Village Gamer

Reminder: You have one more day to get your vote counted for the Canadian Video Game Awards Game of the Year. Note: Use of Facebook Connect is required to vote.

Canada Post has introduced its new mobile applications that enable Canadians to create their own postage stamps while on the go. The new applications are available in iPhone, iPad, iPod, Android^™ and BlackBerry formats and can be downloaded for free. These new applications join the growing suite of mobile apps now offered by Canada Post.

“This is a unique and creative way to capture special moments in one’s life – whether it’s to mark an occasion like a wedding, celebrate a loved one or commemorate a pet – and share it with friends and family,” says Mary Traversy, Senior Vice President, Transaction Mail at Canada Post.

Picture Postage^™ can be used the same way as any other stamp. The stamps are valued at the current domestic rate. This means that one Picture Postage^™ stamp gets any standard-size envelope (up to 30 grams) delivered anywhere in Canada.

Each photograph submitted will be transformed into a sheet of 20 self-adhesive, domestic rate stamps with a souvenir picture enlargement for $27.95 or a full sheet of 40 stamps for $44.75.

SIGGRAPH has released the list of courses that will be available during this year’s conference in Vancouver. According to the SIGGRAPH site, the spectrum of courses ranges from an introduction to the foundations of computer graphics and interactive techniques for those new to the field to advanced instruction on the most current techniques and topics. Conference organizers have also partnered with Vancouver’s UniGlobe Vision Travel to help you Make It Home to Vancouver this August for SIGGRAPH 2011.

The next BCTIA TechForum – Voices of Experience event is taking place on May 19th at the Sutton Place Hotel. Innovation, Productivity and Jobs: Why BC Should Care with speakers David Emerson and Jock Finlayson will examine the impact of innovation on British Columbia’s economy, and explore what BC must do to earn its place among the most innovative, growing and prosperous economies today. Tickets are $55.00 for BCTIA Members and $80.00 for Non-members or $36.00 Students.

The Hamilton community of the TeamBiz network invites local entrepreneurs and business professionals to attend its first networking event. Organized in partnership with the Hamilton Small Business Enterprise Centre, the event will take place at the Hamilton Small Business Centre (Hamilton City Hall) on May 25, from 4:30 pm to 6:00 pm.

The purpose of the event is to help small business owners from Hamilton and surrounding areas explore new opportunities for contacts and potential partners in increasing business. You can register online for this event. Seating is limited to 75 people on a first come first served basis. The cost to attend is $15 + HST.

“Our community is based online, but in the past few months, many Teambiz members expressed interest to meet each other in person as well”, says Ruxandra Bucataru, Teambiz co-founder.”We recognize that face-to-face interaction enhances online relationships, so we want to create a social and enjoyable pure networking evening, where people have plenty of time to connect, and we are keeping it simple and to the point”.

Several promotional opportunities are also available at the event, from exhibitor tables, to door prizes and contributions to goodie bags, handed to all participants. TeamBiz is a network of entrepreneurs with over 1,000 members Canada-wide. Started as a small peer mentoring group at the Hamilton Small Business Centre several years ago, the network is spreading at a rapid pace, with new members joining every day.

Best Buy Canada is now offering customers the option to purchase previously played games online for as low as $4.99 per game. The online selection can be found in the preplayed games section of Best Buy’s web site and includes games for several popular game consoles including Playstation 3, Nintendo DS, Nintendo Wii, PSP and Xbox 360.

All used games are thoroughly inspected for quality assurance and are backed by a 30-day exchange policy. Best Buy will exchange damaged games for the same title (pending availability) or in-store credit. Customers can also search online for title availability at their local Best Buy using the “check local store availability” feature. Previously played games are not available in Nanaimo, Winnipeg and select Ontario Best Buy Stores. Customers are these regions are invited to shop online for all of the latest titles.

Yangaroo Inc. has signed a multi-year agreement with Black Entertainment Television (BET Networks) to power online review and professional member voting for the forthcoming BET Awards to be held in Los Angeles in June and The BET Hip Hop Awards to be held in Atlanta in October. BET will employ Yangaroo’s patented Digital Media Distribution System (DMDS) Awards solution to securely distribute ballots in digital formats to its voting members. Through DMDS, members will be able to review materials online and vote electronically at the time that is most convenient for them. The agreement with BET follows similar, previous deals Yangaroo has inked with The Grammy’s, The Juno’s, The Academy of Country Music Awards and others to provide award shows with a cost-saving and digitally-streamlined solution.

