Village Gamer

According to a new survey by Ipsos Reid, 75 per cent of Canadians claim their strategy is to spend less over the holidays this year due to recent economic conditions. As such, Canadians are looking for ways to stretch their holiday dollars, and are turning to online sites in search for the latest deals.

The survey, commissioned by Microsoft Canada Inc. (online poll of 1,025 Canadians was conducted in November 2010 by Ipsos Reid. The results are considered accurate to within +/- 3.1 percentage points, 19 times out of 20), also revealed that 68 per cent of Canadians believe that deal-seekers may not get what they bargained for with the broad availability of counterfeit goods. With more and more Canadians making online purchases this holiday season, many also admit they are more likely to comparison shop to ensure they are getting the most for their dollar.

The search for the lowest price increases the likelihood of counterfeiters successfully attracting bargain hunters with non-genuine products including toys, clothing, video games, and software, many of which are highly sophisticated and difficult for the average consumer to detect.

Focusing on what it calls the “three Es” — Education, Engineering and Enforcement — Microsoft makes a significant investment each year into educational resources to help consumers protect themselves. This approach also includes the development of new technologies that make counterfeiting software more difficult, and working with governments to enforce laws against software counterfeiters and bring them to justice.

“Consumers need to take extra measures when making purchases this holiday season, especially those made online,” said Chris Tortorice, Corporate Counsel, Anti-Piracy, Microsoft Canada Inc. “Both software piracy and counterfeiting crime span globally, and the only way to stop it is to educate consumers on what to look for to ensure they don’t purchase illegitimate product. Microsoft offers resources like the www.howtotell.com website and the 1-800-RU LEGIT piracy hotline for suspicious consumers that feel the software they purchased may not be genuine.”

Sixty-eight per cent of Canadians recognize that the counterfeit-goods market is a billion-dollar industry worldwide. This scepticism means they are likely to proactively try to recognize the real from the fake. Fortunately, there are also many government and non-government organizations dedicated to arming consumers with both knowledge and advice. Read the rest of this entry »

TransGaming, Inc. and UK-based Amino Communications have announced a collaborative partnership to provision TransGaming’s on-demand video game platform, GameTree TV, into Amino Communications’ Freedom hybrid/OTT media centre. The addition of GameTree TV enhances the Freedom media centre by offering a comprehensive and powerful interactive consumer entertainment experience that will address a broader consumer market for operators through a single platform.

Amino Communications is among the world’s leading IPTV and hybrid/OTT (Over the Top) innovators. The award-winning Freedom media centre, based on the Intel® CE4100 Media Processor, offers Managed Service Operators (MSOs) a powerful platform for the seamless delivery of TV, movies, home media, and a new world of television apps to the consumer.

The GameTree TV Platform is the premier on-demand video game solution for consumers, optimized for the next generation of set-top boxes and connected consumer electronic (CE) devices. GameTree TV delivers to consumers an ever-growing catalog of video games that can be transacted through a variety of flexible pricing models. The Platform provides operators with an interactive gaming solution that will enhance their current entertainment portfolio and generate new and sustainable revenue streams by catering to the broad family demographic represented in their subscription base.

“The Amino Freedom platform is an exceptional next generation device that delivers a wealth of media and entertainment options to consumers”, commented Vikas Gupta, CEO & President of TransGaming. “The addition of GameTree TV enriches the Freedom media center even further and allows consumers to enjoy all forms of entertainment, linear and interactive, through a singular experience. This collaboration allows both Amino and TransGaming to access a broader consumer marketplace and deliver an even more compelling value proposition to operators and consumers globally”.

The GameTree TV Platform supports the MeeGo™ operating system, a collaboration between Intel® and Nokia®, that is quickly becoming the operating system of choice for a range of next generation devices, including media centers, set-top boxes, net-books, tablets, or smart phones. GameTree TV is being optimized to support MeeGo and a variety of embedded Linux platforms, making it a highly versatile gaming solution for a range of consumer electronic devices.

“We are delighted to work with TransGaming to bring their GameTree TV Platform to the Amino Freedom”, stated Andrew Burke, CEO of Amino Communications. “GameTree TV will bring a rich entertainment experience to the Freedom media centre, by offering consumers a high quality gaming platform, and providing our business partners with a great new revenue stream that also aids in reducing churn within their retail operations.”

TransGaming and Amino Communications are both members of the Intel® Consumer Electronics Network (CEN), a community of hardware, software and services providers that accelerates the development and time-to-market of Internet-connected CE devices.

Budge Studios invites you to experience Dora’s Christmas Carol Adventure like you never have before! This interactive episode brings the experience of reading, watching and playing together in one fun-filled App. Join Dora as she helps Swiper get on Santa’s nice list and as they travel through time to learn the true spirit of Christmas. The app features activities, animation, songs, and is narrated by Dora herself!

*Play several interactive activities and mini-games designed for preschoolers
*Supports reading and listening comprehension and Spanish vocabulary
*Teaches wonderful lessons on sharing and the spirit of Christmas
*Features a special Christmas song sung by Dora that users can interact with
*Preschoolers can listen to Dora’s narration of the story or turn narration off and read together with their parents.
*The iPad version features stunning HD graphics

Dora’s Christmas Carol Adventure is available now in the iTunes App store with a special launch price of $1.99 USD.

