Oct. 11 & 12, 2025 Show Notes
Royal Victoria Marathon / Thanksgiving Long Weekend Edition

🎙️ Show airs live
Saturday: 10:05am-Noon PT
🔁 Rebroadcast
Sunday: 1:05pm-3pm on C-FAX
🎧 Podcast
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Your crew this Thanksgiving long weekend:
Alan Perry
Host
Technology Tutor
iPhone +1 250-589-2926
Ricky Winter
Co-Host
Tech Experience Manager at London Drugs Tillicum
store +1 250-360-2753
Marissa Meekins 
Producer
The Podcast
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Tech Talk – October 11th, 2025 by Tech Talk with Alan Perry

From fake Disney+ emails to Discord’s massive data breach — it’s a busy week in tech! Alan Perry and Ricky Winter uncover the latest scams, explain how to protect your accounts, and share smart travel tech tips. Plus, what Windows 10 users need to know before support ends next week, and why Ring’s new AI features could help find lost pet

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Have a question or a tech problem?
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The 45th Royal Victoria Marathon will be held on Sunday, with the Island Savings 5K & Thrifty Foods Kids Run on Saturday!
With more than 12,000 participants, there'll be lots of road closures…

File upload

RVM-RdClosureMailout-V3.pdf

2.7 MB

Victoria Marathon

Royal Victoria Marathon — Victoria Marathon

We are so thrilled to offer a beautiful oceanfront route featuring Victoria’s spectacular coastline and scenery. Our 42.2K distance is a Boston Marathon Qualifier, part of the BC Marathon Championships, and a Abbott World Marathon Majors Wanda Age Group World Ranking event.

