Refresh Computers Tech Talk
Help and advice are given on a range of technical issues from computers to everything internet-related.
Refresh Computers Tech Talk
04-18-26 Convenience Or Surveillance - What Are You Choosing?
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AI chatbots are leveling up fast, and the change is bigger than new features or a faster reply. We talk through what a chatbot really is, why tools like ChatGPT, Grok, Google Gemini, and Microsoft Copilot suddenly feel more responsive, and how better “memory” and context can make an AI assistant useful for real work, not just random questions. If you have been ignoring AI, we make the case that it is becoming as essential as email, no matter what job you do.
We also wrestle with the uncomfortable question people keep asking: what does this mean for my job? From customer service to delivery to ride hailing, automation is pushing hard. We argue for a practical middle ground where AI handles routine requests and humans handle the moments that require judgment, empathy, and accountability. Then we pivot into how AI driven search and recommendations work for local businesses, including why reviews, responsiveness, and staying active across multiple platforms can influence whether an AI points customers your way.
From there we get hands on: we explain the Refresh Computers trade-in program, how trade-in credit is determined, and why you need to bring the device in for an honest evaluation, plus free recycling for gear that is past its useful life. We close with smart home privacy, including what voice assistants record, why data access is a real risk, and simple steps like reviewing privacy settings, deleting voice history, muting microphones, and covering cameras. We even talk about the oldest smartphones people still use and the trade offs of sticking with aging devices. Subscribe, share the show with a friend who needs a tech reset, and leave a review. What is the one device you trust the least in your home?
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Welcome And What We Cover
SPEAKER_02Welcome to Tech Talk here on WDBO 107-3FM and AM580 Orlando's news and talk. I'm Greg Rhodes here with David Levitt, President and Founder of Refresh Computer Superstore, and technician Adam Littlefield. You can contact the Refresh Computer Superstore by calling their free tech support hotline at 407-478-8200. Or if you have any other comments during the show, go ahead and use that open mic feature inside the WDBO app. You can also check out the website over at Refresh Computers.net or stop at the Refresh Computer Superstore in Longwood at 820 East State Road 434, just three and a half miles east of I-4 in Longwood. Store hours are Monday through Saturday, 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. If you're listening to the show here on Saturday, I mean you still have time to stop by. They'll be open until 7 p.m. today. And now for the men themselves, David Levitt and Adam Littlefield.
SPEAKER_03All right. Thanks, Greg. And thanks everybody for listening to yet another edition of Tech Talk with Refresh Computers. My name is David Levitt, the owner and founder of Refresh Computers, a 26-year-old plus company located right here in Central Florida. As Greg indicated, we are located at 820 East State Road 434, right there in Longwood, three and a half miles east of I-4. And we have a really good show for you today. We're going to talk about a few things. One is that the AI chatbots, we talked, we had a show about AI chatbots before, but now what does that mean? And they're getting a major upgrade and what it means for your job, possibly. Another thing we're going to talk about is Refresh Computers fairly new trade-in program right now. If you have an older computer and you want to trade it in, we're going to talk to you about how you can do that. That's going to come up a little later in the show. We're also going to be talking about your smart home is listening more than you may know. So there's some tips here that we're going to go over as well a little later in the show. And we'll finish the show with a fun tech fact about the oldest smartphone still being used today. So yeah, old smartphone. That sounds like an oxymoron to me. Because how smart can it be if it's like a new flip phone? An old smartphone. I don't think yeah. So phones aren't they don't they don't get wiser with age like we do. So they're people still use them.
SPEAKER_01And then they become dumb as something smarter comes out after.
SPEAKER_03But people still use them. So we'll get into that towards the end of the show today.
AI Chatbots Get Faster And Smarter
SPEAKER_03So AI chatbots. So what's a chatbot? So we know what Chat GPT is now. I remember the show we did. It's been a couple years ago now when that term just was coming out, and we were talking about how it's going to revolutionize things. And I had a lot of people like, oh, come on, that's just another gimmick, just another tech thing coming and going. And it's uh and we spoke to contrary to that. And look where we are today. And even my store manager, Casper, was telling me that he finally got his mom to start using Chat GPT to help her with stuff. And if you're using a computer, if you're on your smartphone, chances are really good that by now you're using it, right? Yeah. You're using AI. You're you're you whether you know it or not, you're using it. Let's put it that way.
SPEAKER_01If you if you see that flight or that hotel reservation appear on your calendar automatically, that's AI now. That's Gemini doing that.
SPEAKER_03I love getting the email with with my flight confirmation and going on my Google Calendar, and it's just there. It's just there by default. That's what that's AI at work.
