During the evening, Erle Dardick, CEO, MonkeyMedia Software, took to the stage to speak about his ongoing campaign to help end childhood hunger in the US by 2015. Through the sale of his book “Get Catering and Grow Sales!™” he aims to raise $100,000 to help end childhood hunger in the US by 2015, and in order to do so, 100% of net proceeds from the sale of his book are donated to Share Our Strength®.

The campaign has currently raised $5,000, and Jim Vinz, Co-CEO of Le Duff America (middle), joined Erle Dardick and Mo Asgari, President of MonkeyMedia Software (left), to accept a cheque on behalf of Share Our Strength®.

When asked about getting involved with the initiative, Dardick said, “At MonkeyMedia Software, we have a culture of working for our higher purpose, while growing our business responsibly. Our team feels blessed to do the work that we do and we believe strongly in the power of community and in the human spirit. We are proud to channel our energy into supporting this great organization.”

“We are thrilled to have such strong champions in the industry like Mr. Dardick and MonkeyMedia Software who continue to support our work around Dine Out For No Kid Hungry,” says Sheila Bennett, director of Share Our Strength’s Dine Out For No Kid Hungry. “Ending childhood hunger is an issue that impacts us all and this book helps to amplify our voice by connecting us to the many restaurants excited to leverage their strengths and join this movement.”

Dear MobiKEY Users,

Since joining Route1, I have focused our team’s efforts on executing our business plan. As a result, Route1 is on a path of accelerated growth and is working with corner stone accounts such as the U.S. Navy and the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. In addition, as I mentioned in the most recent earnings release, we are building a significant base of potential business and developing new applications that we believe will add to profitability in the future.

Unfortunately, in the modern age of the Internet, online publications allow for the rapid and broad dissemination of information on companies whether the information is factual or misleading. Last week, I was quoted in an AOL Defense article online, where Route1’s technology was explained. In light of the recent activity and concerns, I believe it is important to set the record straight about Route1 regarding our technology and exactly how our security and identity management products and services provide the highest level of remote access security on the market today.

What has been misrepresented goes to the heart of our technology. Route1’s technology is patented (U.S. Patents 7,739,726 and 7,814,216) and is proven to “let federal workers telecommute securely using ordinary computers and mobile devices, not just specially lobotomized ones ”. A key part of a Route1 delivered secure remote access session is that the enterprise’s data is not allowed to exit the enterprise’s network, and thus advance beyond the confines of the enterprise’s firewall(s) which are built to protect the data. We call that ‘protecting the fortress’.

Whether or not a teleworker is using a personal device or an enterprise computer makes absolutely no difference to us. With Route1’s solution, what is essentially happening is the host computer is sending encrypted screen shots to the mobile device; be it laptop, tablet, or other similar devices, and the mobile device or guest computer keystrokes and mouse movements are being sent encrypted back to the host computer to be effected on the host computer. As a direct result of Route1’s solution architecture, data on the mobile device can NOT be mixed with the enterprise’s data.

The final result being that it is impossible for a hacker to piggy-back a Route1 connection or penetrate an enterprise’s firewall during a Route1 data session. The data is completely secure.

That is the Route1 difference. We always put security first by protecting the fortress.

Sincerely,

Tony Busseri

One such SaaS firm, Uberflip, recently had their web app accepted into the Google Chrome Store and is already seeing significant growth in leads through this affordable distribution portal that only costs $5 to list within.

“Uberflip is a cloud-based tool that allows marketers in all types of firms to take a dull PDF and make it interactive and trackable,” says Uberflip COO Randy Frisch. “Since integrating into the Google Chrome Store about a month ago, our lead traffic has increased 321%. At the same time, we’re also providing existing customers an easier access point to our Application through the Chrome tab.”

Google Chrome Store allows companies to list their web apps while also enabling users to review the app and add it to the homepage of their Google Chrome browser. Potential customers investigating web app solutions can quickly browse their options and receive unbiased reviews and ratings from other users.

As for Facebook, based on the information that’s available, it appears that they will take their app store even further and allow all platforms to be listed there – be it iOS, Android, and web apps. They will also list both free and paid apps.

“Ultimately these app stores are a great way to expose ourselves without spending six-figures on customer acquisition campaigns, such as AdWords, that might ultimately fall flat without providing any real brand awareness,” says Frisch. “Our service is a web app that delivers content using HTML5 for mobile devices, and Flash for desktop reading. We support these app stores that realize how showcasing web apps is just as important as native apps.”

Uberflip, previously known as Mygazines, has amassed over 1,500 users off their Chrome Store listed web app in just 35 days. “Within Google Chrome Store and Facebook App Center, apps and web apps will be judged and reviewed, and companies with quality apps will get increased exposure. That’s our hope for the Uberflip web app” adds Frisch.

To Kick-off the new AppCenter, Mobile Fringe is offering a free custom mall app to one lucky winner!

Simply scan the QR code with a smartphone or go to their website on a mobile device, complete the form to win a custom Shopping Center iPhone app. “This is an exciting time for our current and future clients. App Center 2.0 is the future of digital marketing management and we have it today,” said Steve Sorge, CEO, Mobile Fringe. “There is no better way to celebrate than to give one lucky mall a free iPhone app this innovative platform” (contest terms apply).

From improved navigation to one push promotions scheduling and an updated look, the new Mobile Fringe AppCenter 2.0 gives more powerful tools for promotions, store information changes, organization, image adjustments, usage reports, social integration and more.

In summary, the key features for the new App Center 2.0 include:

• A Complete Digital campaign manager, Mobile, Social, Web all together.
• User navigation improvements
• Analytic/statistical reporting for app usage
• Push notifications that are timed and with multiple devices
• VIP Promotions with promo codes
• Ability to manage multiple properties
• Scheduled promotions

For more information, contact Mobile Fringe directly or visit them at the ICSC RECon show.

“The Fire Pitch portion of the challenge was especially unique. We only had three minutes to explain a project that’s ultimately going to change the way we view the world — it wasn’t easy, but we emerged as the winners of that round,” explains UrtheCast’s Co-Founder, Wade Larson.

As a part of the Global Mobile Internet Conference (GMIC), the Fire Pitch challenge included 20 mobile internet companies, the winner from which — UrtheCast — went on to join the twelve pre-selected finalists. Each finalist pitched their case study in three minutes to a panel of top venture capitalists and angel investors. Those left standing entered the final round of the G-Startup challenge; a competition that received initial applications from 100 startups in 19 countries. This final stage of the challenge saw contestants exhibit their final case study in a time frame of ten-minutes.

While presenting, UrtheCast kept the spotlight firmly held on its ground-breaking goal: to change the way we view the world by creating a new community platform.

“Though we didn’t win in the final round of the challenge, we received an overwhelming reaction from attendees. The impact we made here with individuals was just as rewarding as winning would have been. It’s clear that UrtheCast speaks to people on a personal level. You’ve got to love that,” says Larson.

Once the UrtheCast cameras are turned on, image data will be offered by means of a consumer-centric website. This platform will be open-source, allowing users to create applications for sale on the UrtheCast website and on smartphones. As the Space Station passes over a particular geographic location, video data and imagery will be collected of that area, thereby providing the opportunity for awareness of current events across the globe. As another layer of interactivity, users will be able to track the Space Station along its orbital path and plan events on the days the Station passes over their city.

As a Canadian-based international startup — with key relationships with RSC Energia, Rutherford Appleton Labs, and McDonald, Dettweiler, and Associates (MDA) — UrtheCast is committed to the telling the stories of the Earth and her inhabitants. UrtheCast cameras will bring you this story, after their scheduled launch aboard the Russian Soyuz Mission. The beta version of UrtheCast’s interactive platform will be made available this summer, 2012.

For a chance to become one of our beta testers, please visit the Urthecast website.

With Flowfinity, teams in the field can capture data for submission into a central database, and access enterprise information from wherever they are. Fully customizable forms, requests and documents such as site surveys, inspection reports, punch lists, and incident reports can be completed at the job site on a smartphone or tablet and submitted back to head office in real time.

Tools for collaboration provide streamlined communication between contractors, consultants and other project stakeholders. RFIs, submittals, change orders and approvals can be accessed immediately, resulting in shorter cycles and better documentation.

Managing teams and tracking costs is also more efficient with mobile scheduling, dispatch and time and materials reports. Timesheets and materials lists can be completed on a mobile device at the time of work instead of after the fact for faster, more accurate job costing.

“Flowfinity has a unique solution that delivers more efficiency, timeliness and accuracy in managing construction tasks and teams,” said Larry Wilson, VP of Sales and Marketing, Flowfinity. “The result is that the solution not only reduces delays and total time spent on a construction project, but also provides an audit trail with thorough documentation of the project.”

“We’re excited to offer this ground-breaking marketing service to financial institutions, banks, credit unions, insurance companies, municipalities, retailers and other organizations that want to connect quickly and effectively with Canadian customers,” said Mike Cowan, VP Sales & Marketing, Kirk Marketing. “We are proud of our partnership with Canada Post and are confident it will bring excellent value to our clients.”

The epost Service is the way of the future, with over 85 per cent of Canadians online. The online service allows secure and assured mail delivery, including publications, flyers, targeted advertising, government notices, bills and statements. It allows customers to store their digital mail for up to seven years, and reduces organizations’ operational costs, such as mail production, customer service calls and technology support.

As a local, authorized epost partner, Kirk Marketing is building on almost 60 years’ experience delivering industry-leading direct marketing solutions to help businesses boost sales and cultivate loyalty.

John Ralston portrayed Pastor Vernon Rowley in the mini-series Bomb Girls and has a long list of notable credits including Life with Derek, Strange Days at Blake Holsey High, Good God, Flash Gordon and Living in your Car. He has appeared in a number of television productions, among them The Listener, PSI Factor, La Femme Nikita, Highlander: The Raven, Earth: Final Conflict, Queer as Folk, and Mutant X. He has also acted in the movies Turn It Up, Exit Wounds, and Bar Life.

Sebastian Pigott was outstanding as the philandering James Dunn on Global’s hit series Bomb Girls, which returns for its second season in fall, 2012. Pigott first came to prominence as a finalist on Canadian Idol and quickly followed that with his Gemini nominated role as Kai on the international hit show Being Erica. His credits in film include Saw 3D, Small Town Murder Songs, and Still Seas, and numerous TV series including Flashpoint, Covert Affairs, Heartland, Haven, The Bridge, Murdoch Mysteries and Deadliest Sea. He is also a member of The Pigott Brothers who have a new album called The Age of Peace.

Gregory Smith can most recently be seen starring as Dov Epstein in the ABC/Global television series Rookie Blue. Smith has accomplished a lot in his 27 years, as an actor, he has starred in 25 feature films, including The Patriot opposite Mel Gibson and Heath Ledger; Small Soldiers opposite Kirsten Dunst, produced by Steven Spielberg and Dream House opposite Daniel Craig. Additionally, he has starred in over 100 episodes of television, most notably as the protagonist in The WB’s hit series Everwood which aired for four seasons.

