except in Alberta, where they're not big fans of EV's because of their reliance on the oil industry! We did need to use nine diferent apps, though, to find and use various chargers.
Charging-up at a free Porsche charging station at the Mission Hill Estate Winery in West Kelowna
These are the nine apps which we used to locate and use charging stations on our trip.
We'd usually charge at night, with a stop during a long road trip through the mountain passes.
Flo has the most charging stations, but many of them are slower-speed J1772 chargers.
BC Hydro has a growing network of high-speed chargers; ElectrifyCanada is the new kid on the block, with fast, ultra-fast, and hyper-fast charging stations in great locations.
There's a network of free medium-speed Sun Country charging stations here in BC, often at municipal halls, airports, rest stgops, or at hotels or outside Tim Horton's.
Shell is now installing banks of high-speed chargers at its gas stations which have a fast-food outlet nearby where you can grab a bite while your vehicle is charging.
We got about 440km on a full charge in the Rockies — lower than here because of the high altitude.
Here I'm using one of the new ElectrifyCanada Ultra-fast chargers in Canmore, AB, because Banff (15 minutes away), has only a few free slower chargers, mostly at Parks Canada locations.
Using a high-speed charger, we'd get about an 80% charge in about an hour; the charging rate slows down after 80% to keep the bartteries from overheating.
This chart shows how far EV charging has evolved in just a few years — and why it's worth driving a bit to find a 50kW or 350kW charger! Only the newest EV's can handle the 350kW charging speeds.
If you're shopping for an EV, make sure it has a DC fast-charge Combo (CCS) jack…
Many people discouraged us from buying an EV, warning that charging stations are hard to find, and that an EV doesn't have enough range. That may have been true a few years ago, but not any more…
These are screenshots of three different EV charging apps, showing lots of available chargers here!
On our nine-day trip, we spent $67 on charging — almost all of that on fast-chargers during high-mileage days through mountain passes so we didn't have to wait. If we'd taken my gas-powered car, we would've spent at least $700 on gas, likely more — ten times what we paid!
19) German Navy still uses 8-inch floppy disks!
We told you last week that the Government of Japan has passed legislation finally scrapping the requirement for government offices to have computers that can run floppy disks (which were largely phased-out in the mid 90's).
Now, it turns out that four of Germany's Brandenburg-class F123 warships still use 8" floppies for data-acquisition systems!
The Germany Navy has just issued $142 million USD in contracts to Saab to replace the systems with newer technology this fall and winter, but they're not saying what technology will be used on the warships, which were built in the mid- to late- 1990's.
Meanwhile, the San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency says it plans to use 5¼-inch floppies to help run San Francisco's Muni Metro light rail system until 2030.
20) OpenAI reportedly nears breakthrough with “reasoning” AI
OpenAI has shared a five-level system for categorizing AI systems. The five levels range from current AI capabilities to systems that could potentially manage entire organizations. The company believes its technology (such as GPT-4o that powers ChatGPT) currently sits at Level 1, which encompasses AI that can engage in conversational interactions. However, OpenAI executives have told staff they're on the verge of reaching Level 2, dubbed "Reasoners."
Here are OpenAI's five "Stages of Artificial Intelligence":
- Level 1: Chatbots, AI with conversational language
- Level 2: Reasoners, human-level problem solving
- Level 3: Agents, systems that can take actions
- Level 4: Innovators, AI that can aid in invention
- Level 5: Organizations, AI that can do the work of an organization
A Level 2 AI system would reportedly be capable of basic problem-solving on par with a human who holds a doctorate degree but lacks access to external tools.
Alan & Suzanne saying Adios and Auf Weidersehen to their awesome international homestay students — Majo from San Rafael in Mexico, and Emma from Pfaffenhofen in Germany. Majo will be back in the fall for the first half of Grade 12, and will be joined by a Grade 12 student from Prague in Czechia!
Emma with her mom Elisabeth, brother Vincent, sister Viktoria, and dad Markus, at their home in Pfaffenhofen, just north of Munich
Majo, greeted by her dad Mario, and mom Josefina, on her arrival in Mexico City…
Hi from "Tech Talk" listeners Bill and Diana from Langford, who are vacationing in Italy, Greece, and Croatia!
They switched to Freedom Mobile's $45/month "Roam Beyond" plan, so they can use their iPhones in 92 countries without worrying about roaming fees…
…and finally, our "Sign Of The Week"…
And so it goes…