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  • TransGaming Announces GameTree TV Dev Competition Judges

1st June 2011

TransGaming Announces GameTree TV Dev Competition Judges

TransGamingTransGaming Inc. is proud to announce the celebrity judging panel for the $50,000 GameTree TV Developer Competition. The panel will consist of actor, director, producer and writer LeVar Burton, president of development at Jerry Bruckheimer Games Inc., Jay Cohen, and Lorne Lanning, cofounder of Oddmobb, Inc. TransGaming will announce the winner of the competition at Casual Connect, the world’s premier casual games conference, taking place July 19-21, 2011 in Seattle, WA.

The GameTree TV Developer competition gives independent game developers the chance to win more than $50,000 in cash prizes by bringing their games to GameTree TV, the premier on-demand gaming platform for gametreeTV developer competitionSmart TV. Finalists will have their game featured on GameTree TV, putting them in front of millions of consumers around the world as the adoption of Smart TV continues to grow.

“LeVar, Jay and Lorne bring a unique combination of experience and influence that makes them ideally suited to discover the next generation of games that will transform the connected living room. The submissions we’ve seen thus far demonstrate the incredible talent of pioneering developers from around the world,” said Vikas Gupta, CEO and President of TransGaming Inc. “GameTree TV is shaping the future of Smart TV, and we are thrilled to have some of the industry’s most innovative creators and respected personalities involved in this competition.”

GameTree TV is commercially available on next-generation set-top boxes and connected consumer electronic (CE) devices. Developers can find more information and submit their games at online until 11:59pm ET on June 15th 2011.

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1st June 2011

Annex Pro Invites You For A Test Drive

AnnexProAnnex Pro invites anyone running Pro Tools 8 and earlier versions, on Apple G4, G5, first-gen Mac Pro, iMac or  Windows PC to come in for a hands-on Native Performance test drive with the new Avid Pro Tools|HD Native. Experience for yourself the new high-performance, low-latency, PCIe-based I/O of Avid Pro Tools|HD Native, running on the New 8 and 12 core Apple Mac Pro
Pro Tools is now faster and more affordable, using host-based processing of new Apple multicore Mac Pro computers.  Bench-mark tests show that Pro Tools|HD Native analog to analog throughput latency is far lower than competing FireWire, USB 2.0 and other PCIe interfaces, with the added benefits of:pro-tools goes native

  • Improving your recordings by eliminating distracting monitor latency
  • Advancing your mixing with VCA masters, advanced automation, and the full Pro Tools HD toolset
  • The ability to capture and play back up to 64 channels of audio—in pristine detail—using HD OMNI and/or HD I/O
  • Gaining compatibility with powerful PCIe-based CPUs to run more plug-ins and virtual instruments

You can also take advantage of time-limited special offers from Annex Pro, saving from 16% to 54% off new Pro Tools|HD Native by trading in your legacy Pro Tools systems, including Mbox (any model), Digi 001, Digi 002, Digi 002 Rack, 003, 003 Rack, Pro Tools III, Pro Tools|24, Pro Tools|24 MIX family, Pro Tools|HD PCI. You can also save $500.00 on Waves Gold Native bundle which includes 26 state-of-the-art plugins for mixing, mastering and more, plus you can take advantage of the new Annex Pro Finance plan with terms from 3 to 24 months OAC.

Book your time slot now, the Test Drive Event will take place June 14th through 16th at the Annex Pro office on Dunlevy Avenue in Vancouver.

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1st June 2011

Yangaroo Launches U.S. Advertising Division

YANGAROOYangaroo Inc. has launched its U.S. Advertising Division with key agencies on board for the delivery of their clients’ television commercial spots. Yangaroo’s patented Digital Media Distribution System (DMDS), led by veteran broadcast and advertising industry executive Karen Dealy, enables advertisers to send high quality SD and HD video spots to television broadcasters digitally via the Internet, helping both the advertising and broadcast industries transition to more efficient digital workflows.