Developers interested in Microsoft’s Windows Azure platform should register for (and attend) AzureFest, which is taking place at Microsoft Canada’s Mississauga campus on December 11th. Presented in Open House format, there are two sessions, one at 9:00a.m. and the other at 1:00p.m. The event is free and includes refreshments.

By attending AzureFest, you can learn how developing and deploying Azure Applications is fast and easy. You will learn how to set up your Azure account and how to take a traditional ASP.NET application and convert it for Azure. Publishing Applications to the Azure Developer Portal is a breeze. You’ll learn how to set up the Azure SDK and Azure Tools for Visual Studio right on your laptop.

Congratulations to the six companies named to nextMEDIA’s 2010 Hot Digital List as the hottest emerging online properties, the most innovative new apps, games and tech solutions, and the freshest ideas from online content creators:

Hot Online Property

• TrendHunter.com
• Gogo’s Crazy Bones, Giant Step

Hot Technology

• Healthseeker developed by Ayogo
• Filemobile

Hot Video Content

• Moderation Town from Stitch Media
• Le Gourmet TV from heavyGFILMS

Mobile video optimization and delivery solutions developer Vantrix has been awarded the 2010 Frost & Sullivan Mobile Video Optimization Solution of the Year Award for Vantrix Bandwidth Optimizer. Vantrix was selected as this year’s recipient for its solution’s unique approach to improving mobile operators’ economics, while preserving the end-user experience.

“It is an honor to be recognized, for the second year in a row, by Frost & Sullivan. This award further validates our leadership in mobile video optimization for mobile operators,” said Patrick Lopez, Chief Marketing Officer of Vantrix. “As mobile video continues to take a dominant place in our daily lives, mobile networks are challenged to handle the increasing demand. Vantrix Bandwidth Optimizer alleviates this strain and maximizes the mobile operators’ network capacity by making on-the-fly adjustments to the way videos are delivered to end-users. This solution not only stops the ‘waste’ incurred by operators in delivering Internet videos to smartphones, tablets and laptops, but also effectively doubles the capacity of existing network infrastructure, while reducing the OPEX and CAPEX necessary to increase the networks capacity.”

Thanks to iPads, iPhones and Android, people are watching mobile video more than ever before. In fact, it is predicted that by 2015, video will represent more than 70 percent of all mobile traffic. As mobile video becomes ubiquitous, mobile networks are challenged to handle the increasing demand. Vantrix Bandwidth Optimizer optimizes all video content and delivers it in real-time to the recipient, while maintaining the best quality of experience. To highlight the benefit of bandwidth optimization, Vantrix has created an interactive tool called the Vantrix Bandwidth Savings Calculator. This tool enables mobile carriers to calculate the savings they can experience by implementing Vantrix Bandwidth Optimizer in their network.

Oh no! Vampire-bears! Global video game publisher 505 Games and developer Behaviour today announced the latest chilling downloadable chapter for Naughty Bear. The new Chapter 10 has fangs, and sees everyone’s favorite bear facing off against an onslaught of mystical creatures intent on taking over the island. Including 4 new multiplayer modes, new costumes and challenges and a showdown with the Vampiricorn make this a must-slay adventure. Downloads will be available from 23rd November 2010 in the US and from 01st December 2010 in European (PAL) territories.

After Stardust summons a vampire hoard to the island, lead by the legendary and terrifying Vampiricorn, the throng of blood-sucking bears start the hunt for Naughty Bear to suck his fluff. Fright your way through a beariffic new story, disguise yourself with new costumes and bring an end to the un-dead with the terrifyingly new Vicious Vampire Claw!

[youtube:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qVw0evBjA8g]

4 new multiplayer modes offer plenty of defluffication:

Left 4 Ted: Zombear Horde!!!! The bears must do what they can to stay alive against a Zombear invasion. Can you stay alive long enough to win the game?

Defluffication: Defluff other players with any weapon you like to rack up points in this sweet and simple deathmatch mode!

Dancing King: A mystical Unibear appears at a random location Find him, get close to him and don’t let anyone else near. The player who dances with the Unibear longest wins!

Vampicorn: Elimination match where each player has limited lives and constantly depleting health, which can only be stopped by attacking, hurting and killing the competition. Last vampire-bear standing wins.

The downloadable Chapter 10 will be available on Xbox LIVE Arcade for 800 MS points and PlayStation Network for the local equivalent of $9.99 USD. Naughty Bear is available now for Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3.

Autodesk, Inc. and Ubisoft have issued this press release about the Autodesk 3D art creation and animation products to help create “Assassin’s Creed Brotherhood,” its latest video game, released last week. Ubisoft artists created and populated the vast, ancient city of Rome using Autodesk 3ds Max and Autodesk MotionBuilder software. Autodesk HumanIK middleware was also integrated into Ubisoft’s proprietary game engine to help produce more realistic in-game animation for both the game’s human characters and horses.

“Assassin’s Creed Brotherhood” is the newest title in Ubisoft’s hit franchise, delivering stunning animations, beautiful environments and immersive game play. The game’s hero, Ezio, now a Master Assassin, is on a mission to end the oppression of the Roman people by the evil Borgia. Gamers must help rebuild the five districts of Rome, win over the public and recruit new assassins to fight against the powerful Templar Order and usher in the Renaissance.

Rome is the largest city ever featured in an “Assassin’s Creed®” title. As a result, Ezio can now bring his horse into and through the city, opening vast new game environments for player exploration. Autodesk HumanIK middleware helps to make sure that the game’s characters move more realistically through the city, whether characters are walking on uneven terrain, scaling walls, riding on horseback or jumping from rooftop to rooftop.

