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John C. Morley: (00:09)
Hi everyone. I'm John C. Morley, the host of the JMOR Tech Talk Show and Inspirations for Your Life.
John C. Morley: (01:02)
Hi everyone, it is John C. Morley, serial entrepreneur here, and welcome once again to another fine episode of the JMOR Tech Talk show. I can't believe it. We are in the second week of August. It's now Aug 12. I was saying, you know, where did the spring that we never got, where did it go, where the holidays go? Where did the summer go? Because we're almost out to summer, as you know, very soon. We have a great show coming up for you here tonight. I know you're going to enjoy that. So let's get right into it. So we hear a lot about Alexa with Amazon, but, you know, Alexa could actually be starting. Yes, Alexa could now be starting. You heard me correctly; Alexa could be starting your Roomba. Now, this sounds a little crazy, but the truth is this could happen, and it's because Amazon bought the robot vacuum maker for 1.7 billion.
John C. Morley: (02:10)
And you know, I don't know that Amazon will acquire iRobot Corporation. It gives me a bit of a bad taste in my mouth because I feel that Amazon's getting its hands on too many things, and I think some control needs to be put in place because I fear Amazon will implode or something will happen to Amazon. We already know that their customer service sucks. We already know that. So why do they want to keep doing this? I mean, they're all just out about making more money. That's what it's about.
John C. Morley: (02:49)
And so, I don't know, I just feel that this is a problem, and they're not acquiring it to grow iRobot. It's actually to do something on the defensive end and use this robotic technology in their fresh stores. So I don't trust Amazon for squat. I don't. They have the worst customer service in the world and always try to appease you when you call them. So Amazon will pay $61 per share, valuing iRobot at a premium of 22% to the stock's latest closing price of $49.99. Now, iRobot Stock Rose 19% not too long ago to $59.66; at its peak during Covid-19 pandemic lockdowns, iRobot shares were more than twice that price. And now, I don't know, and I have a problem with Amazon buying this. I do.
John C. Morley: (03:52)
I know it's going to happen and all that, but I just feel that it's said that it's going to safeguard customers' privacy and not sell their data baloney. I don't believe them for one minute. iRobots fortunes took a hit as consumers started rethinking their purchases and mid-rising inflation. But, you know, whenever Amazon gets involved, like with the doorbell and all this stuff, they're always doing things that are best for Amazon. They're not doing things that are best for you, me, or any of the good consumers in the market or businesses. They're not. Unfortunately, I hate to break this to you. Amazon is just in it for itself. They don't care who they harm or hurt and are very political. They're extremely political. So I've never been in love with Amazon. They think it's okay to raise prices on things like Prime. They're a necessary evil, I think some people use, but I have to tell you, they are the worst company to follow when it comes to customer service because they have no customer service. Their idea of customer service is appeasing you, yessing you to death, and then doing nothing.
John C. Morley: (05:04)
I don't know. The question you're probably asking is why did Amazon buy iRobot? Why? So Amazon announced it had agreed to acquire the vacuum cleaner, making iRobot, as I said, the 1.7 billion, you know, scooping up another company to add to its collection of smart home appliances. So that's really where I think they're going. They're trying to get into the smart home appliance market. They try to get into a security market. Now they got into the medical market. I mean, when is it going to stop? I just think that Amazon should be restricted by our government and put in place because they're starting to dominate too many markets, and frankly, their service sucks. So how can we allow this to keep happening? We can't, ladies and gentlemen; we have to boycott them for certain technology because I feel that if we keep buying from them, they will keep getting bigger.
John C. Morley: (06:03)
Now, you might say, Oh, Gee, they're so good. There was a guy that got on LinkedIn the other day, and he was talking about the fact that they have these fresh stores. And I say I hate them. I've been in them. I don't think they're that great. And frankly, I think they got a lot of bugs, and they're taking away many human jobs. I mean, that's just my take on it. But Amazon has never been about the public. I mean, now they're creating these parties for people to go and sign up to work there while stripping away their life. Unfortunately, they're a company that doesn't care about anything. They just care about money. And if they can't get money, then they'll fire whoever they need to fire.
