Village Gamer

Vancouver’s web safety and security provider SparkTrust Systems has officially launched its flagship services, SparkTrust Certified and eTrue Reviews. Together, the two services provide website owners and online shoppers a new level of safety and security on the Internet. SparkTrust Certified defends online merchants against hackers, exploits, and malware attacks, while eTrue Reviews provides an outlet for verified customers to share their purchase experience.

“I’m very pleased to see SparkTrust go live today, on schedule,” said Gregory K. Amlin, General Manager at SparkTrust. “We’re on a mission to make the Internet safer, and SparkTrust Certified and eTrue Reviews will make that happen – particularly because we offer the primary services for free. We think cost shouldn’t keep anyone from safety and security.”

SparkTrust Certified, now in open beta testing, offers website owners top-tier security scans. The service provides webmasters with thorough scans to protect against malware and vulnerabilities as well as meet PCI regulatory commitments. Along with the scan comes SparkTrust Certified security specialists, who walk owners through the steps to keep their site protected. Website owners are encouraged to display the SparkTrust Certified badge, proving their commitment to safety and security.

Focusing on the social aspect, eTrue Reviews is fully live for online shoppers and website owners. The social review tool allows online shoppers to share their experiences, and read recommendations from other customers. Setting it apart from similar services, eTrue Reviews verifies customers before they leave a review. Not only does this improve review rates, but it also ensures that reviews posted come from actual customers.

“The Internet can be a scary place, particularly when you start dealing with credit details and online payments. Website owners need to take the extra step to make their customers feel safe. Not only are protected customers more likely to return, but they are more likely to do business with an online merchant in the first place,” said Amlin. “By combining security technology with social intelligence, we can provide true web safety.”

Website owners can sign up for the SparkTrust Certified open beta now, and online shoppers and online businesses can start reviewing online with eTrue Reviews right now.

Toronto start-up zerofone has passed the 20,000 download mark for its mobile phone app available from Apple’s App Store. To celebrate this milestone, zerofone is tripling its no-obligation free trial to 30 minutes of free calling for new customers. The free trial allows mobile calls to Canada, the U.S. and many international destinations.

After trying out the service, a new summer promotion will give zerofone customers who purchase a monthly North American calling package an entire month of free calling. Customers simply purchase the first month of calling any time during July 2011, and their second month of calling will be free.

“It’s been an incredible few months since our official launch in January,” says company President, Ben Rovet. “We’re seeing customers from all over the world take advantage of our service.”

zerofone gives users simple and low-cost access to long distance and roaming (tip: when traveling out of country, use WiFi to avoid roaming charges) calling from their iPhone, iPad and iPod touch using a combination of Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) technology and traditional telecom networks for superior voice quality and reliability.

With zerofone, users can pay less than 1 cent per minute for North American long distance calls and under 2 cents for overseas calls to destinations such as India, China and most of Europe, without using any minutes from their cell phone provider. Canadian wireless carriers normally charge 40 cents per minute for North American long distance calls and 75 cents per minute or more for international calls.

“With roaming, it can work out to $1.50 per minute or more,” says Rovet. “Our service saves some people thousands of dollars per year. It’s really quite astounding.”

When asked what motivated him to start this company, Mr. Rovet said, “Canadian wireless consumers pay among the highest prices in the world for mobile service. We believe Canadians are entitled to more choices and we are leading the way with price, quality and service.”

Once the free trial period is over, users subscribe to one of zerofone’s low-cost calling packages, contract-free. Unlimited calling packages start at $6.99/month. Travel Packs, online phone numbers and other innovative features are also available.

Calgary-based Kryos Systems has launched their rapid mobile application development platform, Velocity, in a version compatible with Android™ smartphones and tablets. According to a comScore report published in February, the Android platform is the leader in smartphone market share in the USA.

The Velocity platform has long helped businesses to create full-featured applications for the BlackBerry® platform and the addition of Android platform support allows applications created to operate across either type of device, making the Velocity software even more impactful for enterprise business looking for ways to increase efficiency.

Velocity will allow non-specialist developers to program custom applications for the Android platform, cutting the traditional time and costs associated with setting up mobile applications significantly.