A small Canadian start up eBook publisher sits among a list of global publishing power houses as one of the top 50 Humor eBooks on Apple’s iPod Touch. Vancouver based Open Mic Press sales surged in May 2011 when bookstorechart.com named “The Best of Drunk Texter” by Ivana Murleau (we get it: I wanna Merlot) at 16th place in the category of Top 50 humor eBooks available for download on ipod, using the iBooks App available from the App Store on iTunes.

“The Best of Drunk Texter is a hilarious book,” says Open Mic Press Co-Owner and Publicist Robert Christofle. “We saw a huge surge on all ebook sale sites when the news came out surpassing our other eBooks virtually overnight.”

The eBook is listed in over 43 countries with over 72 ebook sellers.

Open Mic Press was founded by Robert Greene and Robert Christofle in January 2011 to bring humour with a Canadian twist to the world ebook market. The venture was also an initiative to push environmental friendly publishing since ebooks creates little to no paper waste.

“It’s nice to see that a small ePublishing House from Canada with only two employees can compete against multi-conglomerates for readers of eBooks,” says Christofle.

According to data released by the Association of American Publishers, the growth of ebooks continues to accelerate to the obvious detriment of print books. In 2011, ebook sales surpassed hard cover book sales for the first time.

Sun Life Financial has announced that it plans to offer a free mobile application for group benefits and group retirement and savings plan members. Submitting benefit claims and saving for the future will be easier with a single mobile app that will redefine the plan member experience across Canada. Group plan members with an iPhone^® mobile digital device or BlackBerry^® smartphone will be able to download the free app directly from each manufacturer’s application marketplace. Users of other smartphones will have access to mobile web functionality shortly after the launch of the app.

For Sun Life group benefits plan members, the app allows them to submit medical and dental claims from their smartphones for instant processing. Plan members will be able to submit claims anywhere, anytime – even at point of sale – and could have their money deposited into their bank accounts within 24 to 48 hours.

Plan members will also be able to view the details of their submitted claims, even those submitted in paper through the mail, and have easy access to important benefit tools including their drug and travel protection cards. The app is scheduled to be available later this summer.

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Along with the group benefits capabilities, group retirement and savings plan members can check their plan balances and recent contributions right from their phones. Sun Life Financial will offer mobile access and three interactive financial planning tools that take everyday spending situations and show how easy it is to turn small expenses into substantial savings. These tools include:

• Save today for more tomorrow
• Small amounts equal big savings
• Saving my bonus, saving my raise.

“Plan members have told us they’re looking for a faster, easier experience,” says Tom Reid, Senior Vice-President, Group Retirement Services, Sun Life Financial Canada. “We’ve provided that access in education sessions through the use of wireless enrolment and now we’re continuing the evolution of our technology for plan members by making mobile access available for account information and financial planning tools. We’re taking convenience to a whole new level for group retirement and savings plans.”

Toronto game developer Alexander Shapovalov has announced the release of iPhone game Aliens Attack Deluxe. Available now for 99 cents USD, the game is compatible with the iPhone, iPod touch, and iPad. Rated 4+, Aliens Attack Deluxe requires iOS 3.0 or later.

Aliens Attack Deluxe has a simple concept and game play is easy to understand. Aliens have arrived and attacking Earth is their prime objective. The user must protect the planet using laser cannons. The game resembles 1980’s Missile Command game, but with better graphics and a variation on actual game play. To shoot down the aliens, players tap the screen to fire the cannon and knock the invaders out of the sky and earn money for your defensive efforts.

For the wee folk in your house, Wrinkled Pants Software, Ltd. has released it’s debut title, My Word! Reader – Are Bees Smart, or What? for iPads with iOS 3.2 or later. Available now for $4.99 USD, My Word! Reader – Are Bees Smart, or What? is a ground breaking app for the iPad based on sound educational and literacy theory that is designed to improve literacy skills in underachieving students.

