WEBVTT - Apple Stumbles; Earthquake App; CES 2019 Trends; Robots Delivering Snacks 0:00:04.760 --> 0:00:09.360 What's up with Apple? A CS twenty nineteen preview? Where's 0:00:09.360 --> 0:00:12.680 the wish list? In iOS? Twelve apps to help you 0:00:12.720 --> 0:00:17.919 stay fit and be more mindful in twenty nineteen, plus snackbots. 0:00:18.440 --> 0:00:21.159 What's going on? I'm Rich Demiro. This is Rich on 0:00:21.320 --> 0:00:24.960 Tech and welcome to the first episode of twenty nineteen. 0:00:25.520 --> 0:00:28.280 I had a very good vacation for the most part. 0:00:28.320 --> 0:00:31.440 I'll get into that in a moment, but very relaxing. 0:00:31.600 --> 0:00:34.000 Didn't have to wake up at any specific time, had 0:00:34.000 --> 0:00:36.640 some nice time off, had my mom in town from 0:00:36.640 --> 0:00:39.319 New Jersey for the holidays, so that was cool, and 0:00:39.560 --> 0:00:41.120 we got to see a couple of shows. I mean, 0:00:41.200 --> 0:00:44.240 it was really nice. And we're gonna talk some tech. 0:00:44.400 --> 0:00:47.800 Let's get started. I mean, there's not too much going on. 0:00:47.920 --> 0:00:51.000 This is the week between the New Year and CS 0:00:51.080 --> 0:00:54.360 or the holidays in CS, so not a whole lot happens, 0:00:54.840 --> 0:00:57.280 but we will go through some of the things that 0:00:57.280 --> 0:00:59.160 I thought were interesting. This is the show where I 0:00:59.240 --> 0:01:01.120 kind of talk about this that I think you should 0:01:01.120 --> 0:01:06.360 know about apps, gadgets, just tech news in general, and 0:01:06.400 --> 0:01:08.440 I'll take some time to kind of discuss those things. 0:01:08.520 --> 0:01:10.759 I do want to address one thing that did happen 0:01:10.880 --> 0:01:14.280 over the holidays. That was an absolute tragedy. And if 0:01:14.280 --> 0:01:16.760 you're in the LA area listening to this, you heard 0:01:16.800 --> 0:01:23.000 about it. But my colleague Chris Burrows at KTLA passed 0:01:23.040 --> 0:01:29.039 away truly truly tragic circumstances. And Chris and I had 0:01:29.040 --> 0:01:31.840 worked together for many years here in Los Angeles. We 0:01:31.840 --> 0:01:34.959 actually worked together before he came to LA. He was 0:01:35.000 --> 0:01:37.560 on a TV show that I did. I do segments 0:01:37.560 --> 0:01:39.680 for various TV stations, so he worked at the one 0:01:39.680 --> 0:01:41.760 in New York City, so we actually kind of knew 0:01:41.760 --> 0:01:44.800 each other before he even came here. And just very 0:01:44.840 --> 0:01:48.880 tragic circumstances of his passing. And I just want to 0:01:48.920 --> 0:01:53.000 say that I'm still in shock over what happened. I'm angry. 0:01:53.840 --> 0:01:56.680 Here's a guy that was at the height or just 0:01:56.840 --> 0:02:00.760 beginning a very successful career, really had so many things 0:02:00.760 --> 0:02:04.720 going for him, and to see what happened was just 0:02:05.120 --> 0:02:08.040 absolutely unbelievable to me. I mean, I woke up to 0:02:08.160 --> 0:02:11.680 text messages from friends and I just could not believe it. 0:02:11.720 --> 0:02:13.840 And I still don't believe it. It's been over a week, 0:02:14.320 --> 0:02:18.040 and I just everything I think about is just all 0:02:18.080 --> 0:02:20.840 the interactions we had over the years and the conversations 0:02:20.880 --> 0:02:24.160 we had, and I keep searching for clues or anything 0:02:24.320 --> 0:02:27.480 that could have led me to maybe help him, and 0:02:27.680 --> 0:02:32.240 I obviously that probably would not happen. But I do 0:02:32.320 --> 0:02:34.560 want to say my takeaway, and I've already kind of 0:02:34.560 --> 0:02:38.079 shared my thoughts on my Facebook page, my Instagram and Twitter. 