WEBVTT - Listener Mail 2014 Extravaganza 0:00:04.240 --> 0:00:07.200 Get in touch with technology with text stuff from how 0:00:07.240 --> 0:00:13.840 stuff works dot com. Be there, everyone, and welcome to 0:00:14.000 --> 0:00:17.640 tex Stuff. I'm your host, Jonathan Strickland, and today we're 0:00:17.640 --> 0:00:20.880 gonna do something a little different. Rather than have a 0:00:20.920 --> 0:00:24.000 co host on or an interview, I wanted to do 0:00:24.120 --> 0:00:27.360 an episode where I really responded to listener mail, but 0:00:27.400 --> 0:00:28.880 I haven't done that in a while, and we have 0:00:28.880 --> 0:00:31.800 a lot of questions that can be answered within the 0:00:31.840 --> 0:00:34.479 context of a single episode. So we're actually gonna do 0:00:34.520 --> 0:00:36.920 a couple of these where I'm going to answer some 0:00:36.960 --> 0:00:39.240 of these questions. And if you guys ever have questions 0:00:39.280 --> 0:00:41.040 for me that you would like me to answer, whether 0:00:41.120 --> 0:00:44.080 it's going to be a full episode or just a 0:00:44.159 --> 0:00:47.680 quick question that you're curious about, send me those questions. 0:00:47.800 --> 0:00:49.639 That address that you can send them to is tech 0:00:49.680 --> 0:00:52.520 Stuff at how stuff works dot com, and I will 0:00:52.560 --> 0:00:55.880 of course repeat that at the end. So let's get started. Now. 0:00:56.640 --> 0:00:59.080 A lot of the questions we have here actually come 0:00:59.160 --> 0:01:03.040 to me through Facebook. The Facebook tech Stuff page is 0:01:03.120 --> 0:01:05.679 a great community. If you haven't already checked it out, 0:01:05.720 --> 0:01:07.960 you should go take a look. And so I'm going 0:01:08.000 --> 0:01:10.080 to respond to some of these. So first is from 0:01:10.280 --> 0:01:16.200 Simon on Facebook, and Simon wrote smart watches views and opinions? 0:01:16.240 --> 0:01:19.080 Are they truly a fulfillment of a niche in the market, or, 0:01:19.120 --> 0:01:21.560 as I have both heard and suspect, are they a 0:01:21.600 --> 0:01:24.160 product that is looking for a solution? I for one, 0:01:24.200 --> 0:01:26.560 will never own one, as my day to day life 0:01:26.560 --> 0:01:30.840 work especially, will never allow something as delicate and expensive 0:01:30.880 --> 0:01:33.360 as that to be on my wrist. Nobody I know 0:01:33.480 --> 0:01:36.600 once one either. Well, my answer to you is that 0:01:36.920 --> 0:01:40.680 smart watches certainly do have an audience out there. I 0:01:40.720 --> 0:01:44.360 think that the the concept of them being a solution 0:01:44.440 --> 0:01:48.200 that's looking for a problem is probably fairly accurate. But 0:01:48.240 --> 0:01:52.280 I felt the same way about tablets, So it's not 0:01:52.440 --> 0:01:56.120 necessarily a problem solution issue. It may just be one 0:01:56.120 --> 0:01:59.960 of those things that's an implementation that appeals to people. Now, 0:02:00.360 --> 0:02:03.400 I say that as someone who owns a smart watch. 0:02:04.120 --> 0:02:07.400 I own the Pebble smart watch, which, as smart watches go, 0:02:07.640 --> 0:02:11.480 is is, you know, fairly modest. It doesn't have all 0:02:11.520 --> 0:02:13.880 the bells and whistles of some of the more recent 0:02:13.919 --> 0:02:17.600 smart watches, but it does have notifications on it. I 0:02:17.600 --> 0:02:21.840 can control music playing on my smartphone through my watch. 0:02:22.280 --> 0:02:25.520 I can accept or deny I call using my watch. 0:02:26.320 --> 0:02:29.480 It will alert me to anything coming through has a 0:02:29.480 --> 0:02:31.760 little vibrating motor, so I can feel it on my wrist, 0:02:31.800 --> 0:02:34.000 which is great. I've reached that point in my life 0:02:34.000 --> 0:02:36.799 where I no longer notice if my phone is vibrating 0:02:36.800 --> 0:02:39.360 in my my pocket, and when I don't have my 0:02:39.360 --> 0:02:43.959 phone in my pocket, I experienced phantom vibrations against my legs. 0:02:43.960 --> 0:02:46.200 So having a watch where I actually had feel it 0:02:46.200 --> 0:02:50.239 against my wrist is very helpful. What's more, I don't 0:02:50.320 --> 0:02:52.600 currently own more than one smart watch, but I have 0:02:52.760 --> 0:02:55.839 two that are on the way to me, assuming that 0:02:55.919 --> 0:02:58.720 the projects ever get to the point where they can 0:02:58.720 --> 0:03:02.760 actually shop. There were a couple of different crowdfunded projects 0:03:02.800 --> 0:03:06.240 I backed that will eventually result in me getting a 0:03:06.240 --> 0:03:09.680 new smart watch, assuming that they they are ultimately successful. 