Security and Privacy News
1) Watch out for scam emails claiming to be from Disney+
The emails (as shown in the screenshot below forwarded by our good friend Ron Fraser), look real, but are actually coming from info@mountain.com — which is NOT Disney…
The scammers are hoping you'll tap or click on the Update Payment Method button, but if you do, you'll be taken to a fake Disney+ log-in page hosted at user.dashboard-plans.com
Using a site like HostingChecker.com, you can discover that that is not a Disney website, but a scam one hosted in the East-European nation of Moldova!
The scammers are hoping you'll give them your email address and Disney+ password, so…
1) they'll be able to sell that info so others can use your subscription.
2) they're hoping the password you use for Disney+ is the same password you use for your email account and other accounts like Facebook, so they can steal your identity and then your money.
NEVER click on links in emails (or texts) like the one at the top of this post!
If you want to check the status of a subscription, open the app for that service, or go directly to their website, which in this case, would be DisneyPlus.com/en-ca
2) Watch out for emails claiming to be from Shaw, urging you to switch to a new Mail version to avoid your account being deleted
These emails, which are not well-written, are being sent by overseas scammers using @gmail.com accounts, and claim your account has expired and needs to be updated or you'll lose access to it…
The scammers are clearly not aware that Rogers bought Shaw in April of 2025, and the few remaining places where you'll still see the Shaw name are branded…
The scammers are hoping you'll click on the (poorly-worded) Click here to processed link, which takes you to a fake Shaw Webmail Account Verification Required page hosted at JotForm.com, and if you tap on the VERIFY button, you'll be taken to a fake Shaw Webmail page
If you provide your @shaw.ca email address and password, overseas hackers will then start forwarding all your emails to themselves. They'll then trigger password reset emails so they can lock you out of your own email and financial accounts so they can steal your identity and your money.
NEVER click on links in emails like this!
3) Watch out for scam emails that try to scare you into thinking your photos and documents are going to be deleted…
This scam is not new, but the overseas scammers are getting better at making their emails sound convincing, as shown in this screenshot (although they still have spelling and grammar mistakes)…
Another clue is that the email is not coming from MIcrosoft, but from an address at ActionCoach.com, which is a worldwide business coaching firm based in Las Vegas…
The scammers are hoping you'll click or tap on the Get more FREE storage button, which, if you do, bounces from site to site before landing you on a generic scam page at DigitalOceanSpaces.com, which is a budget cloud computing firm based in New York City…
Note that this screen makes no mention of which cloud service, or you. If you were to click or tap on the RENEW NOW button on the actual website (not the above screenshot), you'll be taken to an affiliate signup page for McAfee Anti-Virus, NOT cloud storage, where they're hoping you'll sign-up for a one-year $89.99 subscription (which renews at $199.99/year)…
The scammers are overseas McAfee affiliates, which means they get a hefty commission if you sign up, and they're hoping you'll forget to cancel and they'll get an even bigger commission come renewal time.
NEVER click on links in emails (or texts) like the one at the top of this post!
4) Watch out for fake Intelcom courier emails claiming a package is on hold because of unpaid tax
With Canada Post mail-carriers on strike (and now switching to rotating walkouts), scammers have switched to posing as package delivery companies; astute Tech Talk listener Tami sent us this screenshot of one claiming to be from Intelcom/Dragonfly…
The email was sent from a @yahoo.com address. The scammers are hoping you'll click or tap on the Pay Now button on the actual email, which takes you to a fake webpage where you're asked to provide your personal info and credit card info to pay the supposed $3.99 in outstanding taxes.
If you put in that info, within minutes, the oversaes scammers will be using it to make online purchases of items which they can quickly resell, until your card is maxxed out and/or cancelled. NEVER click or tap on links in emails like this!
5) We've created a separate set of "Common Online Scams to Avoid" Notes, which you'll find on our Show Notes home page, and also in the menu-bar at the top of any Notes page.
Feel free to bookmark that page, as we'll keep updating it with screenshots of the latest scams!
A link to those Notes is here: https://Tech-Talk.ca/scams
6) Heads-up if you use Discord and asked for help: hackers may have made off with 2.1 million passport and driving license photos
A breach of popular cross-platform communications app Discord may be incredibly serious, with a security research group claiming that 2.1 million passport and driving license photos were taken by hackers, versus the official claims of a "limited number of users."
On October 3, Discord issued a warning that it was the victim of a "Security Incident" that involved a third-party customer service platform, Zendesk, and that the breach impacted a "limited number of users" who had contacted its Customer Support or Trust & Safety teams.
Discord now says 70,000 users who reached-out via Zendesk may have had their government-ID photos exposed, as Zendesk used them to review age-related appeals.
However, one well-known breach-researching X account proposes a much higher number. According to "vx-underground," there was a total of 1.5 terabytes of age verification-related photos in the haul. That amounts to 2.19 million images of driving licenses and passports. Discord has 689 million registered users and 259 million monthly active users, for comparison.
The breach has affected users on multiple platforms, including iOS, macOS, and iPadOS. However, since it involves Discord's consumer help desk, it won't really affect any users directly unless they contacted support and supplied information, like their driver's license.
For those users, Discord has assured that it will be contacting people who will have been affected by the breach directly with next steps.

AppleInsider

AppleInsider.com

A breach of popular cross-platform communications app Discord may be incredibly serious, with a security research group claiming that 2.1 million passport and driving license photos were taken by hackers, versus the official claims of a "limited number of users."