0:02:38.280 --> 0:02:41.160 But my takeaway is just be the friend now that 0:02:41.200 --> 0:02:44.040 you want to be to people, and don't wait, because 0:02:44.200 --> 0:02:47.320 life is very short and things like this just kind 0:02:47.320 --> 0:02:50.720 of reiterate that. So Chris Burrows, thinking of you, man, 0:02:50.880 --> 0:02:56.960 and you were a very big inspiration to me here 0:02:57.080 --> 0:02:59.200 because you were so successful and the way that you 0:02:59.280 --> 0:03:02.359 had such an ease and air about yourself on air 0:03:02.560 --> 0:03:05.880 is something that not many journalists can do. So am 0:03:05.880 --> 0:03:10.840 thinking of you. All right, let's talk about CS twenty nineteen. 0:03:11.080 --> 0:03:15.639 This is happening next week, and man, this is I've 0:03:15.680 --> 0:03:20.280 been covering CS now for probably a decade, if not more. 0:03:20.320 --> 0:03:23.320 I can't remember it. It might be about a decade now, 0:03:23.400 --> 0:03:26.240 so maybe a little bit more, maybe eleven years, but 0:03:26.400 --> 0:03:29.519 I don't want to count because it is the craziest 0:03:29.560 --> 0:03:33.480 time of my year. Every year, the whole tech industry 0:03:33.639 --> 0:03:37.720 descends upon Las Vegas. There's a million tech companies. This 0:03:37.880 --> 0:03:40.440 show just keeps getting bigger and bigger because there's so 0:03:40.480 --> 0:03:43.480 many accessory makers and smart home and just about everything 0:03:43.520 --> 0:03:46.120 you can think of. It's all there in one place, 0:03:46.520 --> 0:03:49.400 And how does a journalist like myself even attempt to 0:03:49.440 --> 0:03:53.000 cover something like this? Now, in recent years, you set 0:03:53.040 --> 0:03:54.440 a lot of stuff up, You get a lot of 0:03:54.480 --> 0:03:57.760 advanced meetings with the Samsungs of the world, and you know, 0:03:57.800 --> 0:04:01.800 whatever big companies that you have relationships with, you can 0:04:02.240 --> 0:04:04.800 get in and kind of see what they're doing. But 0:04:04.840 --> 0:04:08.040 the reality is, you never really know what's going to 0:04:08.080 --> 0:04:10.880 be big at CS until you actually get there on 0:04:10.960 --> 0:04:13.600 the ground and you start covering stuff and you start 0:04:13.640 --> 0:04:16.200 experiencing things. Because all these pitches that we get in 0:04:16.240 --> 0:04:18.600 our email it's tough to tell. I mean, they all 0:04:18.640 --> 0:04:21.840 sound great, but are they really that good? So what 0:04:21.920 --> 0:04:23.560 are we going to see at this year CS? I 0:04:23.560 --> 0:04:25.880 think the big theme this year is really going to 0:04:25.920 --> 0:04:29.360 be five G. And five G is the successor to 0:04:29.440 --> 0:04:32.880 four G, which is basically faster internet on our phones 0:04:32.880 --> 0:04:36.200 but also for our homes, our cars, basically everything. And 0:04:36.240 --> 0:04:38.440 so five G is going to be a big kind 0:04:38.440 --> 0:04:41.000 of catch all phrase that we're going to see all 0:04:41.040 --> 0:04:43.800 over the place. Five G is going to happen in 0:04:43.839 --> 0:04:47.159 twenty nineteen, but I don't think in a huge meaningful 0:04:47.200 --> 0:04:49.520 way it will be there. But I think we're still 0:04:49.520 --> 0:04:51.839 on a longer runway when it comes to five G. 0:04:52.080 --> 0:04:57.040 So that's one thing. Health technology that'll be another one. 0:04:57.320 --> 0:05:00.240 Robots there, of course, everywhere, all over the floor. So 0:05:00.240 --> 0:05:03.000 I always try to find cool stuff about robots and 0:05:03.040 --> 0:05:06.159 fun little videos to post digital assistance. So this is 0:05:06.160 --> 0:05:10.279 a big one because Alexa and Google are kind of 0:05:10.320 --> 0:05:13.400 fighting it out for the market share. Personally, I'm on 0:05:13.440 --> 0:05:16.560 the Google side. I think Alexa has done some really 0:05:16.600 --> 0:05:18.960 great things and Amazon has done a great job of 0:05:18.960 --> 0:05:22.760 getting her everywhere. But the thing is I'm seeing is 0:05:22.800 --> 0:05:26.440 kind of like assistant fatigue. I mean, every device, I'm 0:05:26.440 --> 0:05:30.080 getting pitches from every single company about these assistants being 0:05:30.080 --> 0:05:32.480 built into the devices. And a