“HumanIK middleware has been a part of our game engine for all ‘Assassin’s Creed’ titles,” said Danny Oros, technical art director for the game. “We knew that with HumanIK we could address our inverse kinematics challenges quickly without sacrificing results or performance.”

As Ezio helps to rebuild the city, each of the five districts of Rome evolves through three distinct atmospheres. Therefore, Ubisoft created three different versions of each of the districts. “Autodesk software provided efficient tools and workflows that helped us create a huge amount of great content in a short amount of time,” added Oros. “The game’s environments were almost all created from scratch, and much of the character content and animation clips were new.”

New animations highlight the advancement of Ezio’s assassin skills. Animators at Ubisoft developed a number of intense fight animation clips, including “combo kills,” where players can eliminate multiple enemies in one move.

“Ezio is now a highly skilled Master Assassin, so we wanted to reward players for a more aggressive combat strategy, instead of the defensive style that was required in ‘Assassin’s Creed® 2,’” said Mike Mennillo, lead fight animator for Ubisoft.

The Ubisoft team shot new fight concepts in a motion capture studio and brought the data into MotionBuilder. This data was then used as a base for the final animation clips created in 3ds Max.

To view an in-depth presentation about how Ubisoft developed the new fight animation in “Assassin’s Creed Brotherhood,” visit the “Auditorium” on Autodesk’s virtual Digital Entertainment Conference site.

Congratulations to DHX Media Ltd., who has signed multiple broadcast and home entertainment deals from its extensive preschool slate in Asia, as it prepares for Asian Television Forum next month.

In Malaysia & Brunei, the Astro platform has picked up the exclusive rights to all episodes of the preschool series Franny’s Feet, as well as all episodes of the reading-based preschool show Super WHY! which has also been picked up by InnoForm Media for home video in the territory, and by Media Link for home video in Thailand.

Further deals in Asia include a video-on-demand (“VOD”) deal with Korea’s JCG for Franny’s Feet and Super WHY!, and with Tarra Group Indonesia for home video for Franny’s Feet and additional episodes of Cbeebies hit show Grandpa in My Pocket.

Craig McGillivray, Territory Manager for Asia at DHX Media said: “There’s always a solid market for quality preschool programming in Asia, and we’re pleased to see continued demand across the region for our established hits Franny’s Feet and Super WHY! as well as newer titles such as Grandpa in My Pocket. Deals for VOD and home entertainment are particularly strong right now and we’ll be attending ATF looking to consolidate the presence of all our shows across the region.”

According to a study by Ernst & Young, less than a third of global businesses, including Canada’s, have an IT risk management program in place capable of addressing the risks related to the use of new technologies. Borderless Security, the firm’s annual global information security survey, reveals that in spite of the rapid emergence of new technology, only one in 10 companies consider examining new and emerging IT trends as a very important activity for the information security function to perform.

A significant increase in the use of external service providers and business adoption of new technologies, including cloud computing, social networking and Web 2.0, is recognized to increase risk as much as 60% for respondents. Yet, in spite of this fact, less than half (46%) intend to increase their annual investment in information security.

“Technology advances have provided Canadian companies with seemingly endless ways to connect and interact with colleagues, customers and clients across the globe,” says Tony Ritlop, Canadian Leader of Ernst & Young’s IT Risk and Assurance practice. “While these developments represent a massive opportunity for IT to deliver significant benefits to the organization, new technology also brings significant risk.”

For example, more than half of respondents state that increased workforce mobility poses a considerable challenge to the effective delivery of information security initiatives, due to widespread use of mobile computing devices, allowing individuals to access and distribute business information from anywhere at any time. For almost two-thirds (64%) of respondents, employees’ level of security awareness is recognized as a considerable challenge.

For the first time, continuous availability of critical IT resources was identified by respondents as one of the top five risks. Increased mobility and lack of control over end-user devices can cause problems when trying to implement effective and efficient business continuity and disaster recovery capabilities — identified by 50% of respondents as an area of increased expenditure.

Cloud computing services are gaining greater adoption: 23% of respondents are currently using cloud computing services and a further 15% are planning to use them within the next 12 months. When asked if an external certification of cloud service providers would increase trust, 85% of respondents said yes, with 43% stating that the certification should be based upon an agreed standard and 22% requiring accreditation for the certifying body.

“It’s vital that companies not only recognize these developing risks, but take action to avoid them,” says Mr. Ritlop.

According to Mr. Ritlop, in addition to implementing new technology solutions and re-engineering information flows, companies must focus on informing the workforce about risks. The delivery of effective, and regular, security awareness training is a critical success factor as companies attempt to keep pace with the changing environment.

Half of respondents plan to spend more over the next year on data leakage and data loss prevention — a seven percentage point increase from last year. To address potential new risks, 39% are making policy adjustments, 29% are implementing encryption techniques and 28% are implementing stronger identity and access management controls.

Communities are changing; populations are aging; competition for talent is intensifying; the economy is slowly recovering; values are evolving and technology is rapidly shifting. Can leadership, knowledge and innovation save us?

The Ideas Festival brings together emerging leaders with established leadership from across all sectors and industries to discuss a variety of topics ranging from healthcare to energy and technology to creativity.

