Apple’s 50th anniversary kicks things off, with Trev reflecting on how Apple rarely “looks back” and how the company’s product evolution—from Macs to iPod to iPhone/iPad—has led to today’s premium hardware. Calls then dive into practical tech: managing limited BigPond email storage via Gmail import and Chrome profiles, using satellite messaging in remote areas (and why emergency calling still isn’t reliable), and comparing budget smart rings (Kogan vs Apple Watch) for sleep/heart-rate tracking. The show also covers internet security plan limits and value comparisons (Norton vs Trend Micro) and a quick detour into Jolla’s non-Android phone and Formula 1 rule frustration.
There's more than one Big Merino? What is happening in Australia?
We go rural to talk coverage and Email.
Plus what is the Jolla phone?
Kogan's smart ring - a listener review, and too many devices for Norton to cover
"hello, welcome to April. Pinch of the punch for the first day of the month. And happy 50 years of Apple tomorrow. April the first. 50 years of Apple."
Apple is the company behind popular gadgets like MacBooks, iPhones, and iPads. The episode is talking about Apple’s 50-year milestone and how their products evolved.
Apple is a major consumer electronics company known for products like the Mac, iPod, iPhone, and iPad. In this segment, the host is celebrating Apple’s 50th anniversary and highlighting how the company shifted its product focus over time.
"But in big gray, because gray is my family calendar color, it says Trev USA... every calendar you have comes through as a different color."
They’re talking about using Google Calendar to organize events. Different calendars show up in different colors so it’s easy to see what kind of plans they are.
The speaker is describing using Google Calendar to manage schedules across multiple “calendars” (work, family, and shared calendars). Each calendar can be assigned a different color so you can quickly tell what’s on your schedule at a glance.
"Then I would start, man, I would set up an auto responder if you can. So"
An auto responder automatically sends a pre-written reply when someone emails you. The speaker suggests setting this up during the transition to a new email account so people get an immediate response.
"There's no way Telstra is the cheapest internet provider. So why be with them? But one reason people stay with them is because they've got a big pond email address."
Telstra is a big Australian company that provides mobile phone service and home internet. The host is saying some people stay with Telstra because of the email address they get through it, even if there are cheaper options.
Telstra is Australia’s largest mobile and internet service provider. In the episode, it’s discussed as a reason people keep a specific email/mobile setup even if it may cost more.
"But look, we obviously out in the country, we've really missed the 3G network. Oh my God, yeah."
3G is an older type of mobile phone network that used to cover lots of areas. The caller is saying people in the countryside miss it because it worked better for sending messages where they live.
The 3G network is a cellular generation that provided mobile voice and data services. The episode frames it as something rural users “miss,” implying coverage or reliability issues after 3G availability changes.
"As a Telstra customer on certain mobile phones, but most of the modern iPhones and new Samsung's, you can send an SMS to anyone and be in the middle of absolutely nowhere."
An iPhone is Apple’s phone. They’re saying newer iPhones can still send texts from places with little or no cell coverage.
iPhone is Apple’s smartphone line. The episode specifically mentions iPhones as supporting SMS messaging and satellite-related messaging behavior in remote areas.
"Yes. As a Telstra customer on certain mobile phones, but most of the modern iPhones and new Samsung's, you can send an SMS to anyone and be in the middle of absolutely nowhere."
SMS is just regular text messaging. The point here is that newer phones can sometimes text from far away, but if you’re in a tricky coverage zone you might not get the satellite option to kick in.
SMS (Short Message Service) is standard text messaging over cellular networks. The episode notes that modern iPhones and Samsung phones can send SMS even in remote areas, but satellite fallback depends on coverage conditions.
"As a Telstra customer on certain mobile phones, but most of the modern iPhones and new Samsung's, you can send an SMS to anyone and be in the middle of absolutely nowhere."
Samsung makes phones. The host is saying newer Samsung phones can still send texts from remote areas, similar to iPhones.
Samsung is a major smartphone manufacturer. In this segment, Samsung phones are grouped with iPhones as devices that can send SMS even when you’re far from cell towers, with satellite messaging as a related capability.
"I'm tipping there's no electric vehicle charger in, in town. No, there isn't. But if there's a few around, some of the major highways, leading out of Perth have chargers, but they're not, not in Wageham."
It’s the place you plug an electric car into to charge its battery. If there aren’t chargers in town, you may need to plan routes around where chargers are available.
An electric vehicle (EV) charger is the infrastructure used to charge an EV’s battery. The availability of chargers affects how practical EV ownership is for trips and day-to-day driving in smaller towns.
"It doesn't run Android. It runs what they call Sailfish OS. So they're a mobile world congress in Barcelona..."
Sailfish OS is the “computer system” inside a phone. It’s not Android or Apple iPhone software, so apps and updates can work a bit differently.
Sailfish OS is a Linux-based mobile operating system used on some niche smartphones. It’s an alternative to Android and iOS, and it changes how apps are installed and supported.
"So they're a mobile world congress in Barcelona, which is a big show I used to go to every year..."
Mobile World Congress is a big yearly event where phone and tech companies show off what they’re building. It’s like a major “new tech reveal” conference.
Mobile World Congress (MWC) is a major annual telecom and smartphone industry trade show, held in cities like Barcelona. It’s where companies announce new phones, platforms, and network technologies.
"Yeah. Listen, I'm also a Formula One fan. What do you think of the new rules going out?"
They’re talking about Formula One, which is the highest level of open-wheel racing. The rules in F1 affect how the cars are built and how they race.
The speaker is discussing Formula One (F1), the top tier of open-wheel motorsport. F1 rules heavily influence car design, especially power units, aerodynamics, and race procedures.
"Yeah. Listen, I'm also a Formula One fan. What do you think of the new rules going out?"
They’re talking about changes to the racing rules. In F1, if a car doesn’t meet the rules, it can fail to qualify or even not be allowed to start.
“New rules” refers to recent regulatory changes that teams must comply with to qualify and race. In F1, rule changes can affect whether cars can start the grid and how power units and energy systems are used.
"it's a disgrace that two cars of a top of the manufacturing world champions, the two cars don't make the grid."
The “grid” is where all the cars line up to start the race. If a car doesn’t make the grid, it can’t start the race.
