Stories by Austin Blake

Netflix, Disney, and other U.S. streaming companies have filed a legal challenge against last month’s CRTC decision to mandate foreign streaming services to pay 5% of Canadian revenues towards Canadian news and content. The Motion Picture Association-Canada argues that the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission exceeded its authority with this order and overlooked the significant...

It looks like flanker brands of Telus and Rogers are set to end some promotional plans next week, possibly setting the stage for new plans heading into the heart of summer (for better or worse). Telus-owned Public Mobile has updated its website to indicate its promotional $29/40GB 4G plan will end on July 8, 2024....

Apple is developing a new home accessory, as revealed by code found on its backend by MacRumors. The device, identified as "HomeAccessory17,1," indicates a new product category similar to the HomePod's "AudioAccessory" identifier. The inclusion of "17,1" suggests it may feature Apple's upcoming A18 chip (rumoured for the iPhone 16 this fall), meaning it will...

Nova Scotians can now access their health information through the YourHealthNS mobile app for iOS and Android. After a successful pilot involving 15 family doctors and seven nurse practitioners at six clinics, Nova Scotia has made electronic health records available province-wide. “Nova Scotians deserve to have access to information about the healthcare they have received,”...

Proton has launched an open source end-to-end encrypted document editor within Proton Drive, addressing concerns over data privacy associated with big tech companies like Google and Microsoft. Unlike Google Docs or Microsoft 365, which often track and collect user data, Proton's Docs is totally private, ensuring that even keystrokes and cursor movements are encrypted. Users...

The Office of the United States Trade Representative announced it would take necessary measures to counter Canada’s new tax on large foreign digital services companies. Last month, the federal government approved a three percent levy on foreign tech giants earning revenue from Canadians, meaning they’ll have to pony up taxes for Ottawa. The Computer and...

Bell Media has filed for an injunction to prevent Rogers from broadcasting Warner Bros. Discovery content for two years. This move comes as Rogers is set to take over the Canadian rights to that programming in January 2025. Bell submitted a court application on June 19, claiming that the licensing agreement announced nine days earlier...

Microsoft has announced the new games coming to Xbox Game Pass in July 2024. Highlights include Journey to the Savage Planet and Nickelodeon All-Star Brawl 2, both coming tomorrow. Check out the full list of new games coming in July 2024 below, plus also the games that are leaving the subscription service: New on Xbox...

Google announced last week significant updates aimed at improving productivity and functionality in Google Sheets, catering to both new users and seasoned experts. "We’re making it easier and faster to format, calculate, and manage your data in Google Sheets, whether you’re just getting started or are already a Sheets expert," stated Eric Birnbaum, Group Product...

Videotron’s Fizz has launched some new plans again, this time debuting new 50GB, 60GB and 80GB plans to the line up. It’s worth noting that for an extra $4/month, you can add on U.S. roaming for talk, text and data. So the $30/50GB plan becomes $34/50GB Canada-US, which matches a plan from Videotron’s sister company...

Visa has partnered Amazon to expand payment options for Canadian shoppers, offering the credit card company’s Installments Enabled by Visa. Eligible Royal Bank of Canada and Scotiabank credit cardholders can opt for Installments enabled by Visa when making purchases on Amazon.ca or the Amazon mobile app. What does this mean? Consumers can pay off smaller,...

Telus has been recognized by TIME Magazine and Statista in their inaugural list of the World's Most Sustainable Companies, ranking 21st out of 500 global companies. B.C.-based Telus was the second most sustainable Canadian company and the most sustainable telecom in Canada. Rogers and Bell were not part of the top 500 global companies list....