DMDS offers advertisers and their brands an efficient and cost effective means to distribute campaigns in both SD and HD formats throughout the broadcast marketplace. Yangaroo’s patented Digital Media Distribution System (DMDS) is cloud-based and requires no dedicated hardware.

Yangaroo’s DMDS Advertising network continues rapid growth as it has expanded to over 1000 leading US broadcast destinations.  Advertisers and their agencies can now send content securely and immediately to networks and broadcast groups including the ESPN Network Group, Discovery Networks, MTV/Viacom Network Group, ABC Television Group, Belo Television, CBS Networks and the CBS Station Group, Fox Television Stations, Hearst Argyle Television Group, Sinclair Broadcasting and the Tribune Broadcasting Company. The rapid rate of adoption is a result of the streamlined and effective integration of the DMDS technology solution. Read the rest of this entry »

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1st June 2011

Upstart Industries Launches Vantage Project Management

upstart industriesHalifax company Upstart Industries has launched Vantage: A Social Approach to Project Management. Vantage is an online, subscription-based (SaaS) application which integrates project and portfolio management capabilities with enterprise social media. You can try it free for 30 days.

Upstart co-founder Kelly Kazimer notes, “Anyone who has managed or participated in a project understands the challenges of maintaining focus on project goals, and ensuring that every project team member is on the same page. These challenges are often further compounded by adopting project tools at the Project Registryproject level, which creates information and communication silos within the organization.  We created Vantage specifically to tackle these problems head on.”

Vantage provides a collaborative web-space for project teams to manage, work with, and share projects. Tasks, resources, budgets, schedules, project plans, issues, risks can all be managed on a per project basis, using only a web browser. Beyond individual project management, Vantage provides you with an organizational view of all of your projects and resources. Every project’s status and health can be viewed on a single page; every resource’s allocation & participation can be viewed across all projects; every resource can view an integrated task list of their assignments from all of their projects.

Vantage uses its own secured social media channel, VantagePoint, to source not only user-generated content but also project activity within one central activity steam. When a schedule is published, a new resource added, or a new task assigned, VantagePoint notifies the team.  At the same time, team members can use VantagePoint to update statuses, request approvals, seek consensus, flag issues, identify risks, and work together to achieve goals.

Kelly Kazimer explains, “As a solution, we created Vantage to support what we feel are the cornerstones of project success: communication, collaboration, visibility, and accountability.  As a tool, we designed Vantage to be a business application that’s as easy to use as the tools we use every day as consumers. Producing and consuming information has never been easier. And we applied those principles and expectations to Vantage.”

[youtube:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4G7-cw0UiDE]

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1st June 2011

University of Toronto Supports Student Success with Microsoft Live-at-Edu Web-Based Tools

Microsoft CanadaMicrosoft Canada and the University of Toronto are pleased to announce that UofT is the latest higher education institution to deliver Microsoft’s Live@edu e-mail and document management service. This joint initiative enables UofT’s 77,000 students to join a rapidly growing community of 11 million peers in more than 10,000 schools worldwide who are benefiting from the power of Live@edu.

This cloud-based collaboration suite will help the University reduce costs, improve communication and collaboration between students, and equip them with the tools they need for their academic career.

“Live@EDU is an outstanding addition to UofT’s robust student support services,” says Cheryl Misak, Vice-President and Provost for the University of Toronto.  “Our students are very much looking forward to having this powerful tool to help them get the most out of their university experience.”

Outside of the classroom, Canadians are increasingly using collaboration software and services and now expect these same capabilities in their learning experience. Extensive consultation with students led by the University’s Live@eduChief Information Officer, Robert Cook, showed that students wanted more comprehensive tools to complement their academic involvement.

The platform provides the flexibility of Office Web Apps that include web-optimized versions of Word, Excel, OneNote and PowerPoint – essential tools now accessible to UofT students anywhere, anytime, via any popular web browser or mobile device. Live@edu also includes Outlook for e-mail plus a 10 GB inbox, and enables powerful document sharing and collaboration with 25GB of password-protected online storage.