Tech News Of The Week
Items start at #10, so the numbers don't get thrown-off if we add more security items above!
Tip: if an item in these Show Notes has the icon on the right in the upper-right corner, you can click/tap on it to make the additional info open in a new tab.
1a) Support for Windows 10 ends this coming Tuesday
The countdown is on to the end of support from Microsoft for its Windows 10 operating system, which was released more than 10 years ago — back in July of 2015!
Microsoft will release one final set of security patches for Windows 10 this coming Tuesday, but after that, security holes found by hackers will not be patched, making computers still running Windows 10 much more vulnerable to being hacked. In fact, hackers are almost certainly aware of security flaws which they're hoping Microsoft has not also found, so they can begin wreaking havoc right away.
If you've had a pop-up advising that your computer can't be upgraded to Windows 11, that may not be accurate. What that means is that you can't push a button and upgrade to Windows 11. If your computer is 11 years old or less, it most likely can be upgraded to Windows 11 via a clean install. The big question is, though, is it worth spending the money to pay someone to do that?
Depending on what you do on your computer, for most people, it's not worth upgrading a computer to Windows 11 if it's eight years old or older. A computer of that age will struggle to do anything more than surfing the web, and sending and receiving emails. Photo-editing will be laborious, and depending on the motherboard, you might not be able to watch some video-streaming services or sites like Facebook and WhatsApp, because they're now using video formats that weren't invented when your computer was made.
On the other hand, if you're a senior and you mostly just do emails and surf the web, it might make financial sense to pay to have a 9- or 10- year old computer upgraded to Windows 11, and hold off getting a new computer for another year or two.
To find out how old your computer is, type "system" into the search-box at the bottom-left of your screen, and click on "System information" at the top of the list of options that appears.
In the page that appears, look for the Processor info, which will look like these examples…
You can then use ChatGPT, CoPilot, Gemini or even just an internet search to learn when the processor in your PC was released. In the screenshot above, the 12th-gen Intel processor was released in 2021, just four years ago, so it's a no-brainer to upgrade it to Windows 11.
In the screenshot below, AMD's A10-7800 Raedon R7 budget processor was released in 2014 — 11 years ago — and is not powerful enough to be worth upgrading…
However, in the screenshot below, the 6400T was released in 2015 — 10 years ago — but it's in what was at the time a top-of-the-line HP 27" All-In-One touchscreen computer — so it is worth upgrading to Windows 11, but only for basic use, such as surfing the web, emails, and watching YouTube...
If you decide it makes more sense to replace your computer, you can save a lot of money by buying a refurbished business-grade computer (desktop or laptop) from ships like Tesseract Computers, Priority 1 Computers or Gizmos Computers in Langford. The refurbished PC's they sell are usually ones that were used by government agencies and are three or four years old, which means they'll be good for at least several more years. They come with brand-new solid-state drives and extra RAM to make them faster, and Windows 11 Pro, and can be had for just over half the price of a new PC.

1b) If you run special software on a Windows 10 PC that won't run on Windows 11, you can pay Microsoft for extended security coverage
To give people with old custom software that can't run on Windows 11 time to get newer software than can, Microsoft is offering up to a year of Extended Security Updates (with strings attached) after Windows 10 support ended on October 14.
Be aware that if you choose this option, while your computer will remain protected, if it's old, you'll find that some services may stop working, including streaming sites like Netflix, Amazon Prime, and Disney+, which will require you to be on a supported operating system.
There are three ways to get up to one year of Extended Security Updates for Windows 10:
  1. Pay $40 CAD
  • Redeem 1,000 Microsoft Rewards points — at no additional cost
  • Turn on Windows Backup to sync your Settings to Microsoft's OneDrive cloud service. While this option is in itself free, if the amount of data you're backing-up is more than 5GB — and it will be for almost everyone, then you'll have to pay for additional OneDrive storage, which currently is $19/year for 100GB, or $79/year for 1TB as part of a Microsoft 365 Personal subscription.

Windows

Windows 10 Extended Security Updates | Microsoft Windows

Use Windows 10 securely with the Extended Security Updates program See how it helps protect your PC and find out how to get it.

If you're in the EU, Microsoft has agreed to make ESU free without people needing to jump through those hoops. EU residents will just have to make sure they sign into their Microsoft account at least once every 60 days.
11) Disney+ here in Canada now includes Hulu, but at a higher price
Good news and bad news if you're a Disney+ subscriber…
The good news is that your subscription now includes Hulu, formerly Star, but with more shows.
Disney has expanded the Hulu brand from the USA to around the world, and added a new interface.
The bad news is that the price of a Disney+ subscription is going up by $1 to $3 a month...
Here are the new rates:
  • Disney+ Standard with Ads — $8.99/month (unchanged)
  • Disney+ Standard (ad-free) — $15.99/month (currently $12.99/month)
  • Disney+ Premium (ad-free) — $16.99/month (currently $15.99/month)
Disney says these prices are already in effect for new monthly subscriptions,.
If you're already subscribed on a monthly plan, you'll see the price change on your first bill on or after November 4, while annual subscribers will be affected on or after November 25.
12) Apple has released bug-fix updates for its new Version 26 Operating systems, so go ahead and upgrade!
Apple appears to have fixed most of the (many) bugs that were in the initial release of its new version 26 Operating System upgrades released last month.
As a result, we're comfortable recommending you proceed with the upgrades, but they're so big — 13GB for my iPhone, for example — that you may not have enough room to upgrade.
  • If your iPhone or iPad doesn't have enough available storage to install the update, you can use iTunes on a PC or Mac to help install the update…

Apple Support

Update your iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch with iTunes - Apple Support

Learn how to update your iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch to the latest version of iOS or iPadOS using your computer.

