June 27, 2025 • 39 mins
- To celebrate the show milestone, ASUS is giving away an X15 Chromebook laptop. Just tag me on social media and include the hashtag #TechItOut to be eligible to win. You need to be in the continental U.S. and 18 or older. Good luck!
- NETGEAR joins us to chat about its latest Wi-Fi gear, including routers, extenders and mesh systems. I’m joined by Sandeep Harpalani, VP of Product Management
- What’s your experience like when using your bank or credit card apps and websites? I chat with Sean Gelles, Senior Director of Payments Intelligence at JD Power
- Learn all about Hello Humpback, an AI-powered website that tracks whales and tells you the marine mammal’s backstory and whereabouts. I catch up with Darrell Smith, Director of Marketing, for Newfoundland and Labrador Tourism
- Thank you to Visa and SanDisk for your support!
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
Do you ever feel overwhelmed by the ever changing world
of technology? Check it Out can help make some sense
of it all. Breaking down geek speak into street speak.
Technology columnist, author, and TV personality Mark Saltzman covers consumer
technology each week for every listener, Mark tackles the latest news, reviews,
and how two's to help you understand what's hot, what's
(00:21):
not and why.
Speaker 2 (00:24):
Hey everyone, welcome to check it Out Episode four hundred.
Speaker 3 (00:31):
Oh wow, thank you, thank you. All right.
Speaker 2 (00:33):
I know that was cheesy, but hey, check it Out
is not recorded in front of a studio audience, and
so I gotta do what I gotta do. But yes,
this is officially the four hundredth episode of the weekly
one hour show that breaks down geek speak into street speak.
Teck it Out started in July of twenty seventeen, eight
years ago already.
Speaker 3 (00:53):
And so I'm very thankful to the listeners.
Speaker 2 (00:56):
To the guests that we've had usually three or four
per show, the spawnsor like Visa and SanDisk, and to
Radio America for syndicating this show, managing the podcast version
as well, which you may be listening to right now,
and airing the daily one minute tech it Out interstitial
across the country. It's a tech update that Arizon more
(01:18):
than four hundred and thirty talk radio stations a day,
plus Sirius XM and it's Radio Classics channel. I love
when I catch that when I'm in the car again.
Most of all, thank you to the listeners for supporting
me and this show, allowing it to reach episode four
hundred to celebrate and commemorate the milestone. You may have
(01:38):
heard me TISA giveaway over the past couple of weeks,
or maybe you saw my video on social media, but
a SEUs, one of the leading laptop companies on the planet,
has generously donated a giveaway. It's a fifteen point six
inch Chromebook laptop, the Asus X fifteen, powered by a
snappy Intel Celeron and forty five hundred process es, sir
(02:00):
four gigs of RAM and one hundred and twenty eight
gigs of storage. This sleek laptop includes a three month
Google one Ai Premium plan and three months of ad
free YouTube Premium. To be eligible to win this laptop,
you need to be a US resident in the continental
US that is age eighteen or older, and all you
have to do is send me an email from my
(02:22):
website with the words teck it out or tag me
on any social media platform with the hashtag teck it out.
A random name will be chosen next week to win
the Asus X fifteen laptop. I'll announce the winner on
the next episode of Tech it Out, episode four o one.
For my email, my website is Mark Saltzman dot com.
(02:44):
That's Mark with the C and Saltsman with the Z.
Or again on any of your favorite social media platforms
X or threads, Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn, blue Sky, just use
the hashtag teck it out and tag me and you'll
be eligible to win. Good luck. Thank you for tuning
in too. Tech it Out all right, we do have
a great show for you planned today. We're going to
(03:05):
kick off the show about Wi Fi in the home,
what to look for in your next router or mesh
system and what that means. We'll have Netgear on in
about sixty seconds from now. We'll also talk with JD
Power this hour about which banking and credit card app
is the best and why. And finally, the East Coast
(03:25):
of Canada, Newfoundland and Labrador they get countless tourists from
around the world every year, many of whom come in
the summer to go whale watching, and there's now a
fun high tech twist to it involving your smartphone, camera
and AI. It's called Hello Humpback, and we're going to
learn all about that later on in this show. This
four hundredth episode no less, all of this and more
(03:48):
on an all new tech it out powered by Visa.
Securing the world's payments is priority one. I'll tell you
more about Visa's anti fraud efforts shortly, but let's officially
kick off the new show with our first interview. Reliable
and fast Wi Fi is critical at home today because
it's the backbone to your experiences like entertainment. Right we're
(04:10):
streaming TV shows and music and downloading games to your
console or PC. It's also used for productivity, especially for
those who work at home even partially, or students doing homework.
And Wi Fi is also needed for accessing smart home
gear like video doorbells, security cameras, smart lights, and so
much more. Don't believe me, Just ask your Alexa, Google
(04:30):
or Sirie smart speaker, which also needs Wi Fi to work.
To talk with us about what's new and Wi Fi.
We're joined by Netgear on the line. We've got sand
deep Harpolani. He's VP of Product management at Netgear. Welcome
back to the show, Sandeep. Good to chat with you again.
Speaker 4 (04:45):
Thank you. I'm glad to be back here Mark and
talk to you one more time about Wi Fi my
favorite subject.
Speaker 3 (04:51):
Sure, let's start there.
Speaker 2 (04:52):
Actually, let's talk about the importance of good Wi Fi
at home.
Speaker 4 (04:56):
Yeah, so, I think, as you mentioned, Wi Fi is
actually a big necessity for us today. It really drives
everything that we do from work, entertainment, our social connections.
A lot of the devices that you have inside most
likely the next appliance that you will buy will have
some kind of an Internet connectivity.
Speaker 3 (05:16):
I haven't come across.
Speaker 4 (05:17):
Anybody who has said that you will have less number
of connected devices next year as they want they have today.
Speaker 2 (05:23):
So we're on the same page about the importance of
Wi Fi. Ensure you know, there are still wired devices.
There are still a couple of I don't know, smart
TVs and laptops that have an Ethernet connection. But we
love the convenience of not being tethered to the wall.
Speaker 3 (05:38):
Right. We can even take our.
Speaker 2 (05:40):
Laptop or tablet outside, especially this time of year. You
want to download an ebook to your reader on a
porch or a backyard deck. Wi Fi allows you to
do that as well. So tell us a bit about Netgear.
This company has been around for a while. What is
it almost thirty years now.
Speaker 3 (05:54):
That is correct.
Speaker 4 (05:55):
We are actually founded in nineteen ninety six and have
well the first come that was focused on consumer networking,
and we continue to be very focused on that market
and true to our mission of providing innovative solutions for
connectivity to power extraordinary experiences. And we have a full
(06:15):
suite of networking products from your Wi Fi routers, mesh solutions.
We'll talk more about it, range, extenders, adapters, power line,
anything that you would need in your home to connect
devices most likely will have an option for that.
Speaker 2 (06:33):
And so what separates Netgear would you say from other
networking companies out there?
Speaker 3 (06:37):
I know there are a few.
Speaker 4 (06:39):
I think one of the key things that separates us
from others is really our experience in terms of building
Wi Fi, building Wi Fi products that are reliable, secure
and high performance and provide your whole home coverage. There's
a lot that goes into building a Wi Fi product
that provides you the best performance in range. We basically
spend a lot of time in terms of designing these products.
(07:02):
Wi Fi is extremely sensitive to any kind of interference,
so there's a lot that goes into making sure that
you're getting the best range and performance, and we are
really building a product without understanding the customer home environment.
He might be living in a rand style home, or
it might have a multi storied there might be different
type of materials that are used in terms of bricks
(07:23):
and so on, which have different level of Wi Fi
ability to go through that. So there's a lot that
goes into developing these products to make sure that it
works reliabily and gives you the best performance for your home.
Netgear has been a pioneer in terms of providing new solutions.
We were the first to build the first tryband, the
quadband WiFi outers. We were the first to do the
(07:46):
first range extenders. So we're done really looked at the market,
understand the market, and provide the best performance solutions to
this to make sure that our customers are able to
enjoy and power those extraordinary experiences that they're looking for.
Speaker 2 (08:03):
And it's not just hardware right sand Deep. There's also
the software part which is critical, including cybersecurity software which
I understand that Netgear provides. Can you tell us a
bit about Armor.
Speaker 4 (08:14):
Yes, So this is again as we look as I
spoke about understanding of the customers. As you have more
and more connected devices, customers are concerned about security. Now
you have your front lock, which might be having a
Bluetooth connection or wire Pi Fi connection, so you want
to make sure that your home is secure. In earlier times,
you could basically have antivirus running on your laptop or
(08:36):
PC and you're basically covered. But now you have these
IoT devices which do not have You cannot run any
kind of a software on those, any kind of a
security software on those, So you need something that is
running on the Wi Fi uder think of it like
a lock on your front door. That's how it's amost
basic security requirements. So as we have seen these requirements change,
(09:00):
we have basically developed this Armor solution which is to
protect all the devices in your home network. We be
a partner with the Biddefender, a leading security company, to
have a solution so that everything that's behind your home
network is secured. You don't need to run specifically software
on every device that is home.
