Village Gamer

Toronto – The Canadian Television Fund (CTF) has announced that it has increased its program commitments for 2009-2010 by almost 14% over the previous year. “During the current economic crisis, it is important that the CTF continue to invest in the television industry, an industry that contributes to the country’s economy, employing thousands of Canadians across the nation, and that is vital to our culture,” said Valerie Creighton, President and CEO of the CTF. “Investing in Canadian production puts Canadian stories on the small screen and keeps people working.”

The 2009-2010 program commitments include increases to key programs as follows:

The Digital Media Pilot Program, launched in 2008-2009, experienced high demand, with funds being allocated within six weeks of the application opening date, with the exception of the CBC/Radio-Canada allocation. Demand for this program exceeded the allocation of $2 million, and other digital media funds, including the Bell New Media Fund and the Canada New Media Fund, were also oversubscribed in 2008-2009. As a result of this high demand and in line with the recommendations by the CRTC to increase CTF funding of digital media projects, the CTF has increased the allocation for the Digital Media Program to $10 million in 2009-2010.

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Adds more than 750 stores across Canada to Bell’s national distribution network

Montreal – Bell Canada has announced that it has agreed to acquire national consumer electronics retailer The Source to further enhance the growth of Bell’s wireless, digital TV, Internet and home phone services. “The Source is a respected leader in consumer electronics retailing right across Canada. Its acquisition supports Bell’s strategic imperatives to accelerate wireless and leverage momentum in wireline services like Bell TV, Bell Internet and Bell Home Phone,” said George Cope, President and CEO of Bell and BCE.

“With its strong national presence, brand, and management team, acquiring The Source represents a competitive and cost-effective approach to ensuring Bell’s leadership in delivering the best communications products to Canadians,” Mr. Cope said. “Expanding the number of places people can buy Bell products is a core element in the execution of Bell’s strategy to achieve our goal: To be recognized by customers as Canada’s leading communications company.”

In addition to its extensive lineup of consumer electronics products, The Source plans to carry the full array of Bell consumer services at its more than 750 stores across Canada, including Bell Mobility, Solo Mobile and potentially Virgin Mobile wireless products and services, Bell TV’s industry-leading High Definition television services, high-speed Bell
Internet, and Bell Home Phone products, by January 2010.
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$55,000 awarded to emerging Canadian artists – the largest competition of its kind in Canada

Ottawa – RBC, with the support of the Canadian Art Foundation, today announced the call for entries for the 2009 RBC Canadian Painting Competition. Entries must be submitted by May 3, 2009.

Winners will be announced in October, with the national winner receiving $25,000, and two honourable mentions each receiving $15,000. Semi-finalists in the competition will see their work displayed at prominent Canadian art galleries and featured in Canadian Art magazine.

“RBC is an important contributor to the Canadian visual arts community,” said Ann Webb, Executive Director, Canadian Art Foundation. “The RBC Canadian Painting Competition discovers and recognizes the skill and talent of Canada’s emerging artists and provides national exposure of their work.”

RBC has worked closely with the Canadian Art Foundation to deliver a top quality competition that continues to grow in stature. The Canadian Art Foundation oversees the adjudication process, allowing the works to be judged by a select panel of distinguished members of the visual arts community.

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Ottawa – WICKSoft Corporation, the leader in mobile collaboration solutions, has released WICKSoft Mobile Documents for Microsoft Exchange, the latest version of their award- winning solution for the BlackBerry smartphone from Research In Motion (RIM).

In addition to providing document, calendar, and contact access to Microsoft SharePoint and file servers, this latest version gives BlackBerry users a way to access Microsoft Exchange public folders and delegate content from their BlackBerry smartphone. Some of the new features include:

– Create and edit appointments in public and delegate calendars
– Update and create new contacts in Exchange public and delegate folders
– Access to email messages, even if they are no longer on the phone
– View, upload, and download attachments
– Fast and easy ‘one-thumb’ navigation
– Simple installation with no modification to Exchange or BES
– Import and export PIM content
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Burnaby – Acclaimed photographer Annie Leibovitz has captured unforgettable portraits of some of the world’s most well-known personalities, from Mikhail Baryshnikov and Brad Pitt to U.S. President Barack Obama. Premiering on Thursday, April 16 at 10 p.m., the illuminating biography Annie Leibovitz: Life Through a Lens is showcased on Knowledge Network’s newest themed timeslot, “Aperture”. Airing every Thursday at 10 p.m., “Aperture” is a meditation on the compelling power of photography as an art form, and the emotionally-moving views of life – and death – as seen though the camera lens.

Through her work for Rolling Stone, Vanity Fair and Vogue, Annie Leibovitz has produced some of the most iconic images of the last 30 years. While masterful at exposing her photographic subjects, Annie’s own life has been fiercely guarded. In Annie Leibovitz: Life Through a Lens, Annie’s younger sibling, Barbara Leibovitz, turns the camera on her sister. Annie lays bare her artistic process, bringing viewers into her personal journey and the delicate balance she maintains between fame and family. This portrait is an intimate and inspiring look at a woman who has become as iconic as the people she photographs.

