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11th May 2009

The Download Decade: The Bits and Bytes of Culture

Globe & MailToronto – A world without downloading, file sharing and iPods seems inconceivable today. But this digital age was ushered in a mere 10 years ago with the creation of Napster, the music sharing software. It opened a Pandora’s box.

Today, The Globe and Mail launches The Download Decade, an in-depth editorial series examining the profound societal, economic and cultural changes resulting from these new digital technologies. The series will examine: Napster’s critical role in the resurgence of Apple; the growth of ISPs; new business models and how they are faring; the fundamental transformation of the music industry; the debate about downloading and whether ISPs should be forced to hand over information on heavy file sharers; copyright law impact; and what the future holds.
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8th May 2009

Canada In 15 Seconds: Big Experiences: Tiny Commercials

CanadaVancouver – The Canadian Tourism Commission has announced their unique approach in promoting our great country. It’s kind of hard to sum up one of the world’s largest and most physically, geographically and culturally diverse countries in a few words — even if we had unlimited advertising dollars and time in the world (which we don’t). So in today’s world of “live well, spend less” and “if you can’t tweet it, it’s too much information”, we distilled the essence of the amazing Canadian vacation experience into 15 seconds — a bit shorter than your average elevator ride.

But get this — it gets better. We didn’t even shoot our own commercials! We went on YouTube and discovered real people having real experiences in Canada with real and raw emotion and really loving it! That’s right. Real people, real experiences, real emotion!
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8th May 2009

Pixar Is Coming To Vancouver

PixarVancouverPixar Studios has announced that they will be opening a new 20 000 square foot Vancouver studio this fall. Pixar President told The Hollywood Reporter that the new studio will focus on the production of Pixar’s short films and other non-feature projects based for the most part on “legacy characters”, such as the characters of Toy Story.

“The operation will be small in size and dedicated to producing short-form quality computer animation for theme parks, DVDs, television and theatrical exhibition… for several different divisions of The Walt Disney Company”, he continued, while General Manager Jim Morris stated that “the studio plans to hire 75 – 100 employees, with the majority of them being Canadian.”
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7th May 2009

Canadians to Get Android-Powered Smartphones

RogersTorontoRogers Wireless today announced the exclusive Canadian launch in June 2009 of the HTC Dream™ and HTC Magic™ smartphones, the first cellphones in Canada powered by the Android platform, allowing for fast and easy access to a wide range of Google™ mobile services, including Google HTC DreamSearch™, Google Maps™, Gmail™ and more.

“Who else but Rogers would be the first carrier to offer Canadians the first chance to join the mobile revolution with a choice of not one, but two, handsets powered by the Android platform?”, said John Boynton, Senior Vice President and Chief Marketing Officer, Rogers Wireless. “The HTC Magic offers a responsive touch screen and the HTC Dream delivers both a touch screen and a slide out QWERTY keyboard. Both devices offer outstanding wireless internet search capabilities and a full suite of applications that run two times faster on Canada’s fastest mobile network.”

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6th May 2009

Intrinsyc and Ubiquisys Create UX-Zone, a Femtocell Application for Android Phones

IntrinsycVancouver/SwindonIntrinsyc Software International, Inc., a leading provider of software solutions for mobile devices headquartered in Vancouver, and Ubiquisys, the leading developer of 3G femtocells based in Swindon, UK have today announced UX-Zone, an application that changes the appearance of the Android phone interface automatically as you enter your Ubiquisyshome or office. UX-Zonetm from Intrinsyc incorporates femtocell presence triggers from the Ubiquisys FemtoApps initiative.

Femtocells are tiny 3G mobile access points that plug in to a standard broadband connection in homes and businesses. They combine excellent mobile coverage indoors with very fast low cost data connections. As you arrive at a building with a femtocell, your phone automatically switches over from the outside network to the femtocell. Mobile operators are looking at ways of harnessing this combination of fast low-cost data and automatic presence to develop new services for their customers.
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6th May 2009

AceProject Announces Support for Non-Profit Organizations’ Project Management Needs

Ace ProjectQuebec City – All non-profit organizations now have access to an affordable project management system for their activities. “Starting May 1st, it is the official policy of Websystems to give a 20% discount to all non-profits who use AceProject,” says Daniel Raymond, President of Websystems, inc.