Speaker 2 (09:20):
IoT, of course is an acronym for Internet of Things.
These are the millions of devices out there that all
can talk.
Speaker 3 (09:27):
To one another.
Speaker 2 (09:28):
And that includes those smart home devices in your home
that I alluded to off the top, like security cameras
and video door bells, even things you wear like a
smart watch, a smart ring. We're all connected and that
they need to be secure at every access point to
the Internet. So thank you for that, Sandeep. We are
chatting with Sandeb Parpolani. He is a vice president of
product management at Netgear, a leading networking company. Why don't
(09:50):
we now pivot and chat about the latest wireless standard
called Wi Fi seven. Is it time to upgrade to this?
Speaker 4 (09:56):
Yes? So Wi Fi seven is the latest Wi Fi
standard is there has been there for a couple of
years now. I think the last time we spoke was
about two years ago on Wi Fi seven. There are
some significant improvements with the new Wi Fi standard. Number
one is, of course, the speed improvements is gift to
gives you about a four x speed improvement as compit
the last Wi Fi six standard. But more important than
(10:20):
that is improvements in terms of the robustness of Wi
Fi reduction in terms of latency, so things like if
you're playing a gaming application or if you want a
more secure connection. People are using it for work, have
zoom calls and so on, video streaming. All these applications
(10:40):
we will benefit with Wi Fis seven.
Speaker 2 (10:42):
All right, So it's for faster speeds and lower latency,
which is related supporting more devices at the same time,
and other benefits security as you mentioned. So when we return,
I'm going to ask how you know when it's time
to upgrade. What if things seem to be working just
fine as you're streaming, or you haven't had any security scares,
(11:02):
and while you're adding more devices, you're not seeing any
noticeable slowdowns and performance. So when we return on Tech
it Out, I'm going to ask Sandeep from Netgear to
answer that. I'm also going to ask him what models
or what brands to look for. I think it's called
orb which is part of the Netgear family. So stick
with us more Check it Out coming right up after
this short break.
Speaker 1 (11:24):
Listen to check it Out whenever you want to find
the Check it Out podcast, did I too, or wherever
you get your podcasts.
Speaker 2 (11:40):
Welcome back everyone you're listening to Check it Out. The
four hundredth episode of the show, we have a big giveaway.
It's an Asus laptop. I'll tell you more about how
to enter to be eligible to win in a couple
of minutes from now, but first we're going to continue
chatting with Sandeep Parpolani. He's VP of Product Management at
net Gear, a leading networking company. They're best known for
(12:03):
their routers and wireless extenders and mesh systems, which we'll
get to.
Speaker 3 (12:08):
Now before the break.
Speaker 2 (12:09):
Sand Deep I was asking, how do you know when
it's time to upgrade your router? Like, let's say we've
got listeners right now, thinking well, I'm perfectly content with
my existing router. Maybe it's Wi Fi six or six E,
one of these slightly older standards.
Speaker 3 (12:23):
How do you know?
Speaker 2 (12:24):
Is it because things just don't work as smoothly. You're
watching a show on Netflix and it's buffering. You're seeing
that little symbol in the middle of the TV that
says wait kind of thing. Maybe you don't realize that
from a security standpoint, that your data is at risk
when it is.
Speaker 4 (12:37):
Yeah, there are actually a lot of factors here. One
of course is, as you mentioned, the buffering part of it.
If your outer is three to four years old, most
likely you or at least maybe two generations behind. In
terms of Wi Fi, a lot of things have improved
in terms of speed, in terms of connectivity, in terms
of security, and it makes sense for as if you're
(12:58):
using this Wi Fi, as most likely you are, people
don't think about it, like how many more connected devices
have you added in the last three to.
Speaker 3 (13:06):
Four years, right, probably a lot? How much has.
Speaker 4 (13:10):
Your Internet speeds increased in the last couple of years.
How many more subscriptions do you have for your video
streaming or gaming? How much more usage you have? Because
you know, we're doing work from home, you're doing a
zoom calls, you're doing your work calls, and so on.
So all of those things take need to be taken
into consideration. And I think one of the best ways
(13:32):
that I recommend is for people to run their speed
test near the router and then maybe run the same
speed test in other areas of the home. Maybe you're
now working one to work in the backyard as you mentioned,
or you have a new electric call that needs to
be upgrade in it and that requires a connection, or
you have IP cameras that are all around the home.
Now your usage has changed and it will be making
(13:53):
sense to maybe run that same speed test at those
areas and see are you getting similar speeds or not.
So if you're paying for a gigabit of internet and
add that farthest corner, if you're only getting one hundred
megabits or even ten megabits and so on, effectively you're
not using maybe ninety nine percent of the bandwidth that
you're paying for.
Speaker 3 (14:13):
Right, great point.
Speaker 2 (14:14):
And if people want to activate a speed test, it's
very easy. Just go in your web browser and do
a search for speed tests and you'll find different ones available,
like Ukla is a popular one. Kla it'll show you
the download speeds and compare that to what you're paying
for and what you're supposed to be getting.
Speaker 3 (14:28):
It's a great point, Sandy.
Speaker 2 (14:29):
Before we talk netgear solutions, some actual product names that
we may want to take note of. Tell us a
bit about MESH. I know it's not new, but for
those in a larger home or maybe an older home
with say concrete walls, a MESH system may be ideal
multi room solution.
Speaker 4 (14:43):
That is correct. So one of the fundamental issues that
Mesh solves is of coverage. This is again laws of physics.
As you move away from a Wi Fi out or
your speed goes down. That's where the mesh system comes
and it's multiple units, so it could be two units,
it could be three units. You take them and Wi
Fi router are connected to wherever you're getting your Internet connection,
(15:04):
and then you have satellites or node it says you
call it in terms of that it can be spread
throughout the home.
Speaker 2 (15:10):
That's at the pucks that you plug in the wall.
Speaker 4 (15:11):
Yes, and then it doesn't require any wired connection or anything.
It's all connected through Wi Fi and you have the
same Wi Fi network name throughout. So as you move
around in your home, maybe as you're doing a call
a zoom call, you don't see any kind of a disconnections.
You're basically getting the similar level of performance that you're
getting on one end of the house to another hand
of the house. And that's where our products come in.
(15:33):
ORB comes in specifically. I think our differentiation here is
for these mesh systems is not only do we provide
that increased range, we try to get you a similar
kind of Internet speeds that you're getting at where your
outer is to whereio satellites is.
Speaker 2 (15:46):
Could you tell us, just for a minute or so,
what some of the netgear brand names.
Speaker 3 (15:50):
We should look for model numbers. We should be looking
for so.
Speaker 4 (15:54):
For our mesh products, and that's the orbit range of
mesh solutions.
Speaker 3 (15:58):
Right, So that's OURBI ORBI, that is correct.
Speaker 4 (16:01):
We have a whole range of Wi Fi seven ORB
mesh products. The best in classes the ORB nine to seventy,
which is a quadband, has a dedicated back hall. And
again just the benefit of the dedicated back hall is
that you have basically have dedicated Wi Fi connection between
the outer and the satellite. So as you're adding more
and more devices, somebody starts downloading a big file, it
(16:23):
doesn't impact the connectivity to the other devices because you
have almost like a dedicated Wi Fi connection or highway
connection between the outer and the satellite, and that gives
you the best profile.
Speaker 2 (16:35):
And the satellites are those nodes or pucks or access
points that we spread out throughout the home that iskodt
all Right. So Netgear is the company. Orb is the
brand that I think a lot of our listeners would
want to make note of.
Speaker 3 (16:46):
That's ORBI.
Speaker 2 (16:48):
There's mesh systems, there's routers, there's something for different applications.
If you're a hardcore gamer, you're going to want a
higher end, a faster solution, but there certainly there's no
shortage of them. Is the best website simply Netgear dot
to get going or would you recommend a particular retailer.
Speaker 4 (17:02):
No, Netgear dot com is a great place to stop. Basically,
you can look at our mesh forducts. You can look
at it the standlone routers which is the Nighthawk and Igsdhawk,
and we have a whole full range of customers who
are looking for a standalone router. So you have all
those options that range, extenders, adapters, all kinds of connectivity
solutions to make sure that you're getting the best Wi
(17:23):
Fi throughout your home.
Speaker 3 (17:24):
Awesome.
Speaker 2 (17:24):
I think we talked about night Hawk the last time
you were on the show. Sandy, thank you so much
for carving out some time to chat with us once
again again, Sandy Parpolani's been our guest from Netgear Netgear
dot com for more. I hope you have a wonderful summer.
Thanks again.
Speaker 4 (17:37):
Thank you.
Speaker 1 (17:37):
Mark.
Speaker 2 (17:38):
Take note of how to enter to be eligible to
win this Asus laptop. To celebrate the four hundredth episode
of teck it Out, send me an email with the
words teck it out in the subject line or tag
me on social media and include the hashtag check it
out to be eligible to win. It's a fifteen point
six inch Asus X fifteen Chromebook laptop. My name is
(17:59):
Mark Saltsman Mark.
Speaker 3 (18:01):
With a C.
