Print Audit Premier is a new subscription plan that gives dealers access to all of Print Audit’s products for one low monthly fee. Premier subscribers will receive access to an exclusive web portal which will help track the programs three brand promises which are to help dealers Win New Customers, Keep Current Customers and Make a lot of Money.

The subscription program is disruptive in that it greatly increases office equipment dealers’ profit margins on print management solution sales. With the program, dealers can charge their customers for Print Audit’s software under a per page or device model, while only paying a fixed cost to Print Audit. This means that the dealer’s profits go up with every customer they sell to.

Print Audit’s statistics show that 80% of MPS and equipment deals are won using device and user assessment tools. Premier provides a full array of print management tools that can be used to uncover more sales opportunities, truly manage printing in any environment, lower print costs and add value to the dealers machines in field

“Soon after the completion of this project, we were elated to learn that the Immortals Movie Mobile Web App had won the Best Kentico Mobile Site for 2011. The win was a boon to the Seventyeight Digital team, and has also confirmed that a Mobile Proxy delivered site can excel in creating not only solutions that the client is proud of, but mobile sites that are recognized world-wide as exceptional projects.” said Jason Fowler, Project Manager at Seventyeight.

Canadian motion picture distributor Alliance Films approached Seventyeight Digital to develop a gaming and contest engine in support of their film release of Immortals.

Wanting to reach a wide audience while providing a modern and unique take on the digital marketing of the film, Seventyeight Digital’s team settled on a mobile activation. The Mobile Web Application needed to provide information about Immortals in a format optimized for mobile devices and additionally support an 11 day countdown style contest where new questions, pertaining to the film, are presented each day making the players eligible for contest prizes.

The application needed to be constructed in a relatively short period of time (3 weeks), be accessible on a wide variety of mobile devices, contain feature and media rich content, be true to the branding and visual aesthetic of the movie, and provide incentives to visitors for repeat views. Anticipation of lots of traffic also dictated a back-end architecture that was secure, highly available, and able to provide ample bandwidth.

Key outcomes included:

• Efficient content management – because of the compressed nature of the deadline and large amount of content efficient processes were paramount
• Collaborative model of document publication and work-flows
• Fast load times for users on mobile connections while maintaining a visually rich experience following the movie’s branding
• Perfectly formed HTML to ensure widest compliance rate among mobile devices
• Secure – because the application held contest information measures had to be taken to ensure abuse was prevented and private information was safe
• Ability to handle high load conditions including data reads and writes

The way that this differs from the regular Google Street View format that is found on many realtors’ web sites is that they show just one property at any given time. The Google Street View search function that has been designed and incorporated into BestHomesBC.com allows the user to see all the properties for sale in a street at the same time.

In the same way as if a user was physically walking down the street and saw all the realtors’ signs up.

“It’s an effortless way to actually see what the homes and neighbourhoods look like without viewers having to leave the comfort of their living room or even their country,” says Nicola Way, BestHomesBC.com’s owner, and property correspondent for both the U.K.’s Canada magazine and OPP (Overseas Property Professional) China where her Canadian property-focused articles are translated into Mandarin and sent directly to Chinese real estate agents who specialize in buying overseas homes for their clients.

“It is perfect for the current climate in Metro Vancouver where we are seeing an uptick in overseas buyers. This makes the process easier for them to view a particular home and get a feel for the surrounding neighbourhood, especially if they are not familiar with the area.”

Way was an early pioneer in the Internet. She created a Vancouver apartment rental website in 2000, and sold it just before the arrival of Craigslist in 2003. She then provided realtors with a forum (AssignmentsCanada.ca) to market their condo assignments when many developers refused to allow them to be listed on the MLS system. Way then launched BestHomesBC.com in 2009 to market realtors’ resale homes and developers’ presale projects.

BestHomesBC.com can be translated into 52 different languages with the touch of a button, giving access to homebuyers both within and outside Canada.

The application is available through all global Apple App Stores as a free download and can be configured to connect to any existing eSCRIBE system running the upgraded Publishing module.

The company is running a number of webinars to demonstrate the application and brief prospective customers and channel partners, including:

Wednesday February 8, 2012 1:00 PM ET
Wednesday February 22, 2012 1:00 PM ET
Wednesday March 7, 2012 1:00 PM ET
Wednesday March 21, 2012 1:00 PM ET

For more information or to register for one of the events, contact eSCRIBE sales at 1-905-305-3424 or by email to sales@escribecorporate.com.

Spongelab.com has made it possible for thousands of science teachers and students in 123 countries to access otherwise expensive content and learning tools for free. “Our model addresses the education world’s need for an advanced teaching tool with no payment required,” says Spongelab founder Jeremy Friedberg.

Spongelab educational games offer easy-to-understand interactive models to encourage in-depth understanding of complex science. In Build-a-Body, players interact with a virtual anatomy lesson by recreating biological systems within a human form. The free game is playable online at Spongelab.com, with an iPad version available on the Apple App Store.

The award-winning Build-a-Body is just one of hundreds of free, custom-made science education tools available on Spongelab.com. Spongelab makes learning easy by stitching together a detailed educational content library of science games, images and animations with integrated teaching tools and an incredibly powerful student assessment system. “By providing detailed feedback about students’ engagement with rich learning multimedia, Spongelab is changing the way educational content is produced and delivered,” says Friedberg.

Spongelab’s global user base is tripling every month as educators, partners and the Spongelab team continue to add new science materials. “Spongelab was built to foster an engaged learning community” says Friedberg. Credits and experience points are awarded for contributing content and using Spongelab.com, then redeemed for premium teaching tools and discounts on lab equipment purchases.

Build-a-Body took honours in the Interactive Media category of the Visualization Challenge 2011, the third time Spongelab has won an NSF award. In 2009, Spongelab won First Place for Genomics Digital Lab: Cell Biology. They also took First Place for Genomics Digital Lab: Plant Cells in 2008. Spongelab has been a global leader in developing innovative learning technologies, with awards from the United Nations and published three times in the Journal of Science.

All of Spongelab’s award-winning content is available for free on Spongelab’s global science community. To start using all the features, animations, interactives, images and games, sign up for a free account at Spongelab.com and start playing with science.

“Dancing has been such an important part of my life since I was a little girl,” said Britney Spears. “As soon as I saw the new Twister Dance game, I knew I wanted to be involved. I think kids will love rocking the spots and dancing to the music as much as my boys and I do. It’s a lot of fun!”

In addition to having a custom remix of her hit song featured in the game, Spears will be featured on game packaging and in dance instruction videos that will be released in Fall 2012.

The game invites kids to rock the spots by placing moveable Twister spots on the floor and then following the direction of the Twister Dance console. The Twister Dance console offers superior sound quality and bright, multi-colour LED lights that light up to show dancers on which spots they should place their feet. Arm and hand movements are up to the dancers, allowing them to show off their individual style.

Girls will also be able to move to the beat of songs featuring Ke$ha and Willow Smith, and an exclusive Twister Dance song called “Caught Up in a Twister.” Plus, players can connect any mp3 player to the console to dance to their own tunes. The built-in beat detection system turns any song into a dance routine, so players can rock the spots with new and different songs every time they play.

Twister Dance will be available in Fall 2012 for the approximate retail price of $34.99. The game is recommended for 1 to 2 players, ages 8 and up. Four AA batteries are required for the dance console. The game includes 8 moveable Twister spots (4 per player).

• Visual Development/Design Artists
• Modelers
• Texture Artists/Look Development Artists
• Character  TDs (Rigging/Hair/Fur/Skin/Cloth)
• Animators
• EFX Artists/TDs
• Lighters/Compositors
• Pipeline Technical Directors
•Software Developers
• Shader Writers
• Production Management

…and many more, at all experience levels. Dates and locations for the recruiting events have not been revealed. Contact Digital Domain as directed on the recruiting pages for placement consideration and recruiting event details.

Open positions at the Digital Domain Vancouver studio include:

• ATD Assistant Technical Director
• Cloth/Hair Artist
• Cloth/Hair TD
• Compositor
• FX Artist Houdini
• FX TD Houdini
• Human Resources/Recruiting Coordinator
• Lighting Artist
• Lighting TD
• Look Development Artist
• Modeler
• Production Coordinator Visual Effects
• Rigger
• Shading TD
• Texture Artist

Also on the new web site are the winners of the #MaxPayne3 casting event. Rockstar thanks  everyone out there who participated in the casting call. The turnout for this activity surpassed their expectations with #MaxPayne3 usage spiking to the top of the worldwide Trending Topics moments after the event was first announced.

From December 16th, 2011 through January 13th, 2012 Rockstar selected ten people at random each week from those they spotted using the #MaxPayne3 hashtag on Twitter. From there, selections were contacted and asked to send in a picture for consideration. The developers then picked two people from each group, in each of the four weeks (eight people in total) to have their likeness appear as a multiplayer gang character in Max Payne 3.