After your Upgrade to iOS/iPadOS 26.0.1, it's normal for your device to run very warm, and for battery performance to be degraded, both for a couple of days, because your device has to re-index (re-memorize) all of your content so it can take advantage of the new search features.
Also, remember to check for App Updates after the upgrade (App Store, icon or circle picture in the top-right, pull down in mid-screen, then scroll up and tap on "Update All").

There are more than 125 new and changed features in iOS/iPadOS 26 — Apple's 2025 annual operating system upgrade for iPhones and iPads.
Tips on how to master the new features and the changes are in a separate set of Notes on our Home Page, or you can click on the link below…

tech-talk.ca

iOS/iPadOS 26 New Features

There are more than 125 new and changed features in iOS/iPadOS 26 — Apple's 2025 annual operating system upgrade for iPhones and iPads. 1) Apple has released bug-fix updates for its new Version 26 Operating systems, so go ahead and upgrade! Apple appears to have fixed most of the (many) bugs that

13) Canadian Apple Watch users can now opt in to hypertension monitoring
Apple Watch users here in Canada can now receive hypertension notifications, expanding a feature already available in more than 150 countries worldwide.
Canadian users with an Apple Watch Series 9 or later, or an Apple Watch Ultra 2 or later, can enable Hypertension notifications in the Health app.
The Apple Watch SE lineup, including the Apple Watch SE 3, cannot detect hypertension.
Hypertension is the leading modifiable risk factor for heart attack, stroke, and kidney disease. Apple highlights that while the condition affects 1.3 billion adults globally, it's often under-detected as it frequently has no symptoms.
Hypertension notifications on Apple Watch use data from the optical heart sensor to track how blood vessels respond to each heartbeat. The feature runs in the background, reviewing 30 days of data to detect consistent signs of high blood pressure.
If elevated readings persist, wearers receive alerts about potential hypertension, so users can take early action, either by adjusting habits or seeking treatment to lower long-term health risks.

AppleInsider

AppleInsider.com

Starting on October 8, Apple Watch users in Canada can now receive hypertension notifications, expanding a feature already available in more than 150 countries worldwide.

14) Amazon has unveiled the next generation of AI-powered Echo devices, purpose-built for Alexa+
Amazon has announced four new Echo devices: built from the ground up for Alexa+ — the all-new Echo Dot Max, Echo Studio, Echo Show 8, and Echo Show 11
Amazon says they deliver more processing power, memory, edge-based computing, and advanced sensing capabilities to enable Alexa+ to deliver ambient AI experiences that fade into the background of daily life.
They have an all-new look and feel and any customer who orders a new Echo device will get free access to Alexa+ out of the box.

www.aboutamazon.com

Amazon unveils the next generation of AI-powered Echo devices, purpose-built for Alexa+

Introducing our most advanced Echo devices yet, featuring premium audio, next-generation AI processing and Omnisense sensor fusion for more proactive and personalized Alexa+ experiences.