The Public Policy Forum (PPF), an independent, non partisan organization dedicated to improving the quality of governance in Canada and 21inc are co-hosting the conference in St. Andrews by the Sea, New Brunswick at the Fairmont Algonquin, November 24-26. Event hashtag: #ideas2010

Topics include:

* Can innovation save health care? Business model innovation in health care
* Can Atlantic Canada be an energy hub?
* The Future of Media: How new media is changing our roles and relationships
* Conversations with people changing the game and shaping our future
* The Economic Future of Atlantic Canada

Absolute® Software Corporation announced today that it has launched Absolute Manage Mobile Device Management (MDM) for iOS 4 devices, such as the iPhone® and iPad®. The breakthrough solution available with Absolute Manage allows IT departments to efficiently manage and secure iOS 4 devices alongside their PC and Mac® computers from their platform of choice, Mac or Windows.

“Apple mobile devices are immensely popular with consumers and are now making a notable impact in the enterprise. People want to use their preferred device at work as well, but IT has been hesitant due to a lack of solutions on the market that can provide security and management capabilities for Apple mobile devices. Absolute Software is a leader in managing and securing endpoints, and our customers asked us to extend our cross-platform capabilities to iOS 4 devices,” said Peter Frankl, vice president of lifecycle management at Absolute Software. “With the launch of Absolute Manage MDM for iOS 4, our customers can have the control and security they need for the enterprise while keeping their employees happy and increasing productivity.”

Absolute Manage is one of the first software solutions to allow IT administrators to remotely manage, wipe and lock Apple® iOS 4 devices from either a PC or Mac, computer -without the need for extra hardware or software infrastructure. With the addition of MDM, Absolute Manage customers can manage PCs, Mac computers and now iOS 4 devices from a single, comprehensive user interface in a PC or Mac infrastructure.

Yangaroo has been granted Canada patent number 2,349,797 titled “Biometric Rights Management System” by the Canadian Intellectual Property Office (CIPO). The Biometric Rights Management (“BRM”) patent relates to YANGAROO’s innovative use of biometric security measures to provide secure online distribution of digital media. The BRM patent will be in effect until June 2021.

“The receipt of this fourth patent grant is further confirmation that we continue to lead through innovation,” said Cliff Hunt, Chairman and COO of YANGAROO. “As more and more valuable media assets are made available online, the need to control and monitor the users accessing that media continues to grow. The utilization of BRM in our Digital Media Distribution System provides a secure, user-friendly and portable way to link media access rights to an individual through their unique traits, rather than to a machine or an easily shared password. This feature provides our customers with the most advanced solution available today.”

This BRM patent augments YANGAROO’S intellectual property portfolio, which includes the related United States patent number 7,003,670 titled “Biometric Rights Management System”, United States patent number 7,529,712 titled “Content Distribution System and Method” and Canadian patent number 2,407,774 titled “Content Distribution System and Method”. YANGAROO also has pending U.S. continuation patent application number 12/398,238 titled “Content Distribution System and Method” and U.S. patent application number 11/854,289 titled “Media File Distribution System and Method”. Together these provide a North America-wide safeguard for the company’s sector leading innovations.

Toronto boutique advisory and technology services company Project X Ltd. has entered into a partnership with California-based BigDataLabs, Inc. to distribute the company’s technology in Canada.

Project X will be the sole Canadian partner for BigDataLabs GeoDash™ technology. GeoDash is a new way to add GeoSpatial context to business intelligence environments through the integration of MicroStrategy technology and Google Maps. GeoDash is a lightweight solution for the business intelligence market with no extra hardware or server costs and no extensive training needed for users.

Project X President, Stephen Hayward remarked, “BigDataLabs matches our rapid business intelligence model and like Project X, is focused on fast to market technology that demonstrates maximum innovation and value for customers.”

Ajo Abraham, BigDataLabs founder commented, “We looked for a Canadian partner with the right combination of experience and passion for delivering business intelligence solutions with the best technology available and found Project X. As we expand into the Canadian market, they will lead the way.”

AOL Canada Corp. is making big gains heading into the holiday season. According to comScore’s Media Metrix, Canada, All Locations October 2010 data, the AOL Inc. owned and operated web properties have grown by 10% from last month to 9.2M unique visitors. With the reach of their ad network, Advertising.com, AOL advertising properties reach over 20 million Canadians each and every month.

This upsurge in traffic is largely attributed to the strategic acquisitions of the web properties TechCrunch and 5Min. TechCrunch brings with it breaking tech news and insight into the innovative world of start-ups to the AOL Technology suite of sites, and matches perfectly with the expert content of their marquis tech property, Engadget.com. The acquisition of 5Min allows AOL to significantly expand its consumer offering of contextually relevant, high-quality video across its sites and increases AOL’s appeal to advertisers, allowing it to capture share the growing video advertising spend. This combo delivers a power punch technology content offering and expands the affluent male audience key to advertisers in this category. _{(AOL Networks: Technology is 78% more likely than the average Internet web site to generate page views with males 25-34 and 103% more likely with males age 35-44 as well as 47% more likely to attract unique visitors with a household income of more than $100k. comScore Media Metrix. Canada, All Locations. October 2010.)}

To support this growing business AOL Canada has made a number of strategic hires as well. Since Graham Moysey joined AOL in August of this year, he has grown his team by 10, most recently hiring Laura Pearce as Director of Marketing, Dana Toering as Director of Business Development and Tanya Iliakis, Account Executive. Laura brings with her valued experience in online media and marketing, hailing from Postmedia Network and companies such as Trader Media and Dell Canada, and will be key to the strategy of positioning AOL to consumers and advertisers as a leader in premium content and network advertising, under an innovative and creative global brand.

