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Uber Eats users in Ontario can now buy cannabis through the app
But orders are for pickup only.
Tesla beats Ontario government in 'unjust' EV rebate case
Tesla has won its case against the Ontario government over electric vehicle rebates. Back in June, Ontario's new government axed the province's Electric and Hydrogen Vehicle Incentive Program, a scheme which gave EV buyers rebates of up to $14,000 (around $10,700 US). Tesla's problem stemmed from the government's decision to continue, until September 10th, to honor rebates for those who bought an EV through a dealership -- Tesla sells its vehicles directly to buyers, and so claims the decision "unjustly targeted" Tesla Canada and its customers.
Tesla sues Ontario over ‘unreasonable’ EV rebate exclusion
Tesla has more problems than whatever's happening with CEO Elon Musk right now. The company has filed a lawsuit against the Ontario government, which axed the province's Electric and Hydrogen Vehicle Incentive Program soon after taking power at the end of June. Tesla says legislators are excluding its buyers from receiving the rebate as the program winds down.
After Math: Stage 4 capitalism
It's been another fun-filled week of plebes like us being crushed under the heel of big business. Want to take a trip into orbit? You're gonna need to mortgage your house and your children's futures. Want to own the last decent MacBook Pro? Tough, Apple now says that the garbage touch panel version is the only one for sale. Trying to watch the World Cup on YouTubeTV? NOPE. NO SOCCER FOR YOU. COME BACK FOUR YEARS!
Ontario kills EV subsidies to reduce gas prices
Last month, Ontario elected a new provincial government; Doug Ford's Conservative Party, which has already begun enacting its key policies. That includes an immediate end to an electric and hydrogen vehicle subsidy, as well as incentive programs for EV chargers. The aim? To gut a cap-and-trade program that was designed to encourage folks to ditch their planet-killing gas guzzlers.
Spam texts could help solve a Canadian murder case
If you own a mobile phone, chances are that you've received at least one spam text message. Normally, an unscrupulous company is trying to hawk its financial services or help you save money on a pair of Ray Bans, but Canada's Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) will today take the unusual step of sending thousands of potential witnesses unsolicited text messages in an attempt to solve a 2015 murder case.
No one wants to test self-driving cars in Ontario, Canada
Governments may be racing to approve self-driving car tests on their roads, but that doesn't mean that companies will always line up. Case in point: Ontario. The Canadian province greenlit autonomous vehicle testing on its public roads as of January 1st, but hasn't had a single company apply to test in the 6 months that followed. Ontario's Ministry of Transportation tells Reuters that there has been interest, but that flies in the face of what some companies are saying in the short term. Honda has no plans, for example, while part supplier Magna International is currently limiting its tests to private test tracks.
Self-driving cars will be tested on Canadian roads in 2016
Hey, Canadians -- you're not going to sit on the sidelines while the US experiments with self-driving cars. Ontario's Ministry of Transportation has approved autonomous vehicle testing in the province (the first in the country) starting on January 1st, 2016. It's not clear who'll be the first to trial robotic cars, but it won't be surprising if Google and big automakers are part of the mix. This is an important step forward, regardless of who shows up. Besides taking Canada a bit closer to hands-free transportation, the clearance also prevents at least some Canadian companies from heading south to test their self-driving tech. When there are nearly 100 related projects in Ontario alone, that's a pretty big deal. [Image credit: Justin Sullivan/Getty Images]
Canadian middle-schoolers rank pretty high for computer literacy
In addition to making excellent poutine and maple syrup, our friendly neighbors to the north are also pretty adept at prepping students for the future we live in too. The International Computer Literacy Study recently looked at 60,000 eighth graders from Ontario and assessed their proficiencies at copying and saving a document in addition to modifying info and using a handful of applications simultaneously. The CBC says this is the first international test of its kind, and that the Canucks scored 547 out of 600 in computer literacy -- much higher than the average score of 500. What's more, it's in a "statistical tie" with Australia and the Czech Republic for the top spot. If the CEO of the Education Quality and Accountability Office is to be believed, this is a direct result of Ontario's investments in putting technology in the classroom. Maybe SimCity can move into the Great White North's classroom and train up the next set of civil engineers, too.