15) Ring introduces its first-ever 4K cameras, plus an AI feature that helps find lost pets
New Ring cameras with Retinal Vision now come in 2K for sharper everyday detail, or you can get Pro models with 4K video. With 10x zoom and enhanced low-light performance, Retinal 4K devices reveal much more detail, even in the dark, or in rain or snow.
Alexa+ Greetings transforms Alexa into a smart doorbell attendant—able to manage deliveries, send away solicitors and provide instructions.
Familiar Faces intelligently recognizes familiar people to reduce notifications triggered by familiar people's routine activities.
But the new feature that's getting the mostr attention is Ring's AI-powered Search Party feature , which can help reunite lost dogs with their families.
When a neighbour reports a lost dog in the Ring app, nearby outdoor Ring cameras automatically begin scanning for potential matches. Using AI, these cameras look for dogs that resemble the one reported and alert the camera owners if there’s a possible match. The Ring app then shows you the missing dog’s photo alongside the relevant camera footage. With Ring’s Search Party, your privacy is always in your control. You can ignore the alert or choose to share the info with the neighbour whose dog is missing.
Search Party for dogs will start rolling out in November, followed by cats and other pets, and Alexa+ Greetings and Familiar Faces will be available in December.
Ring's Wired Doorbell Pro ($349.99 CAD), Wired Doorbell Plus ($249.99 CAD), Spotlight Cam Pro ($349.99 CAD), Floodlight Cam Pro ($389.99 CAD), Indoor Cam Plus ($79.99 CAD), and Wired Doorbell Elite ($639.99 CAD) are available for pre-order today on the Amazon app or at Amazon.ca, and will be available starting on Oct. 29th.
Ring Outdoor Cam Pro ($279.99 CAD) is available for pre-order today on the Amazon app or at Amazon.ca, and will be available starting on Oct. 15th.

Amazon.ca

Ring Wired Doorbell Pro (Newest Model) — Retinal 4K with wide-angle video, 10x Enhanced Zoom, and Low-Light Sight, Deep Silver

Ring Wired Doorbell Pro is Ring's most advanced video doorbell, featuring stunning 4K video, enhanced audio, and a reimagined sleek design.

www.aboutamazon.com

Ring introduces its first-ever 4K cameras and AI feature that helps find lost pets

Ring's new technology powers neighborhood safety with ultra-clear video and features that turn cameras into community tools for pet owners.

16) Google has launched a new lineup of Nest devices, all powered by the new Gemini AI technology
Google has launched a new lineup of Nest devices, including upgraded Nest Cams, a Nest Doorbell, and a Google Home Speaker, all powered by the new Gemini AI technology.
Nest Cams:
  • Indoor (3rd Gen): Priced at $129.99 CAD, featuring 2K HDR video, improved low-light performance, and a 152-degree field of view.
  • Outdoor (2nd Gen): Priced at $199.99 CAD, also offering 2K HDR video and enhanced night vision capabilities.
Both cameras are designed to provide better alerts and smarter monitoring, integrating seamlessly with the Gemini AI for enhanced functionality.
Nest Doorbell (3rd Gen):
  • Priced at $239.99 CAD, this doorbell features a 1:1 aspect ratio for capturing more footage and 2K resolution for clearer images. It also boasts a 166-degree diagonal view, allowing for a wider perspective.
Google Home Speaker:
  • Set to be available in Spring 2026 for $149 CAD, this speaker is designed for 360-degree audio and can pair with Google TV for a cinematic experience. It'll be available in four colours: Porcelain, Hazel, Jade, and Berry. The speaker will also support multi-room music streaming and enhanced voice interactions through the Gemini AI.
All these new devices are built around Google's Gemini AI, which enhances their capabilities, allowing for more natural conversations and smarter home management.
The new Nest Cams and Doorbell offer significant upgrades in video resolution and field of view compared to previous models, making them more effective for home security. The updated cameras also provide better colour night vision.

Google

Our newest Google Home devices are built for Gemini

Learn more about the new Nest Cams, Google Home speaker and other new smart home devices.

store.google.com

Google Nest, your smart home starts here – Google Store

Build a smarter home, one device at a time with Google Nest home automation system, including smart thermostats, wireless cameras, speakers and more.