Speaker 2 (18:01):
You'll find me on all the social media platforms or
email me at Mark Saltzman dot com. You need to
be a US resident in the continental US, age eighteen
and older. Good luck more check it out coming right
up after this.
Speaker 1 (18:15):
Want to follow Mark Google, Mark with a C and
Saltzman with a Z. Breaking down geeksbeak into street speak.
Speaker 3 (18:33):
This is check it Out to check it out with.
Speaker 1 (18:35):
Technology columnist, author, and TV personality Mark Saltzman.
Speaker 3 (18:39):
Welcome back to tech it Out.
Speaker 2 (18:41):
We cover cybersecurity a lot on this program and how
you can best protect yourself in the digital age even
if you're not super tech savvy. One part of the
solution is securely shopping online. And so I'm thrilled about
my partnership with Visa on tech it Out as they've
made some significant investments in fraud prevention over the past
five years, as much as ten billion dollars yes that's
(19:04):
billion with a bee to support Visa's brand promise to
protect the financial information of individuals and businesses. Zero liability
means peace of mind when you shop online using your
Visa card. There can be no half measures when it
comes to cybersecurity, which is why the company takes an
aggressive and multi layered approach to combating the rising threat
of malicious software and other threats by well funded and
(19:27):
global criminal enterprises. Read more about Visa and how securing
the world's payments is priority one at Visa dot com
slash Security. That's Visa dot Com slash Security. Our world
is becoming increasingly digital if you haven't noticed, and that
includes making payments and banking and other financial transactions with
(19:48):
countless mobile apps and websites that I would argue deliver
similar experiences across the board or do they? What are
the consumer experiences like today? While on the heels of
its latest study, we're joined by Sean Gellis, Senior director
of Payments Intelligence at JD Power, a global data and
analytics company that specializes in consumer insights and market research.
(20:11):
Welcome to the program, Sean, good to chat with you.
Speaker 5 (20:13):
Thanks a lot, Mark, thanks for having me.
Speaker 2 (20:15):
I made an assumption that a lot of these apps
and websites look and feel the same regardless of the
financial institution you're trying to navigate through and to access
your accounts. I'm not sure if that's accurate, so I'll
just throw it to you. What did JD Power set
out to find with this study?
Speaker 6 (20:32):
So we were seeking to evaluate customer satisfaction with digital
banking and credit card experiences across mobile apps and websites.
Speaker 5 (20:42):
The studies focused.
Speaker 6 (20:44):
On how well these platforms are delivering on key aspects
of the experience such as navigation speed, which includes performance
in general, visual appeal, and how will they deliver the
information and content that the customers are actually seeking. And
our goal was to access how effectively banks and credit
(21:04):
card companies are meeting these rising customer expectations and as
you mentioned, in this increasingly digital first world.
Speaker 2 (21:12):
And so then what were the key finding Sean?
Speaker 5 (21:15):
So in the US we.
Speaker 6 (21:17):
See that Bank of America came out on top for
national banking apps, Capital One is leading for national banking
online experiences, and then fifth third and Region's Bank top
regional banking apps and online categories, respectively. American Express came
out on top in credit card app and credit card online.
(21:37):
You know again, here we see as you mentioned, there's
a lot of consistency between experiences. The apps and websites
are delivering strong experiences. They there's been consistent improvement every
year that we've done this study, but few are really
standing out with really personalized or innovative features.
Speaker 5 (21:55):
Right, there's a lot of sameness again.
Speaker 6 (21:58):
But again as I mentioned, we are seeing in there
was some improvement with the national banking apps and credit
card apps, but that's about it. We're hitting a plateau.
Speaker 2 (22:08):
Yeah, I mean, I guess when it comes to core functionality,
as you touched on earlier, you just wanted to work.
You want it to be easy to navigate, be fast,
be accurate, be secure. I would think is also a
top priority when it comes to your money. But unless
you've got multiple banks, and I don't know what percentage
of listeners, for example, use even competing banks, and they
open up different apps, you're kind of used to what
(22:30):
you're used to, right, I mean, you're not going to
maybe compare Capital One versus Boa.
Speaker 3 (22:34):
That kind of thing point you.
Speaker 6 (22:36):
Raise about having multiple accounts is really important in the
sense that you would have consumer that's using one banking
app and then comparing that to another banking app, but
just as valid. And we've found this over the years
that we've done these studies, is that it's really not
about banking and financial services apps. When consumers open an app,
(22:56):
when they open a banking app, when they open a
credit card app, they're coming to that expert with in
mind all of the other experiences that they have as
a consumer in the market today. So there puts a
lot of pressure on banks, right and credit card and
financial institutions in general. They're not just competing with each other,
but when it comes to digital experiences, they're actually they've
got to keep pace with the market in general for
(23:18):
these kind of experiences.
Speaker 3 (23:19):
That's a great point.
Speaker 2 (23:20):
Whether it's Uber or Amazon or whatever food delivery app
you use, or even games. We get used to certain
conveniences and benefits to some user experiences over others that
we may want to see more of in banking. And
that leads me to my next question, Sean. We are
chatting with Sean Gellis. He's senior director of Payments Intelligence
(23:40):
at JD Power. I wanted to ask you about AI,
which seems to be overhauling everything. All of our experiences
are digital experiences. The same thing happening to banking and
credit card apps and websites.
Speaker 5 (23:52):
You know, that's a really good question.
Speaker 6 (23:54):
It really it dovetails nicely with my last comment because
a lot of customers now also have chat gipt app,
Gemini app, or they might have copilot, and so they're
used to being able to interact with fundamentally.
Speaker 3 (24:08):
With consally, yeah.
Speaker 6 (24:11):
With a computer conversationally like it was a person, and
we're not getting that from our banking apps right now.
What we've seen is that there's less satisfaction with virtual
assistants because of that, because customers are now thinking of
a virtual assistant as a sort.
Speaker 5 (24:25):
Of a chat GPT.
Speaker 6 (24:26):
They now expect a much more natural and human like
agent interacting with them, whether or not it's artificial, whether
or not it's synthetic or it's computer generated. So I
think that's really in my view, I think that's the
next frontier because we really kind of, as we mess
(24:47):
mentioned before, we've kind of maxed out the experiences using
the kind of existing technology.
Speaker 3 (24:54):
One more question before I let you go, Sean.
Speaker 2 (24:56):
I mentioned security earlier, which to me is just table
stakes for any financial apps or websites. How are banking
and credit card customers embracing added levels of security when
it could impact the convenience factor, like for example, two
factor or multi factor authentication is when you not only
need your password to log in, but you often get
(25:17):
a code sent to your phone to also type in
to prove it's really you. That's an extra layer that
some people roll their eyes at because it's just not
convenient when you want to access your information like your
banking accounts or your credit card statements.
Speaker 3 (25:30):
But at what cost? Right do you.
Speaker 2 (25:32):
Think we are as consumers okay with at least one
extra way to verify it's us, Maybe it's our face
or our thumbprint.
Speaker 6 (25:41):
What we're seeing is what started out as a roadblock
experience or a kind of hassle has actually transitioned now
into a satisfaction booster. We're seeing satisfaction actually higher amongst
customers when they're using multifacture authentication. It's actually four different
studies and you can find all of these at jdpower
(26:02):
dot com or follow us on LinkedIn where you can
get great insights from these studies as well as video
and other great content.
Speaker 2 (26:09):
Shan, thank you so much for your time. Once again,
jdpower dot com have a great summer.
Speaker 5 (26:13):
Thanks Mark, you too, how.
Speaker 3 (26:15):
Whale watching can go high tech? When we return on
tech it Out.
Speaker 1 (26:20):
Breaking down geeksbeak into street speak, Check it out. Closted
by Mark Saltzman.
Speaker 3 (26:36):
Welcome back to check it out.
Speaker 2 (26:38):
Newfoundland and Labrador is known for whale watching, especially humpbacks,
who tend to visit every year, mostly from May to September.
And now there's a fun AI enhanced way to enjoy
the experience during and after the whale sighting. In fact,
as we'll hear now from Darryl Smith, he's director of
marketing for Newfoundland and Labrador Tourism. Welcome to the show, Daryl,
(27:01):
good to chat with you.
Speaker 7 (27:02):
Thank you very much. Mark, nice to be here.
Speaker 2 (27:04):
So Hey, before we talk about this new technology called
Hello hump Back, please tell us a bit about your
work with Newfoundland and Labrador tourism.
Speaker 7 (27:13):
Oh, no problem at all. I guess first thing I
should say is it goes back quite a long time.
So I actually was kind of born in the tourism industry.
I worked on my mom and dad's folk tour operation
in a small town just outside of Saint John's. You
may have heard of it. Dildo Nufliant and.
Speaker 2 (27:33):
Yeh made famous by Jimmy Fallen from the Tonight Show.
Speaker 7 (27:37):
I really put it out there quite a bit, so
that would have been in the nineties, in the early nineties,
and so I worked on my dad's tour boat with
him and really cut my teeth, as we say in
the tourism industry there. So having an opportunity to come
and work with the Department of Tourism, Culture, Arts and
(27:58):
Recreation as marketing director close to three years ago has
been a bit of a bit of a dream job
for me. And getting an opportunity to promote the province
around the world has been has been amazing. So you know,
whale watching is a big part of that. We also
have over twenty nine thousand kilometers of coastline through the
(28:20):
province of Newfoundland and Labrador and much of that has
been developed into into coastal hiking trails, which is a
little known fact about the province. So between the whales,
the scenic coastal trails, the icebergs, the people, you know,
we've we've certainly had lots to yell about out there.
