Village Gamer

Intertainment Media Inc. has announced that its social media, real time, language translation platform Ortsbo has entered into an agreement with two-time NBA MVP Steve Nash to become an official spokesperson for Ortsbo. Leading Ortsbo’s global sports fan program, Nash will present and participate in a number of online fan chats with international athletes from a number of sports disciplines. Business partners Gene Simmons and Richard Abramson were instrumental in the introduction and facilitation of the business agreement with Nash’s representatives, BDA Sports Management.

Ortsbo will seek to engage Nash’s considerable influence and social media presence to help spread the word about Ortsbo’s unique, translator experience platform that integrates seamlessly with the most popular social media platforms to enable users from around the world to instantly send and receive messages in their native language.

“With the growth of social media and the increased access to technology, the world has become more inclusive. Language is one of the last remaining obstacles to uniting our different cultures and perspectives and Ortsbo bridges that divide, bringing us all closer together,” said Nash. “I am excited to be associated with Intertainment and with Ortsbo.”

In addition to Steve Nash, Ortsbo has announced a business partnership and spokesperson agreement with rock legend and global entrepreneur, Gene Simmons. Ortsbo, together with KISS co-founders Gene Simmons and Paul Stanley, will be hosting the world’s first interactive global fan chat in 53 languages – KISS Live & Global on May 20, 2011 at 7:30 am Pacific.

The Ortsbo platform eliminates the need to cut/copy and paste text into a translator by automatically translating typed text into the specified language instantly, unlike typical translation software. Users simply indicate the desired language for their intended recipient and Ortsbo does the rest. Ortsbo even lets users conduct multiple chat sessions simultaneously across multiple social networks in multiple languages in real time.

Free for consumers to use, Ortsbo.com is ideal for both personal/social communications, allowing users to chat with friends and family around the world or around the neighborhood, and for business communications. Global colleagues can use Ortsbo to collaborate and chat about projects in their native language for faster and more efficient communication that reduces the risk of misunderstanding due to translation errors.

“We are very excited to have the opportunity to work with Steve Nash. Steve opens Ortsbo to the global sports arena where the challenge of fans and athletes speaking different languages can pose a significant obstacle in achieving global connectivity and consciousness,” said David Lucatch, President of Ortsbo Inc. and Intertainment CEO. “Ortsbo’s quick and easy automatic translation helps both consumers and businesses eliminate these barriers allowing people to interact and communicate freely regardless of the language they speak.”

Ortsbo is in the process of releasing its first beta application for mobile phones – Ortsbo for iPhone. Other Ortsbo mobile phones and portable computing apps, including apps for Android, Apple, Windows Phone, BlackBerry and tablet computers are scheduled to begin launching Summer 2011.

For businesses, Ortsbo provides multi-lingual global communications solutions via RSS, API solutions, private chat networks and custom services allowing organizations to provide seamless communications with their constituents.

Ortsbo will be launching its instant email translation plug-in Ortsbo for Outlook or “O4O” for the world’s largest email platform, Microsoft Outlook. Ortsbo will initially make up to 10 Million copies of O4O available on a global basis to consumers and businesses on an introductory basis from mid June through mid September 2011.

Participants and viewers of KISS Live & Global on May 20^th will get a sneak peek at the O4O software and user bonus program, Ortsbo Cruise Into Translation that will feature a host of exclusive prizes including major VIP packages. Pricing packages for Ortsbo for Outlook (O4O) will be announced at the event.

TRAC Records, Inc., a records management consulting firm based in New Westminster, has launched its DIY Records Management Series with the release of two new books. The books will focus on two important aspects of records management: records retention and file classification. Both titles, “DIY Records Retention & Disposition Schedule Workbook” and “DIY Functional File Classification System Workbook” are now available for purchase on the company’s web site, and for a limited time, TRAC Records will also provide one free hour of phone support with the purchase of the books.

Vice President Patricia Beelby said that the series was designed for organizations that have pressing records management needs but cannot afford to hire consultants.

“Much of the work in developing file plans and records retention schedules is labour intensive. We were frustrated that we couldn’t help organizations who didn’t have the consulting funds. This approach is for them,” she said.

The series will serve as a step-by-step guide to managing records in an efficient, cost-effective manner, and will explain the many legal requirements on how long to keep records. Many organizations often misunderstand these regulations and don’t have a proper retention strategy in place. In August 2010, a Symantec Corp study found that “Most enterprises (87%) believe a proper information retention strategy should allow them to delete unnecessary information. However, less than half (46%) actually have a formal information retention plan in place.”

Barrister and solicitor Gale Prestash said that TRAC Records’ new series will help organizations make better use of their legal budgets, regardless of their jurisdiction.

“They can do more for themselves in designing systems that comply with ongoing legal records requirements, and reduce their costs in the event of litigation,” Prestash said.