couple of years ago 0:05:32.880 --> 0:05:35.760 it was all about the Internet getting built into these devices, 0:05:35.839 --> 0:05:38.720 so we saw that happen. Now we see the assistants, 0:05:38.800 --> 0:05:41.080 and then of course next year, who knows what'll be, 0:05:41.920 --> 0:05:44.280 but the assistance that will be big because we'll see 0:05:44.360 --> 0:05:45.880 kind of like where they're building them in. I didn't 0:05:45.880 --> 0:05:48.000 think they can put them in anything else, but who knows, 0:05:48.839 --> 0:05:53.760 machine learning, artificial intelligence, and of course driverless cars. I'm 0:05:53.760 --> 0:05:58.960 getting some driverless car kind of rides at CES as 0:05:58.960 --> 0:06:01.120 well this year, So those are the kind of the 0:06:01.120 --> 0:06:03.360 big trends that I'll be on the lookout for. I 0:06:03.520 --> 0:06:05.880 like to find the little gadgets that just kind of 0:06:05.920 --> 0:06:10.480 help you out in everyday life that are really you know, 0:06:10.560 --> 0:06:13.440 not like the thousand dollars things or the big picture things, 0:06:13.480 --> 0:06:15.320 but a lot of the little things, they're just cool 0:06:15.320 --> 0:06:19.479 gadgets that every company is out there showing off their stuff. 0:06:20.000 --> 0:06:22.880 I like to discover the little things that I'll show 0:06:22.920 --> 0:06:25.440 throughout the year, and a lot of things you get 0:06:25.480 --> 0:06:28.520 a preview of, so you see stuff before it actually 0:06:28.680 --> 0:06:31.360 is ready for the public. So we'll see stuff that 0:06:31.480 --> 0:06:33.400 might come out, you know, in the second half of 0:06:33.400 --> 0:06:35.520 the year, the third half, the third of the year, 0:06:35.680 --> 0:06:37.800 third half, I don't think there's a third half of 0:06:37.839 --> 0:06:40.080 the year. I think we'll just leave it at second half. 0:06:40.120 --> 0:06:45.120 But my advice for CS is stay as healthy as possible. 0:06:45.560 --> 0:06:47.919 I'm probably gonna be big on Instagram this year, so 0:06:47.920 --> 0:06:51.000 if you're not following me there, find me on Instagram. 0:06:51.000 --> 0:06:53.039 I'm at rich on Tech and I will show you 0:06:53.160 --> 0:06:56.240 all the good stuff when it comes to CS twenty 0:06:56.360 --> 0:06:58.279 nineteen in Las Vegas. And if you see me there, 0:06:58.320 --> 0:07:01.400 say hi for sure. Even if I look busy, Believe me, 0:07:01.400 --> 0:07:03.960 I'm always willing to say hi to folks. Let's talk 0:07:04.000 --> 0:07:06.680 about a new app available to the city of Los 0:07:06.720 --> 0:07:10.440 Angeles and residents here. It's called Shake alert LA. And 0:07:10.480 --> 0:07:12.480 this is getting a lot of publicity because it's a 0:07:12.480 --> 0:07:16.040 mobile app that sends alerts to users in La County 0:07:16.560 --> 0:07:21.360 if there's an earthquake of magnitude five or more. And 0:07:21.920 --> 0:07:25.480 this is not an earthquake alert app. This is supposed 0:07:25.520 --> 0:07:27.520 to give you a little bit of a heads up 0:07:27.760 --> 0:07:31.440 that you may soon feel shaking. So does it work. 0:07:31.520 --> 0:07:33.840 I don't know. I've downloaded it to my phone. It 0:07:33.920 --> 0:07:37.160 seems like it's pretty straightforward. The thing that a lot 0:07:37.240 --> 0:07:39.560 of people are a little bit concerned about are the 0:07:39.560 --> 0:07:44.040 privacy concerns, and I agree, because when you download this app, 0:07:44.360 --> 0:07:47.400 you have to agree to give up your location at 0:07:47.440 --> 0:07:51.240 all times. And I'm not sure why that is. I 0:07:51.280 --> 0:07:54.400 guess so they can see the proximity of the earthquake 0:07:54.440 --> 0:07:56.120 to you so they can give you a better alert, 0:07:56.600 --> 0:07:59.360 or I guess so they can use your location services 0:07:59.400 --> 0:08:02.160 to only deliver to you if you're in the LA area. 0:08:02.640 --> 0:08:05.360 But here's the deal with these apps. And I did 0:08:05.520 --> 0:08:09.040 a story on another app, which is I'm trying to 0:08:09.040 --> 0:08:12.360 get some clarity on it. But there's another app, let's 0:08:12.360 --> 0:08:16.040 see quake Alert. And this is an app that was 0:08:16.200 --> 0:08:22.000 also done in partnership with the US Geological Survey. Let's see, 0:08:23.040 --> 0:08:26.200 let's see quake Alert. I'm I'm on the beta program. 