Jordan “Jordy” Todosey is a Canadian actress who has had many television roles, but her most notable role is as Adam Torres, a female to male transgender, on Degrassi. Todosey won a Gemini Award in 2011, for best performance in a children’s or youth program or series for her Degrassi role. Her other credits include Life with Derek, the spin-off movie Vacation with Derek, Flashpoint, The Pacifier), The Prize Winner of Defiance, Ohio, Santa Baby and Secrets of Eden.

Munro Skylear Chambers has been acting since he was 7 and is best known for his character, Eli Goldsworthy on Degrassi and for his role on The Latest Buzz, as Wilder. He then starred in a spin off called Meet The Wilders’ (that wasn’t picked up). He was also in the movies Murder in the Hamptons and Beethoven’s Christmas Adventure.

Richard Crouse is the regular film critic for CTV’s Canada AM and the 24 hour news source CTV’s News Channel. In 2011 he hosted In Short, a series of eight hour long show showcasing BravoFact’s best short films. He was the host of Reel to Real, Canada’s longest running television show about movies, from 1998 to 2008 and is a frequent guest on many national Canadian radio and television shows.

Produced by Mad Science^® Productions, under a license from CBS Consumer Products, Star Trek Live introduces a world of discovery by combining science with entertainment to teach and encourage scientific literacy. In the show, the audience joins the Starfleet as new cadets assembled for the first day at the Starfleet Academy led by its best and brightest officers. The new cadets will have to quickly learn the intricacies of living and working in space, modern space travel and the latest in communication and technology.

“Today, thanks in part to the popularity of the Star Trek franchise, public interest in outer space and space exploration is exceptionally high,” says Lesley Lewis, CEO of the Ontario Science Centre. “This summer, the Science Centre will actively engage and educate ‘armchair astronauts’ of all ages with Star Trek Live.”

“Star Trek Live could not have found a better location for the popular summer holiday period,” says Mad Science Productions Managing Director and Star Trek Live Producer Leonard Lipes.  ”Based on the storyline and the fiction-to-reality show concept, both NASA and the Ontario Science Centre were clearly an obvious choice of partners for this co-branding opportunity allowing visitors to follow in the footsteps of Star Trek’s iconic characters, to boldly go where no one has gone before.”

Star Trek Live is free with general admission to the Ontario Science Centre with four performances daily from June 2 to September 3, 2012. Seating is available on a first come first served basis.

Brought to vibrant life by a full orchestra and chorus, PLAY! A Video Game Symphony will debut in Calgary the musical score from Skyrim of the award-winning Elder Scrolls series, as well as showcase all-new, exciting arrangements from Metroid™, Castlevania®, Halo®: Reach, Final Fantasy® VI, the 25th anniversary medley from The Legend of Zelda®, as featured on the Skyward Sword Orchestral Audio CD, and much more.

“We are thrilled to bringing PLAY! A Video Game Symphony to video game fans and serious concert-goers alike.’” says Jason Michael Paul, executive producer of ‘PLAY!’. “The Jack Singer Concert Hall, located in the heart of downtown Calgary, is the perfect venue to host this concert series which pulses to the beat of modern life.”

The two-hour concert will be performed by members of the Calgary Philharmonic and Chorus and conducted by prolific Award winning composer, conductor and symphonist of music for film, television, live concerts and interactive games Andy Brick. To the further delight of video game connoisseurs, outstanding graphics sequences depicting memorable moments from the games will accompany the musical scores on large screens suspended above the orchestra.

Tickets to PLAY! A Video Game Symphony in Calgary are selling quickly, but seats are still available for purchase via the Play! website, Tickets.com, by calling The Box Office at 403.571.0849 or in person at the Box Office. Exclusive tour merchandise, including t-shirts, posters and programs, are available for sale only at the concerts.

The campaign promotes the rebranding of AMI’s open described video service, AMI-TV.  The ads provide a highly descriptive account of what is happening on screen – not unlike the service delivered by AMI-TV to its blind and low vision customers.

“For the sighted, the most effective way to appreciate these spots is to close your eyes and listen,” suggests Peter Burke, AMI Vice-President of Marketing and Communications. “By showing how description can enrich what you can already see, we prove how important description services like AMI are to the blind.”

“Creatively we made a conscious decision not to dwell on the difficulties or challenges of being blind,” adds Mark Mason, Creative Director, TBWA Toronto. “Instead, we focused on the positive service that AMI provides.”

The campaign will air nationally in English Canada on a variety of channels carried on Bell TV, Cogeco, Eastlink, Rogers, Shaw Cable, Shaw Direct and Source Cable including A & E, CNN, TLC, Fox News, CNBC, Spike, TBS, MSNBC and BBC.

A variety of electronics will be accepted at the event, which runs on Saturday, May 26 from noon until 5 p.m. Accepted products include:

• TVs
• Computers
• Laptops
• Printers
• Cell Phones
• Batteries
• DVD players

Best Buy Tech it Away events will take place at the following stores:

Vancouver:

• Richmond – Landsdowne Centre, 5300 No. 3 Road
• Coquitlam – Pinetree Village, 1135 Pinetree Way
• Surrey – Central City, 10025 King George Hwy

Toronto:

• Heartland – Heartland Town Centre, 6075 Mavis Road, Mississauga
• Newmarket – 175 Green Lane East, East Gwillimbury
• Warden & Eglington – Eglinton Corners, 50 Ashtonbee Road, Scarborough

Calgary:

• Northlands – Northland Village, 5111 Northland Dr NW
• Sunridge – Sunridge Power Centre, 3221 Sunridge Way NE
• Westhills – Westhills Towne Centre, 350 Stewart Green SW

Since 2005 Absolute Software has partnered with Lenovo to provide solutions to meet the security needs of both enterprise and consumer customers. Lenovo computers and ThinkPad Tablets are built with Absolute Software’s Computrace embedded in the firmware.  This level of persistence provides Lenovo customers with the means to manage, track, and secure their devices.

“Absolute Software has provided Lenovo customers with firmware-embedded endpoint security and management for computers and mobile devices since 2005, and in that time, our relationship has been marked by trust, the delivery of world class security and management solutions and the creation of innovative channel programs resulting in a significant sales growth,” said Clain Anderson, Director of Software and Content Services, Lenovo. “This track record earned Absolute Software the Lenovo Diamond Supplier Award, our top award for worldwide suppliers and partners.”

“The past year has seen some significant milestones in our partnership with Lenovo, including the announcement of Computrace persistence for the Lenovo ThinkPad Tablet, the first Android tablet in the world with Computrace persistence embedded in the firmware.” said Abigail Maines, Vice President, Channel Strategy, Absolute Software. “We are honored to be the recipient of the Lenovo 2012 Diamond Supplier Award, and look forward to many more collaborative achievements in our partnership with Lenovo.”

On Wednesday, June 6, as part of Perimeter Institute’s Public Lecture Series presented by Sun Life Financial, Dr. Julian Barbour, author and Visiting Professor at the University of Oxford, will explore modern indications that time and motion may be well founded illusions. In this talk, Barbour will examine how the Wheeler-DeWitt equation of quantum gravity suggests the fundamentally timeless nature of the quantum universe.

Barbour will also raise unresolved mysteries of our conscious experiences, and why these might provide insight into how a fundamentally timeless universe may be perceived as intensely temporal. A key result of his proposal could be an explanation of the asymmetry between the past and the future.

Julian Barbour is a theoretical physicist, who obtained his PhD on the foundations of Einstein’s general theory of relativity at the University of Cologne in 1968. He has worked independently on foundational issues in physics for 45 years, specializing in the study of time and inertia. He has authored many research papers and several books, including “Absolute or Relative Motion?” (1989), “The End of Time” (1999), and “The Discovery of Dynamics” (2001).

Julian Barbour’s lecture, entitled “Does Time Exist?”, will be held Wednesday, June 6 at 7:00 PM (ET) in Waterloo. Tickets will be available starting Tuesday, May 22, 2012 at 9:00am (ET).

“Our new ecobee Smart Si thermostat reinforces our commitment to simple, smart and energy-saving solutions for the home,” explained Stuart Lombard, ecobee’s President and CEO. “The Smart Si delivers the quality, innovation and great features you would expect from ecobee, making it easy for homeowners to conserve energy and save money, at a very attractive price.”

The Smart Si’s advanced algorithms allow it to save the most energy possible. Its easy-to-read high-resolution color display and effortless user interface make it simple and quick to create a schedule and to adjust settings. Its sleek design fits into any home. It even provides live weather reports.

For peace of mind, automatic alerts and reminders notify homeowners when their heating and air conditioning equipment is due for service, if there is an equipment malfunction or when it’s time to change filters.

“Most homeowners don’t know home heating and cooling systems represent 50-70 percent of home energy use. Programming an ecobee Wi-Fi-enabled Smart Si thermostat is one of the easiest ways to reduce home energy consumption, reduce your environmental impact and save money,” stated Lombard. “ecobee customers are seeing great results. An extensive research study conducted by the ecobee Energy Modeling Team found that our customers are saving an average of 26 percent on annual energy costs,” said Lombard. “We’re very proud that 96 percent of ecobee customers would recommend our products to their friends.

ecobee’s thermostats are available through HVAC contractors. The company has sold out of its first three production runs of the Smart Si thermostat; however, Lombard noted, “We have ramped up our manufacturing efforts to meet the overwhelmingly high level of enthusiasm for this thermostat.”

Canadian-based speakers on the Made in Canada session include Ian McAnerin, CEO, McAnerin International Inc. and Ezra Silverton, President, 9^th Sphere. “Those that service either a Canadian and American customer base or Canadian organizations that compete with American companies, can’t miss this,” said Silverton. “Key takeaways will include, how to balance Canadian and American content challenges, domain differences, hosting, IP’s, architecture, and local SEO,” Silverton added.

Toronto-based SES speaker Nicky Senyard, President, Share Results will offer a presentation providing strategies for both retailers and Web publishers. “The Canadian marketplace is overflowing with profitable ecommerce opportunities, and it has been our experience that online retailers and website publishers in Canada who adopt an affiliate marketing model are tapping into one of the most cost-effective forms of entrepreneurship,” said Senyard. “I have plenty to share on best practices for affiliate marketers looking to grow their business,” Senyard added.

Additional SES Toronto sessions featuring Canadian marketers include Enterprise Level SEO with Lyndsay Walker, TD Bank Group, and Maximizing ROI in e-Commerce, with Elazar Gabay, LeSite.ca.

Marketing and advertising professionals participating in SES Toronto can sign up with Vivastream to begin networking with other like-minded marketers attending the conference and planning their day-to-day schedule.

To attend the conference, fill out the SES Toronto registration form.