Marcel Roy, TRAC Records’ president, said that these books are the first in the field to use mind maps.

“In my forty years of records management experience, I’ve always struggled with getting clients to understand file plans and retention schedules,” he said. “Once I started using of mind maps, they completely understood what I was doing.”

Roy and Beelby will be presenting on mind mapping in records management at the Association of Records Managers and Administrators (ARMA) Canada conference June 6, 2011 in Charlottetown, PEI.

Absolute^® Software Corporation has announced that its commercial and consumer products, Computrace^® and LoJack^® for Laptops, have achieved a record number of more than 600 recoveries in the month of March 2011. Using persistence technology, combined with its team of skilled investigators and relationships with local law enforcement agencies, Absolute has reached nearly 20,000 successful mobile device recoveries for organizational and consumer customers.

“Organizations and consumers alike are concerned when it comes to protecting their laptops and the valuable data on them. When it comes to a solution to this growing security concern, customers depend on Absolute’s patented persistence technology combined with the years of experience and knowledge of our Theft Recovery Team, ” said Lyle Singular, Vice President of Recovery Services, Absolute Software. “After 17 years in the industry, we are proud to have helped customers around the globe recover their stolen laptops, recover and protect their invaluable personal data, deter theft in their environment, modify their security policies based on intelligence we provide, and contribute to safer communities by identifying criminals. It is due to these aspects of our services that we have become essential to our customers, and that we continue to generate more than 75% of our sales from existing customers.”

Since 2005 with the launch of our firmware-embedded technology with major PC OEM manufacturers and continued feature enhancements, Absolute has become the standard for device and data security as theft recovery is an essential element to protecting devices. Additionally, data obtained during the recovery process provides law enforcement agencies with the intelligence needed to return stolen mobile devices and, in some cases, pursue further criminal investigations. As a result, Absolute has successfully enabled recovered nearly 20,000 stolen laptops for customers in more than 75 countries. In 2010 alone, this amounted to the retrieval of more than $6 million dollars in assets and the arrest of 505 suspects.

Based on the intelligence gathered by the Absolute Theft Recovery Team, automobiles are one of the top locations for laptop theft. Our customers have used information such as this to helping them to set the right security policies, making their environments more secure. Guy Louthian, of Columbia, South Carolina, experienced this firsthand when he returned to his car to find that it had been broken into and his Dell laptop was stolen. After filing a theft report with his local police department, he also reported his laptop as stolen to Absolute, allowing the Theft Recovery Team to begin working to track and recover the device immediately.

According to Louthian, “My stolen laptop had been wiped clean, but luckily LoJack for Laptops was still intact and working.” Because persistence is a key feature of LoJack for Laptops, if the software is maliciously removed from a user’s hard drive, it can silently reinstall itself so that Absolute can continue to track the stolen device. For Louthian, that made the difference. As a result, police tracked down his laptop and recovered it—in another state. “The investigator assigned to my case stated hands down that LoJack for Laptops is the best recovery technology available. It is pennies compared to the cost of replacing a laptop,” said Louthian.

Cyber criminals are on the move again, and Canada is the preferred relocation haven. American-based internet security company Websense, Inc. recently conducted an analysis of Canada’s cyber security risk profile, and all trends pointed to Canada as the new launch pad for cyber criminals. IP addresses in China and Eastern Europe are highly scrutinized and undergoing intense evaluation. Hackers react by moving their networks to countries like Canada that have cleaner cyber reputations.

“Cyber crime in Canada is increasing,” said Fiaaz Walji, Canadian country manager for Websense. “Businesses today need to be able to defend against this new assault. A solution that provides content security and combines email, Web, and DLP security is key to fending off these modern threats, which often bypass traditional perimeter and endpoint security.”

According to the study, Canada saw a huge increase in the number of servers hosting phishing sites, jumping 319 percent in the last year. This tremendous increase over the last 12 months is second only to Egypt in terms of the growth of sites hosting phishing – but the US is still at number 1. Below is the breakdown:

1. USA – 2. Canada – 3. Egypt – 4. Germany – 5. UK – 6. Netherlands – 7. Russia – 8. South Korea – 9. France – 10. Brazil

“More malicious content is being hosted in Canada than ever before,” said Patrik Runald, senior manager of Security Research, Websense. “Cyber criminals are taking advantage of Canada’s clean cyber reputation, and moving shop. We’re seeing all time highs for both hosted phishing sites and bot networks. It is important for Canadian citizens to be extra vigilant on the Internet, taking extra precautions when clicking on links.”