The “grid” is the starting lineup for a Grand Prix, where cars line up in order before the race begins. If a team’s car can’t make the grid, it means it failed to qualify or was disqualified/blocked for technical or regulatory reasons.
"We've had hybrid systems in Toyota cars for decades. Why are we reinventing the hybrid?"
A hybrid system uses two sources of power—an engine plus an electric system. The electric part can store and reuse energy, which helps performance and efficiency.
Hybrid systems in F1 combine an internal combustion engine with energy recovery and electric power. The speaker argues that hybrid tech already exists in road cars (and in Toyota for decades), questioning why F1’s approach feels like it’s being “reinvented.”
"let's be honest, the first five laps of the first two Grand Prix have been unbelievably good to watch... But in the end, Mercedes is faster."
A Grand Prix is a Formula 1 race weekend. Drivers race on a track for many laps, and qualifying helps decide who starts where.
“Grand Prix” refers to a Formula 1 race event. It’s typically a multi-lap race held on a specific circuit, with qualifying determining the starting grid.
"No one's going to deny that. Awesome. Racing, passing, amazing. But in the end, Mercedes is faster."
Mercedes is one of the big Formula 1 teams. When they say Mercedes is faster, they mean the Mercedes cars were quicker during the race.
Mercedes is a top Formula 1 constructor/team known for strong engineering and frequent championship contention. When the speaker says “Mercedes is faster,” they’re referring to overall race pace and performance.
"And I hope that Ferrari bridges the gap a little bit because we need Ferrari not to be competing just for four laps. We need to be competing for 50 laps."
Ferrari is a major Formula 1 team. “Bridge the gap” means they want Ferrari to be competitive for the entire race, not just for a short time.
Ferrari is one of Formula 1’s most historic and competitive teams. The speaker wants Ferrari to “bridge the gap,” meaning close the performance difference to the fastest cars so they can contend for the whole race distance.
"I ended up getting a Kogan one, because I figured that was the cheapest option."
Kogan sells lower-cost electronics, including smart rings. The caller picked it because it was cheap, then checked whether its health numbers match a more expensive watch.
Kogan is an electronics retailer/brand that sells budget smart devices, including smart rings. The caller chose a Kogan ring mainly for price, then compared its heart-rate and sleep-related readings to an Apple Watch.
"They want me to do a segment where I wear an Apple Watch on one arm, maybe a Garmin or a Samsung on the other, and then a Aura ring."
Garmin makes fitness watches and trackers. They’re being used here as another device to compare against an Apple Watch and smart rings.
Garmin is known for fitness-focused wearables and GPS devices. In this context, it’s mentioned as an alternative to Apple Watch for tracking health and exercise metrics.
"I've only got to set up to monitor my heart rate, temperature, body temperature, and my O2 levels."
O2 levels usually means how much oxygen is in your blood. Some smart wearables can estimate it, but it’s best thought of as trend information, not a diagnosis.
“O2 levels” refers to blood oxygen saturation, often measured as SpO2. Wearables estimate this using sensors (commonly optical sensors) and can be useful for spotting trends, though they’re not a medical device replacement.
"They used Trend Micro, for example, who are an advertiser at EFTM. They would have, I think they had three, five, and ten. Now they're just five and ten because…"
Trend Micro is a cybersecurity company that offers antivirus and internet security subscriptions. The speaker compares its tiered plans (e.g., device limits) and notes the price difference between lower and higher device counts.
"Look, the bottom line is there's only really four companies I would trust with my Internet Security, Norton's, Trend Micro, McCarthy, and it used to be Kaspersky."
Internet security is software that helps protect your computer or phone from online scams and malicious software. It often comes as a subscription, and the plan may limit how many devices you can protect.
“Internet Security” refers to software suites that protect your devices and home network from malware, phishing, and other online threats. In the context of the call, the speaker is comparing subscription plans and how many devices each plan covers.
"Look, the bottom line is there's only really four companies I would trust with my Internet Security, Norton's, Trend Micro, McCarthy, and it used to be Kaspersky."
Norton is a well-known security program that helps protect your devices from viruses and online threats. People often choose it for home computer and phone protection.
Norton is a long-running consumer cybersecurity brand known for antivirus and internet security suites. The speaker lists it as one of the trusted options for home “Internet Security.”
"…and it used to be Kaspersky. Look, I haven't seen them or used them for a while, but they are, they're trying to come back. You know, they went through this whole thing of being far too linked with the Russians…"
Kaspersky is an antivirus/security company that has been in the news for political concerns. The speaker is saying that controversy affected how much people trust it.
Kaspersky is a cybersecurity company that has faced controversy and scrutiny over alleged ties to Russia. The speaker references that history and says it damaged the brand’s credibility, even if they personally didn’t fully believe the claims.
"testing their products is it's more than just, you know, Internet Security. It's, you know, it's ID security and different things like that."
ID security is protection for your personal info. It helps stop scams that try to steal your identity or trick you into giving away passwords.
ID security is software protection aimed at safeguarding your personal information—like identity data and accounts—rather than only blocking malware. It typically includes features that help prevent phishing and account takeover attempts.
"ransomware, malware, VPN, dark web monitoring, parental control, deep vape protection."
Malware is any kind of harmful software meant to damage your device or steal information. Antivirus tools try to stop it.
Malware is an umbrella term for harmful software such as viruses, spyware, and trojans. Security suites use scanning and behavior detection to block malware before it can cause damage.
"ransomware, malware, VPN, dark web monitoring, parental control, deep vape protection."
Ransomware is malware that can hold your files hostage. It may lock your computer or encrypt files and then demand money to unlock them.
Ransomware is malicious software that locks or encrypts files and demands payment to restore access. It’s a major threat category that antivirus/security suites try to prevent or detect.
"ransomware, malware, VPN, dark web monitoring, parental control, deep vape protection."
A VPN is like a secure tunnel for your internet traffic. It helps keep your data safer, especially on public Wi‑Fi.
A VPN (Virtual Private Network) encrypts your internet connection and can help protect privacy and security when browsing. In security suites, VPN features are often bundled to reduce tracking and improve safety on public Wi‑Fi.