Speakers, panelists and moderators include:

Celine Bak, Partner, Analytica Advisors
Tom Brzustowski, RBC Professor, University of Ottawa
Adam Chowaniec, Chair, Belair Networks
Clarissa Desjardins, CEO, Centre of Excellence in Personalized Medicine
Paul Dufour, Fellow of the Institute for Science, Society and Policy, University of Ottawa, Principal, Paulicy Works.
Peter Frise, CEO, AUTO21
Jean-Claude Gavrel, Former Associate VP, NSERC
The Honorable Gary Goodyear, Minister of State for Science and Technology and Minister of State, Federal Economic Development Agency for Southern Ontario
Karna Gupta, President, ITAC
Lynda Leonard, Senior Vice President, ITAC
Robert Luke, Assistant VP Research & Innovation, George Brown College
The Honorable Kevin Lynch, Vice Chair, BMO Financial
Peter Nicholson, Founding President, Canadian Council of Academies
Senia Rapisarda, VP, Strategic Initiatives and Investment, BDC
Nobina Robinson, CEO, Polytechnics Canada
Jim Roche, President & CEO, Stratford Managers Corporation
Jason Tham, CEO, Nulogy
Mario Thomas, Managing Director, Centre for Commercialization of Research
David Watters, President, Global Advantage Consulting
Allison Young, Senior Trade Commissioner, Canadian Consulate, New York

Conference partners include: The Ottawa Citizen, BDC, NSERC, CEPMED, Canadian Digital Media Network, CCR, Auto 21 and AllerGen. Association partners are: ITAC, CPSC, ACCT, Connect Canada and Start-up Canada.

RE$EARCH MONEY is a Canadian newsletter delivering intelligence on research and development, science and technology, innovation and knowledge-based economic development.

The Webkinz Friends team worked with Facebook to launch some exclusive innovations in Facebook gaming:

• Webkinz Friends has the first virtual representation of plush pets in a Facebook game
• Players can register new Webkinz pets within the game, receive a pet- specific prize and choose between KinzCash and an additional room for their home
• Players of Webkinz Friends will also earn great prizes which they can send to a Webkinz World account online

The game is based on building the best Kinzville possible and sharing with friends. Homes, gardens, restaurants, stores and of course, the Clubhouse can all be added to your own Kinzville.

“Webkinz World is a family-friendly brand, and we want fans to enjoy our online world on the platforms they have embraced”, said Howard Ganz, president of Ganz and creator of Webkinz. “In 7 years we have seen players grow up with the game. Webkinz Friends on Facebook lets teens and adults enjoy the sharing and caring aspect of Webkinz World in a format that suits them best. We want parents to be able to play on Facebook and send prizes to their children’s Webkinz World accounts. It’s the new face of co-play, where everyone can have fun in their own age-appropriate environments.”

Webkinz Friends is free to play. To enhance gameplay, a Webkinz pet can be registered in Webkinz Friends (and Webkinz World too!) for virtual prizes. Utilizing the cross-platform tool, players of Webkinz Friends can earn virtual prizes which can be sent anonymously to any Webkinz World account online!

“When imagining Webkinz Friends, we looked at the areas of our site that could be fun if shared” said Creative Director Karl Borst. “Live in a loft surrounded by cupcake trees…park mobile homes beside a mansion! Visit your friends’ Kinzville and comment on their Facebook page.”

While Webkinz Friends is the first Facebook game for the family-friendly Webkinz brand, Ganz has extended the co-play experience with Webkinz arcade-style mobile applications for the iPad, iPhone and iPod touch. Earn rewards for Webkinz World accounts by playing Webkinz iOS games such as Polar Plunge, Goober’s Lab and the newest, Cloud Corral. Next? Webkinz Friends for the iPad, bringing this Kinzville game to all ages of Webkinz fans.

Nytric/Baanto have applied ShadowSense to what is believed to be the world’s largest multi-touch screen at a staggering 193” X 72”. Prominently located at the entrance to Discovery 12, the show’s “touch wall” measured 128” X 48”. In partnership with Christie®, the wall was comprised of 32 Christie® MicroTiles®. These MicroTiles are scalable, can be stacked or clustered to create custom shapes all while maintaining full-motion, vibrant visuals in a bright atmosphere that exceeds current LED capabilities. Nytric/Baanto also developed a dynamic, interactive software presentation that was custom built for Discovery to showcase the many unique features of ShadowSense.

“The ShadowSense technology boasts a staggering 18 simultaneous touch inputs and, unlike traditional touch technology that requires bare finger touch or a stylus, this technology intuitively recognizes almost any touch mechanism,” says Av Utukuri, CTO and Founder of Nytric and Baanto. “It is a better and more cost-effective technology than any mid- to large-size multi-touch device currently on the market.”

Discovery 12 was the first time that touch point size detection (Tsense™) was made available in a mid- to large-size touchscreen environment. Other firsts include the ability to recognize accidental touches, static object detection and durability, and easy, cost effective scalability – significant improvements over existing touchscreen technology.

“ShadowSense solves many of the technical shortcomings of existing touch technologies,” adds Utukuri. “By rethinking the traditional hardware and algorithms commonly used in optical touch solutions, we have created what we believe to be the most robust optical touch-sensing technology available today. Our patented technology and position sensing algorithms have allowed us to create low-cost, high-performance sensor architectures and avoid the ghosting, obscuration and ‘dead zones’ that plague imager or camera-based solutions currently on the market. It scales well, doesn’t require constant recalibration and is incredibly easy to integrate.”

ShadowSense’s touch performance is exceptional, boasting a touch response time of less than seven milliseconds and a touch detection of objects as small as five millimeters in diameter. Its algorithms are extremely efficient and all touchpoint processing is performed by the integrated touch controller. As a result, the host interface (Windows® 7 USB HID packet) requires no drivers, nor does it consume CPU resources on the host PC or media controller. As a perimeter-based technology, the ShadowSense touch sensor is independent of the protective glass, resulting in brighter displays, immunity to casual scratches and debris on the screen, and vandal resistant operation, while IP65 sealing resists dust and moisture intrusion.

Baanto’s new touchscreen technology can now be used as a replacement in many chassis and systems that incorporate existing ELO single-touch technology. By offering robust multi-touch functionality and a larger touchscreen at or below the cost of existing touch technology, ShadowSense will not only appeal to next generation developers but will ultimately benefit the consumers who will use the new applications spawned by this technology.

Baanto’s new technology is expected to expand multi-touch capabilities for the kiosk, gaming, ATM, PC, PC monitor and additional markets because it provides a robust and cost-effective touchscreen solution to support the development of innovative new applications.

“Part of our strategy consists of publishing a small number of high quality games, while building close relationships with developers. Over the last few years, we have developed the ability to successfully launch new titles across our ever expanding network of gamers,” said Sylvain Croteau, VP Publishing of Ludia Inc.

“We are excited to begin our partnership with Ludia by releasing ‘Save Our Village’. Working with them has been a great experience and the ability to draw on their experiences and successes in the mobile space has only added to the quality of the game,” said John Passfield, Founder of Red Sprite Studios.

Save Our Village is a free to play game where players help rebuild a village ravaged by monsters. Hire brave heroes and explore dungeons to fight monsters and rescue villagers and stolen treasure. Soon players across the world will have a bustling village with houses, taverns and castles at their disposal.

Before we heard about the changes to come, EA gave us to a bit of information of how FIFA 12 was continuing to attract gamers to play some virtual soccer (football for you purists).  In its first week of release the FIFA 12 franchise as a whole sold 3.7 million copies, and within 4 months it had sold a staggering 10+ million.  That is a pretty incredible number of soccer games sold.  Since its’ release there have been over 1 billion online games played and the stats show that 5 million online games are played each day.

FIFA 13’s mantra is “A Revolution of Game-Changing Features”.  The development team is stepping it up a notch or two and is focusing on some main areas that add even more realism, more intelligent AI (your own team and your opponents), and more features to allow more freedom to play like real life.  EA Sports has taken 5 main gameplay features and made some notable changes in their effort to make a better game.  The 5 affected areas areas are Attacking Intelligence, Complete Dribbling,  First Touch Control, Player Impact Engine, and Tactical Free Kicks.  These 5 areas have been changed in such a way that they each make FIFA 13 an even more soccer like experience.  I could probably go one forever in regards to the changes made, so for time sake, and to limit the length of our preview, I will give a brief overview of each feature, the changes made, and how they impact the game.

Attacking Intelligence

In FIFA 13 your teammates work smarter to create attacking opportunities.  As you play you will find that your AI teammates create passing channels and create space from offenders.  They will actually run around defenders in an effort to get to valuable open space, whereas in previous iterations of FIFA teammates would run straight to any open space.  This is very noticeable as you can literally see players curve around opposing players in an order to get to that one space to allow you to pass and make a solid play.

One of the biggest things I noticed was how players actually thought ahead.  The AI has been tweaked so that they will actually determine who is likely to get the ball, and this in turn results in all the players reading for a possible play from the player that is most likely to get the ball.  Your teammates literally think 2 plays ahead.  It is amazing how you can see your teammates change their placement on the field, or how one of your forwards makes a break to an area where a pass may be fielded to.  The flow of the game is so much more with the AI acting in this manner.

Complete Dribbling

EA Sports took a look at the dribbling mechanics and made some changes to enhance this area of the game.  FIFA 13 allows for 360-degree directional mobility, which allows for a whole lot more control.  You’ll find that you can dribble the ball while shielding and while you do so players are more stable and poised when shielding.  This makes for a chance to protect the ball while actually controlling it this time around.  The video we saw was amazing as the player moved the ball with his feet, adjusting for some contact while keeping control of the ball.

FIFA 13 implements what is known as Precision 2.0.  Here there is greater fidelity over close touches and you have the ability to change direction quicker and at slower speeds.  We got the chance to watch some gameplay video of the Precision 2.0 in action and I have to say that I was impressed.  You can turn your body in one direction and actually go in another one.  It adds more authenticity to the gameplay as players move more realistically as they try to ‘deke’ out their opponent.  There is also less opportunity during dribbling for a defender to have an opening to strike the ball as the other player’s body stays square and in the direction it should be.

Overall, Complete Dribbling allows for more freedom in attack and it replicates real-world dribbling.  The more realistic shielding and more football-realistic situations add to the overall game experience of FIFA 13.

First Touch Control

This area is one of the more affected areas that I noted during the presentation.  It is real world responses to passes and touches.  Basically, it is the physics involved in passing and kicking the ball.  You will find that no longer does a ball “stick” to a player when a kick or pass it directed their way.  There are multiple factors that will now play in to how a player responds to a ball such as the defensive pressure, trajectory of a pass, the height of a ball, a players skill, running speed and timing, and even the weather.  You will need to adapt to certain conditions this time around as the ball just doesn’t “stick” to your body or foot.

You will find that there is a risk/reward system in touching the ball.  For example, if you decide to take a pass, or bring down a chip into the midfield, you will have to think about the fact that there is a good chance, depending on the conditions at hand, that you won’t be able to control it and you may cough it up to a defender.  This risk/reward system has you adapting on the fly thinking about if and when you may try to control the ball as it comes to you.

First Touch Control allows for differentiation of player skills.  A 50 rated player will respond and control the ball much differently then a 80 rated player as one is much more skilled then the other.  The changes in this area eliminates near perfect control for every player.  Overall you will find that there are now more opportunities for loose balls and there are more things to think about now, as EA Sports called it, more “football thoughts”.

Player Impact Engine

Last year FIFA made some great strides implementing their Player Impact Engine.  It provided some very realistic collisions adding to the realistic gameplay.  FIFA 13 builds upon this framework and the engine provides more realism outside the realm of just player collisions.

