Village Gamer

Laptops and desktop computers continue to grow in popularity as both graduation and Father’s Day gifts. In response to this trend, Absolute^® Software Corporation has released some timely tips to empower recent graduates and deserving dads to protect their new computers.

Last year, surveys by BIGresearch® and the National Retail Federation (NRF) revealed that 10.6 percent of consumers purchasing gifts for graduates planned to give electronics, a 9 percent increase from 2009¹. Additionally, 18.5 percent of those surveyed this year intended to buy consumer electronics or computer-related accessories for Father’s Day². To help consumers protect their new costly devices and sensitive personal information, Absolute offers the following tips:

• Don’t Rely on Free Software Trials – It’s easy to forget or ignore alerts when software trials expire, leaving the computer at risk for malicious threats or worse if the device is ever lost or stolen. From day one of use, owners should activate full subscriptions of theft recovery, anti-virus and anti-spyware software. For example, consumers who activate their subscription to LoJack for Laptops are instantly able to take advantage of a full suite of security features to manage and protect their computer.
• Choose Dynamic Passwords – To achieve strong levels of protection, passwords should be changed often, differ greatly and be difficult to guess. According to research from the Georgia Tech Research Institute, ideal passwords also consist of a mix of randomized upper- and lower- case letters, at least one number and one symbol, and should be longer than 12 characters³.
• Fill Out The Warranty Information – If the computer is damaged while it is out of the owner’s hands, the manufacturer may cover repairs as part of the warranty if the device is recovered. Agreements differ from company to company; however, taking a few minutes to submit warranty information online or via mail can save consumers from additional distress and out-of-pocket expenses.
• Designate Folders for Sensitive Files – Every second counts after a laptop is stolen. Using the Delete functionality in LoJack for Laptops, users can remotely erase all or specific files so that they are not exposed to prying eyes. To get to important files quickly, computer owners should designate files, under non-descriptive names, to contain this type of information.
• Remain Alert When Traveling – Many laptop-friendly locations that consumers encounter during travel are also areas at highest risk for laptop theft. Based on customer reports filed to the Absolute Theft Recovery Team, some of the at-risk locations are public transit, hotels, restaurants/cafes and airports. Staying alert and maintaining possession of the computer at all times during travel will help to prevent theft. Read the rest of this entry »

The mesh prize is awarded annually to a project or a group of projects that seek to collectively improve the Canadian Digital Media Industry. The prize, which is sponsored by Teehan + Lax, seeks to fund projects that create new understanding, capabilities or tools that the digital media community can benefit from. The prize recipient will receive $40,000 towards the successful completion of their project.

The winner for 2011 is The Centre for Social Innovation (CSI), which was founded in 2004 with the mission to catalyze social innovation in Toronto and around the world.  By providing high quality shared workspace for over 300 nonprofits and businesses CSI has created a dynamic community of professionals that have an appetite for social change.

Project Scope:

Bring women together in a creative, hands-on project where they can showcase talent, build skills and establish ongoing mentorship opportunities. Working with an advisory group, the activities include:

• Launch a competition in the fall that will invite teams of women in technology to design and develop digital game projects.
• Following the competition launch, participants will have 10 weeks to develop their digital game with access to hands-on advice and mentorship.
• At the end of the 10 weeks the projects will be judged and the winner will receive $10,000 and a permanent desk at a CSI workspace facility to further develop their project.

The launch and judging event will be open to the public. This year’s project will be piloted in Toronto with hopes of rolling out to other cities in Canada next year.

The mesh prize is a founding partner for this project and there is opportunity for more partners to be involved in this pilot year and growth to expand, both financially and with advisory support roles. If you are interested in this helping this project email Jessica Hazen, Director, Stakeholder Engagement a the Centre for Social Innovation.

Background on the Social Innovation Project:

Information and communications technology (ICT) has a lot to offer in terms of exciting new developments in digital media, creative communications tools, finding solutions to challenges in society and strengthening businesses. It’s easy to assume that this ever-growing industry would also have a lot to offer in terms of careers for Canadians. Sure, except for only half of our demographic. Women represent a very small percentage of the ICT workforce, and this number has been declining over the past two decades.

Across the ICT industry there is agreement that 1) women are underrepresented; 2) an increase of women in this field can bring a positive effect for their business; and 3) it would be nice to hire more women but finding candidates has been a challenge. In addition, there is great potential for more women to lead their own ICT businesses.

The Centre for Social Innovation (CSI) sees the gap between men and women benefiting from growth in the ICT industry, paired with the industry appetite to narrow this gap, as a perfect opportunity to make a positive change in the digital community. As such, the process of strengthening the technology community at CSI will include strategies to showcase talent and build opportunities for women in this field.

To compound the issue even further, the data currently being collected reflects only the larger organizations, while ignoring the small to medium-sized businesses, who are the primary drivers of our economy.

