TechtalkRadio – Official TechtalkRadio Blog https://blog.techtalkradio.com The Blog for the TechtalkRadio Show Tue, 14 Apr 2026 23:05:55 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=6.9.4 63714750 Less Screen Time, More Play: Fun Tech for Kids with Mario and Bluey https://blog.techtalkradio.com/less-screen-time-more-play-fun-tech-for-kids-with-mario-and-bluey/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=less-screen-time-more-play-fun-tech-for-kids-with-mario-and-bluey Tue, 14 Apr 2026 23:05:42 +0000 https://blog.techtalkradio.com/?p=16602 Read More]]>

In this week’s Talking Tech segment on KMSB Fox 11 News 13, Andy Taylor explores a growing trend in technology—tools and toys designed to help kids take a break from screens while still engaging with interactive and educational experiences.

After showcasing a variety of gadgets at the Sunflower Computer Club in Marana, one standout featured previously on Talking Tech was the NEX Playground, an interactive system that turns your TV into a motion-based gaming experience. Kids can physically participate in games, blending screen time with movement and social interaction.

Nintendo is also expanding beyond traditional gaming with its My Mario line, offering books, building sets, and hybrid digital experiences that encourage creativity, reading, and hands-on play.

For outdoor fun, Andy highlights a ride-on ATV themed around Bluey. The Bluey 12v ATV With Surfboard is Designed for younger riders, it offers a safe, battery-powered way for kids to explore while enjoying familiar sounds and characters. Of course it is decorated in Bluey Style! While the Weight limit is about 66lbs and can reach a top speed of 3mph, Andy decided to have Sora, before it goes aways, allow him a virtual experience of Riding!

The takeaway: technology isn’t just about more screen time—it can also be a bridge to more active, creative, and balanced play.

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Remote Desktop Access, MacBook Neo Review, Social Media Marketing Tips – #474 https://blog.techtalkradio.com/remote-desktop-access-macbook-neo-review-social-media-marketing-tips-474/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=remote-desktop-access-macbook-neo-review-social-media-marketing-tips-474 Thu, 26 Mar 2026 14:17:59 +0000 https://blog.techtalkradio.com/?p=16188

On this week’s TechtalkRadio, Andy Taylor and Shawn DeWeerd cover a wide range of tech topics, starting with a listener question about securely accessing files remotely. They discuss modern solutions like VPNs, Tailscale, and remote desktop tools, along with the challenges of Windows 11 networking changes. The conversation also takes an interesting turn into how Pokémon Go’s massive location data is now being used to power delivery robots, highlighting the unexpected ways everyday tech can evolve.

Andy also prepares for an upcoming presentation focused on practical technology for older users, including easy-to-use devices like GrandPad tablets and digital photo frames that automatically update with family pictures. The show features a hands-on discussion of the new MacBook Neo, covering design, usability, performance, and why it could be a strong choice for everyday users.

In the second half, local entrepreneur Misa Acosta, creator of Makeup Therapy with Marisa, joins the show to share her journey of building a business and using social media to expand her brand and create engagement. She offers insights into content creation, engagement strategies, and how platforms like Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, and YouTube can help grow a brand. The episode wraps with entertainment news, including buzz around a new Firefly animated series and the evolving world of streaming content. Her Milkshake profiles links can be found here

In Wrapping Up, we wanted to share links Shawn had mentioned in the show for Digital Photo Frames and services from Pix-Star and Nixplay

🖼 Pix-Star

  • App: Pix-Star Snap
  • Lets you upload photos directly from your phone
  • Photos automatically rotate on the frame
  • Great for sharing family photos in near real-time

🖼 Nixplay

  • App: Nixplay App
  • Very similar concept:
    • App-based uploads
    • Cloud-connected frames
    • Photos update automatically
  • Popular for gifting to parents/grandparents

Got a question for the show? Email techguys@techtalkradio.com, and catch more at techtalkradio.com.

