Wrecked By Tech

While Marc's away this week, Dan and Riley talk about a group of rural Manitoba areas banding together to build and maintain a fibre Internet network; a British hacker, once lauded as an "accidental hero," now arrested for selling malware; a sexist manifesto from a now-ex Google employee; and the ability to troll autonomous cars.

Speed round:

Recommendations

Links:

• 3 Western Manitoba municipalities, school division form their own fibre optic internet service | CBC News
• Briton who stopped WannaCry attack arrested over separate malware claims | The Guardian
• Exclusive: Here's The Full 10-Page Anti-Diversity Screed Circulating Internally at Google | Gizmodo
• Laying a trap for self-driving cars | TechCrunch
• New Apple Watch will have LTE internet connection built-in | Business Insider
• Apple AirPods shortage starting to end with shorter shipping times | Business Insider
• Samsung Galaxy S8 Active is the first all-screen phone with military-grade armor | TechRadar
• Google wants to use artificial intelligence to hide crashing Android apps on the Play Store | Business Insider
• Microsoft reveals Spotify for Xbox One app | The Verge
• Google discounts Pixel and Pixel XL by up to $200 in Canada, gives free Daydream View headset | Mobilesyrup
• Tesla driver breaks 1,000km-single charge long distance EV record | SlashGear

Dan is away for work this week, but in his absence, Marc and Riley get into Spotlight Canada, a YouTube pilot program just for the Great White North; Rogers' Smart Drive, a device with an LTE chip that turns your car into a Wi-Fi hotspot; and Apple's unfortunate murder of the Nano and the Shuffle.

Speed round:

Recommendations

Links:

• YouTube unveils Spotlight Canada channel to put focus on Canadian artists | CBC News
• What to expect from Rogers’ in-car Smart Drive device | Mobilesyrup
• Apple kills iPod Nano, iPod Shuffle as music moves to phones | The Globe and Mail
• Everything Now Fidget Spinner | Arcade Fire Official Store
• Next iPhone's display design and face unlock leak via HomePod firmware | Mobilesyrup

This week we talk about a 25-year-old Canadian who ran the biggest market on the Dark Web; DAZN, the "Netflix of sports"; Google's fight against Canada's internet censorship, and the death of MSPaint.

Speed round:

Recommendations

Links:

• Canadian allegedly behind shuttered Dark Web market AlphaBay | The Globe and Mail
• Sports streaming app DAZN launches in Canada with all NFL games for $20 a month | CBC News
• Google Fights Against Canada's Order to Change Global Search Results | WIRED
• What the EU antitrust ruling could mean for Google search | The Verge
• Microsoft Forgoes Paint in Fall Rollout | Techvibes
• MS Paint Artworks | Business Insider
• Telus is discontinuing sales of the 32GB Silver Google Pixel | Mobilesyrup
• Tesla of the Sea: Building the World’s First Autonomous Cargo Ship | Techvibes

This week we cover a variety of topics, including whether hunting with drones is ethical (or if it's just evolution of technology); the deal Huawei and Telus struck up to start testing 5G in Canada (hint: be excited); 1Password changes and the trouble they've caused; Amazon's main reason for not bringing Alexa to Canada just yet; and an Alphabet-owned company releasing thousands of infertile mosquitoes in California.

Speed round:

Recommendations

Links:

• 'Unethical' high-tech hunters using drones to find prey | CBC News
• What Huawei’s historic 5G test means for the future of wireless in Canada | Mobilesyrup
• Why We Love 1Password Memberships | AgileBits Blog
• Don't believe the 1Password FUD — here's what's really happening | iMore
• AgileBits Isn’t Forcing 1Password Data to Live in the Cloud | TidBITS
• Want Alexa in Canada? Get big brands to build skills, Amazon tells developer | IT World Canada News
• Verily Robot Breeds 20 Million Sterile Mosquitoes to Release in California | Techvibes
• Malaria fact sheet | WHO
• Bill Gates infographic: Mosquitoes are the deadliest animals | Business Insider
• Doctor Who: Jodie Whittaker spectacularly unveiled as the 13th Doctor | Ars Technica
• Jodie Whittaker | IMDb
• Ataribox is the latest retro revival to hit you with a modern-twist nostalgia kick | TechRadar
• Tim Hortons will reportedly launch mobile order and pay option on July 27th | Mobilesyrup
• Ashley Madison owner to pay up to $11.2M to settle U.S. class action lawsuits | CBC News

On this week's show, we talk about sex robots and what they'll mean to society; Android Pay, PayPal, and other popular mobile payment methods in Canada; the diversity (or lack thereof) in Canadian tech companies; and Amazon Prime Days in Canada.

