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Reminder: INplay early bird ticket deadline is April 14th
Seminar: CanWIT Ottawa Chapter Presents – Setting Yourself Up For Success Series – April 19th
Seminar Series: CanWIT Toronto presents – The 2011 Professional Development 4 Part Series – Starts April 14th
Seminar: CanWIT BC Signature Lunch – Career in Project Management – April 20th

Congratulations to all of the digital sector companies who have been named to Canada’s Top 100 Great Places To Work:

Microsoft Canada – Google Canada – NetApp – SAS Institute (Canada) Inc. –  Habañero Consulting Group – T4G Limited – Intuit Canada –  Disney Online Studios Canada (Club Penguin) – CDW Canada Inc. – Sandvine – Qualcomm – Online Business Systems – FinancialCAD Coporation – Nintendo of Canada Ltd – Autodesk –  Softchoice Corporation – Vivonet – Ideaca – IT/Net Ottawa Inc. – WishGroup Inc. – EPIC Information Solutions – Zedi

Air Canada’s enRoute Film Festival today announced it is inviting Canadian film students and emerging filmmakers to enter its fifth annual short film festival. Each year, a jury selects the best short films and broadcasts them to a large international audience on Air Canada’s inflight entertainment system.

The winner of Best Short Film will receive a $5,000 cash prize courtesy of presenting sponsor Cineplex Entertainment. Other awards include Achievement in Direction, Achievement in Cinematography, and Achievement in Animation. All award winners will receive an exciting new destination prize to Clermont-Ferrand International Short Film Festival in France.

Past jury members have included Jason Priestly, Denis Villeneuve, Donald Sutherland, Alan Cumming, Dan Aykroyd and Rémy Girard, among many others. This year’s jury will be announced this summer.

Selected films will be broadcast on Air Canada’s personal seatback entertainment system on the Canadian Movies channel viewed by millions of Air Canada customers around the world. A free public screening and awards celebration will be held in Toronto at the end of the year to honour the winners.

Worldastronauts.com is excited to announce the launch of a new network of sites featuring space news, travel, multimedia and blogs. VirtualSpaceHotel.com will be the first of its kind and offer a limited number of commercial and personal advertising opportunities. The sites will use 3D Graphic and Web Design granting visitors and members a truly unique virtual experience. This Virtual Space Hotel is aimed at those interested in participation of a global network solely dedicated to space exploration. The site will also offer the opportunity for affiliates to link to their sites and homepages. Creative web design, development and maintenance of the World Astronaut’s Network is managed by the Toronto Canada’s Discotoast Inc. and owned exclusively by New Hampshire-based URL Development.

Montréal will welcome a brand new event this summer that combines all three of these elements this summer: the International Startup Festival (ISF). Designed to stimulate technological entrepreneurship, this event will bring innovators, startups, investors, and clients of the economics of innovation and new technology to Montréal. Many big names on the startup and technology scene, such as Dave McClure, Chris Shipley, Howard Lindzon and Paul Kedrosky, to name but a few, will be on hand this coming July 13 to 15. Andy Nulman, CMO of the Just For Laughs comedy festival, will deliver the keynote presentation. The ISF will be an ideal opportunity to meet, discuss, chat, and spend time with the best and brightest players on the global technology scene.

With a focus on innovation in the areas of applications and technologies associated with mobility, social networking, and gaming, the ISF, under the theme of “Startups & LOL”, will establish itself as a hotbed of new ideas and networking synergy between the visionary investors of today and the dynamic entrepreneurs of tomorrow. As such, the programme will consist of, among other things, startup presentations, conferences on future subjects and challenges, workshops, fun activities, and surprise demonstrations, not to mention the many opportunities to expand networks, develop business, and have a great time in good company.

“Montréal is always enthusiastic about hosting events that highlight creativity and innovation; the International Startup Festival is proof of the constant support the city offers designers of new technology. Since the participants of this event are opinion leaders and important influencers in their technological domain, as well as in their respective networks, Montréal is sure to enjoy considerable spin-offs,” confirms the Honourable Charles Lapointe, President and CEO of Tourisme Montréal. “When it comes to matching imagination and ingenuity, Montréal is always ready to act as a catalyst for Web masterminds to carry out – and with great success – all their future projects,” concludes Charles Lapointe.

“Several events for technology startups already exist in many cities and draw local talent. What makes the ISF different, however, is its international character, and focus on the business side of startups. There isn’t another event entirely devoted to entrepreneurship and its players that seeks to bring together startups, innovators, and investors from Canada, the United States, Europe, and elsewhere in the world,” adds Philippe Telio, President of Embrase and principal festival producer.

