13th April 2010

Today in The Canadian Interactive World

IUGOVancouver – Get ready to chill out with IUGO’s latest iPhone/iPad title; ESCAPE: Norm’s World XL. Zone out on limitless Zen puzzles with Escape XL. Swipe to jump Norm from stone to stone to eliminate all and solve the puzzle. Norm's World Escape XL

Escape features endless levels and gameplay with 3 difficulty levels for replayability. An unlimited supply of easy puzzles are free, but a 99¢ upgrade will get you medium and hard levels, feeding the addiction you won’t even see coming. Escape also features simple controls for all ages with minimalist graphics, which give it a maximum appeal for all players. You can drive yourself crazy solving the puzzles with unique cerebral game play which is complimented by relaxing audio and visual effects.

ESCAPE XL designed exclusively for the iPad features:

· Versus mode: challenge a friend in a race to solve the puzzle (IAP)
· Co-op mode: Collaborate with a friend to solve the puzzle (IAP)
· 3D graphics!
· 2 camera angles to choose from (single player mode)
· 2 characters to choose from: play as Norm or Norma
· Enhanced UI for larger interface and multiplayer modes

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ESCAPE: Norm’s World XL is FREE TO PLAY! Users may access unlimited puzzles with the Easy mode. For iPhone and iPad, Medium and Hard levels cost 99¢ as IAP. For the iPad, 2 player modes both Co-op and Versus can be purchased additionally for 99¢. ESCAPE: Norm’s World is IUGO’s 16th iPhone title and their 4th iPad title to launch on the App Store. ESCAPE is also available for BlackBerry devices!

cosmos interactiveVancouver Cosmos Interactive Inc. has released the long awaited game Babylonian Twins for the iPhone and iPad. The new game is based on the original never released Amiga version that was made in Iraq during the economic sanctions back in the early nineties. Since day one, the game hit the top-paid list in the puzzle category on the App Store and received five star ratings and reviews. The game is available now for download on iTunesBabylonian Twins

In 1993, Rabah Shihab, an engineering student at the university of Baghdad, and two of his colleagues defied the difficulties of the sanctions and built Babylonian Twins, a game with a unique theme inspired from authentic history books. Their goal was to promote a positive image about Iraq and its history. However, the game was never released due to the sanctions and demise of Commodore. In 2007, videos of Babylonian Twins were published for the first time on YouTube sparking huge positive reaction from the Amiga retro community. Since then Babylonian Twins received thousands of hits from over 85 countries.

That success prompted the original team to reunite from Canada, Australia and the US to bring this game to the mass. They worked for 8 months with an extended team and with the financial participation of Telefilm Canada to build one of the fastest, richest and most unique puzzle platformers on the App Store.

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Babylonian Twins is about the two princes of Babylon, Nasir and Blasir, and their quest to defeat the evil magic of the great sorcerer of Babylon and bring peace to the city. The game features unique two-character tag-team type play, distinguished historic atmosphere, authentic Mesopotamian art and traditional music by a talented Iraqi artist. It has over a dozen large puzzling levels with 5 different worlds to explore: The Tower of Babylon, The Assyrian Palace, The Hanging Gardens of Babylon, The Procession Street and The Old Dungeon.

G4BoxToronto – G4BOX Inc. has announced the addition of a brand-new character for its popular military shooter, Cross Fire. Maiden, the all-new character featured in Mutation Mode, will be available April 14th and will escalate the Mutant War to new heights. In honor of Maiden, two new maps will be introduced: the Excavation Map and the Complex Map. The Complex Map, available in Ghost Mode, will also play host to the finals of the March of Ghosts Clan Tournament taking place this month.Maiden

Two new contests will also begin in April. The Mutation Theme Screenshot Contest begins on April 16th and a Mutation Theme Video Contest starts on April 23rd. Additionally, six new weapons will be featured including a Micro Galil Scope, MSG90, M12s, Tar21, RPK Camo and M4A1 Silver.

“Cross Fire Players can expect to be fully immersed this month will all of these exciting updates and events,” said Howard He, Chief Executive Officer of G4BOX. “And all of the new weapons and the new character add that much more excitement and variety to an already addictive game.”

