On the eve of the second St. Patrick’s Day ruined because of the pandemic, here are a few of the stories I’ve found interesting over the last few days. Today’s roundup is actually heavy on true Canadian content.
Rogers Announces Deal to Buy Shaw for $26 Billion
I’m going to have a lot more to say about this tomorrow, but this deal is seismic in some ways and not in others, and it will be very interesting to see what the government does with it. More soon.
https://www.cbc.ca/news/business/rogers-signs-deal-buy-shaw-1.5949825
Telus Announces Plan to bring High Speed Internet to More Rural Alberta Homes
Broadband and high speed internet access is critical to the 21st century, and those living in rural settings have few, if any options. The Government of Canada established the Universal Broadband Fund to help subsidize Internet Service Providers to providing high speed access to those rural customers. Telus has announced that it is tapping into that fund to the tune of $5.8 million, and investing $3.7 million itself, to connect almost 6,000 rural homes in Alberta to high speed internet. It isn’t clear what kind of connectivity that will be, but news like this is good for those customers.
https://mobilesyrup.com/2021/03/16/telus-universal-broadband-fund-partner-internet-rural-alberta/
CBC Launches CBC Lite
This almost piggybacks off of the last story. Not much to say here except that Canada’s public broadcaster has launched a new website designed for those without high speed access, or very spotty access. CBC Lite includes CBC news stories, but in text only form, no pictures. It is on a lightweight website designed to work on very slow internet connections. While everyone *should* have access to high speed internet, not everyone does, and this looks like a great tool for those who want to access CBC News.
https://www.cbc.ca/lite/trending
Google Reduces App Store Revenue Cut to 15% For Most Developers
Last year, amid massive public pressure, as well as mounting lawsuits, Apple decided to cut the amount of revenue it takes from App Store sales from 30% to 15% for developers who make less than $1 Million USD per year. There were some catches to that. Developers had to opt in to the program, and if they exceeded $1 Million they would be hit with the full 30% beginning the following year.
Google avoided as much scrutiny, but it had basically the same policy, taking 30% of every purchase made on its Google Play store. Today, the company announced that it too will lower its cut from 30% to 15% on the first $1 Million USD.
Google’s approach differs from Apple’s however, in that this process is automatic, and applies to all developers universally, even those who make more than $1 Million. Google will take 15% on all transactions up to $1 Million, and then 30% on all transactions after that. This means that a company that makes $1,000,001 in revenue won’t be penalized. This should be a way better system for developers, if only because it is automatic.
Google Announces New Nest Hub Smart Display
Google’s 2nd Generation Nest Hub is here, and while it looks nearly identical to the original Google Nest Hub, it packs some important improvements. Most notably the company says the sound should be significantly better, which was my main complaint with the first version. The company has also incorporated its Soli technology into the device, which was first seen on 2019’s Pixel 4. Soli is a form of radar that allows the device to track things in the room. It was largely a gimmick on the Pixel 4, but could have more utility on a stationary device like the Nest Hub. Users can use gestures to navigate the screen without touching it, useful for those who use it to display recipes while cooking, for example. Media playback can also be controlled this way. Google is also touting Soli’s ability to work with Google Fit in sleep tracking.
Overall it looks like a solid update, and good for users looking to get a smart display.