Suffice it to say, it was pretty difficult settling on only 8 people… The gang looks to be a pretty rad multiplayer hit squad of internationally-assembled killers – recruited from Germany, London, NYC, Los Angeles, Brazil, Australia, Japan, with Canada being represented by Dave Wheeler, the morning drive DJ at Winnipeg’s Power 97 radio station.

The new Max Payne 3 site also features updated original artwork and a chronicle of all Max Payne 3 news, videos, downloads and information released to date. Explore it all and check back often in the weeks and months ahead for a fully-loaded barrage of new videos, screens, game details and much much more as we barrel towards Max Payne 3′s release on Xbox 360, PlayStation 3 and PC this May.

Worldwide, nearly one third of employees indicate they expect to be working from home more in 2012. This is especially the case in India (62%) and Mexico (63%). But the worldwide responses also report that roughly 40% of employees across the globe expect to be working from home less in 2012. Especially in China where 74 per cent of employees say they expect to work from home less than they did in 2011.

The absence of a sharp upward or downward trend is similar to recent data from Statistics Canada’s Working at home: An update: “The number of employees working at home in 2008 was 1,748,600, compared with 1,425,700 in 2000. Despite this increase, the proportion of employees working at home remained relatively stable during the 2000s. While there is an upward trend, the increase is small and the pace moderate”.

So why aren’t there more employees working from home?

Jan Hein Bax, President of Randstad Canada explains that home working doesn’t suit all jobs or sectors. “There many forward-thinking organizations who welcome teleworking, but there are some sectors where teleworking is impossible – retailers, construction workers, manufacturers – there are certain roles where people must be at the workplace.”

According to Bax, working from home can be a suitable arrangement for a number of employees and employers. “Through our own research and studies, we have found that having a good work life-balance is a key factor for Canadians when looking for an employer. But flexibility can mean more than just allowing employees access to work from home, it can be better access to wireless networks for commuters, flexible working schedules, or daycare facilities in the workplace. Those are just a few of the alternatives that also help workers get achieve more flexibility.”

“As the workforce continues to shrink, it’s important for businesses to find creative ways to leverage the skills of talented, productive employees,” says Bax. “Assessing how to best adapt to the ever-evolving needs of Canadian employees will be a critical task for employers looking to attract and retain the best talent.”

Find out if there are work from home in Canada opportunities for you at Randstad.

Ah … prepare yourself for entertainment … at my expense.

I’m hooked on Social Girl for the iPhone. Why? Because it’s pretty. Why did I download it in the first place? It ranked popularly as a Top Free game in the App Store. In its first week, it was downloaded over a million times. And right now, it has over 737 ratings, with an average of four stars. I was curious. And I can totally see the appeal.

It’s a bad relationship. It’s a bad virtual world. It sets terrible examples for girls, and yet all I want to do is buy beautifully designed outfits, unlock new ones, mix and match clothing, and see where my “boyfriend” will take me for dates, which range from yachting and hang gliding to picnics and the Taco Hut.

I also want to know what happens when I unlock “skin colour” when it comes to changing him, supposedly for the better, since you can change his name, hair colour, hair style, clothing and face. It’s like watching a terrible, terrible movie, just to see what happens in the end.

Made by CrowdStar, a social gaming company based in California, the point of the game is to develop a relationship with your crush by going on dates.

Before going on dates, you have to dress “properly”, which means assembling outfits with items that have certain values assigned to them. Each date requires a certain combination total from a genre of clothes, be it Sporty, Hipster, Preppy, Rocker or Girly.

To get ready for these dates, you can choose different items from your closet. When you’re short on your “properly dressed” total, you can go shopping for items to make up the balance.

How do you get coins? By hanging out with various cliques and making friends. While each clique has six friends, you need to make friends with them in order of coolness. And the game will actually tell you when you’re not cool enough.

To “complete a friendship”, it’s a combination of hanging out and gossiping with the friend in order to unlock clothes of that category (or using real currency to skip some of this). You need energy to do that, and one energy unit takes five minutes to replenish so that your bar (which starts at 18 units) is full.

Yup…I’ve been a slave to that energy bar, waiting to accumulate enough coins so I can buy the pretty top for four more points that will let me go on my date with my crush, who I’ve now renamed from my husband’s actual first name to Dud, for the purposes of making screenshots for you, the lovely public. (My husband is in no way a dud but it also became confusing when exclaiming, “Look!  We’re going to a cooking class!”)

It’s ridiculous. I’m quite aware of that.

But little girls aren’t.

So how about making a really popular game for them, that teaches them something … good? Or even great?

Here’s my open call to CrowdStar and all game developers, especially in Canada where you can get funding to help you develop and market such a game. If you’re with me, I will draft the first revision of the Game Design Document in full.

Let’s make a game for our daughters to play.

Instead of the game being all about your boyfriend, how about this game focuses on you, Independent Girl?

At the start of the game, you choose a career path, whether it be solely for your career or a combination of career and family.

Instead of your energy bar being used for gossiping and hanging out, how about this game focuses on making good choices?

I propose three energy bars which can sometimes work in tandem, for example, exercising boosts “Health” but drains “Energy.” Enough exercising increases the Energy and Self capacities.

“Health”
You can build up this bar by:

• Exercising
• Spending (quality) time with your friends, who instead of saying flaky things like “My parents have the coolest sailboat”, “Everyone wants to be me” and “Preppy girls are way better than girly girls”, they say things like, “I’m proud of you!”, “Good for you for standing up for yourself!”, “Thanks for lending me that great novel.”
• Cleaning your apartment by doing various differently-valued activities.
• Taking classes like learning a language, swimming, rock climbing, woodworking, car mechanics, cooking, motorcycle driving. Different classes unlock quests.

“Energy”
Determined by food choices (like the Eat This, Not That! game) where healthier options give you a boost to Energy, Health, and Self.

“Self”
This bar relates to the user’s overall stamina, career path, and goals achieved. Karma points can also boost this bar with activities like donating blood, volunteering, taking care of a sick friend, donating clothes, food or coins.

There will always be critics, but how about making a game that gives girls more choices, and sets up rewards in a different fashion than gaining favour of the hottest guy and getting into the “best” cliques? Who’s with me?

Image source: Venture Beat

“With TVA on mobile, TV on the go from Bell just got better thanks to live access to top-rated French-language entertainment and news programming,” said Wade Oosterman, President of Bell Mobility and Residential Services, and Bell’s Chief Brand Officer. “Launching TVA on Bell Mobile TV builds on our strategic commitment to deliver the best content across Bell’s world-leading broadband networks to any screens our customers choose.”

Some of the great French-language programming available from TVA on mobile includes:

• Star Académie – La quotidienne
• Star Académie – Le variété
• O’
• Toute la vérité
• La Promesse
• Le Tricheur
• LOL:-)
• Yamaska
• Fidèles au poste
• Destinées
• Rock & Rolland
• Ça finit bien la semaine
• Vlog
• Caméra Café

Bell Mobile TV also offers a wide variety of live and on-demand English and French-language content from CTV and CTV Two, live news from CTV News Channel, BNN-Business News Network, and CBC News Network, children’s content on YTV and Treehouse, and the best live sporting events – including Super Bowl XLVI*, NCAA March Madness, Stanley Cup® Playoffs and Final, and much more from TSN and TSN2.

Bell Mobile TV is available for just $5 per month for 5 hours of mobile TV usage.

“I am very proud to welcome Alain Gignac to our management team as Chief Marketing Activation Officer. His creative talents and strategic thinking, which have enabled him to build highly successful marketing campaigns, along with his skills as a manager of major organizations, will make him invaluable in this new position. He will be responsible for ramping up the transformation of our marketing activation offering for major clients, while leveraging the efficiency of their investments and communication with their customers,” said François Olivier, President and Chief Executive Officer.

From 2008 to 2012, Mr. Gignac was at the helm of BBDO Montréal, a marketing communications agency that specializes in strategic planning, advertising campaigns and Internet strategies. Prior to that, Mr. Gignac handled operations management and development functions for a number of companies, including Saine Marketing, Cossette Communication Group and Marketel/McCann Erickson. As a communications practitioner at the forefront of new trends, Mr. Gignac is also an active board member of a number of private and charitable organizations.

With a rich history of innovation, disciplined adaptation to changing customer needs, and its specialization in marketing activation, TC Transcontinental is uniquely positioned in Canada to help customers attract, acquire and retain their target consumers.  Marketing activation is the method TC Transcontinental uses to bring a brand message to life through a strategic, integrated campaign that leverages the full potential of a wide range of marketing communications tools in order to maximize results and provide the greatest return to our customers’ marketing investment.

