March 14 & 15, 2026 Show Notes
Oscars / Spring Break / Weekend Edition
🎙️ Show airs live
Saturday: 10:05am-Noon PT
🔁 Rebroadcast
Sunday: 1:05pm-3pm on C-FAX
🎧 Podcast
Anytime
Your crew this weekend:
Jay King
Audio/Video Specialist at Atlas Audio Video Unlimited
966 Yates Street at Vancouver
store +1 250-385-2712
1) Watch out for a new round of fake Shaw emails
These emails are coming from addresses @currently.com, not from Rogers.
The link takes you to a fake Shaw email log-in page…
If you were to type in your Shaw email address and password, because there's no two-factor authentication on Shaw email service to make sure it's you logging-in, the overseas scammers would immediately use that info to log into your email account and start forwarding a copy of all your emails to them, so they could begin triggering password resets for other accounts, stealing first your identity, and then your money.
NEVER click on links in emails like this!
Because there's no two-factor authentication on Shaw email accounts, if you have one, please get someone to help you migrate off onto another email service.
2) If you have an old iPhone or iPad, Apple has released critical security fixes to block Coruna malware that's targetting them
An exploit potentially developed by the US government leaked to the black market and has been used to target iPhone users globally. Bad actors that get their hands on the malicious Coruna exploit have modified it to perform other tasks, like draining crypto accounts.
Apple patched the Coruna vulnerabilities for newer iPhones two years ago, but has now issued critical security patches for iPhones that are 8-10 years old, specifically for iPhone 6S, iPhone 7, the original iPhone SE, iPhone 8, iPhone 8+ and iPhone X.
Apple says iOS 15.8.7 and iOS 16.7.15 updates directly target the Coruna exploit, which takes advantage of weaknesses found in Apple's WebKit engine, which is what powers Safari and other web browsers on iPhone and iPad. Simply opening a link or email containing the exploit would lead to the device being compromised.
Apple has also released matching critical updates for old iPads — iPadOS 15.8.7 and iPadOS 16.7.15 to address the same vulnerabilities in the iPad Air 2, iPad mini 4, and the iPad 5th Generation.
Those using the older iPhones and iPads may not know an update is available, so if you kknow someone who's still using an old device, urge them to check for these updates by going to Settings, General, Software Update to prevent them from being affected by potential exploits.
3) If you have a Mac, watch out for fake CAPTCHA pop-ups that install info-stealing malware
If you accidentally visit a poisoned website, no matter which browser on a mac you're using, you'll get a pop-up like this…
If you follow the instructions in the pop-up, you'll be giving hackers permission to override your Mac's built-in security and download and install malware.
That malware will then steal personal data including passwords, log-in info, and cryptocurrency wallets.
Security analysts say the technique is spreading quickly through compromised websites, malicious advertisements, and phishing campaigns.
NEVER follow instructions like the ones in the screenshot above!
4) Watch out for a new round of scam emails claiming you're about to lose photos because your cloud storage subscription has expired
The emails look like this screenshot, and have lots of red and exclamation marks — but don't even say which cloud provider (e.g. iCloud, OneDrive, Google Drive) they're talking about!
If you look closely, you'll see that the emails are coming from gibberish email addresses; this one came from vir20159312.onmicrosoft.com. And if you hold your finger on the "Update Payment Method" button on a iphone ot tablet, or hover your mouse over it on a computer, you'll get a pop-up showing that it'll take you to a fake page at 37-58-63-18.cloud.leaseweb.net where you'll be urged to give your email address. If you do, you'll end up on a fake renewal page 'offering' a three-year renewal for just $25 — a ploy to get your credit card info so they can make purshases on your tab!
NEVER click or tap on links in emails like this!
If your Apple account payment method actually has expired, you'll get a red (1) on the Settings app, and a pop-up which takes you to the Payment page within the Settings, where you can provide your new card #. You can check your payment method status at any time by going to Settings, (your name), Payment & Shipping, and confirm your identity with Face ID, Touch ID, or your Apple ID password.