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I was Godsmacked. I spoke to you on the Tuesday. Thursday afternoon there's this lovely courier
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can't thank you enough. Join the conversation. Head to eftm.com and click Ask Trev.
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You can text Trev now. Thanks to Vodafone on 0477 657 657.
Great to have you company. Thank you for joining us. And whatever that we are pretty much in April
folks. Last day of April as the show goes out and time is flying. Time is absolutely flying folks.
Three months ticked off. That's literally a quarter of the year. We are
popping into Q2 tomorrow. If you're downloaded on the Two Blakes Talking Tech podcast,
hello, welcome to April. Pinch of the punch for the first day of the month. And happy 50 years
of Apple tomorrow. April the first. 50 years of Apple. Isn't that remarkable? I'm just blown away
by that. It's a remarkable achievement. That's a company that's been through some ups and downs
in its early days. And a pivot that no one really saw coming. Going from building Macs
to an iPod. Then to a phone and a tablet. And look where we are today. An $899 laptop.
I mean, I'm still blown away by the MacBook now. I really am. It's working wonderfully for me. I
think it's a great device. So yeah, we've come a long way, haven't we? Pretty awesome. Anyway,
back to your calls this week. I'm going to full interview with Greg Joswiak,
one of Tim Cook's senior leaders. He's up at EFTM.com if you want to watch that.
And nine news. So yeah, phenomenal achievement. That's all. Tomorrow, Apple's 50th anniversary.
50 years. They've been celebrating for the last week or so. They had the big New York thing a
last week in Sydney with artworks created by iPad users on Procreate, Aussie app. So yeah,
they've been, they've been going pretty hard on a celebration, which is very un-Apple-like.
See, Apple doesn't have a museum. They don't, at their headquarters, there's not rows of old iPhones.
The only hint, I'll tell you this, in the bowels of the Steve Jobs Theatre, beautiful corridors,
underground, where they have little meeting rooms and things where I often go.
There are some beautiful artworks, drawings. They might be photos, but of like the original
iPhone, there's definitely one of those, but there's no, it's not a sense of history. That's
more a sense of art. That's like a product is art. Most of their artwork is architecture of the
building or photo shot on iPhone, things like that. They don't really look back. They only look
forward. And they've made that statement. Tim Cook made that statement in his letter when he
announced kind of the 50th birthday. He literally said something along the lines of, you know, we
don't normally, as a company, look back. But I'm glad they are because 50 years is a very long time
and they're doing very well, as we say. So I think it's worth looking back. So congratulations to
Apple on 50 years. Taking your calls. If you've got a tech question, love to hear from you. If you
want to chat tech, you want to chat about Apple. Okay, let's walk down memory lane. I don't mind.
0477657657, download the EFTM app and click Ask Trev. We'd love to hear from you. And we'll be
here taking your calls. Join the conversation. Head to EFTM.com and click Ask Trev.
Happy to have you on the show. If you've got a tech question or you want to brag about something
you've bought or you're curious about something, or you've got a story to tell. I don't mind.
Get in touch. Brian's on the line. G'day, Brian. G'day, Trevor. How are you going?
Really good. Great quality line. What's Elko are you with?
We're with Kelstra. Yeah, no, we're in regional WA. So yeah, we were a little bit limited to what
we can have. What sort of phone have you got? I've got an iPhone 17. Okay. I mean, it's a fascinating
thing to me. Sometimes the quality of a phone call, mainly because I talk to so many people
every week on the phone like this and record it. And sometimes you think that was a really good.
Sometimes people don't speak a phone. Mate, just came up as a good call. So you're in the middle
of nowhere, mate. We're in the middle of nowhere. Yeah, so I'll stay still. But we can't.
What has you always been remote? Or are you working out that way? And that's been your life?
Oh, we're farmers. So we run a farm. So yeah, no, we've been farming for about 20 years on the
farm here. So what are we farming? We have sheep and we crops canola and barley and yeah,
and sheep. So for a couple of months of the year, you've got beautiful yellow paddocks.
We do for a couple of months. Yeah, no, it's yeah, for a couple of months we do.
It is one of my favourite times of the year in regional New South Wales. When I drive out that
way, the canola, I mean, it's just beautiful. I mean, it's not meant to be beautiful. It's there
to create the body canola, but it's it's a good looking thing. And when you drive,
drive through those beautiful farmland. So so yeah, what can I do for you, mate?
Yeah, Trevor, a couple of things questions for you. But first one is we've been with Big Pond for
a long time. And so I've got a Big Pond email account. And it's of losing storage. So I've
quite frequently have to go and delete either old file, old emails or
ones that probably I don't think I need. Right. So it's getting the point where I sort of I'm
when I delete, sometimes I'm so delete ones I do want to keep.
Yeah, yeah, yeah. So you're doing this in the cloud in Big Pond's cloud area, are you?
Yes, I am. Yes. Yeah, not renowned for not renowned for its long term storage. Big Pond
was very much for me a Big Pond email address is like a PO box. It was a place where
your mail would come to and then you would grab the grab the mail, take it home. And in the computer
sense, it would be sitting in Big Pond. And then you download it into Outlook or whatever you'd
use on your computer. So it was more set up. And it's traditionally used that way so that
your computer is where all the mail is stored. Whereas we very much moved. I mean, I certainly
haven't I think most people have moved to sort of more of a cloud system where it's like, I'm in
Google. And I'm an email message has not been downloaded to my computer in a decade because
it's just all I'm viewing. So again, using the post office or the postbox, you know, analogy,
I'm just walking up to the postbox looking in and going, let me read that letter when I'm
finished reading it, I put it back in and they've got so much storage and filing cabinets back there,
I can ask for any letter from the last 30 years and they're all there. So you kind of need to move
to something like that to get the most value out of your email. Well, yes. And Gmail was where
I was thinking, will we go? Yeah. So I set up a Gmail account several years ago and it's morphed
into a family Gmail account. So it's where we all our subscriptions are and our calendar and all
that for the family. So you don't want to move all your stuff there? No, well, since it's not
practical, really. And then I thought, well, maybe I'll have a second Gmail account that
I don't have practical. Nothing wrong with that. What browser do you use on your computer? What
do you use to get on the internet? We're in the Mac system. So I use Chrome. I will actually use
my son about this, my 14 year old who's got a MacBook for school. And he was using Chrome,
he was talking about his battery life. I said, well, to be honest with you on a laptop,
Safari is the most efficient for battery use. So if you want the best battery,
then you should stick with Safari. But for someone, so I have multiple Gmail accounts,
and I also have access to other people's who I manage and things like this. So I've got a
proper at Gmail account that I've had for, I don't know, 30 years. And I can log into that now.