Speaker 2 (28:41):
The lighthouses as well, which I absolutely tend to visit
with them out there, and I should clarify to our
listeners who aren't familiar with the province. The most eastern
province of Canada, Newfoundland and Labrador is one province. So
when I say Newfoundland and Labrador is known for whale watching,
that is grammatically correct. So I'm a journalist, so it
doesn't right to say speaking of tour boats. So whille
(29:03):
watching it is a popular tourist attraction. That's one of
the things that visitors often asked to see because it's something.
Speaker 3 (29:08):
They don't get a taste of at home.
Speaker 7 (29:10):
It is Indeed, our numbers are most recent visitation numbers
survey showed that about forty three percent of people who
come here come here they watch whales while they're here,
and it is about twenty seven percent take doorboats to
do so it is quite an activity that we've become
(29:31):
well known for. Every year, well, you mentioned from May
to September. May would be a little a little early
on whales. I will be honest. This year. This year,
we actually did have some whales around our coast in May,
so it's it's a little earlier than usual. But there's
been some stunning, stunning backdrops of icebergs behind the whales.
(29:54):
This time of year, which is pretty amazing. Eight to
ten thousand humpback whales every year make their way here
from the from the Caribbean.
Speaker 2 (30:02):
So after you've kissed the cod and maybe try to
drink some screech, there you go that you're you're good
to go to watch some whales. So let's now chat
about Hello Humpback. What is it exactly this technology?
Speaker 7 (30:13):
Well, first of all, every whale tale or fluke as
you'll sometimes see it written as, it's kind of like
a human fingerprint. So every whale tale is unique. So
the markings on the tail, the ridges, it all makes
that whale identifiable. So there's an organization called Happy Whale
that's been around for some time that has been mapping
(30:37):
migration patterns of humpback whales throughout the world. And what
we've done, Hello Humpback dot Com is our platform, but
it feeds into or it is connected on the back end,
I guess you would say, to Happy Whales database of humpbacks.
So when somebody takes a picture of a whale tail
(30:59):
uh and all loads it to our website that actually
then dips into and does the search of using image recognition,
does the search of the Happy Whale database and then
reports back to the user to say, oh, you've seen
it looks like you've met the Mark. See I don't
(31:22):
know how I picked that one at a thin air.
Speaker 2 (31:23):
I better work on my diet if I'm being named
after a whale.
Speaker 7 (31:26):
Here's Mark. And Mark was last spoted in Silver Banks,
Dominican Republic in March of twenty twenty two. Prior to that,
he was in Grand Bank's Newfounland and Labrador. It uses
scientific data that's that's been harnessed or that's been gathered
(31:47):
by Happy Whale to then feed into a custom generative
ALI model that our partners build that will actually then
produce a story about that whale. And of course this
is all happening within seconds.
Speaker 3 (32:03):
So yeah, so cool.
Speaker 2 (32:05):
That's really great, It really is, And I think it's
a great way of engaging with younger, more digitally savvy audiences.
I think, you know, where as if seeing a whale
up close was not fascinating enough, to learn that it's
been named and it's when it was last tracked and
seen geographically, and maybe some other backstory information about that
whales really cool to bridge the physical with the virtual,
(32:28):
you know what, I mean right.
Speaker 7 (32:29):
And from a conservation standpoint, one of the things that
our friends at Happy Whale like to say is when
you can make an emotional connection between people and nature,
it certainly goes a long way in terms of environmental
stewardship and conservation. And even though sometimes the tendency maybe
to think digital, maybe younger, more tech savvy audiences, but
(32:51):
it's really interesting that when we launched this, my seventy
eight year old molder was sending me pictures from her
photo album of whales that we had seen back in
the nineties and asking me to check to see what
the story was on those. So that was pretty.
Speaker 2 (33:08):
Cool cool indeed, more check it out when we return
right after this.
Speaker 1 (33:12):
Follow Mark Saltzman on Facebook, on Twitter, on Instagram. Listen
to check it out whenever you want.
Speaker 3 (33:28):
We are chatting with Daryl Smith.
Speaker 2 (33:29):
He's director of marketing for Newfoundland and Labrador Tourism. We're
learning all about Hello Humpback. This is a platform and
AI platform that encourages visitors who are will watching to
take photos of their tails as they're unique and upload
them to this database. We'll get the website once again
in a couple of moments, but we're learning all about
(33:50):
the background of this platform and all the benefits surrounding it.
Could you clarify if this is just for those who
are visiting Newfoundland and Labrador or can anybody access this
database or take advantage of it even if they're not
able to travel to the province.
Speaker 7 (34:04):
Anybody at all can access the database, can use the website,
whether they're a visitor here to the province or if
they're a resident that happens to be to be out
whale watching. It's while it's a very popular activity for visitors,
it's also quite a pastime for locals as well, so
(34:25):
any anybody at all, wherever they are in the world.
And interestingly enough, even if you're if you happen to
spot a whale that's not a new from Land and
Labrador and you want to upload to Hello hump back
and see what that whale story is, we're happy to happy.
Speaker 3 (34:41):
To oblige, even if it's not a humpbuck.
Speaker 7 (34:44):
It would tell you at the moment this one is
is only for humpback whalees. But of course humpbacks can
migorate several places through outdoor, So if someone is in
Greenland and decides to take a picture and upload to
Hello Humpback. We're happy to see that active as well.
Speaker 2 (35:00):
Before I let you go, how do we get going
with Hello hump Back to visit the website first? Or
you just encourage people I guess to get to the province,
especially over the summer, would be wonderful. And then you
just take photos. You have to zoom in. Really, you
have to be a good photographer. What do you anything
that we need to know?
Speaker 7 (35:15):
So two things you most definitely do not need to
be a good photographer. And I can promise you that
one because it's it's worked for me and I'm certainly
not a photographer. What I would say is, you know,
head on over to Hello Humpback dot com, take a
look in there, find out a little bit more about
the about what you need to do. Head over to
(35:36):
Newfoundland Labrador dot com as well and find out all
about our problems. Happy to see folks coming here to
visit comfort, the scenery and the nature and to get
away from the hustle and bustle. I think you'll leave
with lots of memories of what you've seen and the
people that you've experienced as well, so you'll be happy.
You did.
Speaker 3 (35:53):
Yeah, no doubt.
Speaker 2 (35:54):
I can tell you after visiting the province both professionally
and personally, it's a it's a beautiful spot on the continent.
Thank you so much for your time, Daryl. Again the
website Hello humpback dot com and you'll find out how
to get going and then bring your smartphone with you.
Thank you so much for your time, Daryl, all the best,
Thank you.
Speaker 7 (36:12):
You're very welcome. Thank you for your interest.
Speaker 2 (36:14):
Well, that is a topic that I have not yet
covered on teck it out, so why not start on
the four hundredth episode and we do. Just to remind
you have a great giveaway courtesy of a SEUs. It's
a fifteen point six inch Chromebook laptop. I'll remind you
how you can enter to be eligible to win in
a moment, but it's the Asus X fifteen. It's a
(36:36):
fifteen point six inch Chromebook powered by an Intel seller
on N forty five hundred processor, four gigabytes of RAM,
and one hundred and twenty.
Speaker 3 (36:45):
Eight gigs of storage.
Speaker 2 (36:46):
The laptop includes a three month Google one Ai Premium
plan so you can get more done in less time,
and three months of ad free YouTube premium. To be
eligible to win, you need to be a US resident
age eighteen and older, and you can enter in one
of two ways. Send me an email from my website
with the words check it out in the subject line.
My website address is Mark Saltzman dot com, M A
(37:10):
R C S A L t z m an dot com,
or better yet, say hi. On social media, include the
hashtag check it out, one word check it out and
tag me on x formerly Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, threads, blue sky, LinkedIn, TikTok.
However you like, I'll look for it and enter your
(37:31):
name to be eligible to win, so long as you
are in the continental US and eighteen and older. The
random draw is going to take place on the third
of July and the winner will be announced on episode
four oh one of teck it Out the next episode
after that, So good luck to you. Check it Out
is both a weekly radio show that airzon over one
hundred talk radio stations and a podcast. Check it Out
(37:54):
is on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Amazon, Audible, iHeartRadio, two In Radio, Spreaker,
and a few other platforms wherever finer podcasts are heard. Again,
just do a search for the words teck it Out
and you'll see my name Mark Saltzman, Mark with a C,
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podcast version, it's also easy to share it with a friend.
(38:17):
You can leave me a review, whether it's a star
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so reviews go a long way.
Speaker 3 (38:26):
And thank you in advance for doing that.
Speaker 2 (38:28):
And finally, because it is the four hundredth episode and
it's a milestone going forward, looking ahead to the future
of Tech it Out, if you've got any suggestions for
me for upcoming guests or topics, let me know if
you've got tech questions for me that I can play
on the show and then answer. So there you go
Check it Out celebrating its four hundredth episode. A huge
thank you to Visa, the title sponsor on this program.