“Now more than ever, universities such as the University of Toronto require security-enhanced cloud services to deliver the flexibility and functionality that students need to succeed in their studies and in their future careers,” says Mike Tremblay, Vice President, Public Sector, Microsoft Canada. “Live@edu is arming University of Toronto students with tools that drive success in the classroom, and eventually the boardroom.”

The University of Toronto joins more than 10,000 schools in more than 130 countries around the world that have chosen Live@edu as a platform for student communication and collaboration. Live@edu innovations include great tools such as:

  • Communication Services: Free, hosted email and calendaring with a 10 GB inbox and instant messaging through Outlook Live
  • Collaboration Services: Ability to access, share and collaborate through SkyDrive, with 25 GB of free online storage space
  • Productivity Services: Create, view, edit, and share Microsoft Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and OneNote files online with SkyDrive

 

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1st June 2011

Mundo Media Re-Launches Living Deal

Mundo MediaMundo Media has re-launched the social commerce site Living Deal as the newest component in an expanding portfolio of performance-based marketing tools. Mundo Media purchased the well-known site in August 2010 and now Living Deal will focus on matching merchants with high net worth customers.

Since 2010, Living Deal users have saved more than $3.7 million through over 29,000 discounted deals. Living Deals are offered on food, drink, attractions, products and a host of unique services.  The social commerce platform operates in Calgary, Mississauga and Toronto, with plans to expand to further Canadian and U.S. markets.

“Living Deal’s business structure perfectly complements Mundo Media’s focus on performance metrics and lifetime value of consumers,” explained Mundo CEO Jason Theofilos. “Living Deal brings Mundo Media’s knowledge of consumer habits and performance marketing to those small businesses on the lookout for long-term customers.”

Leveraging Mundo Media’s knowledge of consumer online behaviours, Living Deal targets those consumers most likely to convert from deal purchase to redemption.  With this efficiency, the most appropriate users are brought to merchants seeking to build a repeat customer base.

The model for Living Deal creates high long-term value for small businesses entering the market for daily deals.  Mundo Media’s performance metrics gather information on online click-throughs of consumers, so partners have an understanding of how users interact with ads and other marketing assets.  By applying this knowledge, Living Deal offers deals that appeal to consumer interests, leading to repeat customers for merchants.

In concert with Mundo Media’s focus on the net worth of consumers, Living Deal encourages customers to become repeat deal buyers through its affiliate program.  Living Deal pays affiliates money every time one of their friends buys a deal voucher.  Users sign up for an affiliate program and receive a referral link to send friends or post on social networks and sites when they purchase the deal.  When a friend purchases the same deal using that link, affiliates earn money.  Each deal has a payout amount posted the day said deal goes live.

Living Deal also partners with other social commerce platforms in cities without a Living Deal presence through a revenue sharing model.

 

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1st June 2011

Canada Comes Face To Face With An Innovation Imperative

Institute for Competitiveness & ProsperityAs the economy slowly recovers from the recession, we need to do what is necessary to achieve a strong recovery in the short term and to begin repairing our fiscal situation federally and provincially. But our long-term challenge remains – raising our productivity, which is synonymous with improving our innovation capabilities and performance. Robust innovation results can be achieved through more key business investments and by the right government policies and strategies for innovation. This is the major conclusion of the 2011 Report on Canada, Canada’s innovation imperative (PDF), released today by the Institute for Competitiveness & Prosperity at at its 2011 Conference taking place today in Toronto.

In its Report, the Institute reaffirms that Canada’s economy is one of the world’s most successful among countries with populations greater than 10 million.  But against the United States, Canada’s GDP per capita continues to trail significantly. This gap represents lost prosperity potential, which negatively affects Canadians at all income levels.

The Institute reports that Canada’s GDP per capita – a measure of the value created by workers and firms in Canada from the human, physical, and natural resources in the country – trailed the US by $9,500 or 17 percent in 2010, essentially unchanged from the 2009 gap of $9,200 in constant (2010) dollars. “What’s really troubling,” observed Roger Martin, Chairman of the Institute, “is that the prosperity gap has more than tripled since 1981 when it was only $2,700. That has to be a call to action for all Canadians.”