0:03:10.800 --> 0:03:12.799 I have it. I have a lot of faith in them. 0:03:12.840 --> 0:03:16.040 But the two that I have waiting for me are 0:03:16.080 --> 0:03:19.480 the Craos Meteor, which is a voice and gest your 0:03:19.480 --> 0:03:23.520 control smart watch, and the Agent smart watch. Now, the 0:03:23.560 --> 0:03:27.160 common thread between all of these is that they will 0:03:27.200 --> 0:03:31.359 work with different operating systems. They pair with a smartphone, 0:03:31.680 --> 0:03:33.520 but you don't have to have a specific type of 0:03:33.560 --> 0:03:36.560 smartphone to pair with them. UH and that really appeals 0:03:36.600 --> 0:03:39.040 to me. I like the idea of having these kinds 0:03:39.080 --> 0:03:42.760 of technologies that will work with lots of different options, 0:03:42.760 --> 0:03:44.760 so that way I'm not nailed down to a single 0:03:44.800 --> 0:03:47.760 one that's gonna come into play a little bit later. 0:03:48.080 --> 0:03:49.560 And by a little bit later, I mean right now. 0:03:49.640 --> 0:03:53.080 Because on Twitter a user who I just have the 0:03:53.160 --> 0:03:56.360 user name and the handle, which is g t r 0:03:56.560 --> 0:04:00.160 f r K eight seven eight seven, who asked what 0:04:00.240 --> 0:04:04.360 were my thoughts on the Apple Watch. So I'm recording 0:04:04.360 --> 0:04:08.760 this the same week that Apple had its big announcement 0:04:09.320 --> 0:04:12.720 of the new iPhones and the Apple Watch, so the 0:04:13.200 --> 0:04:18.320 date of this recording is actually the eleventh of September two. Now, 0:04:18.640 --> 0:04:20.559 I think that some of the elements of the Apple 0:04:20.600 --> 0:04:23.520 Watch are really really cool. That user interface that they 0:04:23.520 --> 0:04:26.680 have where you use the dial to navigate through it, 0:04:27.000 --> 0:04:29.240 that looks like it's very smooth. It's a smart way 0:04:29.240 --> 0:04:31.159 of going about it. I mean, you don't want to 0:04:31.200 --> 0:04:34.880 really have a touch screen interface as your primary way 0:04:34.880 --> 0:04:37.880 of interacting with a smart watch because it's just it's 0:04:37.920 --> 0:04:40.520 too small of a screen. Just by putting your finger 0:04:40.600 --> 0:04:42.599 on the screen, you're obscuring so much of it that 0:04:42.640 --> 0:04:45.039 it's really hard to use no very simple controls like 0:04:45.080 --> 0:04:48.200 a play or a pause. That's okay, but if you're 0:04:48.200 --> 0:04:51.560 trying to select between apps, it's a little more problematic. 0:04:51.600 --> 0:04:55.000 I think they really nailed it. However, the physical design 0:04:55.000 --> 0:04:58.600 of the watch, the actual way the watch looks, doesn't 0:04:58.680 --> 0:05:00.719 do a whole lot for me. I don't find it 0:05:00.760 --> 0:05:04.200 really appealing. I love the idea that has swapp dorble bands, 0:05:04.480 --> 0:05:07.799 so you can change those out depending upon what sort 0:05:07.839 --> 0:05:10.560 of look you're going for. I think that's great. I 0:05:10.600 --> 0:05:13.560 love that idea of customization. I'm not a fashionable guy. 0:05:13.880 --> 0:05:16.000 Anyone who knows me will tell you as much. But 0:05:16.120 --> 0:05:18.000 the idea of being able to use the same watch 0:05:18.080 --> 0:05:22.719 in different contexts by swapping out the bands is appealing. Also. 0:05:22.800 --> 0:05:24.760 I think there's some other cool things like the Apple 0:05:24.839 --> 0:05:29.040 pay system, which is that wireless payment method. It works 0:05:29.040 --> 0:05:30.800 with