Other than its natural affinity for creativity and new technology, Montréal also presents, with its unique mix of European and North American cultures, its multiculturalism, and its qualified workforce, a most favourable environment for exchanges between designers, developers, and entrepreneurs from around the world. It goes without saying that these qualities will definitely contribute to making the inaugural edition of the festival an impressive success. Read the rest of this entry »

Nominations are now being accepted for the Digital Alberta Awards. Formerly known as the mediaFresh Awards, the Digital Alberta Awards recognize companies, individuals and technologies that have shaped Alberta’s digital landscape. Through nominations the Digital Alberta Awards notes the excellence achieved in Alberta’s industries where digital media has significantly strengthened, improved or innovated. These awards will be presented to outstanding companies, individuals or organizations in industry sectors who have demonstrated the greatest impact on the market using digital media and technologies. The deadline for nominations is May 6th, with the winners announced and awards presented during a Cocktail Reception in Calgary at the Hotel Arts on June 6th from 6:00 pm-9:00 pm.

The Categories Are:

* B2B Innovation
* B2C Innovation
* Best Agency
* Best Combined Hardware & Software Experience
* Best Digital Design
* Best Digital Startup
* Best in Cross-Platform Content
* Best in E-learning
* Best in Financial Services
* Best in Gaming
* Best in Social Media
* Best Social Impact
* Best Use of Film, Animation or SFX
* Best User Experience
* Government 2.0
* Mobile Innovation
* People’s Choice Award
* Sponsors
* The Student Digital Award

A reminder to all Digital Alberta members, your Annual General Meeting will be held on April 19th. If you’re in Edmonton, the meeting will be held at the Advanced Technology Centre boardroom. If you’re in Calgary, it will be held at the Alastair Ross Technology Centre. The Association is currently seeking three new Directors as well as people who are interested in volunteering to help out with the Association. Click here if you could be that person.

The Interactive Advertising Bureau of Canada has announced that Mobile Advertising Revenues in Canada exceeded budgeted expectations of $18 million, and grew by 169% over 2008 numbers, to just over $31.9 million for 2009. For 2010, Canadian Mobile Advertising Revenues are forecast to grow by 60%, to $51 million.

The Top 10 Earners in IAB Canada’s Mobile Advertising Revenue Survey accounted for 90% of Total Net Revenues in 2009. Revenue concentration among the Top 10 earners has increased substantially over levels recorded during previous years, which ranged from 79% in 2006 to 81% in 2008.

In order to get an update on Ad Spend as per other Media, but also keep track of the rapidly growing Application (App) development industry; for the first time, Mobile Advertising Revenues were separated into mutually-exclusive Ad Placement/Spend and Production-Only categories within IAB Canada’s Survey.

Ad Placement/Spend was the main engine behind the 169% increase in overall Canadian Mobile Ad revenues in 2009, growing at a rate of 325% year over year, driven primarily by Mobile Messaging, with $15.65 million in Net revenue. Mobile Search also grew dramatically in 2009 — to $6.7 million — exceeding Mobile Display/Sponsorship Ad Revenues, which grew to $5.1 million.

Production-Only Ad Revenue was led by monies received for the development of Mobile Applications, which experienced a massive 1377% growth rate compared to 2008, due to the proliferation of smartphones of all makes and models, following the iphone launch in Canada in April 2008. Read the rest of this entry »

It is with great joy and honour that Montréal-Python organizers and Tourisme Montréal received the nomination of Montréal as the host city of PyCon (2014 and 2015), the most significant international conference centred on the Python programming language. This annual event connects the Python programming community, providing members with the ideal opportunity to meet, exchange ideas, and build relationships. The agenda includes many presentations and workshops, as well as a number of activities designed to promote networking among the participants. Above and beyond ideas, PyCon puts words into action, with “pythonistas” getting together for intense development sessions with the objective of advancing numerous software projects.

“In 2011, some 1,500 delegates participated in a seven-day event that continues to grow, year after year. By choosing Montréal, the organizers decided, for the very first time, to hold the event outside of the United States,” says Davin Baragiotta, Montréal-Python spokesperson. “It wasn’t an accident that PyCon organizers chose Montréal. To begin with, the local Python community here is regarded as very dynamic, but it is also due to a carefully-prepared bid proposal put together by local organizers and supported by Tourisme Montréal, that the decision was made,” concludes Mathieu Leduc-Hamel, also from Montréal-Python.

“I’m extremely excited that PyCon 2014 and 2015 will be held in Montréal. The local Python user group is fast-growing and dynamic—in short, a fantastic example of what we look for when evaluating where we should hold the conference. The Montréal-Python group and Tourisme Montréal should be congratulated for putting together such a compelling bid. They submitted an amazing proposal for a beautiful city; we are eager to expand PyCon US into PyCon North America, and we look forward to visiting Montréal,” expresses Jesse Noller, incoming PyCon Chairman for the next two years and Python Software Foundation Director.

