Feb. 14 & 15, 2026 Show Notes
Valentine's Day / Family Day / Long Weekend Edition
Our hearts are with the residents of Tumbler Ridge, in the aftermath of the unimaginable horror of Tuesday's mass shooting there. We encourage you to join us in supporting the residents and first responders by donating to the Canadian Red Cross' Tumbler Ridge Tragedy Appeal.
Canadian Red Cross
Donate to the Tumbler Ridge Tragedy Appeal
The Canadian Red Cross is working to support those impacted by the tragedy in Tumbler Ridge, B.C. Money raised will be used to support those affected by the devastating events, helping to meet immediate needs and address the impacts on individuals, families, and communities. .............................................................................................................................................
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1) If you have an Apple device, update it ASAP, to fix a raft of security holes
Apple has released OS 26.3, large updates that contain more than three dozen security patches for iPhones, iPads, Macs, Apple Watches, and Apple TV's.
The 26.3 updates also include bug fixes and, for iPhones, a new app for switching to an Android phone, released in tandem with an Android app for easy switching to an iPhone.
The size of the update varies a lot depending on the device and model; some of us have had it come in under 2GB. while others have reported update sizes of more than 15GB!
Because these updates close some significant security holes, we recommend you install them ASAP, instead of waiting for your device to install them via Automatic Updates.
To do that on an iPhone or iPad, go to Settings> General> Software Update.
On a Mac, click or tap on the Apple Logo, go to System Preferences, and then to Software Updates.
Because of the significance of the security holes that these updates fix, Apple has also released special updates for some older devices that can't handle the 26.3 updates, to give them as much protection as they can handle…
- for iPhones and iPads, there's iOS/iPadOS 18.7.5
- for older Macs, the special updates are macOS Sequoia 15.7.4 and macOS Sonoma 14.8.4
2) Watch out for fake Microsoft 365 Payment Notice emails
Astute "Tech Talk" listener Gordon forwarded the scam email shown in the screenshot below…
The email has the subject, "Reminder - Please update your payment information!" and is coming from an email address @macrotechsolution.com, which is a website and email address that both have since been taken down after we reported it to Microsoft Security.
However, the scammers will almost certainly create a new website and use another email address, so the warning remains the same: never click on links in emails like this!
While the "Review Payment Method" button was active, it took you to a fake Microsoft account log-in page in Spain, where the scammers were hoping you'd put in your email address and password so they could get into your email account. That's not all - they're hoping you use the same email address and password for other accounts, so they could get into those as well.
3) Watch out for fake 'pending Interac deposit' texts
Don Devenney, the Senior IT Security and Risk Specialist at Royal Roads University, shared with us the text which one of their staff received…
The link takes you to a real-looking (but fake) Interac deposit page…
If you click on any of the listed banks and credit unions, it takes you to a fake log-in page for that institution, where the hackers are hoping you'll give them your log-in info.
(Don checked the domain registration for this scam website — ets-interac.ca — and discovered that it was registered on Feb. 5 via NameCheap.ca)
Most banks won't let you or anyone into an account for the first time without 2FA (two-factor autnentication), but the hackers are hoping you use the same password for your email account, so they can get into that and then get the two-factor code from your bank, so they can then get into your bank account and start stealing your money.
Three takeaways from this scam:
- NEVER click on links in emails like this. Check with the sender if you get a notification about an unexpected eTransfer
- NEVER use the same password for multiple websites and/or apps
- Turn on eTransfer Auto-Deposit for your bank account, so no-one can intercept any eTransfers sent to you, as they'll automatically be deposited into your account and you'll just get a notification of the auto-deposit.
Tech Deals This Weekend
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.
Freedom Mobile offering free bonus of 888 minutes of calling to Asian and other countries as part of Lunar New Year deals
If you make a lof of phone calls to numbers in China, Korea, Japan, and other Asian countries, and also to Australia, and the UK, you may be interested in Freedom Mobile's new Lunar New Year deal.
Plans starting at $39/month (which get you 70GB of Canada/USA/Mexico data and unlimited calling) for a limited time to mark the Lunar New Year of the Fire Horse which begins on Tuesday, now include 888 minutes of international calling to numbers in Australia, Bangladesh, Brazil, China, Germany, Hong Kong, India, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, Singapore, South Korea, Taiwan, and the UK.