the Apple Watch as well. You can use the 0:05:30.800 --> 0:05:33.599 watch to help pay for things, and the way that 0:05:33.640 --> 0:05:37.159 they've implemented security is interesting. You have to enter a 0:05:37.240 --> 0:05:40.760 pin in order to make the first payment, so you've 0:05:40.760 --> 0:05:44.000 got your watch on you enter the pin that authorized 0:05:44.000 --> 0:05:45.640 the watch it to make the payment. But from that 0:05:45.720 --> 0:05:49.520 point forward, the watch will continue to allow you to 0:05:49.560 --> 0:05:53.640 make payments until contact is broken between the watch and 0:05:53.720 --> 0:05:56.680 your skin. So if you take the watch off, it 0:05:56.720 --> 0:06:00.400 will no longer be able to pay for things, which 0:06:00.520 --> 0:06:03.920 makes it much more secure as long as someone doesn't 0:06:04.040 --> 0:06:09.279 chop off your arm. So word to the wise. Um 0:06:09.400 --> 0:06:11.400 other things that I think are cool. The health tracking 0:06:11.440 --> 0:06:14.520 technology is pretty neat. It's not the only smart watch 0:06:14.560 --> 0:06:17.560 to do that, but it's always cool to see that. Uh, 0:06:17.600 --> 0:06:20.880 the fact that it's required to do you have to 0:06:20.920 --> 0:06:23.720 have either an iPhone five or later to pair with it. 0:06:24.360 --> 0:06:26.720 That's the part I ball cat And it's because it 0:06:26.960 --> 0:06:29.520 you have to be in the iOS system in order 0:06:29.560 --> 0:06:32.279 for this watch to work. And if you're already invested 0:06:32.279 --> 0:06:35.320 in that system, that's great. There's no necessarily, that's not 0:06:35.360 --> 0:06:38.200 necessarily a problem. You can just jump on and grab 0:06:38.279 --> 0:06:40.400 one if you've got the money to do it. But 0:06:40.480 --> 0:06:44.880 if you are not in that Apple ecosystem, then suddenly 0:06:44.920 --> 0:06:48.599 this watch gets really super expensive instead of just expensive. 0:06:48.640 --> 0:06:51.720 The watch is about three dollars. Now, as far as 0:06:51.760 --> 0:06:55.480 watches go, that's really not that crazy expensive. You have 0:06:55.640 --> 0:07:00.360 regular non smart watches that are fashioned watches that will 0:07:00.360 --> 0:07:03.919 be three or four times that amount of money. I 0:07:03.960 --> 0:07:07.480 don't own any of those because I don't spend that 0:07:07.560 --> 0:07:12.200 kind of crazy money on accessories, but is not outside 0:07:12.240 --> 0:07:16.640 the realm of expectation for a really nice watch. However, 0:07:16.920 --> 0:07:20.360 if you are not inside that Apple ecosystem already, you 0:07:20.440 --> 0:07:22.840 also have to go out and buy an iPhone, So 0:07:22.960 --> 0:07:26.480 that's at minimum around two hundred bucks plus the monthly 0:07:26.640 --> 0:07:29.400 iPhone bill, so that starts to get to be a 0:07:29.400 --> 0:07:32.000 really expensive watch. Again, if you're already invested in the 0:07:32.040 --> 0:07:34.600 Apple space, then you can kind of separate the smart 0:07:34.640 --> 0:07:36.920 watch from the purchase of the iPhone because you already 0:07:36.960 --> 0:07:39.680 have one same sort of thing with other smart watches. 0:07:39.880 --> 0:07:42.400 If you already have a smart phone, then a smart 0:07:42.400 --> 0:07:45.560 watch can sort of look at like its own individual purchase. 0:07:45.640 --> 0:07:48.360 But if you're not in that ecosystem, you have to 0:07:48.400 --> 0:07:50.800 take all of those costs into account, and that's where 0:07:50.800 --> 0:07:53.120 it gets really expensive. And that's one of the reasons 0:07:53.120 --> 0:07:55.760 why I don't like being locked down into it. So 0:07:56.080 --> 0:08:00.280 those are my thoughts on that. Moving on, Catherine, who 0:08:00.320 --> 0:08:03.440 works in our office, actually asked me what I thought 0:08:03.440 --> 0:08:06.400 of the iPhone six, so she has to listen to 0:08:06.440 --> 0:08:09.400 this episode to find out. I wouldn't tell her in 0:08:09.480 --> 0:08:12.720 the office. I think it's a strong device. It looks 0:08:12.840 --> 0:08:17.280 like it's a nice evolution of the the form. It 0:08:17.320 --> 0:08:21.400 doesn't look like it's spectacularly different. You know. The larger 0:08:21.440 --> 0:08:23.960 screen space is nice. If you really want to go 0:08:24.040 --> 0:08:26.840 super crazy with the iPhone six plus, you can, and 0:08:26.960 --> 0:08:30.120 you need that extra space. That looks to me like 0:08:30.160 --> 0:08:33.440 it's a little larger than what I would be comfortable carrying. 