“The news of Montréal receiving the honour of hosting PyCon reinforces the city’s position as a rapidly expanding techno-destination and a magnet when it comes to technological innovation and creativity,” affirms the Honourable Charles Lapointe, President and CEO of Tourisme Montréal. “Not only will participants discover a community of talented technophiles here in Montréal, but they will also have the wonderful opportunity to experience the pace of this city whose charm, energy, culinary variety, festivities, and ingenuity are beyond compare,” adds Charles Lapointe.

Marc Tremblay, President and CEO of the Palais des congrès de Montréal (Convention Centre), says: “In 2013, the Palais des congrès de Montréal will have completed the development of a world class technological environment, and will position itself as a leader in its industry on an international level, particularly in terms of participant productivity and global client experience. It will be a unique opportunity for PyCon participants to enjoy our efficient facilities located in the heart of the most dynamic techno-metropolis in North America.”

On a side note, the Montreal Python group will be holding an introductory Python class for women on May 3rd. Any ladies with an interest in learning the language are welcome to attend this free event.

Yesterday Frima Studio hosted the Quebec Minister of Family, Yolande James, in a press conference at Frima’s office to announce the new Work-Family Standard for local businesses— the first such business certification standards in the world. Frima Studio’s offices were chosen to host the press conference because of Frima’s notable respect for and contributions to the advancement of work-life balance for their employees.

The new standard announced by the government of Quebec yesterday aims to attract and retain employees. Similar to environmental standards established years ago, businesses will soon be able to apply for work-family certification, which when granted will serve as a demonstration of the company’s respect for a healthy balance between work life and family life.

“We truly believe in work and family balance as an investment for our company, rather than an expense,” remarked Steve Couture, CEO, Frima Studio. “We care about our employees’ lives outside of the workplace and we plan to be the first in line to apply for the new standard certification.”

After being recognized with an award in 2010 from the Quebec government for their efforts to balance employees’ work and family lives, Frima continues to put an emphasis on progressive programs that make Frima Studio one of the best places to work in the world. Frima employees are provided with the freedom to care for their families as needed, offering benefits such as flexible work schedules, free bus passes, in-office massage therapy, and a performance rewards system that trades points for services that can help in the home.

Frima is currently hiring to fill more than 35 open positions in art, design, and programming.
Photo Credit: Frima

Markham Electronic Medical Record service provider Nightingale Informatix Corporation has launched its web-based EMR and practice management solution, Nightingale On Demand on the Apple^® iPad™.

Nightingale On Demand for the iPad™ responds to the increasing need for physicians and healthcare providers to have mobile access to their patient data. Key functionalities of the application will allow physicians to review patient charts and lab results, respond to patient and staff messages, as well as manage the scheduling and billing of patient visits. This is a complimentary tool for physicians using Nightingale On Demand and has been designed with use in settings, such as hospital rounds or offsite patient management and homecare, in mind.

“We are pleased to offer Nightingale On Demand to our customers for use on the iPad™,” said Sam Chebib, President and CEO of Nightingale. “Product innovation is a cornerstone of the Company’s mandate. We strive to provide solutions that not only make EMR implementation easier for physicians but also leverage the most current technology available in the marketplace.  We are confident that this will be a significant value added product offering for our customers. As a result, we anticipate considerable uptake over the coming months.”

Nightingale is leading the Canadian EMR market as one of the first companies with plans to launch an iPad™-enabled solution. Physicians and healthcare providers will have the comfort of knowing that all patient data entered while using the iPad™ is stored directly to the same secure servers Nightingale uses for its existing ASP EMR, and that no patient data will remain on the iPad™ device. Nightingale On Demand for the iPad™ will be made available to the Company’s more than 3,000 EMR users in Canada, as well as all new EMR customers.

UK education software specialist NetSupport, who does have a subsidiary office in Markham, has once again responded to the challenges of the modern classroom with the release of NetSupport Assist; the new cost-effective and efficient way for teachers to manage and engage with their students in a Mac and Linux environment.

Twenty-first century education is providing students with inspiring learning opportunities and giving them unparalleled access to a diverse range of computing assets. However, providing the latest IT infrastructure is only half the equation. Ensuring it is used in the most effective way represents the other half.

With 22 years of development expertise to call upon, NetSupport Assist brings together NetSupport’s core classroom management technology to deliver a focused feature set that ensures teachers can give their time and attention to their students, without having to worry about learning and maintaining the software.