You will find that there are adjustments for a player’s strength and skill and there is now an ability for defenders to use their body to win back possession.  There are some great off-the-ball battles and the effects of the ‘push & pull’ when battling for position are greater.  You will as find that there are more realistic and human reactions to situations as bodies react like they should as they are more natural when they move.  These are all a result of the improvements in the Player Impact Engine.

One of the biggest changes in this area is the ‘push & pull’ system.  Most FIFA fans will notice that FIFA 13 allows you to push & pull players all over the pitch whereas FIFA 12 only allowed you to do this if you had touched the ball first.  FIFA 13’s referee AI is also more refined in such that it has a greater ability to differentiate a push/pull versus a flagrant foul.  FIFA 12 did not have such a robust referee AI and you should find the referee fair in this aspect.  That being said, as with the First Touch Control, there is very much a risk/reward system when using the improved push & pull feature.  You will have to use it at the right time and not just use it recklessly as you will be penalized accordingly.

There is no doubt that all these aspects of the Player Impact Engine contribute to a better virtual soccer experience.  Defenders utilize their size and strength, opponents may be forced to make “poor touches”, there is a better balance between attacking and defending, and you’ll find more ways to dispossess your opposition.  And of course, lets not forget collisions, as they look even better this time around.

Tactical Free Kicks

The free kick feature has also seen some changes.  You can opt to do some ‘dummy runs’ for up to three players as you try to get the defensive wall to commit.  You can do quite a neat combination of things in order to pull off some “tomfoolery”.  For example, you can do a fake kick or two leading to a pass then to a shot on net.  It is a nice set of features and adds to the offensive arsenal you can access.

On the defensive side of things, you can ‘jump your wall’ at any time during a free kick and you can reform and jump again.   You can also add or subtract a player from the wall at any time and you can try to ‘creep’ the wall closer to the free kick spot.  We were shown a video where the wall jumped too early, but then the defence adjusted, added a player and one of them was able to charge the kicker as he made his shot.  It was a nice game of cat & mouse between the offence and defence as the kicker tried, and at first succeeded, in getting the wall to bite and commit, but the defence adjusted at just the right time to counter the kick.

If you remember, one of the things I noted at the beginning of this preview was that I really wondered how EA Sports could truly improve FIFA 12’s stellar effort, but after sitting with the developers for 2 ½ hours or so listening and watching all they had to say, I have to admit that they are truly improving on last years game.  From the referee AI, humanizing the CPU, to adding new pass types, new animations (e.g. off balance shots, 180 degree shots) new behaviours in goal line clearances, and new celebrations, these are just a few things to make this a better soccer game.  And you have to remember; EA Sports only talked about the main features that they have been working on and there is a lot more to come in regards to the game’s improvements.

If there is one thing that is clear, EA really wants to continue to drive this yearly franchise forward, and by all accounts EA Sports in Vancouver is doing a great job once again.  If there is one message that the development team wants FIFA fans to get, it is that they are making all these refinements and changes in an effort to make FIFA 13 unpredictable as it allows anything to happen and have any outcome to occur at the end.  They want to make the game predictably unpredictable, which means that all the results are regularly unforeseen, just like in real life.  I for one can’t wait to see how the game continues to develop over the next few months.

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About Canadian Online Gamers: We believe in a world where all gamers can be united under one flag where communication is open, fun is palpable and friendships are forged. We thrive in the understanding that the joy of gaming is universal and a sociable, culture blurring movement. We at the Canadian Online Gamers Network (COGN) proudly help build and guide that movement. Together we are positivity and responsibility.

“The incredible success of Splatalot has allowed us to introduce our model of licensing to different broadcasters and, in doing so, create opportunities for games in different languages and for other programs,” said Matt Hornburg, Co-CEO and Executive Producer, marblemedia. “We look forward to leveraging this success through Season Two and see the expanded site garner even larger audiences and more international fans.”

Created in partnership with YTV in Canada, CBBC in the UK and ABC in Australia, the site’s games have received a staggering 16.3 million visits from over 8 million unique visitors since launching. Splatalot’s most popular online game, Capture the Crown, currently has over 16 million plays alone showing no sign of slowing down.

Responding to the astounding demand, marblemedia has expanded production for Season Two, creating exciting and innovative ways for fans to interact with the show. Funding partners include the Canada Media Fund, Bell Broadcast and New Media Fund and the Shaw Rocket Fund.

In production now to launch this fall, the site will receive many updates, including: Explore the Castle will now reflect the latest hilarious obstacles included in Splatalot’s second season, and dozens of clips will be added to The Highlight Shaker, Splatalot’s online video editing tool where kids create their own reels of splats and stumbles. In addition, the updated site will be available for use in French for the first time this fall, with TÉLÉTOON (French Canada).

Adding to the excitement, the site’s new design will feature a Trophy Room where players’ achievements can be displayed in unique ways to maximize engagement. Personalized headlines will announce characters’ reactions to a player’s performance and elation at a player’s new high score. Most of all, the Trophy Room makes sure that shameless bragging has never been this much fun.

One of the major features of the new Splatalot interactive will be the updated version of one of the most popular games on the Season One website. Defender, averaging over 300,000 plays per month, will upgrade to Defender Xtreme, where kids will be able to compete head-to-head in a splatathon against their friends. Defender Xtreme will have a sophisticated back-end that keeps track of players’ scores, matches players based on skill level and weapons, and most of all ensures that this game stays unpredictable and fun while ever ramping up the difficulty level for maximum engagement.

Distribution360 handles sales of the interactive and television series, and by this summer, the series will be in over 200 countries. The show’s website is redirected in each country to the local broadcaster that has licensed the show.

Joyously irreverent, Almost Naked Animals features an oddly lovable assortment of free-spirited animals in their underwear running a beach-front hotel like kids at a summer camp – doing their best to make each day more fun than the last. Lead dog and hotel manager Howie, heads the comically dysfunctional ensemble cast.

“We’re really excited to be bringing 9 Story’s hugely popular Almost Naked Animals brand to the interactive game world.  The supergame will be a robust adventure, fully tied into the mayhem and fun of the tv series, adding a new level of enjoyment for its loyal fans,” said Michael Sorrenti, President (mad scientist), Game Pill Inc.

“We are delighted to be working with the talented team at Game Pill on this perfectly targeted expansion of the Almost Naked Animals brand engagement,” said Vince Commisso, President & CEO of 9 Story Entertainment.

The platform game will give players the chance to become part of the crazy world of Almost Naked Animals by choosing one of the quirky characters to run their very own tropical hotel and compete to become the bestest hotel on the strip.  With unexpected twists and turns, the Almost Naked Animals game will bring the wackiness of the TV series to the gaming world, for kids of all ages to enjoy (that means you Mom and Dad).

Named one of the top children’s shows to watch by People Magazine, Almost Naked Animals, now in its 3^rd season, airs on Cartoon Network US, YTV Canada, CiTV UK, ABC Australia, Disney Channel Italy, Disney Channel India, Disney Channel Latin America, Disney Channel Spain and Portugal, NPO’s children’s channel Z@pp/Zeppelin in the Netherlands, Super RTL Germany, Canal+ Family and TéléTOON+.

The World’s Largest Business Mentoring event is the first to set the “Most People Attending a Business Speed Networking Event – Single Venue” record. The event brought more than 160 of the brightest business leaders in the country together in one room with over 160 eager entrepreneurs in a timed networking event

To achieve the record, the World’s Largest Business Mentoring Event had to have a minimum of 250 participants; be timed; and each participant had to achieve a minimum of 20 distinct interactions lasting three-minutes each that were recorded and verified on-site by an official Guinness World Records judge.

‘This is a tremendous achievement and a unique once-in-a-lifetime experience for both the mentors and protégés involved in the event,” says Dr. Tom Corr, President and CEO, Ontario Centres of Excellence. “The intensity and knowledge-sharing that happened on the floor could not be replicated like this anywhere else. It has also given participants the foundation to form new and on-going dialogue that could result in future partnerships and collaborations which is really exciting.”

“I would like to extend my congratulations to the Ontario Centres of Excellence and to the over 300 mentors and participants who made achieving the World Record for the largest business mentoring event a reality,” said Brad Duguid, Minister of Economic Development and Innovation. “The room was full of creative minds and endless possibilities – a clear demonstration of commitment to building Ontario’s innovation economy.”

“The success of this record was derived from the level of detail that went into organizing it,” adds Philip Robertson, Adjudicator, Guinness World Records. “This particular record was attempted before unsuccessfully. But this time, it wasn’t just about the record, it was important to see the protégés and mentors walk away with a meaningful exchange.”

The event ran in a speed-networking format and was facilitated by Canada’s queen of networking, Donna Messer, author, speaker and trainer for ConnectUs Communications Canada. Ontario Centres of Excellence worked with Jeremy O’Krafka founder of MENTORnetwork a business that works with entrepreneurs serving organizations to support their mentorship programs through mentor recruitment, training, events and program management, to assist in structuring the event.

Some of the notable participating mentors included:

• Sir Terry Matthews, Founder and Chairman, Wesley Clover
• Bill Tatham, CEO, NexJ Systems
• Albert Lai, Big Viking Games
• David Teten, Partner, ff Venture Capital
• Rick Segal Founder, Fixmo
• Doug Cooper, Co-Founder, Splintir

Participating protégés included

• Oleg Gutsol and Evgeny Tchebotarev, CEOs and Co-Founders of 500px
• Alexander Rink, CEO of Gazaro
• Mohan Nadarajah, PlayLabs

Discovery brings together the best and brightest minds in industry, investors, academia, and government to showcase leading-edge technologies, best practices and research in the areas of clean energy, advanced health, digital media and information and communications technologies and advanced manufacturing. Named Canada’s Best Trade Show for two year’s running (2010 and 2011), the annual Conference and Showcase attracts approximately 2600 attendees and over 350 exhibitors.

DAY 2 Highlights include:

• Making tomorrow’s grid smarter, greener and more cost effective – novel ways of storing electrical energy with companies including Temporal Power, Electrovaya, London Hydro and Hydrostor

• How Blue is your Bottom Line – How communities and businesses are addressing their bottom lines to make water a priority and taking advantage of its opportunity

• David Teten, serial entrepreneur, Partner with ff Venture Capital and Founder and Chairman of the Harvard Business School Alumni Angels of Greater New York, will discuss free and ridiculously-low-cost tools to refine a start-up idea and provide insights into what you can learn from the customers who need your solution the most

• How Ontario is growing globally competitive companies in the water sector while implementing solutions in our own communities and providing high-value jobs

• See the next generation of rapid prototyping technology with examples of parts being made right before your eyes

• Discovery Innovation Showcase – Explore over 200,000 sq. feet of new ideas, innovations and solutions in CleanTech, Health, Digital, Information and Communications Technologies, Advanced Manufacturing and more, that are shaping the future of Ontario

Telecom service providers are continuously faced with the issue of remaining competitive in delivering broadband to subscribers. FTTH is still quite expensive to install, so reusing copper and maximizing its potential is what the new DSL technologies enable. Previously available installation testers lacked the wideband capabilities necessary for testing VDSL2 circuits. Perfectly aligned with the new technologies, the MaxTester series bridges this gap, addressing the needs of installers to more quickly identify and interpret circuit troubles and restore service.