The CMF is introducing modifications to weights of two factors.  First, the Original First Run factor will apply to all genres including Children’s & Youth and Documentary, thus further encouraging the creation of original content in these genres.  Second, the Digital Media Investment factor will be increased from 5 per cent to 10 per cent, supporting the CMF’s commitment to encourage growth of convergent media projects.

As a result, the existing Above-Threshold Licensing factor will be decreased from 10 per cent to 5 per cent in French broadcasters’ Performance Envelope calculations, and will be completely eliminated from English broadcasters’ Performance Envelope calculations.

The Factor Weights for 2012-2013 are:

The Performance Envelope Manual will be updated shortly to reflect these changes.  Broadcasters’ Performance Envelope allocations, as well as changes to the CMF’s Program Guidelines for 2012-2013, will be announced in late March.

Splatalot is a hilarious medieval-themed physical game show for tweens featuring a larger-than-life extreme obstacle course with more splats and spills than ever imaginable. For season two, the Splatalot design team is expanding the set and creating new obstacles that are sure to result in epic falls and a ton of laughs.

“We’re thrilled to be working on another season of Splatalot with our extremely supportive broadcast partners,” says Matt Hornburg, the show’s Co-Creator and Partner at marblemedia. “The series has enjoyed very strong ratings in all markets and has established itself as a top show for tweens and co-view audiences.”

marblemedia will be in attendance at Kidscreen from February 7-10, presenting Splatalot (52 x 30’) along with its partner company Distribution360, who is handling international TV, interactive and format sales.

The opportunity in M2M is expected to explode as we head to 50 billion intelligent connected devices by 2020. Enterprise leaders, M2M solution providers and mobile operators will gather to share knowledge and best practices and explore new ideas that will improve enterprise operations, address industry challenges, and create a competitive edge. The mPower M2M event will take place February 7, 2012, from 8:00AM to 7:00PM, at the Westin Bayshore Hotel, 1601 Bayshore Drive in Vancouver.

Intrinsyc personnel will be on hand to discuss its M2M products and services including the following:

• iQ Wireless Development Kit
• M2M Wireless Modules
• Advanced Meter Infrastructure (AMI) module for Smart Meters
• Design and Development Services
• Application Development
• Remote Device Management
• Carrier Certification
• Turnkey Product Development

Get in touch with Intrinsyc at the event by contacting Mark Waldenberg, Director of Business Development.

With the meaningful increase in the number of mobile devices accessing the internet and online services, and since most real estate boards in North America have developed, or are currently developing mobile strategies, PRG is now positioned to monetize mobile innovation in the Real Estate Industry.

“In today’s competitive marketplace, every successful real estate association member uses their mobile device as their preferred method of communication” said Tony Canapini, CEO of PRG. “Once patented, PRG will license the methods included in this patent to anyone wishing to provide real estate listings over mobile devices.”

MSNBC.com reported last month that Apple has over 500,000 mobile applications and Google is close behind with 400,000 applications, and that each of these companies has now achieved over 10 billion downloads. This means that most consumers are accessing applications from their mobile devices, and with the parallel growth in online auction sites and free internet classified advertising, consumers will become more directly involved in the advertising, buying and selling of their real estate.

PRG takes a keen interest in making solutions available where there is a need for innovative new ideas. In this instance, PRG will add this patent to its existing patent portfolio and be ready to monetize this emerging need for advertising and listing real estate over mobile devices.

“Quebecor Media’s participation in this project reflects our will to contribute to the development of Quebec champions in a cutting edge sector where Quebec know-how has up until now been mostly showcased by foreign studios operating here,” declared Quebecor, Quebecor Media and Sun Media Corporation President and CEO, Mr. Pierre Karl Péladeau.

To manage BlooBuzz, Quebecor Media will rely on eight entrepreneurs with a solid background in the video game industry, acquired at Saguenay-based Wendigo Studios whose Timebuilders franchise saw its first two editions (Pyramid Rising and Caveman’s Prophecy) downloaded over 2 million times.

“At Wendigo Studios, we demonstrated that it was possible, in Saguenay, to create games that can achieve worldwide success,” said BlooBuzz President Éric Trudel. “With the financial backing of Quebecor Media and the strength of its network, we are confident that BlooBuzz will be a great opportunity to showcase Saguenay and Quebec entrepreneurial talents in a field where our developing and creative skills are already well-established.”

ISS astronauts Don Pettit and Dan Burbank will be on standby for the next six weeks to photograph the Northern Lights for AuroraMAX, a public engagement initiative dedicated to promoting the science and the splendour of the aurora borealis. AuroraMAX is a collaboration between the University of Calgary, the City of Yellowknife, Astronomy North and the Canadian Space Agency, and features an online observatory that broadcasts the aurora live from Yellowknife.

When the forecast calls for active aurora, AuroraMAX alerts will be issued via Twitter and Facebook to invite skywatchers to view the auroras live online, while the astronauts on board the ISS photograph the aurora over Canada. After each session, the astronauts will beam their images back to Earth and within 48 hours, the public will be able to compare the imagery captured from Yellowknife with photos taken from the vantage point of space from the ISS.

Since the International Space Station orbits Earth at about 370 km in altitude-and the curtains of light stretch from around 100 km to well above 400 km-the pilot project will offer the public an astronaut’s eye view of the aurora. If the simultaneous Earth and space imagery is successful, the project might also shed light on some of the mysteries of this natural phenomenon, like why auroras form particular shapes.

The Open Data Portal is a one-stop shop for federal government data that can be downloaded free of charge by Canadian citizens, researchers, voluntary organizations and private sector businesses. Application developers can reuse and mashup this data for commercial purposes, research or community services for the benefit of all Canadians.

“These new additions are high-value data sets that Canadians can use in innovative ways to create economic opportunities,” said Minister Clement. “I encourage current and potential Canadian entrepreneurs to take a look and determine how they could benefit their businesses.”

These additional data sets come from six federal government organizations, and include comprehensive socio-economic statistical data from Statistics Canada, national broadband coverage data from Industry Canada, reports and charts on water and air quality from Environment Canada, and data sets from the Treasury Board Secretariat, Foreign Affairs and International Trade, and Health Canada.

The new data sets available through this portal include:

Environment Canada

• Reports and charts on water and air quality, protected habitat indicators, and municipal water and wastewater surveys

Foreign Affairs and International Trade Canada

• International trade data for poultry products

Health

• Data for licensed natural health products and authorization dates for all drugs dating back to 1994 that have received a notice of compliance

Industry Canada

• National broadband coverage data and the technical and administrative frequency list that contains data on radio system frequencies.

Statistics Canada

• Data from the Canadian Socio-economic Information Management
  System database

Treasury Board Secretariat

• Main Estimates tables by Statutory Forecast and Standard Object, which provide information on the type of expenditures planned by departments, agencies and Crown corporations

“This preset pack for Avid FX gives Media Composer 6 and Symphony 6 editors something they have been really looking for,” commented Jordan Stabile, Senior Product Manager, Eye Scream Factory. “Avid editors will turn to these organic and fluid DVE transitions for many of their edits.”

Editors can easily preview and apply presets to host application video inside the Avid FX or Boris RED Library Browser. The graphical preset Library Browser makes finding the desired look a snap. The package also includes Avid and Final Cut Pro 7 bins containing all of the presets, giving Avid Media Composer 6 editors, Avid Symphony 6 editors, and Final Cut Pro 7 editors who use Boris RED 5 instant access to the DVE transitions – without ever having to leave their timeline.

All of the included preset effects can be customized and combined with other effects. Editors can then save new customized presets to the Avid FX or Boris RED Library Browser – or an Avid or Final Cut Pro 7 bin – for future use. In addition, the presets can be used with Boris RED 5 or Avid FX 6 as a standalone application or inside any Macintosh or Windows host application in which Avid FX 6 or Boris RED 5 is installed.

Eye Scream Factory’s 74 DVE Transitions by Kevin P. McAuliffe is available immediately from the Boris FX worldwide reseller channel and direct from the Boris FX and Eye Scream Factory websites for $49.95 (USD).

Raj’s hotshot team of archaeologists is led on a quest around the globe in pursuit of Jiang Hao and her pirate posse. On their journey, the group must use their skills to uncover secrets about the Sapphire Dragon. The threats to their lives are constant, yet romance is in the air as a love triangle forms between three of the friends. Discover whose heart will melt and whose will be broken as you become part of the team. Take on the treacherous sea and brave a raging volcano to catch your nemesis and solve the mystery. The journey will lead you through 200 brand new jewel boards as you unearth ancient wonders and discover the secret behind the elusive Sapphire Dragon in Jewel Quest 6.