Other hires include Michelle Edwards-Boldt, heading up Moysey’s office, Melissa McLintock, Alia Iannuzzi and Tanya Penala, all Account Managers and previously announced Brad Cressman, Head of Content, Julie Howlett, Account Director & Allison Burley, Account Executive.

Newfoundland studio Binary Dawn Interactive has updated and improved the PalmOS game WordUs for the Apple iPhone and iPod Touch. The studio made so many enhancements that they named it WordUs2. The aim of the game is to guess the word in a varying number of attempts. Help comes in the form of colored symbols which indicate when letters are correctly placed or if a letter exists within the word.

WordUs2 is a fun and smart game suitable for all ages, and with a dictionary of thousands of words, that’s weeks of entertainment. WordUs2 has four exciting game modes: Calm & Collected, Every Guess Counts, Think Fast, and Six Minute Sprint. Each game mode features different twists and challenges sure to keep you guessing! WordUs2 features OpenFeint integration with achievement rewards for completing different gameplay tasks. WordUs2 is available now in the iTunes App Store for $0.99 USD.

Sensory robotics software company Flurple2 has unveiled Trivio™, a new trivia game app that allows users to say their answers out loud. In its first week on the App Store, Trivio launched onto the Top 50 list in the USA. In Canada, Trivio climbed to the iTunes Top-5 New and Noteworthy board for Free Games & Trivia apps.

The television game show-style app, Trivio is the first trivia game to incorporate voice activation, speech recognition plus artificial intelligence (AI). Trivio works with all Apple products, including the iPad™, iPhone® 4, iPhone 3GS, iPhone 3G, the original iPhone, and the iPod touch®.

Gaming is simple and fun — you tap the big red button on the screen and speak your answer. If you miss, your opponent gets a chance to answer the question. Points are scored for the fastest correct response. The more difficult the questions, the more points you get.

“With Trivio, it’s challenging to think fast — and speak the answer. Other quiz games are based on a simple multiple choice setup. Trivio is a quantum leap forward in mobile, interactive gaming”, states Pete Deschamps, Flurple2 CEO.

Flurple2 is pleased to announce that Trivio is powered by Sensory®, the leader in speech technologies for consumer products. “Trivio is a fun and challenging game that uses speech recognition technology in a very effective way to enhance the interactive gameplay beyond multiple choice or the hassle of typed in responses”, said Todd Mozer CEO Sensory.

Trivio can revolutionize family game night, allowing parents and kids to form “teams” to play against each other and “buzz in” when they think they have the right answer. The app uses Bluetooth for lightning fast multiplayer games, and has four levels of question difficulty, from ‘Easy’ to ‘Killer’.

Trivio uses Apple’s Accessibility features for the disabled – seeing-impaired players can have the questions read aloud to them. Deschamps sees the technology being used to help people, as well as for pure entertainment.

“Helping people help themselves is something I’ve never forgotten from my time in the local Burlington Rotary Club. Trivio can be used to assist stroke victims, and help people with disabilities learn how to talk again, while having fun at the same time”, says Pete Deschamps.

Trivio’s robotics can be franchised and serve-up any company’s content and media, including trivia and educational content licensing. The educational and medical applications are endless”, states Pete Deschamps.

Currently Trivio is available on the App Store worldwide. In its first week on the free app iTunes market, Trivio ranked in the Top 200 Free Games/Trivia category in 37 countries around the globe. Trivio was deemed New & Noteworthy in 5 countries including Canada, United Kingdom, Ireland, Australia, and New Zealand.

Webnames.ca Inc., Canada’s original domain registrar and an “ally on the web”™ to Canadian businesses, has launched a new professional services arm called Power for Small Business™. Power for Small Business™ provides small businesses the tools they need to succeed online and offline including website design, online strategy, search engine optimization and logo and collateral development, among other professional services.

Power for Small Business™ builds on Webnames.ca’s strong foundation of exceptional customer support. The cornerstone of the new program is a comprehensive website and online strategy package called Essentials™. Covering all of the bases small businesses and start-ups need to establish a strong online presence, Essentials™ includes a custom designed, search engine friendly WordPress website, an online strategy that integrates Twitter and Google Analytics, and personalized training on how to use each of these tools.

Essentials™ provides exceptional additional value by positioning small businesses for continuous growth at a competitive price. “Understanding peoples’ needs is what Webnames.ca has always done best,” said Webnames.ca CTO Matt Lane. “We developed Essentials™ to give small businesses a complete online presence and a professional website they can build on for years to come. Whether you want to redesign an existing website or launch a new business on the Internet, Essentials™ will you get found and help you grow your business.”

For a limited time the Essentials™ package by Webnames.ca Power for Small Business™ is being offered at a special introductory rate of $1895. Recognizing that many small businesses are stretched for time, Webnames.ca has also launched a comprehensive selection of affordable support plans for WordPress.

Montreal-based online shopping club Beyond the Rack has announced that after only 20 months in operation it is now serving over 2.5 million members. The company reached the 1 million member milestone at the end of April, 2010, and so has grown its membership by 150% in the past six months. To help celebrate this milestone, Beyond the Rack is offering its members the chance to win two luxury vacation packages to any Sandals or Beaches Resort.

