Stories by Austin Blake

Apple’s artificial intelligence efforts just took another hit. According to a report from Bloomberg, Ruoming Pang—the executive leading Apple’s foundation models team—is leaving the company to join Meta. He’s the latest in a string of high-profile hires by Mark Zuckerberg’s new AI “superintelligence” group, which is poaching the best people through large compensation offers. Sources...

TikTok is ending its sponsorship of several major Canadian arts organizations, including the Juno Awards and the Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF), as it prepares to shut down its Canadian operations under a federal directive. The company said it is complying with an order issued by Ottawa last November, which requires TikTok to wind down...

A woman from Squamish, B.C. says she lost more than $534,000 in Bitcoin—now worth over $1.8 million—after a hacker hijacked her phone through a SIM swap scam. The case is now heading to private arbitration after a recent B.C. Supreme Court decision. Raelene Vandenbosch, a pharmacy manager from B.C., is suing Rogers and Match Transact....

Montreal’s parking agency is phasing out its current mobile app and asking drivers to download a new one before the end of July. Update July 15: Agence de mobilité durable de Montréal has confirmed with us July 28 as the final end date. The P$ Mobile Service app will stop working on July 31, and...

Apple may finally have its first blockbuster at the box office. The racing film F1, starring Brad Pitt and Damson Idris, has earned over $200 million US globally and is expected to top $300 million US (about $408 million CAD) by the 4th of July weekend. “This is a movie that will run and run...

Freedom Mobile is joining the Calgary Stampede this year as the new presenting sponsor of the event’s Grandstand Show—and bringing along a virtual reality attraction to go with it. From July 4 to 13, Stampede visitors can try the Freedom Mobile Worry-Free Escape, a VR experience set up on the Midway. The installation offers 360-degree...

Following Telus’ recent 3G shutdown announcement, Bell has confirmed it will begin phasing out its own 3G/HSPA network in Manitoba by December 31, 2025. The move is part of Bell’s plan to improve its 4G and 5G networks nationwide it says. Bell and Telus share infrastructure across much of Canada, so both providers are following...

Unifor, the union representing Canadian media workers, is calling on the federal broadcasting regulator to stop giving foreign streaming services a free ride. At the last week of the CRTC's hearing today, July 3, Unifor’s media director Randy Kitt argued that companies like Netflix, Disney, and Apple should be treated the same as Canadian broadcasters...

Telus-owned Public Mobile has continued to tweak its plan offerings and now it has finally trimmed down both 4G and 5G plans, while setting a specific end date to promo plans, according to changes made on its website on Thursday. Previously, we told you a “limited time” label showed up, but now that has changed...

WhatsApp is rolling out new features to make it easier for businesses to reach customers, manage campaigns, and offer support—all from one place. Announced at Meta’s Conversations 2025 conference in Miami on July 1, the updates focus on making WhatsApp more useful for marketing and customer service. Businesses can now manage ads across WhatsApp, Facebook,...

Microsoft is laying off about 9,000 workers—roughly 4% of its global workforce—as the tech giant kicks off its 2026 fiscal year with another round of job cuts. The layoffs continue at Microsoft. The layoffs will hit teams across different regions and departments, including major impacts to its gaming units like Xbox and the Barcelona-based Candy...

Rogers says it has become the first internet provider in Canada to roll out WiFi 7, starting with select areas in Calgary. Wi-Fi 7 offers faster speeds, better coverage, and more stable connections for households with many devices that are compatible. “Canadians deserve the best connectivity experience, and this is the first in a series...