6) ShinyHunters hacking group claims to have stolen seven terabytes of data from Telus
Telus says its investigating a cybersecurity incident involving unauthorized access to some of its systems.
The ShinyHunters hacking group says it stole at least 700 terabytes of data from Telus, and samples shared by the group suggest the stolen data includes info related to at least two dozen companies, including personally identifiable info, call data and recordings, FBI background check info and source code spanning multiple business divisions within Telus and its varios business services.
Telus isays it's working with cyber forensics experts and law enforcement and is "notifying impacted customers, as appropriate".
ShinyHunters has been linked to a string of hacks targeting major companies around the world, including Pornhub, Wynn Resorts, Ticketmaster, and many other companies..
7) Meta under fire amid reports contractors in Africa are viewing video shot by Smart Glasses users, to improve the Meta AI system
Data watchdogs in the UK and other countries are demanding explanations from Meta following a "concerning" report claiming outsourced workers were able to view sensitive content filmed by the company's AI smart glasses.
Meta has confirmed that subcontracted workers might sometimes review content, including films and images, captured by its AI smart glasses for the purpose of improving the "experience".
Videos, including of glasses-wearers using the toilet or having sex, are sometimes reviewed by a Kenya-based Meta subcontractor, according to an investigation by Swedish newspapers Svenska Dagbladet (SvD) and Goteborgs-Posten (GP).
"We see everything - from living rooms to naked bodies," one worker reportedly said.
Meta said it took the protection of people's data very seriously, and was constantly refining its efforts and tools in that area.
When people share content with Meta AI, like other companies we sometimes use contractors to review this data to improve people's experience with the glasses, as stated in our Privacy Policy," it added.
"This data is first filtered to protect people's privacy." According to Meta, filtering could include blurring faces in images - but sources who spoke to SvD and GP said sometimes this failed and peoples faces could be seen.
Users have to activate recording manually or through a voice command, but may not realise their videos and images are sometimes reviewed by humans.
8) Instagram is removing end-to-end encryption from direct messages; claims the change is because few are using it
Heads-up if you chat with users on Instagram: Meta has announced that starting two months from now, your DM conversations will no longer be encrypted — if they ever were.
Meta never made encryption available to all Instagram users and it was never a default setting. Instead, users in "some areas" had the ability to opt-in to encryption on a per-chat basis.
Meta says this feature is being retired as of May 8 due to low adoption. "Very few people were opting in to end-to-end encrypted messaging in DMs, so we're removing this option from Instagram in the coming months", Meta says, adding, "anyone who wants to keep messaging with end-to-end encryption can easily do that on WhatsApp.”
Tech Deals This Weekend
It's back: 250GB/month Canada/USA/Mexico + 50GB/month +120-country "Roam Beyond" for just $40/month
Last weekend, Freedom Mobile, Canada's 4th national carrier, launched an amazing flash sale: 50% off their best plan, and a monthly international data bucket. Many of you joined me in upgreading your plan or switching to this amazing deal, but many of yopu couldn't becauase the wait t message Freedom Customer Care was too long, or the lineup at Freedom stores was too long.
Freedom listened, and has brought the deal back for this weekend through end-of-business Monday, and has extra staff online and at Freedom stores.
For $40/month, you get unlimited Canada/USA/Mexico calling and data-roaming with a whopping 250GB/month of 5G data, plus 50GB/month of "Roam Beyond" calling and data in +120 countries.
The rate is guaranteed as long as you don't change your plan, and its contract-free so you can cancel anytime if your circumstances change.
Perhaps the best part: this offer is available to current Freedom customers too, not just new customers.
If you're a current Freedom Mobile customer, you can can call 611 or you can message them on iMessage or WhatsApp (find the links on their app or website under "Contact us"). You can also stop in at a Freedom Mobile store, but expect a lineup!
I visited the Freedom kiosk at Tsawwassen Mills a week ago Friday on my way back from Vancouver, and switched to this plan for my myself, my wife, and our international homestay students, saving a total of $55/month and now we all have a huge amount of data plus "Roam Beyond".