And on Chrome, so I'm logged into my Trevor Long email address right now, right? On Chrome,
I can just click on my little face up in the top corner, and it'll show my email address and says
passwords. And then it says other Chrome profiles. And so I can just click on my oldest possible
email account, click it, and it opens up a different version of Chrome in a different color.
And that's now logged in as that account. And if I click it again, I can go, there's my work one,
my EFTM one, click that, it brings up another version of Chrome. And I've made them all a
different color. So I can tell which account I'm signed into. And it's very easy then to manage
your email. So if you're using Chrome, multiple Gmail accounts, not a problem at all. Just what
you do is don't think of it as a web page, think of it as a browser. And so in Chrome,
in your little profile on Chrome, you want to add a Chrome profile is the button, it'll say
add a Chrome profile. And then you click that, you sign into a different Gmail account,
and it will literally create a new version of the browser, it'll ask you to choose a color,
make them vastly different so that you know when you open up gmail.com in the blue browser,
you're in your family calendar. And when you're in the red browser, you're in your personal calendar.
And the other thing, the other tip I'd give you is that that family calendar
can be shared into that other email account. So I can see it, my wife can see it,
because it's a shared calendar. So it doesn't, you don't ever need to use that profile if you
don't want to. But you can still see what's in the calendar. So when I open up my calendar,
I see family events. And so my wife has a haircut this afternoon, I know that.
And that's not something in my diary. When I click on it, it says it's in the long family
calendar and it was created by Amanda Long. It's, it's such a great organizational system.
So I use it for trips. I'm flying to LA on Sunday. So in our family calendar,
it just says Trev, fly to LA. In my personal calendar, I've got a second appointment which says
it's UA842, the flight to parts of 1020. Like it gives me all the information I need.
But my family don't need to know that. They just need to know I'm not home.
So that's how, that's how we operate. But we live and die by our family calendar.
Like this Saturday in our family calendar, it's got written, we've got to return the baseball
kit. We've got to collect the netball kit. My daughter's got umpiring practice. You know,
it's all in there. Like we live and die by it. It's such a great way to operate.
Oh, that sounds really good. So, and you mentioned the color coding for the different
accounts. Does that carry through to the calendar as well?
It can. So the color coding I talked about is, is like the actual browser.
So I don't know, but I think, I think by default you'll find Chrome is blue.
So the tabs up the top are blue with black text. What I mean is when you choose a different
account, the tabs on my EFTM browser are like a bold, maroon and blue.
And so I've, I can, made as soon as you do, you'll know exactly what I was talking about.
But in answer to your, your secondary question, yes, the calendar in my calendar,
when I click forward next week. So again, again, very personal, but next week in my calendar,
it shows all my normal meetings and things. But then in big gray, because gray is my family
calendar color, it says Trev USA. I don't need to know that. So next week, while I'm away,
I'll turn off the family calendar. So I can't see it because I'm away. I can't contribute it
all to the family, right? So I may as well turn it off and it just clears up my diary a little bit
so I can see what's what, but every calendar you have comes through as a different color.
So your family calendar might come through as blue. Like I've got the formula one calendar linked
to the actual formula one organization is dark blue in my, in my Google. And that's controlled
by them. Like even they've canceled some grand prix. They now show up in my calendar as called off
because they're managed by someone else and they're vastly different color.
And you get used to what each color means. So Steven Fedek and I share a share a Google calendar
with the cars that we're driving. And that's a, that's a light green. And I can see that at a
glance what we're doing. So mate, it's a great system. You'll love it. Get your second account
and then add a second Google profile to Chrome. Right. Okay. Yeah. And with my big pond emails,
there's enough to transfer those emails into Gmail. So there's two things you can do. Firstly,
when you've got your new personal Gmail account, you can set it up in, in the settings. So if you
click on the little cog and you go all settings, there's a tab called forwarding an IMAP, I think
it is. No, accounts and import. And right, you can import mail from another address. And so what
you do is you sign into the other account and it will basically check for mail. It will consistently
check for mail from that other account. Now you have to stay with big pond, obviously as a telco
to keep that account running. What I would do is I would import all of your old mail that's still
sitting on the Google, on the big pond account into Google at some point. Great. That's done. You're
happy. It's all there. Then I would start, man, I would set up an auto responder if you can. So
every time you get a message in your Gmail from that was addressed to your big pond account,
I'd want to put a big flag next to it that says this was sent to my big pond account. And so you
remember to reply to that and say update my email address to this. You make a note on a piece of
paper next to your desk that says, okay, here's all the things I've got to change. I've got to change
my email address for my energy company, for my, what, all those things. Because mate, get rid of
the big pond account. Get rid of it and change telcos if you can, because you'll save money.
There's no way Telstra is the cheapest internet provider. So why be with them?
But one reason people stay with them is because they've got a big pond email address.
Well, yes. No, that's it. Once you're into one system, this becomes a harder and harder to get
out. And I think that's what they try yet to do. And look, don't be, I'm sending you into the Google
system. And I've talked to other callers about how I'm stuck paying the money for my storage and
things. But I think I would prefer to be stuck to the Google system and flexible on my mobile
network, my home internet and those things separately. Yeah, no, that makes a lot of sense.
That's been really good information, Trevor. Was there a second question? I can't remember.
Yeah, there was. Well, it was more than if it's a question or a comment. But look, we obviously
out in the country, we've really missed the 3G network. Oh my God, yeah.
Yeah, which is another whole story. But I was quite happy to hear that there was this option
where you could use the satellites to send messages when you're outside the range.
Yes. As a Telstra customer on certain mobile phones, but most of the modern iPhones and
new Samsung's, you can send an SMS to anyone and be in the middle of absolutely nowhere.
Have you got paddocks that have got no mobile service in them on machining?
