Andy TaylorTechtalkRadio, , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Episode 463 – “Scammers, Lies, Leather and Shawn’s N64 Crisis!”

This week’s TechtalkRadio Show kicks off with Andy, Shawn, and Justin joking about cold basements, impulse buying, and Black Friday/Cyber Monday deals before diving into a discussion with former FBI spy hunter and cybersecurity expert Eric O’Neill, author of Spies, Lies, and Cybercrime. Eric explains why he hates the Hollywood “hoodie hacker” stereotype and argues that today’s cybercriminals operate more like spies—well-funded, organized, and focused on long-term reconnaissance and deception. He walks through how overseas criminal syndicates abuse the dark web, cryptocurrency, and lax enforcement in countries like Russia and China to attack victims in the U.S. with little fear of being caught.

From there, the conversation gets very real about modern scams: AI voice and video deepfakes used for “family emergency” scams, social media “fun quizzes” that are actually fishing for password reset information, and toll-road and smishing (SMS phishing) texts that weaponize urgency and fear. Eric stresses that everyone is a target, not just big companies—criminals simply look for whoever is most vulnerable, especially seniors and teens. His core advice: assume every unsolicited email or text is a potential viper, don’t click deal links in emails (go directly to the retailer’s site instead), enable two-factor authentication everywhere, and never pay scammers via wire transfer, crypto, or gift cards. He also recommends using credit cards over debit for fraud protection. Check out Eric’s Website at https://www.ericoneill.net

Shawn confesses to an expensive impulse buy: the Analog 3D, a high-end, hardware-accurate recreation of the Nintendo 64 that outputs in 4K and supports original cartridges and controllers—but he can’t find any of his N64 games. Cue memories of GoldenEye, Mario 64, Ocarina of Time, Star Fox 64 and the possibility that “Steve” might still be “borrowing” his carts. Justin follows with a deep dive into his heavily modded Steam Deck OLED, wrapped in real leather from dbrand, customized with copper-infused buttons designed to develop patina, and upgraded Hall-effect joysticks. He talks about tearing the handheld apart, troubleshooting joystick issues with AI tools, and that classic “one screw left over” moment, all while Andy points out how AI is speeding up creative work—from fixing graphics to solving hardware problems.

Listener questions round out the show. Martin in Vail asks about smartwatches for an iPhone, and Justin and Shawn recommend sticking with Apple Watch unless you need serious fitness and outdoor tracking, in which case Garmin shines with better GPS, battery life, and health metrics. Shawn also vents about Apple’s sometimes maddening notification behavior and how he fixed messages going only to his Mac instead of his watch/phone. Adrian in Irvine asks about secure email in light of concerns over big tech scanning messages for AI training; ProtonMail gets a thumbs-up overall, with a side note about recent worries over dormant address recycling. Justin’s Website of the Week is point.me, a service that helps combine travel points across multiple programs to unlock flights and hotel stays—complete with a real-world success story from their friend Matt flying upgraded to Spain on points. The crew wraps with holiday well-wishes, a shout-out to a YouTube viewer, and a joking plea for any listeners with spare Nintendo 64 cartridges to send them Shawn’s way.

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Andy TaylorTechtalkRadio, , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Episode 398 – Better Than a Colonoscopy! Now Available to Stream

In this Weeks TechtalkRadio Show, the Entire crew is on hand Andy, Justin, Shawn, Slick and Matt. Andy notices that most of the crew looks solemn and serious while Justin notes that the scowls look similar to the face after drinking a pre-colonoscopy beverage. Either way they press on and kick off with the Apple Announcements of the New M4 Chip which will in available in the new iPad Pro from Apple. Shawn tells us how his parents which travel have reduced their Technology to an iPad and love the experience of its portability and ease of use. As tablets become more powerful and feature rich, Matt and Justin share how it is viable to use Tablets as replacements for Notebooks or even desktop systems due to the power of Software and Services and connectable Bluetooth folios or keyboards to them tablets.  

Andy notes how the Tablets can be an Entertainment Portal with all the Streaming Services. He also shares a recent product he shared on News13, the Logitech Universal Folio which can hold most tablets in place in a foldable case which features a Bluetooth keyboard.  The guys share some good uses for tablets while Andy focuses on the Broadcasting Aspect in a software called Zetta from RCS. Andy hasn’t had an IPAD since Generation 2, Matt talks about how when he worked for Apple, he was happy with the functionality of the iPad’s and sees how far they have come. Slick uses different tablets and shares his experience with them including one with a strange memory configuration. Shawn has found good use for an older iPad Mini and uses that for his Plex Server. Justin uses his older tablets for Home Assistant. The New IPAD Pro 11′ and 13′ upon the announcement was immediately available to Order from Apple.  

