Stories by Austin Blake

Short form video app TikTok has announced on Friday it may shut down in the U.S. on January 19, unless the Biden administration provides assurances to key service providers about the app’s future. The announcement comes as the app faces pressure from a U.S. law requiring its Chinese parent company, ByteDance, to sell its stake...

The Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) has announced new plans to make Internet services in Canada’s Far North more reliable and affordable. "Throughout our consultation, we heard about the challenges that residents of the Far North face in accessing Internet services and the real impact that has on peoples' daily lives. From disruptions in...

Telus subsidiary Telus International is being sued in a class-action lawsuit in B.C. Supreme Court, with investors claiming the company exaggerated its progress in artificial intelligence and caused them financial losses. The suit names Telus International, its parent company, and executives, including Telus CEO Darren Entwistle and Telus International CEO Jeff Puritt, as defendants. The...

Google is making it easier for businesses to use artificial intelligence at work by including advanced AI tools in its Google Workspace Business and Enterprise plans, but with a catch. Gemini AI tools allow summarizing of meeting notes or organizing emails, saving productivity. Over 100,000 businesses already use AI for tasks like coding, brainstorming, and...

This morning we saw the annual report from the Commission for Complaints for Telecom-television Services (CCTS), which shows how major telecom brands handled customer issues over the past year. While complaints in the industry went up by 38%, Videotron says it stood out with a 14% drop in complaints, marking its third year of improvement....

OpenAI has launched a beta version of tasks, a new feature that allows ChatGPT to perform actions at scheduled times. Users can now set reminders, schedule recurring actions, or request personalized updates for the future. These reminders will show up as a push notification on your iPhone’s lockscreen, for example. Tasks can be created directly...

Costco is being accused of overcharging Canadians who shop online and misleading them about shipping fees, according to a proposed class action lawsuit filed in Federal Court in Montreal. The lawsuit claims Costco violated Canada’s Competition Act by charging higher prices for products sold on Costco.ca, compared to those in its warehouses and providing misleading...

Telcos such as Iristel, Telus and Bell no longer have a law forcing a removal timeline for existing Huawei equipment from their networks, after Prime Minister Justin Trudeau shut down Parliament last week, effectively killing a key cybersecurity bill. Bill C-26 was meant to enforce the removal of Huawei gear from the country's telecom networks...

Canadians are preparing to celebrate Lunar New Year on January 29, marking the arrival of the Year of the Snake. LEGO has released 10 sets inspired by the Lunar New Year. Highlights include the LEGO Botanicals Mini Orchid and the LEGO Spring Festival Trotting Lantern set and Good Fortune set, to go with Lucky Cat...

Tesla has increased the prices of its Model 3 and Model Y vehicles in Canada by $1,000 across the board, making them ineligible for the federal government’s $5,000 iZEV (Incentives for Zero-Emission Vehicles) rebate, reports Tesla North. The updated prices for the Model 3 are as follows: Long Range RWD: $55,990 (previously $54,990) Long Range...

Tesla has officially launched its new Model Y in China and Asia-Pacific, introducing a minor design refresh, performance, and tech upgrades. The debut comes after we saw the first leak of the new Model Y without any camouflage (what a coincidence, right?). While the new Model Y is not available in the US or Canada...

Tesla’s Model Y refresh, unofficially dubbed the “Juniper” or “Opal” update, has leaked in full without any camouflage coverings, according to Tesla North. Leaked images shared online show the refreshed Model Y sporting several significant changes, in what appears to be during winter testing of the upcoming vehicle in China. The new design features a...