SPEAKER_01Now, if it could add it automatically to my Google wallet so I can just tap my phone as my my boarding pass, that that I that'd be perfect for that.
SPEAKER_03That would be fun. That would be nice. So anyway, open AI, which is Chat GPT, right? That's their platform, and Google, which is Gemini, they both recently announced significant improvements to their AI assistants. So an AI assistant is a chat bot.
SPEAKER_04Yeah.
SPEAKER_03Right? Pretty much. So in other words, when you go into when you open up Chat GPT and you start typing in that little comment box, that's a chat bot that you're using to communicate with Chat GPT. Same thing with Grok, same thing with Gemini, same thing with Microsoft's version, which is escaping me right now. Copilot. Copilot, thank you. And so it's doing, yeah, so that that's a chat bot. So that's what you're you're communicating with your AI agent with is a chat bot.
SPEAKER_01It's almost like you're text messaging somebody with just infinite knowledge. Every time you open up a new one, a new string of talking to them, right? They, you know, that's it's you're talking to whatever chatbot it is, and each one is its own little instance.
SPEAKER_03So I have to tell you, and and I'm gonna admit something that I have been just hooked. It's almost like an addiction. And maybe this is gonna be a new mental health thing going on in the future. People addicted to AI. I mean, and the way I that I feel like I am starting to become addicted, Adam, is you probably know because you see me on it all the time now, is that not that I'm asking it questions, that I'm actually building right now so many different projects using AI, I have to kind of slow down myself. So we're gonna have a chat bot, for example, on a refresh computers homepage pretty soon. It's it's almost ready for prime time, and I'm building that with the help of all the AI tools that are out there. And the reason I want to do it is not so that you know you don't have to communicate with a human, it would just be a faster experience for you as a user. If you're already on the website, you know, you can still pick up the phone and call refresh computers, or you can come by the store, you can do that. But if you're already on the website and you have a question and that you're not sure if it's a product, what what's a the fastest way I can get you that information is through that chat bot on the website. Right. So it's not to circumvent you from having to talk to somebody because you can always do that. I will always have that promise to my customers. If you want to talk to somebody, we're just a phone call away. Always will be, and we will never have a chat bot answer our phone. I promise you that too. It'll be a direct conversation between you and one of the employees at Refresh Computers when you call that free tech support hotline at 407-478-8200.
Will AI Replace Jobs Or Shift Them
SPEAKER_03So the things that people are worried about right now are I think that the number one thing, Adam, is what's this going to mean for my job. Yeah.
SPEAKER_01And and the job scare is, I think in general has kind of been big with AI now. You know, we're seeing a lot of these um autonomous delivery bots I've been seeing that that can just drive and deliver stuff that that puts a lot of stress on now service.
SPEAKER_00Yeah.
SPEAKER_01You're starting to see autonomous ride hailing with Waymo and Tesla. You know, it's now we're starting to see that in competition with Uber and Lyft. Yeah. So there's a big, big bubble of scare for jobs right now. And I think chatbots that brings up a major one.
SPEAKER_03That does because it, you know, that's it's it can really enhance the customer service experience. Right. Which is why I'm going to have one on our website soon. And you know, again, you can always call us. We're never going to you can always give us a call. But you know, with having the AI chatbot handling just routine questions. So you again, you're already on our website because you had to go there to you went there because you did a search or some other way, or just or maybe you have it saved on your browser. Hopefully that's the case too. It frees up it frees up my folks in the store a little bit more to help the people that are actually in the store. Because the same people that are helping you over the phone are the same people that are helping my customers in the store. So that's important to understand. We don't have some call center somewhere where somebody is not, you know, helping other customers. Right. These are people in the store that are answering the phones to talk to you, which we don't mind doing whatsoever at all. But sometimes we're a little busy. And when we get real busy, can't actually get to the phone. So it might go through a few ring cycles, and then in rare cases, sometimes you even have to leave a voicemail message because we're just so busy we can't get to the phone. Right. So if we have this chat bot on the website, it will enhance your experience because you don't have to call, you can just ask your question. Hey, do you sell power over Ethernet switches, for example? Something like that. Some question that you well, geez, I wonder if they sell those. And so you can type that into the chat bot and it'll come right back and tell you, yes, we do sell power over Ethernet switches. Here's a link to buy them if you want, or here's a phone number to call if you have any questions. You know, so it gives you all that information almost instantaneously, so you don't have to waste any more of your time. So so but other companies using this as a customer service tool, they're general genuinely looking to get rid of people. Yeah. Right? So so so so so but we're not at refresh computers at all. But but it's a tool that that's used by companies today that's that's it's becoming more and more prevalent. It's gonna pretty soon, probably in not too distant future, you're not gonna be able to go to a website without having a chatbot interaction somewhere. Right. Because it's let's face it, it is very convenient to use.