Jeff Samis, Vice President of Product and Market Development at Kryos Systems said, “Velocity works by acting as an interface between much more common XML language and the various native languages that are traditionally used to write applications for smartphones. This means that businesses can use in-house staff, versus expensive and rare skills, to create their mobile applications for both the Blackberry and Android platforms. And they can do this in a time frame of weeks compared to months.”

“Our plans to launch on the Android platform have been ongoing for over a year now and we are very pleased to be offering the market place choice in application development.”

Applications built using the Velocity platform for Android smartphones and tablets will make full use of all of the features of the device, including the camera, calendar, address book, email, and others. Once installed on the smartphone, the applications created mesh seamlessly with the device’s own menus and widgets, providing businesses with the ability to give out of office mobile device user’s full access to information and systems in an intuitive interface.

Velocity features built-in security measures and encryption for all applications built using it, and operates even in those instances when there is no connection to a cell tower. As soon as a connection is made the application will process any work completed prior to losing connection. Battery life and network capacity is optimized through an efficient information caching system.

The new Velocity will run on Android tablets that use the Android 2.1 and higher operating system. This cross platform functionality means that a business needs only to create their application once to have it work on both BlackBerry and Android devices.

The release of Velocity for the Android platform coincides with a recent announcement from BlackBerry smartphone producers, Research In Motion, about plans to deploy a device management infrastructure to support Android and iOS smartphones. The solution is expected to incorporate secure device management for Android devices and other iOS based devices, all managed from a single web-based console. This important announcement from Research In Motion, the leader in enterprise mobility, means that businesses can much more easily manage individual devices coming into the enterprise.

Kohler Canada is pleased to announce that its CDNCatalog App for iPhone and iPod touch is now available for free on the App Store. Created for designers, industry professionals and imaginative homeowners, the app allows users to explore and discover the complete Kohler Canada catalogue of over 27,000 KOHLER_® products, along with videos, showroom and retailer locations and inspirational ideas.

“Intended to take full advantage of the iPhone and iPod touch, utilizing the aesthetic of the Kohler Canada website, the CDNCatalog App provides images, videos, product specifications, installation guides, pricing and locations in a useful and convenient manner,” says Donna Church, Manager of Marketing & Communications for Kohler Canada. “With a large following of industry professionals in Canada, we wanted to make it easier for them to work with clients who do not have access to showrooms or who are constantly on the go.”

“When homeowners decide to start a project, they are often overwhelmed by some of the small design details: Will it fit? What finish works best? How do I install it? Does it suit the design?” says Kevin Fitzsimons, Fitzsimons Design Build. “With Kohler Canada’s CDNCatalog App, consumers can run through their checklist in the showroom, at home, or on the go. With such an intuitive design, the CDNCatalog provides easy access to product information and installation sheets, making any home project simple, efficient and more accurate.”

Key features include:

• A product image gallery
• The ability to search by product name and number
• A GPS retail showroom locator
• In depth product information including specification sheets, installation sheets, measurements and finish/colour options
• The ability to share favourite products and design ideas with friends through email or on Twitter
• A wide range of video content, including product spotlights, brand messaging, installation instructions and design inspiration.

Absolute^® Software Corporation has surpassed a significant IT industry milestone with over 20,000 stolen computers now recovered. These devices have been recovered using Absolute’s flagship Computrace^® and LoJack^® for Laptops products and returned to customers ranging from consumers to some of the world’s largest organizations.

“As the undisputed leader and inventor of the computer theft recovery product category, we’re very proud of our Theft Recovery Team and in turn wish to give tremendous thanks and acknowledgment to the many law enforcement professionals that count on Absolute’s Computrace and LoJack for Laptops everyday to recover stolen computers for their local citizens,” said John Livingston, chairman and CEO of Absolute. “This milestone confirms that our patented technology, process, and approach to managed theft recovery is, by far, the most successful – and only proven – theft recovery solution available to both consumers and organizations on the market today. The reason we continue to safely recover devices on behalf of our customers lies in the strength of our technology combined with our global network of Theft Recovery Investigators and trusted relationships with over 6,000 law enforcement agencies worldwide.”