Look, that's probably where the question goes. We're on that. A lot of our paddocks are in
the fringe area, Trevor. So we seem to have a signal that's not enough to send a message,
but it's not enough to trigger the satellite, if that makes sense.
Oh, how annoying. You've got to walk another 100 meters.
Well, yeah, and stand on one leg or something like that. So yeah, I imagine there's no way of
setting it up. So once the signal begoes a certain pointer, then it swaps over to the
satellite. No, it's very much kind of built so that I guess the Telco and the phone are
determining that, not you. So it's annoying because in theory, and I've said this on the radio
a lot this week, in theory, you should nearly be at a point where you can make calls from the
back of your paddock via satellite. But the reason it's not happening, and I genuinely think that
you should be writing to your local member and flagging this as an issue, and you should get
all of your pharma mates to do the same thing. It should be possible today to make a, sorry,
it is technically possible today that you should be able to make a phone call from your existing
mobile phone to anywhere via a satellite. The reason it doesn't exist is I think because of
triple zero, because Telstra can't turn that feature on to allow you to make a phone call
until they can correctly allow and make it possible for you to call triple zero via satellite,
which I don't think is possible. So we need the government to sort that out. We need the government
to spend the money to ensure that the infrastructure and the technology exists so that triple zero
works, frankly, from WhatsApp, from text message, from satellite, or from mobile towers. It should
work every way we communicate. And as someone who lives in one of our most remote areas,
you're the best beneficiary of this technology. But we don't have it yet. It's made it's in America.
It's fine. It's working. But it's not here. And I think it's because of emergency services,
because Telstra doesn't want to say to you, think about them legally. They don't want to say,
mate, you've got 100% coverage on your farm. Done. Finished. They don't want to say that to you,
because if you collapse in the vast corners of your property and try and call triple zero and it
doesn't work, and someone discovers you days later passed away, then they'll be held to pay,
obviously. So of course they don't want to enable that. So we need it to work. You should be able to
farm the deepest, darkest depths of your property with the knowledge that you can call triple zero
at any time. And that is absolutely possible. We just need the government to pull their finger out,
along with the telcos. So mate, write to your local member.
Well, they will do. No, we'll do. We'll do that, because that's such an important feature. I mean,
being able to do contact emergency services when we need to. So I understand why it's not possible
now to turn it on, but let's make it happen. But before I let you go, I was looking at the map,
and so I mean, I've mentioned different parts of your town. The giant ram park. Listen, I mean,
have you been to Golben? No, I haven't. No, I don't think your ram is as big as the Golben,
the big marino. Right, okay. Just so you know, I'm looking at photos of the giant ram. All right.
And, and it's big. So that's a big ram. But it's not as good looking though as a trevor.
Oh, I think yours is better looking. Yours is less weathered than the big marino at Golben. But
then again, you could argue the big marino looks more like a marino who's been in a paddock, right?
Right. Well, maybe. What sort of, what sort of sheep are you running out there?
Are you famous for something? Marinos, yeah. No, no, marinos, yeah. No, it's a, we are all
marinos here. Bloody hell. I'm just like, I'm literally just scanning the map. You got a
cart club out there. It's not a bad joint, fair income. It is. It's a great part of the world.
What's the drive to Perth? How many hours? Ah, it's two and a half hours.
Two and a half, that's a little. Yeah, it's two and a half hours. No, no, we're fairly,
fairly not too bad, really. I'm tipping there's no electric vehicle charger in, in town.
No, there isn't. But if there's a few around, some of the major highways,
leading out of Perth have chargers, but they're not, not in Wageham.
Lovely to chat, Brian. Good luck. Thanks very much.
Let us know how you go with all the chrome, chrome hacks, mate.
We'll do. I will keep you updated. Good on you, buddy. Cheers. Thank you,
mate. There you go. Brian's out in a little town called Wagen, W-A-G-I-N.
He did say Wagen, didn't he? Not Wagen, Wagen. I think it's Wagen.
Basically in between Perth and Albany. Albany, not Albany, Albany. Albany, Albany,
Albany. I think it's Albany. Anyway, moving on. I'm not direct in between. You'd have to
detour off the, off the 30 highway up to Wagen, but it's fun looking at
Google Maps. Isn't it amazing what we have now? Our fingertips, Google Maps.
Like it's remarkable. And I can see here, you know, the, the, the airstrip, you know,
there's one dirt runway, one paved runway. I don't know if they're former mines that are now turned
into lakes, but it's, you know, it's just a lovely farming area. It's the great Southern
Cart Club. Let's zoom in and see what their tracks like. Oh, it looks like a dirt track.
It's dirt carts. Let's go. I mean, it's fun. Don't you love just looking at Google Maps
and randomly looking at places you've never been and probably will never go?
I mean, it just to the east of Wagen is a place called the Dumball-Yong Lake. Look out in the
Dumball-Yong Lake. It looks like one of those lakes that goes pink because the edges, maybe it's
just the photo, satellite photos kind of look pink. The lake looks random green. Man, you should see
this thing. Have a look at Dumball-Yong, D-U-M-B-L-E, Yong, Y-U-N-G, one word, Dumball-Yong. And the,
the Google satellite image of the, of this lake is kind of pinky purple around the edges and this
stunning green inside. Well, look at people's photos to see whether there's, I wonder if it's
like Lake George in Canberra where it's actually not a lake a lot of the time. I think that might be
the case. Looking at some of the photos. It does look like there's not a lot of water in there
at the time. Anyway, I'm fascinated by the world of the maps and things like that. So there you go.
Anyway, let's keep going.
Tech cars lifestyle. This is the EFTM podcast with Trevor Long.
You can text Trev now. Thanks to Vodafone on 0477657657.
Great heavy company. Andrew's on the line. Good day, Andrew.
How are you going, Trev?
Yeah, real good mate. What can I do for you?
Listen, I just sent you a message. I was just curious recently. I was just looking on,
they had a mobile conference up in Spain somewhere and
I've never heard of this phone called YOLA and it doesn't run on Android or iOS.
What's your take on that?
Well, look, here's the thing. I think it's J, J, YOLA?
Yeah, something like that. I did a bit of research on Google and it's a city company apparently.