SPEAKER_01And you know, there's a lot of real-world application now with that, especially in customer service. I know Dave, you've told a story before with Gay Lord Palms about your your call experience with them.
SPEAKER_03Oh, it was terrible.
SPEAKER_01And that shows you just the the opposite of why, you know, these these AI chatbots, we can't have them replacing human interaction for customer service. No. Because a call, you you on first hand experience, that was awful.
SPEAKER_03That was. I mean, I actually, if you missed that show, folks, I called the Gay Lord Palm to make a reservation one time. This was during the the snow event they have there every year. And ICE, I guess is it's called. And it and it was a it was a AI person. It wasn't a real person. I could tell it was AI. That that's number one was bad enough. I could even just tell it was an AI. But they the responses were were a little slow. It was like a hesitation, so I knew that was AI also. And also the answers it gave me were not sufficient, was terrible. And no matter what I could do, I couldn't get my answer, my question answered. And so it was very, very frustrating.
SPEAKER_01And that's a very good point, actually, to make is it was frustrating for you to try and communicate with it. Well, now, you know, we're not looking at jobs being replaced, we're not looking at people being out of work, we're looking at them evolving, evolving, definitely. Now we don't have people listening on the phone and just talking to you. We have ones listening to that call and figuring out how the chatbot can be made better to handle those kinds of calls.
SPEAKER_03And we've gone through, you know, in in our history, in our country's history, we've gone through these evolutions and types of evolutions in the past. The industrial, right? The industry industrial evolution happened. Automobiles when they came about, you know, they look at how many jobs that displays, you know. Right. You know, they got rid of cities had to get rid of their whole crews of of shovels, you know, people with shovels because they literally had to have cleanup people because of the horses going through the you know the the streets. And they were it was a mess. It was a mess. It was a mess. The people employees of the city had were there with shovels, the you know, the shovel that stuff. And so I mean, there's all kinds of job shifts that change as if you think about it, it's just like night and day kinds of things. And back into tech, the uh dot-com boom.
SPEAKER_02You talked about how dot com that revolutionized the way that even just these customer service engagements could even start, including the other companies that they started.
SPEAKER_03So, you know, the reality of it is there, you know, there are skills out there that really, really matter. You know, critical thinking, creativity. Right. So we can say to a certain extent that a lot of these AI tools are getting more and more creative all the time, but they get creative based on the input that you're giving it. And so your own creativity, if say if you're a content creator, for example, instead of you being worried about losing your customers to AI, you know, you really know AI and get to know it so you can help your customers get there better as a content creator. Yeah. Because a lot of people don't want to deal with it, they want to they, you know, they're not gonna get hooked like I am, you know, trying to build some nice, really cool tool that's gonna help me or help my customers. The you know, they just just not gonna have it in them to do that. So they still need you as a content creator to know how to use these AI tools so that you can go in there and do that for them and still you're still there, you're still their content creator. So that's a skill that that really, really matters.
SPEAKER_01So And that's that's a there's a really good point there as well that with all with how AI has been evolving, there are just still skills that matter in humanity, right? Like our critical thinking, created creativity. But you know, we are seeing that they are trying to push AI further into the bounds to start, you know, more critical thinking, and especially now with these AI models now having better memory that they can they can remember more and more that they've talked about. Once it starts understanding how to get context, that I think is where we're gonna see just a whole other door open.
SPEAKER_03Which was my frustration early on, not too long ago. Just a few months ago, I was talking about my frustration with Chat GPT and Gronk and all these, because they would just get to a point and they would just slow down and bog down and forget. Yeah. Well, one of these major upgrades that are that's happening right now is the fact that they're making them faster. And so they don't forget things also, and they just go, go, go. So, what can you do? I tell you what, if you're listening to this show, if you have not dived into a chat GPT or a grok, pick one. Pick one. You know, use Google Gemini, not as good, but it's still useful. And co-pilot by Microsoft. Go out there and grab one of these tools and start playing. Yeah. Start learning how to use it. It's gonna matter. I don't care what kind of job you you have.
SPEAKER_01There there are applications everywhere in the world where these chatbots can be used.
SPEAKER_03If you're a mechanic or if you're bagging groceries in a grocery store and everything in between and up and down, learn these tools. It's gonna be very important because you're gonna be left behind. You're gonna be kind of left in the dust if you don't learn these tools. It's kind of I kind of akin it to um, well, I never learned how to use email.