0:08:33.559 --> 0:08:36.880 But the iPhone six in general looks really nice. It's 0:08:36.920 --> 0:08:40.520 it's thinner than previous generations, which is nice. Uh, and 0:08:40.559 --> 0:08:44.840 it has that camera. I love the iPhone cameras. I 0:08:44.880 --> 0:08:47.600 don't own one. My wife phone's an iPhone and the 0:08:47.640 --> 0:08:52.440 picture she takes are gorgeous, and it's for two main reasons. One, 0:08:52.679 --> 0:08:56.520 the technology and software in the iPhone are fantastic as 0:08:56.559 --> 0:08:59.840 far as the picture taking quality goes. And to she's 0:08:59.840 --> 0:09:03.760 a good photographer. Um My pictures never look as good 0:09:04.920 --> 0:09:08.800 for the reverse of those same two reasons. So if 0:09:08.840 --> 0:09:11.199 you get the iPhone six plus, I think the optical 0:09:11.320 --> 0:09:15.400 image stabilizer is awesome. I love that. It's not the 0:09:15.440 --> 0:09:17.200 only smartphone in the world to have one of those, 0:09:17.240 --> 0:09:20.560 by the way, but an optical image stabilizer is different 0:09:20.559 --> 0:09:23.720 from a digital image stabilizer. It actually can physically move 0:09:23.840 --> 0:09:27.040 within the framework of the phone itself and help cancel 0:09:27.120 --> 0:09:31.319 out jitter and movements so that you get clearer pictures. 0:09:31.360 --> 0:09:34.680 So that's a nice addition. I think it's if someone's 0:09:34.720 --> 0:09:38.480 looking to move from an earlier generation of iPhone to 0:09:38.520 --> 0:09:42.240 the six, uh, I think there's enough reasons to do it, 0:09:42.600 --> 0:09:45.120 assuming that you are not having to pay like some 0:09:45.160 --> 0:09:48.880 crazy cancelation fee that then I might say, you know, 0:09:49.000 --> 0:09:51.600 wait until the next one. That's the nice thing about 0:09:51.640 --> 0:09:54.439 these iPhone generations is that if you skip a generation 0:09:55.440 --> 0:09:58.480 for the most part, after the four or so, it's 0:09:58.480 --> 0:10:01.760 not that big a deal. Um, It's it's you know, 0:10:01.880 --> 0:10:06.280 it was the earlier iPhones where the different generations were 0:10:06.840 --> 0:10:11.960 uh larger gaps were between those generations, like the technologically speaking, 0:10:12.000 --> 0:10:14.120 that's when you really wanted to upgrade year over year. 0:10:14.840 --> 0:10:17.839 If you had the money these days, I would say wait. 0:10:18.200 --> 0:10:20.520 And you know, if so, if you had an iPhone 0:10:20.559 --> 0:10:22.920 five and it's gonna be another year before your contract 0:10:23.000 --> 0:10:27.080 is up, I don't think there's anything specific that would 0:10:27.120 --> 0:10:30.000 require you to move to the iPhone six unless you 0:10:30.040 --> 0:10:33.400 wanted the Apple pay uh wireless payment stuff. And I'll 0:10:33.400 --> 0:10:35.000 talk about that. In a second, we have someone who 0:10:35.000 --> 0:10:38.200 asked us about that. So moving on to the next one. 0:10:38.440 --> 0:10:42.000 Ryan on Twitter said, the iPhone goes big. Is that 0:10:42.080 --> 0:10:44.600 a bold move or is it too late to the party. 0:10:44.679 --> 0:10:48.480 So here's the interesting thing I think about this strategy. 