The Report identifies Canada’s lower productivity as the key challenge in closing this prosperity gap. “Canadians are among the leaders in developed economies in work effort, hours worked per person, but we are laggards in creating economic value per hour worked.” said Martin.  “This comes from a poor innovation record. For a variety of reasons, we are not leading the world in creating innovative products, services, and processes in our businesses and workplaces.”Report on Canada 2011 PDF

The Report concludes that businesses need to step up their investments in technology – from R&D to patents to adapting existing technology to their businesses. Equally important is the ongoing need to develop stronger management capabilities in our businesses. Although the research shows that Canada’s management capabilities are among the world’s best, there is still room for improvement.

The Institute recommends that governments improve their innovation policies by shifting their efforts from new-to-the-world inventions to relevant-to-the-market innovations. As Martin observed, “Our public policies are skewed toward creating science-driven inventions which are very important to our society, but we shouldn’t assume that much of this will lead to products and services that will respond to consumer needs and improve Canada’s innovation capabilities.” The Report shows how important business-led innovations in product design, service improvements, processes, and mergers & acquisitions have propelled our most successful companies to global leadership.

The Institute applauds recent provincial tax policy changes, including the introduction of the HST, as important initiatives that will stimulate business investment. In particular, it encourages British Columbia voters to affirm the adoption of the HST as it will benefit them and all Canadians. According to Martin, “Canada is moving to become one of the better tax jurisdictions in the world, but we’re simply adopting best practices from others. It’s time Canada became a world leader in innovative tax policies and we have some suggestions for further exploration.” Read the rest of this entry »

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1st June 2011

Jay Levinson and David Perry Announce Launch of Guerrilla Marketing for Job-Hunters 3.0

Guerrilla Marketing for Job-Hunters 3.0The secret to finding a suitable job today lies in mastering the digital search environment used by employers, says noted author and managing partner of Perry-Martel International David Perry. Perry, co-author with Jay Levinson of “Guerrilla Marketing for Job-Hunters 3.0“, says that a rapid transformation in hiring practices has gone unnoticed by those looking for work.

“Every year, 50-million jobs are filled in the United States — almost all without a job posting,” stated Mr. Perry. The executive search professional who the Wall St. Journal called the “Rogue Recruiter”, explained that “this is happening because employers can’t deal with the avalanche of resumes they would get. Today, employers are relying on a brand new digital suite of tools and tactics to find the handful of “most qualified” recruits that they want to interview.”

The revolution in recruiting is taking place at the same time as the job market itself is under huge strain, according to Steven O’Hanlon, President and COO of Numerix, an analytics firm headquartered in New York. “The current state of the global job market is more challenging than it has been in over 25 years. The magnitude of job force reductions is unprecedented. Guerrilla Marketing for Job Hunters 3.0 is the most important and critical tool to use as a competitive advantage. When you think about the quantity of people who are vying for the few job openings that might exist, the job hunter must be clever and think outside of the box. This book provides ample ways to stand out head and shoulders beyond all others in a very crowded job market.”

“Because of this, we have shifted emphasis put a booster rocket on our earlier book, going beyond previous book ‘where to look’, to include ‘how to be found’. The market has changed — no one advertises anymore. America is in a revolutionary new era, defined by digital employer searches”, says Perry. “There is no doubt that employers are using radical new search techniques to find their candidates, and if you don’t know how to show up on their radar, you will be looking for a job forever.”

While still addressing the other critical elements of the job hunt, such as resumes, getting past the door keepers, and advice on talking to the hiring managers, Perry and Levinson lay out the digital strategies job-hunters need to light-up employers’ radars. Sub-titled: “How to Stand Out from the Crowd and Tap into the Hidden Job Market Using Social Media and 999 other Tactics Today”, Guerilla Marketing for Job Hunters 3.0 is the first multi-media book for job hunters, and provides the tools and lays out the innovative digital tactics that job-hunters should use.