SPEAKER_04Yep.
SPEAKER_03Well, people that don't use email are kind of stuck behind the times. And you're gonna be the same way with these kinds of AI tools if you don't get involved with them now.
SPEAKER_02But beeper sure doesn't buzz as often as it used to. So we'll continue a little bit more into your spring refresh coming up here. You've been listening to Tech Talk right here on WDBO, 1073FM and AM580.
How Businesses Show Up In AI
SPEAKER_02Hey there, and welcome back to Tech Talk here on WDBO 1073FM and AM580, Orlando's news and talk. I'm Greg Rhodes here with David Levitt, president and founder of Refresh Computer Superstore, and technician Adam Littlefield. And you can contact the Refresh Computer Superstore by calling their free tech support hotline at 407-478-8200. Or if you have any other comments during the show, we'd love to hear them go and use that open mic feature inside the WDBO app. And now back to Dave and Adam.
SPEAKER_03All right. Thanks, Craig, and thanks everybody for listening to Tech Talk with Refresh Computers. In the last segment, we talked about AI chatbots and you know what they're doing and how they're being upgraded today and how much better they're they've they've gotten just over the last actually few weeks. Yeah. How much faster they they've become responsive, and what's a chat bot? A chat bot is the actual tool that you use when you're talking to AI. So when you open up ChatGPT and you start typing a message, that's a chat bot. If you open up Grok and you start typing a message, that's a chat bot. So and we also have encouraged you if you're not using it now, use it. Try it, play with it. Play with it. It's it's free.
SPEAKER_01It's free to access some of the some of the models that you can just go on and just try it out.
SPEAKER_03Download the Chat GPT app into your iPhone or your your Android phone. Right. Download the Grok G R O K, that's Elon Musk's AI tool. Uh download that as well. Both they have free versions of this. Doesn't cost you a dime. And you can get some information, for example, where's the best place to buy a computer in Central Florida? And I can guarantee you it's probably going to point you to refresh computers because we are the best place in Central Florida. It's not because I pay them to do that, it's because we have the most ratings and they go by. I actually asked it once. What is how do you determine your answer when somebody asks for what computer store should they shop? And and it came back and it said there's several factors. One is the the number one thing is the responsiveness of re the amount and responsiveness of reviews. So we take a look at that, and also the fact that your that your presence is is on more than one type of platform on the internet. So in other words, it's on Facebook, it's on Instagram, it's on we have a website, so it's there. So it checks all these places to make sure you're you're relevant enough for them to recommend you. So if you're a business, listen up. How do you make sure that that AI is is going to find your business? That's out. Just make yourself more relevant. Make sure you have a lot of good, nice reviews out there. Make sure that your your business is on more than one platform, not just a website, right? Make sure you have an active Facebook page because it actually checks that too.
SPEAKER_02So like you said, even with those reviews, if they're even if they're not a positive review, you're responsive to those reviews.
SPEAKER_03Responsive responding them. So it's not just that you got them, Greg. You hit it right on the head. You have to respond to them. If you're a business, respond to your Google reviews. Yeah. Good or bad. That's important. It plays into the algorithm of whether or not you're going to be found. It does. And it's a very important one.
Computer Trade Ins And Free Recycling
SPEAKER_03So we're going to talk about here, we've got a few minutes, our new trade-in program. We talked about it a little bit a few weeks ago because we just started it a few weeks ago. And it's a really cool program. So if you have a computer that's running slow, we talked about how that happens on a previous show. You know, what happens when your computer runs slow? If you have to replace it, first thing we do is we try not to replace your computer. We try to get your computer going because that's usually going to be the most economical thing to do. And we always go down that road with our customers. But if you have to, bring that in. And we have this trade-in program. We actually have to see it in front of us. So, you know, don't call us and ask us how much can you give me for this? Because we can't tell you over the phone because we have to actually see it for obvious reasons. We want to make sure there's not a water spill in it and you know kinds of things like that. And well, even if it did have a water spill, you could still get some credit towards that computer, depending on the computer. So we have to see it. We have to look at a few things. We have a quick tool, we can gauge how much you can get the trade-in value for. And that trade-in value is good for any computer or laptop that you buy at refresh computers. So we'll we'll run the tool, actually print it out, we'll insert it in your order, and it'll come up with a credit towards the computer or laptop that you're buying at Refresh Computers. It's a really cool tool. Again, you have to bring it in. And so, hey, maybe you just have an old laptop laying around in the garage. Maybe it's not even one that you're using, right? And you still, but it's but you still it's time to upgrade your other computer. Now we only do it one for one. So if you're buying two computers, you can bring in two devices to get traded in. You can't bring in two devices to trade in on one computer. Right. So it works like that. But we give you the trade-in value on the most expensive one. So you get the most value of your money. And we all don't forget we also have free recycling right there at Refresh Computers. You can bring in your old device there at 820 East State Road 434. If it's not worth anything, we can still recycle it responsibly for you.