Crystal clear student thumbnails enable teachers to monitor the entire class in a single real-time view, each thumbnail displaying visual indicators to show when applications and websites are in use. To ensure the resources being accessed by each student are appropriate, with a single click you can switch to a view that details exactly which files and websites are open and, if needed, take remedial action to block the internet.

A powerful range of remote control tools enables teachers to interact with students individually or as a class. Teachers can discreetly view an individual desktop to confirm the student is on task and, for example, conduct a two-way chat session without disrupting the rest of the room.

With NetSupport Assist there’s also no need for expensive front-of-class display equipment: real-time presentation tools enable the teacher to ‘show’ their screen to students.

To gauge topic understanding, teachers can, on the fly, poll students for their feedback. A question can be sent to each machine with a pre-defined list of responses and, once the students have responded, the results are instantly reported on the teacher’s screen. Read the rest of this entry »

Technivores do it with the latest gadgets, Escapists do it to get away from reality, while Tech Turtles rarely do it at all. What are they doing? They’re engaging their mobile devices to access the internet, apps, and social media.

That’s according to Unlocking Canadian Connectivity, a newly-released study commissioned by BBC.com and OMD and conducted by Ipsos Reid on mobile device usage. The study surveyed over 2,400 Canadians in a comprehensive two-phase process, revealing a significant jump in the number of Canadians that connect to the internet on their mobile devices – rising from 20% in December 2010, to 26% just two months later. Over the same two-month period, the proportion of tablets, such as the iPad, had doubled, illustrating the warp speed in which the mobile landscape is growing.

Unlocking Canadian Connectivity unearths key insights into how Canadian consumers interact with their mobile devices and respond to mobile content and advertising – valuable information for advertisers and marketers eager to connect with consumers by means of mobile technology. The core of the study classifies mobile users into six different segments, covering the full spectrum of the interactive mobile market, from those who are fueling content to those who use the tools these new technologies present very cautiously.

The two most advanced segments the study identifies are Creative Connectors and Technivores, which offer a glimpse of what future mobile device usage in Canada will most likely look like. Both groups actively browse the web on their mobile devices and are receptive to mobile advertising. Creative Connectors are content creators and influencers; they’re influential in social media and create and share online content with other users. Making up 13% of mobile internet users, Creative Connectors blog, write product reviews, and drive the prized “buzz factor” brands crave. Technivores are the heaviest mobile internet users, who fully exploit their device features and are members of multiple social networking sites, such as FourSquare. They crave the latest gadgets and their mobile device is their lifeline. What sets Technivores apart from Creative Connectors is their thirst for technology – they enjoy being the first to have the latest and greatest device. With such sophisticated levels of knowledge and activity, these two groups represent the ideal consumers that content creators and advertisers need to engage. Read the rest of this entry »

March Networks^® has launched its Command video management platform. The scalable software provides customers with a sophisticated, web-based interface that is easy to use and highly customizable. Command fits easily into existing Information Technology (IT) infrastructure to ensure rapid installation and management. It also enables customers to select from hundreds of IP surveillance cameras and encoders through its support for ONVIF devices and direct integrations with leading surveillance products.

A full member of ONVIF (Open Network Video Interface Forum) since 2008, March Networks designed Command and all of its next-generation IP cameras, encoders and hybrid recorders to meet the industry standard, ensuring interoperability with other ONVIF-compliant products. In addition, the Command software platform delivers further capabilities when used as part of a complete March Networks solution, including total fail-safe management with the company’s innovative Shadow Archiving^™ technology.

The intuitive Command interface is one of the industry’s only clients able to run on both Windows^® and Mac^® operating systems, as well as multiple browsers including Internet Explorer^®, Safari^®, FireFox^® and Chrome^™. The award-winning software is also easily tailored, allowing an organization to provide its distinct user groups with only the features they require, which simplifies training and improves user efficiency.

To accommodate different customer environments, Command comes in two versions with the same user interface, powerful feature set and the ability to scale as required. Command Professional supports up to 128 cameras and is ideal for single-server environments. Command Enterprise can support as many as 128,000 cameras with multiple servers, and can also manage March Networks’ new 7532 Hybrid NVR as well as existing 4000 C Series NVR installations.

Command software runs on any commercial-off-the-shelf (COTS) server or in a virtualized environment, reducing capital expenditures and allowing it to be managed similarly to other corporate applications. It supports LDAP/Active Directory^® for quick user setup and the efficient administration of security policies, passwords, access control, and group policy configuration. Command also delivers mass configuration and management capabilities that lower installation and maintenance costs significantly. Further, with Command’s unique server-to-server gateway technology, customers can reduce WAN bandwidth traffic by as much as 90 percent. Read the rest of this entry »