The new page for daily story pitches

Important note:

Passwords for scripts, ftp and Dropbox have changed.

Please email me directly for the new passwords. jamey@whatthetech.tv

Monday, May 21st

The Mother’s Day gift idea stories got more traffic than any other story in the past few weeks so I’m going to do more than a couple gift idea segments for Dads and Grads. The first one looks at a powered paper airplane drone and a gadget that’ll turn dad into a master mechanic.

Friday, May 18th

The App of the Day: Huddle. You know how you sometimes get on Facebook for a few minutes and it makes your blood boil with stupid comments and angry posts? Do you sometimes feel you’re being left out on Instagram? Lots of people do. There’s a new social media network now just for people who support other people. Huddle is a place people go to join groups of people who are going through the same thing. Hop on there to get encouragement and encourage other people and be as anonymous as you like.

Thursday, May 17th

This story is by request from a news team. “Your TV has been hacked”. 10 years ago a sentence like that would have made no sense at all. You already know smart TVs track what you watch. Now some TVs have microphones and cameras that are always on. Some are connected to your social media accounts and Skype. There’s proof some TVs can be hacked to become spy bugging devices. I’ll be looking at ways to ‘unsmart’ a smart TV.

Wednesday, May 16th

Is the battery on your phone running down before the work day is over? It’s likely because you use Facebook, Snapchat or Instagram. I’ll show you a quick fix and if you’re always visiting the same websites on your phone, I’ll explain how to create your own app for it.

Tuesday, May 15th

Curiosity killed the cat and it’s putting everyone’s privacy at risk of being stolen. Facebook and social media is one thing, but those ancestry DNA programs are another. As you’re probably aware, police used a public DNA database to catch the Golden State Killer who eluded police for more than 40 years. How did they do it and what does it mean to you?

Monday, May 14th

Is Amazon Prime still a good deal for you? Over the weekend Amazon raised the fee to $119/year. Now that stores are matching Amazon’s prices, is Amazon Prime worth the extra 20 bucks for the 100 million people who pay for it?

Friday, May 11th

You know when you shop at Amazon what an overwhelming experience it can be? Amazon is actually a terrible place to shop if you’re just browsing. Today’s App of the Day, “Canopy” curates products at Amazon.com to make it easier to find things that never show up on the front page.

Thursday, May 10th

A story by request: did you know you can use someone’s phone to make a call without their permission? You can pick up any iPhone and use Siri to make a call. Why is this feature necessary? It can help you locate the phone’s owner or their family. During the Las Vegas shooting last October one woman found an badly injured person and used this feature to contact his family. But if you don’t like it, you have to turn it off.

Wednesday, May 9th

a police department is warning parents of 10 dangerous apps to look out for on their child’s smartphone. What are these apps and why are they dangerous? I’ll take a look at the list that includes both apps you’ve heard of and many you haven’t. (Omegle, Yubo, ask.fm, kik, hot or not, burnbook, wishbone, whisper, instagram. (I’ll explain why police think Instagram is such a problem.)

Tuesday, May 8th

Robocalls are getting worse. According to the New York Times, Americans received an estimated 3.4 billion robocalls in April alone. You get them at work, at home, in church, after you go to bed. And now with tactics like calling from a local number, robo-calls are getting harder to dodge. I’m going to look at the numbers and a couple of imperfect options to avoid getting interrupted.

Monday, May 7th

There’s still time to order mom a gift for Mother’s Day and you might be scrambling to find a graduation gift for someone else. You might not think that mom would like a tech gadget and you most likely wouldn’t expect a high school student to want a notebook, but they haven’t seen these before. I’ve got a device that puts Alexa in the car, a flashlight that will charge your phone AND jump off a dead car battery, a paper notebook you put in the microwave and maybe the best sounding small Bluetooth speaker on the market.

Friday, May 4th

The app of the day is an app that lists “gigs” or jobs you can do to pick up some real money. It’s called Gigwalk and it’s a real thing.