SPEAKER_02You get a win, and the planet gets a win in that situation as well. You've been listening to Tech Talk right here on WDBO 1073FM and AM580. Orlando's news and talk. I'm Greg Rhodes here with David Levitt, president and founder of Refresh Computer Superstore, and technician Adam Littlefield. You can contact the Refresh Computer Superstore by calling their free tech support hotline at 407-478-8200. Or if you have any other comments during the show, we'd love to hear them. Use that open mic feature inside the WDBO app. You can also check out the website over at Refresh Computers.net or stop at the Refresh Computer Superstore in Longwood at 820 East State Road 434, just three and a half miles east of I-4 in Longwood. Store hours are Monday through Saturday, 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. And if you're listening to the show here on Saturday, that means you still have time to stop by. They'll be open until 7 p.m. today. And now, David Levitt and Adam Littlefield.
SPEAKER_03All right, Greg, and thank you everybody for listening to Tech Talk with Refresh Computers. If you missed any part of the show today, you can go to our website at refreshcomputers.net, click on that podcast link, and not only can you just listen to the whole show without any kind of commercial interruptions, about 40 minutes long. Now on that site, when you click on the episode, you will see a brief description of what we talked about during that episode. So you can kind of get an idea before you listen, whether or not, well, maybe I don't want to listen to that whole show if it's not pertinent enough to me. We're giving you a little bit of a description there. And to top that, if you want, you can sign up to get an email that lets you know when the episode is live. So on the website. So you can go to refreshingputers.net, go to the bottom of any website. Page on our on our site, there's a place to enter your email address. You put in your email, that's all we ask, is just your email address. It adds you to our email list, and you will be notified as soon as that episode is ready to be listened to. Very, very simple thing. So earlier we talked about chatbots getting a major upgrade and exactly what is a chatbot. We also talked about the ability to get a trade-in value of your old computer or laptop now at Refresh Computers. Good towards the purchase of any computer or laptop at Refresh Computers. In this segment, we're going to be talking about something should be near and dear to all of us. If it's not, listen up. Your smart home and your smart devices, I should add, they're listening to you all the time. So a recent investigation revealed that smart home devices are collecting
Smart Homes Listening And Recording Risks
SPEAKER_03more data than most people realize. You don't even know that they're collecting data from you. I'm talking about Amazon Alexa, if you use that, Google Home, other voice assistants, they're recording conversations. They shouldn't be, but they are. And we're going to break down what's exactly happening and how you can protect yourself. So what's happening? Voice assistants are called, right? So voice assistants are always listening for wake words. So think about it for a minute. And we brought this up before. People wonder, geez, no, that's just a conspiracy theory. That it's not really listening to me. Well, doesn't it have to listen to you in order for it to hear say, Hey, Alexa?
SPEAKER_01Right.
SPEAKER_03Doesn't be happening to be listening to you to hear something like, hey Google.
SPEAKER_02I hope I didn't just trigger a whole bunch of people's thousands of people all across Central Florida cursing the name David Lindley, including myself right here as it's going off on my phone as we're talking.
SPEAKER_03Sorry about that, Greg. Sorry about that, listener, if it's triggering your device. But so yes, so they they are listening because they have to listen in order to know that you're even trying to get them to respond to you, right?
SPEAKER_01Part of part of what a voice assistant like Alexa or Google Home really is, is that you can just say their wake word and just say turn on the lights.
SPEAKER_03Not always on part of the system, right? Well, but what I'm telling you is they're already awake. Yes. You don't need to say those words. They're already listening. Now, are they recording conversations? Supposedly not, not these devices. But maybe they are if you accidentally turned them on and you didn't know you did.
SPEAKER_01Right. There's a lot of privacy uh sharing settings, I know, and a lot of these assistant devices now, especially like in my car, there's settings all over the place for the cabin camera processing stuff, the can the uh microphones inside of the car. So just that alone, there's privacy settings there. Alexa, too. I know one of the big things is you can disable actually the full wake word and make it so you have to physically touch it or something in order for it to wake.