Freedom is also offering 1000 minutes of calling per month to 14 overseas countries as part of this deal.
80GB/month Canada/USA/Mexico + 5GB/month of +120-country "Roam Beyond" for just $30/month
Freedom has also introduced a new lower-priced option available only through end of business Monday.
For $30/month, you get unlimited Canada/USA/Mexico calling and data-roaming with 80GB/month of 5G data, plus 5GB/month of "Roam Beyond" calling and data in +120 countries. This rate is guaranteed as long as you don't change your plan, it's contract-free so you can cancel anytime if your circumstances change, and it;s available to current Freedom customers as well as new customers. This is guaranteed for 24 months only.
Telus-owned serf-serve brand Public Mobile has responded by extending its offer of 250GB/month of Canada/USA/Mexico calling and data for $50/month. That is $10/month more than Freedom's rate, and the Public Mobile plan also does not allow tethering/hotspotting, while the Freedom plan does.
Also, the coverage is better on Freedom, because Freedom customers get to roam seamlessly onto Rogers, Telus, and Bell networks at no cost when beyond the range of a Freedom tower.
The Public Mobile plan does include 1000 minutes/month of calling to China, Hong Kong, India, Pakistan, Philippines, Taiwan, and the UK.
This special, like Freedom's, is only good till end of business on Monday, March 16. Remember that Public Mobile is totally self-serve; you can't call them, you can only chat with them.
Koodo joins price war with 25% off plans through Monday
Telus-owned budget brand Koodo has entered the price-war fray by offering 25% off its various plas through the end of business on Monday. That discount drops their cheapest plan to $23.75/month, which gets you unlimited Canada-wide calling, unlimited international texting, and 20GB/month of 5G data in Canada. For $27.50/month, you can up the monthly data to 80GB.
Note that these rates are only guaranteed for 24 months.
If you don't need that much data, Freedom Mobile is offering a six-month plan that gives you unlimited Canada/USA calling, unlimited international messaging, and 25GB of data for $150 prepaid, which works out to just $20/month. This offer is good till end of business on Monday.
Double the RAM on refurb laptops at no extra cost this coming week
Although RAM and SSD prices are rising rapidly because of demand created by all the AI data-centres under construction around the world, Gary and Chris at Tesseract have stockpiled lots of RAM for refurbished laptops, and as a result, they'll be offering a RAM Upgrade bonus this coming week…
Tesseract Computers is open 10am-4pm weekdays on Broughton Street near Douglas in downtown Victoria.
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) Turn off ACR on a smart TV to keep it from constantly taking screenshots and selling that info
Most modern smart TVs (sets made since 2018) come with a silent partner: Automatic Content Recognition (ACR). This ad-tracking tech monitors everything on your screen in real-time, feeding your viewing history into a database to build a precise profile of your habits. It's the engine behind those eerily specific ads -- and it's likely running the moment you press power.
What's the incentive behind this invasive technology? According to market research firm eMarketer, TV manufacturers earned $2.39 billion USD in 2024, by selling ACR data and displaying ACR-targeted ads on smart TV’s -- and this number is rising fast. Roku reported $3.5 billion USD in ad revenue in 2024, and that made-up 85% of its total income!
This extensive tracking provides valuable insights for marketers and content distributors, as it reveals connections between viewers' personal info and their preferred content. By "personal info," we mean email addresses, IP addresses -- and even your physical street address.
ACR can capture and identify up to 7,200 screenshots per hour — that's two screenshots every second. And it captures whatever is on your TV screen, regardless of whether you're watching cable TV, streaming a movie, playing a game, listening to music, or screen-sharing from your phone or computer.
The Texas government has launched a class-action lawsuit against Sony, LG, and Samsung, seeking millions in damages for this blatant privacy invasion, as well as an order requiring TV makers to get TV buyers to give their permission in clear, understandable language before turning on ACR.