Speaker 3 (38:49):
As well as sand Disc.
Speaker 2 (38:51):
Both are incredible companies and thank you for your ongoing support.
Thank you to Radio America for syndicating the show. Have
a great rest of your weekend, everyone, and I look
forward to catching up with you next time for another
episode of Teck It Out.
Speaker 3 (39:04):
But bye for now.
Do you ever feel overwhelmed by the ever changing world
of technology? Check it Out can help make some sense
of it all. Breaking down geek speak into street speak.
Technology columnist, author, and TV personality Mark Saltzman covers consumer
technology each week for every listener, Mark tackles the latest news, reviews,
and how two's to help you understand what's hot, what's
(00:21):
not and why.
Speaker 2 (00:24):
Hey everyone, welcome to check it Out Episode four hundred.
Speaker 3 (00:31):
Oh wow, thank you, thank you. All right.
Speaker 2 (00:33):
I know that was cheesy, but hey, check it Out
is not recorded in front of a studio audience, and
so I gotta do what I gotta do. But yes,
this is officially the four hundredth episode of the weekly
one hour show that breaks down geek speak into street speak.
Teck it Out started in July of twenty seventeen, eight
years ago already.
Speaker 3 (00:53):
And so I'm very thankful to the listeners.
Speaker 2 (00:56):
To the guests that we've had usually three or four
per show, the spawnsor like Visa and SanDisk, and to
Radio America for syndicating this show, managing the podcast version
as well, which you may be listening to right now,
and airing the daily one minute tech it Out interstitial
across the country. It's a tech update that Arizon more
(01:18):
than four hundred and thirty talk radio stations a day,
plus Sirius XM and it's Radio Classics channel. I love
when I catch that when I'm in the car again.
Most of all, thank you to the listeners for supporting
me and this show, allowing it to reach episode four
hundred to celebrate and commemorate the milestone. You may have
(01:38):
heard me TISA giveaway over the past couple of weeks,
or maybe you saw my video on social media, but
a SEUs, one of the leading laptop companies on the planet,
has generously donated a giveaway. It's a fifteen point six
inch Chromebook laptop, the Asus X fifteen, powered by a
snappy Intel Celeron and forty five hundred process es, sir
(02:00):
four gigs of RAM and one hundred and twenty eight
gigs of storage. This sleek laptop includes a three month
Google one Ai Premium plan and three months of ad
free YouTube Premium. To be eligible to win this laptop,
you need to be a US resident in the continental
US that is age eighteen or older, and all you
have to do is send me an email from my
(02:22):
website with the words teck it out or tag me
on any social media platform with the hashtag teck it out.
A random name will be chosen next week to win
the Asus X fifteen laptop. I'll announce the winner on
the next episode of Tech it Out, episode four o one.
For my email, my website is Mark Saltzman dot com.
(02:44):
That's Mark with the C and Saltsman with the Z.
Or again on any of your favorite social media platforms
X or threads, Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn, blue Sky, just use
the hashtag teck it out and tag me and you'll
be eligible to win. Good luck. Thank you for tuning
in too. Tech it Out all right, we do have
a great show for you planned today. We're going to
(03:05):
kick off the show about Wi Fi in the home,
what to look for in your next router or mesh
system and what that means. We'll have Netgear on in
about sixty seconds from now. We'll also talk with JD
Power this hour about which banking and credit card app
is the best and why. And finally, the East Coast
(03:25):
of Canada, Newfoundland and Labrador they get countless tourists from
around the world every year, many of whom come in
the summer to go whale watching, and there's now a
fun high tech twist to it involving your smartphone, camera
and AI. It's called Hello Humpback, and we're going to
learn all about that later on in this show. This
four hundredth episode no less, all of this and more
(03:48):
on an all new tech it out powered by Visa.
Securing the world's payments is priority one. I'll tell you
more about Visa's anti fraud efforts shortly, but let's officially
kick off the new show with our first interview. Reliable
and fast Wi Fi is critical at home today because
it's the backbone to your experiences like entertainment. Right we're
(04:10):
streaming TV shows and music and downloading games to your
console or PC. It's also used for productivity, especially for
those who work at home even partially, or students doing homework.
And Wi Fi is also needed for accessing smart home
gear like video doorbells, security cameras, smart lights, and so
much more. Don't believe me, Just ask your Alexa, Google
(04:30):
or Sirie smart speaker, which also needs Wi Fi to work.
To talk with us about what's new and Wi Fi.
We're joined by Netgear on the line. We've got sand
deep Harpolani. He's VP of Product management at Netgear. Welcome
back to the show, Sandeep. Good to chat with you again.
Speaker 4 (04:45):
Thank you. I'm glad to be back here Mark and
talk to you one more time about Wi Fi my
favorite subject.
Speaker 3 (04:51):
Sure, let's start there.
Speaker 2 (04:52):
Actually, let's talk about the importance of good Wi Fi
at home.
Speaker 4 (04:56):
Yeah, so, I think, as you mentioned, Wi Fi is
actually a big necessity for us today. It really drives
everything that we do from work, entertainment, our social connections.
A lot of the devices that you have inside most
likely the next appliance that you will buy will have
some kind of an Internet connectivity.
Speaker 3 (05:16):
I haven't come across.
Speaker 4 (05:17):
Anybody who has said that you will have less number
of connected devices next year as they want they have today.
Speaker 2 (05:23):
So we're on the same page about the importance of
Wi Fi. Ensure you know, there are still wired devices.
There are still a couple of I don't know, smart
TVs and laptops that have an Ethernet connection. But we
love the convenience of not being tethered to the wall.
Speaker 3 (05:38):
Right. We can even take our.
Speaker 2 (05:40):
Laptop or tablet outside, especially this time of year. You
want to download an ebook to your reader on a
porch or a backyard deck. Wi Fi allows you to
do that as well. So tell us a bit about Netgear.
This company has been around for a while. What is
it almost thirty years now.
Speaker 3 (05:54):
That is correct.
Speaker 4 (05:55):
We are actually founded in nineteen ninety six and have
well the first come that was focused on consumer networking,
and we continue to be very focused on that market
and true to our mission of providing innovative solutions for
connectivity to power extraordinary experiences. And we have a full
(06:15):
suite of networking products from your Wi Fi routers, mesh solutions.
We'll talk more about it, range, extenders, adapters, power line,
anything that you would need in your home to connect
devices most likely will have an option for that.
Speaker 2 (06:33):
And so what separates Netgear would you say from other
networking companies out there?
Speaker 3 (06:37):
I know there are a few.
Speaker 4 (06:39):
I think one of the key things that separates us
from others is really our experience in terms of building
Wi Fi, building Wi Fi products that are reliable, secure
and high performance and provide your whole home coverage. There's
a lot that goes into building a Wi Fi product
that provides you the best performance in range. We basically
spend a lot of time in terms of designing these products.
(07:02):
Wi Fi is extremely sensitive to any kind of interference,
so there's a lot that goes into making sure that
you're getting the best range and performance, and we are
really building a product without understanding the customer home environment.
He might be living in a rand style home, or
it might have a multi storied there might be different
type of materials that are used in terms of bricks
(07:23):
and so on, which have different level of Wi Fi
ability to go through that. So there's a lot that
goes into developing these products to make sure that it
works reliabily and gives you the best performance for your home.
Netgear has been a pioneer in terms of providing new solutions.
We were the first to build the first tryband, the
quadband WiFi outers. We were the first to do the
(07:46):
first range extenders. So we're done really looked at the market,
understand the market, and provide the best performance solutions to
this to make sure that our customers are able to
enjoy and power those extraordinary experiences that they're looking for.
Speaker 2 (08:03):
And it's not just hardware right sand Deep. There's also
the software part which is critical, including cybersecurity software which
I understand that Netgear provides. Can you tell us a
bit about Armor.
Speaker 4 (08:14):
Yes, So this is again as we look as I
spoke about understanding of the customers. As you have more
and more connected devices, customers are concerned about security. Now
you have your front lock, which might be having a
Bluetooth connection or wire Pi Fi connection, so you want
to make sure that your home is secure. In earlier times,
you could basically have antivirus running on your laptop or
(08:36):
PC and you're basically covered. But now you have these
IoT devices which do not have You cannot run any
kind of a software on those, any kind of a
security software on those, So you need something that is
running on the Wi Fi uder think of it like
a lock on your front door. That's how it's amost
basic security requirements. So as we have seen these requirements change,
(09:00):
we have basically developed this Armor solution which is to
protect all the devices in your home network. We be
a partner with the Biddefender, a leading security company, to
have a solution so that everything that's behind your home
network is secured. You don't need to run specifically software
on every device that is home.
Speaker 2 (09:20):
IoT, of course is an acronym for Internet of Things.
These are the millions of devices out there that all
can talk.
Speaker 3 (09:27):
To one another.