SPEAKER_03Well, and when it does wake and you ask the other question, yes, it is recording what you're saying. So that's important to know too. So you are being recorded when you're using these wake words. Right. Why? Because, well, all of these services they they store those recordings. What do they store them for? They store them for training, quality improvements, stuff like that. So they want to be able to use them and and and now with AI, they're taking those recordings, they're transcribing them into words and using those words in AI in order to better respond to other people or you with other things and quicker. So, yes, you are being recorded when you use these devices. So, what's the risk? Well, a big risk is the data can be accessed by employees of that company. People have access to these things. Yeah, maybe contractors, you know. A contractor that comes to mind right away, and I love the guy, by the way, is Edward Snowden. Right? He was a contractor for the U.S. government, and he knew these systems. And he got in and he found out that the government was spying on us.
SPEAKER_04Right.
SPEAKER_03And he let everybody know hey, the government's spying on us. And so, of course, he had to flee to Russia because they were after him, but he made it. So anyway, so there's potential hackers also that can get access to this data. So this is kind of a worrisome thing to me. So the privacy concerns are real. So, like conversations you have about health, your finances, relationships. Guess what? All being recorded. You may you may blurt out your your social security number, you may be talking to your wife about a credit card. Oh, which credit card did you use? Oh, this one. Or you may be online on your computer, and Alexa is awake listening to you, and online, you're looking up information and you're talking to somebody. Oh, this is my my password, or this is my information that you know for and so that stuff is being listened to. You have to be aware that you're constantly being listened to. And if it's not bad enough, your phone, your iPhone, your Google phone, they're also listening to. They're all a part of that same ecosystem.
SPEAKER_01I know iPhones specifically, they actually they pay attention a lot more because with iPhones they they use facial ID. And I know that their facial ID has been with dot matrix, just projects over your face. But every time you're looking at your phone, it's scanning your face. It's taking, you know, internal pictures so it can track your your your aging, so it can tell as you get older, kind of how you're looking more. It's taking photos of you every few seconds that you know on the iPhone can't be accessed by any ordinary means, but internally it's still learning from that.
SPEAKER_03So so the excuse me, the whole idea is not to make you paranoid about your your smart devices. Though you should be a little bit. Just saying. You should be maybe a little a little bit. But you should at least be conscious about what the conscious of it, aware of it is is is key. Right. And that you you know may not you, you know, I I can't tell you how many times I've had conversations with my wife about something, probably one or two, where I've cut I'm covering my microphone on my phone. Just because I'm covering it. No, because again, it's not just a phone. Because I don't want anything that anything to listen to, it's some private conversation I might be having with her.
SPEAKER_02Right. Yeah, because again, it's not just the voice assistant that's listening in, it's also the apps that are installed on those programs that are listening in. You've got your phone installed Facebook. You have you people talk about how, oh, it's so funny that I was talking about this and now it's an ad on Facebook. Right. That's not a coincidence.
SPEAKER_01That's what's actually happening. That is targeted advertising. And I know specifically on like Windows computers, when you first set them up, there's a couple questions about data collection and privacy settings. Right. That I know on a lot of our systems we disable all of that for sharing because it it does just collect anonymous data like advertising.
SPEAKER_03Uh and a lot of these settings are turned on by default. Yeah, they are. So it's up to you to go in there and turn them off. So it's like the equivalent of maybe muting your microphone on your phone, right? Or turn it off your microphone if you have one on your laptop or on your computer if you have a microphone there. You know, uh turn that turn that microphone off while you're using it. And while you're at it, you know, turn the camera off too. Blank out that camera because guess what? Yeah, there's hackers out there, man. They can go in there and they can look in your camera. Yeah, they can see what's going on behind that lens.
SPEAKER_02The old sticky note over the webcam still works pretty well.
SPEAKER_03That still works, yes. Yeah, so old school way. Just cover it with a piece of tape or something, cover that camera lens. Yeah.
SPEAKER_01Thankfully, thankfully, we're getting a lot of transparency about all of this though. With a with a lot of our devices, there's been a lot of regulation change that's actually caused, you know, a lot more to be forward for us about what our devices can and cannot do. And I've even seen some manufacturers talking about how it is still a good trend to cover your camera. I've seen HP actually integrate a button on their computer that you can push and you'll see a little thing just slide right over the camera. It's integrated into the system on some things now.
SPEAKER_03That's a good tool to have. And some things that you can do,
Privacy Settings And Practical Safeguards
SPEAKER_03right? Also, you know, review your settings. So go into your devices app and check for your privacy settings. A lot of times, these your device, depends on the device, just about every device has a privacy setting where you can turn off things like your microphone and only enable it for when you want to use it. So do these kinds of things and you know, disable recording of conversations, right? You can do that too. There's a lot of devices and a lot of apps that by default it's on. So you have to go in there and nicely delete it. Yeah, delete your voice history regularly. So if you're recording stuff all the time, like some people use recording apps on their phone, for example, also. Get those things out of off of that off of that phone. You don't need to keep them there forever. Use a nice AI tool to transcribe it or something and save it in a Google Doc or save it on a word file. And you know, use the mute button, something very simple. Use the mute button on your phone because it physically disconnects the microphone. Unless it's a government, then they're still listening.