Speed round:

Recommendations

Bonus links:

Links:

• Smartphone Behaviour in Canada and the Implications for Marketers in 2016 | Catalyst
• We need to talk about the future of sex robots, experts say | CBC News
• Canadian tech companies say they value diversity — but what are they doing about it? | CBC News
• The Wirecutter on Twitter: "We're now more than halfway through #AmazonPrimeDay. So far, @WirecutterDeals has scanned 17,200 deals and found 98 of them to be worth it."
• Miniatur Wunderland, world's largest model railway, filmed with Google Maps Street View | Business Insider
• Think turning your smartphone off means you're not distracted? Think again, study says | CBC News
• OpenText taking on IBM Watson with new artificial intelligence platform | IT World Canada News
• RED is making a $1,200 smartphone with a ‘holographic display’ | The Verge

It's been a slow week for tech news, so we put the Amazon Echo and Google Home head-to-head in Canada. Riley's had a Home since November, and Marc's been using an Echo (and a Home) for a few weeks now. Listen to find out what they both do in Canada and how well.

Speed round:

Recommendations

Links:

• Canada’s top court upholds ruling that ordered Google to wipe references to discredited company | Globalnews.ca
• Ends, Means, and Antitrust | Stratechery

This week's episode is all about Uber. In the wake of CEO Travis Kalanick's departure, we wanted to round up everything Uber has been in trouble for in Canada and the US. With the help of several Canadian media outlets and one long WIRED article, we run you through all the controversies (and a few non-issues that made headlines) since 2013.

Speed round:

Recommendations

Links:

• A Short History of the Many, Many Ways Uber Screwed Up | WIRED
• Italy issues a nationwide Uber ban | The Verge
• More than 1,000 Uber employees ask for Travis Kalanick to return | Axios
• Uber driver are employees, not contractors, Canadian lawsuit argues | Financial Post
• Uber silent on use of secret 'Greyball' tracking tool in Canada | CBC News
• Uber slams new tax announced in federal budget |CBC News
• Guelph man charged after posing as Uber driver | CBC News
• Uber Canada is now forcing drivers to occasionally take verification selfies before starting their shifts | Financial Post
• Uber charged 2 U of T students $150 to clean up dog poop, but they say they don't even own a dog | CBC News
• Canada and China sign no-hacking agreement to protect trade secrets | CBC News
• Apple featuring 'Unapologetically Canadian' section in the App Store | Mobilesyrup
• Employers banking on instant-pay concept to attract, retain millennials
• SNES Classic Edition officially announced, releasing September 29 | GoNintendo

In this week's episode, the guys cover the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications (CRTC) ban of locked phones; the OnePlus 5 and whether it'll be a contender; Amazon Echo in Canada (and how to make it think you're in the United States); and how the AI speakers will stack up against each other.

Speed round:

Recommendations

Links:

• CRTC bans locked phones and carrier unlocking fees | Mobilesyrup
• OnePlus 5 specs | Android Central
• Google Home is launching in Canada without multi-user support | Mobilesyrup
• Netflix now lets kids choose their own adventure | Android Central
• An automatic toothbrush that looks like a mouthguard/vibrator combo
• Leaked recording: Inside Apple’s global war on leakers | The Outline
• Unicode 10 officially released with 56 new emoji, likely coming to iOS later this year | 9to5Mac

In this week's episode (sans Riley), Marc and Dan talk about E3, but more specifically: the Xbox One X; Minecraft and its exciting new development; and some exciting new games (like Fallout 4 VR, Doom VR, Wolfenstein 2, etc.). We also cover a few neat things Google's doing with AI, like an update to Gboard, WebVR experiments, and what our wishes are for the future of Google's "ten percent rule."

Speed round:

Recommendations

Links:

• How the Xbox One X stacks up against the PlayStation 4 Pro | The Verge
• Wolfenstein II: The New Colossus – E3 2017 Full Reveal Trailer | YouTube
• Brush up on Gboard’s latest tips and tricks | Google Blog
• Android Experiments | Google
• Chrome Experiments | Chrome experiments
• A.I. Experiments | Google
• WebVR Experiments | Google
• There’s an $800 edition of Assassin’s Creed Origins | Polygon
• Age of Empires is being remastered in 4K this year (update) | Polygon
• The rumored OnePlus 5 looks a lot like the iPhone with its dual cameras | The Verge
• Android Pay is now available in Canada | MobileSyrup
• ‘South Park’ Mobile Game Announced | Variety

In this week's episode, we run down a few of the more interesting things about Apple's WWDC conference, including new Apple watchfaces (which Riley and Dan hate); MacOS High Sierra; new Mac hardware and a new iMac Pro; a new iPad; the HomeHub speaker, which is where the fighting starts; and iOS 11.

Speed round: what do you wish Apple had announced?

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