0:08:26.240 --> 0:08:28.200 And so when I was talking to the folks at 0:08:28.240 --> 0:08:30.640 Quake Alert, they were saying that it's really tough to 0:08:30.640 --> 0:08:35.559 do an app like this because the notifications on Android 0:08:35.600 --> 0:08:38.839 and iOS are not a perfect system. So you can 0:08:38.920 --> 0:08:41.520 send a notification to a phone, but there is no 0:08:41.679 --> 0:08:46.760 guarantee from the cellular providers or iOS or Android that 0:08:46.760 --> 0:08:49.920 that alert will be received, or that notification will be 0:08:50.000 --> 0:08:53.080 received in a timely manner. Now, I always wondered about 0:08:53.120 --> 0:08:55.960 that because it seems like when you do these things 0:08:55.960 --> 0:08:59.040 where you get a text message confirmation or a push 0:08:59.080 --> 0:09:02.600 alert from like Facebook, they come through pretty much immediately. 0:09:03.280 --> 0:09:05.520 But I think the problem is when you're talking about 0:09:05.800 --> 0:09:08.680 a lot of people, like half a million people or 0:09:08.679 --> 0:09:11.240 a million people, you can't really guarantee that all those 0:09:11.280 --> 0:09:13.760 people are going to get that notification at the same time. 0:09:13.840 --> 0:09:17.680 But they say it's an official pilot, So again, what 0:09:17.720 --> 0:09:20.200 does pilot mean. It means that it may not work. 0:09:20.280 --> 0:09:22.280 This is not a guarantee that you're going to get 0:09:22.600 --> 0:09:26.359 a one minute alert of an earthquake. You know, you're 0:09:26.400 --> 0:09:30.560 not guaranteed anything. But this is definitely probably going to help. 0:09:30.679 --> 0:09:32.679 I think once we have the first quake that triggers 0:09:32.720 --> 0:09:34.280 an alert on this app, we'll have a lot more 0:09:34.360 --> 0:09:37.439 data about the effectiveness of this app. So if you 0:09:37.480 --> 0:09:39.920 want to download it, it's available for Android and iOS. 0:09:40.200 --> 0:09:45.560 It is called shake alert La Shake Alert La. And again, 0:09:46.120 --> 0:09:48.640 this is a pilot program, so it's not going to 0:09:48.640 --> 0:09:51.760 be perfect. And if you're worried about your privacy and 0:09:51.800 --> 0:09:54.079 we're you know, the city and all these companies or 0:09:54.120 --> 0:09:58.040 whoever is creating this app having access to your location 0:09:58.160 --> 0:09:59.920 at all times, you may want to skip it because 0:10:00.040 --> 0:10:02.440 you do have to enable that for it to work. 0:10:02.640 --> 0:10:06.320 All right, let's go to the emails now. Ruth says, hey, Rich, 0:10:06.320 --> 0:10:09.000 happy New Year along with your family. My question to 0:10:09.080 --> 0:10:12.080 you is what internet company do you recommend? I have 0:10:12.160 --> 0:10:16.080 Spectrum four hundred megabits per second and I'm paying eighty dollars. 0:10:16.440 --> 0:10:18.920 I've been having problems with the Wi Fi. They've come 0:10:18.960 --> 0:10:23.080 out to quote unquote fix it, but continues with the buffering. Therefore, 0:10:23.080 --> 0:10:27.200 my ring isn't at its best. Help. Thank you, Ruth. Okay, Ruth. 0:10:27.320 --> 0:10:29.280 I think the problem is not your internet, because four 0:10:29.320 --> 0:10:32.480 hundred megabits per second is actually really fast. So at 0:10:32.520 --> 0:10:34.880 my house, I only have one hundred. I wish I 0:10:34.880 --> 0:10:38.680 had four hundred, But it's not your internet. I don't 0:10:38.679 --> 0:10:40.920 think that there's a problem with the actual speed that's 0:10:40.920 --> 0:10:43.520 coming in. And you can confirm this by hooking your 0:10:43.559 --> 0:10:46.560 computer up