Stories by Austin Blake

Google has quietly updated its ‘G’ icon for the first time in 10 years, which comes with a subtle change. According to 9to5Google, the Google app icon on iOS was first to get it, followed by the Android app. The new ‘G’ now blends the four colour sections as they transtition into each other. It’s...

Canada’s ‘Big 3’ telcos aren’t adding new customers like they used to, and the reason for the lack of growth? That’s due to immigration cuts, say the telecoms. According to Bloomberg, Bell, Rogers, and Telus together added fewer than 54,000 new mobile subscribers in the first quarter of 2025. That’s the weakest number in four...

OpenAI and Microsoft are locked in some intense negotiations that could decide the future of one of the world’s biggest artificial intelligence companies, reports the Financial Times. ChatGPT's parent company OpenAI, valued at $260 billion US, wants to restructure so it can eventually go public, while Microsoft, which has already invested over $13 billion, wants...

Air Canada and WestJet have landed near the bottom in this year’s J.D. Power North America Airline Satisfaction Study, showing that passengers aren’t too happy—no matter which class they’re flying in. The annual report looks at how satisfied people are with airlines in first/business, premium economy, and economy. Both Canadian carriers performed poorly across the...

Epic Games announced on Friday morning Fortnite is one step closer to coming back to the App Store. "We’ve submitted Fortnite to Apple for review so we can launch on the App Store in the U.S.”, said Fortnite on X. This puts the ball back in Apple’s court to approve the game for the iPhone...

A new Netflix documentary episode will put Toronto’s late former mayor Rob Ford (the younger brother of Premier Doug Ford) back in the spotlight as part of its Trainwreck anthology series. The episode, titled Mayor of Mayhem, premieres June 17, 2025, and focuses on Ford’s chaotic term in office that became an international media spectacle....

Bell has pulled out of a project to bring high-speed Internet and cell service to six remote communities along Labrador’s north coast, citing rising costs and difficult terrain. The $22-million Labrador North Wireless Broadband Project, announced in 2022, was meant to connect more than 1,000 households in communities including Nain and Natuashish. But the price...

BCE, the parent company of Bell, reported its Q1 2025 earnings today—and it came with a surprise. Bell is cutting its annual dividend from $3.99 to $1.75 per share, a drop of more than 50%. That means shareholders will now get paid much less per year. The company says the move will help it stay...

Rogers is giving its Xfinity TV customers a boost, rolling out 27 new free channels starting today — with seven of them available exclusively to Rogers Xfinity subscribers. The new additions include content across food, home design, true crime, and auto genres, such as: Flay All Day – featuring celebrity chef Bobby Flay Home &...

Spotify says global streams of The Pointer Sisters’ 1986 track “Hot Together” spiked by a whopping 182,000% within two hours of Rockstar’s second Grand Theft Auto VI trailer release. According to an email sent to iPhone in Canada today, fans raced to replay songs featured in the highly anticipated preview. “Grand Theft Auto cuts through...

The second season of Macy Murdoch, the tween-focused spinoff of Murdoch Mysteries, is now streaming on CBC Gem, YouTube, and TikTok—and it's gaining traction in an unexpected place: Roblox. As part of a wide-reaching discoverability campaign, Shaftesbury launched an immersive Roblox experience tied to the show’s storyline. Set inside the platform’s Teamwork Puzzles 2, the...

Freedom Mobile is now the presenting sponsor of the 2025 Calgary Stampede Grandstand Show, a major move that cements its growing presence in Western Canada. The 10-night show runs from July 4 to 13 and will feature Alberta country star Carolyn Dawn Johnson as the headliner. “Returning home to perform on the iconic Grandstand Stage...