17) Apple is likely going to release a new iPad Pro, AirTags, Apple TV, and HomePod mini later this month
There's notihng official yet, not even an invite or date, but Apple is expected to release several updated products later this month.
Reports from people with good track records in the past suggest we'll likly see the unveiling of…
  • AirTag 3rd-gen: Up to 3× longer item tracking range vs. current AirTag, a more tamper-proof speaker, and "very low" battery life alerts.
  • iPad Pro: A seemingly-legitimate unboxing video shows the next iPad Pro equipped with an M5 chip, but lacks any major external design changes. It was also reported that the next iPad Pro will feature two front cameras, but the unboxing videos do not show this, so such a change is not guaranteed.
  • Apple TV: A faster A17 Pro chip that will support next year's revamped version of Siri powered by Apple Intelligence, and likely Apple's N1 chip with Wi-Fi 7 support. A built-in FaceTime camera has been rumored for a future Apple TV, but it is unclear if that will arrive with the next model specifically.
  • HomePod mini: S9 chip or newer with support for next year's revamped version of Siri powered by Apple Intelligence, likely Apple's N1 chip with Wi-Fi 7 support, improved sound quality, a second-generation Ultra Wideband chip for proximity features, and potentially new color options like Red.
  • Vision Pro: A faster M4 chip or M5 chip, a more comfortable "Dual Knit Band" head strap, and potentially a Space Black color option. The next Vision Pro was accidentally confirmed by FCC documents that were supposed to remain confidential.

MacRumors

Apple Event This October? Here's the Latest on What to Expect

While it is unclear if Apple will host an October event this year, or stick to press releases, rumors suggest it will announce several new products...

18) Microsoft has started releasing its annual Windows 11 Update
Like Apple, Microsoft once a year releases a major update for its current Windows operating system, which is Windows 11. This year, there are no big new features, just small upgrades, plus a lot of performance and security upgrades designed to make computers run better and more securely.
Here's what's new…

support.microsoft.com

Inside this update - Microsoft Support

Learn what's new in the latest Windows update. Explore new features and apps to help you be more productive.

Big changes are being saved for Windows 12, which is likely going to be released next year.
But this year, under the hood, the 25H2 delivery method is actually different, in an effort to make the updates go faster.
The 2025 update is code-named "25H2". with the '25' standing for 2025, and the 'H2' standing for whenm in the year it's released, namely the second half. (They used to also do a Spring Update, but scrapped that two years ago.)
Over the past few months, updates containing under-the-hood changes were silently delivered via Windows Update, but those changes were all disabled. The 25H2 Update which has started rolling-out is called an "enabling update" because all it does is enable the changes which were delivered earlier, so the updating process should only take a couple minutes.
You can check for 25H2 on a Windows computer by going to Settings, Windows Update, and clicking/tapping on "Check For Updates". If it's not yet offered to you, it's likely because your computer has some components that Microsoft isn't sure will run the update without any problems, so they're holding-off giving it to you till they see how it goes on other computers.
19) Copilot on Windows 11 can now create Office documents (Word, Excel, and PowerPoint) and connect to Gmail
Microsoft is updating its Copilot app on Windows to allow it to create documents from a chat session and connect to Gmail and Outlook accounts. The updated Copilot app is available now to all Windows Insiders, ahead of a general release to all Windows 11 users later this year.
Copilot on Windows can now create Word documents, Excel spreadsheets, PowerPoint presentations, and PDFs all from the chat interface.
With just a prompt, you can instantly turn ideas, notes, and data into shareable and editable documents with no extra steps or tools required.
And for responses with 600 characters or more, Copilot also includes a default export button that lets you send text directly to Word, PowerPoint, Excel, or PDF.

The Verge

Copilot on Windows can now create Office documents and connect to Gmail

Documents can be created from the chat interface

20) If you want framable maps of where you went on a cruise, or an app to share your itinerary and pics, check out TheCruiseMaps.com
If you're making a coffee-table book of pictures from a memorable cruise, or if you'd like a framable print of a map showing where you sailed with all your ports-of-call and the dates, there's now a website for that…
Meet Will, Matt, and Emma, the trio behind TheCruiseMaps.com — a website where you can order prints of any cruise.
Their software uses AIS data to create a GPS-crafted map that tells your story exactly as it happened, including every route-change and port of call.

The Cruise Maps

How it works

We build your cruise map from the exact route your cruise took. Stuck out of port for a few days, missed a destination, dodged a storm - we show it all!  We manually check every map on confirm the route. We print local to save the planet. We are always looking for opportunities to improve our maps, please send us your

They've also created The Cruise Globe app, the first-ever digital platform where cruisers can log their entire cruise history on a map - for free - and then see all of their collective stats.