Motorola plans hiring spree in BlackBerry's hometown
Unless BlackBerry bosses embark on some wild scorched earth policy as they retreat from the smartphone business, their hometown of Waterloo, Ontario, should prove to be fertile ground for other mobile companies looking to expand. Motorola could become one of the first to capitalize on the situation, having just opened a small office in Kitchener-Waterloo, where its parent company Google has already had an R&D base since 2006. Speaking to the Financial Post, Motorola Canada's engineering director, Derek Phillips, said he has "big plans" for the area and is "optimistic" about finding the right mobile tech talent. He stopped short of saying he wants BB workers specifically, instead pointing to other sources of brainpower like the University of Waterloo (which happens to be the home of the Lazaridis-backed Quantum-Nano Centre). For the sake of the 4,500 people recently left unemployed due to BlackBerry's strategic failures, however, we hope he was just being diplomatic.
Report: Silicon Knights closes office, unloads assets
Something shady is going on in the province of Ontario with Silicon Knights and the full story is still shaking out. Yesterday it was reported that Precursor Games, which is working on the curiously funded Shadow of the Eternals – a "spiritual successor" to Silicon Knights' Eternal Darkness: Sanity's Requiem – bought and implemented Silicon Knights' assets into their new project. Polygon also reported late yesterday that Silicon Knights' offices are now empty (stopping just short of closing), and that despite there being "no connection to Silicon Knights" according to Precursor Games' CEO Paul Caporicci, former SK head Dennis Dyack confirmed that he had left SK and was now chief creative officer at Precursor. Polygon has way, way more on this. Silicon Knights lost a multi-million, multi-year lawsuit against Epic Games last year and there's still questions about the money the company may or may not have gotten from the Ontario government. More on this is sure to be revealed in its time.
Silicon Knights: we never received any of Canada's money
Last year, Silicon Knights was awarded a grant by the Canadian government, in part to self-publish games, and to hire 80 employees. But it turns out the Ontario Ministry of Economic Development and Trade never handed over the funds -- a promised sum of $3 million Canadian."There hasn't been any funding. There were announcements and no money received," Silicon Knights president Denis Dyack told GI.biz. "That's one of the strangest things. So, at one point, there was a loan that we got. That's it." Dyack said he's following up on the money, but to no avail so far.It could be an alarming issue for Silicon Knights, considering the state of affairs at the Ontario-based studio. Late last year the developer had to let 45 go, and it remains embroiled in a long-running legal dispute with Epic over the use of Unreal Engine 3 during the development of Too Human.
Apple Store may be coming to Masonville Mall in London, Ontario
Attention, Masonville Mall in London, Ontario: You may be getting an Apple Store next year. A local radio station reports that the Eddie Bauer store in that location is closing soon due to bankruptcy, and city records say that the relevant authorities are checking out a $3 million project for that location that includes (what else?) an Apple logo. The space does sound about right: Busy, relatively upscale mall, lots of floor space, and a big storefront right next to a Gap store. Of course, none of this is confirmed just yet, but remember that Apple moves fast: Even if the plans get approved in the next month or so, the store could be open as soon as next fall. Apple's been making a big push to open up some stores overseas and in big places like New York's Grand Central Terminal, but it sounds like the company is still working to open new stores in smaller towns as well.
AMD refreshes E and C-Series Fusion APUs, adds DDR3-1333 support, better battery life
Looks like AMD is finally ready to spill the (official) beans on that 1.65GHz E-450 Fusion APU we heard about at Computex, today announcing refreshed chips for its Fusion E and C-series APUs. The updated "Zacate" and "Ontario" APUs sport DDR3-1333 and HDMI 1.4a support, snaring bragging rights to faster memory and 3D output for 3D-enabled televisions. The new chips also promise an increased resting battery life -- up to 10.5 hours for the E-Series, and a staggering 12 hours on the C-Series. Although it didn't name any specific manufacturers, AMD says that machines rocking the new APUs are available starting today. Hit the break for the full PR.
Silicon Knights receives Canadian gov. grant to hire 80, self-publish
The Ontario Ministry of Economic Development and Trade announced yesterday that it gave Too Human and Eternal Darkness developer Silicon Knights "support" that will help the company become a "self-sustainable, self-publishing" company. According to the St. Catharine Standard, the developer received nearly $3 million in provincial funding. The money is also intended to create 80 new jobs and protect 97 existing positions. "This will enhance our competitive edge within the highly-competitive video game market ... and allow us to enter lucrative global markets," Silicon Knights' Denis Dyack said in a statement. Dyack had hinted toward Silicon Knight's self-publishing future in an interview with Joystiq in May. The latest batch of cash will be added to the $4 million the company received from the government last year. Silicon Knights is currently working on X-Men Destiny.