This special collector’s edition of Jewel Quest: The Sapphire Dragon includes 40 Bonus Jewel Boards, a Strategy Guide, Concept Art, Wallpapers & a Screensaver.

Jewel Quest: The Sapphire Dragon Collector’s Edition is available immediately as a $13.99 digital download exclusively through Macgamestore.com. A free trial version allows users to download and try the game for 60 minutes before a purchase is required.

System Requirements: Intel Mac with Mac OS X 10.5 or later, 1 GB RAM, and 128 MB video ram.

The 30 nominees are:

Best Casual Game:
* CreaVures – Muse Games, United States
* HECTOR Episodes 1-3 – Telltale Games, United States
* Jetpack Joyride – Halfbrick, Australia
* Sprinkle – Mediocre ABS, weden
* The Blocks Cometh – Halfbot, Canada

Best Real World Game:
* CityRace – Cityrace.me, Poland
* FLATMATES – Flaregames, Germany
* Meatspace Invasion – C4MProd, France
* NBA: King of the Court – Ogemnt*, United States
* Shadow Cities – Grey Area, Finland

Best Sports Game:
* Bike Baron – Mountain Sheep, Inc. / Qwiboo, London / Finland
* Flick Tennis: College Wars – Rolocule Games, India
* Sports Car Challenge – Fish Labs, Schade
* Touchgrind BMX – Illusion Labs AB, Sweden
* Trial Xtreme 2 – Deemedya M.S. LTD, Israel

Best Mobile Social Game:
* Charadium II – On5, Lithuania
* Funpark Friends – Tagplay, UK
* Poker Pals – Aspyr Media, Inc, USA
* SpellCraft School of Magic – Appy Entertainment, United States
* The Pirate King – Bulkypix, France

Excellence In Gameplay:
* Battleheart – Mika Mobile, Inc., USA
* Contre Jour HD – Mokus Games LLP, Ukraine
* Death Rally – Remedy Entertainment, Finland
* DrawRace 2 HD – RedLynx, Finland
* Infinity Blade II – Chair Entertainment, USA

Most Innovative Game:
* Forever Drive – Tak Fung, UK
* Kod* – Fabrication Games Europe AB, Sweden
* KuraKuraMaze – Yoshimi Kurihara, Japan
* Superbrothers: Sword & Sworcery – EP Capy, Canada
* WildChords – Ovelin, Finland

“We have had an unprecedented response for the year’s awards”, said Maarten Noyons, CEO and Founder of the IMGA. “We see a trend of very high quality, big productions coming to the mobile platform and on the other hand a lot of fresh innovative casual games. I think the jury has made a very interesting choice. The 8th IMGA shows a wealth of new ideas and ground-breaking quality coming from studios all over the world. I would like to congratulate each of the developers that have games nominated and thank everyone who submitted games to the awards.”

On the 1st March the IMGA will announce the winners during the IMGA Summit and Awards ceremony, a conference held at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona.

During the last seven years the IMGA has reviewed more than 2,000 mobile games from more than 52 countries including the USA, Ukraine, Israel, Italy, the Netherlands, New Zealand, China, the Czech Republic, Brazil and Belgium. Participants include PhD students, researchers, artists, individual developers and the top ten mobile games publishers and developers in the world. The winners in each category for this year’s awards will be announced at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona in February.

The winners will receive Euro100,000 of free publicity from ProSieben Sat1 Games, one of the IMGA’s Platinum sponsors, with the overall winner receiving Euro 400,000 of free publicity.

“Our patented product includes advanced features within an incredibly easy-to-use device,” said Raj Jain, Managing Director of CWD. “We’ve customized every facet of ERA with the functionality and technology that today’s tech-savvy parents expect. With an intuitive user interface, parents will be amazed at how simple it is to use.” said Jain.

When parents view their baby doing something memorable on the ERA they don’t have to scramble for a camera. They can capture photos and video of their child right from the parent unit. And with more frames per second and a higher data transfer rate, the resulting video and images are vibrant and smooth. The photos and videos are saved to an included micro SD card for easy uploading and sharing.

Another unique feature to ERA is more than 6 hours of battery life with an energy-efficient, power-save mode. With superb performance and value, ERA is unquestionably a significant addition to the digital video baby monitor market. ERA will be available for advanced online purchase in February 2012.

The SOP is automatically generated and populated with all inputted EPC content related to procedures, and centrally stored in the EPC repository allowing it to be systematically versioned and subject to all approval cycles. Additionally, if any procedure, process or related information (role, rule, doc, control, etc.) is changed within EPC that relates to the SOP, the document automatically marks itself as “outdated” and sends a notification email to subscribers. “The automated monitoring feature of the SOP module bridges the gap between ongoing process management and procedural associated documents, and is a great aid for compliance purposes, which constantly require up to date information,” says Corey Lynch Business Improvement and Compliance Manager of Rema Tip Top.

The process orientated approach to SOPs provides users with the benefit of visual maps within the documentation and provides context as to when to apply the correct step-by-step text based procedures. The maps are intuitively and intelligently laid-out across multiple pages, by-passing page breaks by auto-shifting objects to the next page, and inserting inter-page connectors (IPC) for fluid and continuous reading. Additionally, the documents are enhanced by EPC’s full rich text editor which supports bullets, tables and even embedded images, allowing instructional images or supporting diagrams to be included alongside procedures.

The new module produces detailed, professional and printable SOPs, similar to industry standards, ideal for employee training material and user guides. These documents focus on how work is done, and are designed to be easily readable and simplified for end user employees. SOPs are a vital part of every business, and even mandatory by many compliance programs, but are time consuming projects that pose significant challenges to companies to create, approve, distribute, revise and maintain; EPC 7.3 reduces this strain on an organization and increases the overall value achieved from their efforts.

Some requirements are needed for the application to run successfully. First of all, the application must be installed on a computer running a Windows operating system. Secondly, the computer that the application is installed on must be on the same subnet as the BACnet IP device to be monitored or tested. Lastly, the BACnet IP device being monitored or tested must have objects of types:

• analog input/output/value
• binary input/output/value
• multi-state input/output/value

Upon successful download, a user manual will pop up automatically to explain on its general operation, instructions and Frequently Ask Questions. If this application is being used on a trial basis, the notification banner will display the “Trial Version Active” message. The Trial Version limits the user to monitor a maximum of 3 BACnet objects.

Celiac disease is the most common health symptom people face today because of the intake of gluten. Being an autoimmune disorder, this often brings painful symptoms. The fact behind food recipes for celiac patients and gluten-intolerants are that it should be both easy to cook and healthy in all aspects. The food people consume regularly has a high gluten percentage making them sensitive to it. Even though gluten-free diet is not recommended for everyone, it’s wiser to stick to such recipes for leading a healthy life.

Approximately 1 in 120 people can develop sensitivity to gluten. Knowing this, the InJust10Pages expert team set out to help solve this problem by creating this recipe series. Upon ordering the Easy Gluten Free Recipes, users will also receive a few additional bonuses including the gluten free shopping guide, restaurant guide and a 45 min expert audio interview.

“We care deeply for our customers and so strive to offer them recipes that have the most healthy, natural and easy to find ingredients. All our gluten-free recipe series are created by expert caterers and food marketing consultants and are available online at affordable prices,” says the spokesperson of InJust10Pages.com.

Living a completely gluten-free life has a lot of health benefits not only to celiac patients but to everyone. For people looking for best ways to stay true to the gluten-free diet, the cooking recipe series offered by the website is a great option.

The “perk” of course is that you as a donor will recieve great giveaways and screen credit. And when it comes to the Deadsville IndieGoGo campaign, there is no one else giving away the types of items he has on his list. Things such as t-shirts from his last movie Bong of the Dead and full-size zombie busts.

To mark the release of this exciting new mode, Z8Games will be hosting events through February 5^thin which players can earn new weapons and items, just for playing. For current players, the update will download automatically upon launching Cross Fire.

The electricity-infused alien, Xeno, has landed. Under its leadership, Mutants everywhere are now united towards the goal of conquering Earth!  To combat the alien threat, an elite squad of super Commandos armed with dual Kukri’s and a no fear attitude has risen up. Play as either Xeno or Commando in the new Hero Mode X and earn three new ribbons to show off on your profile as a symbol of your participation in Earth’s final battle! Hero Mode X debuts with two maps: the multi-level “Mansion”, and the gritty, suburban “Rooftops”.
The Hero Mode X update also includes six new weapons: a Remington 870 shotgun, an RX4 Storm assault rifle, a tiger-striped AWM sniper rifle, a camo-skinned QBZ95, and an MG3 machine gun with an alternate gold-skin variant. These weapons are available via the in-game Store and Black Market.

