Chrysler's recall woes, cord-cutting continues & Windows 10 launch: BUSINESS WEEK WRAP

Cord-cutting is nothing new, but a new report this week shed new light on just how common the practice has become.

If you`ve never heard the term, cord-cutters are people who are ditching their traditional satellite or terrestrial cable television service in favour of a variety of online streaming services, such as Netflix and others.

The industry has been worrying about the trend for years, but so far it's yet to really make a dent in overall cable numbers. But according to a report from IDC Canada, it's starting to gain steam. The consultancy says more than half a million Canadian households will cancel their cable TV service in favour of other online options by 2019.

That will come with an 8 per cent decline in revenues too. It's going to be "a transformational few years in Canada," the company told the CBC's Ellen Mauro in a report this week, "and we are seeing Canadians consume content in new ways that aren't necessarily all tied to traditional TV service."

Windows 10 launched

If at first you don't succeed — try, and try again. That seems to be Microsoft's strategy of late. The company has rolled out its latest version of its ubiquitous operating system this week. Called Windows 10, it's the first major launch since Windows 8 a few years ago, which went over with consumers like a lead balloon.

The newest iteration aims to simplify the confusing features that its predecessor introduced. The much-missed Start Menu is back but there are also new features, like a personal voice assistant named Cortana.

Gone, too, are the days when the company is going to pester users to upgrade to their latest versions. Once you're on 10, Windows says it will move away from charging for constant updates and will instead keep your system up to date as long as you stay in their ecosystem.

These are all ideas the company has floated in the past, before formalizing them with the OS that they say will turn around the company. "Windows 10 is really, uh, the Windows 8 strategy, with hopefully better execution," was how one analyst put it to us this week.

Fiat Chrysler fined $105M

Recalls were back in the news this week, with Fiat Chrysler fined a record $105 million US for improperly handling a series of 23 previous recalls involving 11 million vehicles. In addition to the fine, the company must now buy back millions of Jeeps, Durangos and Chargers that have yet to be fixed.

It's a huge figure and a groundbreaking case, but what's less clear is the impact on Canada. That`s because unlike the U.S., Canada still lacks legislation to mandate car recalls and get accurate data about how many vehicles are affected, how long it will take to bring them in, and what`s being done to fix it.

Not even the Transport Minister knows. "I simply was left blindsided on this issue," Lisa Raitt told us this week, saying she only heard about the fine and recall news when she read reports about it in the media.

It's an issue the government has pledged to tackle. Indeed it tabled legislation that would have done that in the last parliament. But the bill died when the last session ended, and now new legislation will be needed after the next election.

Other stuff

Those were just a few of our most-read stories this week. Follow us on Twitter for more, and don`t forget to keep up to date by checking out our website. In the meantime, here's a day by day list of our best stuff from the past week.

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