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Here’s what’s new on BritBox this January 2023

BBC Studios and ITV have revealed what content is coming to BritBox, a British programming-focused streaming service, in January.

BritBox, which costs $9.99/month (or $99.99 per year), offers access to series like Doctor Who, Emmerdale and Five by Five. In August, the service will add content like Pride and Prejudice, About A Boy, Mr. Bean’s Holiday and more.

Check out everything coming to the streaming platform next month below:

  • Vera: Season 7 (January 1st)
  • Seekers (January 6th)
  • Here We Go (January 10th)
  • Stonehouse (January 17th)
  • Vera: Season 12 (Sometime in January)
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Apple MacBooks & Accessories are up to 21 percent off today

Apple has some great deals on discounted MacBook Air laptops and accessories through Amazon Canada. If you buy today it seems the massive online retailer can ship to you before the 25th.

Check out the deals below.

MobileSyrup utilizes affiliate partnerships. These partnerships do not influence our editorial content, though we may earn a commission on purchases made via these links that helps fund the journalism provided free on our website.

Source: Amazon Canada

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Netcrawler offers affordable and reliable internet for customers in Ontario

Ontario households can undoubtedly become overwhelmed when shopping for a new internet plan. Major Canadian internet service providers (ISPs) have built a very large presence and with that, sizeable but expensive internet plans. However, there are other options out there, including Netcrawler.

Over a short period of time, Ontario-based Netcrawler has carved out a reputation for itself. While there are several third-party ISPs out there, Netcrawler aims to streamline the process of affordable home internet. From its cheaper-priced unlimited high-speed plans to no hidden costs and fees, Netcrawler is certainly a provider worth keeping on your radar.

Shopping around for home internet can quickly become stressful. How do you know you’re getting the best service for your lifestyle? Are you paying more than you need? Many ISPs in Canada overwhelm customers with tedious breakdowns and more options than one household rightfully needs. Netcrawler offers sustainable options that realistically work for your wants and needs. Furthermore, smaller providers are more likely to provide better and more engaging customer service, since they are closer to their customers, thus better able to hear their feedback and observe their changing preferences over time.

Netcrawler offers an alternative to large telecommunications companies that offer speeds of 1 Gbps or more for over $100 per month. Besides plans tailored to those who upload and download large videos or play intense games, Netcrawler also has plans suited to the wallets of average users.

Netcrawler offers three plans for Ontario customers, with each providing unlimited internet with varying download speeds. The cheapest plan offers 100Mbps download speed with a 30Mbps upload speed. Typically, this plan is priced at $57/per month. However, Netcrawler is currently offering its Unlimited 100 plan for $38 a month.

For those who are cutting the cord on cable TV, such as students and young families, 100Mbps is an excellent combination of affordability and speed. You can use this tier to browse the web and watch videos without being bothered by annoying buffering. This plan is ideal for streaming 4K content from Netflix, Prime Video, Disney+, etc. In addition, this package can be used by up to eight users or devices at the same time.

You may, however, prefer the Unlimited 300 or 500 plan if download speeds are still of concern, perhaps for those with a professional career in content creation, or those who enjoy intensive gaming. The former provides 300Mbps down and 30Mbps up for $79 a month. The latter plan offers 500Mbps download speed and 30Mbps upload speed at a cost of $85. Currently, both tiers are on sale for $69 and $75 respectively. These plans are also required if you have over 12 devices connecting to the internet at the same time. Changing plans is also easy, just hop on a chat and request to move up or down a speed tier.

Customers won’t have to worry about contracts, hidden fees, or tacked-on surprises with Netcrawler’s three plans. There are no hardware rental fees, and you get additional discounts if you bring your own equipment. All hardware is shipped to your address for free, removing those tedious trips to a store. If any additional assistance is required, Netcrawler offers Canada-based customer support.

As part of its customer service philosophy, Netcrawler utilizes a variety of standard chat channels as well as social networking sites to communicate with its customers. There are several ways to contact the company, including online chats, WhatsApp, Instagram, Facebook Messenger, and more. In most cases, responses are received within five minutes of your inquiry; if you need further assistance, you may ask for a callback. With Netcrawler you’ll never have to hear hold music again.

On Google, Netcrawler has amassed a review rating of 4.6 stars, an above-average rating when compared to most telecom companies in Canada. Customers describe the company as being dependable, with exceptional customer service, an easy setup process and affordable prices. The company also states that their retention rate is over 90%, another reflection of their high customer satisfaction.

