Here are a few of the tech news stories I’ve found interesting over the last couple days.
Sonos Roam Review
Yesterday I posted my review on the Sonos Roam Wifi/Bluetooth speaker
https://www.thewunderbar.net/blog/2021/6/2/sonos-roam-review-dual-purpose
Netflix Will Begin Charging GST/HST in Canada July 1
Last year the Canadian government passed a law which mandates that foreign companies must charge GST/HST on digital goods sold to Canadians. That law goes into effect July 1, and Netflix has started telling customers that it will begin collecting GST/HST when a customer is charged after that date. It is expected that the other companies affected, like Disney’s Disney+ service, Spotify, and Google, will also begin collecting taxes after July 1, as it will be the law of the land.
Google expresses Concern over Bill C-10
Google has weighed in on Bill C-10, the proposed bill that has sweeping changes to how Canadians interact with the internet. I’ve previously reported on concerns that the bill could allow the CRTC to impose the same regulations that big media companies see onto any Canadian with YouTube account. And now Google is weighing in on the provision in the bill that would require “Canadian Content” to be forced on users on platforms like YouTube. While Google’s motives are never 100% pure, the company makes good points on the downsides of how Bill C-10 is currently written.
Twitter Blue Subscription Service Launches in Canada and Australia
After months of leaks, and the In App Purchase information hitting the Apple App Store last week, Twitter has unveiled Twitter Blue, a subscription service. Initially, it will only be available in Canada and Australia as test markets. In Canada the service is priced at $3.49 per month. Twitter is not hiding existing features behind the payment, and is instead adding some new features. Those features are an undo Tweet feature, which is essentially a way to delay posting a tweet for up to 30 seconds, so you can change your mind before the tweet is even posted. Twitter Blue also lets users view tweet threads in what it calls an easier to read “reader mode” which looks to essentially turn tweet threads into one paragraph of text. And you can change the colour of the Twitter app icon.
There is one other feature of Twitter Blue, and that is the company promises priority support for paying users. This means both support requests and user reports will be processed faster. The idea that people who choose to, or can afford to, pay for faster support when they report someone who may be harassing them, or threatening them is very problematic, and shows a little bit of tone deaf-ness. Priority user support is fine, but priority processing when someone reports abuse is not good.
I’ve been using Twitter actively for a long time. And while I feel like I get enough value out of Twitter that I would consider paying for added features, these features are not those features. The features offered in Twitter Blue are very underwhelming, and not something anyone should consider paying for.
Google Announces Pixel Buds A
Google has a new pair of wireless earbuds to compete in the lower midrange. The Pixel Buds A look nearly identical to 2019’s more expensive Pixel Buds, and sacrifice just a couple things to get that price point down. There is no active noise cancelling, and no wireless charging. Other than that these are reported to be very similar to the older, more expensive earbuds. At $140, they look to be a pretty compelling option.
https://www.androidcentral.com/google-pixel-buds-series-announce
Samsung Galaxy Book Go Finally Brings Windows on ARM to an Affordable Price
I don’t usually report on products that don’t have a clear Canadian release, but I think this one is worth looking at. Windows on ARM faces an uphill battle to become a useful product, but one of the bigger issues has been price. Windows on ARM is currently a less capable version of Windows, but ran on very expensive hardware, making it a very tough sell. Now, Samsung has announced the Galaxy Book Go, a Windows on ARM laptop powered by a Qualcomm Snapdragon 7c Gen 2 processor. The specs are not mind blowing. The 7c won’t win any speed records, but should be fine for web browsing. The laptop features 4GB of ram and 64GB of storage for $349 USD. That translates to about $425 in Canada at current prices. A more expensive version with 8GB of ram and 128GB of storage will be available, and a Galaxy Book Go 5G is coming later this year with a Snapdragon 8cx processor.
I think this product is important because if Windows on ARM is to succeed in finding a place in the market, it will have to do so on affordable computers that are more like chromebooks than the very expensive computers they had been on to this point. There is no announced Canadian availability yet, but Samsung does usually bring most products to Canada, and the hope is that we will see more laptops with the Snapdragon 7c from other companies.