We strongly recommend you turn off ACR on your TV, and here's how…
11) CRTC has (finally) ordered Canadian carriers to eliminate activation fees — the deadline for doing that is June 12
The big question is, will carriers hike their rates to make-up that lost revenue?
Canada’s telecommunications regulator says it's finally implemeting a promise made last year to prevent companies from charging us when we cancel, change or activate mobile service plans.
The CRTC says the fee ban wilk take effect June 12, and is meant to make it easier for consumers to switch internet and cellphone plans, enabling them to take advantage of better offers without having to worry about unexpected costs.
The new rules will apply to individual and small business customers of all mobile providers, along with individual home internet customers of mainly large providers.
Activation fees currently range from $45 charged by Freedom Mobile, up to $80 charged by Rogers.
The CRTC says it plans to announce additional consumer protection measures in the coming months to make it easier to shop for, compare and choose plans.
12) Where to watch the 2026 Oscars here in Canada on Sunday
The 98th Academy Awards will be broadcast and streamed live from the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles on Sunday, starting at 4PM Pacific time.
Comedian Conan O’Brien will host the Oscars for a second straight time, after making his Oscars hosting debut last year.
Bell has the exclusive Canadian rights to the Oscars — however, there is a twist this year: Crave is also getting the broadcast rights, meaning it'll air on both CTV and Crave, so if you don't have a cable TV subscription but do subscribe to Crave, you can watch on Crave.
CTV-wise, you can tune in to the show on CTV and CTV2 TV channels, CTV.ca, and the CTV app on iOS, Android, streaming devices, and game consoles. On CTV’s digital platforms, you'll need the log-in details from a TV provider.
Starting at 2:30 p.m. PT, Bell’s pre-show, Etalk Live at the Oscars, will stream on CTV, Crave, and YouTube (only for the pre-show, though). Following the pre-show, at 3:30 p.m. PT, The Oscars Red Carpet Show will begin, featuring stars crossing the red carpet alongside interviews as they enter the Dolby Theatre before the Oscars themselves start at 4pm.
13) TikTok can keep operating here in Canada, but only after agreeing to new, tighter privacy rules
The federal government says it'll let TikTok continue to operate in Canada and allow an investment by the tech platform to proceed, after a national security review reversed the conclusion of a previous review.
In November 2024, Canada's Industry Ministry had ordered TikTok's business be dissolved, citing national security risks.
But Canada's federal court in January overturned the government order, allowing the short-video app to keep operating, and told the feds to review the case, which has now happened.
As a result of thar review, TikTok says it has reached an agreement with Canada's government that will keep its local operations in place.
China-based ByteDance says it has agreed to maintain its TikTok offices and staffing here in Canada, and will also make contributions to Canadian culture. In addition, TikTok will implement enhanced protection for Canadians' personal info, including new security gateways and privacy-enhancing technologies to control access to Canadian user data.
TikTok syas it has agreed to implement enhanced protections for minors, and an independent third-party monitor will be appointed to audit and continuously verify data access controls.
14) Apple Music subscribers will soon be able to listen to complete songs on TikTok
Thanks to a new partnership, Apple Music subscribers within the next few weeks will be able to listen in entirety to songs they discover on TikTok, without shifting over to the Music app.
While TikTok is best known for its shortform content, it's also a platform for discovering music, and with this new feature, it's now a much better place for music lovers who also subscribe to Apple Music.
The new "Play Full Song" experience will allow TikTok users to listen to full-length tracks they find while doomscrolling through their For You Page, or from a Sound Detail page.
The Play Full Song button will offer to link the TikTok app to the user's Apple Music account. Once accepted, the song will play in its entirety, using an Apple Music player within the social app rather than being transferred over to the main Apple Music app.
Users are also able to save songs to Your Music and add them to their Apple Music playlists for later listening.
The new feature is one that doesn't leave artists and music companies out of pocket. Since the songs are played from Apple Music, built using Apple's MusicKit, the streams are paid under that service.
The new "Play Full Song" experience is being rolled-out worldwide over the next few weeks.