Cyber criminals are moving their command and control centers to safer grounds. In the past eight months, Canada saw a 53 percent increase in bot networks. Canada is the only country that showed an increase in bot networks over the last eight months, when compared to the countries above. Overall increase in cyber crime – In 2010 Canada was #13 in the world for hosting cyber crime, and in 2011 Canada jumped to #6, while the USA remains in the #1 spot on both charts.  Read the rest of this entry »

Empire Theatres, a Canada-wide film exhibition company with 50 theatres, and IMAX Corp. have announced that Empire Theatres will be adding three new IMAX digital theatres to its network this year. In addition to an existing location in Halifax, the following theatres in the Empire Theatres network have been chosen to deliver The IMAX Experience^®:

Empire Theatres Country Hills, Calgary
Empire Theatres Kitchener, Kitchener
Empire Theatres Avalon Mall, St. John’s

The Empire Theatres Bayers Lake, Halifax IMAX screen will be converted from film to digital projection to allow for a greater range of IMAX blockbuster hits to be shown.

“We are excited to partner once again with IMAX Corporation to bring The IMAX Experience^® to our theatres in these markets,” says Dean Leland, Vice President, Studio & Media Relations, Empire Theatres. “IMAX delivers premium viewing experiences in both digital and 3D that our guests are looking for.”

“Today’s announcement highlights our commitment to expanding in the Canadian market, and to continuing our successful work with key partners like Empire Theatres,” said IMAX CEO Richard L. Gelfond. “With these three new systems, we are scheduled to have 22 commercial theatres operating in Canada by November, more than double the size of our Canadian commercial theatre network as of November 2010.”

The Empire Theatres Country Hills, Empire Theatres Kitchener and Empire Theatres Bayers Lake locations will be open for Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2: An IMAX 3D Experience on July 15, 2011. The Empire Theatres Avalon Mall, NL location will be open in September 2011.

For those who don’t already have the original game and all of the DLC, 505 Games and developer Behaviour Interactive announced today that Naughty Bear Gold is available now for Xbox 360® and the PlayStation®3. Naughty Bear Gold combines the original game in all its glory, along with all the downloadable content in one adorably brutal package.

Naughty Bear Gold will include the original Naughty Bear game, which followed the titular “hero” as he cut his way through the cuddly denizens of Perfection Island, getting his bloody revenge for the ways in which they wronged him (namely, failing to invite him to a birthday party). Additionally, Naughty Bear Gold will feature the three downloadable content packs with episodes 8 through 10, which sees Naughty through a host of new misadventures against such foes as pirates, comic book superheroes, and of course vampire bears and zombears.

The added DLC packs ($25 value) double the content of the original game, adding in copious amounts of mayhem, improved multiplayer, and more weapons, costumes, and comic kills than ever.

“Now that we have the opportunity to present Naughty’s full story to fans of the franchise is definitely a great thing for us,” said Ian Howe, President, 505 Games North America. “We’re very proud of how all the extra content expanded the Naughty Bear universe, and we can’t wait for gamers to have access to all things Naughty in one slick package.”

Parents looking to teach their children aged 6-12 about the importance of saving money now have a new tool at their disposal: The Adventures of Saving, an educational web platform found designed to raise awareness on managing money in a fun way. The Adventures of Saving invites youngsters to take part in the adventure set in the animated universe of EkominiVille™. Participants who finish the four games by June 19 will automatically be registered to a contest with a $1,000 scholarship as the grand prize. In addition, 150 Ekomini™ Coin Savers will be drawn between May 10 and June 19. The Contest is open to Canadian residents who have reached the age of majority. The scholarship will be issued in cheque format. Approximate value of each coin saver: $39.99. No purchase required, the deadline is June 19, 2011.

“The sooner you can teach kids about the importance of managing their money, the more likely they are to become financially responsible,” said Sophie Ducharme, T.V. host, notary and Vice-President, Trust and Advisory services, National Bank Trust, and Clearfacts.ca ambassador. “The Adventures of Saving is an innovative and fun way to start talking about financial matters with your children, who are encouraged to become consumers at an ever younger age.”

These educational games will be featured in a promotional tour this summer with Alexandre Bilodeau, Gold medalist in the freestyle skiing – Moguls event at the 2010 Vancouver Olympic Games and World Champion, who is also an ambassador of Clearfacts.ca. The tour, which will include Impact games at Saputo Stadium and the Rogers Cup at Uniprix Stadium, will allow participants to try out the games and win instant prizes.

TransGaming Inc. (TSX VENTURE:TNG) announced yesterday that it granted options to purchase 1,800,000 common shares under the Company’s stock option plan, of which 530,000 were granted to directors and officers. The granted options have an exercise price of $0.82 (being the May 16, 2011 closing price of the shares on the TSX Venture Exchange), vest 1/4 each year on June 1 from 2011-2014, and expire on May 17, 2016. The stock option grants remain subject to acceptance for filing by the TSX Venture Exchange under Policy 4.4 (“Incentive Stock Options”) of the TSX Venture Exchange Corporate Finance Manual.

