How would you feel about being in full control of your data? Space X is moving closer to delivering high-speed internet in rural Canadian areas, and supermarkets are experiencing a major shift for shopping behaviour amidst the pandemic.
It’s all the tech news that’s popular right now. Welcome to Hashtag Trending! It’s Tuesday, November 10, and I’m your host Baneet Braich.
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Tim Berners Lee, the inventor of the world wide web is launching a privacy-focused service to secure data. His startup Inrupt wants you to control your data from companies, governments, hospitals, and more. The main idea is that you store your personal information separately and only share it when it’s necessary with services while you’re accessing them. These data collections are called pods and people can permit others, like a doctor for example, to use their information. Lee said in a statement to CNET, “Ultimately, this new foundation of trust and cooperation will lead to entirely new business models that actually benefit users as well.” The adoption of Inrupt could create a historic pivot in the move away from apps that harvest your data to personalize ads.
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SpaceX-owned Starlink is moving closer towards providing high-speed internet to Canadians in remote areas. ISED Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada has greenlit the company to beam internet from its constellation of satellites in low orbit. With the blessings of our government. Starlink plans to launch services in Canada and the northern U.S. this year, according to its website. But Starlink isn’t the only one going gung-ho on satellites, the other offering comes from our home and native land: yesterday, the federal government signed a $600 million agreement with the Canadian satellite company Telesat to bring internet to rural Canada. [LinkedIn thread]
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The pandemic is largely impacting how supermarkets modernize and adapt to changes in shopping. According to the Wall Street Journal, many markets are allocating more floor space to alcohol, fresh food, and contactless payment. Some are even creating rooms to do digital orders as online shopping continues to grow with the click and collect shopping model. The shift to e-commerce has been rapid and supermarkets also find it more expensive due to the extra costs of packing and delivering orders. The month of April highlights the peak of the COVID-19 impact, with the proportion of retail e-commerce sales, according to Stats Canada, jumping from 3.8 per cent in April 2019 to a record high of 11.4 per cent in April 2020. [LinkedIn thread]
That’s all the tech news that’s trending right now. Hashtag Trending is a part of the ITWC Podcast network. Add us to your Alexa Flash Briefing or your Google Home daily briefing. I’m Baneet Braich, thanks for listening