At the same time, the company has refreshed its Web site. The upgrade includes an enhanced shopping calendar with event category tabs, drop-down menus, and category-specific calendar pages to help customers find what they’re looking for more quickly; a pop-up shopping bag which remains visible throughout each shopping session; larger product images and in-depth brand information; and a more robust blog which now features exclusive fashion tips and trends from Beyond the Rack’s style editor.

“As our growth continues to accelerate, we remain committed to providing our customers with the most pleasurable shopping experience we can give them,” says CEO, Yona Shtern. “Many of the improvements came directly from feedback from customers themselves.”

Nova Scotia’s SimplyCast.com, a leader in multi-channel marketing software-as-a-service (SaaS) solution for organizations worldwide, announced today it has released an application integration with WordPress. The downloadable plug-in allows for a streamlined process to manage contacts between the world’s largest blogging solution and the most innovative all-in-one marketing platform.

”By integrating with WordPress, we are making it that much easier for users to access their contacts without the hassle of storing them in multiple places. Customers can now simplify the sales cycle and build stronger customer relationships regardless of where they store contact information,” said Saeed El-Darahali, president and CEO of SimplyCast.

Users can now easily and accurately share their WordPress contacts with their SimplyCast multi-channel marketing account. As a result, those that limit access to their blogs with a login feature, can now connect their WordPress contacts to their online marketing using SimplyCast. This makes for more accurate and efficient maintenance of customer contact information that results in more targeted communications. The application is free to SimplyCast customers at www.simplycast.com and can be accessed immediately within SimplyCast’s multi-channel marketing platform.

SimplyCast’s 10-in-1 multi-channel marketing platform is a web-based solution designed to create, track and deliver targeted online marketing campaigns such as email, survey, event, autoresponder, fax, SMS and link tracking services.

Camouflage Software Inc., the leader in data masking technologies, is pleased to announce its support for the latest changes to the PCI Data Security Standard (DSS) and Payment Application Data Security Standard (PA-DSS) version 2.0, which was released October 28, 2010.

The new PCI DSS clarifies the requirements of the existing security standards necessary for the protection of payment card data. It also confirms the current industry best practices related to ‘remaining ahead of the threat landscape.’ In addition to mandating that ‘all locations of cardholder data are included in scope of PCI DSS assessments’, this amendment also allows ‘vulnerabilities to be ranked and prioritized according to risk.’ PCI 2.0 becomes effective January 1, 2011 and becomes mandatory by January 1, 2012.

In allowing for a strategic approach to compliance, PCI 2.0 also confirms that there is a clear preliminary requirement to audit and locate all cardholder data, regardless of where it may reside. This involves i) a comprehensive inventory of cardholder data and ii) a threat analysis of that inventory. The Camouflage Discovery Module™ provides a compliance advantage by automatically identifying and classifying cardholder data located in applications throughout the organization. It features a powerful search engine and standard search templates customized to facilitate PCI compliance. These templates offer a significant head start to your compliance efforts by providing search rules aimed at locating cardholder data out-of-the-box.

The Camouflage data classification functionality allows organizations to automatically categorize discovered data according to the data classification scheme that best represents the given sensitive data and intended uses. Once the cardholder data has been located, the Data Discovery Module can classify specific sensitive information which can then be used for reports, including threat analyses.

D-BOX Technologies Inc. has signed a multi-year development and sales agreement with US-based WMS Industries Inc., a leader in the design, manufacture and distribution of games and gaming machines to the global gaming industry. Under the terms of this agreement, D-BOX’s realistic motion technology will be incorporated into future WMS products that will enable casino players to hear, see and feel their gaming experience. This agreement provides WMS with the capability to maintain exclusive rights to D-BOX’s motion technology for casino gaming applications subject to the achievement of specific performance thresholds.

“We are very pleased with this multi-year agreement with WMS Industries and D-BOX’s breakthrough into the casino gaming segment.” declared Claude Mc Master, President and Chief Executive Officer of D-BOX Technologies. “Over the years, WMS has built a distinctive culture of innovation which aligns perfectly with D-BOX’s own vision. This agreement also fits in very well with our strategy to expand outside our core segment of commercial theatre applications to other markets, allowing us to accelerate our growth based on the strengths and networks of quality business partners.”

Commenting on behalf of WMS Industries, Larry Pacey, Executive Vice President – Global Products and Chief Innovation Officer of WMS, added: “As part of our ongoing player-driven focus, our creative teams continuously seek new and advanced technologies that will enable us to set new standards for innovation and gaming excitement. D-BOX Technologies has demonstrated innovative leadership in developing and utilizing motion technology, and this agreement will expand our range of capabilities. We see D-BOX as a key collaborator in the future in establishing new entertainment experiences, and we look forward to building a strong relationship with them.”

Kobo, a global digital reading service, today announced a contest in which all Kobo customers, with the purchase of an eBook, are eligible to win one of many exciting prizes – including the grand prize: a one week stay at a Fairmont Hotels Caribbean Resort. The “Kobo Stack and Win” contest, ending November 19, 2010 at 11:59 p.m. ET, makes shoppers eligible for a prizing category based on the number of eBooks they purchase.

“We are very excited to be able to offer really great prizes to Kobo customers right before the holiday season,” said Liz Ridout, V.P. Marketing and Communications at Kobo. “People can treat themselves to great new reads and be entered to win one of many fantastic prizes to make their holidays even more enjoyable.”