“At DPS, we’ve already seen the effect of these recoveries,” said Robert Barenie, special investigator for Detroit Public Schools (DPS) Office of Inspector General. “Absolute Software’s Computrace is truly the finest investigative tool for the recovery process of stolen devices, leading us to the successful conviction of numerous individuals stealing laptops. We would have never recovered any of the 300 plus laptops stolen from our district without the aid of Absolute Software.”

As a result of Absolute’s technology being embedded in the firmware of computers from leading PC manufacturers since 2005, the recovery success rate has been increasing every year, with over 17,000 devices recovered in the last six years, and over 5,000 in the last year alone. In addition to the value of the device, the importance of data not falling into the wrong hands is critical to consumers and organizations alike.  Many of Absolute’s customers have purchased our data protection solutions that don’t include recovery. For these customers, our persistent technology has successfully performed over 8,500 remote data deletions to secure the privacy of their data.

On the heels of its 20,000^th recovery, Absolute has gathered statistics highlighting the sheer volume of hardware, software, data, and additional collateral the company has helped to recover during more than 18 years in the industry. In 2009 and 2010 alone, Absolute’s recoveries have represented: Read the rest of this entry »

Destiny Media and Yangaroo have resolved all litigation between the two parties. As part of the settlement agreement the parties agree that all allegations of infringement and invalidity on any existing or pending Yangaroo patents will immediately cease.  As a result, Destiny will drop the Canadian patent invalidity proceedings and its action for defamation against Yangaroo and certain of its former officers.  Yangaroo will drop its counterclaim for patent infringement in Canada and drop its defamation counterclaim as against Destiny and its CEO.

In consideration of the settlement, Yangaroo paid Destiny a lump sum amount totaling $600,000 (Canadian Funds), and granted Destiny certain intellectual property rights relating to the two patents held by Yangaroo that were the subject matter of the dispute.

Destiny will continue to provide Play MPE® in its current form with no changes or service interruptions.  As part of the settlement, neither party will pursue legal fees, court costs or royalties pursuant to the above mentioned disputes. YANGAROO is pleased with the result as it allows YANGAROO to focus on its business and to provide the best services possible to its customers and clients.

In Vancouver there are now over 40 businesses that offer special ‘group’ or ‘daily’ deals, popularized by Chicago-based startup Groupon. As Groupon moves towards filing for an IPO, competition has sprung up considerably. The army of so-called “Groupon Clones” march forward, replicating the attractive business model. Canadian start-up company CakeDeals is attempting to help users navigate the many deal vendors that have materialized through its web portal and its brand new iPhone application.

Hunters for deals need solutions like CakeDeals, as sifting through deal after deal has become unbearable. However, the benefit in convenience is also gained by the many “Groupon Clones” that have appeared. New deal vendors are increasingly attempting to pull themselves ahead and move forward in competing against the online coupon giants, Groupon and Living Social.

“New deal sites approach us every day. They work hard to negotiate great group deals for customers,” said Sam Lin, COO and Accounts Director of CakeDealsMany of them are trying to shake off the stereotype of just being labeled as a ‘Groupon Clone.'”

CakeDeals CEO, Simon Wong added that “we’re trying to provide as many channels and methods as possible for end-users to view and track these coupons. We want to save people time.”

Deal aggregators such as CakeDeals allow smaller vendors to compete alongside the giants. The site automatically curates a list of the active deals in a city from various partner vendors. It also provides a view optimized for mobile phones, as well as a free iPhone application via the Apple iTunes store.

Hunting for any type of deal in general can be time-consuming, and any new tool to aid in the search will certainly be welcomed. As the daily deal industry continues to expand at a rapid rate, customers will continue to turn towards deal aggregators to precisely navigate towards the deal that they are looking for.

New applications launched by the Government of Canada will allow more people across the country and around the world to follow The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge as they embark on their tour of Canada beginning on June 30. The iPhone and mobile applications were launched today by the Honourable James Moore, Minister of Canadian Heritage and Official Languages.

“Royal Tours are opportunities for all Canadians, particularly young people, to take pride in our country and our history, and to show to the world all that this great country has to offer” said Minister Moore. “Launching this application will offer Canadians the opportunity to connect with the Royal Tour and interact with friends and colleagues in exciting new ways.”

The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge will make seven official stops in four provinces and one territory over nine days, from June 30 to July 8. The upcoming Royal Tour will be the first international tour for The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge as a married couple.