Cross Fire is a free online military first-person shooter for the PC platform. It includes a military ranking system, in-game friends lists, an integrated clan system, deep character customization options and social media integration via the Cross Fire website. More MAPS. More GUNS. More MODES. More HEADSHOTS. Join millions of players online today in the ultimate military FPS experience.

“The acquisition of TMC enhances Fujitsu Canada’s offerings and consolidates its presence in Saskatchewan, a province that has experienced major economic growth. It will also let the company expand its pool of experts and improve its delivery capability. By combining forces, both organizations will offer a broader line of services and products that will not only meet the needs of the province’s customers, but also allow us to support all our customers in Central and Western Canada in terms of managed services, application development and service desks,” said Mr. Pouliot.

In operation for close to 20 years, TMC relies on the recognized expertise of some 70 professionals and offers services in the areas of project management, management consulting, business analysis, application development, delegated management and service desks. Not only has it made a name for itself over the years by constantly seeking cutting-edge solutions, but it has also built its reputation around the special attention it pays to the success of its customers. The current TMC senior management team will become part of the Fujitsu Canada leadership team.

“We are proud to join with Fujitsu Canada, which has recognized our expertise and the quality of our services. As an ICT leader, Fujitsu will give us the benefit of preferred access to world class experts and products so we can better serve our existing customers as well expand our business in Saskatchewan. This partnership will give our employees the possibility to take on new challenges,” stated Mr. David Luterbach, president of TMC. “Fujitsu and TMC have similar values and share a common vision on the importance of its relationships with employees and customers. We firmly believe that this agreement will produce results.”

“As one of Canada’s leading Internet entrepreneurs, Robert Herjavec lives the business of the Internet,” said Byron Holland, President and CEO of the Canadian Internet Registration Authority (CIRA). “He is in a great position to provide real world insight into the role the Internet plays in the lives of Canadians.”

Herjavec’s keynote presentation will follow a panel of leading Canadian experts discussing the future of the Internet in Canada. Confirmed panellists include:

• Michael Geist, University of Ottawa
• Steve Anderson, OpenMedia
• Frédérick Gaudreau, Sûreté du Québec
• Bill Graham, Internet Society

At the CIF, CIRA will present findings from a three-month online dialogue with Canadians about the development of the Internet.  Hot topics among Canadians included digital literacy, security and safety, access/cost, digital economy, policy and governance, and technology and regulation.  Canadians have until February 13, 2012 to participate in this online discussion forum.

The results of the online discussion forum and the national event will be presented this fall to the United Nations-coordinated Internet Governance Forum, a venue for nations to discuss the future of the Internet.

The agenda for the CIF is available online.

Event: Canadian Internet Forum
Time and Date: 9 a.m. to 6 p.m., February 27, 2012
Location: Westin Ottawa, 11 Colonel By Drive, Ottawa

Registration is free and the event will be webcast in English and French to facilitate the interactive participation of all Canadians who are interested in Canada’s role in Internet governance.

“We are honored that Cartoon Network has entrusted TELETOON to manage these two great brands in Canada,” said Len Cochrane, President, TELETOON Canada Inc. “This marriage between TELETOON and Cartoon Network will grant us the opportunity to offer more cartoons, more stories and more excitement to everyone, everywhere.”

This partnership, arriving on the eve of TELETOON’s 15th anniversary and Cartoon Network’s 20th anniversary, includes a programming, trademark and branding deal that will bring the best of Cartoon Network’s exclusive first-run content that has never been seen before in Canada, in addition to almost 2,000 half-hours of vintage Cartoon Network and Adult Swim library selects.

“Cartoon Network and Adult Swim are beloved brands with programs that have a large and loyal global audience,” said Stuart Snyder, President and COO, Turner’s Animation, Young Adults & Kids Media Division. “We are looking forward to extending the reach of both of these brands in the Canadian marketplace with our new partnership with TELETOON.”

The deal will allow TELETOON to launch the Cartoon Network brand in Canada in both standard and high definition across linear television, Video on Demand, broadband and mobile platforms. TÉLÉTOON will serve its French audience by launching a Cartoon Network programming block, along with making programming available online, through mobile and Video on Demand.

EXFO’s FTB test platforms now offer 3G, VPN and Wi-Fi connectivity, providing users with real-time, 24/7 access to the EXFO Apps portal, right from the field. This unmatched data connectivity to the FTB platforms provides users with real-time notifications of new test application releases as they become available. In addition, EXFO Apps users can benefit from on-the-spot training through on-demand “How-To” video capsules. Downloadable and viewable on the FTB platforms, these capsules provide field technicians with application-specific, EXFO-recommended test methods and procedures.

The exclusive applications found in EXFO Apps enable FTB platform users to work faster and smarter, with an immediate positive impact on test-routine efficiency and everyday productivity. In fact, the software applications—such as ConnectorMax and EXpert IPTV—can run simultaneously with the platform’s test modules. In addition, EXFO is the first to introduce on-demand timed trials of all test applications, allowing users to benefit from test enhancements immediately in a “try-before-you-buy” environment. All software upgrades can be automated through the EXFO Connect systems, another key element for field productivity enhancements.

“The vision behind the FTB Ecosystem is to offer our customers the right tools to help them face their biggest single challenge: controlling their operating expenses,” said Étienne Gagnon, EXFO’s Vice-President of Product Management and Marketing. “The EXFO Apps portal is another key component of the FTB Ecosystem. It enables network operators to provide their teams with value-added software applications that boost their on-field productivity.”

• Google which continues to grow, expanding its current premises by another 11,000+ square feet for a total of 53,656 square feet at The Tannery Building in downtown Kitchener — also home to The Communitech Hub
• Desire2Learn - a learning solutions company in growth mode with 200 job openings — expanding to take over another full floor at the Tannery Building occupying 67,000 square feet in total;
• The University of Waterloo’s VeloCity incubator is moving into a new, expanded 6,500 square foot workspace in The Communitech Hub;
• The Communitech Hub is celebrating the grand opening of another 14,000 square feet of space, bringing its total floorspace to 44,000 square feet.

“Ontario’s innovation engine is on full throttle as we can see today at this celebration in Waterloo Region,” said Premier McGuinty. “Innovation programs that the Province has supported including contributing to The Communitech Hub which opened just 18 months ago, are working for all Ontarians — building a stronger economy for Ontario families.”

“We’re excited about the results that are being attained in Waterloo Region, driving innovative technologies, bringing those innovations to market and creating companies and jobs in Ontario, and we congratulate those here today who are in expansion mode and contributing to the vibrancy of the tech sector,” said Iain Klugman, CEO of Communitech.

Since first announcing its move to The Tannery, Google has doubled in size and continues to be one of the top engineering offices in Kitchener-Waterloo, driving tremendous growth and innovation worldwide.

“Kitchener-Waterloo is a great place to work and invest, and we are proud to be a part of the community, and a partner with Communitech to support not only our growth but the entire community’s success,” said Steve Woods, Engineering Director at Google.

Desire2Learn develops innovative solutions to help transform the learning experience and create a world where everyone has the opportunity to excel. The company is realizing phenomenal growth, with nearly 400 employees and more than 8 million users worldwide.

“We’re thrilled to be an active contributor to the innovation being generated in this Region,” commented John Baker, President and CEO, Desire2Learn Incorporated. “The outstanding products and services coming out of the Waterloo Region technology sector are having a dramatic impact around the globe.”

The University of Waterloo’s VeloCity program aims to develop Canada’s next generation of successful entrepreneurs. Students take their first steps in building startups and professional networks while living in the VeloCity residence on campus and then move up to the next level at the VeloCity workspace in The Communitech Hub.

“The grand opening of the new VeloCity workspace is a critical milestone in our continued efforts to foster the next generation of University of Waterloo mobile, media and web entrepreneurs,” said Mike Kirkup, Director of VeloCity. “The expanded workspace will enable us to increase collaboration, creative thinking and competition to help VeloCity companies turn their ideas into businesses.”

In 2009 the Province of Ontario invested $26.4 million into Communitech’s $107 million digital media strategy, which is anchored at The Communitech Hub. In just two short years, job and company creation has significantly accelerated since the Province’s investment, said Klugman. Within 18 months, demand from companies and requirements for support services drove the need for the current expansion. Today’s event was held in the newly renovated additional space.

Last week, Communitech reported that 450 startup jobs and 300 new companies emerged in Waterloo Region during 2011, along with continued hiring in established companies. Companies working with the Communitech startups team raised over $70 million in funding from venture capitalists, angel investors and government incentive programs to fuel innovation during 2011.

According to data from the third party traffic monitoring portal, Alexa.com, after only six months NextSportStar.com is ranked 26,800 among all global websites, 5,443 in the U.S., and 10,524 in Canada.  With online visits from the world – including 74.2% from the U.S. – NextSportStar.com has persistently demonstrated a pace of growth that is virtually unrivaled. Now, with a ranking among the top 1% of worldwide websites, NextSportStar.com is in the enviable position of consistent upward momentum.