Adding to the existing MAX-630 ADSL2+/VDSL2 Multiplay Tester, the MaxTester 610 and 635 provide full fault location capabilities (TDR, RFL) and true 30 MHz wideband copper testing in support of ADSL2+ and VDSL2 technologies. Featuring an integrated ADSL2+/VDSL2 modem, the MAX-635 supports bonding, vectoring and G.INP, the latest DSL technologies to extend the reach and rate of DSL—using two pairs to deliver high-speed multiplay services over longer distances and/or at higher data rates.

The new MaxTester units also include the unique SmartR™ test suite, which automatically runs key copper tests, and intelligently analyzes the results to enable technicians to quickly identify and locate faults more reliably than ever before. This EXFO innovation directly leads to a significant increase in operational efficiency by any level of technician and provides a critical tool to enable service providers to reduce their repeat report rates.

Now available on the handheld MaxTester units, these next-generation copper/DSL test functionalities will also be offered on two new copper access modules designed for the FTB-1 modular platform in Q4 of calendar 2012.

“With their unique SmartR^TM test approach, the new handheld MaxTester 610 and 635 bring second-to-none simplification for next-generation technologies—such as VDSL2—which are becoming more and more complex to deploy,” said Étienne Gagnon, EXFO’s Vice-President—Wireline Division and Corporate Marketing. “These new test solutions will help network operators increase field-testing efficiency and reduce operating expenses by integrating more automation and intelligence into their test processes.”

In Telpay’s view the means recommended by the Task Force for achieving these gains is seriously flawed. The report proposes significant government involvement in areas where market forces would be far more effective in ensuring that the benefits could be achieved.

The structure proposed would inevitably be dominated by the banks. Independent payment service providers would be restricted to serving banks, thereby eliminating a chief source of the innovation and competition needed to move Canada’s payment system forward to the level achieved by many other countries. The banks will be unlikely to give up revenue they now receive from processing cheques even though electronic transactions are less expensive than paper.  Their practice with personal electronic payments has been to add fees rather than reduce them.

W.H. Loewen, Chairman of Telpay Inc., a Canadian pioneer in electronic payment services, proposes an alternative that would achieve the goals of efficiency, innovation and competition sought by the Minister and do so in far less time than the Task Force proposes.

Telpay also proposes that businesses, not banks, should be the dominant players, as they have been for centuries, in determining the process required to ensure proper recording of the payments made and received. Using the payment consolidation system operated by Telpay for the past 25 years, both the payment information and the related funds can be efficiently transferred from payer to payee.

Telpay proposes offering its system for use by the entire industry. Payment service providers would compete on all levels of price, service and innovation to meet the needs of business and individuals. The task Force proposes that the government create such a system, an endeavor that would be costly and risk failure.

• Compensation was said to be the cause of most voluntary turnover (26%), followed by a lack of new challenges (23%).
• Nearly half of involuntary turnover involved underdeveloped or under skilled talent – poor performance (41%) and poor skills fit (13%) were most often cited as the reason why CEOs let staff go.

“On the one hand you could say that Canadian start-ups need to do a better job of finding and keeping the right people with the right skills. However it’s disconcerting that the current talent pool may actually lack the skills, knowledge or experience needed by today’s tech companies,” says Peter Matutat, PwC’s National Emerging Company Practice Leader.

Nearly two-thirds said that over the past two years it has become more difficult to find the programmers and technical personnel they need. More and more technology and business-savvy engineers and developers are choosing to launch their own businesses. CEOs also say that the well established “brain drain” of Canadian talent to US companies continues to hurt their businesses.

“It’s promising to see so many entrepreneurs in the market but it makes the talent shortage and the need for training, development and support for Canadian-based innovation that much more acute,” says Matutat.

Matutat also says the smaller size of start-ups gives employees a bigger chance to make an impact but only if CEOs can capitalize on it. “CEOs should create a working environment where their team has a sense of ownership, the opportunity to be creative, and they are recognized and rewarded for being a part of the company’s success.”

Non-existent or ineffective total compensation packages are also a part of the problem – only 29% of the CEOs said they had a total rewards program in place. Forty-two per cent said that while they had one, they were not sure how effective it was. More than a quarter (28%) said there was no total rewards plan in place.

The 44-page report polled over 150 CEOs of emerging Canadian software companies on a variety of topics including growth, recruitment, M&A and exits, and raising capital. Overall, revenues in this sector are increasing with revenue growth at approximately 25% in 2011.

Follow our 9^th annual Connecting Vision to Reality conference for the Canadian emerging tech community on Twitter at #v2r.

Under the banner True Hope Bratz^®, MGA will release hairless versions of its hit dolls Cloe™, Yasmin™ and Cameron™, who will each come with one hat, a second outfit and a beaded bracelet. The True Hope Bratz collection will be available for pre-sale online exclusively at Toys”R”Us Canada from June 1to mid-July, and will be available at all Toys”R”Us stores in Canada in mid-July.

MGA and Toys”R”Us Canada will each donate $1 to Starlight Children’s Foundation for every True Hope Bratz doll sold online and in stores, in an effort to back the Canadian charity’s ongoing support of children with life-threatening illnesses like cancer or chronic diseases like alopecia that cause hair loss.

The announcement comes amidst a growing social media movement that calls for toymakers to create hairless dolls to emotionally comfort young girls and boys who suffer from, or have watched a family member suffer from, hair loss due to cancer treatments and other conditions.

“At MGA, our number one priority is to help kids have fun just being kids,” says Diane Goveia-Gordon, President of MGA Entertainment Canada. “We hope children and their families battling serious illnesses will find strength and inspiration from the new True Hope Bratz collection. Partnering with Starlight Children’s Foundation and Toys”R”Us, together we will work hard to bring more smiles, laughter and hope into the lives of children.”

MGA will also donate True Hope Bratz dolls to young patients in major children’s hospitals in Canada later this year.

“Toys”R”Us is proud to be the first retail destination in Canada for the True Hope Bratz dolls, which reflect the same courage and strength demonstrated by the thousands of Canadian children who are living with illnesses today,” says Kevin Macnab, President, Toys”R”Us, Canada. “As a long-time partner of Starlight Children’s Foundation, we are proud to partner with MGA Entertainment to help continue to support Canadian families and raise money to help in the fight against pediatric cancer and other illnesses that cause hair loss.”

Starlight Children’s Foundation Canada is an organization dedicated to improving the quality of life for children with chronic and life-threatening illnesses by providing entertainment, education and family activities that help them cope with the pain, fear and isolation of prolonged illness.

“At Starlight Children’s Foundation, our mission is to foster a sense of normalcy into the lives of young patients and their families,” says Christopher Barry, President of Starlight Children’s Foundation Canada. “True Hope Bratz are unique toys that will help bring inspiration, confidence and strength to young girls dealing with hair loss.”

With the release of Absolute Manage 6.1, the BYOD tasks required to enroll employees and their devices onto the corporate network have been automated for IT.  Rather than dealing with each device on an employee-by-employee basis, IT can rely on an automated workflow to guide the employee through the enrolment process.  This includes the presentation of a legal agreement the employee must accept in order to enroll their device, providing IT with the right to perform actions on the device in the event of a security incident or if the device status is non-compliant.

Absolute Manage 6.1 provides additional capabilities for ultra-portable devices including enhanced Mobile Application Management with the installation / removal of apps silently or by policy so that apps are installed or removed automatically based on device status and/or the user’s role within the organization. Other new mobile device capabilities include automated IT commands based on predefined conditions including turning off roaming, demoting a device to unmanaged status, alerting IT, and sending a message to the user.

“Given the rapid growth of tablets and smartphones in the workplace, BYOD is the biggest challenge facing IT organizations today,” states John Livingston, Chairman and CEO of Absolute Software. “Absolute Manage helps IT overcome this challenge by delivering a solution to manage the security risks associated with employee-owned devices accessing corporate networks and data.”

Along with the new, automated workflow, Absolute Software has created a BYOD Policy Implementation Guide that provides a thoughtful yet succinct process broken down into three basic steps so that organizations can easily build and launch their own BYOD policy.

“With Absolute Manage we have complete control and visibility over all of our devices. From a single console, we can securely manage all our devices, regardless of form factor or platform”, states Manuel Miseré head of IT for Serviceplan. “Absolute Manage provides a rich feature set for securely managing the PCs, Macs, and iOS devices within our deployment from around the globe. We are well prepared for our upcoming BYOD strategy with it.”

In addition, Absolute Manage 6.1 includes new features for PC and Mac support, including cross-platform remote control and detailed encryption status reporting to help organizations stay on-side with security regulations. It also brings Android support to parity with iOS, and is an example of our commitment to providing full cross platform support of all relevant platforms, for both corporate owned and individual devices.

Absolute Manage 6.1 is available today. For more information and to download the BYOD Policy Implementation Guide visit Absolute’s BYOD page.

The use of big data is becoming a leading means of competition and growth for companies. The new features within KnowledgeSEEKER and KnowledgeSTUDIO version 8.0 enhance companies’ ability to improve business processes and decisions by increasing the types and volume of data that can be analyzed. Data scientists are able to import and prepare massive amounts of data—both structured and unstructured—into memory with 64-bit addressing; and to perform in-database analytics using extremely large datasets and numbers of predictive variables so data can be mined and analyzed faster and more accurately.

Improving predictive analytics is always a goal and Angoss software suite version 8.0 continues this trend. Text analytics with KnowledgeSTUDIO can analyze unstructured data such as social media (blogs, tweets, forum posts and newsfeeds), call center logs, emails and other forms of communications. Angoss has partnered with Lexalytics®, the leading text and sentiment analysis engine provider, to perform text mining to extract themes and entities, and perform sentiment analysis. KnowledgeSTUDIO now allows you to merge this output of text analytics with structured, proprietary data and perform data mining and predictive analytics with additional predictive variables to accelerate your predictive and exploratory power.

“Text analytics is rapidly becoming mainstream as companies recognize that the majority of their data is unstructured, and by analyzing this text-based data they can become more competitive,” said Fern Halper, Partner, Hurwitz & Associates. “Angoss’ new text analytics capabilities will enable companies to merge the output of text analytics with Angoss’ data mining and predictive capabilities—which can be a very powerful combination. For example, companies looking to improve customer experience and retention can benefit from this combination. These are acute challenges in the financial services and telecommunications industries, among others.”

KnowledgeSEEKER and KnowledgeSTUDIO version 8.0 delivers increased productivity and efficiency with new data preparation capabilities. Data preparation and manipulation is made more efficient with new features that allow both business analysts and data scientists to easily import and connect multiple data sources directly in the software suite, and then use graphical wizards to transform the data for analysis—without the need to write code. Data preparation is made more efficient with menu driven operations that allow you to join, append, aggregate and remove duplicates for any dataset. For organizations with big data, all data preparation operations can be performed directly on data stored in their enterprise data warehouse using in-database analytics drivers.

Data mining productivity is also furthered with several usability improvements. Integration with existing database and analytics environments and rules engines now includes automatic code generation options for SQL Function in addition to the options for SAS, SPSS, PMML and Java code. Right-click menu options, ODBC and PMML import wizards, and improved interface labels are made more intuitive with time saving shortcuts for business users who are accustomed to working with desktop office applications.

