Village Gamer

Mazooma, which is an American company with an office in Toronto, has unveiled their new micropay-in-a-box solution, which has as much as a 71% reduction in merchant fees for digital content merchants.  With 25% year-over-year growth, digital content is currently the fastest-growing eCommerce sector, driving an explosion in small-ticket transaction volumes. However, merchants selling digital music, games, books, and videos are underserved by traditional payment options. Mazooma’s new micropay solution fills this void, enabling these merchants to sell their goods faster, safer, and more cost-effectively.

Mazooma’s micropay-in-a-box solution is available to Discover’s direct merchants using the Centinel® Universal Merchant Platform through CardinalCommerce Corporation. For a merchant using Centinel, it is as simple as placing the Mazooma payment button on their checkout page to support a new payment option that enables consumers to pay using their online banking account. For these merchants, there is no implementation required and no changes to existing settlement and reporting from Discover. It is a turnkey solution that makes it easy for merchants to offer the new Mazooma payment brand.

An online banking-based payment solution, Mazooma connects consumers directly to their bank account from the merchant’s checkout page, enabling secure, instant payments for online purchases. Other features of Mazooma’s micropay solution include a processing fee of 1.5% + $0.05 per transaction without the need to aggregate transactions, and a streamlined checkout in two clicks, with no offline sign-up process.

“With Mazooma’s micropay-in-a-box solution, Discover merchants selling digital content can enjoy instant, online payments, as well as ease of implementation, less technical resources and consolidated settlement and reporting,” says Farhan Ahmad, General Manager, Prepaid & Director of Emerging Payments at Discover. “At Discover, we aim to provide our merchants with more payment choices, and we believe the relationship with Mazooma will do just that.”

“We’re pleased to be able to leverage Centinel to extend the Mazooma payment option across the Discover Network of retail merchants,” said Janet Kapostasy, Vice President, Financial Institution Services, CardinalCommerce Corporation. ”The micropay solution addresses a key pain point in the digital goods vertical.”

Deal Exchange company Wantsa has introduced its “Request a Deal” button for search and directory companies looking to provide consumers with deals they are interested in. This is the first “Deal Exchange” that connects consumers and merchants in a mutually beneficial exchange that delivers what each group wants.

Until now the deal industry has centered around outbound email marketing where consumers receive random daily deals from local merchants offering deep discounts in exchange for pre-purchasing consumers walking through their doors with personalized vouchers.

To deliver what everyone wants, Wantsa created a simple button called “Request a Deal” for any online or mobile publisher that displays Directory Listings for local merchants. When this “Request a Deal” button is added to the publisher’s directory of business listings, consumers can simply click the button next to the listing of the business they are interested in to register their “request” for a deal.

Through its automated process, Wantsa delivers to the publisher the aggregated consumer demand for the deal. The publisher, in turn, shares this information with the merchant, showing a proven “demand” for the deal. Through this unique process, publishers and sales agencies are able to deliver relevant offers to consumers anxiously awaiting deals from specific local merchants. In addition to connecting merchants directly to qualified consumers, Wantsa also has the capability to administer quick surveys to capture market research or leads.

To help publishers solve the problem of deal inventory, Wantsa has created a “Deal Exchange” where any company who has deal inventory can simply submit their supply into the “Deal Repository” and, conversely, publishers seeking deal inventory can access deals from various sources.

“Think of Wantsa as a major evolution of Ad networks. The only difference is that instead of creating an Ad that results in a click, companies are creating offers that result in real consumer transactions,” said Atif Hussein, Head of Product and Engineering for Wantsa.

Wantsa “Request a Deal” creates a win, win, win for all parties: Read the rest of this entry »

The National Post has launched its first Android app, available now for free in the Android Market. National Post Mobile for Android joins a growing suite of mobile news products and delivers the latest content from all of National Post’s core news channels, including the day’s top stories and business news from Financial Post. Android is a software system for mobile devices that includes an operating system, middleware and applications and was recently named the world’s best selling Smartphone platform.

“This is the first Android app from Postmedia, so we are very excited about it,” said Duncan Clark, Vice President of Digital Media, National Post. “Our readers want us to keep up with the latest innovation, so the introduction of this Android app helps us build upon the success of our iOS applications and continues to move us forward in our digital first strategy.”

The new Android app includes the following features:

• All of the award-winning reporting, engaging content and opinion National Post readers have come to rely on – updated throughout the day.
• Sharing – Readers can activate their preferred social media accounts and share stories.
• Offline reading – With a few clicks, readers can curate a custom list of selected stories for later reading or download all available content before hopping on the plane or subway to read later.