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Episode 472 – MacBook Neo Is Official, AI Music Gets Real & Choosing the Right Security Camera | TechtalkRadio https://blog.techtalkradio.com/episode-472-macbook-neo-is-official-ai-music-gets-real-choosing-the-right-security-camera-techtalkradio/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=episode-472-macbook-neo-is-official-ai-music-gets-real-choosing-the-right-security-camera-techtalkradio Sat, 07 Mar 2026 23:26:22 +0000 https://blog.techtalkradio.com/?p=15948 Read More]]>

This week on TechtalkRadio, Andy and Shawn open with condolences for Justin, who’s away for a couple weeks after a loss in the family. From there, the conversation swings into Shawn’s very real-world tech life as a broadcast engineer at Notre Dame—juggling a marathon Saturday that included multiple live productions across different networks and platforms. They also touch on the frustration of missing major industry conferences like NAB and Infocom due to schedule collisions, while still keeping an eye on the one event Shawn refuses to miss: Gen Con, the massive tabletop gaming convention he’s attended for over a decade.

The middle of the show dives into the growing “ownership problem” in modern tech—especially as it relates to phones, computers, and cloud services. Andy and Shawn react to Apple’s latest headlines, including talk of a more affordable iPhone option and what a lower-cost iOS device could mean for people who don’t want (or can’t justify) flagship pricing. That naturally leads to a bigger discussion: device upgrade fatigue, the rising cost of PC parts like RAM and storage, and the creeping shift toward renting everything—software, storage, even processing power—through subscriptions and cloud instances.

AI is the big philosophical thread this week. They debate the ethical and emotional cost of AI-generated content—how it’s getting harder to tell what’s real, why disclosure matters, and what happens when companies replace human creativity because AI is cheaper and “good enough.” Andy shares a fascinating example using Suno, an AI music generator that created a shockingly convincing song featuring the show’s names—cool, impressive… and immediately uncomfortable once you realize what it represents. They also dig into the fine print reality: even when you prompt the creation, you often don’t truly own it, and rights can disappear the moment you stop paying.

In the second half, the show pivots back to practical tech help with a listener question about home security cameras. Shawn lays out why he’s a fan of Wyze—especially the value of an unlimited camera plan and SD-card local recording—while Andy weighs in with real-world comparisons like Google Nest limitations and other alternatives (including a window-mounted camera option he demoed on TV). The episode wraps with a fun maker-style segment where Shawn explains his DIY hack turning a Wyze smart switch into a portable “smart button,” plus a quick look at an RF/IR detection gadget Andy picked up for travel privacy and hidden camera detection. Finally, they close on fresh Apple rumors—an apparent leak pointing to a lower-cost “MacBook Neo”—and tease next week’s topic: AI journaling with Rosebud.

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Episode 471 – AI Ads, New Tech & The Death of Trust Online | TechtalkRadio https://blog.techtalkradio.com/episode-471-ai-ads-new-tech-the-death-of-trust-online-techtalkradio/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=episode-471-ai-ads-new-tech-the-death-of-trust-online-techtalkradio Thu, 26 Feb 2026 00:49:15 +0000 https://blog.techtalkradio.com/?p=15802 Read More]]>

This week on TechtalkRadio, Andy Taylor, Justin Lemme, and Shawn DeWeerd are finally all back in the same episode—and they waste no time diving into the biggest tech vibes of the week: Super Bowl ads, AI overload, and the growing feeling that nothing we see online can be trusted at face value.