Toronto’s Claron Technology has announced two new integrations of its zero footprint Nil viewer with CoActiv Medical and Voyant Health cloud based solutions. Since its introduction at RSNA 2010, Nil has integrated with a growing number of partners in the radiology and ophthalmology/optometry market. Nil is a software solution allowing clinicians to securely visualize 2D and 3D imaging studies inside or outside the hospital network. It runs anywhere a Web browser is available, on Windows, Apple, Linux, iPad, iPhone, Android and Blackberry. Nil users can organize collaboration sessions with their clinical partners where all participants share and annotate the same study in real time. By providing an enhanced experience to their clinicians, Nil allows hospitals, physician groups and imaging centers to maintain and increase their referral base.

“The Nil platform, with its innovative zero footprint foundation and ability to be fully virtualized, provides our customers the flexibility to integrate easily with their cloud-based solutions,” said Claudio Gatti, co-founder and Co-CEO of Claron Technology. “Customers can deploy Nil in their web-based cloud solution without restrictions and implement the solution that is right for them.”

CoActiv Medical’s recently announced Exam-Browser^TM universal clinical viewer is based on Claron’s Nil technology. “Finally, physicians have a sophisticated, but easy-to-use, method to communicate, consult and collaborate across multiple image platforms, including local PCs as well as mobile devices,” said Ed Heere, President and CEO of CoActiv. “CoActiv is excited about introducing this major innovation in medical image communications. Exam-Browser will allow physicians to view any modality from any PACS in any format. Viewing anatomy as 3D structures will help all physicians as well as patients more fully understand a diagnosis. CoActiv is one of the industry’s leading providers of secure, HIPAA compliant, medical image archiving and with the new viewer’s standards-based technology, images stored on the CoActiv Vendor-Neutral, Cloud-Based Archive can be viewed in conjunction with any PACS.”

Nil will also be deployed in the Orthopedic market through integration with Voyant Health’s revolutionary OrthoWeb. “The cloud technology platform allows us to deliver OrthoWeb to our customers using a completely new model,” says Zeev Glozman, CEO of Voyant Health. “Nil universal viewer is the perfect match for OrthoWeb allowing our user base to view and interact with images anywhere they can access OrthoWeb. OrthoWeb is based on industry standard cloud technology like SalesForce and Amazon Cloud EC2, and Nil’s ability to naturally operate in those environments made the integration process very smooth and efficient.”

Reminder: The BCTIA Tech Impact Awards are on June 9th. Tickets are still available for purchase.
Reminder: The Art of Marketing session day is also on June 9th in Vancouver. Tickets are still available for purchase.

BCIC has appointed Entrepreneur-in-Residence Mark Payne to the position of Acting CEO, effective yesterday. This follows the departure of former CEO Danny Robinson, who will be taking on a new role as Advisor to the Board. Board Chair Greg Aasen announced that the search for a new CEO will begin very soon.

Catalyst Canada announced today that it will honour Monique F. Leroux, Chair of the Board, President and CEO, Desjardins Group; Jennifer Tory, Regional President, Greater Toronto, RBC; and Michael Bach, Director of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion, KPMG LLP, with The Catalyst Canada Honours. The Catalyst Canada Honours recognizes three exceptional individuals who have demonstrated commitment, passion and results through their championship of women’s advancement in Canadian business.

“This year’s champions are extraordinarily committed to advancing women in the Canadian corporate world. Catalyst research shows that companies gain when they have a greater number of women on their boards and in senior leadership roles—and that highly placed sponsors like this year’s champions are the key to women’s advancement,” said Deborah Gillis, Senior Vice President, Membership & Global Operations, Catalyst. “Advancing women to leadership strengthens companies and promotes the sustainability and well-being of corporate Canada as a whole. By recognizing these outstanding leaders with The Catalyst Canada Honours, Catalyst hopes to inspire a robust pipeline of women and men who will follow in their footsteps.”

With a mission to create visible role models for Canada’s current and future leaders, The Catalyst Canada Honours recognizes a Company/Firm Leader, a Business Leader and a Human Resources/Diversity Leader who champion progress by advancing women in their organizations, industries and communities. The three categories reflect the unique and critical roles played by those who champion inclusion. The Catalyst Canada Honours celebrates leaders who have made a critical difference to women’s advancement, while inspiring men and women leaders to step up, demonstrate foresight and leadership and become champions themselves.