Thursday, May 3rd

You’re probably spending 10 or more hours staring at a computer or smartphone screen every day. That’s a lot of blue light into your eyes. Is that something to worry about long-term? I’m checking out ‘computer glasses’, those amber or bronze tinted lenses that gamers swear by. Do they protect your eyes? Do they keep you from getting headaches or prevent eyestrain? Or is it just a bunch of marketing hype?

There is also a tease already in the package folders.

Wednesday, May 2nd

I ran across this interesting statistic the other day: around 4 million moms in the United States identify as bloggers. Mommy blogs are insanely popular and small businesses are getting into the ‘blog’ area to promote themselves. Today’s story is for anyone who’s ever thought about starting a blog. How to get started, what to expect and the #1 thing new bloggers should never do. I’m also launching a series of blog how-tos on my website www.whatthetech.tv. It’d be great if you would link there for the stories.

Tuesday, May 1st

It’s Small Business Week and I’m going to try to do a couple of stories for people who are their own boss. The first, today is probably the best money-saving app I’ve seen this year. For anyone who has to keep track of their mileage for tax deductions, this app detects anytime you’re moving in a car and records the day, time, distance and the to and from address. At tax time you’ve got it all in one place. No more trying to remember to write it down.

and a note: my plan for tomorrow is about starting a blog. I saw a survey the other day that showed the number of women who want to start a mommy blog or money saving blog is very high. And on Thursday is a series piece about ‘computer glasses’. Those amber colored lenses made for people who stare at a computer for hours each day. Do they work?

Monday, April 30th

Over 2 million people are wondering if their too-good-to-be-true MoviePass was as short-lived as they feared. MoviePass, the ‘movie a day app’ is making some changes and no one knows if it will ever return. I’ll break down the changes and what it means for current subscribers.

Friday, April 27th

Hitting that 2pm wall at work? Having trouble rolling out of bed? When staying awake is a challenge, Wake-Out is an app that can really help. It gives you some exercises and movements you can do right at your desk at work. And, it’s the app of the day.

Thursday, April 26th

YouTube Kids is getting an update that may set many parents’ minds at ease. I’ve hit YouTube pretty hard in the past for allowing some disturbing videos into the YouTube Kids app. Starting soon, they say parents will be able to have more control over what videos their kids can see. Parents will be able to filter videos that were reviewed by real people at YouTube to make sure they’re kid friendly.

Wednesday, April 25th

The website is back up and you can get everything from here. The ftp server is still being worked on so continue to get the stories from Dropbox for the time being. Today: how does Amazon’s new trunk delivery going to work? You may have heard that delivery drivers will be able to leave your packages in the trunk of your car while you’re at work. I’m going to show how it’ll work and whether it’s going to be a safe alternative.

Monday, April 16th

Please take note: I’m having to move this website to a new server which requires GoDaddy to take control of it for about a week and do some work. I won’t be able to update this site or page for the week. I’ll be putting everything at www.jameytucker.com temporarily. Thanks for understanding. Also, you will be unable to download packages and scripts from the ftp server this week. I’ll have everything in the Dropbox folders.

Friday, April 13th

The App of the Day. Are you working on a side-hustle? Do you have skills that others will find helpful? Or are you looking for someone to do a job for you? The app Upwork puts the needing and needed folks together. If you can write, help with accounting, customer service or dozens of other things, you can make up to $100/hour.

Thursday, April 12th

One of the things sort of lost in the Zuckerberg hearing was him responding to the conspiracy theory that Facebook listens to our conversations even when we’re just talking to friends. We’re going to visit this topic and if you’re not convinced, I’ll show you how to prevent Facebook from hearing anything we say.

Wednesday, April 11th

If you ever feel unsafe walking back to your car in a parking lot or anywhere else for that matter, you can quickly call 911 with just a few taps on an iPhone. Most people don’t know about Emergency S.O.S but it’s something every parent should make sure their kids know how to use. It could save their life.

Tuesday, April 10th

Facebook is sending some of its users a notification that allows them to check whether their profile and information was shared with Cambridge Analytica. Not everyone has received their notification yet but I’m going to show you how to check now and what to do if they find their profile included among the 87 million people who were affected. Zuckerberg is also expected to testify in a Senate hearing today.