Stop wasting time with resumes and newspaper searches, advises Perry. “The job-search paradigm has shifted. You need to use a Force Multiplier effect to shine on different social media at the same time.” Guerilla Marketing 3.0 tells precisely how to leverage online resources like ZoomInfo, LinkedIn, and Facebook, to take advantage of “the secret lives of top corporate recruiters”. Job-hunters are advised on little-known search-engine optimization tricks used by those looking for employees.
Read the rest of this entry »

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1st June 2011

New DLC for Ghostbusters Inner Sanctum of Slime

behaviour interactiveAs a follow up to the first ever Ghostbusters digital title Ghostbusters: Sanctum of Slime, Atari is releasing additional downloadable content – Challenge Pack. In conjunction with Sony Pictures Consumer Products, Ghostbusters: Sanctum of Slime Challenge Pack, developed by Behaviour Interactive, will bring hours of a new single player experience to the successful digital title with two game modes, Lonely Hero and Arcade Challenge, on Xbox LIVE® Arcade for the Xbox 360® for 160 MS Points, and Windows PC on Steampowered.com as of today, June 1st.

Ghostbusters: Sanctum of Slime is a four player, ghost-busting adventure that will take players on a brand new paranormal experience. But with Challenge Pack, players will suit up with their proton packs and assume the role of a lone rookie Ghostbuster tasked to save New York City from a disaster of ghoulish proportions, without any help.

Specific highlights from the Challenge Pack include:

  • Arcade Challenge: Designed for seasoned gamers, Aracade Challenge gives players a limited number of lives to see how their skills line up on a distinct Global Leaderboard. Players run through 5 of the game’s most challenging levels in single player mode and once the lives are up, the game is over.  Player scores are automatically posted to a new real-time Leaderboard.
  • Lonely Hero: Players can select any level they have unlocked and start from there but this time you are on your own – no co-op, no friendly teammates- just one player to combat the waves of the paranormally possessed.

[youtube:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JxJj_wF0HQo]

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1st June 2011

Need for Speed World Surges Past Five Million Users

EA GamesMillions of racing fans have flocked to ­Need for Speed™ World to experience the thrill of illicit street racing in the popular Play4Free online PC title. Over five million registered users have battled other gamers in intense races, evaded the cops in thrilling pursuits and joined friends to outrun the law in Team Escape mode. Need for Speed World delivers an enormous, socially-connected white-knuckle Need for Speed experience.A1 clubsport quattro

Need for Speed World features some of the hottest cars of today including the Lamborghini Murcielago, Nissan Skyline R34 and Corvette Z06. Players can visually customize their own vehicles for that personal flair as they take down other racers in style. In addition, Need for Speed World players can be the first in the world to test drive the Audi A1 clubsport quattro unveiled at the annual Worthersee tour in Austria today. The Audi A1 clubsport quattro is exclusive to Need for Speed World and will be available to all players as a free in-game rental car from June 1 to June 4.

Joining the A1 clubsport quattro on the Audi stand at the GTI meeting are 17 series production vehicles from the current Audi model lineup. Sporting a very dynamic appearance and an exquisite finish, the Audi A1 clubsport A1 clubsport quattro in-gamequattro makes no secret of its potential: it is designed as a road vehicle for the race track. The heart of the showcar is a classic Audi gasoline engine – a five-cylinder unit displacing 2.5 liters with turbocharging and direct fuel injection. The output of the TFSI engine has been increased dramatically to 503 hp and 486.79 lb-ft of torque. Another area where the A1 clubsport quattro shines is its overall weight of just 3,064 lb. The powerful engine catapults the car from 0 to 100 km/h in 3.7 seconds. From 0 to 200 km/h takes just 10.9 seconds, while the car goes from 80 to 120 km/h in fourth gear in just 2.4 seconds. A six-speed manual transmission and quattro permanent all-wheel drive deliver the power to all four wheels. Top speed is governed at 250 km/h.

Need for Speed World brings together best-in-class action racing with an unparalleled social experience on the PC. Players can compete against their friends and family or pick from thousands of players to challenge in intense online battles and police pursuits. Gamers race the way they want in an ever-expanding world with a constant stream of new content, cars, and features.

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