The app was designed for and is available on most Android devices. New features are planned for release in the coming months.

The next step in delivering value and flexibility to customers is here with the Shaw Movie Club, giving Shaw customers access to hundreds of movie titles for only $12 per month as part of Shaw’s ongoing commitment to provide more content on demand.  It is important to note that watching Shaw Movie Club through your TV will not impact your monthly data transfer amount, whereas watching the movies streamed through an internet connection such as your PC, will.

The Shaw Movie Club features unlimited access to hundreds of titles like The Expendables, Burlesque and Red. Unlike similar programs, customers who subscribe to the Shaw Movie Club will have access to newer movie titles that are updated monthly to watch streaming online or directly on your TV.

Customers can also get their Movie Club content in High Definition later this summer. For an additional $5 per month, all titles will be available to customers with the stunning quality of Shaw HD, thanks to the Movie Club HD Pass.

“The Shaw Movie Club is the result of listening to our customers and delivering products that fit their needs and the way they use technology,” said Peter Bissonnette, President, Shaw Communications Inc. “The Shaw Movie Club brings our customers more choice and value – they get the best titles available to enjoy whenever, wherever they want.”

The Movie Club launches on the heels of Shaw’s new Internet packages, which provide customers with dramatically increased data levels and speed. Customers can access the Shaw Movie Club through several platforms:

• Through the Shaw Gateway – available to Calgary and Edmonton customers, with Vancouver and national dates to follow through the summer

• Shaw Video On Demand Online – customers can log in with their customer care identification or Shaw email. They can then search for titles available with the Movie Club subscription – a select number of titles are available for streaming online, or to order to their Digital Box

• Searching for titles on the VOD App for iPhone and Android – search and order titles to customers’ Digital Box to enjoy in the comfort of their own homes

Movie Club can be added to customers’ entertainment packages through the Shaw Plan Personalizer, which enables all customers to customize their home entertainment services by choosing the features they love and want.

Ubisoft has revealed Uplay Passport, a new program designed to provide players with access to bonus content, exclusive offers, and online multiplayer play. Uplay Passport is an adjunct to Uplay, an in-game service that offers gamers extra value, including a bevy of rewards and community features, just for playing Ubisoft games. The Uplay Passport program will begin in the coming months and will be included in many of Ubisoft’s popular core games.

In each new copy of a Uplay Passport-enhanced game will be a one-time use registration code that, when redeemed, provides access to Uplay Passport content and features. The code can be found on the insert card inside the game box. Gamers can identify Uplay Passport-enhanced games by looking for the logo on the back of the box.

Uplay Passports will also be available for purchase on PlayStation®Store for $9.99 and on Xbox LIVE® Marketplace for the Xbox 360® video game and entertainment system from Microsoft for 800 Microsoft Points. Customers that rent, borrow or purchase a pre-owned game can also purchase a new Uplay Passport online for $9.99 and automatically unlock the game’s online content and features. Starting with the upcoming DRIVER^® San Francisco release, games featuring the new Uplay Passport will offer gamers exclusive bonus content plus access to online features.

D-BOX Technologies Inc. is now offering its immersive motion technology in more than 90 theatres worldwide with the release of the highly anticipated Warner Bros. Pictures’ franchise finale, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2.

Harry Potter fans across the continent (well, most of it) can expect to be transported back to Hogwarts with Harry and friends while experiencing incredibly realistic motion effects all along the way. Scenes of intense battle and exhilarating flight now come to life as D-BOX MFX Seats pitch, roll and heave in perfect sync with the action taking place onscreen.

This final act is the third film in the series to offer D-BOX motion effects. Locations introducing the D-BOX experience for the first time with Harry Potter, include these theatres:

• Cobb Theatres Hollywood 16 in Tuscaloosa, Ala.
• Cobb Theatres Dolphin 19 at Dolphin Mall in Miami, Fla.
• Cobb Theatres Lakeside 18 in Lakeland, Fla.
• Regency Theatres Plan 16 in Van Nuys, Calif.
• ShowBiz Cinemas 12 in Waxahachie, Texas
• Zurich Cinemas Rotterdam Square Cinema 7 in Schenectady, NY

For a complete list of theatres offering the D-BOX experience with Harry Potter, check out the location map on the D-Box site – sadly, there are only 9 currently-equipped locations across Canada, with none in BC.