Monday, April 9th

Ever wonder what’s in the mailbox? The U.S Postal Service has just launched a very cool program where they’ll take a picture of what you’re getting and e-mail it to you while you’re at work. Just sign up, it’s free and I’m going to show you how it works. I expect to get my first email on Monday. The story may change if it rains,sleets or snows or there’s gloom of night. Kidding.

Friday, April 6th

The App of the Day: Ink Hunter. I featured this app nearly 2 years ago and it’s available for Android devices now. Ever wondered what you’d look like with a tattoo? This augmented reality app lets you try it on before it’s permanent

Thursday, April 5th

facebook, the hits keep on coming. Now we know that “most” Facebook users have had their public information scraped by ‘malicious actors’. The announcement late Wednesday has Facebook users asking “What malicious actors?” and “What’s my public information?” I’ll show you what they got from you and how to prevent them from getting more of your information. The 3 things you should do before the weekend.

Wednesday, April 4th

MoviePass (my favorite app of 2017) has a lot of people going to the theaters again. Google is making date night easier. A new feature in Google will show you every movie playing near you, what they’re about, how they rate with critics and fans, and will even show the movie trailer. It’s the best thing to come to the movie theater since buttered popcorn (or moviepass)

Tuesday, April 3rd

Thinking of getting a new smartphone? The iPhone X is likely at the top of the list of options for Apple fans but is the $1,000 phone all its cracked up to be? Sales are sluggish and it may not get better. I’m looking at the iPhone X after 5 months and find its biggest weakness.

Monday, April 2nd

Is Facebook tanking? Even before the data leak controversy and the #deletefacebook movement, Facebook was having problems. I’ve gone back to look at numbers from the end of 2017 and people were spending less time on Facebook. How much? A total of 50 million hours. Why are people spending less time on the social network and does that say anything about the future?

Friday, March 30th

The App of the Day: One Password. 150 million people had their My Fitness Pal information stolen and it’s important for everyone to change their passwords. This app makes managing passwords super easy.

Thursday, March 29th

this story should air no later than Saturday. It is dated.

Saturday is one of those special ‘tech days’. World Backup Day started as an April Fool’s joke years ago but it dawned on some folks that it’s a good idea to remind people to back-up their computers and smartphones. We’ve all got hundreds or thousands of photos stored on hard drives and what happens if it gets zapped? They’re gone unless you’ve backed them up. I’ll be looking at a few easy ways to backup what’s important to you.

Wednesday, March 28th

Facebook just changed how it allows users to control their information. Brand new settings that make it easy for people to delete things from their account. Which settings should you change first? What you need to know.

Tuesday, March 27th

More malware in the Google Play Store. Google has removed several QR Code Reader apps after it was discovered they installed malware on smartphones. Some of these apps were downloaded over a half-million times. I’ll show which apps are the problems, why it’s only a problem on Android phones and what every Android user should do to keep malware from infecting their phones.

Monday, March 26th

The latest (and greatest) smartphone hit the streets. You’ve seen the commercials for the Samsung Galaxy S9. Is it the best Android phone ever? I’m taking a look and having a couple of blog-stars try out the camera and emoji maker.

Friday, March 23rd

The App of the Day: Ada. How many times have you Googled your symptoms wondering what you might have before deciding whether to go to the doctor? Search engines process billions of medical searches every year from people who type in what’s bothering them. A new app, is a bot of sorts called “Ada” which asks you questions just like your doctor might in their office. And, it uses machine learning to get to know you for future visits.

Thursday, March 22nd

Sure everyone’s talking about deleting facebook, but most of our viewers won’t think of it. They’re too invested in sharing with their old and new friends and family. So what should they do instead? Stop sharing information with companies and stop tossing your neighbor’s information out for the world to see. I’m going to look at a couple of things that EVERYONE on Facebook should do asap.

Wednesday, March 21st

Teenagers do almost everything on their phone. Depression and suicide among teens is higher than anytime in history. So a group launched Crisis Text Line, where anyone can send a text to instantly chat with a counselor about what they’re going through. We’ll talk about how many teens they’ve helped, how it works and we’ll tie it into recent school shootings.

