I took a break on Wednesday because of the immense amount of news around the US election. News that continues. There is a lot to talk about in regards to the technology industry and the US election, but that’s for another day, maybe.
Proposed Revision to Broadcasting Act to let CRTC Further Regulate Online Streaming Services
There is a new proposal to amend the Broadcast Act that would give the CRTC the ability to more tightly regulate online streaming services that are not based in Canada, like Netflix. The proposed changes aim to allow the CRTC to add in some of the regulations that apply to traditional broadcasters that operate in Canada, things like meeting a minimum amount of “Canadian content” and contributions to the Canadian film and TV industry.
I think there’s a reasonable way forward with something like this, we’ll see where this goes.
Developer Who Worked on Canada’s COVID Alert App Gives Interview
A developer who worked on the national COVID-19 contact tracing app spoke with MobileSyrup, giving an interview that attempts to clear up and explain how the app works. It was a good read. As of now, only Alberta and British Columbia have stubbornly refused to join the program. Every other province and territory has. That needs to change.
Xbox Series X|S Reviews
Reviews for the Xbox Series X and S have hit ahead of the console’s release next week. Reviewers have generally praised the overall system, but the lack of new exciting games is mentioned. The upgrade from an old, slow spinning hard drive to an extremely fast SSD is highlighted as the biggest upgrade, followed by the 4k visuals that even the Xbox One X was not able to achieve despite early promises of 4k gaming. This is partly intentional, but partly disappointing. The Xbox Series line of consoles will play every game you can play on Xbox One, but better. In a way, this emulates the idea of upgrading to a more powerful PC for gaming. It goes so far as that the Xbox Series line of consoles have the exact same user interface as the pervious Xbox One, just significantly faster. But it is different than a traditional console launch in that there aren’t any marquee games made just for this console. Personally, I’d love to get my hands on an Xbox Series X, but my current situation doesn’t allow it.
It should be noted that both Xbox models will be in very short supply through the holidays. Best Buy will not sell any in store until 2021, and there has been very little additional available inventory since the original pre-orders went live. If you have managed to get your hands on a pre-order, you are very lucky.
https://www.theverge.com/21548987/xbox-series-x-review
PlayStation 5 Reviews
Let me copy, paste, and modify my own words:
Reviews for the PlayStation 5 have hit ahead of the console’s release next week. Reviewers have generally praised the overall system, but the lack of new exciting games is mentioned. The upgrade from an old, slow spinning hard drive to an extremely fast SSD is highlighted as the biggest upgrade, followed by the 4k visuals that even the PlayStation 4 Pro was not able to achieve despite early promises of 4k gaming. The PlayStation 5 has some interesting hardware tricks, mostly centered around the controller. The haptics and vibration motors in the controller have been universally praised, and many reviewers said that the new controller with these haptics is actually the most exciting part of the new console. Reviewers are split on the look and size of the console. The PlayStation 5 is… large. I think it looks awful, and the fact that it is so long means I don’t think I will be able to fit it into my current TV stand, even if I wanted to. That being said, I’d still love to get my hands on one, but my current situation doesn’t allow it.
It should be noted that both PlayStation 5 models will be in very short supply through the holidays. Sonly has said that it will not sell any devices in store until 2021, and there has been very little additional available inventory since the original pre-orders went live. If you have managed to get your hands on a pre-order, you are very lucky.
https://www.theverge.com/21550146/sony-playstation-5-ps5-review
Ryzen 5000 Reviews
AMD’s newest processors, the Zen 3 based Ryzen 5000 series, have been reviewed, and have been universally praised as the best desktop computer processors you can buy. The two higher end processors, the 5900X and 5950X are significantly faster than the comparable Intel processor in every metric. Previously, AMD’s Ryzen offerings were faster in some instances, while Intel’s were faster in others. That distinction no longer exists.
If this performance gap is maintained throughout the line, there will be little reason to buy an Intel Processor in a desktop computer until Intel can prove that it can compete in the space.
https://www.pcworld.com/article/3587109/ryzen-5000-review.html