Stories by Austin Blake

SpaceX’s Starlink now has more than 500,000 users across Canada, and for some, the service is proving essential in remote areas where traditional internet access doesn’t exist (via Tesla North). One of those users is Syola Ikkidluak, a dog sledder and hunter from Iglulik, Nunavut. She relies on Starlink to stay in touch with her...

TikTok CEO Shou Chew is urging the federal government to reverse its decision to shut down TikTok’s Canadian operations, warning of serious consequences for local jobs, creators, and investment. Ottawa wants offices shut down, but will let the app stay operating in Canada. In a letter sent to Industry Minister Mélanie Joly, dated July 2,...

SaskTel is once again extending support for residents forced to evacuate due to wildfires in northern Saskatchewan. The crown corporation announced today, July 14, that it will continue to waive wireless data overage charges and credit home services—including SaskTel Internet, maxTV Stream, and Home Phone—for customers in impacted communities. The relief applies to residents who...

We’re just months away from Apple’s expected September iPhone reveal, and for this year’s iPhone 17 series, we may have a look at what colours to expect, based on leaks from the supply chain. Leaker Sonny Dickson today shared images of the camera rings that surround the iPhone 17 camera, and they allegedly show the...

Rogers is replacing hundreds of its Canadian customer service agents with AI chatbots, leading to mass layoffs and growing backlash from former employees who say they were used to train the very tech that took their jobs. The telecom giant confirmed to The Globe and Mail that it has ended its contract with Foundever, a...

Tesla followed the rules when it filed nearly 8,600 electric vehicle rebate claims just before the federal government ended its iZEV program in January, according to Transport Canada. A spokesperson for Transport Minister Chrystia Freeland told The Canadian Press that the automaker’s submissions “were determined to legitimately represent cars sold before January 12.” The same...

Telus recently introduced a compact streaming box last month called the TV Mini, offering customers a simple way to access their streaming subscriptions and Telus content in one place. The Telus TV Mini is priced at $72 outright or can be financed at $2 per month over 36 months through a Telus Easy Payment plan....

Telus-owned Public Mobile is back at it again, tweaking its 5G Canada-US-Mexico plans with more data. Earlier this week, Public Mobile revamped its plans list ahead of the fall, trimming its 5G offerings to just a $40/20GB and $50/30GB. Today, the company added data bonuses to these two 5G plans. Check them out below: $40/60GB...

Google has rolled out a new feature that turns photos into eight-second videos using AI, now available to Gemini Advanced users in select countries. The tool is part of Google’s Gemini AI platform and lets users upload a photo, describe what they want to see and hear, and watch the image transform into a short...

Videotron’s Freedom Mobile has launched a new travel eSIM that offers Canadians affordable international data—without the need for a monthly plan, contract, or credit check. The new option, called Roam Beyond Travel Data eSIM, starts at $10 for 1GB (plus a one-time $10 activation fee) and works in over 120 countries, including 16 new destinations....

If you’ve been getting strange text messages from random numbers lately, you’re not the only one, according to the Competition Bureau. Canadians are seeing a spike in scam texts claiming things like unpaid tolls or suspicious activity on bank accounts. The messages may look real, but they’re part of a growing fraud trend called “smishing”...

Google has a flurry of announcements today and that includes updates to its Circle to Search tool, now available on over 300 million Android devices. The feature lets users tap, highlight, or circle anything on their screen to instantly search for more information—without needing to switch apps. It’s just too easy when using this feature....