Speaker 2 (09:28):
And that includes those smart home devices in your home
that I alluded to off the top, like security cameras
and video door bells, even things you wear like a
smart watch, a smart ring. We're all connected and that
they need to be secure at every access point to
the Internet. So thank you for that, Sandeep. We are
chatting with Sandeb Parpolani. He is a vice president of
product management at Netgear, a leading networking company. Why don't
(09:50):
we now pivot and chat about the latest wireless standard
called Wi Fi seven. Is it time to upgrade to this?
Speaker 4 (09:56):
Yes? So Wi Fi seven is the latest Wi Fi
standard is there has been there for a couple of
years now. I think the last time we spoke was
about two years ago on Wi Fi seven. There are
some significant improvements with the new Wi Fi standard. Number
one is, of course, the speed improvements is gift to
gives you about a four x speed improvement as compit
the last Wi Fi six standard. But more important than
(10:20):
that is improvements in terms of the robustness of Wi
Fi reduction in terms of latency, so things like if
you're playing a gaming application or if you want a
more secure connection. People are using it for work, have
zoom calls and so on, video streaming. All these applications
(10:40):
we will benefit with Wi Fis seven.
Speaker 2 (10:42):
All right, So it's for faster speeds and lower latency,
which is related supporting more devices at the same time,
and other benefits security as you mentioned. So when we return,
I'm going to ask how you know when it's time
to upgrade. What if things seem to be working just
fine as you're streaming, or you haven't had any security scares,
(11:02):
and while you're adding more devices, you're not seeing any
noticeable slowdowns and performance. So when we return on Tech
it Out, I'm going to ask Sandeep from Netgear to
answer that. I'm also going to ask him what models
or what brands to look for. I think it's called
orb which is part of the Netgear family. So stick
with us more Check it Out coming right up after
this short break.
Speaker 1 (11:24):
Listen to check it Out whenever you want to find
the Check it Out podcast, did I too, or wherever
you get your podcasts.
Speaker 2 (11:40):
Welcome back everyone you're listening to Check it Out. The
four hundredth episode of the show, we have a big giveaway.
It's an Asus laptop. I'll tell you more about how
to enter to be eligible to win in a couple
of minutes from now, but first we're going to continue
chatting with Sandeep Parpolani. He's VP of Product Management at
net Gear, a leading networking company. They're best known for
(12:03):
their routers and wireless extenders and mesh systems, which we'll
get to.
Speaker 3 (12:08):
Now before the break.
Speaker 2 (12:09):
Sand Deep I was asking, how do you know when
it's time to upgrade your router? Like, let's say we've
got listeners right now, thinking well, I'm perfectly content with
my existing router. Maybe it's Wi Fi six or six E,
one of these slightly older standards.
Speaker 3 (12:23):
How do you know?
Speaker 2 (12:24):
Is it because things just don't work as smoothly. You're
watching a show on Netflix and it's buffering. You're seeing
that little symbol in the middle of the TV that
says wait kind of thing. Maybe you don't realize that
from a security standpoint, that your data is at risk
when it is.
Speaker 4 (12:37):
Yeah, there are actually a lot of factors here. One
of course is, as you mentioned, the buffering part of it.
If your outer is three to four years old, most
likely you or at least maybe two generations behind. In
terms of Wi Fi, a lot of things have improved
in terms of speed, in terms of connectivity, in terms
of security, and it makes sense for as if you're
(12:58):
using this Wi Fi, as most likely you are, people
don't think about it, like how many more connected devices
have you added in the last three to.
Speaker 3 (13:06):
Four years, right, probably a lot? How much has.
Speaker 4 (13:10):
Your Internet speeds increased in the last couple of years.
How many more subscriptions do you have for your video
streaming or gaming? How much more usage you have? Because
you know, we're doing work from home, you're doing a
zoom calls, you're doing your work calls, and so on.
So all of those things take need to be taken
into consideration. And I think one of the best ways
(13:32):
that I recommend is for people to run their speed
test near the router and then maybe run the same
speed test in other areas of the home. Maybe you're
now working one to work in the backyard as you mentioned,
or you have a new electric call that needs to
be upgrade in it and that requires a connection, or
you have IP cameras that are all around the home.
Now your usage has changed and it will be making
(13:53):
sense to maybe run that same speed test at those
areas and see are you getting similar speeds or not.
So if you're paying for a gigabit of internet and
add that farthest corner, if you're only getting one hundred
megabits or even ten megabits and so on, effectively you're
not using maybe ninety nine percent of the bandwidth that
you're paying for.
Speaker 3 (14:13):
Right, great point.
Speaker 2 (14:14):
And if people want to activate a speed test, it's
very easy. Just go in your web browser and do
a search for speed tests and you'll find different ones available,
like Ukla is a popular one. Kla it'll show you
the download speeds and compare that to what you're paying
for and what you're supposed to be getting.
Speaker 3 (14:28):
It's a great point, Sandy.
Speaker 2 (14:29):
Before we talk netgear solutions, some actual product names that
we may want to take note of. Tell us a
bit about MESH. I know it's not new, but for
those in a larger home or maybe an older home
with say concrete walls, a MESH system may be ideal
multi room solution.
Speaker 4 (14:43):
That is correct. So one of the fundamental issues that
Mesh solves is of coverage. This is again laws of physics.
As you move away from a Wi Fi out or
your speed goes down. That's where the mesh system comes
and it's multiple units, so it could be two units,
it could be three units. You take them and Wi
Fi router are connected to wherever you're getting your Internet connection,
(15:04):
and then you have satellites or node it says you
call it in terms of that it can be spread
throughout the home.
Speaker 2 (15:10):
That's at the pucks that you plug in the wall.
Speaker 4 (15:11):
Yes, and then it doesn't require any wired connection or anything.
It's all connected through Wi Fi and you have the
same Wi Fi network name throughout. So as you move
around in your home, maybe as you're doing a call
a zoom call, you don't see any kind of a disconnections.
You're basically getting the similar level of performance that you're
getting on one end of the house to another hand
of the house. And that's where our products come in.
(15:33):
ORB comes in specifically. I think our differentiation here is
for these mesh systems is not only do we provide
that increased range, we try to get you a similar
kind of Internet speeds that you're getting at where your
outer is to whereio satellites is.
Speaker 2 (15:46):
Could you tell us, just for a minute or so,
what some of the netgear brand names.
Speaker 3 (15:50):
We should look for model numbers. We should be looking
for so.
Speaker 4 (15:54):
For our mesh products, and that's the orbit range of
mesh solutions.
Speaker 3 (15:58):
Right, So that's OURBI ORBI, that is correct.
Speaker 4 (16:01):
We have a whole range of Wi Fi seven ORB
mesh products. The best in classes the ORB nine to seventy,
which is a quadband, has a dedicated back hall. And
again just the benefit of the dedicated back hall is
that you have basically have dedicated Wi Fi connection between
the outer and the satellite. So as you're adding more
and more devices, somebody starts downloading a big file, it
(16:23):
doesn't impact the connectivity to the other devices because you
have almost like a dedicated Wi Fi connection or highway
connection between the outer and the satellite, and that gives
you the best profile.
Speaker 2 (16:35):
And the satellites are those nodes or pucks or access
points that we spread out throughout the home that iskodt
all Right. So Netgear is the company. Orb is the
brand that I think a lot of our listeners would
want to make note of.
Speaker 3 (16:46):
That's ORBI.
Speaker 2 (16:48):
There's mesh systems, there's routers, there's something for different applications.
If you're a hardcore gamer, you're going to want a
higher end, a faster solution, but there certainly there's no
shortage of them. Is the best website simply Netgear dot
to get going or would you recommend a particular retailer.
Speaker 4 (17:02):
No, Netgear dot com is a great place to stop. Basically,
you can look at our mesh forducts. You can look
at it the standlone routers which is the Nighthawk and Igsdhawk,
and we have a whole full range of customers who
are looking for a standalone router. So you have all
those options that range, extenders, adapters, all kinds of connectivity
solutions to make sure that you're getting the best Wi
(17:23):
Fi throughout your home.
Speaker 3 (17:24):
Awesome.
Speaker 2 (17:24):
I think we talked about night Hawk the last time
you were on the show. Sandy, thank you so much
for carving out some time to chat with us once
again again, Sandy Parpolani's been our guest from Netgear Netgear
dot com for more. I hope you have a wonderful summer.
Thanks again.
Speaker 4 (17:37):
Thank you.
Speaker 1 (17:37):
Mark.
Speaker 2 (17:38):
Take note of how to enter to be eligible to
win this Asus laptop. To celebrate the four hundredth episode
of teck it Out, send me an email with the
words teck it out in the subject line or tag
me on social media and include the hashtag check it
out to be eligible to win. It's a fifteen point
six inch Asus X fifteen Chromebook laptop. My name is
(17:59):
Mark Saltsman Mark.
Speaker 3 (18:01):
With a C.
Speaker 2 (18:01):
You'll find me on all the social media platforms or
email me at Mark Saltzman dot com. You need to
be a US resident in the continental US, age eighteen
and older. Good luck more check it out coming right
up after this.
Speaker 1 (18:15):
Want to follow Mark Google, Mark with a C and
Saltzman with a Z. Breaking down geeksbeak into street speak.
Speaker 3 (18:33):
This is check it Out to check it out with.