Lenovo laptops for just $329 on Tuesday at Tesseract Computers
When Tesseract Computers re-opens on Tuesday after the long weekend, Gary and Chris will have five only refurbished Lenovo T480 Windows 11 Pro ThinkPad laptops for just $329.
These business-grade laptops have a 14" screen and are powered by an 8th-gen Intel Core i5 processor, with 8GB of RAM, and come with a new 256GB NVMe solid-state drive (SSD).
Tesseract Computers is on Broughton near Douglas in downtown Victoria.
LOGiiX World Traveler XL 65W fast-charging power adapter: $55 (save $45)
If you're heading overseas, our favourite world power adaptor is on sale for $45 off at London Drugs.
The Logiix World Traveller XL has slide-out plugs for virtually any country, and two USB-A and two USB-C jacks.
It outputs up to 65W of power, so you can quickly charge multiple phones, tablets and other portable electronics at the same time.
It's usually $100, but is on sale this weekend for just $55 at London Drugs stores and online.
Saturday morning update: they're now sold-out at all Victoria stores so you'll have to order online.
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.
10) Telus now more expensive than Rogers and Bell after $15/month base price hike; Freedom continues to have the lowest prices
Telus has upped the price of its cheapest mobile plan by $15 to $75 a month, which gets you 60GB/month of Canada-wide data and unlimited calling and texting.
By comparison, the cheapest plan from Rogers is $60/month for 60GB, while Bell's cheapest plan is now $65/month for 100GB.
Freedom Mobile continues to have easily the best prices of the big four carriers, offering 100GB of Canada/USA/Mexico calling and data-roaming for $40, (on sale for $35/month this weekend).
iPhone in Canada | Canada’s source for Apple, telecom, tech news, and deals
Telus Now More Expensive Than Rogers and Bell After Latest $15 Price Hike | iPhone in Canada
We’ve been closely following the cellphone plans from Rogers, Telus and Bell for February 2026, and the telecoms have tweaked pricing yet again. Check out the changes below as of February 13, 2026, all at bring your own device and after autopay... Rogers $60/60GB $65/100GB $75/175GB Canada-US $95/250GB Global (64 destinations) Rogers hasn't changed anything
11) How to send money internationally from here in Canada: try KOHO, Wise, XE Money Transfer, or Simplii GMT
Answering a listener question from last week (to which we didn't have an answer at the time)…
If you want to quickly and easily send money to someone in another country, there finally are some apps that are a great alternative to making a trip to a Western Union shop…
The highest-rated is the KOHO app, which lets you transfer up to $1000 at a time to more than 190 countries, with the recipient usually able to get their money within half an hour.
You have to be a KOHO subscriber, with plans starting at $12/month, but thay have no hidden fees and very competitive rates, often less than 2%.
The SavvyNewCanadians.com website has compiled an excellent article listing the pro's and con's of the top 11 International Money Transfer services available here in Canada…
12) If you bought USA restaurant gift cards at Costco, they won't work, because the firm that supplied them has gone broke
San Diego-based restaurant chain gift card provider Synergy World has gone bankrupt, leaving many holders of unredeemed USA restaurant gift cards bought at Costco with worthless cards.
Synergy supplied Costco stores with gift cards good at some 300 restaurant chains in the USA.
Gift cards bought at Costco for Canadian restaurant chains are not affected.
Technically, Costco is not legally responsible for refunding purchasers of these gift cards, but the chain has posted a recall notice on its website, saying that in this case, it will issue refunds if you bring in the now worthless gift cards…
15) Budget iPhone 17e expected to be announced later this month
If you want a new iPhone, but don't need all the bells and whistles, Apple is expected to very soon announce the iPhone 17e, which will be the successor to its entry-level iPhone 16e which was released last spring.
The new iPhone 17e model is expected to have a more powerful A19 processor, the same one used in the iPhone 17, and will gain MagSafe wireless charging which the 16e doesn't have, but should mainain the same $900 CAD price as the 16e which it'll replace.
The new model is also expected to have better connectivity thanks to the inclusion of Apple's new C1X cellular modem and N1 wireless networking chip.
16) Apple is said to be testing a flip-style iPhone
Apple is testing a different kind of foldable iPhone with a flip-style design, according to a known leaker based in Asia.
Citing supposedly verifiable supply chain information, the Weibo user known as "Fixed Focus Digital" says that Apple has tested a flip-style foldable iPhone. Such a device would compete with devices such as Samsung's Galaxy Z Flip 7 and the modern-day Motorola Razr.
