Village Gamer

Talent Lab: Applications are open for the TIFF Talent Lab. Deadline is June 8th.
Nominate: Gemini Awards now accepting Digital Media nominations. Deadline is May 24th.
Apply: Mesh Prize is now open for submissions.
Register: BCIC New Ventures 2011 Competition applications open until April 18th.
Register: Search Engine Strategies Toronto is open for registration.
Survey: Vancouver’s Network Hub is looking for your input on a second location.
Open Today: Disney Store locations at Metrotown in Burnaby and Square One Shopping Centre in Mississauga
Hiring: Hothead Games in Vancouver is looking for programmers

Smiles Zen and Smiles Drop, two mobile games by Sykhronics Entertainment have made their debut in the Ovi Store as a dual game pack for $2.99.  The games are also available on iTunes as a pack for $4.99 or you can buy them separately for $2.99 each. There is also a lite version of the two pack on iTunes that lets you experience both games. The Android pack is also priced at $2.99 for the dual game pack. Smiles works on both phones and tablets for iOS and Android.

Smiles Drop is an unconventional action puzzle game of the “match 3+” genre, but unlike other games, you don’t have to wait for the tiles to stop moving before you make your next move. You can also play at your own pace, making matches and using power-ups to work your way through the levels. Also unlike conventional match 3 games, you don’t slide the tiles to make your matches, you use the single tile at the bottom right of the screen, so placement of the tile becomes very strategic as you want to match as many at one time as you can while setting off more matches in succession.

Smile Drop’s companion game Smiles Zen is a relaxing game of strategy that borrowing heavily from the Solitaire and Sudoku style of game play. Instead of clearing the board of pieces, you need to make enough matches to light up the full board.

Smiles features 14 game modes, including Avalanche, where the ice constantly pours out, Hard Mode where the ice is harder to break, Long Play, where multiple matches and combos are easier, and Six, where you can lose in as few as two moves. The games also offer three different themes – blocks, vegetables and weather, along with 140 achievements. You can also keep track of your high scores and game statistics.

Vancouver middleware developer VI Technologies has released a beta version of their SDK, which is currently free. VI Technologies has two game development products based on AI and Animation available. The company plans to release programming tutorials on a regular basis, and its first tutorial is a soldier squad evolving on difficult terrain, which is part of this first SDK release. The next tutorial will be about racing.

Canada Post announced today the addition of a BlackBerry version of its Mobile Apps suite, which broadens its family of mobile applications and provides consumers and small businesses with new ways to access to its Track a Package and Find a Post Office tools.

The new application is available as a free download from BlackBerry App World and follows the release of the app for iPhone, iPad and iPod touch a few months ago. These tools provide customers with the ability to track their packages and find nearby post offices, either by typing in an address or by using their device’s GPS feature.

“More and more, our customers are interacting with us on-the-go using their mobile devices,” says Louis O’Brien, Senior vice-president and Chief customer officer at Canada Post. “With this new BlackBerry application we are becoming as mobile as our customers. This is a great example of how we are embracing new technology to become a truly modern post.”

Canada Post is expected to release an Android version of the application this spring, and will also be adding a Find a Postal Code tool to its mobile applications on all three platforms within the next two months.

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 »

Every year, more than 50 000 children are reported missing in Canada. Avis de recherche (ADR.tv), the Quebec television channel devoted to public safety, is launching Child Alert, an iPhone application that allows parents to create and save a digital profile of their child. In the event of emergency, parents can then quickly send this data sheet to the authorities. A version for Android will be available in the near future.

The authorities stress that the first few hours following a disappearance are crucial. Reacting quickly can significantly increase the chances of finding a child safe and sound. More often than not, however, parents in such a situation are in a state of panic and therefore incapable of giving an accurate description of their child.

The Child Alert data sheet features height, weight, hair and eye colour, plus all other distinguishing features. The app also lets parents save photos of their child taken from a number of different angles.

“Our Child Alert application lets parents have a detailed physical description of their children at their fingertips”, explains Vincent Géracitano, President of Avis de recherche. “The app also sends users a regular reminder to keep their data up-to-date.”

The launch of the Child Alert app has been enthusiastically received by the national police community.

”Our goal at the Center is to protect and save children’s lives. The more tools we have the more we can fulfill our mandate, explains Monique Perras, S/Sgt, NCO i/c National Missing Children’s Services, of the RCMP. We want to congratulate Avis de recherche.tv for their initiative and their support. In working together we can achieve so much more!”

Sergeant Jean-Yves McCann, coordinator of the AMBER alert program for the Sûreté du Québec, agrees wholeheartedly : “When an AMBER alert is activated, time is crucial and every minute counts – so having an electronic ID profile on a cell phone seems like an extremely valuable tool. We will clearly be able to save a lot of time by broadcasting accurate details of the child. And broadcasting photos will greatly increase our chances of success. I would therefore encourage parents in Quebec to use this application, which could become a kind of police insurance if your child ever disappears or is abducted.”

The Child Alert app can be downloaded for $0.99. For every purchase, ADR.tv will assist organizations that help families look for missing children in Canada. The channel will donate a quarter of all funds raised. In Canada the funds will be given to the Child Find organization. Whereas, in Quebec, these funds will be donated to Enfant-Retour Québec.

« Given that one in five children are found after being recognized in a photograph, it is extremely important that parents have recent photos to show the police if their child disappears”, adds Pina Arcamone, Director General of Enfant-Retour Quebec. “The Child Alert app lets parents keep an electronic ID profile on their cell phones. By moving the child identification program onto an electronic platform, we have made it more widely available and easier to access for families everywhere.”

This is the second app launched by ADR.tv. Last fall, the channel launched ADR Alerte, an app that lets users receive and view photos of missing persons, as well as police photos and videos of suspects. In this way, ADR Alerte allows the public to participate in police enquiries.

The Globe and Mail has introduced an exciting and innovative new Facebook app, Globe Lifestream, providing readers with a personalized stream of lifestyle articles, news items, columns and contests that can be shared with friends.

The launch of Globe Lifestream complements the recently redesigned Globeandmail.com/life featuring extensive video libraries, expert advice and indepth archived content under the Globe Life pillars: Health & Fitness, Food & Wine, Fashion & Beauty, Parenting, Relationships, Home & Garden and Travel. Additional Globe Life features include Horoscopes and The Hot Button, a blog for lifestyle buzz and chatter around the hot topics everyone wants to discuss.

“Globe Life is an inspiring and energetic hub offering tips, advice and insight on how to live better. In a dynamic digital age, Globe Life and Globe Lifestream provide readers with the daily content they need to get more out of life wherever they are, whenever they want it,” said Jill Borra, Managing Editor, Features, The Globe and Mail. “Life can change in an instant, and Globe Lifestream allows users to change their personal content stream at any time to suit their evolving interests.”

Readers can install the Facebook application, which customizes content based on current Facebook interactions and specified preferences, make updates, share articles and invite their Facebook friends to join. Likewise, friends can make updates, share and invite others to participate in the conversation.

Users of Globe Lifestream will be able to earn and spend ballots to enter an ongoing contest series with great prizes, such as gift cards and the grand prize including a VIP Package to the upcoming Toronto International Film Festival® in September.

“The Globe and Mail is aggressively pursuing our commitment to provide readers with provocative and compelling content in print, online and mobile,” said John Stackhouse, editor-in-chief of The Globe and Mail. “These new and innovative offerings will continue to stimulate and engage our readers with conversation, analysis and advice on the touchpoints of life.”

The Globe and Mail has also introduced a Globe Life mobile app for readers to access Globe Life content on the go.