The work of another of the world’s pre-eminent photographers is explored on “Aperture” when What Remains premieres on Thursday, April 23 at 10 p.m. Sally Mann is renowned for creating extraordinary artwork that challenges viewers’ values and moral attitudes. She first came to international prominence in 1992 when her enigmatic and provocative photos of her own young children sparked controversy. What Remains examines Mann’s new seminal work: a series of photographs revolving around various aspects of death and decay. As Mann reflects on her own feelings toward death, she continues to examine the boundaries of contemporary photography. Spanning five years and featuring unbridled access to the many stages of her work, this documentary chronicles Mann’s artistic process, providing a rare glimpse of an eloquent and brilliant artist.

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Toronto – Corus Television is partnering with Hasbro Canada to give kids the chance to be the first to test new NERF products. Going live on March 2, YTV.com will connect viewers to CampNERF.ca, which showcases the latest in NERF gear and contests. Online games can be found on the website’s Elite Gaming Area as well as its four Training Zones. Other areas of Camp NERF include the Contest Bunker, the Mess Hall for the latest news and camp communications and the Outfitter Tent for all retail information. To top it all off, kids will also be able to play and interact with NERF this summer with YTV’s annual WOW cross-country tour.

Camp NERF is an online destination where kids are introduced to the world of NERF through various Camp Counsellors, all of whom hold different areas of expertise. Participants can also collect and earn NERF badges when they complete a game or finish their online training as part of their experience at CampNERF.ca.

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Toronto – Activision Publishing, Inc. has announced an agreement with Corus Entertainment Inc.’s Nelvana Enterprises to develop and distribute video games based on the breakout hit toy and wildly popular action animated television series Bakugan. The first Bakugan game will be released for Wii™, Nintendo DS™, Xbox 360® video game and entertainment system from Microsoft, and PLAYSTATION®3 and PlayStation®2 computer entertainment systems in the fall of 2009.

“Bakugan’s success in 2008 speaks for itself and we’re confident it will be even bigger in 2009,” said David Oxford, Activision Publishing. “It is our goal to expand this proven property in a way that both fans and gamers will love.”

“Ever since Bakugan exploded in popularity, players have been clamoring for a video game version,” said Doug Murphy, President, Nelvana and GM, Corus Kids. “We share our fans’ excitement in doing battle in an interactive Bakugan world!”

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Mississauga – Bell and Twitter have announced that Bell Mobility will be the first wireless carrier to offer Canadians full SMS (Short Messaging Service, or mobile text messaging) support for interacting with Twitter.

Twitter is a communication network that enables users to send and receive text based posts of up to 140 characters (known as “tweets”). Updates are displayed on a users profile page at Twitter.com and delivered in real time to those who’ve signed up for them. Twitter updates can also be received through integration with other social networking sites, including Facebook, MySpace, Linkedin (using Twhirl software) or via SMS, RSS or Twittermobile.

“Being the first wireless carrier to offer Canadians Twitter’s fully interactive SMS service underlines our commitment to delivering popular and relevant content to our clients, including the latest social networking applications,” said Andrew Wright, Director of Business Development at Bell Mobility. “Twitter is extremely successful, with millions of people regularly using the service to stay in touch with, family, friends and colleagues every day.”

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Victoria – In the turmoil created by economic worries, business awards provide a reassuring note of continuity and success that buoys the entire community. Celebrating the efforts and success of Vancouver Island businesses, the Business Examiner (BE) Awards highlight the best and brightest in the community. Winning the Technology Company of the Year award, ParetoLogic was pleased to have its efforts recognized and honoured to be in such distinguished company. Proceeding into 2009 with the same vigor and confidence that has become the hallmark of ParetoLogic, the Island’s top Tech company has big plans to produce more software titles that will put British Columbia on the technology map.

“Winning the BE Award for Technology Company of the Year is a great way for us to start 2009,” comments Elton Pereira, ParetoLogic Co-Founder and CEO. One might think that adding another award to the company’s already impressive lineup would take a backseat to concerns generated by the ever-present economic bad news, but Pereira would argue that vehemently. “ParetoLogic has done and continues to do, extremely well, despite the recession that we seem to be experiencing. It’s important for people to remember that the good news is out there – Tech companies on the Island continue to thrive,” states Pereira.

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Toronto – On the heels of Trackberry™, Chad Hughes, President and CEO of ResQ, today announced two critical strategic partnerships enabling managers to efficiently track valuable mobile assets in the field, including critical personnel. ResQ, Canada’s leader of GPS-enabled tracking solutions, has partnered with Waterloo-based Research In Motion (RIM) to develop and promote solutions for the Blackberry®, as well as with Microsoft to provide financing to clients.

“We are now a proud member of RIM’s innovative Blackberry Alliance Program as a System Integrator,” states Hughes. “This deal offers my team access to a unique suite of resources that support our on-going efforts to create and sell tracking applications globally. Our deal with Microsoft allows us to immediately provide attractive financing options to an expanding number of enterprises with large fleets of vehicles or equipment in the field.”
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