0:10:49.200 --> 0:10:51.600 You see some companies come out with a line of 0:10:51.640 --> 0:10:56.040 products where they're trying to hit all the possible iterations 0:10:56.200 --> 0:11:00.000 of that product at once. So you'll see tablets come 0:11:00.040 --> 0:11:03.000 mount in multiple sizes. That way, the consumer can decide 0:11:03.040 --> 0:11:06.240 which size fits best in his or her lifestyle and 0:11:06.280 --> 0:11:09.520 they'll go after that. One. Apple goes about this the 0:11:09.559 --> 0:11:13.199 opposite way. Apple will come out with a single size, 0:11:13.600 --> 0:11:16.479 tell you this is what you want, and then consumers 0:11:16.480 --> 0:11:19.040 go after it. And then after they've gotten that that 0:11:19.240 --> 0:11:23.200 consumer base, over the years, they've started to introduce different 0:11:23.360 --> 0:11:25.400 form factors. So that's where you get things like the 0:11:25.440 --> 0:11:29.880 iPad many and now they can attract new people to 0:11:29.960 --> 0:11:31.920 buy the iPad as well as folks who already own 0:11:31.960 --> 0:11:34.360 an iPad going out and buying the new form factor. 0:11:34.960 --> 0:11:37.520 And it works really well for Apple. So they're taking 0:11:37.559 --> 0:11:40.160 kind of the opposite approach of the other companies that 0:11:40.280 --> 0:11:44.280 let everything become available at once and it's worked for Apple, 0:11:44.320 --> 0:11:47.160 so I think, Uh, I don't think they're too late 0:11:47.240 --> 0:11:49.240 to the party. I think that this is just in 0:11:49.360 --> 0:11:53.079 line with Apple strategy. Whether or not the iPhone six 0:11:53.080 --> 0:11:56.320 will plus the iPhone six plus will ever be considered 0:11:56.320 --> 0:11:59.320 a great phone, I don't know. It's like I said, 0:11:59.400 --> 0:12:02.280 it's a little large for me. I don't think it 0:12:02.280 --> 0:12:05.240 would be a very comfortable fit for for me on 0:12:05.280 --> 0:12:07.720 a day to day basis. However, I do like a 0:12:07.760 --> 0:12:11.120 lot of the features in it, so it'll like I think, 0:12:11.120 --> 0:12:14.400 it will depend upon the user experience for the individual person. 0:12:15.600 --> 0:12:19.480 Next we have Michael from Facebook who said, uh, do 0:12:19.520 --> 0:12:22.520 I know why Apple would stay with an eight megapixel 0:12:22.559 --> 0:12:26.640 camera on the iPhone six? So why why would Apple 0:12:26.720 --> 0:12:29.480 do that? Why wouldn't they upgrade? Uh? And the answer 0:12:29.559 --> 0:12:31.560 I have is that the images that the iPhone takes 0:12:31.600 --> 0:12:35.360 tend to be really good already, and megapixels don't matter 0:12:35.559 --> 0:12:39.040 as much as you might think they do. Megapixels are 0:12:39.080 --> 0:12:43.000 important if you are going to be blowing an image 0:12:43.080 --> 0:12:45.040 up to a much greater size than what you would 0:12:45.080 --> 0:12:48.000 typically have on your phone or maybe even a desktop computer. 0:12:48.520 --> 0:12:50.760 So if you plan on displaying an image on a 0:12:50.800 --> 0:12:54.240 big screen, television, or you're going to be printing out 0:12:54.280 --> 0:12:58.000 a poster sized image of something, you want to have 0:12:58.200 --> 0:13:01.200 a camera that packs in a to megapixels because then 0:13:01.240 --> 0:13:04.560 your resolution is going to be higher and you won't 0:13:04.600 --> 0:13:06.840 have these artifacts that you would see in a lower 0:13:06.880 --> 0:13:10.640 resolution photograph show up in that representation. But if you're 0:13:10.679 --> 0:13:14.080 not doing that, if you're sharing images mostly on phones 0:13:14.400 --> 0:13:17.240 or on social networks, things that are not going to 0:13:17.360 --> 0:13:21.400 be typically larger than your average computer monitor screen, you 0:13:21.480 --> 0:13:24.240 really don't need to upgrade those megapixels that much. That's 0:13:24.240 --> 0:13:27.600 not really that important. Uh, it doesn't help the quality 0:13:27.640 --> 0:13:31.400 of the image. It just helps the resolution. So other 0:13:31.440 --> 0:13:34.559 things that are really important, our color representation and brightness 0:13:34.559 --> 0:13:37.440 and contrasts, those kind of things which have nothing to 0:13:37.440 --> 0:13:39.920 do with the number of megapixels involved. It has everything 0:13:39.960 --> 0:13:43.040 to do with the sensors in the camera itself. So 0:13:43.160 --> 0:13:46.720 I think they're fine unless we get into a world 0:13:46.760 --> 0:13:49.520 where everyone wants to view their images on their