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Ryerson University Students Assist Paris Transit Patrons

Wired Woman [1]Wired Woman Vancouver [1] is presenting Building Community with Social Media [2] on June 14th at UBC Robson Square. Starting at 5:30pm, this education session will assist attendees discovering the value of effective strategies for building a community through social media in an exciting, interactive round table discussion with five experts.

What is community in relation to the web? Community is beyond a blog, and a few people following you on Twitter. This evening will help you realize what the new meaning of an online community is, and why it holds an important spot at the new marketing table. Find out how the experts are building, engaging, and managing their communities for themselves and their clients. Tickets for this event are available online [2] at a cost of $35.00 for Wired Woman members and $40.00 for non-members. It is worth noting that you can save $5.00 by signing up for free and becoming a member of the Wired Woman network.

Panel:
Briana Tomkinson – Tenth to the Fraser and Fjord West
Carisa Miklusak – SoMedios
Chris Breikss – 6S Marketing
Mhairi Petrovic – Out-Smarts Marketing
Sibylle Tinsel – Club Fat Ass

wavefront [3]WaveFront [3] has partnered with the Mobile Computing Promotion Consortium (MCPC) of Japan, and they are inviting Canadian mobile developers to take part in a unique opportunity for facilitated access to the Japanese wireless market. This two-part programme [4] begins with one-on-one coaching sessions to be held at Discovery Park in Vancouver this June 21st through 23rd.

Following the information session on June 21st, selected participants will meet with visiting MCPC representatives for product assessments and structuring assistance, as well as an overview of marketing strategies over the remaining days of the visit. The information sessions are free to interested companies, but do require registration [4]. If you are unable to attend in person, you can attend via the virtual event which will be hosted on Mingleverse. Part 2 of this partnership will offer those selected companies the opportunity to participate in the 8th annual MCPC Solutions Fair in Tokyo in November 2010.

Ryerson University [5]Paris Metro passengers have a new way to navigate the transit system in the palm of their hand. Developed expressly to assist passengers with special needs, the Mobile Transit Companion, a made-in-Canada mobile application, uses context-aware self-adaptive computing to deliver live, customized data to passengers en route. The inclusive application, complete with useful information for all passengers, was created through a partnership between Ryerson University’s Digital Media Zone [6] (DMZ) and Sweden’s Appear Networks.

Régie Autonome des Transports Parisiens (RATP) commuters can now download the free software and set up their user profile. Information is then automatically sent to their mobile phones according to their profile and contextual information. For example, they can receive notifications such as the location of station elevators and Metro transfer points; facilities and nearby businesses; updated schedules for connecting trains; and availability of services at each station. For blind and low-vision passengers, the Mobile Transit Companion uses a speech-enabled, gesture-driven user interface. For other user groups, including the elderly, deaf or hard of hearing, or passengers with reduced mobility, the application offers an intuitive and easy-to-use visual interface.

“At Ryerson we see a very niche use for context-aware computing in public transit and Intelligent Transport Systems (ITS),” said Hossein Rahnama, project leader, Ryerson postdoctoral student and DMZ Steering Committee Member. “We are specializing in context-aware consumer applications in airports, airlines, trains, subways, buses, etc. and will be working with Metrolinx on a project for GO Transit here in the fall. With RATP, our focus was on passengers with special needs because those communities could really benefit from such applications, even though they are often not considered when developing apps.”RATP [7]

The Mobile Transit Companion’s positioning function is integrated with a web-based monitoring service so that public transit staff can easily locate and assist passengers with special needs. The only existing social tracking application for public transit passengers, this monitoring service has the capability to be shared with friends and family. Using the interface, the transit authority can message selected passengers, which is particularly helpful for Deaf or hard of hearing passengers who can’t hear announcements made over the PA. Messages are communicated to each passenger according to the information on his in her profile, e.g.: the message will be interpreted from text to speech if s/he has indicated Low Vision.

The project was part of European research consortium developing an open-source middleware platform. Ryerson was the only North American player. “There are a lot of advantages to research collaboration with international partners in the Information and Communications Technologies sector,” said Rahnama. “In fact, one of our key objectives in this project is to demonstrate those advantages, such as combining the smartphone popularity and development of North America with the digital mobile telephony advances of Europe. The success of the MUSIC platform has inspired another project with Europe, slated for fall 2010.”

The Mobile Transit Companion is currently being piloted on Android phones in 10 stations along Line 14 of the Paris Metro. Ryerson’s Digital Media Zone at Yonge Dundas Square provides Ryerson University students with the opportunity to develop their digitally based ideas into consumer products with help from mentors and industry.