Right. And have they got many phones available?
No, no. It's only available in Europe at the moment.
It's a fascinating thing because you're right. It doesn't run Android. It runs what they call
Sailfish OS. So they're a mobile world congress in Barcelona, which is a big show I used to
go to every year, but it's a bit boring now. I mean, I nearly went, but you know, I just was,
I think I was in San Francisco with Samsung and it was just too hard to get back. Oh,
that's right. I couldn't get back and go to the Formula One. So I chose Formula One over
Mobile World Congress. Sorry, would I actually? Yeah. So anyway, it runs their own operating system,
but it runs a thing because my biggest negative about anything that's not Android or Apple is,
how are you going to get apps? So they say that it can run Android apps.
But I don't know how good the support would be for that. I don't know how slick the apps would be.
And the number one thing is, mate, it's so hard to make phones, even that are running the best
and most lovely version of Android and crack the market. How do these people think they're going
to make a difference and actually sell phones? I struggle with it, mate. It'd be a very small
niche brand. What is it that draws you to that? Why? What's wrong with Apple or Android today?
What is drawing you away from existing phones? No, it's not drawing me away. I just happened
to see it on a site I was looking at and I'd never heard of it. I only thought there were two
operating systems, Android or iOS. And that was it. I was just curious. That's all.
Yeah. Well, I would say it's probably underpinned by Android. It's probably underpinned by the same
base, which is Linux. But yeah, it's fascinating, mate. Look, this would need some other companies
to come on board to really make it drive. But Europe is far more open to more products.
You think about Australia being so dominated by Samsung and Apple. Europe is not like that.
It's not like that. But maybe there's a better chance that Europe could break other brands in,
thanks to the fact that they're not so dominated by Samsung and Apple, mate. We will have to keep
an eye on it, mate. Jolla. J-O-L-L-A. Jolla. Listen, can I ask you something before you go?
Yeah. Listen, I'm also a Formula One fan. What do you think of the new rules going out?
Because it's pretty disappointing that both the Clarence didn't even get the start line on
Chinese Grand Prix. Mate, I really don't want to talk about it. I'm filthy. I mean, so first and
foremost, it's a disgrace that two cars of a top of the manufacturing world champions,
the two cars don't make the grid. That is disgraceful on the Clarence part, right?
Now, they're not the only people using, and then their press releases, they call HPP,
High Performance Power Trains. It's Mercedes. They're not the only people using Mercedes engine.
So it's something that McLaren's doing to interact with that Mercedes engine that went wrong.
It's just disgraceful that they should not enter a Grand Prix. But also, at the same time,
how frigging complicated are these rules that a car can't go forward with perpetual motion
and started by a bloody engine? Like, it's too complicated, clearly. We've had hybrid systems
in Toyota cars for decades. Why are we reinventing the hybrid? If you've got to have environmentally
friendly hybrid cars, why are we reinventing that system? Because it's clearly stuff. Did you
watch practice in China? Yeah, I did. Lewis Hamilton was driving and it just went to the right.
The car just turned. I don't know if you've seen it. Sorry to interrupt you. But I saw some
vision of Alonso in the East Aston Martin, and I, he reckons he was getting numb hands and feet
because we're by a brace in his car. Yeah, I mean, that's a major issue for the Honda powertrain.
But if I look at the practice and I see the number of cars that just spear off in the same way,
frankly, that Oscar did in Melbourne on his formation lap, I'm not saying it was just the
car's fault, but I'm saying cars don't do that. That's just wrong. Then it's absolutely wild. Now,
let's be honest, the first five laps of the first two Grand Prix have been unbelievably good to watch.
No one's going to deny that. Awesome. Racing, passing, amazing. But in the end, Mercedes is faster.
So my big question is after Japan, there's going to be five weeks off because they've cancelled
two Grand Prix. Is that enough time for all these companies to get their, you know, what together?
Well, you'd think so, seeing the amount of, you know, technical ability in the teams, I wouldn't
be surprised. You know, I'm half expecting, well, I want to see Oscar get back into the
points. I'd like to see Oscar get back into a race just now. Yeah, exactly. You know,
so we've got to wait now after Japan, which is in two weeks. We've got to wait till the third of
May for the Miami Grand Prix. I really, really hope that McLaren works out why Mercedes is fast
and why their cars aren't working. And I hope that Ferrari bridges the gap a little bit because we
need Ferrari not to be competing just for four laps. We need to be competing for 50 laps. That's
what we need. Yeah, that's true. Shout out though to George Russell. I didn't watch the podium
celebrations because I was so frustrated. I just gave up and went and made dinner. But I've seen
videos since George Russell. So, you know, Kimmys in the middle of the podium, he won his first
Grand Prix. Lewis is to Kimmys left. George is to Kimmys right. And Bono, Pete Bonington is down
as the manufacturing representative. George Russell stepped aside so that the photographers could
get a photo of Bono with one arm over Kimmys and one arm over Lewis. Like what a great photo for
Bono to have. Of two Grand Prix winners, one a seven-time world champion, one a potential world
champion. I love that about George. I love that he stood aside to let that moment happen. It was so
good. Yeah, it comes across as a pretty modest sort of bloke. And yeah, good on it. All right,
good to chat, mate. Yeah, same to you. Luke's been, look, Luke, I was thinking of when I used to
see you on the morning show with that track. Yeah, boner. And the tech whiz. Mate, make sure you
ride on. Thanks for talking to me. No worries, mate. Anytime, mate. Good on you. Have a good day.
Cheers, buddy. Thanks. There you go. So, Andrew was a long-time triple M night shift listener
with Luke Bono. That show doesn't exist anymore, but Loogie Boy is doing a podcast called The Bonified
Podcast. This is the EFTM podcast. Great to have you company here taking your calls. Whatever you
are going. Mate, very well. We spoke in February. You were looking at Smart Rings. Is that correct?