“Companies that compete with analytics are looking to invest in analytical technologies that accelerate decision making and identify opportunities they can act on. These enhancements to Angoss’ software suite version 8.0 including the addition of text analytics and advances in big data analytics do just that,” remarked Martin Galligan, President and CEO of Angoss. “Some 80% of business-relevant information originates in unstructured, primarily text, form. Data can be mined faster and more accurately with these advances that increase both the types and volume of data that can be analyzed—with improved ease of use and efficiency. Angoss is committed to democratizing the use of advanced analytics with products designed to enable both knowledge workers and data analysts to rapidly solve their most pressing business problems.”

KnowledgeSEEKER and KnowledgeSTUDIO Version 8.0—Feature Highlights:

• Text Analytics – Integration with Lexalytics, the leading text and sentiment analysis engine, allows companies to perform text mining of unstructured data including social media to extract themes and entities, and perform sentiment analysis. Merge the output of text analytics with structured, proprietary data to perform data mining and predictive analytics with additional predictive variables for improved accuracy.
• Big Data Analytics – The In-Database Analytics module is now optimized for use with Oracle® databases. Teradata®, Microsoft® SQL Server and Netezza™ databases are also optimized for use in big data environments.
• In-Memory Analytics – 64-bit addressing of memory allows more data to be held in memory for analytic processing and increases the amount of data that can be loaded into KnowledgeSTUDIO.
• Data Preparation – Import and connect multiple data sources directly in the software suite and then use graphical wizards to transform the data for analysis without the need to write code. Data preparation operations are supported in-database and include removing duplicates; aggregation of data; joining and appending datasets; and generating dummy variables.
• SQL Function Code Generator – Automatic code generation options for SQL is added to trees, regression and cluster models. Synchronized code generation is enabled between Decisions Trees and Strategy Trees.
• ODBC Import Wizard – Users can easily create a connection string or access a DSN to access data stored in any database from multiple tables. Pick tables or views to import or connect to your data from multiple tables and import them all at once.

The company has a team dedicated to providing business customers across Canada with comprehensive meeting room solutions including a full range of audiovisual and conferencing products and services. As a SMART value-added dealer, TELUS can now provide business customers with the full range of Freestorm visual collaboration solutions, a set of comprehensive business products that combines industry-leading interactive displays, intuitive software and remote collaboration tools.

Freestorm solutions will complement TELUS’s existing collaboration portfolio and can be used in conjunction with other industry-leading manufacturers such as Polycom and Cisco, offering business customers a variety of comprehensive collaboration solutions. TELUS is currently incorporating SMART products in their corporate offices throughout Canada and in each of their six TELUS Innovation Centres located in Vancouver, Calgary, Edmonton, Toronto, Ottawa and Montreal. These advanced technology Innovation Centers are designed to demonstrate how TELUS’s collaboration solutions can transform businesses. TELUS representatives have received training on Freestorm solutions to ensure customers get the most out of their SMART products.

“We are pleased to be working with SMART to provide customers in Canada with comprehensive collaboration solutions for their workspaces,” says Tony Krueck, Vice President, Business Products & Services, TELUS. “Freestorm solutions allow us to make use of industry-leading interactive displays and are an ideal complement to our existing products, enabling us to offer customers the best possible options to meet their business needs.”

“SMART’s large-format interactive displays and SMART Meeting Pro^™ software are ideal for businesses as they combine interactivity with familiar meeting rooms tools, transforming virtually any space into a collaborative environment,” says Patric Nagel, Vice President, Americas, SMART Technologies. “TELUS is an ideal addition to our dealer network as they are a leading provider of videoconferencing and network services in Canada with an established professional sales force and a comprehensive collaboration portfolio.”

The Classical Kids series has sold more than 3 million copies worldwide since its debut in 1988 and revolutionized the way children, parents and educators approach classical music. Each composer’s music is presented in historical context, told through the eyes of a fictional child who leads listeners into the composer’s world. The “Teacher’s Notes” enhance the educational benefits of the stories, providing opportunities to incorporate them into home or classroom curriculum.

The original Classical Kids series, used by tens of thousands of K-8 students across North America, now includes illustrations and interactive tools, creating a robust educational app designed for the iPad and Smart Boards, for use in classrooms and at home. Along with the seven stories and companion teacher’s notes, the app includes an interactive audio recorder and metronome, quizzes with email support, password protection, a community forum and research links. Financial support for the development of the app was provided by the Ontario Media Development Corporation’s Music Fund and the Government of Canada through the Canada Music Fund.

This announcement represents the first time a bank and a wireless carrier have joined forces to offer a commercially available mobile payments solution to Canadians that leverages the secure SIM card inside an NFC-enabled Rogers smartphone. This new solution aligns to guidelines announced yesterday by the Canadian Bankers Association for mobile payments in Canada, as well as those developed by respected international associations such as the GSM Association (GSMA), the association of mobile operators and related companies dedicated to standardizing and supporting GSM technology.

“As the leader in delivering mobile financial services innovations in Canada, we are pleased to introduce yet another innovation in the market that will shape the payments experience of the future,” commented David Williamson, Senior Executive Vice President, Retail and Business Banking, CIBC. “By teaming with Rogers, CIBC clients will soon enjoy the convenience of paying at the checkout with their mobile device while enjoying the existing benefits of their CIBC credit card, including loyalty rewards.”

“Canadians are embracing new technologies at an accelerated pace and we know they’re interested in using their smartphone for mobile payments,” said Rob Bruce, President of Communications, Rogers Communications. “We’ve been laying the foundation for mobile commerce and the ecosystem is ready to give Canadians the convenience, security, and peace of mind they deserve,” said Bruce. “Today’s announcement with CIBC represents an important first step toward a whole new world of mobile transactions which is a key growth area for the company.”

Some of the key features of the new mobile payments solution include:

• Full access to a client’s existing CIBC credit cards on their smartphone at no extra cost – whether Visa or MasterCard – this gives clients the opportunity to earn loyalty points on purchases as they do today.
• Multiple layers of security – Paying with your NFC-enabled smartphone will be as secure as using your credit card today. Clients will receive the same fraud protection they do with their contactless credit card, and secure encryption technology will add to the layers of security already in place on credit card purchases. Clients will also have the option to set additional password protection.
• No “stickers” on your phone – this new payment capability will leverage the secure SIM card inside a mobile device for payments, meaning clients can manage their credit card credentials on a secure platform, and won’t need to worry about stickers attached to their phone.

This new CIBC mobile payments capability will be available on select BlackBerry® smartphones on the Rogers wireless network when the solution launches later this year, with additional device choices for clients available following launch.

MasterCard’s Mobile Payments Readiness Index ranks Canada ahead of the United States and second out of 34 countries.  A key finding emphasizes that partnerships among the key players in the mobile payments ecosystem – financial institutions, payment networks, telcos, governments, technology providers – are essential to accelerate the commercialization of mobile payments.

Today’s announcement builds on CIBC’s leadership position in delivering mobile innovations to clients. CIBC was the first bank in Canada to launch a mobile banking App in 2010, and more recently became the first bank in Canada to deliver an App that allows clients to trade stocks on their mobile device through the CIBC Mobile Brokerage App. The bank also offers the CIBC Home Advisor App, free to all Canadian homebuyers, giving them access to information about housing prices and other key neighbourhood data in an area they may be considering. CIBC was named “Best in Mobile Banking” globally by Global Finance magazine in 2011.

In 2002, Rogers launched its GSM wireless network, and last year was the first carrier in Canada to launch LTE, bringing the largest and fastest network and a global wireless standard to Canada. Today’s announcement builds on this foundation of world-class networks, Rogers history of innovation and mobile commerce expertise, specifically in the area of mobile proximity payments. Over the past six years, Rogers has worked with the GSM Association, including the “Pay-buy-Mobile” initiative to get industry standard payment cards – like MasterCard or Visa – on industry standard GSM devices. In the past year, the GSM Association further named Rogers as one of many operators worldwide committed to SIM-based NFC solutions and services.

“The GSMA congratulate CIBC and Rogers on the launch of their mobile NFC services and we look forward to many more markets following Canada’s lead in bringing exciting and interoperable NFC services to life,” said Anne Bouverot, Director General, GSMA. “This is the year when mobile NFC is set to take off and the GSMA will continue to support our members around the world who will be launching their mobile NFC services later this year.”

This video from Emergency Info, made using the Xtra Normal Text To Video service, demonstrates the three point plan you should follow in order to beat back the Zombies.

Also contained in the Preparedness information is the CDC-produced graphic novel Preparedness 101: Zombie Pandemic. I hope that those employed by the CDC have read this publication, because we all know how the CDC fares in that altruistic documentary The Walking Dead.

Complete with a guest blog that highlights the many benefits to being prepared, the Zombie Attack Preparedness initiative contains important links to information citizens will need to know, such as emergency shelters and a list of items you should have in even the most basic of emergency kits (see Day Two for the list).

It’s good to see the Government is not only admitting to the existence of Zombies, it is helping citizens to be prepared, because this is Zombie Attack Preparedness Week (for those who weren’t aware of that fact).

Of course, to be totally prepared, you also need to get yourself one of these babies, which we first told you about earlier this month. With your Zombie Attack Emergency Plan, Kit and Truck, you should be good to go.

Replete with the authentic political intrigue and complex narrative the acclaimed fantasy series is known for, this captivating interactive adventure gives fans a new and exciting way to lose themselves in the world of Westeros.  With an original story written under the watchful eye of George R. R. Martin, who recently stated, “I’ve sampled the work Cyanide has done, and I’m largely happy with it. I think many of my fans will share that feeling,” the “Game of Thrones” RPG is filled with characters and locations straight from the pages of the beloved fantasy novels.  Moreover, the game includes the likenesses of fan favorite characters from the television adaptation.  “Game of Thrones” promises to deliver the ultimate interactive roleplaying experience for fans of the series and its gritty, sophisticated medieval drama.

“Author George R. R. Martin’s masterful storytelling have helped make the A Song of Ice and Fire universe into one of the most heralded literary series of all time,” commented Tim Pivnicny, Vice President of Sales and Marketing at ATLUS.  “With the official ‘Game of Thrones’ roleplaying game, fans can discover a story crafted under Mr. Martin’s supervision, loyal and respectful to series canon yet full of new characters and locations as well.  It’s one thing to read about or watch the towering majesty and bitter cold of The Wall or the alleyways and daunting Throne Room of King’s Landing, but playing is believing!”

This title is rated M for Mature by the ESRB.

The best way to gain access to the Beta Weekend is to pre-order ‘The Secret World’. This grants access to all Beta Weekends leading up to launch. Funcom is also teaming up with major websites all over Europe this week to conduct a massive giveaway of keys for this weekend only, and this is a great way for gamers to have a look at the game before pre-ordering.

Sites running this exclusive giveaway include Buffed (DE), JeuxVideo (FR), PC Gamer (UK), Gamer (NO), Daily Rush (DK), Fragzone (SE) and Peliplaneetta(FI). Gamers in North America can get a key from the major MMO gaming site Curse. Visit the game’s official website for a complete list of partners.