The new 2011 Royal Tour iPhone application is available for free on iTunes and is compatible with iPhone, iPod touch and iPad devices running iOS 4.0 or later. Blackberry and other mobile platform users can access the content at m.royaltour.ca.

The 2011 Royal Tour website provides information and details regarding the Royal Tour and the Monarchy in Canada. You can also follow the latest updates on the Tour on Facebook and Twitter.

MTS has announced that the company will offer dedicated data plans for iPad 2 with Wi-Fi + 3G in Canada beginning June 30, 2011. All data plans will be available without a commitment, providing the freedom to activate or cancel a plan at any time.

iPad 2 is the second generation of Apple’s revolutionary new device, featuring an entirely new design that is 33 percent thinner and up to 15 percent lighter than the original iPad, while maintaining the same stunning 9.7-inch LED-backlit LCD screen. iPad 2 features Apple’s new dual-core A5 processor for blazing fast performance and stunning graphics and now includes two cameras, a front-facing VGA camera for FaceTime and Photo Booth, and a rear-facing camera that captures 720p HD video, bringing the innovative FaceTime feature to iPad users for the first time. Though it is thinner, lighter, faster and packed with new features, iPad 2 still delivers the up to 10 hours of battery life* users have come to expect.

“We are excited to launch data plans for iPad 2,” said Stan Kurtas, vice president, marketing, MTS. “Our data plans are commitment free and provide access to our extensive wireless network. MTS customers will also have free access to all MTS Wi-Fi Hotspots, giving them the best iPad 2 plans in Manitoba.”

Kobo has launched new and engaging features for its popular social program Reading Life on the free Kobo eReading app for iOS. Available for iPad, iPhone and iPod touch, the new 4.5 version is all about friends – users can now connect with their friends on Facebook to see what books they are reading, compare number of books read in Reading Life™ stats, view awards earned and much more.
The latest release includes the full friends feature set, allowing users to:

• See the books friends have read and ask them for recommendations
• See the books in common
• Compare Reading Life awards
• Compare and measure progress with friends through Reading Life stats, including the number of books read, time read and more
• Invite friends to join on Kobo via Facebook or email

Other new features include navigational enhancements – users can now swipe left to right with one finger to easily navigate their library shelves and use a two-fingered swipe to open and close the library edit menu.

The latest release builds on the feature rich functionality of Kobo’s previous iOS release that lets users:

• Easily share the Reading Life Mosaic via Facebook with followers
• Share their latest read with Twitter followers
• Share their favorite quotes and passages, notes and thoughts with followers
• Earn awards – just for spending time reading
• View awards friends have earned by tapping on the shared award from the activity feed on iPhone or iPad
• Chat with friends about new and favorite reads
• Purchase or start reading books recommended by friends simply by tapping on the shared book cover from the activity feed
• Organize their library by creating and personalizing shelves of books, newspapers, magazines and documents

Building on Reading Life, the industry’s first comprehensive social reading experience, these new features make the highly popular Kobo eReading app even more of a “must have” free download. Nearly all of Kobo’s iPad and iPhone users have started using Reading Life, with millions of awards earned by Kobo readers to date. The highly rated app redefines the reading experience for millions of users looking for an industry-leading experience that incorporates the latest features and functionality in eReading.

“With Reading Life, we continue to build features to enable more social interaction between Kobo readers and their social networks,” said Michael Serbinis, CEO, Kobo. “Our goal is to engage readers and inspire them to share the fun of reading, and our latest iOS app does just that – bringing additional ways to connect and enjoy reading with friends and family both near and far.”

The Kobo store offers a selection of over 2.3 million eBooks, newspapers and magazines with titles ranging from the New York Times’ Bestsellers list, the hottest new releases, thrillers, romance and over a million free books. In addition to its global store, Kobo also offers locally merchandised English language stores in the US, Canada, UK, Australia, New Zealand and Hong Kong. Since its launch in 2009, Kobo has been dedicated to an open cloud-based platform, enabling users to read on any device, and with open standards that give users freedom to build their lifetime libraries as they choose.

The Kobo eReading app for iPhone, iPad and iTouch can be for downloaded for free from Kobo or the iTunes App Store. Customers who currently have Kobo on their iPad or iPhone can download the update directly from their device.