Tuesday, March 20th

#deletefacebook has become a movement as millions of people say they’ve had enough. We’re sharing too much information about ourselves and our friends. Do you want to quit? Would you quit? I’ll tell you why Facebook makes it so hard to delete your account.

Monday, March 19th

YouTube TV. It’s one of the options of streaming TV shows. Similar to Fire TV, Apple TV and the Roku. I’ll take it for a demo and show you the pros and cons and whether this is an option worth choosing.

Friday, March 16th

Looking for a job? Even thinking about changing careers? The App of the Day will tell you what no job listing will: what people who work there think, what are the benefits like? how’s management? Even if you’re not looking for a new job, Glass Door will let you know what your co-workers make.

Thursday, March 15th

Trees are about to start blooming which means allergy season is right around the corner. Congestion, sore throat, sneezing; many of our viewers expect it. Two apps are here to help by giving allergy forecasts and alerts for when things are in the air you may want (or need) to avoid.

Wednesday, March 14th

Spring cleaning the house and yard? Don’t forget where you live on your phone and online. I’m looking at some things we all need to do to spring clean our devices and Facebook account. For safety.

Tuesday, March 13th

Is this the greatest tech invention in the last 2 years? hmmmm. maybe? and it’s a notebook. Yep, a pen and paper notebook, but this one stores what you write in the cloud then you erase everything in it by sticking it in a microwave.

Monday, March 12th

What’s working for hackers these days? McAfee just released its new security report and the numbers do not look good for the average consumer/computer user. If you use your computer on public-wifi or if you open a certain message on Facebook, you may be mining for bitcoin without even knowing it.

Friday, March 9th

The App of the Day: if you’re getting ready for Spring Break or if you’re just thinking ahead to your next trip out of town, this app will help you see the world around you. Rather than having to type in names of places or search for a certain type of restaurant, this app tells you what’s in your path. Hold up your phone and it shows you what you’re looking for.

Thursday, March 8th

Some of those gadgets you never knew you needed. Pocket-sized gadgets including maybe the best smartphone grip ever made and a device that downloads every photo on your phone so you can delete them to save space, and a simple gadget that protects your privacy.

Wednesday, March 7th

Americans send millions of text messages every day and if you find yourself always trying to tap the right letters you might find these keyboards helpful. Google has a keypad you can install on any phone that makes texting easier and more fun. I’ll take a look at G-Board and SwiftKey and how they can help you practice safe text.

Tuesday, March 6th

Are you one of the millions of people with a MoviePass card? How can they offer such a great deal and stay in business? MoviePass CEO lets it slip how much they know about the people who use the card.

Monday, March 5th

Imagine being at an event where someone takes a picture of their friends and you’re just in the background. If it happens you might get a notification from Facebook that you’re in the photo, even if you don’t know the person who took it. Facebook’s new(ish) facial recognition feature, users are seeing the announcement popping up on their newsfeed. What is it? Should you be worried? How to turn it off?

Friday, March 2nd

Since everybody’s talking about the Oscars this weekend, I’m skipping The App of the Day today to do a story about movies. A lot of us now choose to stream movies from Netflix, Amazon or Hulu but you can still find DVD rentals out there. And it’s a different experience. Are streamed movies just as good as DVD’s” Is there a difference? We’re going to take a look.

Thursday, March 1st

Facebook introduced a new Messenger for Kids a couple of months ago. FB promoted it as a way for parents to monitor and control activity on the kids’ phones and allowing children to stay in touch with friends and family, share photos and communicate with groups of people parents approve. But is it a good idea? After all we’ve found out this year about smartphone and social media addiction and the effects the devices have on children, should you give your child a Facebook Kids Messenger account?

Wednesday, February 28th

Your kid already has a smartphone huh? Or you just don’t want to go out and spend $500 on a tablet you set up as a kid’s mode only. You have options, including Samsung phones with built-in parent controls, apps for iPhones, a protected wi-fi network for the home and another device by Disney that gives parents control over what each individual members of the family can do on their smartphone or tablet.