SPEAKER_02Not that you're paranoid or anything.
SPEAKER_03No, no, no, no. And speaking of government, you know, I got a little bit of a libertarian lean to me, and I I one of the things is keeping government out of our bedrooms and out of our wallets, right? Well, keep your devices out of your bedroom too. Don't don't put whatever you do, don't put an Alexa box in your bedroom. I mean, just don't. Do I have to even paint a picture? I don't think so.
SPEAKER_01And that that's a good point too, because I have a um a Google Home. It's uh it's just a screen basically. And it has a bed mode that it can detect if that if it's on a nightstand, it can detect when you lay down in bed, how it has to change the display so it's not so jarring while you're laying awake or laying in bed. It knows when you get up, so it knows to start your routines of showing you the weather and stuff like this. It's it's it's an automation that's almost crazy because it's almost like it's watching you and waiting for you to wake up.
SPEAKER_03I would say if you live by yourself and there's nobody else involved, and nobody ever uh nobody else ever in your bedroom, meh, maybe go ahead and go for that. But otherwise, uh-uh. It's listening to you. Or actually, you know, sometimes people feel like their bedroom is like their haven in their house. It's it's their safe space, it's their room where people go to get privacy. Well, if you have one of these boxes in there, you it's no longer that way. It's not private. So get that thing out of your bedroom. You don't need a smart speaker in every room. Right. You just don't. And you know, and use them for convenience, right? But understand what the trade-off is. The trade-off is it's listening to you all the time. And if you activate it, it's recording you also, whether you want it to or not. You can't use it and tell it not to record you. It's going to record you. So when you use those prompts, I don't I won't do it again. Hey, you know, the name Any service that has an activation phrase. When you use that those terms, it's recording you every time. You can't say, don't record me.
SPEAKER_01And sometimes it even misinterprets those wake messages too. So, like we were talking about with here, Dave said it across the room and Greg's phone activated from it. Sometimes I've been in the middle of conversation, and all of a sudden, you know, halfway through my sentence, I'll say one of the big names like Google or something. And then all of a sudden, my phone pipes up about 30 seconds later, giving me this whole thing about the the tail end of the sentence I was just talking about.
SPEAKER_03I tell you what gripes me is I I have a new RV and it's on a Mercedes chassis. And so it's a 2025 Mercedes Sprinter van. And so they have all the electronics built into that thing. I actually actually also have a sister-in-law. Her name is Mercedes. And so when I'm in my my RV, my wife and I are sitting there in the front seats, and we're having a conversation, and we say, and my wife will say, Hey, well, you know, Mercedes said this or that. And then next thing you know, my screen pops up on my dashboard. Oh, hello, how may I help you? No, we're not talking to you. Shut up. Go away, RV. But the cool thing about this setting is if you didn't know this, if you happen to have a Mercedes that does this, it has a driver mode and a passenger mode. So it knows when the driver's speaking and also knows when the passenger's speaking. And so you can turn it off for one and leave it on for the other, or you can turn it off for both. So it's kind of a kind of a cool feature that Mercedes did. But I will tell you, Mercedes Benz, if you're listening. I know you're not. But if you are, I turn it off on both, but it still pops up every once in a while. And it's annoying as heck. So, anyhow. So, folks, if you missed any part of this show, go to our website, refreshcomputers.net, click on that podcast link right there at the top of the page, and you'll be able to hear the show in its entirety. You, you know, if you missed it, you missed some really good segments today. We still have one more coming up after this next break. We're going to talk about some the oldest smartphone that's still usable that's out there right now, and people are using it. But go, you know, go to that website again, refreshcomputers.net. We talked about chatbots and we talked about our new trade-in program, and we just finished talking about your smart home is listening to you right now.
SPEAKER_02Maybe you're a little paranoid about all those smart home things and are looking for one of those older smartphones. We'll have some uh recommendations for you here coming up after the break. You've been listening to Tech Talk right here on WDBO 1073FM and AM580. Hey there, welcome back to Tech Talk here on WDBO 1073FM and AM580, Orlando's News and Talk. I'm Greg Rhodes here with David Levitt, president and founder of Refresh Computer Superstore and technician Adam Littlefield. And you can contact the Refresh Computer Superstore by calling their free tech support hotline at 407-478-8200. You can also check out their website over at refreshcomputers.net. And now back to David and Adam.