Separate prize drawings will take place after the conclusion of the contest on November 20, 2010. All eligible shoppers during the contest period will be automatically entered into different prize drawings based on the number of eBooks purchased throughout the contest.

The prize draw categories are as follows:

* 1 eBook = an Apple TV
* 2 eBooks = Kobo Wireless eReader
* 3 eBooks = Wayspa gift card
* 4 eBooks = Apple iPad
* 5 eBooks = Microsoft Kinect Xbox 360 Package

PLUS – all shoppers who buy eBooks during the prize window will automatically be entered into the grand prize draw for a week’s stay at a Fairmont Hotels Caribbean Resort – in addition to being entered into the draw for the prizes outlined above.

Kobo offers over 2.2 million eBooks, from New York Times best sellers, the hottest new releases, romance, suspense, and more. Consumers can try eReading for free by selecting from hundreds of thousands of free titles, ranging from 18th century romance novels to thrillers, to the most famous literary masterpieces. With Kobo, users can read across a selection of popular devices ranging from smartphones, tablets, desktops, laptops by downloading the free Kobo reading app, or read on the Kobo Wireless eReader – in addition to other eReaders. Reading is seamless across devices, as users can pick up on the last page they were reading with Kobo Sync.

Kobo also offers a selection of the most popular newspapers and magazines, delivered automatically to the Kobo Wireless eReader as well as the Kobo iPhone and iPad reading apps. With Kobo eReading is easy.

In response to Red Hat’s announcement of the general availability of Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6 (RHEL 6) Roaring Penguin Software Inc., makers of the acclaimed CanIt line of anti-spam solutions, today announced the availability of packages for Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6 on Intel i386 and x86_64 for CanIt-PRO and CanIt-Domain-PRO.

RHEL 6 features a completely updated core and a newer Kernel. Also included are support for virtualization and next generation networking (including comprehensive IPv6 support). We expect that Roaring Penguin’s core customer set will take advantage of Virtualization and IPv6 support features.

Roaring Penguin Software offers three anti-spam solutions. CanIt-PRO is available as a software solution or as an on-premises “soft-appliance” for the client’s site; CanIt-Domain-PRO is a centralized spam filter for the solution provider who provides anti-spam to multiple clients from their Data Center; and Hosted CanIt, a completely outsourced anti-spam service hosted by Roaring Penguin. Hosted CanIt is not affected by the release of RHEL 6.

GameON: Finance 2011 will return to the Design Exchange on January 20 and 21, 2011, and the Kick-off rate of $489.00 is available now through November 15th 2010. Early Bird Tickets go on sale from November 16th through December 15th, with a price of $559.00. Once the Early Bird rate expires, ticket prices will go up to $699.00 if you purchase online, or $874.00 if you want and buy them at the conference. Interactive Ontario members will save an additional 30% off all ticket prices. See the event site for details.

GameON: Finance is Canada’s top business forum for the interactive entertainment industry connecting developers, innovators, investors and industry leaders. Delegates will gather in downtown Toronto for two days of keynotes, case-studies, lectures and panel discussions which will provide insight on topics such as:

* Emerging opportunities in game project financing
* The bottom line on equity investments
* Dealmaking across transmedia platforms
* Tips and tricks to optimize public finance opportunities

GameON: Finance’s 2011 Advisory Board members are: David Crow (Influitive), Jason Della Rocca (Perimeter Partners), Vikas Gupta (TransGaming Technologies), Marc Jackson (Seahorn Capital Group), Sean Kauppinen (International Digital Entertainment Agency), Jim Laird (Bedlam Games), Wanda Meloni (M2 Research), Ray Sharma (XMG Studio), Scott Steinberg (TechSavvy Global), John Sutyak (DDM) and Dean Takahashi (GamesBeat).

To compliment the release of Your Shape: Fitness Evolved, Ubisoft has launched Your Shape Centre, a website which works in tandem with the game, offering a truly personal online gym centre.

· Track your workouts and set yourself fitness challenges
· Compete and compare your progress with friends
· Set yourself fitness challenges
· Get advice from other players and fitness experts to help you reach your fitness goals
· Share your fitness achievements on your Facebook or Twitter

To help organizations meet expanding requirements for archiving, eDiscovery and regulatory compliance, Waterloo’s Open Text will embed Oracle technology to deliver a new set of enterprise content solutions. Read the rest of this entry »

Transgaming Inc. has launched a brand new web site for its game development studio. Transgaming Studio features information about its launched titles, In The Mix Featuring Armin van Buuren, G-G-Goal, and the recently released PuzzleQuest: Challenge of the WarLords for iOS. Also featured is news about its latest game in development, Garage Inc. for the Mac, PC, iPhone and GameTreeTV. Garage Inc., a time management game set in 1928 Chicago, is based on an original IP by Global Fun and is being produced through a partnership with Breakthrough Entertainment. Players will guide recent Italian immigrant, Angelo Marito, as he tries to manage and grow a car garage. Game play features include the ability to diagnose and fix cars, hire workers, and try to steer clear of the ever-present mob while pursuing the American dream.

Capcom has announced that the Dead Rising 2 Ninja Theme Pack is now available on Xbox Live, Games for Windows Live and the PlayStation Network. With the new ninja pack, Chuck gains a “stealth mode” that allows him to evade zombies by making it harder for them to detect Chuck’s presence. Sword-type weapons (broadswords, katanas, etc.) have their attack power increased and will allow Chuck to perform new special attacks. Stackable items and throwing items such as nails, plates, gems, etc. will also do more damage and Chuck’s throwing speed is increased. The Dead Rising 2 Ninja Theme Pack is available for 160 Microsoft points, or $1.99 on the PlayStation Network.