Speaker 1 (18:35):
Technology columnist, author, and TV personality Mark Saltzman.
Speaker 3 (18:39):
Welcome back to tech it Out.
Speaker 2 (18:41):
We cover cybersecurity a lot on this program and how
you can best protect yourself in the digital age even
if you're not super tech savvy. One part of the
solution is securely shopping online. And so I'm thrilled about
my partnership with Visa on tech it Out as they've
made some significant investments in fraud prevention over the past
five years, as much as ten billion dollars yes that's
(19:04):
billion with a bee to support Visa's brand promise to
protect the financial information of individuals and businesses. Zero liability
means peace of mind when you shop online using your
Visa card. There can be no half measures when it
comes to cybersecurity, which is why the company takes an
aggressive and multi layered approach to combating the rising threat
of malicious software and other threats by well funded and
(19:27):
global criminal enterprises. Read more about Visa and how securing
the world's payments is priority one at Visa dot com
slash Security. That's Visa dot Com slash Security. Our world
is becoming increasingly digital if you haven't noticed, and that
includes making payments and banking and other financial transactions with
(19:48):
countless mobile apps and websites that I would argue deliver
similar experiences across the board or do they? What are
the consumer experiences like today? While on the heels of
its latest study, we're joined by Sean Gellis, Senior director
of Payments Intelligence at JD Power, a global data and
analytics company that specializes in consumer insights and market research.
(20:11):
Welcome to the program, Sean, good to chat with you.
Speaker 5 (20:13):
Thanks a lot, Mark, thanks for having me.
Speaker 2 (20:15):
I made an assumption that a lot of these apps
and websites look and feel the same regardless of the
financial institution you're trying to navigate through and to access
your accounts. I'm not sure if that's accurate, so I'll
just throw it to you. What did JD Power set
out to find with this study?
Speaker 6 (20:32):
So we were seeking to evaluate customer satisfaction with digital
banking and credit card experiences across mobile apps and websites.
Speaker 5 (20:42):
The studies focused.
Speaker 6 (20:44):
On how well these platforms are delivering on key aspects
of the experience such as navigation speed, which includes performance
in general, visual appeal, and how will they deliver the
information and content that the customers are actually seeking. And
our goal was to access how effectively banks and credit
(21:04):
card companies are meeting these rising customer expectations and as
you mentioned, in this increasingly digital first world.
Speaker 2 (21:12):
And so then what were the key finding Sean?
Speaker 5 (21:15):
So in the US we.
Speaker 6 (21:17):
See that Bank of America came out on top for
national banking apps, Capital One is leading for national banking
online experiences, and then fifth third and Region's Bank top
regional banking apps and online categories, respectively. American Express came
out on top in credit card app and credit card online.
(21:37):
You know again, here we see as you mentioned, there's
a lot of consistency between experiences. The apps and websites
are delivering strong experiences. They there's been consistent improvement every
year that we've done this study, but few are really
standing out with really personalized or innovative features.
Speaker 5 (21:55):
Right, there's a lot of sameness again.
Speaker 6 (21:58):
But again as I mentioned, we are seeing in there
was some improvement with the national banking apps and credit
card apps, but that's about it. We're hitting a plateau.
Speaker 2 (22:08):
Yeah, I mean, I guess when it comes to core functionality,
as you touched on earlier, you just wanted to work.
You want it to be easy to navigate, be fast,
be accurate, be secure. I would think is also a
top priority when it comes to your money. But unless
you've got multiple banks, and I don't know what percentage
of listeners, for example, use even competing banks, and they
open up different apps, you're kind of used to what
(22:30):
you're used to, right, I mean, you're not going to
maybe compare Capital One versus Boa.
Speaker 3 (22:34):
That kind of thing point you.
Speaker 6 (22:36):
Raise about having multiple accounts is really important in the
sense that you would have consumer that's using one banking
app and then comparing that to another banking app, but
just as valid. And we've found this over the years
that we've done these studies, is that it's really not
about banking and financial services apps. When consumers open an app,
(22:56):
when they open a banking app, when they open a
credit card app, they're coming to that expert with in
mind all of the other experiences that they have as
a consumer in the market today. So there puts a
lot of pressure on banks, right and credit card and
financial institutions in general. They're not just competing with each other,
but when it comes to digital experiences, they're actually they've
got to keep pace with the market in general for
(23:18):
these kind of experiences.
Speaker 3 (23:19):
That's a great point.
Speaker 2 (23:20):
Whether it's Uber or Amazon or whatever food delivery app
you use, or even games. We get used to certain
conveniences and benefits to some user experiences over others that
we may want to see more of in banking. And
that leads me to my next question, Sean. We are
chatting with Sean Gellis. He's senior director of Payments Intelligence
(23:40):
at JD Power. I wanted to ask you about AI,
which seems to be overhauling everything. All of our experiences
are digital experiences. The same thing happening to banking and
credit card apps and websites.
Speaker 5 (23:52):
You know, that's a really good question.
Speaker 6 (23:54):
It really it dovetails nicely with my last comment because
a lot of customers now also have chat gipt app,
Gemini app, or they might have copilot, and so they're
used to being able to interact with fundamentally.
Speaker 3 (24:08):
With consally, yeah.
Speaker 6 (24:11):
With a computer conversationally like it was a person, and
we're not getting that from our banking apps right now.
What we've seen is that there's less satisfaction with virtual
assistants because of that, because customers are now thinking of
a virtual assistant as a sort.
Speaker 5 (24:25):
Of a chat GPT.
Speaker 6 (24:26):
They now expect a much more natural and human like
agent interacting with them, whether or not it's artificial, whether
or not it's synthetic or it's computer generated. So I
think that's really in my view, I think that's the
next frontier because we really kind of, as we mess
(24:47):
mentioned before, we've kind of maxed out the experiences using
the kind of existing technology.
Speaker 3 (24:54):
One more question before I let you go, Sean.
Speaker 2 (24:56):
I mentioned security earlier, which to me is just table
stakes for any financial apps or websites. How are banking
and credit card customers embracing added levels of security when
it could impact the convenience factor, like for example, two
factor or multi factor authentication is when you not only
need your password to log in, but you often get
(25:17):
a code sent to your phone to also type in
to prove it's really you. That's an extra layer that
some people roll their eyes at because it's just not
convenient when you want to access your information like your
banking accounts or your credit card statements.
Speaker 3 (25:30):
But at what cost? Right do you.
Speaker 2 (25:32):
Think we are as consumers okay with at least one
extra way to verify it's us, Maybe it's our face
or our thumbprint.
Speaker 6 (25:41):
What we're seeing is what started out as a roadblock
experience or a kind of hassle has actually transitioned now
into a satisfaction booster. We're seeing satisfaction actually higher amongst
customers when they're using multifacture authentication. It's actually four different
studies and you can find all of these at jdpower
(26:02):
dot com or follow us on LinkedIn where you can
get great insights from these studies as well as video
and other great content.
Speaker 2 (26:09):
Shan, thank you so much for your time. Once again,
jdpower dot com have a great summer.
Speaker 5 (26:13):
Thanks Mark, you too, how.
Speaker 3 (26:15):
Whale watching can go high tech? When we return on
tech it Out.
Speaker 1 (26:20):
Breaking down geeksbeak into street speak, Check it out. Closted
by Mark Saltzman.
Speaker 3 (26:36):
Welcome back to check it out.
Speaker 2 (26:38):
Newfoundland and Labrador is known for whale watching, especially humpbacks,
who tend to visit every year, mostly from May to September.
And now there's a fun AI enhanced way to enjoy
the experience during and after the whale sighting. In fact,
as we'll hear now from Darryl Smith, he's director of
marketing for Newfoundland and Labrador Tourism. Welcome to the show, Daryl,
(27:01):
good to chat with you.
Speaker 7 (27:02):
Thank you very much. Mark, nice to be here.
Speaker 2 (27:04):
So Hey, before we talk about this new technology called
Hello hump Back, please tell us a bit about your
work with Newfoundland and Labrador tourism.
Speaker 7 (27:13):
Oh, no problem at all. I guess first thing I
should say is it goes back quite a long time.
So I actually was kind of born in the tourism industry.
I worked on my mom and dad's folk tour operation
in a small town just outside of Saint John's. You
may have heard of it. Dildo Nufliant and.
Speaker 2 (27:33):
Yeh made famous by Jimmy Fallen from the Tonight Show.
Speaker 7 (27:37):
I really put it out there quite a bit, so
that would have been in the nineties, in the early nineties,
and so I worked on my dad's tour boat with
him and really cut my teeth, as we say in
the tourism industry there. So having an opportunity to come
and work with the Department of Tourism, Culture, Arts and
(27:58):
Recreation as marketing director close to three years ago has
been a bit of a bit of a dream job
for me. And getting an opportunity to promote the province
around the world has been has been amazing. So you know,
whale watching is a big part of that. We also
have over twenty nine thousand kilometers of coastline through the
(28:20):
province of Newfoundland and Labrador and much of that has
been developed into into coastal hiking trails, which is a
little known fact about the province. So between the whales,
the scenic coastal trails, the icebergs, the people, you know,
we've we've certainly had lots to yell about out there.