Old Smartphones Still Work With Risks
SPEAKER_03All right. Thanks, Greg. And thanks everybody for listening to Tech Talk with Refresh Computers. Glad to have you listening to us today. On this segment, we're going to talk about like old smartphones still in use and people still use them. We see this in the store, don't we, Adam? Yes, we do all the time. People bring in iPhone 6s, for example. You know, we're up to what are we up to now? 14, 15?
SPEAKER_0117, I think. 17.
SPEAKER_03I'm way behind. I think I have a 13 or something on still. So, but what can you do with an iPhone 6? Well, what can you do with a Galaxy 6 S6 phone, right? They're way back from 2015. Guess what? You can still use them for calls, you can still use them for texting. Again, we see this in the store because people bring them in the store. Can't get an app to work on their phone. Because guess what? Well, if it's that old, some apps work, some apps don't. Right.
SPEAKER_02It might still be called the Android store on those. It might be. Oh, yeah, it might. I didn't think about that.
SPEAKER_03But typically, if you're just using it for phone calls and texts, it's good enough. Yeah. Why would you want to upgrade? And actually, if you're still using an iPhone 6 or a Galaxy S6, for example, from way back in 2015, if you're still using those devices, you've already answered that question yourself. I don't need to, I don't need to upgrade because all I do is make phone calls and text people. And they work just fine. Still to this day. Even with all these 5G towers out there and everywhere else, you know, they they they might not have that that chip, the 5G chip, but they still have 3G and 4G. Yep. So they're still they're still definitely usable. Probably not good for web browsing.
SPEAKER_01Probably not. No, there's probably a lot of security risks you'd be facing there, especially on like the Android devices. Those I know are a little more exploitable than the older ones.
SPEAKER_03Well, and that's the trade-offs. Exactly. You can still use them, so you're not having to spend a lot of money to upgrade your phone. But you're, you know, there are security updates that aren't happening anymore on those devices. So they eventually stop. So your older phones become vulnerable. That's why you probably wouldn't want to use them for web browsing. But texting should be fine. Making phone calls obviously is fine for now. Hopefully it'll continue to be that way. So well, the other issue you might have with an older phone is well, we all know this, the battery.
SPEAKER_01The battery life, yeah, especially on a on a phone 10 years or older. I mean, you know, I I see battery degradation on smartphones right now. It's about every three to four years is when they suggest to replace them because on people's charging habits.
SPEAKER_00Right.
SPEAKER_01So it, you know, if you're using a phone from you know 2015 and you're still hung the original battery, you're gonna see some some degradation.
SPEAKER_03And it wasn't too many years ago that Apple got caught. Right. Got caught making you think that your battery is going bad, right? Making things that, oh, my battery's not lasting as long as it as it should be, because they had some things turned on that that caused that to happen. And if if you did the right things, you can avoid that. But they've done away with that now. So hopefully they've done away with that now. And so it's it's one of the reasons iPhone batteries are lasting longer today, is not just because of technology, that's certainly the biggest reason, but also the fact that it turned off those things that were draining your battery on purpose. And that's because that's what's definitely going on in past versions that was draining your battery, like they've had things turned on just to drain your battery, so your battery wouldn't last as long. Right. And that might provoke a lot of people to buy a new phone because they think something's wrong with their phone, but it's not.
SPEAKER_01And software updates do do also cause that. You know, when a new operating system comes out for a phone, the the one it releases with, it runs perfect. And then you get a new version that comes out and it runs okay. But then when they start releasing newer, newer phones, maybe three, four years down the road, then you start seeing those performance issues of that new version now trying to run on your old phone. And especially on phones this old, you know, they're not supported by the newest operating system by any chance.
SPEAKER_03Definitely aren't. And if you just have a phone that's just too old, like a computer or a laptop, and you need it properly refurbished, or not refurbished, recycled, I should say, because they won't get refurbished if they're that old. They'll get recycled at refreshed computers. You can drop it by the superstore at 820 East State Road 434, right there in Longwood, three and a half miles east of I-4, and we'll be able to responsibly have your phone or your laptop or your desktop recycled. So we're winding down the show for
Recycling Old Devices And Final Sign Off
SPEAKER_03today, folks. I really appreciate you listening to this edition of Tech Talk with Refreshed Computers. I'm David Levitt, owner and founder of Refresh Computers. Again, don't forget that free tech support hotline, 407 478 8200, and we'll be talking to you again next week.