Maiden Story

After months of bloodshed and countless deaths, Mutants and Dreads had been successfully contained to Zone 13 in the U.S. and an international port in South Africa. Humanity was finally beginning to see the light at the end of the tunnel. That turned out to be nothing more than false hope. A bizarre amalgamation of the Mutant bio-weapon and Black List’s Ghost stealth technology was developed by an unidentified weapons manufacturer. Their intentions remain unknown, but it was only a matter of time before this new menace was unleashed.
First sightings were of medical staff, presumably lab assistants who became unwilling hosts of the modified Titan bio-weapon.

Cross Fire is a free online military first-person shooter for Windows PCs supporting Windows XP, Windows Vista, and Windows 7. Players assume the role of either a Black List or Global Risk operative and compete in various modes of play including Free-for-All, Team Death Match, the exclusive stealth-action Ghost Mode, and the brand new Mutation Mode. Cross Fire includes a military ranking system, in-game friends lists, an integrated clan system, and deep character customization options. Cross Fire is part of the Z8Games platform of free-to-play games.

HootSuiteVancouverHootSuite has released a whole new set of tools for agencies and groups. According to today’s announcement, these Team Collaboration tools are specifically designed for collective message publishing and conversation monitoring by groups. This will allow enterprises and agencies to coordinate their efforts with colleagues and clients without sacrificing control over valuable account info or compromising the timeliness of messaging.

Business and organizations can now assemble specific Teams to manage accounts, topics or projects. Plus, anyone can add their own social networking accounts without an administrator, adding even more flexibility. Users can also save keystrokes with the highly-requested “Reply to All” option, and can spread messages auto-magically with streamlined adding of RSS feeds to any social network. Please see the HootSuite blog for the full list of new features.

communitechWaterloo – Some of Canada’s hottest tech companies will head to the nation’s capital to look for talent when Communitech, the organization representing 700 tech companies in Waterloo Region, holds a ‘Get a Life in Waterloo Region‘ recruitment effort there on April 21. Waterloo Region companies continue to hire at a rapid pace, and the recruitment event will profile some of the outstanding 2,000 current tech job openings available in the Region.

“Waterloo Region continues to be a hot-spot for tech and despite economic challenges in other sectors, there are still many opportunities for skilled tech talent,” said Iain Klugman, CEO of Communitech. “The range of opportunity covers most technology areas from software and hardware to wireless and digital media.”

Klugman said Ottawa is a prime recruiting site because of the established reputation of the Ottawa tech community and the concentration of talented scientists, engineers and computer science professionals. Like Ottawa, Waterloo Region offers the best of both worlds: the opportunity to work for world-class companies in a community that’s a great place to live and raise a family, he added.

Companies participating in the recruiting event include big names like Research In Motion and Christie Digital Systems Canada Inc., as well as exciting up-and-comers such as social media analytics company PostRank. It will also feature some leading medical imaging firms including Agfa HealthCare, which is breaking new ground for its new building and has announced plans to increase its Ontario workforce by 140 new employees.

“PostRank and Agfa HealthCare are representative of the companies in Waterloo Region — innovative, passionate and ahead of the curve, and looking for the best and brightest talent. Availability of knowledge workers continues to be a key factor in the growth and competitiveness of tech firms in Waterloo Region,” Klugman said.

Communitech and a sampling of the Region’s hottest technology companies will be at the Brookstreet Hotel, 525 Legget Drive, Ottawa on Wednesday, April 21 from 5-7:30 p.m. to meet with tech professionals one-on-one. The full roster of companies participating in ‘Get a Life in Waterloo Region’ includes: PostRank; Agfa HealthCare; Christie Digital Systems Canada, Inc.; Research In Motion; Covarity; Sandvine; DALSA; and Nuvation. Visit www.waterlootechjobs.com for further information or to register.

small canadaToronto – Small businesses in Canada have received a big boost with the launch of SmallCanada.com, an online marketplace that allows small-to-medium enterprises (SMEs) to market their products and services at zero costs, and source new sales leads in and around Canada.

SmallCanada.com offers distinct advantages for small businesses:

– Small businesses – or Small Canadians – can create their business profile and market their latest products and services in the free space provided by SmallCanada.com.

– Prospective customers can browse through the sales pitches and connect to Small Canadians. They can also rate and recommend the Small Canadians they have worked with.

– Small Canadians can swap/barter their products and services with other businesses.

– SmallCanada.com is in talks with a few Canadian financial institutions to bring their clients on the SmallCanada.com platform. The website aims to serve as a hunting ground for venture capitalists to find SMEs with promising products and services.

– News and interviews will also keep small businesses abreast of latest developments. Small Canada interviewed Catherine Swift, President of the Canadian Federation of Independent Businesses as part of the website launch.