FYI, tomorrow I’ll wrap up the month-long look at parenting and smartphones with a review of Facebook’s new Messenger for Kids app.

Tuesday, February 27th

I had already planned this story for today and then CBS This Morning mentioned it today. Most everyone knows that Google tracks everything we do online, if of course you use Google. It knows everything you search, every website you browse, every place you’ve been and everything that’s in your email. If that scares the crap out of you there’s another option. A browser called Duck Duck Go. What is it and how do you use it?

Monday, February 26th

Anyone who’s ever recorded video from a smartphone realizes how bad the audio can be. Facebook Live, bloggers, podcasters, reporters anyone who records or goes live needs better video. This is true for our viewers who want to submit weather videos etc. I’ve found a wireless microphone that works with smartphones. And a group of student storm chasers will try it out.

Friday, February 23rd

How many times do you listen to a song and not understand what they’re saying? Rocket Man has always stumped me, but I sing along in my car like I know all the words. There’s an app here to help. Find out what those lyrics are and what the song means. You may be surprised you’ve been singing it all wrong for a long long time.

Thursday, February 22nd

Too sick to go to the doctor? Not sick enough and you don’t want to risk getting the flu from the sicker-than-you people in the waiting room? Twice in the past 2 weeks friends of mine were in that group but needed to see a doctor. I told them about the online doctor app, Doctor on Demand. A lot of people have never used it. I’ll show how it works, how much it costs and what you can get.

Wednesday, February 21st

Many parents are re-thinking their kids getting a smartphone, especially at a young age. Over the past several weeks I’ve looked at some of the problems they cause and at a national movement encouraging parents to wait. But parents need to be in touch with their kids and that’s a big reason they give smartphones to them. There are other options. I’m talking with a mom who found some smart watches and we’ll look at the option of flip-phones.

Tuesday, February 20th

It’s 10pm, do you know what apps your kids are using? I’m looking at several of the crazy popular messaging and social media apps being used by millions of middle and high school students. What they are and what parents should know.

Monday, February 19th

Have you noticed that over the weekend the internet got ‘quieter’? If you use Google’s Chrome Browser, and most people do, there are no more pop-up advertisements and auto-playing videos interrupting you. Google is blocking the most disruptive ads and you can uninstall those ad blocker apps.

Friday, February 16th

The app of the day: If you feel your kids may spend too much time on their phones (and we all do) there’s an app that can change that. But rather than your kids getting all upset and screaming and “WHY???”, the app Unglue kind of makes a game of it where they can earn more time.

Thursday, February 15th

What is the best age to give your kid a smartphone? I’m talking to three parents of elementary school students about what they’ve noticed since their kids got their smartphone. Cyber-bullying at 11. We’ll also mention “Wait Until the 8th”, a national program by a group of mom’s asking parents to sign a pledge promising to wait until their kid is in the 8th grade.

Wednesday, February 14th

Another look at the problem of smartphone addiction. Not many people will admit to a problem with their smartphone but how do you know? There are a few apps to let you see how much time you’re spending on your phone and one that shuts down your phone for a period of time so you can focus. And if you don’t want to download an app, I’ll show you how to do it with a couple clicks in settings.

Tomorrow night I’m interviewing a panel of elementary school parents about the right age to give a kid a smartphone.

Tuesday, February 13th

The new emoji are coming! The new emoji are coming! Yep, a brand new set of 150 emoji to make us scratch our heads and ask ‘what’s that one supposed to mean?’. I’ll have a look at the new ones coming later this year (a foot? a llama?) and a quick explanation of who comes up with these things and how.

Monday, February 12th

Romance apps. Wednesday is Valentines Day and this is the month of romance. I’ll be looking at several apps for whatever stage of relationship you’re in. First, a dating app that’ll find someone who’s a friend of a friend of a friend on Facebook. An app for couples to stay in touch throughout the day, an app for couples looking to spice things up a bit (it’s clean) and an app to help find a babysitter for a last-minute date.