“Being in business carries with it responsibilities to the people who choose to work with us. BMO became one of Catalyst’s earliest members not only because of a shared conviction that workplaces must provide opportunities for everyone but also to serve as a constant reminder of the standard to which we hold ourselves as a company,” said Bill Downe, President and CEO of BMO Financial Group and Chair of The Catalyst Canada Honours dinner. “The Catalyst Canada Honours is all about recognizing individuals who are setting the bar higher and understand that it’s the strength of Canada’s workforce that will define corporate Canada’s success and, in turn, our customers’ success in a rapidly changing world.” Read the rest of this entry »

The Canada Media Fund (CMF) thanks the Government of Canada and particularly the Minister of Canadian Heritage and Official Languages, the Honourable James Moore, for announcing in the Budget that the CMF will receive funding support on an ongoing basis.

“This commitment will enable the CMF to truly play its part in Canada’s Digital Economy Strategy”, commented Louis Roquet, Chair of the CMF’s Board of Directors.

The Government’s support, combined with the funding that the CMF receives from Canada’s cable and satellite distributors, will enable the CMF to provide over $370 million to the television and digital media industry in 2011-2012 and to support the creation of quality Canadian content on multiple platforms.

“This is most welcome news for the industry as a whole” stated Valerie Creighton, President and CEO of the CMF. “With the help of this commitment, the CMF will continue to drive innovation and to support Canada’s competitiveness in the global marketplace.”

As a result of this announcement, the CMF will now be in a position to release a supplementary program budget of $100 million which, combined with the preliminary program budget of $271 million announced on March 31, will amount to a total program budget of $371 million for 2011-2012.

The total funding allocated to each of the CMF’s programs is outlined below, please click the image for full-size view.

Via ESAC: Once again, some of the most anticipated games at this year’s E3 Expo, are developed in Canada. Over 10 major titles at this year’s show are developed in Canadian studios including major blockbusters such as Assassin’s Creed: Revelations, Mass Effect 3, and Prototype (full list below). These games showcase the exceptional talent and expertise of Canadians within the global video game industry.

“The Canadian made games shown at this year’s E3 really demonstrate the calibre of talent and innovation here in the Great White North,” said Danielle Parr, Executive Director of the Entertainment Software Association of Canada (ESAC).  “Canada remains a powerhouse in the world of game development, punching well above its weight,” she added.

According to recently-released research (PDF) by Secor Consulting for ESAC, over the past 2 years the video game industry in Canada has grown by 11% and now currently employs approximately 16,000 people across the country at nearly 350 companies, making Canada’s the third largest video game industry in the world.  The industry is projected to grow at 17% over the next two years.

New made-in-Canada games from ESAC-member companies* showcased at E3 2011:

·         Assassin’s Creed: Revelations (Ubisoft)
·         Far Cry 3 (Ubisoft)
·         FIFA Soccer 12 (EA Sports)
·         Hole In The Wall (Ludia / Microsoft)
·         Just Dance: Kinect (Ubisoft)
·         Mass Effect 3 (Bioware / Electronic Arts)
·         Need For Speed: The Run (Electronic Arts)
·         NHL 12 (Electronic Arts)
·         Prototype 2 (Radical Entertainment / Activision)
·         Spider-Man: Edge of Time (Beenox / Activision)
·         SSX (Electronic Arts)
·         The Darkness 2 (Digital Extremes / 2K Games (Take-Two Interactive))
·         War Hammer 40,000: Space Marine  (THQ)
·         X-Men: Destiny (Silicon Knights / Activision)
·         Your Shape Fitness (Ubisoft)

* This list does not include the many non-ESAC member studios who are also down showcasing their titles at this year’s E3 Expo.

OpenText™ has joined forces with the Institute of Public Administration of Canada (IPAC) to launch a new and exciting service for the public sector around the world called Public Service Without Borders (PSWB).

The secure, cloud-enabled collaboration and social media site, based on OpenText’s Social Workplace software, will connect all levels of public service employees to one another in order to network, share ideas, impart valuable lessons learned in such areas as governance, healthcare, technology and the environment, and engage.

Whether via the Internet or through mobile devices, participants will be able to connect, network, plan and deliver exciting new partnerships and initiatives at anytime, from anywhere in the world. Whether you are Canadian, American, South African, Brazilian, British, Chinese or Indian public-sector employee, you can now connect to PSWB and engage with colleagues in a safe and secure fashion; whether to exchange policies, compare programs, or simply network.

“IPAC recognizes the need to facilitate the flow of ideas and best practices across all orders of government and areas of public services,” said Denise Amyot, IPAC’s President, adding, “PSWB will create links between knowledgeable individuals, as much as between institutions and jurisdictions in an objective and non-partisan environment, to ensure that expertise, research, and best practices are shared widely.”

“Public administration touches the lives of citizens around the world through the daily actions of their governments,” said Tom Jenkins, Executive Chairman and Chief Strategy Officer of OpenText. “Improving public policies and processes is a constant challenge in our increasingly interconnected world. Public Service Without Borders offers leading social, cloud and mobile technologies to connect the public sector around the world in a way that wasn’t possible before to open an exchange of program ideas and solutions.”