This app will be an essential tool for literacy learning for education and home markets. Simple to use, but sophisticated in design, it incorporates word analysis, phonics, writing skills, word recognition, comprehension and spelling in a series of dynamic, engaging, and delightful “word games” that are rooted in the easy-to-read, but sophisticated story, Are Bees Smart, or What?

“My Word! Reader provides a resource for teachers to use with underachieving students, thus allowing them more time for other demanding instructional tasks,” said Dr. Selma Wassermann, CEO of Wrinkled Pants.

The application is designed to be self-instructional – giving the student control over the learning process. The “Bees” story features an interactive experience on the iPad with 6 learning games designed to engage the reader and develop basic literacy skills and comprehension.  Wrinkled Pants Software intends to release more titles in the My Word! Reader series on an ongoing basis.

Renegade Citizen has released Infinity Control, a game that casts players as new recruits for the Federation of International Space Marines. You begin your career on Earth, where you learn the basics of game play, managing incoming craft while avoiding collisions with orbiting satellites. Once you’ve mastered these skills, you will move on to help scientific researchers maneuver craft around the dense asteroids of Saturn. The random spawning of black holes adds even more challenge to your flying skills as you move up the career ladder through 40 ranks – from young recruit to skilled veteran.

Infinity Control is comprised of 3 incredible worlds built in high resolution retina graphics accompanied by a dynamic orchestral score. The game also features a stats screen along with full Openfient and GameCenter integration with Leaderboards and Achievements. Infinity Control is available now on iTunes for 99 cents USD and is rated 4+. It is compatible with the iPhone, iPod touch and iPad running iOS 3.0 or later.

A team of four Game Design students at Vancouver Film School have released the school’s first iPad game to be available on iTunes. Faine’s Melody was developed by Sharai Grant, Steven Martin, Christopher Ellington and Michel McBride-Charpentier as a way to experience the game mechanics and overcome the challenges they presented as the team worked towards their goal. The result was a fun and unique puzzle adventure that makes imaginative use of all of the touch controls available for iPad interaction. This initial release is a presentation build and is free to download. Faine’s Melody is rated 4+ and is compatible with iPads running iOS 3.2 or later. Watch the trailer for a close up look at the innovative game play of Faine’s Melody.

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Toronto-based GoGoNews, the online news resource for children, has launched GoGoNews.com, an interactive web site featuring daily news for school children ages seven to 13 years old. GoGoNews.com features popular headlines from mainstream media with filtered content, informing children of global events while simultaneously protecting them from images and story details appropriate for more mature audiences. In addition to breaking news, GoGoNews covers Science, Art, Government, Politics and Geography, offering fun facts and stories that capture children’s attention and encourage exploration of new subjects.

Designed to provide parents and teachers with interesting topics to engage children in conversation and expand their knowledge, GoGoNews provides a safe means for addressing the harsh realities of today’s world. The site is organized in stories that are packed with facts but concise enough to keep young readers engaged and hungry for the next article. The news articles can be readily accessed with the site’s simple and intuitive navigation:

Headlines – covers breaking news
Cool & Fun – contains items like brain teasers, puzzles and jokes
Picks – is filled with editor’s and children’s recommendations on top books, toys, and gift ideas
Planet – feature interesting facts about space and the environment
Talk – provides a forum for kids and parents to post feedback, comments and ideas
Teach – offers  suggestions for parents and educators on how to approach difficult news topics and innovative ways to introduce new lessons

“We created GoGoNews to inform kids about world events in a safe manner, feeding their young, inquisitive minds with real news, while also protecting them from content that is too sophisticated or beyond their

Golnar Khosrowshahi

comprehension,” said Golnar Khosrowshahi, founder and editor in chief of GoGoNews. “As a parent, I want my children to grow up and be educated in a global context; to think of countries near and far as their neighbors who do things just a little differently. I believe that the next generation of leaders will be those who have grown up connected to the world around them intellectually, academically and socially. With GoGoNews, we are creating the opportunity for children to improve their literacy, gain a new vocabulary and learn about different people, countries, and cultures in a fun and entertaining format.”