The rumoured flip-device comes in addition to the wide foldable iPhone that is expected to launch later this year. Whether the flip-style foldable iPhone will reach mass production is apparently yet to be decided.
The clamshell iPhone would be released at some point after Apple's first foldable iPhone, which is expected to open up like a book, similar to Samsung's Galaxy Z Fold 7. This design will provide users with a large inner display for watching videos and gaming, and there will likely be multitasking functionality. A clamshell iPhone, on the other hand, would be more about portability and pocketability.
MacRumors
Apple Now Testing Flip-Style Foldable iPhone
Apple is testing a different kind of foldable iPhone with a flip-style design, according to a known leaker based in Asia. Citing supposedly verifiable supply chain information, the Weibo user known as "Fixed Focus Digital" says that Apple has tested a flip-style foldable iPhone. Such a device would compete with devices such as Samsung's Galaxy Z Flip 7 and the modern-day Motorola Razr.
17) Meta plans to build facial recognition into the next generation of its popular Ray-Ban AI Smart Glasses
Meta is reportedly preparing to bring facial recognition back — this time, straight to your face.
According to a new report from The New York Times, Meta plans to add facial recognition technology to its smart glasses, developed in partnership with EssilorLuxottica, the parent company of Ray-Ban and Oakley. The feature, internally dubbed “Name Tag,” would allow wearers to identify people in real time and pull up information about them through Meta’s AI assistant.
Yes, that means looking at someone and having your glasses whisper who they are.
The company previously shut down its facial recognition system on Facebook five years ago, citing privacy concerns. But now, with its AI-powered Ray-Ban Meta glasses proving to be an unexpected commercial success — more than seven million units reportedly sold last year — Meta appears ready to test the waters again.
Meta is still deciding who would be recognizable through the system. Options being explored include identifying people a user already knows through Meta platforms, or potentially individuals with public Instagram accounts. It would not function as a universal facial recognition search engine — at least not initially.
Facial recognition would build on an expanding AI toolkit already baked into Meta’s glasses, including enhanced audio features that can hear conversations more clearly, real-time translation capabilities, and AI-powered assistance. At the same time, Meta has delayed expanding the availability of its latest Ray-Ban Display glasses to here in Canada Canada and other markets due to overwhelming USA demand and constrained inventory.
18) Supreme Court agrees to decide $10 million class-action lawsuit over Air Canada junk fees
The Supreme Court of Canada has agreed to hear arguments related to a class-action lawsuit against Air Canada that alleges the airline is overcharging customers on ticket prices.
In the suit, consumer advocacy group Unions des Consommateurs and Montreal resident Michael Silas argue that Air Canada doesn’t include all of the extra fees it charges in its listed online prices. Silas claims that he had to pay $124 more than the fare price when factoring in additional charges (also known as “junk fees“) that weren’t shown during the first step of Air Canada’s online checkout process.
The incident happened in 2010 and was the subject of a case in the Quebec Court of Appeal. Last year, the Quebec court ruled that Air Canada must pay passengers more than $10 million due to these junk fees. Justice Judith Harvie argued that the airline showed “ignorance and laxity” when it concluded that it was exempt from the provincial Consumer Protection Act provision due to air transport normally falling under federal jurisdiction. This decision overturned a lower court decision that found Air Canada in violation of the law but not guilty of causing any harm, which would have allowed it to avoid any punitive damages.
A hearing date has not yet been set for the Supreme Court case.
19) Discord will soon require a face scan or ID for full access
In a controversial move, Discord hasy announced that it will restrict all user accounts globally unless users verify their age either by way of face or ID scan.
Discord’s updated privacy approach is “teen-by-default,” the company says, which means that, starting in March, all users on Discord will have their accounts partially restricted to the experience you’d get if you were under the age of 13.
The only way to get around this would be to verify your age, which Discord says can be accomplished in one of two ways. The first is to “submit a form of identification” to Discord vendors (i.e. scan your physical ID), or to use “facial age estimation.” Discord says that the latter process happens fully on-device, as “video selfies for facial age estimation never leave a user’s device.” For ID scans, Discord says that documents “are deleted quickly.”
“More options” for age verification are apparently coming later, but that’s it for the time being.
This change will start with “a phased global rollout to new and existing users in early March.”
20) Microsoft's AI CEO says virtually all white-collar tasks will be automated within the next 18 months
Congratulations, office workers. Most of what you do at your cozy desk jobs will soon be automated with AI, according to the questionable projections of Microsoft’s AI CEO, Mustafa Suleyman.