Many households in Ontario want to remain budget-friendly and their internet plan should reflect that. For those that may work from home, and stream 1080p or 4K content on anywhere from three to five devices, Netcrawler’s affordable Unlimited 100 plan is a no-brainer. When compared to larger Canadian ISPs, having affordable options can’t be understated. Paired with exceptional customer service, Netcrawler creates a very good argument for why you should consider a third-party provider.

MobileSyrup publishes sponsored posts. These partnerships do not influence our editorial content.

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Mobile Syrup

Tbaytel bringing 5G to Thunder Bay in January

Tbaytel will use Ericsson’s network to launch 5G services in 60 sites in Thunder Bay in January 2023.

The company says it will expand the service to other markets by the end of 2023.

“5G networks will enhance our mobile experience providing us opportunities to reimagine how we use our smartphones and connected devices,”  said company president and CEO Dan Topatig said.

“It will bring faster data speeds for downloads and streaming, larger network capacities to support more connected customers and continuous network reliability to enrich Tbaytel’s overall mobile experience.”

The company is also partnering with Rogers to launch the service.

Tbaytel is initially planning on using a combination of network spectrums for a “superior combination of coverage area and capacity.” Low band spectrum will provide coverage for long distances and desirable service in rural areas. Mid-band, on the other hand, will boost speed and provide ultra-low latency.

Image credit: Tbaytel

Source: Tbaytel

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Federal government funding high-speed internet access for 4,700 households in Nova Scotia

The federal government is providing funding to bring high-speed internet access to 4,700 households across dozens of communities in Nova Scotia.

The Municipality of Pictou County will receive $31 million in funding through the Universal Broadband Fund (UBF). Braeshore, Dalhousie, and Lansdowne Station are some of the many communities that will benefit.

“Our municipally owned and operated high-speed network will provide rural residents with quality internet and make this community a leader in future growth for all sectors of business, health care, education, tourism and recreation,” Robert Parker, Warden of Pictou County, said.

The UBF funds projects to bring high-speed internet to 98 percent of Canadians by 2028 and 100 percent by 2030. The federal government previously provided funding to Alberta and Ontario through the program. A map outlining projects funded under the UBF is available here.

Image credit: Shutterstock

Source: Innovation, Science, and Economic Development Canada 

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Two Tesla employees illegally fired to criticizing CEO Elon Musk

A pair of former Tesla employees have reportedly filed formal complaints against their former employer, after they were illegally fired for taking part in an organized effort that publicly criticized Tesla CEO Elon Musk, as reported by Bloomberg, via The Verge.

Both the employees, who are based in California, have filed formal complaints with the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB), citing that the firing violated federal laws regarding employee freedom of speech related to working conditions.

Both of the fired employees were reportedly involved in drafting two letters, one of which prompted Tesla to re-consider its return-to-office policy, while the other talked about a Tweet by Musk that reportedly violates the company’s anti-harassment policies.

The case is similar to the SpaceX firing incident, where a group of former employees were illegally fired after they wrote a letter that suggested the company to strengthen its “zero-tolerance policies” after sexual harassment allegations against Musk came out. The fired SpaceX employees filed a complaint with the NLRB and hired a San Francisco-based law-firm to represent them. Reportedly, the freshly-fired Tesla employees have hired the same firm.

It’s worth noting that the U.S. law bars companies from firing or taking action against its employees for taking collective action related to their working conditions, making the firing outright illegal.

Read the full Bloomberg report here.

Source: Bloomberg, via The Verge

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Nvidia to kill Shield TV Gamestream feature in February 2023

Starting 2023, Nvidia Shield TV users will lose access to a feature that allowed them to stream the games they run on their PC directly to their TVs.

The feature, called Gamestream, allows users to access their favourite games from a GeForce GTX-powered PC directly on a Shield TV or Shield Tablet at 60FPS at up to 4K HDR. Starting mid-February, however, a planned update will begin rolling out to Shield owners that will permanently disable remove the Gamestream feature from Shield devices.

As an alternative, Nvidia is recommending users to migrate over to using Steam Link to stream games from their PC to Shield devices. “Steam Link supports 4K streaming and allows streaming to many devices, including PCs, phones, and tablets. Gamers can also stream PC games from the cloud to their SHIELD TV using NVIDIA’s GeForce NOW service,” wrote Nvidia in a support document. 

You’ll need the SteamLink app on your Shield TV and Steam on your PC to stream games.

Mid-February is when the update will reportedly drop. However, if you want to use Gamestream for a little bit longer, you can choose to not update your device. According to Nvidia, if you don’t update, “Gamestream may continue to work for a time, but will no longer be supported and eventually will stop working.”