Newsroom | TikTok
Apple Music and TikTok Introduce New 'Play Full Song' Experience, Bringing Seamless Music Discovery and Listening Together - Newsroom | TikTok
TikTok is the world's leading destination for short-form mobile videos. Our mission is to capture and present the world's creativity, knowledge, and moments that matter in everyday life. TikTok empowers everyone to be a creator directly from their smartphones, and is committed to building a community by encouraging users to share their passion and creative expression through their videos.
15) Sonos returns to making new speakers following massive reputational hit arising from app failures
Two new speakers from Sonos mark the company's return to product launches after abandoning a planned Apple TV competitor and spending months fixing its software platform after a poorly-executed revamp.
The company recently canceled a planned streaming device known internally as Pinewood, which had been intended to compete with Apple TV 4K. Pinewood had been under development as Sonos explored expanding beyond speakers into video streaming hardware.
Instead, Sonos has introduced two new speakers — the portable Sonos Play and the lower-cost Era 100 SL. The launch marks the company's first new consumer speakers since 2024 after layoffs and executive departures slowed its hardware roadmap.
The Sonos Play portable speaker is $399 CAD and sits between the company's Roam 2 and Move 2 models in the lineup. The speaker supports both Wi-Fi and Bluetooth playback, offers up to 24 hours of battery life, and carries an IP67 rating for water and dust resistance.
Sonos has also introduced the Era 100 SL, a $259 CAD version of the Era 100 that removes the built-in microphone. The speaker keeps the same acoustic design and can be paired for stereo sound or used to expand a home theater setup with Sonos soundbars.
Both new speakers are available for preorder now, with general availability scheduled for March 31.
16) Fido finally launches 5G, and its rolling out as a free upgrade
Rogers is finally bringing much-faster 5G service to its Fido budget brand, and most importantly, Rogers says there'll would be no requirement for customers to change their plan or pay more for 5G. And new customers will have access to 5G in their plans from day one.
The move has been a long time coming and is highly anticipated by Fido customers.
Rogers says it has started automatically upgrading Fido customers from 4G LTE to 5G across Canada, and says it expects to complete the update by March 18.
About Rogers
No New Plan. No Extra Cost. Just Fast and Reliable 5G for Fido Customers - About Rogers
Starting today, Fido customers are being automatically upgraded from 4G LTE to 5G for faster, reliable connectivity Canada-wide – at no additional cost and no plan change required. 5G makes it easier for both new and existing customers to browse, stream, and stay connected on a network designed to keep […]
17) PC industry is being forced to make giant RAM & SSD price hikes, but Apple MacBooks are mostly insulated — for now
Apple's MacBook lines should not be badly affected by the extreme memory, processor, and SSD price increases, that are forcing the rest of the industry to hike retail prices more than 40%.
The tech industry is currently being squeezed by demand for chips used for memory and SSD storage. It's a situation worsened by shortages in CPU supplies, which will only apply more pressure on manufacturers to charge consumers more.
While most of the computer manufacturing industry will be affected, Apple's supply chain has insulated itself enough that it won't be an issue for at least a year or so.
A March 10 report from analysts at TrendForce says surging memory prices will push up the retail costs of notebooks by a considerable amount. To preserve existing profit margin structures, the cost of a typical notebook would have to rise by as much as 40%.
This percentage is based on a fairly typical $900 notebook, as if it were sold in Q1 of 2026. Normally, memory and SSD components account for 15% of a notebook's bill of materials, but the rises will bring that up to over 30% in the quarter. To maintain existing profit margins, those models would have to raise prices by more than 30%.
Processors are also another problem, as some older-generation Intel notebook CPUs have gone up in price by 15%. Price increases are also expected for newer and higher-specification chips in the second quarter. Combined with the memory and storage price rises, that could equate to an increased bill of materials from 45% to 58%. To consumers, that price tag could go up by 40%.
While the report details doom and gloom to the notebook market in general, it does add that there are exceptions to the increases. While not specifically singling out Apple, TrendForce says that it and other "Tier-one brands" won't be affected as badly.