John C. Morley: (06:54)
So, I know I'm on a soapbox here, but I don't think anything's ever going to make me change my mind about Amazon because they just don't seem to operate as ethically as I would expect. They're so large, so grand, they can't even deliver packages, right? I mean, not to make fun of dyslexic members, but they're truly like, if you were at three nine nine, they deliver at nine nine three. And if you live in a home on one floor, great. But when you go to a business complex where you have a park, you have, let's say, a building, now you have a unit number. Now you have the floor and a suite that's way too much for Amazon's staff to handle, right? And these people, they get terrible. I mean, they're upright, terrible. So we'll have to see what's going to happen there.
John C. Morley: (07:49)
We'll keep our eyes peeled. Don't worry. We'll keep our eyes peeled for that. So, is no more Teslas in California possible but not likely? I know that California's DMV thinks Tesla is a liar, and California's Department of Motor Vehicles has had it up to, you know what, with Tesla's full self-driving claims that DMV is so fed up that the company may no longer be allowed to sell its cars within the state. But that's what they're saying. I don't know if it's going to go to that, but they are just, they're terrible. They're terrible. I don't know who's worse; Tesla or Amazon. I think it's got to be Amazon because at least Tesla does have customer service. But I mean, you know, so not too long ago, on Jul 28, the DMV's Chief of Industry Services, Eileen Short, filed a complaint against Tesla alleging that the company deliberately used misleading language in marketing. Tesla's full self-driving and autopilot features. And I tend to agree with them. I think Tesla's in a little bit of hot water right now, and they're trying to swim so desperately, you know, I should say swim. They're just trying to tread water, let alone swim. They're just trying to tread water, so they don't drown. I don't know. If you have your Tesla and you have a problem, say something. If you don't say something, how will everybody know there's a problem?
John C. Morley: (09:24)
I don't know. This is a problem. The autopilot feature is a feature that comes standard on all new Tesla cars, and it allows for automatic steering, lane changing, and braking while the driver supervises. The full self-driving beta feature, which costs just $12,000 for users to opt into, launched in September of 2021, and it claims to allow for abilities criticized by the DMV; as we said at the launch, its name was under immediate scrutiny from the National Transport and Safety Board, which had an issue with the name's implication that the car would be fully autonomous. This is not the case, as full self-driving still requires the driver to be actively engaged in driving in case of emergency malfunctions. We've already seen what's happened when cars have caught on fire from the eutainment system, right? UTA system would basically, the fan would not kick on, and the right timeframe and the unit started smoking, the car goes on fire, can't even get out to your vehicle.
John C. Morley: (10:28)
So you've got to take an axe, which I always say Tesla should give you an axe so you can get the heck out of the car. People break the car with their elbows and jump out just to save their lives. I mean, is this a car you want to own? I know I got my deposit back. I definitely will not own a Tesla. I am looking at some other cars, including the Porsche, but the Tesla's not one of the ones that I'm going to be driving. So I just wanted to give you some honest feedback that this is terrible, and I know people that this has happened to. This is not Gibber jabber, ladies and gentlemen. All right? So we'll have to see what happens with all that. And you know, we've been talking a lot about the crypto market. The crypto market is in serious, serious trouble. Another crypto bridge hack Nomad loses 190 million in a chaotic hack.
John C. Morley: (11:22)
This is crazy. So these different attacks are plaguing the crypto world, with news of large sums stolen from digital currency firms every month. But while crypto exchanges were once the main point of attack, hackers now appear to have a new target blockchain bridges. You see, I think the people that are doing this, because there are different types of hackers without getting into that, I think they're trying to show the world that blockchain and crypto need to be done. Like it needs to be over. And I think they're trying to send a message to say, Look, enough's enough. Everyone that I know that was in the crypto world suddenly just vanished. They canceled their email, cut all social media, got rid of their cell phone numbers, changed them, and were nowhere to be found. I mean, this is just like an abomination.