That’s because AI models, as Suleyman claims in an interview with the Financial Times, are on the verge of achieving “human-level performance on most, if not all professional tasks.”
“So white collar work where you’re sitting down at a computer, either being a lawyer or an accountant or a project manager or a marketing person, most of those tasks will be fully automated by an AI within the next 12 to 18 months,” Suleyman said.
Suleyman’s bold assertion comes amid renewed anxiety over AI’s potential to disrupt the job market.
The release of Anthropic’s new Claude Cowork AI agent helped spark a broad stock market selloff last week, as investors feared that it could automate tasks like legal work, something that also jeopardized the bottom line of large software companies who make a killing off of providing the specialized programs to complete those office tasks.
21) We've updated our collection of Travel Tech Tips!
France's National Assembly has backed a bill that would ban social media access for under-15s, a proposal supported by President Emmanuel Macron.
Lawmakers in the lower house agreed on key elements of the bill, before voting 116-23 in its favour. Next, the bill will go to the upper house, the Senate, for approval.
If it passes as expected, young teenagers would not be able to use networks such as Snapchat, Instagram and TikTok.
The French move is part of a growing trend of restricting social networks for children, triggered by increasing evidence of the damage they can cause to mental health. A similar law was passed in Australia late last year.
Macron calls it a "major step". Writing on social media, he called for the government to accelerate the next steps, "so that this ban takes effect as early as next school year". The new school year begins on 1 September in France. "Our children's brains are not for sale," he wrote.
Laure Miller, an MP behind the bill, told Le Monde: "With this law we will set down a clear limit in society."
"We are saying something very simple: social networks are not harmless," she added. "These networks promised to bring people together. They pulled them apart. They promised to inform. They saturated us with information. They promised to entertain. They shut people away."
Under the new text, the state media regulator would draw up a list of social media networks that are deemed harmful. These would be simply banned for under 15-year-olds.
A separate list of supposedly less harmful sites would be accessible, but only with explicit parental approval.
22) Ring cancels Flock deal after dystopian Super Bowl ad prompts mass outrage
Amazon and Flock Safety have ended a partnership that would’ve given law enforcement access to a vast web of Ring cameras.
The decision came after Amazon faced substantial backlash for airing a Super Bowl ad that was meant to be warm and fuzzy, but instead came across as disturbing and dystopian.
The ad begins with a young girl surprised to receive a puppy as a gift. It then warns that 10 million dogs go missing annually. Showing a series of lost dog posters, the ad introduces a new “Search Party” feature for Ring cameras that promises to revolutionize how neighbors come together to locate missing pets.
At that point, the ad takes a “creepy” turn, Sen. Ed Markey (D.-Mass.) told Amazon CEO Andy Jassy in a letter urging changes to enhance privacy at the company.
Illustrating how a single Ring post could use AI to instantly activate searchlights across an entire neighborhood, the ad shocked critics like Markey, who warned that the same technology could easily be used to “surveil and identify humans.”
Markey suggested that in blasting out this one frame of the ad to Super Bowl viewers, Amazon “inadvertently revealed the serious privacy and civil liberties risks attendant to these types of Artificial Intelligence-enabled image recognition technologies.”
25) 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.
26) Kathryn's Paleontology News Item of the Week: a dinosaur with spikes has been discovered in China
Paleontologists in China have discovered the fossilised skin of an exceptionally well-preserved juvenile iguanodon which had spikes, thicker but similar to porcupines of today.
Using X-ray scans and high-resolution histological sections, the researchers observed skin cells preserved for 125 million years, revealing the structure of hollow, cutaneous spikes covering a large part of the animal’s body.
Until now, no evidence had testified to the existence of such spines in dinosaurs.
The scientists named this new species Haolong dongi in honor of Dong Zhiming, a pioneer of Chinese palaeontology.
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 Bad Bunny's 13-minute Super Bowl halftime show…
41) Watch a time-lapse of how they quickly set-up for the Halftime Show…
42) Watch what happens inside a TV broadcast truck, and the magic involved in instant replays…
43) Watch how the Boston Dynamics team gets their Atlas robot airborne…
44) Watch a new compilation of French musician Plumes singing for animals…
45) Watch Michael Bublé's powerful remembrance of legendary Canucks play-by-play broadcaster Jim Robson, who's passed away at the age of 91…
…and finally, our "Sign Of The Week"…
And so it goes…