eight 0:13:49.679 --> 0:13:52.880 inch television at home, and if you have one of those, 0:13:52.920 --> 0:13:55.880 invite me over, then I don't think it's gonna be 0:13:55.920 --> 0:13:58.160 a big deal. So I think that's why they didn't 0:13:58.200 --> 0:14:01.600 bother with upgrading it, because it's not really you know, 0:14:01.880 --> 0:14:04.120 I guess you could upgraded it just so that you 0:14:04.160 --> 0:14:07.280 would have the the ad copy to say now it 0:14:07.280 --> 0:14:10.160 has a twelve megapixel or sixteen megapixel camera in it, 0:14:10.520 --> 0:14:13.480 but it's just not necessary. We've got more listener mail 0:14:13.559 --> 0:14:15.200 coming up in just a second, but let's take a 0:14:15.240 --> 0:14:18.920 quick break to thank our sponsor, Audible dot com. I 0:14:19.040 --> 0:14:22.440 love this service. Audible is offering our listeners a free 0:14:22.480 --> 0:14:26.640 audiobook of your choice than a free thirty day trial membership. 0:14:26.760 --> 0:14:30.480 Just go to audible podcast dot com slash tech stuff 0:14:30.800 --> 0:14:33.720 and you can choose from more than one hundred fifty 0:14:33.840 --> 0:14:39.360 thousand titles from a broad range of genres. Just download 0:14:39.360 --> 0:14:42.040 a title free and start listening. Is that easy. Go 0:14:42.160 --> 0:14:46.040 to audible podcast dot com slash tech Stuff. That's audible 0:14:46.080 --> 0:14:49.400 podcast dot com slash tech stuff and get started today. 0:14:49.520 --> 0:14:52.680 And if you're looking for a recommendation, I can't think 0:14:52.720 --> 0:14:54.880 of anyone better than Neil Game and one of my 0:14:55.000 --> 0:14:58.680 favorite authors and one of my favorite readers. His voice 0:14:58.880 --> 0:15:02.960 is mesmerizing, really pulls you into the story, and I 0:15:03.000 --> 0:15:06.000 really recommend his book The Ocean at the End of 0:15:06.040 --> 0:15:09.720 the Lane. It's a phenomenal book, really spell binding, so 0:15:09.840 --> 0:15:13.960 go check that out. Audible podcast dot Com Slash tech Stuff. 0:15:14.840 --> 0:15:18.800 Next from Reuben on Facebook and full Disclosure. I know 0:15:18.880 --> 0:15:22.080 Reuben personally, He's a great guy, he says. Seeing as 0:15:22.120 --> 0:15:23.880 the new iPhone is the talk of the town, I'd 0:15:23.920 --> 0:15:27.800 love to hear about Apple Pay and security concerns. With 0:15:27.880 --> 0:15:31.760 the recent celebrity nude hackings via Apple accounts, do we 0:15:31.840 --> 0:15:34.920 want to keep all of our financials there too? This 0:15:35.000 --> 0:15:38.760 is a great question how secure is this payment process? 0:15:39.280 --> 0:15:42.760 So first we have to understand exactly what's going on 0:15:43.080 --> 0:15:46.720 with this Apple uh system, and it's a little tricky 0:15:46.760 --> 0:15:49.400 because we don't know all the details. What Apple has 0:15:49.440 --> 0:15:52.800 said is that they are not storing credit card information 0:15:52.880 --> 0:15:56.960 on their servers. So this means that if hackers target 0:15:57.000 --> 0:15:59.680 Apple servers and try to steal information, they're not going 0:15:59.720 --> 0:16:04.120 to get user credit cards as part of that. Also, 0:16:04.600 --> 0:16:07.520 when you make a purchase with Apple Pay, it's doing 0:16:07.600 --> 0:16:11.680 so with a one time security code that's dynamically generated 0:16:11.680 --> 0:16:15.040 based upon your actual credit card number. That one time 0:16:15.040 --> 0:16:18.320 security code is what is transferred to the vendor. This 0:16:18.400 --> 0:16:21.320 means that the vendor, the person that you're buying stuff from, 0:16:21.840 --> 0:16:24.480 never gets your credit card number. They just get that 0:16:24.520 --> 0:16:29.320 security code, and then that represents the sale the you're 0:16:29.560 --> 0:16:33.360 you are transferring funds to this vendor for whatever it 0:16:33.400 --> 0:16:36.200 is you're buying. So that the nice thing about that 0:16:36.360 --> 0:16:39.760 is if some target, some hacker targets a a system 0:16:39.840 --> 0:16:43.200 like a home depot or or