Combining the best of Facebook, Twitter, Craigslist and Kijiji in one site, NextSportStar.com delivers a unique social experience and sense of community rich in online content. Unlike other websites where messages are sent only to “followers”, one of the most popular features is the option for NextSportStar.com fans to send a message to all the millions of NextSportStar.com fans simultaneously.

Other popular features with NextSportStar.com fans include:

• uploading videos and photos within their personal profiles;
• online buying and selling with each other; and
• playing online sports-related games.

Committed to an aggressive strategy of on-going user-centric growth and expansion, NextSportStar.com is looking forward to soon introducing television and radio components to the site, plus exciting new content from additional sources are in the works.

NextSportStar.com is unswerving in its desire to provide over-and-above involvement to its members, thereby continuing its pace of rapid growth. As the one-stop portal for social communications and entertainment on the web, NextSportStar.com fans worldwide can continue to expect the best social experience and sense of community available.

LinkedIn ranked second with 37 per cent of the response. Regardless of which social media site someone is using for business, staying active is essential, the survey confirmed: More than one-third (34 per cent) of executives said not keeping content fresh is the most common mistake creatives make in their professional online profiles.

The Canadian survey was developed by The Creative Group, a specialized staffing service for interactive, design, marketing, advertising and public relations professionals, and conducted by an independent research firm.

Advertising and marketing executives were asked, “If you had to limit yourself to only one social media platform, which of the following would it be?” Their responses:

• Facebook …………….. 44%
• LinkedIn …………….. 37%
• Google+ ……………… 7%
• Twitter ……………… 6%
• Other ……………….. 2%
• Don’t know/no answer ….. 6%

*Responses do not total 100 per cent due to rounding.

Executives also were asked, “In your experience, what is the most common mistake creative professionals make when creating online profiles that they use for professional purposes?” Their responses:

• Not updating it often enough …………….. 34%
• Including inappropriate information ………. 23%
• Providing too much information …………… 19%
• Providing too little information …………. 12%
• Other …………………………………. 1%
• Don’t know/no answer ……………………. 11%

“Online profiles can be effective marketing and branding tools for creative professionals, so it’s crucial that they paint an accurate and favourable picture of you,” said Lara Dodo, a regional vice-president of The Creative Group in Canada. “It remains especially critical for job seekers to be mindful of what information they are sharing and with whom, as well as what others may be saying about them.”

The Creative Group offers five tips for maintaining a polished and engaging presence on social media sites:

1. Don’t play the name game. While sites like Facebook and Google+ have guidelines that discourage the use of symbols, numbers or profanities in your username, that doesn’t stop people from coming up with unusual aliases. However, it’s best to stick to your first and last name and select a similar vanity URL that supports your personal brand.
2. Choose your interests wisely. Just because you’re a fan of reality TV doesn’t mean you have to list every show you watch. No matter how talented you are, a profile that goes into too much personal detail, particularly if those details are unflattering, will work against you.
3. Share quality content. The average Facebook user has 130 friends, according to Facebook Statistics. You can increase the likelihood others will see your posts by sharing rich content (like photos and videos) as well as information that will elicit comments, likes and shares.
4. Proof your posts. Always review your status updates and comments before hitting “Enter.” Posts strewn with typos or text shorthand detract from your credibility.
5. Be a regular. In addition to pushing out interesting content, engage with your online contacts consistently. By commenting on and sharing others’ posts, you’ll build a stronger sense of community.

For additional tips on using social and professional networking sites effectively, download Business Etiquette: The New Rules in a Digital Age. The guide was developed by Robert Half, The Creative Group’s parent company, and contains insights from industry experts on a wide range of topics.

The Canadian study was developed by The Creative Group and conducted by an independent research firm. It is based on more than 250 telephone interviews — approximately 200 with marketing executives randomly selected from companies with 100 or more employees and 50 with advertising executives randomly selected from agencies with 20 or more employees.

TELUS has selected Wolf based on its people, technology, and a shared vision of how information, communications and technology (ICT) can transform healthcare for Canadians. Wolf Medical Systems is Canada’s largest and fastest-growing cloud-based EMR provider. Since 2010, over 11 million patient visits have been documented by physicians using Wolf EMR. On a typical day, physicians using the system see more than 26,000 patients, prescribe 23,000 medications and review 166,000 lab results. Now, access to EMRs can be further expanded by combining Wolf’s hosted, cloud-based technology with TELUS’ secure, wireless and wireline broadband communications networks.

The addition of Wolf EMR (for physicians) rounds out TELUS’ portfolio of world class health record solutions including TELUS health space (for the home and on the go via a smartphone or tablet) and Oacis (for healthcare institutions). TELUS is now uniquely positioned to facilitate the integration of health records from the home, to the doctor’s office and to the hospital; ensuring critical health information is available to care providers over secure, wireline and wireless broadband networks wherever and whenever they need it.

“Electronic medical records are an essential building block to an efficient healthcare system in Canada,” explained Paul Lepage, senior vice-president, TELUS Health Solutions. “While EMRs have been proven to increase efficiency and performance at both the clinical and regional healthcare system levels, Canada’s EMR penetration rate of about 32 per cent lags behind other OECD countries. By committing to the EMR market with a best-in-class solution, combined with the connectivity that our wireless and wireline broadband networks enable, we are positioned to help increase this adoption rate which will in turn improve work processes, efficiencies in service delivery, and patient health outcomes.”

The new TELUS Physician Solutions organization will be led by Dr. Brendan Byrne, a practicing physician and founder of Wolf Medical Systems. Dr. Byrne’s team of more than 75 EMR professionals, paired with the depth and resources of TELUS, will allow for the rapid expansion of capabilities uniquely directed at the physician market.

“Joining the TELUS team is a tremendous opportunity for Wolf Medical Systems to fully realize our vision to be trusted by physicians to turn information into outcomes,” said Dr. Brendan Byrne, vice-president, TELUS Physician Solutions. “TELUS and Wolf are already deeply aligned in our commitment to develop and support technology that helps doctors help patients. Now as part of TELUS, we can deepen our investments to improve the physician experience and productivity, re-define EMR in terms of outcomes rather than features and leverage the TELUS brand, health portfolio and high-speed networking capabilities.”

TELUS Physician Solutions EMR will be enhanced with the addition of mobility, care collaboration, homecare and consumer solutions.  This will help doctors coordinate and share information with their extended healthcare team and their patients and families anywhere, anytime.

Over the past 13 years Wolf Medical Systems has evolved EMR from a simple software product to a market leading cloud-based EMR solution. Since 2010, the company has exclusively committed to cloud-based technology to enhance the physician experience in terms of patient care and physician productivity while focusing on health outcomes. The result is a secure, highly available, highly reliable cloud-based EMR that reduces the investment required by physicians as they upgrade from paper files to electronic systems.

The case study speaks to the fundamental design and principles behind the GSOCs, the various ways in which Microsoft Global Security integrates Perspective into its operations and three specific types of losses that Microsoft is reducing based on Perspective’s actionable intelligence.Brian Tuskan, Microsoft’s Senior Director of Global Security Technology & Investigations, shares his thoughts on Perspective and highlights the differences it has made… “by trending with Perspective, we changed our security approach and cut laptop thefts in half.”

Throughout the case study, readers get a feel for the innovation and technology paramount in Microsoft’s approach to security and how Perspective has helped them track and respond to threats, reduce the labor required for data collection, empower the entire Microsoft workforce to report incidents and, ultimately, deliver cost savings, scalability and business continuity.

Small businesses and families in the US are overpaying for mobile service and underserved by their mobile service providers. With Ting, Tucows seeks to offer a fresh alternative by emphasizing clarity, usability, a sincere commitment to customer support and significant monthly savings.

“What people are forced to put up with from mobile service providers just doesn’t make sense. It’s too complicated, too opaque, too adversarial, too expensive and frankly too inhuman,” said Elliot Noss, CEO of Tucows. “We’re changing that. Ting is a mobile service that makes sense.”

Ting has a very different approach to pricing than the major providers. Minutes, messages and megabytes are each billed separately. If customers use less of any than they anticipated, they are credited at the end of the month. If they use more, they are simply billed the appropriate additional amount, without onerous penalties or premiums. Businesses and families can pool an unlimited number of phones and data devices on one Ting account, offering even greater savings over other providers’ more limited sharing options.

US businesses, families or individuals considering Ting are encouraged to instantly calculate how much they’ll save with Ting by entering past bills from their current provider into the Ting Phone Savings Calculator.

The site offers customers clear, visual snapshots of their usage throughout the month and a great deal of administrative control over usage and device features.