John C. Morley: (12:27)
So crypto's not the way to be, okay? And they claim that they're working around the clock to fix issues. But I said when crypto came out that it would fall, and I was right because it has no backing. There is no F D I C insurance. It is just an account. And if you are to put your hard-earned savings into crypto and then know that it might be lost, I don't know, ladies and gentlemen, I have bad taste in my mouth about crypto, and that's not going to change. The people I met through the Pandemic online are people that'll be honest with you, I probably wish I had never met, and I don't like to say that. But these people are just so phony and are trying to BS everyone. I mean, that's the truth of the matter. And now that the government's getting smart, they suddenly have changed the direction we'll have to see.
John C. Morley: (13:34)
Well, ladies and gentlemen, you're remote employees; unfortunately, I hate to break it to you, but they're lying. They may be lying. Managers who miss the office could have one or more reasons to push back against remote workers. You know, employee scams, people telling you they're working when they're not working. Now, nothing against people having a family, but if you're at work and suddenly punching in and punching out, that's one thing, right? That's also not good. But if you're not punching out and something happens at home, like a quick emergency, not a big deal, but if this keeps happening, it's a pattern you're stealing from the company that you're working for. And ever since remote work has gone mainstream, more and more people have been figuring out ways to manipulate and get around working. They use excuses, and you know that they need more time. In my industry people make excuses to do things when they're here, but then when they're at home, they claim that they need more time, but they're not getting it done.
John C. Morley: (14:47)
I think a good manager has to keep communication lines open. And I think you need to write the person up when something goes wrong. Now, if you want to give them a warning, that's perfectly fine, but then write them up three times, and they're gone. Because the problem is you need to let them know what they're doing wrong in their life and job. And if you don't let them know what's going on, get news for you. They're going to keep walking on you. They're going to keep manipulating you. They're going to keep stealing from you. Stealing sounds harsh, but it's true, ladies and gentlemen. They're stealing from you. They are stealing and scamming the boss. Some employees are outsourcing their jobs to other people. And this is unfair. I can't believe this is actually going on, but ladies and gentlemen, it's going on every single day of our life.
John C. Morley: (15:43)
And you got people freelancing to companies and individuals in Pakistan and other people worldwide, and continuous scamming continues. So you must create a solid work-from-home policy if you do that. If they're going to work from home, make sure you have things very clearly laid out. If you're working from home, you're expected to take calls. Suppose you are doing something that you have to stop to log out. I know I get people here, you know, you might say, Gee, you know, going to the restroom isn't scamming the boss, but I've got news for you. If it keeps happening every hour and the person doesn't have a problem, I have something to tell you. They're not just using the bathroom. Maybe they're using it to make cell phone calls. And that's when you have to be objective as a boss and kind of say enough's enough. You know, like if you look at the track and say, Gee, you know, you went to the restroom ten times, Is everything okay? Or should you see a doctor or something? And I feel that many people out there want to manipulate others. Why? They're lazy. They don't want to work; they don't want to work.
John C. Morley: (17:09)
So when people work most, Oh, you know, I have to work from home. I can't; that's not the company's problem with my kids or this and that. It's not their problem. The boss is nice enough to let you work from home, but if you're not going to work and you're going to try to placate things and scam them, they said, fire your rear and get you out because this isn't accommodation that's being made. But I'm so tired of people saying, Oh, because of Covid, get back to work or get fired. I mean, it's really simple. I can be compassionate like the next guy, but I know when somebody's being taken advantage of. And I know that so many companies I speak to every day they're being exploited by these manipulative contractors and employees that aren't doing their job. They are placating, let's say, perusing around the situation, but they're not getting work done.