Hasbro [8]Hasbro [9] has announced several new and innovative licensing programs supporting global powerhouse brands such as Transformers, Nerf, Littlest Pet Shop, My Little Pony, Monopoly and PlaySkool. As part of its presence at the International Licensing Expo [10] which takes place in Las Vegas over the next three days, Hasbro will showcase major entertainment and lifestyle licensing initiatives underway in the areas of television, movies, digital gaming, performance sports, and apparel as well as programs that are driving increased market traction in key international territories, including France, Mexico and China.

“The lineup of Hasbro-branded digital games underway for release in the coming months will raise the bar in terms of creativity, immersion and innovation,” said Mark Blecher, Senior Vice President and General Manager of Digital Media and Gaming at Hasbro. “With EA’s success in selling more than eight million units of Hasbro-inspired games globally at retail and many of its mobile games ranked consistently in the Top 10 paid apps, as well as fans logging in 350 million Hasbro game sessions on Pogo, it is clear that consumers have liked what they’ve seen and played. We are very eager to deliver this next wave of titles underscoring that the Hasbro-branded play experience just keeps getting better.” Battleship for the iPhone [11]

For Hasbro board game fans, EA will deliver a spate of titles for all major platforms through the end of the year. For aspiring real estate moguls, the stakes will get even higher this fall with a dynamic 3D gameplay environment in Monopoly Streets for the Wii™, Xbox 360® videogame and entertainment system, and PlayStation®3 computer entertainment system. Rounding out the Monopoly digital lineup will be the release of Monopoly Classic for the Nintendo DS™. Hasbro Family Game Night 3, a digital title with a collection of five games – The Game of Life, Clue, Mouse Trap, Twister, and Yahtzee Hands Down – will also land at retail this fall. Hosted by Mr. Potato Head in a theme park setting, this title will rally family and friends around the Wii, Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 for hours of casual fun as well as fierce competition. For Xbox LIVE Arcade fans, three additional Hasbro Family Game Night titles, including Jenga, Pictureka and Connect 4×4, will also be released this summer.

In addition, world domination will be achievable this summer on Xbox LIVE® Arcade with Risk: Factions and Risk for the iPhone® and iPod® touch is also in development. Other expected summer releases from EA Mobile [12]™ include Lite-Brite and Operation for the iPhone and iPod touch.

In another area of licensing that could lead to work for our VFX studios, Hasbro has announced that they have several big screen projects in the works aside from 2011’s Transformers 3 (DreamWorks Pictures and Paramount Pictures). Universal Pictures will bring iconic super hero Stretch Armstrong and an epic Battleship live-action film to the big screen in the summer of 2012, and Hasbro has also signed on to produce films based on some of their other game brands including Monopoly, Candy Land and Ouija.

Carina Press [13]Carina Press [13], a digital-first publishing house and imprint of Harlequin Enterprises Ltd., officially launched today with the release of their first ten titles. Carina Press offers ebooks which are sold direct to consumers through the Carina Press website and numerous third-party websites.

“As a digital-first publisher Carina Press is a natural extension to our business; it builds on our digital strength and leadership position. It gives us greater flexibility in the type of editorial we can accept from authors and offer to readers. As such, we expect to discover new authors and unique voices,” said Donna Hayes, CEO and Publisher of Harlequin. “As well, we hope to reach a new group of readers with niche editorial.”

Carina Press will begin by publishing 37 books in its first month–approximately 10 books a week–across a broad range of fiction with an emphasis on romance and its sub-genres, including science fiction, fantasy, erotica, gay/lesbian, mystery, suspense and thriller. Carina Press ebooks vary in price from $2.99 to $6.99 depending on the length of the work, which can range from 20,000 to more than 100,000 words.

“More and more readers are migrating to the digital world,” said Angela James, Executive Editor of Carina Press. “They’re as interested in refreshingly original stories, told by authors with truly distinct perspectives, as they are compelled by the immediacy of digital publishing. With a click they can have the book right in front of them on their computer or portable device. There’s no waiting for a book to arrive and it’s never out of stock.”

Carina Press ebooks are available on the Carina Press website [13] and through third-party retailers such as Amazon.com and Barnes & Noble. Carina Press ebooks are published in the ePUB format and can be read on a variety of devices, including computer, iPad, Kindle, Sony Reader, nook, Kobo, BlackBerry and mobile phone. Carina Press does not utilize digital rights management so readers are able to share stories between devices. Carina Press also offers digital review galleys through NetGalley.

Audible Inc. will produce unabridged audio versions of many Carina Press titles and make them available at Audible.com, iTunes and Amazon.com beginning in July 2010.

Carina Press is currently accepting submissions in all genres of commercial fiction. Carina Press will consider shorter length stories, genre novels from 50,000 to more than 100,000 words and complex narratives of over 100,000 words. Carina Press will also acquire books that have been previously released in print form, but for which the author has either retained digital rights or had digital rights revert to them.