Village Gamer

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.

Bioware has released its latest trailer for Dragon Age II. In Rise To Power you can see all new gameplay along with new characters Varric and Isabella, Kirkwall and the qunari onslaught. Dragon Age II is scheduled for release on March 8, 2011.

Dragon Age II is the sequel to the 2009’s “RPG of the Year,” featuring faster-paced action, striking new art direction and a gripping storytelling approach that allows gamers to experience the rise to power with the game’s key character, Hawke. A refugee who survives the destruction of his homeland, Hawke becomes the Champion of Kirkwall but the lore surrounding his rise to power is shrouded in myth and rumor. These mysteries are the driving force behind the all-new Dragon Age II story, which spans nearly 10 years in the Dragon Age universe. Players will experience how the legend unfolds by gathering the deadliest of allies, making tough moral choices, amassing fame and fortune and sealing their place in history.

[youtube:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sWbIFihAzW4]

Earlier this month, Bioware announced the Dragon Age™ II BioWare Signature Edition. This limited edition of the highly anticipated action RPG will be available at no extra cost for gamers who pre-order Dragon Age II before January 11, 2011. Featuring over $20 of additional content, the Dragon Age II BioWare Signature Edition includes the full version of Dragon Age II, along with a download code for an additional playable character and new missions, the Dragon Age II digital soundtrack, an exclusive in-game digital armory featuring a variety of weapons and other digital items. The Dragon Age II BioWare Signature Edition will only be available for pre-order and online purchase on or before January 11, 2011 – after the deadline, it will disappear from the market.

That said, as of late last week, Dragon Age II was still not available for pre-order at our local EB Games outlet – the title was not listed at all in their computer systems. Hopefully when we visit the store to pick up a certain not-made-in-Canada title, Dragon Age II will be on the list so that our pre-order can be placed.

Dragon Age II will be available on the PlayStation®3, Xbox 360® and PC, and will most likely be rated M for Mature by the ESRB.

Cosmic forces and Spider-Man collide in new downloadable content for Spider-Man: Shattered Dimensions from Activision Publishing, Inc., available on the Xbox 360® and PlayStation®3 computer entertainment system. Developed by Activision studio Beenox, players can now don one unique Cosmic costume for each of the four distinct worlds in the game – Amazing, Noir, 2099 and Ultimate – and are also granted one all-new signature charge attack. The downloadable content is available now from Xbox LIVE Marketplace and from the PlayStation®Store, which will be available next week.

In Spider-Man: Shattered Dimensions, Activision game developer Beenox took the web-slinging hero to new and unique heights by giving fans the chance to experience four different versions of Spider-Man and explore four different universes. Players take on the role of Spider-Man in each respective universe on a mission to save their worlds from powered-up Super Villains, such as Mysterio, Carnage, Deadpool, Vulture, Sandman and more. This original take on a Spider-Man video game has garnered acclaim from fans and critics alike.

Spider-Man: Shattered Dimensions transports players to a variety of locations, from lush jungles and sand quarries to a futuristic NYC, and allows them to use unique gameplay styles for each Spider-Man, including stealth moves in Noir, high-octane freefalling in 2099, black-suited tendril attacks in Ultimate, and innovative web combat in Amazing.

Spider-Man: Shattered Dimensions is rated T for Teen by the ESRB and is available now on the Xbox 360®, PlayStation®3, Wii™ and soon to be available on Windows PC, all developed by Beenox. A Nintendo DS™ version, developed by Griptonite, is also now available and features a side-scrolling adventure full of unique villains, such as the first-ever appearance of Calypso Noir and two other boss characters created exclusively for this version.

The Dead Rising 2 Sports Theme Pack is now available to download on Xbox Live, Games for Windows Live and the PlayStation Network. The new Sports Theme Pack DLC gives players increased attack power when they use sporting goods to take down hordes of zombies.

Not only does Chuck gain attack bonuses from sports weapons, he will also have a new charge/tackle attack to blitz down zombies. With these new abilities a hungry sports fan needs to have their snacks. Gain extra health from consuming food and drinks, especially alcoholic ones- and this time you won’t get sick!

To top it off, if you’re ever short on cash, gamble and hit it big. Chuck will earn bigger payouts from gambling with the all new Sports Theme Pack. The Dead Rising 2 Sports Theme Pack is available to download for 160 Microsoft points, or $1.99 on the PlayStation Network. Dead Rising 2 is rated M for Mature by the ESRB.

Veer, a provider of affordable visual elements that makes it easier to be creative, today announced the start of Free-For-All, a series of four different one week community challenges that aim to give away $30,000 in prizes to participants who can try to win just by downloading free images, fonts, avatars, screensavers and wallpapers from the Free-For-All pages.

Starting today, Veer will give the online community the chance to rally together to progressively unlock more and more free downloads across a range of themes in an effort to be entered into big grand prize sweepstakes.

Each Monday for the next four weeks, Veer automatically unlocks the first download, a selection of free images. The community must then rally together to have enough people download the images to successfully unlock the second download, a free font. If enough people download the font, then the third and final download, a free digital toy, is unlocked.