target, both of which 0:16:43.200 --> 0:16:46.520 have been hit by hackers recently and had credit card 0:16:46.560 --> 0:16:49.800 information stolen, um, then you don't have to worry about 0:16:49.800 --> 0:16:52.760 your credit card getting compromised. All they're going to get 0:16:52.880 --> 0:16:55.800 is a security code that has no other connection to 0:16:55.840 --> 0:16:58.920 your credit card that they are able to see. Now, 0:16:58.920 --> 0:17:02.800 the question remains, how are these payments actually processed, because 0:17:02.880 --> 0:17:07.320 ultimately something has to link that security code that is 0:17:07.400 --> 0:17:11.520 generated by your phone to your credit card, otherwise no 0:17:11.560 --> 0:17:15.679 one would know who to charge when you were purchasing something. Uh. Now, 0:17:16.040 --> 0:17:18.560 Apple has said that all the information stored on a 0:17:18.640 --> 0:17:21.840 chip encrypted on a chip in the phone itself, so 0:17:21.920 --> 0:17:25.000 again it's not going to Apple servers. So what I 0:17:25.119 --> 0:17:29.200 suspect is happening is that the credit card company in question, 0:17:29.400 --> 0:17:33.320 for example, Visa, has the formula to generate the one 0:17:33.400 --> 0:17:35.840 time codes based on the credit card number and can 0:17:35.880 --> 0:17:39.600 reverse that process so that it under it knows who 0:17:39.680 --> 0:17:43.159 bought what when? So when the vendor has processed the 0:17:43.200 --> 0:17:46.080 payment for whatever it is that you wanted to buy, 0:17:46.480 --> 0:17:50.159 that security code is then processed by Visa, which can 0:17:50.240 --> 0:17:54.359 run it backwards through the encryption process that created the 0:17:55.119 --> 0:17:57.840 security code in the first place to find out who 0:17:57.880 --> 0:18:00.600 it was that made that purchase and and charge the 0:18:00.600 --> 0:18:05.080 appropriate card. That's the guess, because Apple has not, to 0:18:05.119 --> 0:18:08.480 my knowledge, actually said this is the way this is 0:18:08.480 --> 0:18:11.800 working in the background. But if that's true, then the 0:18:11.840 --> 0:18:14.760 only real target for hackers to aim at our credit 0:18:14.800 --> 0:18:19.159 card companies, which are pretty good at fending off attacks. 0:18:19.720 --> 0:18:23.240 And ultimately, you know that's you have to have your 0:18:23.280 --> 0:18:27.760 trust go somewhere so it If this is true, then 0:18:27.760 --> 0:18:29.840 you don't have to worry about people targeting Apple and 0:18:29.840 --> 0:18:32.600 getting your credit card information. Other stuff that stored on 0:18:32.680 --> 0:18:36.240 Apple servers may still be vulnerable, but your credit card 0:18:36.240 --> 0:18:40.359 information will not be among it. So great, correct question, Ruben, 0:18:40.400 --> 0:18:44.280 Thanks so much. Now we are done with the Apple stuff. 0:18:44.520 --> 0:18:47.240 If all of you are sick of Apple, don't worry 0:18:47.240 --> 0:18:50.800 the rest of the episode. No more Apple, I think 0:18:51.760 --> 0:18:54.040 if I might mention it in passing, but there are 0:18:54.040 --> 0:18:56.240 no more questions as far as I know, So next 0:18:56.320 --> 0:18:59.600 is from Cody on Facebook who said is the government 0:18:59.680 --> 0:19:03.600 keeping us from getting jet packs? Which I assume was 0:19:03.640 --> 0:19:06.400 a facetious question, but I'm going to answer it seriously 0:19:06.520 --> 0:19:09.719 because I think when we all talk about the future, 0:19:10.240 --> 0:19:13.280 the question where's my jet pack? Is never far from 0:19:13.320 --> 0:19:16.640 our minds. So two things are really keeping us from 0:19:16.640 --> 0:19:20.159 getting working jet packs, And one is the technology building 0:19:20.160 --> 0:19:23.280 a jet pack that works efficiently and safely, so in 0:19:23.320 --> 0:19:26.200 other words, you won't have to refuel it every couple 0:19:26.200 --> 0:19:29.320 of minutes and it won't set you on fire. These 0:19:29.320 --> 0:19:32.880 are two big important things that any good jet pack 0:19:33.000 --> 0:19:35.480 needs to be