And that was when I learned that you have to rinse the rice first.
That's a myth actually, you don't need to do it. It comes out completely fine without washing the rice. See https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B3CHsbNkr3c
The rice cooker makes a difference though. They are pretty interesting from a technological perspective: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RSTNhvDGbYI