Major producers benefit from long-term partnerships with suppliers, and the economies of scale from massive purchasing volumes. In those cases, Apple and others can more easily secure stable allocations of components, as well as keep the pricing favorable.
Smaller firms that don't have economies of scale on their side face greater cost increases.
18) Google Maps is getting a major AI-powered update called Ask Maps to make navigation more intuitive and conversational
Google is rolling-out a huge makeover to Google Maps, implementing an AI-powered "Ask Maps" feature, which lets you 'just ask' what you want, such as, "Where can I get an inexpensive but good-quality Italian lunch?", or, "Plan me a drive to Port Renfrew and suggest some memorable stops along the way".
Ask Maps has started rolling-out in the USA and India, on Android and iOS, with desktop coming soon, and with availablity here in Canada and other parts of the world coming later this year.
Beyond giving you new ways to explore, Google is also giving the driving experience in Maps its biggest update in over a decade with Immersive Navigation – a complete transformation of the navigation experience, with redesigned visuals and more intuitive guidance.
Now, Google says your map will come to life with a vivid 3D view that reflects the buildings, overpasses, and terrain around you. When it’s helpful, Maps will highlight critical road details like lanes, crosswalks, traffic lights, and stop signs to help you make that turn or merge confidently. This spatial understanding of your route is made possible with help from Gemini models, which analyze fresh, real world imagery from Street View and aerial photos to give you an accurate view of things along your route, like landmarks and medians.
Immersive Navigation has started rolling out across the USA; Google says it'll become available over the coming months to eligible iOS and Android devices, CarPlay, and Android Auto.
20) Google Photos is about to get an AI Search "kill switch"
The rollout of the Gemini-powered Ask Photos search experience has not been smooth.
Google launched the beta Ask Photos experience in 2024, rolling it out slowly in the Photos app while it gathered feedback. Google got a whole lot of feedback, most of it negative. Ask Photos is intended to better respond to natural language queries, but it’s much slower than the traditional search, and the way it chooses the pictures to display seems much more prone to error. It was so bad that Google had to pause the full rollout of Ask Photos in summer 2025 to make vital improvements, although it’s still not very good.
According to Google Photos head Shimrit Ben-Yair, the company has heard the complaints. As a result, Google Photos will soon make it easy to go back to the traditional, non-Gemini search system.
Before this change, disabling Ask Photos required digging three levels deep in the settings. Now, Google will add an AI toggle to the top of the search tab. When flipped to the on position, you get the Gemini-powered Ask Photos search, complete with summaries and questionable grouping. Turn that off, and you’ll get the “fast classic search"…
All is not lost for Ask Photos, though. Ben-Yair says the team is still re-tuning the model in hopes of streamlining the experience. Some of the “most popular searches” have been improved recently to provide higher-quality results. This has apparently led to improved feedback from users of the app. So don’t count Ask Photos out just yet. Google clearly wants to fully transition the Photos search experience to Gemini, but that’ll be harder to pull off now that there’s a prominent toggle that gives people the classic (and much better) search experience. Having both options side by side will really illustrate the problems with Ask Photos.
shimrit ben-yair on Twitter / X
We’ve heard your feedback that you want more control over the type of results you see when searching in Google Photos. To address this, we’re starting to roll out a new experience that puts you in the driver’s seat, letting you choose between fast classic search and intelligent… pic.twitter.com/XjPIkHn6sq— shimrit ben-yair (@shimritby) March 9, 2026
22) Adobe begrudgingly admits defeat, agrees to pay $150m to Americans over confusing cancellation fees
Adobe has issued a statement agreeing to pay a hefty fine after years of customers complaining about a lack of transparency in its billing agreements — but it still doesn't think it did anything wrong.
Adobe has announced that it has finalized a settlement agreement with the U.S. Department of Justice. It officially marks the end of the more than two-year long saga surrounding its much maligned cancellation practices.
Of the $150 million Adobe has agreed to pay, $75 million will go directly to affected customers in the USA in the form of free services (nothing for Canadian customers). The remaining $75 million will go directly to the Department of Justice to settle the lawsuit.
