February 9, 2025

Web and Technology News

The Morning After: Ontario cancels then un-cancels its Starlink contract over tariff trade war

After President Trump announced a 25 percent tariff on nearly all Canadian imported goods (and Canada announced its own 25 percent tariff on American imported goods), Doug Ford, the premier of Ontario — and a former supporter of President Trump — announced the Canadian territory would be “ripping up” a $100 million contract with Elon Musk’s Starlink. The contract was signed in November last year.

Musk, boss of Starlink and the richest man in the world, is a close confidant of Trump and has control over the so-called Department of Government Efficiency, or DOGE (urgh), tasked with cost-cutting and deregulation in government.

Ford believed this was enough to link Musk (and his businesses) to Trump’s tariffs. He said Ontario “won’t do business with people hellbent on destroying our economy” and that Musk wants to “take food off the table” of hard-working Canadians. Ford also commanded the Liquor Control Board of Ontario (LCBO) to remove American-made spirits from store shelves. (Oh no, not the Tito’s vodka!)

It’s since de-escalated. After Prime Minister Trudeau and President Trump agreed to pause the tariff standoff for 30 days, Ontario Premier Doug Ford said he was also pausing the province’s cancelation of its Starlink contract.

— Mat Smith

Trump’s tariffs on Mexico, Canada and China could drive up prices of cars, electronics, fuel, food and more

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After being nominated in November 2024 for two Grammys, “Now and Then” won Best Rock Performance. When the song, as a demo, was first recorded, John Lennon’s singing and piano were on the same audio track, and separating them was impossible. Fortunately, AI can now do that with zero effort. The surviving Beatles, Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr, were able to complete the song by recording new bass and drum parts and released it almost 30 years later. Sean Ono Lennon, the son of the late Beatle, accepted the trophy in his father’s stead. “Now and Then” was also nominated for Record of the Year.

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The absurdist PBJ The Musical (first previewed at Day of the Devs ’24) heads to the App Store on March 26. It’s a collaboration between studio founder Philipp Stollenmayer and English musician and comedian Lorraine Bowen, famous for “The Crumble Song” and a former semi-finalist of Britain’s Got Talent. Kamibox says the game’s happy ending involves (spoilers) the creation of the beloved peanut butter and jelly sandwich, which might be a welcome salve to often bleak and harrowing AAA gaming.

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Announced at CES 2025, Anker’s Eufy E20 is a first-of-its-kind robot vacuum that turns into a cordless stick vacuum, with attachments, plus a self-emptying base. It even comes in at a mid-range price of $550. Sure, it works best as a robot, but the transformers-style design will make this a tempting buy for those who don’t want to rely solely on a robovac. It transforms quickly between modes, and while the stick vac certainly isn’t the strongest, it does the job for emergency cereal spills and muckier spots.

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This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/general/the-morning-after-engadget-newsletter-121534913.html?src=rss
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Microsoft is now the home of the video game industry’s largest union

Quality assurance workers at ZeniMax Studios have voted in favor of forming a union with Communications Workers of America — and ZeniMax’s parent company, Microsoft, didn’t stand in the way. Microsoft formally recognized ZeniMax Workers United/CWA alongside today’s vote results, making this the largest union in the video game industry and the first US union at Microsoft overall.

About 300 ZeniMax staff members were involved in the unionization effort, which was brewing for months before going public in early December. This was around the time QA testers at another major video game studio, Blizzard Albany, voted to unionize with CWA. The Blizzard Albany union is the second at parent company Activision Blizzard, after QA staff at Raven Software voted to organize in May 2022.

The employees behind ZeniMax Workers United/CWA argue that the union will help put an end to sudden periods of crunch, make pay more equitable, and improve communication with management, among other workplace benefits. ZeniMax Studios specializes in online experiences and is responsible for Elder Scrolls Online. The studio was absorbed by Microsoft in March 2021 as part of the broader ZeniMax Media acquisition, a $7.5 billion deal that brought Bethesda and other prominent development houses under the Xbox banner.

A Microsoft spokesperson provided the following statement regarding the ZeniMax Studios vote: “In light of the results of the recent unionization vote, we recognize the Communications Workers of America as the bargaining representative for the Quality Assurance employees at ZeniMax. We look forward to engaging in good faith negotiations as we work towards a collective bargaining agreement.”

Microsoft is currently attempting to acquire — emphasis on attempting — Activision Blizzard, which would tie all of these unionization campaigns together. Activision Blizzard has actively tried to quell organization efforts, while Microsoft in June said it would respect all unionization efforts at Activision Blizzard. The ZeniMax vote was the first big test of Microsoft’s neutrality when facing internal unionization.

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