Between massive layoffs, a global IT outage and unfinished artificial intelligence gadgets, the last 12 months haven't been the most prolific in the tech sphere.
Massive layoffs
The year was particularly difficult for the technology industries, including the video game industry.
There hasn't been a month where layoffs haven't been announced in the world of technology and video games. I don't think there's a studio that hasn't been affected by cuts and layoffs.
says Carl-Edwin Michel, techno columnist.
The Quebec industry was also splashed by the downward revision of tax credits for video game studios, announced in March by the Minister of Finance, Eric Girard.
It's a real shame, because it will affect a lot of video game studios.
According to the Quebec Video Game Guild, the simple announcement of the Girard budget has already slowed down the momentum of international studios who planned to invest in local production.
I hope they change course, but for now, it's at a standstill
he laments.
CrowdStrike's global outage
An end-of-year tech review wouldn't be worthy of its name if it didn't include the mess surrounding CrowdStrike's global outage on Microsoft devices.
A problem in an update testing system caused an anomaly that crippled some 8.5 million computers worldwide, many of which required manual intervention by IT technical teams.
In Canada, customs, hospitals, banks, stock markets as well as telecommunications and media have been affected.
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Planes were grounded during the computer outage.
Photo : Getty Images / Joe Raedle
The airline sector too: Delta Air Lines had to cancel thousands of flights and took weeks to recover from the breakdown. These delays earned it a summons to the American Congress, in the same way as CrowdStrike, in order to address these IT setbacks.
Shareholders of the cybersecurity firm have also initiated a class action against the company, feeling deceived about the reliability of its software tests.
CrowdStrike should still be making headlines in 2025.
AI has shown us all the colors
In technology, January often rhymes with innovation, since it is at this time that the important global Consumer Electronics Shows (CES) is held. At the start of 2024, portable gadgets powered by artificial intelligence (AI) stole the show at this industry high point: the Humane AI Pin and the Rabbit R1.
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Humane AI Pin sells for $950 CAD on top of a $34 monthly subscription.
Photo : https://humane.com/
The Rabbit R1 is a handheld device that can receive commands in natural language and is navigated using a wheel. The Humane AI Pin, for its part, is worn on clothing, has a camera and uses projection and hands to interact with the system.
These two gadgets, from start-ups, were supposed to replace our smartphone, but this did not happen, according to Carl-Edwin Michel.
We realize that companies have surfed the AI wave with all kinds of gadgets that do not [le poids].
L’IA has also been at the heart of numerous mobilizations, notably legal, for copyright infringement. Canadian media have also united to attack OpenAI, which they accuse of using their online content without their consent to train its ChatGPT tool.
The American daily The New York Timesalready in legal action against OpenAI and Microsoft since 2023, has also put Perplexity AI on notice so that the company stops plundering its content. The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) has filed a complaint against Suno and Udio, two tools that allow you to generate music from a simple request.
If AI did not disrupt the American elections in the way we believed, it still been misused on social media
notes the techno columnist. People like Elon Musk, who used theIA to harbor and create fake news on its social network X, with fake images of Kamala Harris, for example […] I find it deplorable.
Disappointment for the Apple Vision Pro
Apple's mixed reality headset, the Vision Pro, has been long awaited by fans of the metaverse. Sold in Canada at a price of $5,000 plus taxes, many quickly became disillusioned… including Carl-Edwin Michel.
We realized that there is nothing extraordinary about this helmet, apart from the price which is extraordinary.
The final blow for Apple was the fact that the Meta Quest 3 headset, launched in October 2023, was capable of doing more or less the same things, at a fraction of the price
underlines the techno columnist, who was able to test the two devices.
The American giant Meta's presence for years in the immersive experiences niche gives it a head start in creating partnerships and applications for its devices – one of the main criticisms of Apple's headset is a breach in this chapter.
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The Apple Vision Pro virtual and augmented reality headset was released in February in the United States.
Photo : Getty Images / ANGELA WEISS
The columnist nevertheless recognizes that the image quality of Apple's product is clearly superior to that of its opponent. Even if the experience is of better quality on the Vision Pro side, for the same application, I will prefer the Meta Quest and pay less
he adds.
Expectations were high for the Apple Vision Pro, especially that a Quebecer was involved in its development
he adds. Apple bought Montreal startup VrVana and its mixed reality technology for more than $30 million in 2017.
More and more expensive subscriptions
Disney+, SpotifyNetflix… Virtually all streaming services have experienced price increases, or changes to subscription plans that have had repercussions on the wallets of the Canadian population in 2024.
The premium subscription to Disney+, for example, increased from $120 to $160 per year. That of Spotify saw an increase of 24% in December. Netflix, for its part, has pulled the plug for good on its basic ad-free plan, forcing people to pay more for the similar offering, or less for one with ads.
We decided to cut the cable, because applications are the future. […] We're rethinking whether it's still worth it.
It's common in tech culture to offer a service that's not very expensive and practical at first, like Airbnb. But as soon as the critical mass gets on board, we increase prices
he explains.
The techno columnist is nevertheless delighted to see the emergence of cheaper, alternative solutions with advertisements, as is the case for Netflix and Crave, for example.
Social media giants are dodging some responsibilities
TikTok Canada and Meta were to be heard at the Special Commission on the impacts of screens and social networks on the health and development of young people (CSESJ) for the first time at the end of September. The hearing was postponed until the end of November.
In the meantime, the Canadian subsidiary of TikTok has been dissolved by Ottawa, citing risks to national security
and at the same time canceling his presence at the new session. Meta withdrew a few days later, forcing the cancellation of the hearing.
It is important that these platforms, which are very important in Quebec and Canada […] are liable.
Added to this is the blocking of news on Meta's platforms, maintained for more than a year, and discussions about which have stalled between the company and the government.
This does not exclude recourse to the power of subpoena.