That is correct, yes. Where did we end up with that one, mate? I ended up getting a Kogan one,
because I figured that was the cheapest option. And if it didn't work, then I wasn't able to
pocket too much. That's fair. That's fair. But it is a risk, obviously. What did it end up being
140 bucks something? No, I was on special for, I think it was 79. Oh, geez. Okay. A whole lot less
risk. Yeah, yeah. Well, I'm very interested in your feedback, because I got a note this morning
from a Today Show producer. They want me to do a segment. It's probably going to be a couple
of months away, because I haven't got a lot of time right now, but they want me to do a segment
where I wear an Apple Watch on one arm, maybe a Garmin or a Samsung on the other, and then a
Aura ring. I'll probably put a Samsung ring on and a Kogan ring. I might wear a Whoop, and I'm
going to sleep. I'm obviously going to have a normal day, and I'm going to look like an idiot
on TV trying to do exercise, which is not something I do. And we're going to see what all the numbers
are. So what have you seen on your Kogan numbers? And are you comparing them to something, or are
you just going, because I think we talked about the fact that you only need one number. It's
about do to go up or down and that kind of thing. Yes. Well, I compare, I mean, mainly that I got
the ring because of the sleep function to wear the bed rather than wearing a watch to bed all
the time. Now, as far as the other numbers go, like heart rate, it's very similar to my Apple
Watch, the numbers that it shows. Okay, but that's a big one because heart rate, that's a very advanced
sensor. You know, we've got to talk here openly. It's a cheap ring with a tiny little sensor in it.
So if you're getting similar numbers reported across heart rate, I'd say that's a win.
Yeah, only like the difference, I just checked the double today, and it was like my watch said
a hundred and I'm doing work at the moment, 111 beats per minute, and the ring said 107 beats
per minute. Not even noticeable. Yeah. So from that's very good. And now the only thing,
well, the only kind of complaint, I suppose, the only thing I have with this ring
is because I'm a shift worker on the railways. So I go to bed and I wake up at different times
every single night. I have to change the parameters, the sleep parameters in the ring.
So yeah, that's the only downside. Wait, so it's not, it doesn't understand,
it doesn't work out when you're sleeping. You need to tell it when you're sleeping.
Yeah, so if you go to bed, if you go to bed, just like a similar time each night and wake up a
similar time each morning, you can just sort of set one parameter. So we only set parameter.
I've never had to tell any device when I sleep, like I've got a withing sleep mat under my mattress.
And if I have an afternoon nap for a good half an hour, 40 minutes, it will register that as sleep.
Yeah, so there, no, this isn't, yeah. So, to mind you, it did take me a while to find it,
because I, you know, I normally go to bed about between six p.m. and seven p.m.
But the watch, when I'm off, I was going to sleep much later. So if the first,
the first three hours of my sleep were not being recorded.
And it was just, it was just crap at knowing that. And then you realized it's not looking for sleep
at that time. That's right. Yeah. So it's only been the last couple of days. It's fine,
just taking almost three weeks to work that out. But it's only been the last couple of days,
I'll figure that out. And now I set it up, like I'll say go bed at 11, wake up at eight.
And so it goes, okay, so I'm going to be asleep between those hours. And that's when
we'll start recording. So, so the parameter you give it is a window. And you, so if you say,
if you say 10 till eight, and you go to bed at one a.m. until seven a.m. Does it record correctly
the one till seven? Yeah, it does. Yes. So, yeah, it records that details. So it's not,
you're not telling it when you sleep and it's just measuring that, that activity as hard as sleep
and the heart rate during your sleeping. It does determine in that window,
what is sleep and what isn't. But you need to adjust the window on a shift by, on a week,
like a roster by roster basis for yourself. Pretty much yes. But because I got to sleep,
my shifts are different start times every single day. Like they're in the morning,
normally morning shifts, but they're all different times to do the railway. So, yeah,
I've got to adjust my window accordingly. Tell your boss, you need a consistent shift
place from now on. What do you think of the app? Because I'll be honest with you,
I think I said this to you. I think it's a great looking app for a Kogan $70 product.
I think it's a good looking app. Yeah, the app's great. I've got no problems with the app at all.
You can set up to monitor quite a lot of things. I've only got to set up to monitor my heart rate,
temperature, body temperature, and my O2 levels. Are you monitoring that on Apple Watch as well,
your O2? No, just on the ring, yeah. And what about activity steps? Does it measure that?
It does measure steps as well. And I think the watch and the ring talk to each other.
And then in my health app, it gives you your numbers in there.
Well, they never talk to each other, but I think the Kogan app might export to health,
and therefore, you don't know which one's actually giving you which numbers.
The Apple Watch doesn't really show you steps on the screen, does it?
They always talk about ring completion and stuff like that, so you can't actually just quickly
look at your number of steps. That's the only other big metric for me is just, you know,
distance walked. So if you go for a one kilometer walk, which one gets closest to the kilometer?
So that's what I'm with this today's show test. That's what I'm going to do. I'm going to go,
okay, I'm not going to go for a jog. I'm just going to walk a kilometer. How many of these devices
recorded correctly that I walked a kilometer? And just little things like that. That's what I
understand, and sleep numbers, heart rate, stuff like that. So it's pretty cool.
Oh, mate, that's a good purchase then. You've ended up with a good saving.
Yeah, that's been great. Yeah, it was worth the money.
Bloody marvellous. All right. Well, good stuff, mate. Great to hear from you.
Thank you. Cheers, mate.
Cheers, mate. Thanks for calling. Yeah, there you go. The cheap and affordable,
simple Kogan ring did the job well.
Helping Australians with tech questions for over 15 years. The EFT and podcast with TravelOn.
Great to have you company. Where are we listening? How are we listening,
enjoying your company? And please tell your friends you're listening because that's the
only way people learn about the show. Rod's on the line today, Rod.
Good morning, Trevor. How are you? Good, mate. What can I do for you?
We've had nought and eddy virus for many years and it's expiring when I went to renew it. They
can't provide the same coverage as they did before in as far as the number of devices in our home.
They can't? No, well, they have a plan at the moment that goes up to a maximum of five devices.
Oh, really? Yeah, unless I'm a small business,
they've got a package which will do 10, which is what we currently have.
We only need six, but before I go hunting on the web looking for other things, and I know
McCarthy seemed to be able to do its job, but I just thought I'd seek advice.