with an Ethernet cable to the modem that 0:10:46.600 --> 0:10:49.680 Spectrum provides and doing a quick speed test. And you 0:10:49.720 --> 0:10:52.000 can do a speed test by just going to fast 0:10:52.080 --> 0:10:54.840 dot com and seeing what that speed comes up as. 0:10:55.120 --> 0:10:57.440 I don't think that's going to be your problem. I 0:10:57.440 --> 0:11:00.120 think your problem is actually that your WiFi does not 0:11:00.600 --> 0:11:03.520 your ring doorbell. And this is very common because the 0:11:03.600 --> 0:11:07.640 routers that Spectrum and other companies provide are not necessarily 0:11:07.760 --> 0:11:12.240 the best at blanket blanketing your entire home with internet. 0:11:12.360 --> 0:11:14.800 Yeah it works around the device, and yeah it'll probably 0:11:14.800 --> 0:11:17.760 work upstairs downstairs, but if you really look at these things, 0:11:17.760 --> 0:11:20.679 half the time, you're getting really just half the speed 0:11:21.120 --> 0:11:23.760 and maybe not in all portions of your home. So 0:11:24.040 --> 0:11:26.199 Ruth I would recommend, if you really want to get 0:11:26.200 --> 0:11:28.040 the value out of your eighty dollars a month, you 0:11:28.160 --> 0:11:30.960 got to upgrade to one of these mesh networking systems 0:11:31.040 --> 0:11:35.640 like ero ee Ro, Google Wi Fi or Netgear or 0:11:35.720 --> 0:11:38.560 b I think those will definitely fix the issue and 0:11:38.800 --> 0:11:42.040 it will make the Wi Fi reach the ring outside 0:11:42.080 --> 0:11:44.640 your front door. I think that's going to really solve 0:11:44.679 --> 0:11:46.480 all your problems. And here's a little quick tip for 0:11:46.520 --> 0:11:50.200 you if you don't want to change the log in. 0:11:50.600 --> 0:11:53.080 You know, when you change out your Wi Fi system, 0:11:53.320 --> 0:11:55.160 you're gonna have to go around to all your different 0:11:55.160 --> 0:11:59.040 gadgets and reconnect them with the new network credentials. The 0:11:59.080 --> 0:12:02.640 network the Wi Fi I know network name and also 0:12:02.679 --> 0:12:04.920 the password. So if you don't want to do that, 0:12:05.240 --> 0:12:07.400 you can just name your new Wi Fi network the 0:12:07.440 --> 0:12:09.920 same exact name as your old one and set the 0:12:09.960 --> 0:12:13.840 password the same exact as your old network password. Once 0:12:13.840 --> 0:12:16.600 you make the network name and also the password the same, 0:12:16.679 --> 0:12:20.520 your devices should seamlessly find that new network on your 0:12:20.520 --> 0:12:23.840 new equipment and log in as usual, it should be 0:12:23.840 --> 0:12:26.440 pretty seamless. I did that at my place. I know 0:12:26.520 --> 0:12:28.400 it's not the most secure thing to do because I 0:12:28.400 --> 0:12:31.800 always recommend changing passwords when you upgrade stuff. But if 0:12:31.800 --> 0:12:33.720 you don't want to go through the hassle of changing 0:12:33.720 --> 0:12:35.920 all your smart home devices, you can definitely do that 0:12:36.360 --> 0:12:39.440 and everything will follow in line. So that's a little 0:12:39.440 --> 0:12:42.360 tip for you there. Now. I mentioned CS twenty nineteen 0:12:42.440 --> 0:12:47.000 is happening very soon, but already companies are coming out 0:12:47.000 --> 0:12:49.040 with some of their announcements, and this one I really 0:12:49.080 --> 0:12:51.960 like because c Byge is a brand that was not 0:12:52.040 --> 0:12:56.280 around for very long. But I was very very impressed 0:12:56.280 --> 0:12:58.680 with the light bulbs that they sent me, and these 0:12:58.679 --> 0:13:01.079 were the first generation of their life light bulbs. They 0:13:01.080 --> 0:13:04.280 were basically just your standard light bulbs that kind of 0:13:05.040 --> 0:13:08.760 you can use Google Home to adjust right. But the 0:13:08.840 --> 0:13:11.120 secret of these light bulbs is that they do not 0:13:11.240 --> 0:13:15.719 need a hub, and the Google Home app finds them instantly. 