The crew kicks things off talking about how Super Bowl commercials just don’t hit like they used to—especially now that so many ads get spoiled early and a wave of “AI everything” messaging has officially arrived. One standout: the uneasy reaction to a Ring-style “AI neighborhood search” concept that left everyone asking the same question… is this helpful… or is this Big Brother? That leads into a bigger conversation about terms-of-service “gotchas,” features enabled by default, and how the U.S. and EU often treat consumer protections very differently. Andy found his old Dude Your Getting a Dell T-Shirt, The Guys wondered what happened to the Dude Guy? 10 years ago this week – He answered the Questions in this video for TechInsider posted to YouTube

From there, the episode shifts into something closer to home: the ongoing Nancy Guthrie case in Tucson and how AI-generated “enhancements” and misinformation are muddying the waters online. The guys discuss how quickly fake visuals and wild speculation can spread, especially when streamers and social feeds turn a real investigation into 24/7 content. The takeaway is simple—and kind of scary: AI is making it harder than ever to trust what we’re seeing.

Listener questions bring the episode into practical territory. One parent asks where teens should start with AI, and the answer is all about guardrails: keep it open, keep it honest, and stay involved. Justin shares a great real-world example—using AI as a supervised helper so his son can learn Roblox Studio and build an actual working game. (Proof that with the right oversight, these tools can be more “creative superpower” than “digital doomscroll.”)

Then it’s nostalgia time. Susan in Green Valley wants to revisit classic Windows 95-era games, and Shawn points listeners toward GOG (Good Old Games) for DRM-free classics and the Internet Archive for browser-playable retro titles. The gaming talk escalates into Diablo vs. World of Warcraft, “Will It Run Doom?” madness (yes, people run Doom on everything), and even a moment of remembrance for Hideki Sato, a key figure behind Sega’s legendary hardware era—including the Dreamcast.

The episode wraps with a quick Apple-watch segment: a teased “special Apple experience,” rumors of new hardware like an iPhone 17E and MacBook Pro with M5, and a side-road into shifting tech ecosystems—Windows frustrations, growing Linux momentum, and Andy’s ongoing real-world adjustment to Android life with his Pixel. As always: listener questions, tech laughs, and just enough chaos to keep it fun.

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Episode 470 – Security Cams, Skydiving Birthdays & “Remember When USB 3.1 Was New?” https://blog.techtalkradio.com/episode-470-security-cams-skydiving-birthdays-remember-when-usb-3-1-was-new/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=episode-470-security-cams-skydiving-birthdays-remember-when-usb-3-1-was-new Sat, 14 Feb 2026 18:45:40 +0000 https://blog.techtalkradio.com/?p=15743 Read More]]>

TechtalkRadio kicks off Valentine’s weekend 2026 with a practical update on home security cameras—and why this topic is suddenly front-of-mind for a lot of people. Andy explains how cloud-based doorbells can still capture (and upload) footage even without an active paid plan, what “short-window” history looks like on some systems, and why notifications (including email alerts) can matter when you’re trying to piece together a timeline.

From there, Andy compares camera approaches: cloud-first doorbells like Google Nest, local-recording options that use microSD loop recording, and higher-resolution setups like Reolink (including solar-powered placements for property coverage). He also hits real-life usability stuff that’s easy to overlook—glare behind glass when placing a camera indoors towards the exterior. This is possible with the Girafit Indoor, also how quickly you can save clips to your phone, and why you might not want to disable motion/vehicle notifications even if they’re annoying.

Then the show jumps into a 2016 flashback recorded this same week: a super-relatable PC upgrade spiral (new CPU means new motherboard, which means new RAM, which means… everything). The crew debates overclocking, thermals, motherboard quality, and warranty choices—plus Justin drops the always-handy PCPartPicker tip for anyone building on a budget.

Part two of the flashback brings back “60 Second Tech,” including iPhone LED flash alerts for notifications, smarter shopping comparisons when buying laptops, and early predictions about autonomous delivery and driverless regulation.

Back to current day, Andy closes the episode with a quick nod to Black Mirror (and how fast reality keeps chasing sci-fi), plus a couple of websites worth checking out.

Got a question for the show? Email techguys@techtalkradio.com, and catch more at techtalkradio.com.

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Also Available on KGVY AM/FM, Amazon Music, GoodPods, PodBean and other Delivery Networks!

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