Glacier Media Inc. (TSX:GVC) is pleased to announce that, through one of its affiliates, it has entered into a definitive agreement with Rogers Publishing Limited to acquire a portfolio of media assets from Rogers’ business and professional publishing group. The assets comprise 15 trade publications and digital brands, together with their associated readership database, events and web presence. Properties acquired include established and leading publications such as Food in Canada, Le Bulletin des agriculteurs, Canadian Packaging, HPAC and Meetings & Incentive Travel (including Incentiveworks, Canada’s largest trade show for the meetings, incentive travel and promotions industry).

The assets will integrate into Glacier’s Business Information Group, a leading operator of Canadian trade publications and industry-focused web sites, and Glacier’s Farm Business Communications.

The acquisition allows Glacier to:

• Expand the company’s growing print and digital footprint in the Canadian agriculture and food media industry;
• Further leverage the operating platform of the Business Information Group (e.g. fulfillment systems, production services, web technologies);
• Utilize acquired technologies to accelerate the online capabilities and reach of the Business Information Group’s directory products, especially Scott’s Directories.

The transaction is expected to close on May 27, 2011.

Yesterday was the official launch of Opportunity CAN, a 40-day event celebrating Opportunity International’s 40-year history empowering people across the developing world to work their way out of poverty using financial tools. During the event, Canadians will use their unique skills and creativity to fulfill a personal challenge or host a meal that will help end poverty through microfinance.

“In the last year, we’ve had people parachute out of planes and hike mountains to help end global poverty,” says Opportunity International Canada President & CEO, Paula A. Curtis. “Engaged couples gave up their wedding gifts and businesses offered a ‘Toonie at the Till’ promotion. It will be exciting to see how Canadians now respond to Opportunity CAN.”

Opportunity’s goal is to raise $1 million in 40 days that will help empower entrepreneurs to work their way out of poverty. The campaign, however, “is about more than raising money,” Curtis observes. “It’s about celebrating entrepreneurship and creativity. Our microfinance clients have been demonstrating this for 40 years. Now we’re giving Canadians the opportunity to use their gifts as well.”

The Women In Leadership Foundation will be hosting its 2nd Annual Calgary Women in Business Luncheon: Password to Success from 11am – 1:30pm on Wednesday, May 25th at the Calgary Petroleum Club in Calgary.

Presented by TD Bank Financial Group, this luncheon is a part of the Women in Leadership National Spotlight Speaker Series, and showcases female role models in business and fosters the expansion of networks. At the annual luncheon, you’ll hear leading local women in business share their journeys of success, practical tips and inspiration. Proceeds will benefit the Women in Leadership Mentorship Program.

Leslie Horton, Global TV, will be moderating the panel as each women share their individual stories of their password to success. This year the four inspirational speakers from the business community include:

• Bonnie DuPont – Corporate Director and Management Consultant
• Sharon Hapton – Founder of Soup Sisters
• Leslie Conway – President of Hopewell Residential Communities Inc
• Lynda Hay – Senior Investment Advisor – TD Waterhouse

SCHEDULE
11 a.m. – 12 p.m. — Networking and Exhibits
12 p.m. – 1 p.m. — Panel Presentation and Lunch
1 p.m. – 1:30 p.m. — Q&A

Women in Leadership was founded in 2001 and has its head office in Vancouver. WIL is a national, non-profit organization dedicated to advancing women in leadership roles. WIL has played a pivotal role in helping thousands of women across Canada surge to success. WIL’s vision is to advance women in leadership.

Vistek proudly presents ProFusion 2011 Expo & Tradeshow at the Toronto Congress Centre Friday June 17th and Saturday June 18th. After its successful inaugural Pro Video Expo & Tradeshow, ProFusion 2011 will expand to include Pro Photography – this year becoming two tradeshows in one.

ProFusion 2011 will showcase all things state of the art in the world of photo & video in exhibits from the industry’s leading and most innovative manufacturers. From seminars & lectures to exhibits & displays, ProFusion will be hands on in every respect. A major attraction at last year’s tradeshow and a component of the show that sets ProFusion apart is the list of advanced workshops and exclusive seminars featuring world-renowned image-makers.

This year’s list of lecturers includes keynote speaker and legendary New York photographer Jay Maisel along with:

Vincent Laforet, Los Angeles/New York based Director & DOP
Philip Bloom, independent filmmaker and HDSLR innovator
Douglas Spotted Eagle, author and celebrated video pro involved in multiple Emmy-winning productions
Seth Resnick, one of the most influential photographers of the decade
George Willis CSC, SASC, highly acclaimed film director
Gary Fong, successful wedding photographer and inventor of the Lightsphere light diffuser

Please visit the event’s web site for a full list of presenters and exhibitors.