0:13:15.800 --> 0:13:18.160 So if you haven't set up any of these smart 0:13:18.160 --> 0:13:20.720 home devices like smart light bulbs, what happens is you 0:13:20.760 --> 0:13:23.480 either need some sort of hub like Phillips Hugh. You 0:13:23.520 --> 0:13:25.400 have a hub that you have to connect to your network. 0:13:25.679 --> 0:13:28.160 The light bulbs talk to that hub, and then the 0:13:28.200 --> 0:13:31.480 Google Home app or the Google Assistant will interface with 0:13:31.679 --> 0:13:34.199 the I know it's kind of complicated, but they'll interface 0:13:34.240 --> 0:13:36.640 on the back end with the hub and talk to 0:13:36.679 --> 0:13:39.920 those light bulbs kind of through a third party. Right now, 0:13:40.640 --> 0:13:43.240 with Ge, the way they do it is their bulbs 0:13:43.360 --> 0:13:48.320 actually interface with Google Assistant directly. So here's how it worked. 0:13:48.360 --> 0:13:50.360 I put one of the light bulbs in a socket 0:13:50.440 --> 0:13:53.160 at my home, I opened up the Google Home app 0:13:53.200 --> 0:13:56.120 on my phone and boom, right on the Google Home 0:13:56.160 --> 0:13:57.839 app is said, Hey, we found a light bulb. Do 0:13:57.880 --> 0:13:59.400 you want to set this thing up? And I was 0:13:59.400 --> 0:14:02.319 so impressed because generally that's not the way it works. 0:14:02.360 --> 0:14:04.679 You have to go to the h app, set up 0:14:04.679 --> 0:14:07.720 the light bulb there, and then link the h app 0:14:07.800 --> 0:14:10.880 to your Google Assistant and then it can then control 0:14:10.920 --> 0:14:14.600 those devices. So this is kind of cutting out the middleman. 0:14:15.559 --> 0:14:19.320 And now c BYGE has new light bulbs. These are 0:14:19.400 --> 0:14:22.920 full color LEDs, and these are gonna come out. Now 0:14:22.920 --> 0:14:25.240 they're not available right away, but they will come out 0:14:25.480 --> 0:14:28.640 this quarter, so first quarter of twenty nineteen. So full 0:14:28.680 --> 0:14:32.480 color LEDs. They're gonna have millions of color options, plus 0:14:32.560 --> 0:14:36.920 tunable whites in sixty wah equivalent A nineteen a BR 0:14:37.080 --> 0:14:40.960 thirty for recessed cans, and a custom sized light strip. 0:14:41.280 --> 0:14:43.280 And these are all controllable with your voice or through 0:14:43.280 --> 0:14:47.200 the app, or with custom routines and schedules, so that's 0:14:47.240 --> 0:14:50.080 really cool. And the price point on these bulbs they 0:14:50.080 --> 0:14:53.200 haven't said yet, but the original bulbs that they sent 0:14:53.280 --> 0:14:56.200 me were a very good price. So I would say 0:14:56.280 --> 0:14:58.520 definitely look into these things if you want something that's 0:14:58.560 --> 0:15:01.520 super simple, especially if setting something up for someone else 0:15:01.560 --> 0:15:05.200 in your family. Definitely check out c by ge because 0:15:05.320 --> 0:15:07.960 I was very impressed. I love that they are seamlessly 0:15:08.400 --> 0:15:11.920 integrated with Google Assistant. And again this is all working 0:15:12.000 --> 0:15:16.400 through Bluetooth, so the bulbs have Bluetooth built into them, 0:15:16.520 --> 0:15:20.080 so that your phone can recognize a Bluetooth bulb nearby 0:15:20.240 --> 0:15:23.560 and then connect it to Google Assistant. Some other devices 0:15:23.560 --> 0:15:26.640 that they're gonna have is a smart switch. So this 0:15:26.800 --> 0:15:29.600 is really cool too, because a lot of times if 0:15:29.640 --> 0:15:32.800 you're using these bulbs with the switches in, like for instance, 0:15:32.840 --> 0:15:35.120 in my office at home, I have a bunch of 0:15:35.160 --> 0:15:38.000 smart bulbs, but it's kind of a pain because sometimes 0:15:38.040 --> 0:15:40.560 I turn off the light switch in the office, and 0:15:40.720 --> 0:15:43.360 sometimes I leave it on and turn off the bulbs 0:15:43.480 --> 0:15:46.480 with my voice. So when I turn off the light switch, 0:15:46.720 --> 0:15:49.640 I can't then turn on the bulbs with my voice. 