Khosrowshahi started GoGoNews in 2007 for her then five-year-old twin daughters after they saw a newspaper cover with a devastating photograph of a little girl after an earthquake in Pakistan. Rather than ignoring her daughters’ ensuing questions and finding them an alternative distraction, Khosrowshahi explained earthquakes and the types of damage they can cause.

The interest, emotions and discussion that followed inspired Khosrowshahi to create a daily online newsletter for her girls. The result was a compilation of culled headlines and relevant data that encouraged conversation about what they read, learned and felt about the news. The newsletter quickly gained a following among family, friends and elementary schools and led to the creation of GoGoNews.com, which, unlike other similarly branded news sources geared for children, is updated 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

Today, GoGoNews is compiled by an editorial team, with consultation and input from an advisory board that includes teachers, child psychologists, curriculum specialists and various educators who guide classroom discussion and materials and advise on the treatment of stories about natural disaster. GoGoNews is currently being syndicated to elementary schools throughout the United States and Canada via the newsletter, GoGo On The Go.

Denver-based MapQuest, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of AOL Inc. has just announced the launch of MapQuest.ca to provide accurate mapping tools and directions for Canadian addresses.

“MapQuest has been providing solutions to Canadian users to meet their trip-planning needs for years,” said Christian Dwyer, senior vice president and general manager, MapQuest. “The launch of MapQuest.ca speaks to the growing needs of Canadian consumers for MapQuest tools, including search results and Canadian-specific directions providing a localized experience.”

MapQuest.ca is a key part of MapQuest’s strategy of inspiring consumers to explore and discover while on their travel journeys. MapQuest also offers tailored opportunities for advertisers looking to engage users.

According to comScore’s 2010 Canada Year in Review (published March 2011), Canadians are one of the most engaged online audiences, ranking highest among the top markets in both average hours and visits per visitor. MapQuest’s new, dedicated site provides a better experience to users through customized features including precise search, advertising messages geared toward individual inquiries and needs, and directions defaulting to kilometers.

Additional information on Canadian users:

• Directories/Resources (where mapping is) grew 18% Y/Y and is a top category
• Canadian males spent the greatest amount of time on Directories sites, averaging more than 94 minutes per month in Q4 2010.
• Women spent double the amount of time on Photos and Directories sites when compared to Q4 2009

“Though Canadians have been using MapQuest for 15 years, the new site provides new inventory for advertisers looking to reach travelers in all stages of trip-planning and discovery,” said Graham Moysey, general manager, AOL Canada. “We’re thrilled to bring these enhanced, new opportunities to our current and prospective advertising customers.”

MapQuest.com also operates with 14 language localization options and 27 country-specific open-source mapping sites that harness crowd-sourced map data. The launch of the dedicated Canada site underscores AOL Canada’s continued commitment to the Canadian marketplace, coming on the heels of the recently announced IAB Portrait (formerly known as Project Devil), the new ad format that could transform online marketing and the announcement of a Canadian version of The Huffington Post.

Chicago-based Media Chaperone, developer of Piggyback – a first of its kind Facebook application that helps parents monitor their kids’ online game use – has announced a strategic partnership with Quebec’s Frima Studio. The partnership will provide tens of millions of parents the ability to monitor and reward their children’s online gaming activity while playing Frima developed games.

Media Chaperone’s Piggyback application provides parents with important information, parental controls and protection for their kids’ online game play and learning. Parents can obtain, in real-time, an overview (through a parent’s Facebook account) of how their children are navigating the web within online gaming environments, social networks, and virtual worlds—and can easily manage entertainment expenditures, add monies for tokens, credit for continued gaming, while monitoring online behavior.

Ed Lewis, CEO of Media Chaperone acknowledged the value of partnering with a market leader like Frima Studio, “We are thrilled to partner with Frima Studio. They are a premier game developer, understand kids’ game play and have built outstanding games for market leaders including Build-A-Bear, Warner Brothers and Nickelodeon.”

Piggyback simplifies the ability for parents to follow along with their kids’ online game behavior, social activities and learning success—and has already been integrated within several popular online gaming environments, social networks and virtual worlds including: Everloop, Planet Cazmo, Webosaurs Whyville, and Woozworld among others. Frima Studio will collaborate with Media Chaperone to integrate Piggyback into leading kids’ online games to enable incremental revenue for its clients.