John C. Morley: (18:10)
And if they're not getting work done and getting paid for it, then I have to say that's stealing. Now you might say to me, John, well, you know, I only take five minutes off a day, or I only goof off five or, okay, so fine, so five minutes, or let's say even three minutes. So take three minutes a day times, Let's say you work 40 hour work week, right? A hundred, 120 minutes. Let's multiply that by 52 weeks in the year; that's 6,240 minutes. Divide that by 60. You just beat your boss for 104 hours; that's stealing.
John C. Morley: (18:54)
So I think there must be a fine balance between work and being friends. Now, I'm not saying not to be friendly. What I'm not, what I'm saying is don't go over backward for them. Somebody's birthday. You want to get them a card and fine, but you know, don't go overboard for people that work for you because if you do, they're not going to be that appreciative of it. And now they're going to think they can placate you more because you just bought them a cake. So be a little careful with those things. I hate to say that, but it is the truth. And we have to have policies and procedures to handle people who abuse working from home. And I got news for you. Well, once you make one person example, once one person gets fired, you'll see how quickly everybody toes the line because they're not going to want to get fired.
John C. Morley: (19:47)
Pretty interesting, right? All right, let's get onto another important topic. A topic that I think is definitely interesting. Our friends, Meta or Facebook, whatever they call themselves these days, are shutting down one of its biggest virtual reality games. This is pretty cool, right? So Meta hiked up the price of its Quest two headsets and announced its ending Quest one, support for population one, and the popular battle royal shooter set in virtual reality. Big box VR, the meta-own developer behind the game, shares the update and a post on its blog noting that Quest one owners will no longer be able to launch or play the game starting Oct 31, 2022. Big box VR says the shutdown must focus on developing new experiences that will quote-unquote "push the boundaries of multiplayer VR." The developers note that you can still play population one via Airlink, a feature that lets you wirelessly play games on your PC from your headset, but this means repurchasing the game on Steam if you haven't already. And Player is using the Quest to Oculus Rift, and Oculus Rift S will still have access to the game, while Meadows is offering Quest one owners a refund for population one.
There's a catch. You must have purchased a game from the Quest store within the past six months. The policy seems kind of unfair for a game launched on the Quest nearly two years ago and will likely leave many players with a game they can't even play. Can we say class action lawsuit? I knew you could, it's funny, but we really have to be careful about what we do, right? And I think that all these companies out there, for whatever reason, are trying to get away with whatever they can. Now, it's not nice to say that, but they're trying to get away with it. And if they're trying to get away with things, and you know what that means? This means that they don't care about the people.
John C. Morley: (22:11)
They don't care about the people; they just care about the green stuff. So what does that say for a company? What does it say about what they do, right? Are they ethical companies? I would think not. I don't know. I just feel that these companies do this, and they have a plan for this. This is not something they just do last minute, and I think they get a plan all along that they know that they're going just to take this tactic and see that's my problem. I get when things happen in their hardships, but I don't like it when companies have already planned this exit strategy and said, this is where we're going. We're not even to be successful.
I have a problem with that. I have a big, big problem with that. And I want to let you know something else that will be a little heart-wrenching. Fitbit's going to end support for PC music file transfers, which is going to be a problem. I believe they did; I think it was early this week. They stopped support. So but Fitbit should be about healthy things. It shouldn't be anything about music.
Interestingly, they're doing that. I don't know. And will the saga ever end with Elon Musk? Is it true that he would buy the company if they proved that there weren't bots over many of the companies? Or is this some ploy?