Listener Brian visits a Yard Sale and picks up an used Western Digital My Book for 15 bucks but wants to know how to be protected when taking it home and wanting to use it. The guys talk about the good call that Brian is questioning plugging hardware into the computer and the dangers that could go along with it. Some possible solutions are covered. Justin shares the worst solution which has us in stiches with the reminder, don’t do this at home. There are other problems that could come up buy used storage beyond Malware which offers a bad scenario to consider. Matt gives us a safe legal solution.  

Roberta in Tucson is thinking about cutting the cord and wants to know about switching from Cable to YouTube TV in comparison to her Cable/Internet Provider.  Shawn gives us the basics of how the YouTube TV Service works. Shawn tells us how the Cloud DVR Service works and how YouTube TV does not require converter boxes. Local Channels are available based on IP in most cases. According to Justin, the programming guide is much better than what the cable company provides. What is needed is Hi-Speed internet, a Smart TV or Device such as Roku, Fire Stick Etc. Money Saving would be more than likely and up to three simultaneous streams could be used.  The subject shifts to shopping in Best Buy and helping customers which also conjures memories for Matt.  When it comes to saving money, Matt talks about an Introduction plan for YouTube TV that is available and what you shouldn’t see on your bill. A 7 Day Free Trial should allow enough time to see if it would work for Roberta before cutting the cord.  

Andy talks about CNET’s Jessica Fiero and articles she has been doing surrounding the Apple Watch and Fitness. One article shared how she noticed her relation to health had changed when looking at the results it was guiding her to do even better. After Andy’s recent procedure he decided to invest in the Apple Watch and is also enjoying the experience. Justin shares his respect for the Apple Watch and those health features. He also reminds us that Samsung and Pixel do also offer Watches. There was some confusion as to the Cellular version and Andy shares how the Cellular version is basically a smart phone on your wrist which can act independent of the smart phone while the non-cell version will still interact with an iPhone. Similar to Andy’s situation, Shawn shares his dad was able to use his HSA Account to purchase the Apple Watch due to the fact it is certified as a medical device in recording Hyper Tachycardia.  

Shawn talks about the Popular game Helldivers 2 and how Sony found its very vocal User Base.

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Andy TaylorTechtalkRadio, , , , , , , , , , ,

New Radio Show Posted – Episode #383 – From The Dungeon!

In this Weeks TechtalkRadio Show, Andy and Shawn wrap up the year 2023 with a discussion on headphones. Shawn is broadcasting from a basement while the family celebrates the holidays, we will refer to that as a Dungeon! Shawn is wearing the Wyze Gaming Headphones and tells us about some of the good points versus what he wishes the Wyze headsets would have like his Steel Series headset which centers around dual audio. Andy wonders with so many options, Logi, SteelSeries, Hyper X, where is the original leader in Sound – Creative Labs. There are options for the SoundBlaster lines, and they still create some fine products. Shawn tells us about a couple of tech products he received during the holidays including the Wireless Battery Powered PC Duster. The ATEngus Cleaner has already been put to use. The guys talk about the need to clean the computer for the best performance.

Andy tells us about an issue with a SanDisk USB Flash Drive which suddenly is write protected, after a call with Support it was deemed defective. Andy seeks out a good disc management tool to try to fix himself. Shawn recommends the Subreddit for Data Recovery available https://www.reddit.com/r/datarecovery/.

Shawn and Andy talk about a video Justin sent them earlier in the week, a Spider board. Shawn talks about the level of tech this is but also serves as a warning to not chuck out non-working USB Drives and to be careful where they plugged into. Shawn tells us about a recent security issue with a web portal connected to Ubiquity devices which has since been corrected.

Shawn and Andy talk about some steps to take when you believe your system may have been compromised and how some users aren’t sure how to shut off the computer and the steps after it has been shut off. In a story in the news which had Apple 9 Series Watch and Ultra 2 not able to sell these in the US, Apple has pulled them from Online and In Store Apple purchase. This was due to a patent issue from Masimo. Since this show aired after asking the federal government to step in, which they refused, the Sales have been reinstated. Shawn has the AirBuds Pro and Andy is thinking about getting a pair and the benefits over the Pro versus Standard are discussed.

Andy talks about an article he saw at CNET regarding getting good audio from your television. This has been an issue for many viewers trying to make dialog more listenable, a soundbar may not always be the ultimate solution. While Netflix has done a good job with accessibility in audio, Shawn has seen some benefits with Roku TV’s and the Roku App on the Smartphone. Andy talks about Epic and how at the Site store.epicgames.com users may be able to find some discounted or free games to play.

Shawn tells us about ADSBExchange, A flight tracking site for finding aircraft around the world. Similar to Flight Aware from the User Experience Shawn says this is a bit better https://globe.adsbexchange.com/.