It's funny because you are literally just that one device over the cusp of pretty much most
systems. They used Trend Micro, for example, who are an advertiser at EFTM. They would have,
I think they had three, five, and ten. Now they're just five and ten because
like three is just, you know, that's the basis. But they're at five and ten as well. And the
difference is $100 a year, $299 versus $199. So that's, I'm just looking at Trend Micro there.
Look, the bottom line is there's only really four companies I would trust with my
Internet Security, Norton's, Trend Micro, McCarthy, and it used to be Kaspersky. Look,
I haven't seen them or used them for a while, but they are, they're trying to come back.
You know, they went through this whole thing. They went through this whole thing of being far
too linked with the Russians and having their data in Russia and all this kind of stuff.
I never really believed that, but it really did damage them. And I think they've got credibility
in the industry full stop. But if you want to keep it simple, then McCarthy, Trend and Norton. And
the thing I've loved about Trend in my relationship with them is, you know, testing their products
is it's more than just, you know, Internet Security. It's, you know, it's ID security and
different things like that. And the one thing I like most about it is that it's protecting me from
myself, which is, which is the real problem because, and I haven't physically tested Norton,
they may have a similar product. But on my phone, if I was to click a nefarious link, Trend will go,
no, this is not good. Stop. And it just won't let me go there.
Norton is the same. Yeah. Frustrating at times, but yes.
You know, I'd prefer to be frustrated than scammed.
But most definitely. You know, I get it. So, so have you looked at the, so are you saying you
can't get 10 or you've got to just sign up for as a small business plan for Norton?
Yeah, that's what that's what they told me. So I'd have to buy two fives or sign up for a
small business plan in which, you know, I'm a retired person, not working anymore and don't
need that. Yeah, right. I'm happy to have you to move. Yeah, we've had one that was
covered up to 10 devices. And now, and we used nine of those with family. But now
my wife and I've got a laptop each, an iPad each and an iPhone each, and that's all we need.
Yeah, right. But it is six. Yeah, it is six. And you either got to choose to not protect yourself on
one or go somewhere else. So Trend definitely has a 10 device plan. As I said, it's currently,
they say, so one year, 10 devices, $299, which is 25% off at the moment, they say.
And this is sorry, this is for their ultimate. I'm like, I've gone top of the pops, you know,
the everything sweet, if you like. Hang on a minute, look at their, they've just went down
to the security suite pro plus they have a six device plan. One year, $179. Now, what you probably
need to do is spend a little bit of time researching which one you really need versus
Norton, because you want to compare the features. I think it's really important that you understand
what you may or may not be getting. Because if I look at the Norton side, I go, okay,
they're premium product, which is, you know, the top end. Yes. So scan protection, any virus,
ransomware, malware, VPN, dark web monitoring, parental control, deep vape protection. So,
you know, all the bells and whistles, it sounds like. If I look at the one I've just suggested to
you, which is one off the top for Trend Micro, the thing it misses is the optimizing your PC or
Mac. I don't know whether you're using that on Norton or using their 360. Okay, so that's,
that's you're at the right level then. And so warns you, yeah, so it's got deep vape protection,
filtering scam and spam text messages. And if you went one further down, you would lose the
deep vape protection and the filtering out of scam spam and scam text messages, which I think is
one of the best features they have. So I would, I'd encourage you to be at the security suite pro
plus level for Trend Micro, which according to their website right now is 179 for one year for
six devices, 119 for three. So it's actually kind of equivalent to Norton for the three device,
although Norton gives you five. So you could argue on a per device level, Norton is better value,
but given Norton won't sell you the sixth device, it probably works out well. You probably don't
want to double down and go all in with three, two year protection until you've had a bit of experience
with Trend, but you probably get better value in the second year, signing up for a longer term,
that's all. Okay, yeah, well, we had eventually, oh, sorry, this came from Harvey Norman, where
they sold us one and we got a second one free. So at the end of two years, you just
put in the new code and you're off and off and running again. You're lucky the code lasted,
I guess that's the other thing. Did you know beforehand that the code would last a year?
Well, I foolishly probably believed a salesperson. No, I mean, if that's what they told you,
then brilliant stuff. I just, if someone gave me a code to use for one year's access to something,
I'd immediately assume that it's not going to work in a year from now to actually plug it in.
Well, there was a new code for the second generation of two years.
Yeah, right. Okay, that's awesome. I mean, if you do the numbers, Trend Micro 17995 for
six devices, you're paying 30 bucks per device per year. It's pretty good.
It is, it is. And then if you divide it by months, it's $2.50 a month per device.
And, you know, because the reason I say that is for people listening that aren't like you.
So, you know what? I'm a massive fan rod of how important you take this because a lot of people
made, I was on the radio this morning to one of my most regular stations in Newcastle. And they,
one of the hosts was like, I didn't know you could put any virus or internet security on your phone.
And I'm like, I've been talking about this for years. What are we talking about here?
But that's the fact is a lot of people don't. And I think it, I think it really matters. So,
for the value, $2.50 a month, that's the way I'm going to remember it from now on.
Yeah, no, I totally agree.
Good luck, mate. And look, do the switch and then let me know. I'd love to know your feedback over
time as to whether or not you feel it's a similar product, same product, better or worse, where you
feel it's got advantages over others. Because, you know, it's actually, it's a hard thing to review.
You know, we've, you know, my producer Rob's done some reviews over, but you install it,
you muck around with it, you say what it does. But what I can't do is tell you how much different
it is for someone who's been using Norton, for example, for years. So would absolutely love
your feedback wherever we can get it. All right, we'll do my best. Good on you, Rod. Thanks for
getting in touch, mate. Thanks for the call. Bye. If you want to get in touch, you can do the same
as Rod. You can go to the website, ftm.com. You can text me on 047657657. Or you can use the app,
download the EFTM app and send us an Ask Trev request.
Thank you very much. Great to have you company this week. And yeah, let me know your favorite
Apple product of all time. We'd love to hear from you on that one. 047657657. We'll do it all
again in April next week here on the EFTM podcast. Thank you to producer Rob for helping put it all
together. And we'll keep chugging away and taking your calls on Australia. And I think the world's
only talkback technology podcast. Let's be honest, who else is doing this? Who else is helping you
directly on the phone? I don't know anyone. But if there is one, I want to know about it. I want
to keep plugging away. This is the EFTM podcast.
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