The Cruise Maps

The Cruise Globe

See the exact routes of your entire cruise history, all on one beautiful FREE interactive map. Made using AIS satellite ship-tracking technology, this website (and soon-to-be app) is the digital extension of The Cruise Maps, giving every cruiser the perfect tool to track and share all their cruises.

21) If you use Uber outside Canada, there's a small but important change to make to avoid a higher currency exchange rate
Uber has added a new "preferred currency" setting, which is set by default to ensure your ride fare is charged in Canadian dollars. But, there's catch — Uber adds a 1.5% currency exchange premium for that convenience!
To avoid paying that extra fee, open the Uber app, tap on Account at the bottom-right, tap on Wallet at the top-centre, scroll-down to the Preferred Currency section, change the setting to Always pay in local currency, and at the bottom, Confirm.
22) How to avoid jet-lag the way pilots and flight crews do
To minimize the effects of jet lag on a long airline flight, as soon as you’re aboard the plane, manually change the time on your smartphone / tablet / watch to where you’re headed.
Your phone/tablet will change time automatically when you get there, but if you wait for that, your brain, by then, will be firmly set to where you came from, and you will be jetlagged!
Make sure you change the time on every device you might look at on the flight.
If there's one that still displays the time where you left, even if the others show the destination time, your brain will stubbornly cling to that time rather than change its internal clock.
That's why frequent flyers often carry a piece of electrical tape or gaffing tape in their carry-on, which they use to cover the time on their seatback display, which switches between the time where you left and the time where you're headed!
23) We've updated our collection of Travel Tech Tips!
There are now more than 40 of them, and they're in a separate Travel Tech Tips notes, which you can find on our Home Page, or on the toolbar at the top of any of our Notes.
You can bookmark them, as we update them often, at Tech-Talk.ca/travel-tech-tips.
24) Speakout711 users have until Oct. 31 to switch carriers
Fot years, 7-11 stores have sold budget cellphone plans under the "Speakout 7-11" brand, which ran on the Rogers 3G network. But with that network being shutdown, users back in June were given until the end of this month to switch to another carrier or lose their service and their number.
Speakout711 is encouraging users to switch to Lucky Mobile, the ultra-budget brand owned by Bell, but their cheapest plan is $19/month.
You're better to switch to Rogers' ultra-budget carrier Chatr, which is $100/year ($8.33/month) which gets you 400 minutes of outgoing calls and 400 outgoing texts, plus unlimited incoming calls and texts. If you want data, $149/year gets you 30GB of data plus unlimited Canada-wide talk and text.
Or. Freedom Mobile has $129/year plan which gets you unlimited outgoing Canada-wide calls and texts with 20GB of data, or $149/year with 40GB of data.

www.speakout7eleven.ca

Pay As You Go Cell Phone Plans | SpeakOut Wireless

Canada's #1 affordable pre-paid wireless network. No contract, no commitments, longest lasting airtime, service when you need it. Choose SpeakOut Wireless!

25) Fifteen years later, a developer dives into Antennagate that cost Apple $175 million and finds the fix was just a tiny code change
You weren't holding it wrong. Fifteen years after iPhone 4's ridiculously named "Antennagate," a coder has uncovered the mistake in 20 bytes of code that made the controversy as huge as it was.
In case you're not aware, back in 2010, iPhone 4 owners found that signal strength drastically dropped depending on how they held the phone. Apple initially said the solution was to hold it the right way, but under pressure, gave everyone a free plastic bumper, and later also gave them $15 each, which cost the firm $175 million.
Now, 15 years later, coder Sam Henri Gold has discovered that the "fix" was to change one line of code to prevent signal strength bars from inaccurately dropping too much when the iPhone 4 was held tightly!

