Canadian Reviewer Weekly Roundup - 6/25- 7/1

Dreaming of living in a Barbie world? Get ready to book through Airbnb!

Reddit’s volunteer transcribers quit over API changes 

AirPlay is coming to LG smart hotel TVs later this year 

Leaked: Colour options for the Google Pixel 8, Pixel 8 Pro

Introducing HyperPack Pro: The backpack you can find in the Find My app

Netflix Canada is ditching its cheapest ad-free plan

LinkedIn tests AI-generated copy for posts 

Samsung unveils new adorable Pokémon cases for Galaxy Buds 2 series

Oreo enters the world of Nintendo's Super Mario

Google Docs gets a polling feature 

Google rumoured to resurrect Stadia through a new YouTube product 

Meta launches new parental supervision hub on Messenger

Swedish House Mafia creates custom sound pack for Nothing Phone (2)

Ancestry makes Chinese Exclusion Era records available 

Stolen shot of the Samsung Galaxy Z Flip5 shows its new cover screen 

Casetify reveals Bounce Vision accessories for Apple’s Vision Pro 

Meta helps teens block unwanted messages on Messenger and Instagram

YouTube’s new approach to prevent ad-blockers

Apple and Nokia renew patent deal for 5G and beyond

Apple and Nokia renew patent deal for 5G and beyond

Apple and Nokia have agreed to a new patent license agreement that will allow Apple to use Nokia's patented inventions in 5G and other technologies. The deal will replace the previous one expiring at the end of this year.

Nokia owns over 20,000 patents, including 5,500 related to 5G technology. Nokia offers its patents on fair, reasonable and non-discriminatory (FRAND) terms, meaning other companies can license them for a fee.

Apple and Nokia have a long history of patent disputes and settlements. In 2009, Apple sued Nokia for allegedly copying the iPhone design, while Nokia sued Apple for infringing on its patents. They reached a settlement in 2011. Then in 2016, they sued each other again over patent royalties before reaching another settlement in 2017. That involved a USD 2 billion payment from Apple to Nokia, and brought Withings products back to the Apple Store.

The new agreement covers 5G and other technologies for a multi-year period. Nokia said it will receive payments from Apple but did not disclose the terms of the deal. 

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YouTube’s new approach to prevent ad-blockers

Screenshot: BleepingComputer

YouTube is testing a new approach to prevent viewers from using ad-blockers while watching videos on its platform. Some users are getting a pop-up notice warning them that their video player will be blocked after three videos. The new alerts are part of an experiment that urges viewers with ad-blockers enabled to allow ads on YouTube or try YouTube Premium. The warning says YouTube will block their ability to play videos on the platform unless they disable their ad blocker or add the website to their white list. YouTube says in a notice that these ads "allow YouTube to stay free for billions of users worldwide." And if you want to go ad-free, it recommends you get a YouTube Premium subscription.

The website has confirmed that it might temporarily disable playback in "extreme cases" where viewers continue using ad-blockers. The spokesperson added that they will only disable playback if viewers ignore repeated requests to allow ads on YouTube. At the moment, this new approach only affects a small number of users, and YouTube didn’t say how many people and regions are part of the test. With the platform seeing ad revenue decline, we won't be surprised if it tries to recoup that this way (at least partly).

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Meta helps teens block unwanted messages on Messenger and Instagram

Image: Meta

Meta, the company formerly known as Facebook, has announced a new feature that will help users protect themselves from unwanted messages from strangers on its messaging platforms, Messenger and Instagram. The feature will require people who are not connected with a user to send a text-only invitation to chat, and they can only send one at a time. Users won’t be able to send another one until the recipient accepts or declines.

The feature aims to prevent harassment and abuse from unknown people, especially adults who may target teens. The invitations are also limited to text only, so users won’t receive unsolicited photos, videos, voice messages, or calls from strangers. Meta said the feature will give its teen users more control over who can contact them and what they can see. This joins the new parental supervision hub Meta introduced for its platforms.

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