North Inc. was once heralded as a gem of the Canadian tech scene and the future of wearable computing. There was just one problem for the Kitchener smart glasses maker: No one really wanted what it was selling.The eight-year-old company is now in the final stages of selling itself to Google’s parent, Alphabet Inc., sources say. The deal is expected to be worth about US$180-million, though it is not clear if that is the company’s value or if debt payments factor into the price. The Globe and Mail is not identifying its sources because they were not authorized to discuss the deal. North had...…North Inc. was once heralded as a gem of the Canadian tech scene and the future of wearable computing. There was just one problem for the Kitchener smart glasses maker: No one really wanted what it was selling.The eight-year-old company is now in the final stages of selling itself to Google’s parent, Alphabet Inc., sources say. The deal is expected to be worth about US$180-million, though it is not clear if that is the company’s value or if debt payments factor into the price. The Globe and Mail is not identifying its sources because they were not authorized to discuss the deal. North had...WW…

Google affiliate Sidewalk Labs is abandoning its smart-city development project in Toronto after two and a half years of controversy over its origins, overreach, and privacy and financial implications.Sidewalk won the right to plan a community called Quayside on the downtown Toronto lake shore , hoping to build a 12-acre neighbourhood “from the internet up.” In partnership with Waterfront Toronto, Sidewalk imagined a place filled with new technologies such as heated sidewalks, robotic garbage systems, and, crucially, sensors that would collect data about how people move about cities and...…Google affiliate Sidewalk Labs is abandoning its smart-city development project in Toronto after two and a half years of controversy over its origins, overreach, and privacy and financial implications.Sidewalk won the right to plan a community called Quayside on the downtown Toronto lake shore , hoping to build a 12-acre neighbourhood “from the internet up.” In partnership with Waterfront Toronto, Sidewalk imagined a place filled with new technologies such as heated sidewalks, robotic garbage systems, and, crucially, sensors that would collect data about how people move about cities and...WW…