“SmallCanada.com is focused on generating untapped sales leads and showcasing the diverse range of small businesses in Canada,” says Yad Hussain, Managing Director of SmallCanada.com and a new immigrant to Canada. “There is tremendous innovation among Canadian SMEs, all they need is a vehicle to push their message out to the rest of Canada. SmallCanada.com can be that vehicle.”

Ernst & YoungToronto – Canadian companies have the power to drive the world’s economic recovery by propelling women into leadership positions and investing in female entrepreneurs, according to Ernst & Young’s report, Scaling up: why women-owned businesses can recharge the global economy.

“Women own and operate up to one-third of all private companies around the world and are the fastest-growing segment of the small-business sector,” says Colleen McMorrow, National Director of the Ernst & Young Entrepreneur Of The Year Awards. “This is strong evidence that women are becoming increasingly instrumental in creating new jobs and jump-starting the economy.”

Scaling up brings together compelling research suggesting that investing in women entrepreneurs can play a pivotal role in accelerating economic recovery:

– The number of self-employed women in Canada has surged 50% since the early 1990s – to about 800,000 currently.

– The number of women-owned businesses is growing 60% faster than those run by men, according to CIBC World Markets Inc.

– Women in Canada make up a larger share of the self-employed than in any other country, according to data from the Organization for Economic Co-Operation and Development.

– Women in Canada own and/or operate 30% of all firms, according to the Bank of Montreal’s Institute for Small Business.

McMorrow says that Canada has made significant progress in narrowing the gender gap and efforts continue in support of women’s in equality in education, wages, political empowerment and economic participation. As the journey towards equality continues, there are many immediate opportunities for women to be supported and recognized for their entrepreneurial efforts and economic contributions.

Nominate a deserving candidate for the 17th annual Ernst & Young Entrepreneur Of The Year Awards, the world’s most prestigious business award for entrepreneurs. The firm is seeking nominations of driven, innovative candidates running successful businesses.

“Entrepreneurs set out to realize dreams and don’t stop until they reach their potential, or even beyond,” says McMorrow. “From being a beacon of hope during tough times, to guiding us on the road to prosperity, entrepreneurs make revolutionary and lasting changes in many aspects of our lives.”

There is no fee to nominate. Completed application forms must be received by April 30, 2010. To be eligible for consideration, the nominee must be an owner/manager of a private or public organization who is primarily responsible for the company’s recent performance and an active member of top management. The nominee’s organization must be at least three years old.

This year’s national program sponsors are Global Television Network, National Post, La Presse and RDI.

Roaring PenguinOttawa – The fight against spam just got easier as Roaring Penguin Software Inc., makers of the acclaimed CanIt-PRO, CanIt-Domain-PRO and Hosted CanIt anti-spam solutions, announced the release of CanIt 7.0 with some major new features. If you are interested in trying out CanIt 7.0, there is a free evaluation copy available for download.

Major new features in CanIt 7.0:

1. Outbound Rate Limiting can automatically block senders who send too many messages per hour. This allows system administrators to protect the reputation of their networks from compromised computers spewing spam. When a sender’s outbound e-mail volume exceeds the hourly rate limit, the sender is stopped from sending any more e-mail and notifications are automatically sent to the email administrator.

2. CanIt-Reputation Block List collects IP reputation data from a worldwide network of sensors. Roaring Penguin aggregates this data into four DNS-based block lists:

Spam Source: A list of IP addresses that have sent mostly spam and very little non-spam.
Dictionary Attackers: A list of IP addresses that have sent to many nonexistent recipients and very few valid recipients.
Greylist Stumblers: A list of IP addresses that have been thwarted by greylisting. Such machines are typically compromised personal computers.
Good: A list of IP addresses that have passed greylisting, have sent to very few nonexistent recipients, and have sent mostly non-spam. These machines are very likely legitimate mail servers.

3. Multiple Hierarchical levels of Administrative Control permits arbitrary levels of administrative control. For example, an installation administrator has overall control. He or she can delegate control over sets of domains to a regional administrator, who in turn can delegate control over some domains to site administrators. Finally, site administrators can delegate control over individual quarantines and settings to end-users.

This entry was posted on Tuesday, April 13th, 2010 at 10:34 am and is filed under Business News, Casual, Contests, Digital Products, Events, Everyone, National News, New Releases, Platform, Puzzle, Research Studies, Shooters, Social Media, Software, Teen. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

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