While Adobe agreed to pay the fee, it hasn't admitted any wrongdoing. In fact, the company says, "While we disagree with the government's claims and deny any wrongdoing, we are pleased to resolve this matter."
If you want to learn more about Adobe's confusing cancellation fees, check out the second link below…
news.adobe.com
Adobe’s Statement Regarding the Department of Justice Settlement
“Adobe’s mission is empowering everyone to create. To support that mission, we are committed to delivering the best products alongside flexible offerings that meet the diverse needs of our customers. Our subscription model was designed to accelerate innovation while making our technology more accessible — enabling us to deliver continuous updates, cloud-based features and new services at a more affordable price.
23) BYD’s latest EVs can get close to full charge in just 12 minutes!
China’s BYD is releasing a premium electric vehicle that can be charged in just five minutes.
BYD, which overtook Tesla as the world’s largest EV maker last year, first demonstrated its “flash charging” technology, which enables an EV to be charged almost as quickly as filling a car with gas, a year ago.
The Z9GT model, part of BYD's premium Denza brand, can be 70% charged in five minutes and be almost full in 12 minutes, even in temperatures as low as -30° C.
The vehicle has a range of up to 800 km and will be launched in Europe next month and in the UK in the summer. Pricing is yet to be revealed.
BYD’s international chief Stella Li says the Z9GT marks an important milestone as it beins the global rollout of flash charging.
Here in Canada, BYD has been given approval to sell just shy of 50,000 EV's this year, as part of a deal that saw China drop punishing tariffs on Canadian soybeans and lobster.
The Carney government may offer to lift the limit on BYD EV's that can be sold here in Canada, if BYD agrees to build them here.
24) Obtaining or renewing a Canadian Passport will cost more starting next month
The price of a Canadian Passport will be rising starting April 1, and will now go up again each year, the federal government says, to reflect inflation and service delivery costs.
For applications made within Canada, the cost of the five-year regular adult passport will increase $2.50 to $122.50, while the price of the 10-year regular adult passport will jump $3.50 to $163.50.
A five-year regular child passport will cost $58.50, up $1.50.
The government says this is the first increase in passport fees since 2013.
For Canadians living outside of Canada, the passport application fee for a 10-year adult passport will jump $6.25 to $266.25, while the five-year adult passport fee will increase $4.25 to $194.25.
The government is also increasing the fees for urgent pickup, weekend or statutory holiday service, a temporary passport or an interim passport.
The federal government is also promising your passport application will be processed within 30 business days or it will be free. (Refunds will be issued automatically if processing exceeds 30 business days, meaning no action is required by applicants.)
Many Canadians can renew their passport online, but you'll need a digital photo taken by a commercial photographer to do that.
Check to see if you're eligible, and what you'll need…
27) 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.
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 an example of how to find out if a person on the phone is a real person or a computerized agent…
41) Watch the pro's and cons of the various different types of TV displays….
42) Watch a fascinating animated bar-graph showing the rapid rise and fall of the various main smartphone brands over the past 35 years…
43) Watch Marques Brownlee revise his review of Apple's new MacBook Neo after he had a chance to put it through its paces for a few days…
44a) Watch Kazuki Tsuchida play "He's A Pirate" on banjo…
44a) …then watch him play Offenbach's "Can Can" on his banjo…
On Friday night, I (and good friend Rick) took Natsuki, our Grade 10 homestay student from Osaka, to the Victoria Royals game against Vancouver Giants, along with Shoei and Waka, two of her school friends who are also from Japan. Shoei plays hockey back in Yokohama, but it was Waka's first time seeing a hockey game in person! They were impressed with the speed and skill of the players, but disappointed at how much fighting there was, and they enjoyed meeting Marty the Marmot mascot.
We also recently took Natsuki and Sofía, our other homestay student from Madrid in España, to introduce them to smoked meats (and the BEST tater-tots) with a feast at Jones BBQ…
…and finally, our "Sign Of The Week"…
And so it goes…