able to do. The other would be 0:19:35.600 --> 0:19:38.359 government regulation. So assuming that we get to a point 0:19:38.359 --> 0:19:42.320 where a consumer jet pack is in fact a possibility, 0:19:42.359 --> 0:19:45.120 that some company has created one and is selling them 0:19:45.119 --> 0:19:47.600 to people, I'm sure we would see the government get 0:19:47.600 --> 0:19:50.320 involved and start to put regulations on here. You would 0:19:50.320 --> 0:19:53.200 probably be required to have some sort of pilot's license, 0:19:53.400 --> 0:19:55.919 assuming they would even allow such a product to be 0:19:56.040 --> 0:19:58.600 legal in the US in the first place. Uh. The 0:19:58.640 --> 0:20:01.359 reason for this is because you're essentially turning human beings 0:20:01.359 --> 0:20:05.040 into projectiles, and for the safety of both the person 0:20:05.200 --> 0:20:08.840 using the jet pack and everybody and everything around them, 0:20:09.320 --> 0:20:12.600 there would have to be regulation. I can't imagine a 0:20:12.680 --> 0:20:15.760 world where such a thing hits the market and the 0:20:15.800 --> 0:20:20.120 government doesn't immediately react. Uh, the f a A alone 0:20:20.200 --> 0:20:23.639 would get involved. So I don't think the government is 0:20:23.680 --> 0:20:26.560 currently keeping us from getting jet packs, but it might 0:20:26.600 --> 0:20:29.560 in the future, assuming that the technology ever evolves to 0:20:29.600 --> 0:20:32.919 the point where it could be a practicality. So good question. 0:20:34.040 --> 0:20:37.800 Next from Himanshu on Facebook. When we have watches from 0:20:37.840 --> 0:20:41.760 Citizen the Eco drive with extremely long battery life, why 0:20:41.840 --> 0:20:45.480 can't the same be replicated in mobiles? Instead of competing 0:20:45.520 --> 0:20:49.200 like juveniles on trivial features like screen size thickness, why 0:20:49.200 --> 0:20:53.720 can't mobile firms come up with battery enhancement solution or 0:20:53.880 --> 0:20:56.840 maybe even replacement was say solar panels or piece of 0:20:56.880 --> 0:21:01.880 electric sensors, ETCETERA great question. So, battery technology has been 0:21:01.920 --> 0:21:05.160 a real problem of thorn in the side of engineers 0:21:05.200 --> 0:21:07.960 for years. It's one of those things that is a 0:21:07.960 --> 0:21:12.480 source of frustration. It illustrates that Moore's law is very 0:21:12.520 --> 0:21:16.720 effective at predicting how powerful a computer processor will be 0:21:16.960 --> 0:21:20.000 over time, that every two years you'll essentially double the 0:21:20.040 --> 0:21:24.320 power of the computer processor. But there's no correlative for 0:21:24.440 --> 0:21:28.240 batteries and the reasons that batteries rely on physical properties 0:21:28.280 --> 0:21:32.520 as in the actual laws of physics and chemistry, batteries 0:21:32.560 --> 0:21:37.080 produce electricity through chemical reactions, so we're limited by the 0:21:37.080 --> 0:21:40.280 physics of those chemical reactions. You know, you're not gonna 0:21:40.320 --> 0:21:44.000 get more electrons from this same chemical reaction than you 0:21:44.080 --> 0:21:48.200 did two years ago. Uh. You can tweak little things 0:21:48.280 --> 0:21:52.360 like the actual chemicals involved, but that's a difficult thing 0:21:52.400 --> 0:21:54.479 as well. You have to figure out all sorts of 0:21:54.480 --> 0:21:58.080 factors like how much do the chemicals cost, how dense 0:21:58.200 --> 0:22:01.639 are they, how heavy are they? Uh? Are they safe? 0:22:01.880 --> 0:22:05.040 Could it be a hazard if the chemicals if the 0:22:05.040 --> 0:22:09.760 battery were breached. All of these things play apart in considerations, 0:22:09.760 --> 0:22:12.560 and ultimately you're just going to see incremental improvement. You're 0:22:12.560 --> 0:22:14.720 not going to see a huge leap. Now there aren't 0:22:14.720 --> 0:22:19.920 people working on some incredible technologies that could potentially boost 0:22:20.119 --> 0:22:24.440 battery efficiency quite a bit, but these are all sort 0:22:24.440 --> 0:22:26.679