If enough people download the digital toy by the end of each week (Sunday at midnight), then the weekly grand prize is unlocked, and everyone who downloaded something during the week is automatically entered to win. People can get up to three entries each week, one for each download they do.

The weekly grand prizes include:

* Week 1: $5,000 Apple Store® shopping spree
* Week 2: $5,000 Entertainment shopping spree at Amazon.com
* Week 3: $5,000 Outdoor Adventure Gear shopping spree at REI
* Week 4: $15,000 Trip around the world through American Airlines

To help make sure that the grand prizes are unlocked and awarded, participants can spread the word through their social networks, email, instant message, text message – anyway they can – to make sure all downloads and the grand prize are unlocked by the deadline each week.

“We love to have fun at Veer and give our community a little challenge,” said Xerxes Irani, Creative Director, Veer. “The Free-For-All sweepstakes gives our biggest supporters and those new to Veer the opportunity to explore, share, get something for free and maybe even win big.”

Free-For-All is open to residents of the U.S. and Canada, except Quebec.

Page99Test.com, which launched today, is a technology startup focused on writer discovery. Based in Canada, its co-founders are Lance Jones and Joanna Wiebe, both of Victoria and Steven Luke of Edmonton. This new venture is a website that helps readers discover new books by reading – and rating – a book’s page 99, an excerpt that is rarely as overworked as a book’s first chapter. On the website, writers and publishers upload a single page of a manuscript, and readers read and rate those pages by answering two questions:

1) Would you turn the page?
2) Would you buy the book?

Writers, who can upload their page 99s for free in one of 14 genres, receive quick feedback and can attract more readers. Attracting new readers is critical today, as low prices for eBooks mean writers need, on average, twice as many paying readers to earn the same income. The website is also open for agents and editors to upload page 99s to test a manuscript’s marketability or to market new books for free.

A free website, Page99Test.com has already attracted readers, writers, literary agents, and editors from the US, Australia, Canada, the UK, and Dubai. It was launched in private beta in early October. Feedback from beta testers validated assumptions that writers need new ways to get noticed today.

“Finding page-turners can be tough,” said co-founder Lance Jones, referencing the thousands of fiction titles added to major bookstores yearly. “Readers overlook great books when a publisher doesn’t invest much in marketing, or they often end up buying books they don’t like simply because those books were heavily marketed.”

Page99Test.com looks at book discovery from a new angle, where readers are quickly presented with short samples of books in their favorite genres. This makes it easier to find new books. “We hope avid readers will begin their book search process here.”

Readers read page 99s in selected genres blindly. It is not until after a reader rates a page that the details of the book are displayed, including if it is published, who the author is, and where to buy the book.

“Intertwining published and unpublished pages keeps readers honest with their feedback,” said Jones. “It’s easy to be critical of new writers. But when you’re not sure if the page you’re reading is published or not, you have to read it with greater consideration. This leads to better feedback for all writers.”

Writers who are wary of being reviewed by readers need not worry – at least not too much – because readers should only rate genres they’re interested in. This means readers who love Stephen King’s horror books won’t be rating young adult books that read like the latest Stephenie Meyer. Writers can also hide or delete their pages at any time.

Coming soon for Page99Test.com are badges for power readers and top-rated writers, weekly showcases of top-rated page 99s, and first-chapter uploads. The startup is also working with literary agents, editors, and eBook publishers to help top-rated unpublished writers get the attention they deserve.

Montreal’s Vantrix was honoured last week with a 2010 RCR Ecosystem Award in the “Best Mobile Content Provider” category. The annual RCR Ecosystem awards are presented to innovative and outstanding companies from each sector within the mobile arena that has had a significant impact in the wireless marketplace. The RCR Ecosystem Awards received more than 130 nominations across 12 categories, a true testament to the momentum behind the wireless and mobile industry.

“Vantrix is very proud to be recognized for its leadership in mobile video optimization,” said Patrick Lopez, Chief Marketing Officer of Vantrix. “The amount of video traffic on the mobile network continues to grow at an exponential rate, putting pressure on mobile operator networks. Vantrix Bandwidth Optimizer enables mobile operators to optimize their networks and reduce costs of delivering video to laptops and mobile phones by as much as 50 percent. This award acknowledges our innovation and accomplishment in the mobile video optimization and arena, and underscores our clear leadership in this market.”

Vantrix Bandwidth Optimizer optimizes all video content in real-time, while maintaining the highest quality of experience. It removes congestion on the network, thus enabling more data to be sent. Furthermore, it also delays investment in network infrastructure expansion – thereby helping to reduce CAPEX and OPEX. A constant innovator, Vantrix has created an interactive tool called the Vantrix Bandwidth Savings Calculator to help mobile carriers plan for the explosive growth of video in their data network.

“It was particularly difficult for us to judge this year’s awards, as the volume and quality of entries was reflective of an industry that continues to innovate and have an impact on our daily lives,” said RCR Wireless News Editor Tracy Ford. “Our program recognizes those contributions and we applaud Vantrix for its hard work, dedication and for continuing to move the dial forward for mobile subscribers, as well as operators, worldwide.”