I don't know. And Intel has stated that Meteor Lake they deny the claim that it's been delayed to 2024. They're saying that the chip will come out in 2023. We will have to wait and see exactly what is going on. Cause I don't know, ladies, gentlemen, that's the big thing. But I do want to talk about something else that's kind of interesting. DDR four versus DDR five. So DDR four will run at speeds up to 3,200 mega transfers per second. And DDR five will run up to 4,800 mega transfers per second. So it means that DDR five transfers data at about 38.4 gigabytes per second while DDR four tops out at 25.6 gigabytes per second. So 50% faster than DDR four. And so the question is, is it worth upgrading a DDR five memory? Just to give an example memory, you're probably talking almost; I'm going to say 60, 70% more. Do most people need that? I'm going to say no. And DDR fives memory will come out soon, but I want to warn everyone if you have a DDR five motherboard and you have DDR four, they look similar, and you push the chip in, and you try to force it, you will break it. So make sure, ladies and gentlemen, if you are installing memory and you recently got a brand new motherboard, make sure that the motherboard is DDR four or DDR four memory; if it a DDR five memory, make sure because what I've noticed is a lot of manufacturers are putting DDR five are on the outside pretty big, but when a DDR four, they just have it small. So make sure you are checking that out because I wouldn't want to see you guys damage your motherboard. And that could be annoying; you'll have to change your entire motherboard.
John C. Morley: (26:37)
So, they're saying right now that the Senate is just one step closer to approving the big tech antitrust bill, but is it going to go through? I don't know. According to the Verge, we'll have to wait and see what's going on. And I think, ladies and gentlemen, that there's a lot that's morphing in technology right now, and I have to tell you that the issue in life is coming down to privacy. We've known about this before, but it's becoming very critical to understand the cost of free. And the cost of free is you giving up your privacy.
John C. Morley: (27:42)
And another thing I want to share with you tonight, which is important, is that as technology evolves, okay, there's always going to be security holes. We know that. And another very interesting one, which I want to share with you, is that the US Emergency Alert System has some dangerous flaws in I mean, really bad. Something that's supposed to be here for an emergency has become the key tool for police investigations, what they call cryptocurrency tracing. Still, its accuracy may soon be put to the test. Not too long ago, they reported a new court filing from the legal team representing roman Sterlingoff, who's been in jail for 15 months, accused of laundering 336 million in cryptocurrency. As the alleged owner and operator of Dark Web crypto mixer Bitcoin Fog Sterlingoff not only maintains he is innocent, but his defense attorney claims that the blockchain analysis that served as evidence that Sterlingoff set up Bitcoin fog is flawed.
So FEMA warns that its Emergency Alert system can be hacked. Wow! Federal emergency management is crazy. I mean, can you imagine that the Federal Emergency Management Association, I mean, this just really pills me. This isn't the test. The software used to transmit US government-issued emergency alerts on television and radio contains flaws that could allow an attacker to broadcast false messages. According to the Federal Emergency Management Agency and the security researcher who found the vulnerabilities, the company that makes the software Digital Alert Systems has issued patches, and FEMA has alerted the TV and radio networks that use the software to update their device immediately. Of course, patches may not be universally adopted, leaving the risk of the systems being controlled by bad actors. And there's no evidence that the attacker has exploited the floors.
John C. Morley: (30:03)
But we should be concerned about what's going on. I think the biggest issue I see in our world is that we are so quick to roll out a strategy or technology, but we don't take the time to ensure that it's ironclad. I mean, I'm not saying we could spend hundreds of years on it, but we've got to do due diligence. I think it comes because a lot of this is the private sector, and they feel it's good enough, but is it good enough something we should be using in our everyday lives like emergency management systems, health systems, and transit systems? I'm asking you, is it? I don't think so. I don't know. And you know, things like the MTA were breached by hackers in the cyber tech surge. And so now they're able to get into these systems, and they're able to control signage and affect what's going on with trains. I mean, this is all bad because they can grab the information. So there were security flaws in the MTA. And I don't know if you guys know this Amtrak had security deficiencies.