The Cavechild (a.k.a. WTF Pysko) shares some thoughts on his first look at The Secret World – he also has several gameplay videos on his YouTube channel.

Funcom executed a successful first Beta Weekend from May 11^th to May 13^th, both in terms of player numbers, feedback and technical stability on both client and server side. The company is also encouraged by the fact that this Beta weekend saw higher player numbers, longer play-times and higher return visits than for beta week-ends conducted for its previous MMO, “Age of Conan”. Funcom also teamed up with the world’s largest gaming site GameSpot to bring thousands of keys for the first Beta Weekend to its readers. During the Beta Weekend ‘The Secret World’ featured as the most popular game overall on the site, and as of today the game has a higher number of active followers on GameSpot than any other massively multiplayer online game in development.

“The results from the first Beta Weekend are very encouraging,” says Funcom CEO Trond Arne Aas. “The majority of the feedback we have received from players is very positive, and also looking at it from a development perspective the Beta Weekend was undoubtedly a major success for the company.”

The international gaming press has also been playing ‘The Secret World’ for the past week, and many of them have provided their impressions. Leading gaming site GamesRadar says in their preview that they have “…just started to scratch the surface of ‘The Secret World’, and already, we’re awfully impressed.” Leading MMO site ZAM says in their preview that “… ‘The Secret World’ is a tremendously immersive experience that will invite you in to stay.”

Players must use logic to solve puzzles, quests, brain-teasers, and mini-games to rid the city of the wicked Black Cap Brotherhood robots. Gorgeous hand-drawn graphics and animations bring the robot’s story to life, using unique comic bubbles and symbols to convey the plot.

Machinarium is available now on Google Play, and will be released this week on Barnes & Noble’s critically acclaimed NOOK Tablet™ and NOOK Color™, with all versions priced $3.99. The game will also be available through the Amazon Appstore for Android later this month. The game is compatible with Android tablet devices and a selection of large-screen Android phones.

On a complete aside, I got the chance to play Hothead’s upcoming title Zombie Ace last Thursday in what was a world-wide first-look press exclusive. Zombie Ace is a side-scrolling shooter, in which your character is flying an old war plane. The object of the game is to shoot down enemies, gather ammunition and collect coins. You also must land in cities and towns to refuel. The game’s graphics look great, and everything was very smooth. The only problem I found is that the text was a bit too small for me to read, even with my glasses on, however I imagine it would be easier to read on a tablet versus the iPhone I playing the game on. That said, Zombie Ace does look like a fun game to play, and sources say it will possibly be available later this month.

Forrester’s report takes a comprehensive look inside the Digital Asset Management (DAM) market, describing its evolution from a niche component of enterprise content management (ECM), to one that supports multiple types of rich media content across multiple channels as online needs increase. The report states that DAM is no longer viewed as a siloed solution; its role in supporting persuasive content makes it an important part of the new set of CXM solutions.

According to the report, OpenText is an ECM vendor with an emerging CXM vision. It states that OpenText’s Media Management product has impressive functionality – particularly its support for collaboration, taxonomy, and search. Its strategic vision is particularly aided by its growing portfolio of CXM solutions and partnerships, including its WCM product, OpenText Web Experience Management, as well as a partnership with SAP (offering a DAM integration for SAP’s CRM solution). Strategically, OpenText has begun to expand DAM’s role in the CXM solution set by offering both an on-premises solution (the version evaluated in this report) and a lighter-weight SaaS solution in order to address various levels of need.

“OpenText is acting on a powerful and independently validated vision for OpenText Media Management that is aimed directly at equipping our customers with comprehensive Customer Experience Management solutions,” said James Latham, Chief Marketing Officer for OpenText. “We believe OpenText’s recognition as a Leader in this report demonstrates our drive for solutions that support information exchange within organizations to help them securely and successfully engage with customers, employees and partners, and support social collaboration.”

OpenText recently announced OpenText Global Brand Management, a new solution that empowers marketing professionals by giving them the tools to deliver a compelling and consistent brand presence across multiple channels worldwide.

OpenText Global Brand Management allows an entire organization to produce, use, and publish digital media and automate the associated processes. The solution provides enterprise-wide workflow to improve productivity and enrich user experience with faceted and expert search, enabling users to drill down and find assets more quickly.

An integral part of Global Brand Management, OpenText Media Management integrates rich media for web, video, online, print and mobile throughout the enterprise, connecting people and processes and technology from multiple production and creative environments in a secure and scalable digital asset management ecosystem.

Additionally, OpenText Media Management helps to orchestrate processes and collaborative workflows to extend and amplify the rich media lifecycle enriching the overall customer experience. Integrated technology, workflow and solutions publish and deliver content to internal and external distribution points enabling digital media on any channel, platform, or device.

“Our experience with the introduction of premium credit cards saw massive new fees for business with zero consultation and widespread confusion for merchants,” said Dan Kelly, senior vice-president of legislative affairs for the Canadian Federation of Independent Business (CFIB).  “While we are pleased that the industry is actively reaching out to small business and welcome the new guidelines for mobile payments, we remain worried that another fee-palooza will soon hit merchants.”

CFIB will be watching closely to see if card processors add another set of fees to process mobile transactions in the short term.  In addition, the creation of mobile wallets adds the possibility of pushing transactions to the highest possible fee option.

CFIB is very pleased that Finance Minister Flaherty has indicated that he will soon implement a payments advisory committee and consider changes to the Code of Conduct for the Credit and Debit Card Industry to address mobile issues. “The Code of Conduct has been a strong and nimble tool to address industry issues and CFIB is already developing amendments to ensure it helps address emerging mobile and electronic payments,” Kelly concluded.

The Indigo Love of Reading Foundation was established to ensure all elementary school children have easy access through their very own school library to the most essential learning tool, books. Since its inception in 2004, the Foundation has donated $13 million to schools in need across the country, providing access to more than 1,000,000 books for 36,000 children.

“We all have childhood memories of finding that special book that we loved and just couldn’t put down.  Books have the unique ability to inform, educate and entertain children, encouraging ideas and points of reference that last a lifetime,” said Heather Reisman, Chair of the Indigo Love of Reading Foundation. “An absence of books leaves a void in a child’s development.”

Acclaimed Kids Can Press children’s author and Scaredy Squirrel creator, Mélanie Watt agrees: ”Children need to have access to books to fulfill their potential. Books are the ultimate tool for stimulating young minds while strengthening the imagination.”  Watt is also the author and illustrator of the Chester and Learning with Animals series and has lent her voice to the Indigo Love of Reading Foundation to announce the expansion of the program in partnership with First Book Canada.

This year, in addition to Literacy Fund grants, the Foundation has partnered with First Book Canada, an organization that works with publishers to supply overstock books to schools in need, to put even more books in the hands of Canadian children.  Twenty additional in-need elementary schools will benefit from 17,000 books to be provided by the organization and its partners, Kids Can Press and Penguin Canada.

“It all starts with getting books into the hands of young readers,” said Tom Best, Executive Director of First Book Canada. “Learning to read is critical to a child’s success – both in school and in life. Literacy is one of the best predictors of a child’s future success. But a child without access to books won’t have the chance to become an engaged and capable reader.”

Congratulations to the 2012 Indigo Love of Reading Foundation Literacy Fund grant recipients!

The recipients of this year’s Love of Reading Grants were advised of their achievement via personal calls from Ms. Reisman.

Although many educators and literacy advocates were left speechless and moved to tears on hearing of their successful grant applications, Susan Yun, Principal at Parkdale Junior and Senior Public School in Toronto said it best when she noted, “This is going to be huge. It’s going to make a huge difference. [This grant] is giving our children a future.” With a school population of more than 730 students, Parkdale received the largest single grant of $195,000 ever awarded through the Indigo Love of Reading Foundation.

All 20 new schools receiving 2012 Literacy Fund grants from the Indigo Love of Reading Foundation demonstrated in their applications a clear commitment to nurturing a well-grounded future generation through advancing children’s literacy. Based on school populations, grants of up to $195,000 have been awarded to each school. This year’s recipient schools are:

Schools interested in applying for 2013 Indigo Love of Reading Foundation Literacy Fund Grants can download an application from the website. A new application will be available for download in the Fall of 2012.

“We are thrilled to bring a popular brand like ‘Are You Smarter Than A 5th Grader?’ to the App Store,” said Alex Thabet, Founder and CEO of Ludia Inc. “This is an academically challenging multiplayer game that recreates the feeling of being back in the classroom and guarantees hours of fun for the whole family.”

In the game, up to seven contestants compete to answer eight multiple choice questions pooled from different school academic subjects, including favorites like Art, World Geography, U.S. History, Math and Languages. Each question is assigned a dollar value, which is then multiplied by the number of players who could not get the correct answer. The player who finishes first gets free access to the ‘Bonus 5th Grade Question’ for a chance to double their winnings.

Are You Smarter Than A 5th Grader? iOS features:

• Live multiplayer gameplay with friends and other Are You Smarter Than A 5th Grader? fans
• Ability to follow personal and friends’ progress via daily high score rankings
• Ability to challenge your friends, family, and the larger community, with built-in social features
• Favorite elements from the Are You Smarter Than A 5th Grader? TV show, including thousands of questions, authentic theme music and the familiar classroom setting
• The ability to choose Facebook friends as ‘cheats’ if stuck on a question and ‘copy’ off them

The Are You Smarter Than A 5th Grader? App is available for free from the App Store and is rated 4+. The app is compatible with Compatible with iPhone 3GS, iPhone 4, iPhone 4S, iPod touch (3rd generation), iPod touch (4th generation) and iPad devices running iOS 4.0 or later.

Top In-App Purchases:

1. small pack of Stars $0.99
2. medium pack of Stars $4.99
3. big pack of Stars $9.99
4. mega pack of Stars $39.99
5. huge pack of Stars $19.99

Ablonczy explained that RIBIN will help CARICOM (Caribbean Community) Member States identify and track bullet casings through ballistic identification and information sharing. She believes that the RIBIN the network will lead to more successful investigations and prosecutions for crimes committed with firearms.

“Security issues in the Caribbean are of great concern to Canada, and have an impact throughout the hemisphere,” said Minister of State Ablonczy. “Transnational criminal activity not only undermines democracy, prosperity and the rule of law within our hemisphere, but also affects the safety of Canadians and the security of Canadian interests at home and in the region. Insecurity in the hemisphere affects us all; so it is also true that improved security will benefit us all.”

The Canadian Government is providing $2 million and is funded by the Foreign Affairs and International Trade Canada’s Anti-Crime Capacity Building Program (ACCBP). The ACCBP supports countries in the Americas to prevent and respond to threats posed by transnational organized criminal networks operating throughout the western hemisphere.

The IBIS TRAX-3D systems are being implemented by Forensic Technology Inc., Regional Security System of the Eastern Caribbean, and the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime Justice Section and were deployed in January, 2012.

“IBIS TRAX-3D is an excellent tool for helping police link firearm crimes and identify suspects. As more Caribbean countries join RIBIN, more evidence of transnational crime is gathered, thereby enriching the network and providing more investigative leads for police,” said Robert Walsh, President of Forensic Technology Inc. “We are honoured that the Canadian government and the Department Foreign Affairs and International Trade have entrusted us to help CARICOM Member States in a way that will truly make a difference.”