Canadian firm proposes class action against Sony to the tune of $1B in damages
A proposed class action lawsuit filed in Ontario, Canada against Sony over the PlayStation Network breach is shooting for the jackpot. The suit claims damages "in excess of $1 billion" for the breach of consumer privacy, in part to cover the costs of credit monitoring and fraud insurance over two years for the estimated 1 million PSN and Qriocity users living in Canada. Toronto law firm McPhadden Samac Tuovi has proposed the class action against Sony Japan, Sony USA, Sony Canada and other Sony "entities," and added in its press release, "While Sony has advised American users about the availability of free credit reports, it has yet to advice Canadian users about credit reports." Filed on behalf of representative plaintiff Natasha Maksimovic, the claim alleges Sony exposed its customers to identity and financial theft, in addition to "fear, anxiety (and) emotional distress," according to The Canadian Press. Maksimovic, 21, of Mississauga, Ont., has been described by the law firm as "an avid PlayStation user for years," who signed up for PSN and Qriocity for use on her PSP and Sony e-book. "If you can't trust a huge multinational corporation like Sony to protect your private information, who can you trust?" she asked in the firm's release. "It appears to me that Sony focuses more on protecting its games than its PlayStation users." Sony has 20 days to file a statement of defense in Canada and additional time to do so in the US and elsewhere.
Two new Apple Stores coming to Ontario, Canada
It's always nice when a TUAW reader tips us off to a rumor of a new North American Apple Store, and it's especially cool when the rumor includes two new stores. In this case, Canadian reader Noah let us know that he was looking at job postings on Apple's site and found two new stores in Ontario listed with the information "New Stores, New Opportunities." A quick look at the Canadian job listings for Apple retail stores shows that the stores will be in Waterloo (Conestoga) and Burlington (Mapleview Centre), Ontario. If you're a reader in the Waterloo-Kitchener or Burlington areas near Toronto who is looking for employment with Apple, this could be your opportunity.
AMD has a 5W Fusion APU to put in your future tablet of choice
The same Singapore event that brought us our first look at AMD's humongous Radeon HD 6990 has also served as the stage for the company's first showing of a new, even lower-powered Fusion APU. The regular dual-core Ontario (C-50) variant requires a 9W power budget to operate, but AMD's managed to shrink that down to 5W in a chip designed specifically to be used in tablets. Clock speed remains at 1GHz and the core count hasn't bee touched, but the memory controller has been dumbed down and peripheral ports have been reduced to one of each type. This streamlined C-50 has already found a home in Acer's 10.1-inch Windows 7 tablet and should prove decently popular among manufacturers looking for an x86 alternative to the coming tidal wave of ARM-based devices.
Toshiba NB550D with AMD Ontario denied entry to the US
So, this sort of sucks. Remember the AMD Fusion Toshiba NB550D with its Harman Kardon speakers? Well, according to Toshiba it won't be landing in the US anytime soon. According to Liliputing, Tosh has no plans to release the Ontario-powered 10-inch laptop on this side of the pond. Yep, it seems that Toshiba US would prefer to keep Intel's Atom powering its 10-inch NB520 and NB505 netbooks and save AMD's higher end Zacate E-Series for larger systems like its 15.6-inch Satellite C655D. Of course, there's always the Acer Aspire One 522 for those seeking AMD's Bobcat core and ATI Radeon 6250 graphics in a 10-inch chassis, but there's just something about those HK speaker grills that have us wishin' Toshiba would change its mind about this one.
Acer Aspire One 522 with AMD Ontario shows up on Amazon
Sure, we had known a few bits and pieces about Acer's forthcoming AMD Fusion-powered netbook but you can always count on Amazon to dish out the spec and pricing details we've been waiting for. Unlike the Fusion HP Pavilion dm1 we just reviewed, which packs a higher-end AMD Zacate E-350 APU, the Aspire One 522 is powered by AMD's netbook-class 1GHz C-50 Ontario processor. The 10.1-inch laptop still melds that CPU with Radeon HD 6250 graphics so it should be able to handle full HD video and some light gaming, and for $330 we're certainly expecting it to trounce Atom netbooks in both price and graphics prowess. Other than that, the 2.8-pound Aspire One 522 seems to be a lot like the previous AMD Neo-powered Aspire One 521 -- it looks to have a similar chassis and has 1GB of RAM, a 250GB hard drive, HDMI port, Windows 7 Starter, and a 4400mAh battery, which apparently provides six hours of battery life. No word on when the 522 will actually come out of the pre-order stage and start shipping, but our guess is that it shouldn't be too long of a wait.