Jenkins added that PSWB represents one of the world’s first truly global, cloud-based government program, one in which OpenText is proud to support, and a program for which IPAC has established truly visionary goals. Read the rest of this entry »

Can you beat the clock?  A new contest has been launched on the Interac® Facebook page that challenges you to put your knowledge of  Interac e-Transfer to the test by answering a series of questions before time runs out.

New questions will be posted on the Facebook wall each week until the contest ends on July 11th, giving you multiple chances to show off your Interac IQ. Every question answered correctly means a ballot for a chance to win 1 of 3 $1,000 Interac e-Transfers.  You can also get extra ballots by sharing with us the different ways you have used Interac e-Transfer.

Think you have the speed and the smarts? Take the 2-Minute Challenge here.

Interac e-Transfer – the quick, easy and secure alternative to cheques and cash.

• It’s a simple, convenient, and secure way to send and receive money directly from one bank account to another.
• All you need is access to online or mobile banking through a participating financial institution, and you can send money to anyone with an email address or mobile phone number and a bank account in Canada — without sharing any personal or financial information.
• There’s no need to set up a new account; and funds are available immediately.
• Notification is by email or text – no need for stamps or mailboxes!

At SES Toronto at the Hyatt Regency Toronto, June 13-15, 2011, Incisive Media is featuring “Meet the Experts Roundtable Forum,” giving attendees an opportunity to address their specific questions and share information. In addition to the presentations and panels on search engine optimization (SEO), social media, local, mobile, link building, video optimization, pay-per-click (PPC), usability and more, these two new Meet the Experts Roundtable Forums will be held: Monday, June 13 at 4:30 pm and Tuesday, June 14 at 11:30 am.

For two hours on each day of the conference, SES Toronto attendees will be able to receive a free personal consultation of their websites from SES experts, Bryan Eisenberg, Shari Thurow, Bruce and Krista Neher. These drop-in, interactive express site clinics are open to all attendees on a first-come, first-serve basis. It’s an opportunity to receive free feedback on usability, SEO and all facets of the site, and also to learn from the analysis of other websites.

From now through June 12, marketers can register for SES Toronto to receive a $100 savings.

“We’re always looking for more ways to give attendees the most up-to-date information targeted to their specific marketing and search programs. So we came up with the idea that will allow people to move among discussion groups and interact with their peers and the experts in a very personal way. We’ve scheduled both experts forums at times during the day that we can add a networking element to the mix – Monday with a cocktail reception and Tuesday with a lunch in the expo hall,” said Matt McGowan, Managing Director of Americas for Incisive Media.

“Our Express Clinics have been very popular with attendees. After all, what marketer wouldn’t want to receive free personal consulting from an expert,” continued McGowan. “This year we have specialized clinics providing feedback on conversion, usability, SEO and social media, but other aspects of the website will also be analyzed.”

Now in its eighth year, the SES Toronto conference includes two days of search marketing sessions, vendor exhibitions, and networking events on June 13 and 14, and one day of training on June 15. Many of the sessions are specifically geared towards a Canadian audience.

Waterloo’s OpenText™ will be hosting a speaker series in the U.S. that will feature  bestselling authors and thought leaders in digital technology, including Simon Sinek and MIT’s Andrew McAfee, focusing on how companies can become truly social and collaborative organizations.

Called the Purpose-Driven Speaker Series, and set to kick off in July with a wealth of online resources at a just-launched website, the series is inspired by the premise that people can reach higher and achieve more when they have a shared understanding and a common purpose.

Featured speakers include:

• Simon Sinek, author of Start With Why, a bestselling business book subtitled “How Great Leaders Inspire Everyone to Take Action”
• Andrew McAfee of the MIT Center for Digital Business and author of Enterprise 2.0: New Collaborative Tools for Your Organization’s Toughest Challenges
• John Seely Brown, author of the book A New Learning Culture and Independent Co-Chairman of the Deloitte Center for the Edge
• Michael Edson, Director of Web and New Media Strategy for the Smithsonian Institution

Each will host interactive sessions focusing on the various ways people and organizations can work together more effectively. The sessions will be captured on video and will be available online. While the sessions will be free, space will be limited and pre-registration is encouraged.  Purpose-Driven Speaker Series dates and cities include:

• Simon Sinek, July 11, New York City
• Michael Edson, September 21, Washington, D.C.
• John Seely Brown, October 18, San Francisco
• Andrew McAfee, November 1, Boston

“Companies looking to achieve a truly collaborative environment need to ensure that they – and every member of their organization – have a shared purpose. New technologies can make collaboration and connections within the organization organic and highly effective, but only that sense of purpose can inspire people to truly engage,” said James Latham, Chief Marketing Officer at OpenText. “With this speaker series, we are applying our marketing resources in a way that we believe will bring real value to our customers and inspire them to achieve new levels of success.” Read the rest of this entry »