0:15:50.200 --> 0:15:52.200 And if I leave them on and turn them off 0:15:52.240 --> 0:15:54.400 with my voice, then the switch I have to flip 0:15:54.400 --> 0:15:56.000 it down and then back up to turn them on. 0:15:56.520 --> 0:16:00.160 So with these new smart switches, they will actually allow 0:16:00.240 --> 0:16:02.120 you to turn your lights on and off. You can 0:16:02.160 --> 0:16:06.600 dim them and control them away from home with just 0:16:06.680 --> 0:16:10.080 the voice assistant or an app. And what's really cool 0:16:10.120 --> 0:16:12.560 about that is that, let's say you have someone come 0:16:12.560 --> 0:16:14.560 to your house and turn off all the light switches 0:16:14.600 --> 0:16:16.320 like they normally would do when they leave a room, 0:16:16.840 --> 0:16:19.600 then you can't control your light bulbs from afar. So 0:16:19.680 --> 0:16:22.200 let's say you wanna Let's say you're on vage. Okay, 0:16:22.280 --> 0:16:25.920 let me give you a scenario. Let's say I don't know. 0:16:26.000 --> 0:16:28.040 Let's say I'm in New York City. My wife is 0:16:28.040 --> 0:16:30.040 going to meet me in New York. Right, I'm there 0:16:30.200 --> 0:16:33.000 day early for work. Right, she comes out of the house, 0:16:33.040 --> 0:16:35.120 she turns off all the lights, and then she meets 0:16:35.120 --> 0:16:36.560 me in New York And I said, oh no, I 0:16:36.560 --> 0:16:38.200 want to leave those lights on so I can make 0:16:38.200 --> 0:16:39.920 it look like someone's at our house, right and have 0:16:40.000 --> 0:16:42.280 these lights turn on and off throughout the day. Well, 0:16:42.320 --> 0:16:44.400 if you have one of these smart switches, even if 0:16:44.400 --> 0:16:46.920 she flipped the switch off, you'll still be able to 0:16:46.920 --> 0:16:49.880 control those light bulbs from afar using the app or 0:16:49.920 --> 0:16:52.480 your voice or whatever. And I think that's pretty useful. 0:16:52.560 --> 0:16:55.240 So in fact, it's nice too because you don't even 0:16:55.280 --> 0:16:58.600 have to wire your house for new switches. You just 0:16:58.760 --> 0:17:02.200 use the switches that GE has and you can now 0:17:02.240 --> 0:17:04.720 dim your lights and turn them on, turn them off 0:17:04.720 --> 0:17:07.280 whatever you want, and it's fully controllable from the app 0:17:07.440 --> 0:17:10.160 or the light switches. So I think that's a really 0:17:10.240 --> 0:17:12.960 nice edition. So again c by GE, I think they're 0:17:12.960 --> 0:17:14.560 doing some cool stuff and we're gonna see a lot 0:17:14.600 --> 0:17:16.800 more of this in the future as well. Let's talk 0:17:16.800 --> 0:17:20.399 about Apple. Oh my gosh, Apple, Apple Apple. This was 0:17:20.440 --> 0:17:23.320 one of the biggest stories of the week because Apple 0:17:24.520 --> 0:17:29.000 revised their earnings estimates and they basically said that they 0:17:29.000 --> 0:17:31.920 were gonna make about up to nine billion dollars less 0:17:31.920 --> 0:17:33.800 than they originally thought. Now, don't get me wrong, I'm 0:17:33.800 --> 0:17:35.760 not crying for Apple here. They are still making a 0:17:35.840 --> 0:17:39.160 ton of money. But what happened with Apple is that 0:17:39.400 --> 0:17:43.280 sales of iPhones were not as good as they expected. 0:17:44.359 --> 0:17:47.760 So Apple said they Now, you can read this a 0:17:47.760 --> 0:17:49.399 million different ways, and I'm not gonna go into it 0:17:49.440 --> 0:17:51.760 too too much because it's been said and said and 0:17:51.840 --> 0:17:53.880 over said. So I'm just gonna give you my quick 0:17:53.920 --> 0:17:56.920 thoughts on this. But the bottom line is Apple said, look, 0:17:57.080 --> 0:17:59.280 number one, our phones came out later in the year 0:17:59.400 --> 0:18:03.239 than usual, and so they shipped later, which means that 0:18:03.280 --> 0:18:05.680 in the fourth quarter of twenty eighteen, people didn't have 0:18:05.720 --> 0:18:08.560 as much opportunity to purchase their phones. Okay, that could 0:18:08.560 --> 0:18:11.919 be true. Then they said that China was also not 0:18:12.160 --> 0:18:16.280 as strong as they expected, so weak economics in China 0:18:16.920 --> 0:18:21.520 contributed to this less revenue or they expect less revenue. 