Twitter

sam henri gold on Twitter / X

hey wanna see something kinda interesting? this was the entire fix to the iPhone Antennagate in 2010. 20 bytes. pic.twitter.com/XSSBmg2rCr— sam henri gold (@samhenrigold) October 7, 2025

AppleInsider

AppleInsider.com

You weren't holding it wrong. Fifteen years after iPhone 4's ridiculously named "Antennagate," a coder has uncovered the mistake in 20 bytes of code that made the controversy as huge as it was.

26) Intel has unveiled new Panther Lake laptop processors with major focus on AI and efficiency
Intel has unveiled its new Panther Lake processors, which will power laptops and other devices set to be revealed in Januar.y,.
The company’s major focus areas include AI, efficiency, and performance.
Perhaps Intel’s biggest announcement is that it’s producing chips using its 18A 2nm process node. This finally delivers on the promised shift to the smaller node to improve performance and energy efficiency, which hopefully means it will close the gap between itself and competitors like Qualcomm in the portable computing arena.
To do this, Intel is shifting to a system of chips (aka chiplets) instead of a system on a chip, enabling modularity, scalability, and better efficiency. Starting with Panther Lake, Inmtel will be able to scale-up performance on different variations of the chip by adding on, for example, more GPU cores.

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Intel unveils Panther Lake chips with major focus on AI and efficiency

Intel unveiled its Panther Lake chips for laptops with a major focus on AI and efficiency that could put the company back on the map.

27) We've compiled all our tech tips and solutions (four dozen of them, so far) into one indexed set of "Tips and Solutions" Notes which you can find on our home page.
You can also get to them by going to Tech-Talk/ca/faq
28) We've also started compiling a list of our favourite phone apps
The "Our Favourite Apps" list — which will have a lot more added in the coming weeks — is on our home page, and you can also get to it by going to Tech-Talk.ca/apps.

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Our Favourite Apps

Add all your loyalty cards, collect rewards, get personalized offers and pay with your phone!

Homework videos (a.k.a. "time well wasted"!)
Check out our YouTube Favourites playlist, which has more than 4800 videos:
Videos start at #40, so the numbers don't get thrown-off if we add more tech news items above!
40) Watch how to use Live Translation on iPhone and with AirPods…
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41) Watch how Boston Dynamics has evolved the hand-grippers in its Atlas robot from hydraulic control to electrical control…
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42) Watch Anastasia and Anna show us 10 unreal places here in Canada, from sand dunes to tropical lakes to rock formations used as Mars movie sets, all of which you've likely never heard-of…
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43) Watch Taylor Swift's viral "The Fate Of Ophelia" music video, which has been seen by more than 52 million people since its release just a week ago…
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44) Watch a look at 40 UNESCO World Heritage Sites worth visiting…
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45) Watch "Choir" Choir! Choir!" and 7000 people at Toronto's Budweiser Stage come to gether to sing the late Leonard Cohen's "Hallelujah"…
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46a) Watch Ana Mena from España and Rocco Hunt from Italia perform the Spanish hit, "A Un Paso De La Luna"…
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46b) Watch Rocco Hunt from Italia and Ana Mena from España perform the Italian version hit, "A Un Passo Dalla Luna"…
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Happy Thanksgiving from Larry and Giséle from Oak Bay, who are visiting friends in Grenoble, Switzerland…
Before heading to Europe, they switched to Freedom Mobile so they could take advantage of Freedom's "Roam Beyond" service, which is letting them use their iPhones there just like here, at no extra cost!
Our two international homestay students — Natsuki from Osaka in Japan and Sofía from Madrid in España (Spain) — are about to experience their first-ever Thanksgiving, complete with turkey, stuffing, cranberry sauce and pumpkin pie!
We're also being joined by Sofía's 14-year-old cousin, Adrián, who's in Grade 9 boarding school at St. Michael's University School. It was a huge surprise for Adrián when his parents and olderer brother all flew here for the long weekend, which is also a long weekend back in Madrid: Sunday is their Fiesta Nacional de España (Hispanic Day) national holiday.
Back row: Sofía, Adrián, his mom Christina, Suzanne, and Natsuki.
Front row: Adrián's dad Juan, son Alvaro, Alan, and our cat Huli
…and finally, our "Sign Of The Week"…
a bumper sticker on a car driving in Sidney
And so it goes…