On behalf of credit unions, Canadian Central worked with other Canadian financial institutions to create a set of voluntary guidelines called the Mobile Reference Model (PDF), which provide a framework for how mobile payment capabilities can work with existing payment systems, ensure fair competition among market participants, and outline how market participants can work with existing, secure contactless payment technology already in place today.

“Credit union members, like all Canadians, are eager to be able to use their mobile devices to make payments and the Mobile Reference Model is the first step toward making this an everyday reality,” explained Oscar van der Meer, Chief Technology and Payments Officer, Central 1 Credit Union.

Canadian Central, along with expert resources from within the credit union system, has actively participated in this industry initiative on behalf of Canadian credit unions since October, 2011.

“The credit union system’s success has depended on – and will continue to depend on – collaboration, and it is exciting to see the financial services industry working together to enable payments innovation in Canada,” added David Phillips, president and CEO, Credit Union Central of Canada. “This approach to mobile payment technology represents an opportunity for the credit union system to leverage current implementation plans for contactless payments technology within Canada to deliver a new competitive payments solution to our members.”

During the forum entitled “Survive the Battlefield with a Winning Business Model as Technology and Content Collide,” scheduled for 9:30 a.m. on June 6, Hutchins will oversee a panel of industry experts as they discuss effective business models for delivering multiplatform video content.

“I’m honored to moderate a panel discussion that includes well-respected industry leaders from Endemol, NBC Universal, and LG Electronics,” said Hutchins. “During this informative session, we’ll examine ways that broadcasters, content providers, and manufacturers can deliver more interactive, branded services across a variety of devices.”

At 9:30 a.m. on June 7, De Silva will deliver a presentation entitled “Standards that will Drive Video Applications and Cloud Services on Connected TVs.” The lecture will provide an overview of the Web and broadcast standards vital to the proliferation of OTT content.

“Content creators and consumer electronics manufacturers are laser-focused on delivering connected devices to meet the ever growing consumer demand for OTT video services. The industry is looking to new standards — such as HTML5 and open-source Web rendering engines such as WebKit — to ensure a superior consumer OTT video experience,” said De Silva. “My presentation will provide useful, real-world strategies and insights to ease the delivery of value-added services for rich interactive content, while ensuring high quality, security, and scalability across devices.”

Prior to joining Espial, De Silva held software development roles at Corel and Entrust. With a Bachelor of Computer Science degree from Carleton University in Ottawa, he is an acknowledged expert in digital television technology.

Hutchins has held marketing positions at Research In Motion, Nortel Networks, and QNX Software Systems. He has a Bachelor of Engineering and a Bachelor of Mathematics degree from Dalhousie University.

“We owe a debt to the visionaries who set up .CA in the 1980s,” explained CIRA’s President and CEO Byron Holland. “While many people today may take the Internet for granted, the fact is, without the foresight of people like John Demco, the Internet might not have developed as we now know it.”

In 1987, the Internet was a very different entity. Very few Canadians were online, and until 1990 only governments and the academic community were able to register .CA domains. The very first .CA domain name was registered to the University of Prince Edward Island in 1988. Today, .CA is an integral part of the Canadian economic and social landscape.

From 1987 to 2000, the volunteers at UBC registered almost 60,000 domain names. Now with more than 1.9 million domain names registered, .CA is the world’s 14th-largest domain registry, and it has the fourth-highest growth rate over the past five years.

Research conducted by CIRA suggests that:

• The .CA domain is viewed as being safe, secure and trusted.
• Canadians value .CA, with 88 per cent of Internet users seeing it as an important resource for Canadians.
• Forty-nine per cent of Canadian Internet users say they are proud to be Canadian and feel a personal connection to the .CA domain extension.

“The growth in both the size of the registry and in the role .CA plays in Canadians’ lives bodes well for the next 25 years of .CA,” said Holland. “As we move more and more of our lives online, .CA is becoming the ‘flag on the virtual backpack’ for hundreds of thousands of Canadians.”

With just a few taps on an iPhone, in the heart of Montreal, the user can order a cab and specify the desired method of payment, the type of vehicle required, or whether room is needed to transport oversized luggage or pets. Most importantly, the application allows the user to rate the ride, namely the driver’s courtesy and driving, as well as the car’s cleanliness.

“We put the user at the heart of the taxi experience,” explains Patrick Gagné, president of TAG taxi™. “We offer a new service to order taxis, which allows for feedback and gives people the possibility to have their say. The TAG taxi™ application becomes a travel-mate for the urbanite in his or her daily commute and a chance to enrich that experience.”

With TAG taxi™, the cab takes back its rightful place in the multi-platform urban transportation menu. Getting around becomes an easy thing. The taxi is complementary to public transit options and proves to be a valid alternative mode of shared transportation.

“Taxi Coop has become TAG taxi™ partner to better adapt to the needs of Montrealers and ease their commute thanks to mobile technology,” announces Laval Bilodeau, president of Taxi Coop de Montréal. “The iPhone application lets us enter orders directly into our taxis’ GPS system, easing the transmission process of client requests. The application also lets users see the estimated arrival times and follow the cab’s progress in real-time. Finally, the rating of rides by passengers will allow us to constantly improve our service.”

TAG taxi™ representatives are currently discussing partnerships with other actors in the taxi industry. In the coming months TAG taxi™ will be offered in other North American cities.

“The Government of Canada is committed to creating jobs, growth and long-term prosperity for southern Ontario,” said MP Young. “By helping encourage greater angel investment in the innovations of entrepreneurs in our region, we are strengthening relationships between start-up companies, investors and our government, and equipping businesses with the tools they need to succeed. This will help drive innovation in southern Ontario, for the benefit of our people, businesses and communities.”

Angel One Investor Network is a not-for-profit angel network based in Oakville, Ontario. The group aims to develop a strong base of active angel investors to respond to the funding needs of early-stage, entrepreneurial companies in the Oakville, Burlington and Hamilton areas that are working to commercialize innovative technologies.

Under FedDev Ontario’s Investing in Business Innovation initiative, Angel One Investor Network will receive up to $50,000 to expand its membership base and increase its pool of angel investors through outreach activities such as recruiting and training seminars, a web site and other promotional tools. The group is aiming to increase its investor group from the current 11 members to a total of 40 members.

“The introduction of a formal angel organization in the region is expanding the investing breadth and depth of the local investors. Angel investing has become an important component in the effective commercialization of innovation,” said Karen Grant, executive director of Angel One Investor Network. “Individually and in groups Angel investors fund at least $1.9 billion a year in Canada, complementing the $871 million invested by venture capital in early-stage companies.”

In developing this framework, the CMF has set-out to attain the following objectives:

1. Define a standard set of digital media performance metrics and key performance indicators (KPI) that would apply to all CMF programs.
2. Meet requirements from the Department of Canadian Heritage to report on audience and usage of digital media projects
3. Establish the bases for developing weighting factors that apply to digital media performance measurement, and which would ultimately serve to calculate performance envelopes.

“This is a solid first step in establishing a unified approach to digital media performance measurement,” says Valerie Creighton, President and CEO.  “By working with a national advisory committee composed of 32 industry stakeholders from digital production, producers’ associations, broadcasters, and other funding bodies, the CMF was able to develop an effective and sustainable framework that will set a new standard of digital media reporting. We wish to thank all who have contributed their time, expertise and ideas to make this achievement possible.”

The Digital Media Performance Measurement Framework is applicable to all digital media components funded through the Convergent Stream (excluding TV and VOD) and all projects funded through the Experimental Stream. In addition, producers of funded projects will have access to an online reporting form to report on audience and consumption data for funded projects.

Details on the Digital Media Performance Measurement Framework are available on the CMF website.  A section of the CMF online forum will be dedicated to this framework, allowing stakeholders to share comments and ask questions.

In case you haven’t heard, InvestinTech’s latest Sonic version sports a new and streamlined graphical user interface that makes PDF handling and manipulation more efficient. The handy new sidebar boosts your productivity by letting you access custom settings directly within the same window.

In addition, Sonic’s  main features have gotten major performance tweaks. Creating, securing, and editing PDFs with this latest version is faster and better than ever. Sonic allows you to easily generate a full-featured PDF document every time.

You also get an enhanced PDF viewing experience.  Sonic’s PDF viewer technology has been improved, and the new layout for its viewing controls lets you  zoom, navigate, and interact with your PDF content more intuitively. Sonic provides you with a smooth, high quality display of PDF graphics and textual content each time you open a PDF file.

Sound like something you could use?

To get set up with your free license,

1. Go to the Giveaway tab on the Investintech Facebook fanpage
2. Unlock the giveaway form by hitting the Like button (the form is automatically unlocked if you’re already a fan)
3. You should then be able to see an automatically generated keycode for Sonic PDF Creator.  Copy that keycode and then click on the link below
4. Paste the code into the field provided on the giveaway banner that appears.  Then click on the Download button

Your download should start immediately, and once it’s done, you should have Sonic PDF Creator successfully installed on your computer.

That’s basically all you have to do to start creating and editing PDFs whenever you want.  Nothing more, nothing less. It’s that easy!

Anyone with a Facebook account can take advantage of this offer, so don’t forget to spread the word – this giveaway available for a limited time only.

Separately, two of the best-selling Wii games of all time will be getting new prices: Super Smash Bros. Brawl and Donkey Kong Country Returns each will be available at a suggested retail price of $29.99. The value pricing provides shoppers with a great way to expand their game collections with some of the hottest Wii games around.

Pikmin 2 has updated controls optimized for the Wii console as players help brave Captain Olimar and his assistant, Louie, salvage treasures and return them to their home planet. In addition to the original red, blue and yellow Pikmin from the first game, players can also take command of purple and white Pikmin, creating a wealth of new strategic options. Additionally, Pikmin 2 features a frantic, two-player split-screen multiplayer battle mode, for which additional accessories are required and are sold separately.

Mario Power Tennis lets players power up their tennis game by swinging the Wii Remote to smack powerful forehands and backhands. Players can take on the role of their favourite Mushroom Kingdom characters and play on imaginative courts not possible in the real world, including a court littered with Mario-style power-ups. As players win tournaments, clear minigames or challenge Gimmick Courts, they unlock new characters, courts and challenges. Up to four players can compete in wild multiplayer action.

The fan-favourite Super Smash Bros. Brawl features dozens of characters from numerous Nintendo games and franchises in a battle royale. Up to four players can battle in the same room or over a broadband Internet connection. To date the game has sold nearly 5.5 million in the United States alone.

Donkey Kong Country Returns is a new take on the classic platforming, barrel-blasting and banana-hoarding franchise. The game features the first simultaneous cooperative game-play mode for the series, allowing both novice and skilled players to play the game together. Players run, jump, climb and defeat enemies through diverse environments until they retrieve Donkey Kong’s stolen banana hoard. The game has sold more than 2.5 million in the United States.

Other games in the Nintendo Selects collection include Mario Strikers Charged and Punch-Out!!, both developed by Next Level Games, along with Super Mario Galaxy, Super Paper Mario, Wii Sports, The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess, Animal Crossing: City Folk and Mario Super Sluggers.