A unique web-based service, offering simplified, first class results on anything and everything locally, has now launched. Thetop10.ca launched Phase One, an exceptional Web Site / Directory service, utilizing SEO, Social Media and related technologies in tandem with proprietary elements in a manner never before done, providing end-users The Top 10 of anything they are looking for, locally and simply.

“How do you sort through the clutter on the Internet today and find the best of anything? The Top 10 offers this and so much more.” says project backer Mike Bullard.

A major complaint from Web Searchers today is the never-ending barrage of useless information one is forced to delve through to get to what they’re looking for – to get to the BEST of what they’re looking for. Thetop10.ca is the answer to this and many other business-search issues. A platform offering both casual web searchers and members the best of what they’re looking for locally. Additionally, MEMBERS only receive access to a growing number of perks, and membership is free.

Thetop10.ca is the first of its kind, offering members an opportunity to share their product and service experiences with others on various Social Media platforms, earning great Rewards Points for their opinions! The list of Member-only perks to come in phase 2 and 3 is remarkable. Utilizing existent technologies and a proprietary algorithm, there is no company directly comparable to thetop10.ca in Canada.

“This enterprise has resulted in a better service than I even anticipated; I’m confident this first-class alternative to basic search engines will grow exponentially, and we look forward to the inimitable additions already in the works for Phase Two.” says Caroline Risi.

Backed by the incomparable and trusted entertainer Mike Bullard, thetop10.ca looks forward to sharing its one-of-a-kind platform and interacting with both the business community and web searchers across Ontario and Canada. PHASE 2 of thetop10.ca will launch in November 2010.

Canada Post has introduced Canada Post Comparison Shopper, a one-stop shopping website that helps Canadians instantly find, compare and purchase products online. The site uses a ranking system that filters through over 4 million products from 500 well-known and respected retailers that actually sell to Canadians. The patent-pending system evaluates criteria like price, return policies and customer service to determine which retailer offers the best match for the consumer’s search.

“Canada Post has experience in building online solutions like epost,” says Louis O’Brien, Chief Customer Officer at Canada Post. “This innovative solution is a natural extension of our superior residential delivery in Canada. Canadians place a lot of trust in Canada Post and we plan to build on that trust to help Canadians shop online with confidence.”

The site offers search and filter capabilities not available on competing shopping sites. “Features such as product ranking and price history provide shoppers with confidence and assurance that they are making an informed decision”, adds O’Brien. “All the retailers on the site actually sell to Canadians, while most other sites contain retailers that do not ship to Canada.”

Another key feature of Canada Post Comparison Shopper is the ‘all-in’ price which estimates taxes, shipping and other fees – such as exchange rates and customs fees, if applicable. This will eliminate unwelcomed surprises when it comes to the actual total purchase price. Consumers can search for everything from electronics to fashion, and health and beauty products.

This new initiative is part of a larger growth strategy at Canada Post. Last month, the corporation announced a new online direct-marketing platform to leverage proven direct marketing practices to deliver local offers and advertisements in a dynamic, real-time online environment. Canada Post Comparison Shopper is expected to drive growth in the parcel business, and to reinforce the company’s position as the leading business-to-consumer delivery agent in Canada.

Consumers can access Canada Post Comparison Shopper through Canada Post’s website. They can search using keywords or advanced sort and filter functions, browse based on retailer, brand or category and finally purchase the product or service directly on the retailer’s site.

Bell Aliant has reached an agreement with Bell to sell xwave, in its entirety, to Bell. With xwave now part of a national organization, customers will benefit from xwave’s proven expertise and also have access to a broader slate of national technology and professional services provided through Bell Business Markets.

“We believe the time and opportunity is right for this transaction and by divesting xwave now, Bell Aliant is able to further focus on our core priorities such as fibre-to-the-home, improve our balance sheet and ensure long-term value to our investors,” said Karen Sheriff, president and CEO, Bell Aliant. “We have known for some time that for xwave to continue to expand nationally and grow profitability they needed access to scale. Combining with Bell gives xwave access to a national market and additional IT capabilities they do not have today.”

xwave has operated as part of Bell Aliant and its predecessor companies for a number of years with particular focus on advanced technology solutions and IT professional services, including the provision of leading e-health solutions.

“We are eager to welcome the skilled xwave team, building on their excellent service to clients in Atlantic Canada. Combining xwave’s leading e-health, IT professional services and advanced technology solutions with Bell Business Markets’ national team of information and communications technology (ICT) professionals and our world-class broadband networks enhances our leadership in delivering the best solutions for healthcare, public sector and corporate enterprise customers,” said Stéphane Boisvert, president, Bell Business Markets.

The purchase price of CAD $40 million has been assessed as fair value by an independent valuator. The transaction is expected to close on January 1, 2011. Bell, Bell Aliant and xwave will work together to ensure a seamless transition for employees, partners and customers.