0:18:21.560 --> 0:18:26.120 And then they also said that folks upgraded their batteries 0:18:28.119 --> 0:18:30.879 because battery replacements. Remember that whole thing with the battery 0:18:30.920 --> 0:18:33.280 where they were throttling the phones and they said, okay, fine, 0:18:33.280 --> 0:18:36.040 we'll let you replace your battery for thirty bucks. Well 0:18:36.080 --> 0:18:37.760 that was throughout the end of the year, so that 0:18:37.880 --> 0:18:40.520 ended actually on December thirty first. Now batteries go up 0:18:40.560 --> 0:18:43.199 to their normal price of I believe I put this 0:18:43.240 --> 0:18:45.000 in my book one hundred and one handy tech tips 0:18:45.000 --> 0:18:47.760 for the iPhone. I believe it was either fifty nine 0:18:48.119 --> 0:18:50.560 or oh gosh, now you're gonna make me find this, 0:18:51.040 --> 0:18:56.520 so let's see battery. I think it was fifty nine dollars. Nope, 0:18:56.600 --> 0:19:01.159 let's see seventy nine dollars. Seventy nine So yeah, So 0:19:01.200 --> 0:19:05.680 the batteries now are okay, between forty nine and seventy 0:19:05.760 --> 0:19:09.000 nine dollars for replacement, depending on your iPhone model. Before 0:19:09.000 --> 0:19:11.760 they were charging twenty nine dollars. So they said a 0:19:11.800 --> 0:19:14.240 lot of people took advantage of that. I don't know 0:19:14.280 --> 0:19:16.359 if I'm buying that. I mean, yes, I think that 0:19:16.600 --> 0:19:18.879 people did take advantage of the battery replacement and it 0:19:18.920 --> 0:19:21.639 did make their phone feel newer because it wasn't as slow, 0:19:21.880 --> 0:19:24.280 But I don't think that is nine billion dollars worth. 0:19:24.520 --> 0:19:27.119 The other thing they did say is that consumers are 0:19:27.160 --> 0:19:30.919 adapting to a world with fewer carrier subsidies, and I 0:19:30.960 --> 0:19:33.040 do agree with that. I think that once we saw 0:19:33.119 --> 0:19:36.080 these carriers stop charging two hundred dollars for a phone, 0:19:36.080 --> 0:19:38.919 and now that the phone is charging is costing closer 0:19:38.920 --> 0:19:42.479 to one thousand dollars, it does make people wait longer 0:19:42.480 --> 0:19:45.480 to upgrade their phone. We're seeing a longer upgrade cycle 0:19:45.520 --> 0:19:48.760 in general because phones are just getting better and you 0:19:48.760 --> 0:19:51.639 don't need a new one all the time. Even I 0:19:51.640 --> 0:19:54.000 see this with my wife, I mean her phone, except 0:19:54.000 --> 0:19:57.800 for the camera. She had an iPhone. What does she have? 0:19:57.840 --> 0:20:00.520 A seven? And I did notice up to the the 0:20:00.560 --> 0:20:02.080 camera is a little bit better. But I think with 0:20:02.119 --> 0:20:04.199 like a ten R or a ten S, the I 0:20:04.200 --> 0:20:06.719 do think the camera actually got a lot better with 0:20:06.800 --> 0:20:09.480 the ten S and the ten R. So if you 0:20:09.520 --> 0:20:11.480 are thinking of upgrading for the camera and you have 0:20:11.520 --> 0:20:14.200 an older device, it is worth it. But the reality 0:20:14.280 --> 0:20:16.520 is you don't necessarily need that. If things are working 0:20:16.640 --> 0:20:20.280 just fine for you, it's fine. So anyway, Apple was 0:20:20.320 --> 0:20:23.280 saying that a lot of these a lot of these 0:20:23.320 --> 0:20:26.080 things all came to fruition at the same time, and 0:20:26.119 --> 0:20:30.720 that impacted their quarterly revenue, and we don't know exactly what, 0:20:31.040 --> 0:20:33.280 you know. They haven't reported the full revenue just yet, 0:20:33.320 --> 0:20:35.200 but when they do, we'll kind of see what happened here. 0:20:35.520 --> 0:20:38.719 But I think the bottom line is people are upgrading 0:20:38.760 --> 0:20:43.119 their phones less and the iPhone is not as magical 0:20:43.160 --> 0:20:44.960