The customer support team boasts a “no hold policy” from 8am-8pm ET Monday through Friday and “geek support” from smart, passionate people who are empowered to solve problems.

“Licensing the Joyent platform, backed by Dell, was a perfect way for Uniserve to roll out a proven technology with all the security, scalability, reliability and support required by the Canadian development and enterprise markets.” said Mike Schmidt, CEO of Uniserve Communications. “We have seen significant interest in the platform and the adoption by our customers is greater than we expected.”

“Uniserve provided an excellent option for us to develop and host our SaaS-based billing products and mobile commerce platform,” stated Ajay Hans, President and CEO of Alligato Mobile. “It was important for us to pick a Canadian based scalable and secure Cloud solution. The Uniserve Cloud with Joyent SmartMachines was the perfect fit for us.”

Uniserve’s Cloud technology is licenced from Joyent, a global cloud computing software and service provider, who recently secured $85M in funding to roll out a collection of “seamlessly connected high performance clouds serving global corporations on every continent”, the company says. Uniserve is excited to be Joyent’s key partner in Canada and bringing their SmartDataCenter software to Canadian customers.

LYA benchmarked six key broadband internet metrics, covering cost and performance indicators as well as household penetration in G7 and 32 Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) countries. Based on data from more than 52 million actual user speed tests, LYA has found that the performance of Canada’s broadband internet services is significantly better than rankings in previous international studies, which are often only based on advertised Internet speeds.

“The results of LYA’s analysis demonstrate that Canada’s broadband internet metrics are often in the top quartile among these countries, not near the bottom as reported by some organizations including the OECD,” noted Ms. Johanne Lemay, co-author of the Report at LYA. “Using actual tests conducted by users gives a far more accurate measure of performance than simply basing findings on what internet service providers advertise their broadband internet speeds to be.”

The LYA report has ranked Canada seventh (7^th least expensive) out of 32 OECD countries when comparing average monthly broadband subscription costs. Out of 32 OECD countries, Canada ranks 12^th in average Cost of a Mbps of Downstream Speed to end users – more than two times better than the 2011 OECD ranking.

Additional findings from the LYA report are:

• Canada takes the number one spot in highest broadband penetration among G7 countries at 74%, significantly ahead of the United Kingdom and France at 69.2% and 69%, respectively. Using the latest data available, LYA found Canada ranks seventh out of 32 OECD countries in the same metric, up from the 10^th spot as reported by the OECD.
• Canada’s average consumer broadband speed performance comes in at the top half with 11.5 Mbps, in 15^th place, faster than average speeds seen by consumers in France and the U.K.

The statistics are particularly meaningful when Canada’s large geographical land mass and sparse population is taken into consideration.  Canada has the best performance with respect to broadband speeds and penetration when compared to countries with similar very large geography, notably the United States and Australia.

This study was sponsored by Rogers Communications Inc., a leading Canadian telecommunications carrier.  LYA found that not only does Canada rank amongst world’s best in internet cost and performance, but the average Rogers broadband subscriber:

• Benefits from higher download speeds (average 15.6 Mbps) than the average broadband subscriber in Canada (average 11.5 Mbps)
• Pays less for each Megabit per Second of Downstream Speed compared to the average Canadian broadband subscriber ($1.99 vs. $2.68 USD PPP)

This independent study was conducted by Lemay-Yates Associates Inc. (LYA). The methodology for the study was developed by LYA and LYA conducted significant research on internet statistics and pricing among G7 and OECD countries using the latest and most reliable information available, as well as acquired data on user broadband speed tests from Ookla Inc. The LYA study provides detailed results for 32 OECD countries.

The study was finalized in December 2011, based on user tests and pricing research from mid-2011. To obtain a copy of the study, please fill out the form on LYA’s web siteor contact LYA directly by email at lya@lya.com or by phone at 1 514 288 6555.

A WiLAN Board member since June 2010, Mr. McCarten has over 30 years of legal and management experience. Most recently, he was partner in the business law group of Borden Ladner Gervais LLP, a leading national Canadian law firm. He currently serves as National Secretary of the Board of Directors of the Crohn’s and Colitis Foundation of Canada and has previously served as Chair of the Board of Directors of The Canadian Diabetes Association. Mr. McCarten is a member of the Law Society of Upper Canada and the former Chair of the Ontario Bar Association real estate section.

WiLAN’s Board unanimously approved the appointment of Mr. McCarten as Chairman and believes this move is consistent with WiLAN’s commitment to follow the best possible governance practices by separating the roles of Chairman of the Board and CEO.

With Board approval, the Company has entered into a new five year employment agreement with Mr. Skippen to serve as President and CEO of WiLAN. This agreement sets Mr. Skippen’s compensation for five years, which will generally consist of a base salary and other typical stock-based compensation. The five year agreement also calls for the elimination of Mr. Skippen’s contractual right to receive 2% of WiLAN’s gross revenues for a portion of 2011 and all subsequent years, in exchange for a one-time payment of $7.25 million. The Company expects to record this one-time expense in the fourth quarter ended December 31, 2011. Mr. Skippen has indicated that he will use a portion of the after-tax proceeds from this payment to purchase WiLAN shares. The new employment agreement also includes financial sanctions if Mr. Skippen voluntarily leaves the employ of WiLAN, or he does not maintain a minimum shareholding in WiLAN, during the first two years of the agreement.

The Compensation Committee of WiLAN’s Board of Directors retained compensation experts Towers Watson to review Mr. Skippen’s compensation package and to recommend approaches to eliminating the 2% component, which had no sunset provision.

The Company’s buyout of Mr. Skippen’s contracted right to 2% of gross revenues and the terms of the new employment contract were based on advice given to the Compensation Committee by Towers Watson, and were unanimously approved by all independent directors. Mr. Skippen did not take part in the meetings at which the buyout and employment contract were considered and approved, but did accept the buyout offer as proposed by the independent directors.

“Since the Board recruited Jim five years ago to lead the rebuilding of WiLAN, he has delivered very impressive results,” said Robert Bramson, Chairman of WiLAN’s Compensation Committee. “In only five years, under Jim’s leadership, WiLAN has increased annual licensing revenues from zero to a forecasted $105 million in 2011, signed license agreements that position the Company to generate many hundreds of millions of dollars in future revenues and secured a listing on the NASDAQ Global Select Market. These are a few examples of the Company’s impressive accomplishments.”

Added Mr. Bramson, “The 2006 compensation package for Mr. Skippen was appropriate and necessary to balance the significant risk of rebuilding WiLAN and has been well in line with shareholder interests to date. Given the Company’s consistent growth, the strength of its business today and its future prospects, WiLAN’s Board of Directors determined this to be the right agreement for WiLAN and its shareholders moving forward. We look forward to Jim leading the Company to even greater heights over the next five years.”

The winners from West, Central, and Eastern Canada recognized for their outstanding video entries emerged as Canada’s leading, tech savvy educators who embrace 21st century learning on a daily basis are the following:

Western Canada – Shelley Wright, Cornerstone School, Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan

“Thank you! Thank you! Thank you! My students and I are incredibly excited to have our work recognized in this way. It’s shown them that being globally connected really does matter!” says Shelley Wright, Western Canada Winner.

Central Canada – Heidi Siwak, Dundas Central Public School, Dundas, Ontario

“I’m so so excited…thank you very much, it is a great honour ….when I looked at the other video submissions, I didn’t think we were going to win with such a competitive field,” says Heidi Siwak, Central Canada Winner.

Eastern Canada – Seth Richardson, Sir James Dunn Academy, St. Stephen, New Brunswick

“At SJDA technology education is at the forefront of our 21st century learning initiative. We are committed to inspiring our future leaders to question, innovate and collaborate, using the skills necessary to succeed. On behalf of our school and community,” said Seth Richardson, Eastern Canada contest winner.  “I would like to extend my sincere thanks to MindShare Learning for recognizing our efforts and helping to further support our students.”

The annual contest challenges teachers and their students from across Canada to share their successful classroom practices using digital technology. Teachers from publicly funded schools put their creative videography skills to use to qualify and win a total of over $50,000 in technology prizes.

“This year’s slate of winners have raised the bar once again for all educators across Canada to embrace the notion of 21^st century learning. To ignore it is no longer an option if we are to effectively prepare our future leaders to succeed in the global knowledge-based economy,” said Robert Martellacci, president and publisher of the MindShare Learning Report.

The three contest winners will each be awarded over $15,000 in classroom technology prize packages totalling over $50,000:

Prize Package

Two new features in Clipboard Magic 5 can greatly help with this problem. In the new version, clips can now be assigned a short descriptive label to make particular clips easier to find in a long list. Users can now also color-code clips to quickly visually organize the clips into different types.