AudioKinetic’s Wwise 2010.1.2 platform has been nominated for a Game Developer magazine 2010 Front Line Award in the Audio Category. Also named as nominees in this category are FMOD Designer 4.32 (Firelight Technologies), Miles Sound System 8 (RAD Game Tools), ProRemote 2.0.1 (Far Out Labs) and ProTools 8.0.4 (Avid Technology). Read the rest of this entry »

3vis would like to invite you to a presentation about The Foundry, a leading innovator of visual effects and image processing technologies that boost productivity in motion picture and video post-production. The Foundry’s technology touches most Hollywood blockbusters that reach our screens, as well as numerous television and commercial productions. Discover all the ways the latest suite of software opens up new opportunities in film production and television. See the latest technology from NUKE, MARI and the new STORM digital production hub.

Pre-registration is required, and the first 50 arrivals get a free gift. There will be three free-to-attend sessions held across the country:

November 3: Toronto – The Fieldhouse at The Berkeley Church
November 4: Montreal – Centre des Sciences – Le Hall Panoramique
November 23: Vancouver – Caprice Night Club

Turn on your camera or pull out your sketchpad – ICBC is calling on artistic youth to help spread road safety messages to their peers and, in return, they’ll be eligible to win some cool prizes. It’s clear that safer roads are a priority in B.C. with new laws introduced this year to ban handheld electronic devices while driving and tougher impaired driving laws and excessive speeding penalties.

“Car crashes remain the number one preventable cause of death for youth in B.C and that’s why we’re looking to youth to help create advertisements that will reach their peers and express the importance of making smart driving decisions,” said ICBC’s Nicolas Jimenez, director of road safety.

ICBC has launched two contests: the 180 Film Contest, for 19 to 25 year olds and the Your Ad Here contest, for high school students in grades 8 to 11. The contests ask these groups to create either a short film or a print ad on one of three road safety topics: impaired driving, speeding or distracted driving.

For the 180 Film Contest, the winners of the top three films in each safety category will receive prizes amounting to about $35,000 worth of filmmaking equipment and software. By visiting 180filmcontest.com, you can vote for your favourite entry and the most popular film will receive a people’s choice award. The contest closes December 31, 2010.

High school students with a passion for art are also being called on to get inspired and create a print ad for the Your Ad Here contest. The top winner in each region of B.C. (Lower Mainland, Vancouver Island, North Central and Southern Interior) will win an Apple Macbook and their ad will be displayed on next year’s high school agendas in their region. Visit icbc.com/youradhere to vote for your favourite ad. The fan favourite will win an Apple iPod touch and the school with the most participation will win an Adobe Creative Suite CS5 software package. The contest closes on January 14, 2011.

Earlier this week Voices.com rolled out Local Voices, a new service offering voice over talent an opportunity to market themselves directly to potential clients within their own city.

Local Voices utilizes Google Maps, Bing Local, and Yahoo Local Search, employing local map listings, Internet yellow pages (IYPs) and local franchise advertising. Voice talent who sign up for the service are able to expand their online visibility and drive qualified contacts to their profiles so that they can work with local producers in addition to the online casting calls that the site already delivers on a daily basis.

Local Voices helps streamline the casting needs for producers wanting to work with local talent, saving them time and money in audition costs. Local Voices eliminates the need for ‘cattle-calls’, allowing businesses, producers, casting directors, and agencies to do the preliminary research online, pinpointing the voice over talent that they would like to work with in a local recording studio.

“Local Voices brings our online presence offline, expanding Voices.com’s reach and enabling people to find talent through local searches on Google, Yahoo!, Bing and other prominent engines.” said David Ciccarelli, Voices.com co-founder/CEO.

This service is available to members of the Voices.com website who are at the Platinum or Premium level. To be included in the Local Voices service, members log in to their accounts, fill out the Local Voices form, and follow the simple directions.

Serebra Learning Corporation, a leading e-learning solutions provider based in Vancouver, has announced an important update to the Serebra Campus learning management system that will offer enhanced functionality and usability to training coordinators and students alike.

“At Serebra we value the input of our clients and constantly seek to serve them better. Taking into consideration their feedback, we’ve made improvements to the overall platform functionality of our LMS and created new features to strengthen our clients’ ability to deliver compliance-related training,” said Serebra’s acting President, Taleeb Noormohamed.

In addition to numerous usability innovations, Serebra has added new features to Serebra Campus, including a new compliance feature, which simplifies the task of training departments when it comes to compliance-related or recurring training requirements.

Administrators create course compliance rules and apply them to groups or individual students, making it easy to track and manage the organization’s compliance requirements. Students are notified via e-mail of the need to take courses, and the My Training Dashboard makes it quick and easy for users to register and complete their training.

“Serebra will continue to add functionality to the Serebra Campus platform offering clients additional talent management and human resources solutions,” added Noormohamed. “At Serebra, we’re committed to constant innovation that meets the needs of our clients and keeps them at the leading edge of organizational and individual training.”

Serebra Campus has long included Lightweight Directory Access Protocol (LDAP) and Active Directory support for single sign-on. This release enables basic OpenID support for student authentication, which allows Serebra to support clients who use Google Apps and similar platforms for their company infrastructure.