Non-profit organizations that already subscribe to AceProject can request the rebate by emailing info[at]aceproject[dot]com. Other non-profit organizations who would like to subscribe to AceProject, can request the rebate at the time of purchase. AceProject is available now online. A demo is available at demo.aceproject.com and free accounts can be created at free.aceproject.com.

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6th May 2009

TELUS licenses Microsoft HealthVault to launch TELUS Health Space

TelusTorontoTELUS today announced that it has signed an agreement with Microsoft Corp. in which TELUS is granted the exclusive license to host and operate the HealthVault platform for the development of a consumer-focused e-health service in Canada. The service will be called TELUS Health Space, powered by Microsoft HealthVault.

The service will be the first of its kind in Canada, letting Canadians manage and store their personal health information and have access to applications like personal health record, chronic disease management, pediatric care and wellness products that will allow better management of their health and the health of their family.
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5th May 2009

Coalition of ISP Providers Asks Government to Support Customer Choice For Broadband Internet Access

CAIPOttawa – A coalition of independent telecommunications service providers is asking the Canadian Federal Government to send a clear message that increased competition in the broadband Internet market is necessary for Canadians and Canadian businesses.

In April, MTS Allstream, Bell Canada, Bell Aliant and TELUS petitioned the Federal Government. MTS Allstream’s petition sought to ensure and expand competitive access to last mile broadband facilities, while Bell and TELUS asked that recent CRTC decisions and orders in that regard be overruled.

“Internet access and other broadband services are a fundamental element of economic growth,” said Coalition spokesperson and Chair of the Canadian Association of Internet Providers (CAIP) Tom Copeland. “The Coalition is concerned that the full creative and productivity-enhancing potential of these services will not be realized if Bell and TELUS are allowed to control the pace and extent of competition through their stranglehold on network infrastructure.”
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5th May 2009

Canadian Game Studios Heavy Contenders For Golden Joystick Awards

CanadaCanada – The vast nominee lists for the UK’s 27th Annual Golden Joystick Awards has been released, and mixed amongst the hundreds of titles are a good portion of Canadian-made titles – led by Ubisoft and EA Canada (see below). The Golden Joysticks is the oldest gaming awards ceremony in the world, with every winner voted upon by the gaming public. In 2008, over 850 000 votes were cast to decide the winners. The Golden Joystick Awards Ceremony will be held on October 30th, the Grand Finale to the London Game Festival in the UK.

Awards categories include Family Game of the Year, Handheld Game of the Year, Mobile Game of the Year, Multiplayer Game of the Year, Nintendo Game of the Year, Xbox Game of the Year, PlayStation Game of the Year, Multiplayer Game of the Year, Online Game of the Year, Publisher of the Year, PC Game of the Year, Retailer of the Year, Soundtrack of the Year, UK Developer of the Year, The One To Watch, and the Ultimate Game of the Year.
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4th May 2009

CATA Successfully Opens Federal Contracts to SME’s

CATAOttawa – Reversing a stealthily creeping trend, the Canadian Advanced Technology Alliance (CATA) has successfully led a charge against the government’s tendency to “bundle” all work into big contracts. Big contracts are simply too complex for small firms to bid on, said a CATA spokesperson.

“Our members tell us that they are giving up on bidding for government contracts,” said John Reid, President of CATAAlliance. “We are arguing that “bundling” the work in one big contract makes sense for the provision of large networks, but the bundling of all services would cut SMEs out. We have been lobbying MPs to “unbundle” or separate out the professional services. They have understood.”

Other advocacy groups have argued the government will pay more with such an unbundled approach. CATA has countered that cost-saving innovation is often found in the smaller and entrepreneurial companies.

CATA has further pointed out that the debate has been far too polarized, and instead adopted a balanced approach that creates a win for small companies, a win for large companies and a win for Canada as the Innovation Nation.
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