Previous versions of Clipboard Magic allowed users to translate the text labels into their own language. A big problem though was that text of multi-byte languages such as Chinese, Japanese and Russian did not show up properly in the clip list display grid. With the complete Unicode support added to version 5, the display grid now fully supports all multi-byte languages. The new backup and restore features enable recovering important clip data after a hard drive crash and help facilitate switching to another computer.

Clipboard Magic can greatly improve the productivity of those that spend a lot of time cutting and pasting repetitive text. By default any plain text copied to the Windows Clipboard is automatically stored in Clipboard Magic. The text can range from a single line to several pages. At the click of the mouse any item in the stored clip list is automatically copied back to the Windows Clipboard allowing you to paste the text in any document or web form. Features include text drag and drop between other Windows applications, search and replace, series paste hotkeys and clip sorting. Clipboard Magic also has multi-language capabilities.

Clipboard Magic runs on Windows ME, XP, 2003 Server, Vista, 2008 Server and Windows 7. Clipboard Magic is free and contains no adware or spyware.

“Many people receive or purchase new expensive items and neglect to inform their broker and update their policies,” stated IBAO CEO Randy Carroll. “Items, such as expensive jewelry should to be added to your insurance policy to ensure you are properly covered in case of any future claims. You never know when a disaster may strike, but you can be prepared with an up to date home inventory.”

IBAO encourages home owners to perform a thorough home inventory update of their contents and review it with their broker. The MyInsuranceShopper Know Your Stuff® inventory tool makes this process convenient, by allowing consumers to store and update their details and within the digital space. Include a list of contents, a brief description or photograph and an estimate of the replacement value of each item. Consider making a video of your rooms, cupboards and shelves and store it off-site.

“A home inventory will help you itemize your property if you need to make a claim, and it is a good way to test if your overall policy limits are adequate,” added Carroll.

IBAO wants to remind Ontarians that it is common practice for policies that cover personal property, to have special limits on the amount that will be covered for specific items, or items within specific categories. If you require the full replacement or market value to be insured, you will have to arrange for additional insurance and pay the appropriate premiums.

“Knowing the value of the contents of your home is vital to being properly insured,” added Carroll. “Your broker can help you find the tools and resources you need.”

Editor’s Note: There is a wide variety of home and business inventory software or services available in addition to the one listed above. If you have stuff, insure it. If you have stuff, inventory it. I’m not recommending or endorsing any of these programs or services, but they are something that you should all look into – simply search online for home inventory tools.

]]> http://www.villagegamer.net/2012/02/02/brokers-launch-new-home-inventory-tool/feed/ 0 http://www.villagegamer.net/2012/02/02/thescore-and-bellator-announce-expanded-programming-partnership/ http://www.villagegamer.net/2012/02/02/thescore-and-bellator-announce-expanded-programming-partnership/#comments Thu, 02 Feb 2012 13:18:14 +0000 Tami http://www.villagegamer.net/?p=23674 Score Media Inc. announced yesterday that it has extended its programming partnership with Bellator Fighting Championships through its upcoming sixth season which begins March 9^th.  theScore will also broadcast Bellator’s Summer Season as well as its seventh season later this year. The extension gives Canadian mixed martial arts fans access to another year of Bellator fights across theScore’s multiplatform assets including theScore Television Network, theScore.com and its industry-leading application, ScoreMobile.

“We are extremely pleased to announce the continuation of our partnership with Bellator,” says Benjie Levy, Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer, Score Media Inc.  “Bellator has developed a reputation for being one of the world’s elite MMA promotions and its programming is a perfect fit for our young audience.”

“theScore is Bellator’s longest running TV partner worldwide, having broadcast each of our first five seasons,” says Bjorn Rebney, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Bellator. “As the place where Canadian fans go for MMA programming, news and information, theScore is the perfect partner to help us connect with Canadian MMA fans.”

Season six kicks off on Friday, March 9^th headlined by the Bellator World Featherweight title fight between Joe Warren and Pat Curran.  In addition, Bellator is planning multiple Canadian event dates in 2012.

theScore’s Bellator programming will be streamed live on theScore.com on Fridays at 8pm ET followed by repeat airings on theScore Television Network on Saturdays at 9pm ET, Sundays at 8pm ET and Wednesdays at 4pm ET.

City GM in Toronto has deployed the tablets to service advisors, dispatchers and the Shop Foreman and has measurably and sustainably seen significant performance improvements as a result.

“Using XSellerator on an iPad has increased our shop efficiency and throughput 25-30%! We have virtually no downtime. I am able to review repair orders with the technicians, approve straight time, request parts, dispatch work… all on my iPad, while in the shop – in the tech’s bay, out on the drive, or in my office. I am no longer chained to my desk to get these tasks completed. Customers love how I can discuss their service history and diagnose their vehicle while out on the lot, before it gets in the shop. XSellerator on the iPad has given us the freedom to spend our time doing what we are supposed to be doing – servicing cars, not paperwork,” exclaimed Jason Blake, City’s Shop Foreman.

Dan Ichelson, Quorum’s Vice President of Operations and Development explained, “XSellerator is a natural fit with mobile computing. Because we use RDP services to deliver the system, it is virtually device agnostic… any handheld or desktop computer can connect using an RDP client. And, since the system is real time and graphical in nature to start, it lends itself well to that environment. In fact, we have started a forum on our customer support website for our dealerships to share ways that they have found to use mobile devices with their peers. We expect to hear lots of other success stories like this over time.”

“MTS is pleased to provide this opportunity to our customers,” said MTS President Kelvin Shepherd. “It’s an unfortunate reality that cell phones go missing, are stolen, or are dropped in a puddle. For MTS customers subscribing to this new Program, these types of situations won’t have the impact they used to.”

The Wireless Protection Program offers three levels of protection, all with low monthly fees. The Complete Program, at seven dollars per month, covers devices for accidental damage, loss, theft, and malfunction (after the manufacturer warranty expires). The Enhanced Program covers loss, theft, and damage and has a monthly fee of five dollars. The Extended Warranty Program, at three dollars per month, protects against malfunction after the manufacturer’s warranty has expired.

“We’re excited to offer MTS a unique program which is proven to increase subscriber satisfaction and loyalty,” said David Leach, CEO, eSecuritel. “With The Wireless Protection Program, MTS is well-positioned to serve its customers with a convenient and efficient device replacement experience that is unsurpassed.”

The Program has a quick and efficient claims process with the majority of claims processed within five to seven minutes. Claims are made by calling eSecuritel’s Customer Care Centre when an incident occurs with their wireless device. Once a claim is approved, the customer will pay a deductible and will then be directed to the most convenient MTS retail location to pick up their replacement device. The Program allows a maximum of two replacement devices within a 12 month period, not to exceed $1,000 per claim, beginning with the date of the first incident.

“The Wireless Protection Program means that customers who lose their cell phone can quickly get back to business or their day-to-day lives with a brand new replacement device. Losing a cell phone is an inconvenience. Replacing it shouldn’t be,” added Mr. Shepherd.

As revealed last month, players will be able to choose their side in three online competitive multiplayer modes: Biohazard, Survivor and Team Attack. In a brutal four-versus-four player team battle players choose their character with unique skills and abilities that will help make them escape the terrifying madness that’s been unleashed on the streets of Raccoon City. In an evil twist that could only be possible in the world of Resident Evil players should expect complete chaos as a third force of zombies and B.O.W.’s, adds to the mayhem.

All roads will lead to hell when Resident Evil: Operation Raccoon City launches in North America on March 20, 2012 for PS3 and Xbox 360, with the PC version to follow.

The Animated Exeter Festival aims to excite and inspire young people, encourage and foster talent and showcase high quality animation.

Introduction to Flip Boom 2D Animation – Cartoon-tastic fun! See your story come to life and learn to draw and animate with all NEW Flip Boom All-Star 2. You will also learn how to record your own soundtrack, animate your own photos and learn how to share your finished cartoons online. Feel free to bring photographs to be animated on the day

• Where: Exeter Central Library, Exeter, UK.
• When: Tuesday 14 February 2012
• Time: 10 am – 12.30pm
• This workshop is for 7 – 11 year olds.
• Registration is £12

Introduction to Toon Boom Studio 2D Animation – Learn how to create amazing animated films through a variety of animation techniques, including traditional paper, cut-out, rotoscoping and stop-motion with this easy-to-use animation program. Toon Boom Studio is ideal for students, teachers and hobbyists and offers accessible tools for a rewarding experience

• Where: Exeter Central Library, Exeter, UK.
• When: Tuesday 14 February 2012
• Time: 1.30 pm – 4pm
• This workshop is for 12 – 15 year olds.
• Registration is £12

Toon Boom has also launched a new blog where readers can find out all the latest goings on over at the software developer’s studio.