John C. Morley: (31:35)
Now, this might seem crazy, but this was back in 2019. Washington's Union Station and IV City yard maintenance facilities continue to have serious security gaps that make them vulnerable to trespassers and potential safety problems. According to our port from Amtraks Inspector General Leasing not too long ago, this was several years ago. Still, some security vulner allowed a driver in a red vehicle to trespass on company property and drove onto the train tracks. The company implemented some new security measures after the incident, but several problems remain, placing passengers and employees at risk a serious problem. And so just because it appears to be good enough. That is a real, real problem.
John C. Morley: (32:38)
I mean, allowing a driver in a red vehicle to trespass on company property and drive onto the train tracks that's a serious problem. I think what happens with the government and all these agencies and all this bureaucracy is that they don't know, just like with Covid, they don't know anything. They think they know, and then they cause all these dominoes of things to cost thousands and millions and billions of dollars, but nobody knows what's going on. They just throw things to the wall, and let's hope we solve the problem. That doesn't sound right to me, but why does it continue to go on? I think it continues to go on because it means our systems are broken. And I don't mean technology; I mean the people running them. Look how long it's taken to get bills through Congress in the Senate. This is a serious problem, ladies and gentlemen, and most people don't care about it because, hey, if it's not affecting me, well, then it's not a big deal, is it? That's a problem.
John C. Morley: (34:10)
So we even had security flaws in Wall Street back in March, right? And so Wall Street's watchdogs voted to unveil the rule that aims to enhance how public companies disclose when they experience a breach. And how soon, under this proposed Security Exchange Commission Act, a company would have to spell out when to experience the risk and what strategies it has employed to address and manage such risks in current report filings, including the Form 8-K. So the rule changes, subject to public consultation, would also require an analysis of how risks are likely to affect the company's financials. This would allow investors to assess these risks more effectively and to locate them more readily. The SEC said, close quoting. So I think the issue is not that we'll ever be out of a hundred percent of breaches, but we have to be more proactive.
John C. Morley: (35:16)
We've got to be proactive and not reactive. Because when we're reactive, it becomes an emergent situation. It costs more money, and there's already been damage if we react; if we're actively proactive, I should say we can handle something before it turns into a flame. Now anybody said, Well, John, it's so easy; we can just do that. We don't need to do that. Yes, you do, because if you can't isolate a problem and it's exploited by not just one person, give it 24 hours or less, and several other people will exploit it. And once that happens, the integrity of that whole infrastructure has been compromised. Forget the security. I'm talking about the integrity of everything in there. Security is one thing. Integrity goes even deeper than security. That means we trust the information that this system is now expelling or sharing?
John C. Morley: (36:32)
That's the main issue. I like to trace it back to a famous story many years ago where there was all the king's horse and all the king's men, and so basically, the character was sitting on the wall, right? And whenever that character, let's say, so the fox, he was supposed to yell hell, right? Or the bell or whatever. So he says I want to test this and make sure this works. So he sounds off the alarm, and people come running and running, and there's nothing there. He just didn't learn from that lesson. He does it again and says, you know, this is getting crazy. Now, you know what happens the third time he needs them because the wolf is there. They're like, Yeah, sure, he is there, and he doesn't get help.
John C. Morley: (37:42)
So if you constantly compromise, how could someone ever trust you when you're telling the truth? That becomes a serious problem. I hope you've learned much from tonight's JMOR Tech talk show. Of course, I hope we'll have a great show again next week, which will be Aug 19. Ladies and gentlemen, you'll like, love, and support the channel. Of course, share this with everyone you know and help keep our content free. And make a choice, ladies and gentlemen, to click below and buy my team a nice savory piece of watermelon, an ice cream cone, or even a refreshing drink. We'll be so grateful for those paying and dollars. We'll invest them into new hardware, new technology, new equipment, new software, and even facilities to you the most draw-dropping amazing content to keep you safe, aware, and able to grow and improve your life. I will see you guys next Friday. I can't believe that we're already at a time, but I hope you enjoyed and I hope that you will take what I've said in this show seriously and understand that once you break integrity, it's almost impossible to restore it. Have yourself a great rest of your week and everyone.