Speaker 2 (28:41):
The lighthouses as well, which I absolutely tend to visit
with them out there, and I should clarify to our
listeners who aren't familiar with the province. The most eastern
province of Canada, Newfoundland and Labrador is one province. So
when I say Newfoundland and Labrador is known for whale watching,
that is grammatically correct. So I'm a journalist, so it
doesn't right to say speaking of tour boats. So whille
(29:03):
watching it is a popular tourist attraction. That's one of
the things that visitors often asked to see because it's something.
Speaker 3 (29:08):
They don't get a taste of at home.
Speaker 7 (29:10):
It is Indeed, our numbers are most recent visitation numbers
survey showed that about forty three percent of people who
come here come here they watch whales while they're here,
and it is about twenty seven percent take doorboats to
do so it is quite an activity that we've become
(29:31):
well known for. Every year, well, you mentioned from May
to September. May would be a little a little early
on whales. I will be honest. This year. This year,
we actually did have some whales around our coast in May,
so it's it's a little earlier than usual. But there's
been some stunning, stunning backdrops of icebergs behind the whales.
(29:54):
This time of year, which is pretty amazing. Eight to
ten thousand humpback whales every year make their way here
from the from the Caribbean.
Speaker 2 (30:02):
So after you've kissed the cod and maybe try to
drink some screech, there you go that you're you're good
to go to watch some whales. So let's now chat
about Hello Humpback. What is it exactly this technology?
Speaker 7 (30:13):
Well, first of all, every whale tale or fluke as
you'll sometimes see it written as, it's kind of like
a human fingerprint. So every whale tale is unique. So
the markings on the tail, the ridges, it all makes
that whale identifiable. So there's an organization called Happy Whale
that's been around for some time that has been mapping
(30:37):
migration patterns of humpback whales throughout the world. And what
we've done, Hello Humpback dot Com is our platform, but
it feeds into or it is connected on the back end,
I guess you would say, to Happy Whales database of humpbacks.
So when somebody takes a picture of a whale tail
(30:59):
uh and all loads it to our website that actually
then dips into and does the search of using image recognition,
does the search of the Happy Whale database and then
reports back to the user to say, oh, you've seen
it looks like you've met the Mark. See I don't
(31:22):
know how I picked that one at a thin air.
Speaker 2 (31:23):
I better work on my diet if I'm being named
after a whale.
Speaker 7 (31:26):
Here's Mark. And Mark was last spoted in Silver Banks,
Dominican Republic in March of twenty twenty two. Prior to that,
he was in Grand Bank's Newfounland and Labrador. It uses
scientific data that's that's been harnessed or that's been gathered
(31:47):
by Happy Whale to then feed into a custom generative
ALI model that our partners build that will actually then
produce a story about that whale. And of course this
is all happening within seconds.
Speaker 3 (32:03):
So yeah, so cool.
Speaker 2 (32:05):
That's really great, It really is, And I think it's
a great way of engaging with younger, more digitally savvy audiences.
I think, you know, where as if seeing a whale
up close was not fascinating enough, to learn that it's
been named and it's when it was last tracked and
seen geographically, and maybe some other backstory information about that
whales really cool to bridge the physical with the virtual,
(32:28):
you know what, I mean right.
Speaker 7 (32:29):
And from a conservation standpoint, one of the things that
our friends at Happy Whale like to say is when
you can make an emotional connection between people and nature,
it certainly goes a long way in terms of environmental
stewardship and conservation. And even though sometimes the tendency maybe
to think digital, maybe younger, more tech savvy audiences, but
(32:51):
it's really interesting that when we launched this, my seventy
eight year old molder was sending me pictures from her
photo album of whales that we had seen back in
the nineties and asking me to check to see what
the story was on those. So that was pretty.
Speaker 2 (33:08):
Cool cool indeed, more check it out when we return
right after this.
Speaker 1 (33:12):
Follow Mark Saltzman on Facebook, on Twitter, on Instagram. Listen
to check it out whenever you want.
Speaker 3 (33:28):
We are chatting with Daryl Smith.
Speaker 2 (33:29):
He's director of marketing for Newfoundland and Labrador Tourism. We're
learning all about Hello Humpback. This is a platform and
AI platform that encourages visitors who are will watching to
take photos of their tails as they're unique and upload
them to this database. We'll get the website once again
in a couple of moments, but we're learning all about
(33:50):
the background of this platform and all the benefits surrounding it.
Could you clarify if this is just for those who
are visiting Newfoundland and Labrador or can anybody access this
database or take advantage of it even if they're not
able to travel to the province.
Speaker 7 (34:04):
Anybody at all can access the database, can use the website,
whether they're a visitor here to the province or if
they're a resident that happens to be to be out
whale watching. It's while it's a very popular activity for visitors,
it's also quite a pastime for locals as well, so
(34:25):
any anybody at all, wherever they are in the world.
And interestingly enough, even if you're if you happen to
spot a whale that's not a new from Land and
Labrador and you want to upload to Hello hump back
and see what that whale story is, we're happy to happy.
Speaker 3 (34:41):
To oblige, even if it's not a humpbuck.
Speaker 7 (34:44):
It would tell you at the moment this one is
is only for humpback whalees. But of course humpbacks can
migorate several places through outdoor, So if someone is in
Greenland and decides to take a picture and upload to
Hello Humpback. We're happy to see that active as well.
Speaker 2 (35:00):
Before I let you go, how do we get going
with Hello hump Back to visit the website first? Or
you just encourage people I guess to get to the province,
especially over the summer, would be wonderful. And then you
just take photos. You have to zoom in. Really, you
have to be a good photographer. What do you anything
that we need to know?
Speaker 7 (35:15):
So two things you most definitely do not need to
be a good photographer. And I can promise you that
one because it's it's worked for me and I'm certainly
not a photographer. What I would say is, you know,
head on over to Hello Humpback dot com, take a
look in there, find out a little bit more about
the about what you need to do. Head over to
(35:36):
Newfoundland Labrador dot com as well and find out all
about our problems. Happy to see folks coming here to
visit comfort, the scenery and the nature and to get
away from the hustle and bustle. I think you'll leave
with lots of memories of what you've seen and the
people that you've experienced as well, so you'll be happy.
You did.
Speaker 3 (35:53):
Yeah, no doubt.
Speaker 2 (35:54):
I can tell you after visiting the province both professionally
and personally, it's a it's a beautiful spot on the continent.
Thank you so much for your time, Daryl. Again the
website Hello humpback dot com and you'll find out how
to get going and then bring your smartphone with you.
Thank you so much for your time, Daryl, all the best,
Thank you.
Speaker 7 (36:12):
You're very welcome. Thank you for your interest.
Speaker 2 (36:14):
Well, that is a topic that I have not yet
covered on teck it out, so why not start on
the four hundredth episode and we do. Just to remind
you have a great giveaway courtesy of a SEUs. It's
a fifteen point six inch Chromebook laptop. I'll remind you
how you can enter to be eligible to win in
a moment, but it's the Asus X fifteen. It's a
(36:36):
fifteen point six inch Chromebook powered by an Intel seller
on N forty five hundred processor, four gigabytes of RAM,
and one hundred and twenty.
Speaker 3 (36:45):
Eight gigs of storage.
Speaker 2 (36:46):
The laptop includes a three month Google one Ai Premium
plan so you can get more done in less time,
and three months of ad free YouTube premium. To be
eligible to win, you need to be a US resident
age eighteen and older, and you can enter in one
of two ways. Send me an email from my website
with the words check it out in the subject line.
My website address is Mark Saltzman dot com, M A
(37:10):
R C S A L t z m an dot com,
or better yet, say hi. On social media, include the
hashtag check it out, one word check it out and
tag me on x formerly Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, threads, blue sky, LinkedIn, TikTok.
However you like, I'll look for it and enter your
(37:31):
name to be eligible to win, so long as you
are in the continental US and eighteen and older. The
random draw is going to take place on the third
of July and the winner will be announced on episode
four oh one of teck it Out the next episode
after that, So good luck to you. Check it Out
is both a weekly radio show that airzon over one
hundred talk radio stations and a podcast. Check it Out
(37:54):
is on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Amazon, Audible, iHeartRadio, two In Radio, Spreaker,
and a few other platforms wherever finer podcasts are heard. Again,
just do a search for the words teck it Out
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(38:17):
You can leave me a review, whether it's a star
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Speaker 3 (38:26):
And thank you in advance for doing that.
Speaker 2 (38:28):
And finally, because it is the four hundredth episode and
it's a milestone going forward, looking ahead to the future
of Tech it Out, if you've got any suggestions for
me for upcoming guests or topics, let me know if
you've got tech questions for me that I can play
on the show and then answer. So there you go
Check it Out celebrating its four hundredth episode. A huge
thank you to Visa, the title sponsor on this program.
Speaker 3 (38:49):
As well as sand Disc.
Speaker 2 (38:51):
Both are incredible companies and thank you for your ongoing support.
Thank you to Radio America for syndicating the show. Have
a great rest of your weekend, everyone, and I look
forward to catching up with you next time for another
episode of Teck It Out.
Speaker 3 (39:04):
But bye for now.
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