It is currently unknown why Nvidia decided to end support for Gamestream. Learn more here.

Image credit: Nvidia

Source: Nvidia

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Instagram now lets you create a 2022 Recap Reel

Instagram has launched a new Recap Reel to let people create a custom video to commemorate the end of 2022.

First, you’ll choose a narrated template featuring either Bad Bunny, DJ Khaled, Indian rapper Badshah or Stranger Things‘ Priah Ferguson. From there, you can select up to 14 photos for Instagram to automatically edit into a sharable Reel.

To access this, click the new ‘create your 2022 recap reel’ prompt on the Instagram app’s homepage or locate it in the Reels tab.

Historically, Instagram has lacked any in-app recap feature, leading users to use third-party apps like ‘Best Nine’ to round up their most-liked posts. However, the social media giant introduced ‘Year in Review’ in 2021, allowing users to select up to 10 stories to share with followers.

Now, the company is shifting to Reels for its 2022 recap, which falls in line with its larger push for the TikTok-esque short-form video format.

Via: Engadget

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Someone’s selling an unreleased Pixel Tablet on Facebook Marketplace

Google’s upcoming Pixel Tablet and ‘Charging Speaker Dock’ showed up for sale on Facebook Marketplace with several pictures showing off the device.

The search giant has given us a few glimpses of the tablet already, but aside from a vague 2023 release timeframe and some other basic details, we still don’t know a ton about the tablet. However, the Pixel Tablet for sale on Facebook Marketplace gives us some more information.

Spotted by leaker’ShrimpApplePro’ on Twitter, images in the Marketplace listing show the Pixel Tablet’s home screen (which looks a lot like the Pixel Launcher with a tablet-friend layout), the settings app with a two-column layout, how the Pixel Tablet looks sitting on the charging dock (like a thick Nest Hub Max) and a close-up of the charging dock itself.

We can see from the image of the Settings screen that the tablet has 256GB of storage and 70 percent battery with an estimated 15 hours and 54 minutes of remaining life. Moreover, 9to5Google was able to make out a USB-C port on the left edge of the tablet in one shot.

As for the charging dock, you can see four metal contacts on it — there are likely four metal contacts on the back of the Pixel Tablet too for connecting it to the dock. 9to5 notes that the charging dock’s port looks similar to the port on the Nest Hub Max, and the pictured power adapter also looks a lot like the one for the Nest Hub Max. It’s possible it could be the same 30W adapter with a barrel connector.

We’ll likely learn more about the Pixel Tablet in the coming weeks, either from continued leaks or possibly a full reveal from Google in the new year. My guess is someone will purchase the tablet from Facebook Marketplace and post more details online, but we’ll see what happens.

Images credit: ShrimpApplePro

Source: @ShrimpApplePro Via: 9to5Google

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Xbox Game Pass could be the next subscription service to get a cheaper ad tier

Microsoft has floated the idea of introducing a lower-cost, ad-supported membership for Xbox Game Pass.

In a new survey sent to some Spanish Xbox players, per Windows Central, the tech giant looked to gauge interest in a number of hypothetical less expensive Game Pass subscriptions.

One of the proposed memberships would be to pay a lower fee to get first-party Xbox games as much as six months later, a significant change from Game Pass’ current promise of day-one exclusives. An even cheaper tier could also introduce ads into the service, which would presumably play when a game is launched.

Interestingly, Windows Central notes that Microsoft recently patented a method to show personalized ads in games, which is curious timing considering the new survey.

It’s also worth noting that many streaming services have been introducing lower-cost, ad-supported memberships as a way to drive growth. In November, Netflix launched the $5.99 CAD/month ‘Basic with Ads’ subscription in Canada and other markets, while U.S. services like Disney’s Hulu, Warner’s HBO Max and NBC Universal’s Peacock also offering similar ad-enabled alternatives. Disney+ even just got an ad-supported option in the U.S. earlier this month, although it’s unclear if and when it will expand to Canada.

Given how Game Pass already draws inspiration from the on-demand nature of these streaming services, it’s easy to see how Microsoft might also be looking at how they’ve been handling ads. Of course, it’s important to stress that surveys and patents are not the same as an actual confirmation, so it remains to be seen whether Microsoft will go down this route.

For now, Xbox boss Phil Spencer has said the price of Game Pass will inevitably go up, but not until next year at the earliest. The company has confirmed that the cost of first-party Xbox Series X/S games will also increase next year ahead of Starfield.

Source: Windows Central