Also, for those totally unfamiliar with the D-Box products (because it occurred to me that some of you may not know exactly what D-Box does & as a disclaimer, no, this is not a “promoted post”), they make very special gamer chairs as well, which offer a similar type of gaming experience for titles enhanced with the D-Box MFX technology. Oh and yes, you can get Home Theatre D-Box seating to enhance your own movie nights.

The Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson’s Research has launched the beta version of Fox Trial Finder, a web-based solution designed to connect willing volunteers with the Parkinson’s clinical trials that urgently need them. By the looks of the site, it’s currently only set up for US residents, but there is an email link for anyone outside of the US, and I feel that this program is too important to not post about it. Hopefully it will soon be available to teams worldwide.

“Today, as many as 80 percent of clinical trials face recruitment challenges — significantly increasing costs and delaying progress toward breakthroughs,” said Todd Sherer, Ph.D., CEO of The Michael J. Fox Foundation. “Fox Trial Finder harnesses state-of-the-art technology to meet these challenges head-on by making it easier for volunteers and research coordinators to find each other. By streamlining the flow of participants into trials, Fox Trial Finder will play a role in reducing the length and cost of Parkinson’s clinical trials, helping bring new treatments to patients faster.”

Using state-of-the-art technology, Fox Trial Finder compares volunteer information such as location and medical history with trial eligibility requirements to find the best potential matches at study sites nearby. The service matches both people with Parkinson’s and control volunteers with the trials that need them. In addition to personalized matching, Fox Trial Finder streamlines communication between volunteers and trial teams: Read the rest of this entry »

Spectators of the 2011 Kokanee Crankworx Freeride Mountain Bike Festival (at press time, the Festival’s website was not loading), the world renowned supercharged free ride festival taking place in Whistler this July 15th through 24th will be benefiting from a new mobile event app for smartphones. The new app will give spectators access to important festival information like event schedules, updated results, area maps and venue information.

David Snell, QuickMobile’s Chief Marketing Officer stated: “We are very excited to have been chosen to develop the Mobile Festival App for Kokanee Crankworx this year. Instead of having to carry around a paper Festival Guide during this 9-day sports event, athletes and spectators of this supercharged Mountain Bike Festival will now be able to access all their important festival information by simply downloading the Kokanee Crankworxs Mobile Festival App which was specifically designed to enhance the experience of the festival visitor while providing a greener solution for the event organizer.”

Animated Media has released LiveMobile, a customizable mobile application that captures and manages video streams in a Flash-based UI.  LiveMobile runs on both Apple and Android based devices, allowing the user to capture video, edit the video, add photo and text annotations, save it locally and then selectively publish it to websites for sharing.  “Reskinning” this application with your unique UI is an easy process.   

LiveMobile is enabled by Animated Media’s multimedia development suite, the VGK Platform  and its innovative ability to deploy Flash content across mobile, consumer and digital home platforms and dynamically manage content to the full capabilities of the underlying hardware — enabling multi-stream video playback at the highest performance possible.  Another feature set supported by the VGK Platform is the ability to access video websites such as YouTube, compile video lists and enable selection and playback of multiple videos on one screen.

Animated Media continues to bring browser functionality into native apps.  Our tools and services bring a mix of web functionality and Flash technology to support simultaneous live broadcast or streaming video, in-app advertising, and audience and social media interactivity in a single native app with exceptionally fast performance to deliver the best user experience.

Halifax-based Can Stock Photo announced several major web site upgrades today that are designed to make the stock photography website more user-friendly, making it possible to find stock photos faster and easier. Can Stock Photo hopes that by focusing on speed and by making searching for stock photos faster, they will have more satisfied customers who can save a few minutes a day when searching for stock photography.

The most apparent change at Can Stock Photo is the new website design. The page layout and design has been completely revamped, featuring a new logo, navigation links, front page, and search box. The intended focus of the new design is to provide more user-friendly navigation, visual appeal, and focus on the company’s collection of nearly 5 million stock photos. This marks the first major site redesign for the stock photography company in the past several years.

The second major component of Can Stock Photo’s upgrades is its new search engine. The new search engine features technology that enables Can Stock Photo to return stock photo searches in milliseconds to its customers. This is a significant advancement, considering other similar search engines take over 5 seconds to load each search page. “We believe this may be the fastest stock photo search engine available anywhere” said Can Stock Photo’s General Manager, Duncan Enman.

Building on the fast search technology implemented in Can Stock Photo’s search engine, the company borrowed a page from Google’s playbook and implemented an instant search feature. Customers searching for stock photos are now able to refine their search and see instant updates to their image results. The goal of this feature is to further save customer’s time by eliminating the page load time often associated with refining each search criteria when browsing stock photos.