“Our clients can now leverage Piggyback to give parents insights and understanding into their child’s online gaming all with built in rewards,” said Frima CEO Steve Couture. “Parent engagement is a key to success for any kids game developer.”

Toronto has leapt into the number two spot in the world in the just-released PwC survey of “Cities of Opportunity” – the consultancy’s fourth analysis “of the trajectory of 26 cities, all capitals of finance, commerce and culture.” New York is slightly ahead of Toronto in first place, while San Francisco, Stockholm and Sydney round out the top five.

In its analysis, PwC ranked cities in ten categories – measures designed, as PwC describes it, to favour “holistic capital market centres with vibrant economies and strong quality of life.” According to PwC, “Our thesis is that a successful city going forward will balance both social and economic strengths so the people and infrastructure support each other.”

Toronto ranks particularly highly in two of the categories most closely correlated with global competitiveness: Intellectual Capital & Innovation (2nd) and Health, Safety & Security (2nd). “The successful modern urban economy,” says PwC, “is reliant on, if not yet solely the product of, intelligence and social well-being.”

Toronto also ranks highly on Demographics and Liveability (#3), Lifestyle Assets (4th), Ease of Doing Business (5th), Sustainability (5th) and Cost (5th).

The PwC report sums up with the observation that, “to sustain success, cities today must continually attract and retain highly educated, technologically adept and digitally connected knowledge workers who increasingly make up the core of their human capital and whose definition of quality of life is exacting and not easily compromised… More than a centre of global business and finance alone, Toronto is a community in which people want to live and expect to lead rich and meaningful lives.”

Samsung Electronics Canada and Zip.ca has announced an exclusive partnership that will soon provide Canadians the ability to enjoy thousands of movies and TV episodes streamed from Zip.ca to Samsung’s SMART Televisions, Blu-ray players and Home Theatre products.

“Realizing the changing entertainment landscape and the demand for online entertainment, this new partnership will help Canadian’s access Zip.ca’s expansive catalogue and underscores our goal of developing smart technologies that deliver content with convenience to meet consumers needs,” said David Vitale, Head of Marketing, Samsung Electronics Canada.

A Zip.ca app will be available on Samsung’s Internet connected TV and Home Theatre products soon, offering Zip.ca members the ability to instantly watch movies and TV episodes from Zip.ca.

“For the past year, Samsung and Zip.ca have been working together to solidify a service that would provide Canadians with the latest movies and TV programs at the mere push of a button,” said Scott Richards, CEO, Zip.ca. “Consumers want outstanding technology to watch their favourite programs, so Samsung was a natural choice for this partnership.”

MEGA Brands Inc. has announced that holders of its 10% senior secured debentures passed an extraordinary resolution today approving amendments to the indenture governing the debentures. The amendments, among other things, allow the Corporation to increase available borrowings for working capital purposes under its existing asset-based credit agreement and are effective as of today. The extraordinary resolution was approved by approximately 92% of the votes cast in person or represented by proxy at the special meeting of debenture holders.

When the polls closed on Monday evening Jack Layton had made historic gains.  It was a trend in popularity and leadership that the two-week online election game Ballot Blitz had shown from the beginning. Layton finished at the top of Onestop Media Group’s Ballot Blitz leaderboard on Play Onestop with 36%.

Ballot Blitz was an election themed arcade game which posted poll results based on the animated candidates’ popularity.  Users were asked to play as one of five party leaders – Stephen Harper, Michael Ignatieff, Elizabeth May, Jack Layton and Gilles Duceppe – while the other four candidates whizzed across the scene attempting to steal votes.

Layton’s luster was not confined to Ballot Blitz. He and his party rose to the top of almost every poll on PlayOnestop.com’s polling section as well.  These polls measured several leadership qualities including integrity in a fun way.  For example, most users did not believe Layton would attempt to ring 9 items through an 8 item express checkout line.

Susan Varty, Principal of Wordtree Consulting, has joined HeadStart Solutions Inc. as Director of Digital Strategy. Wordtree is now operating under HeadStart to contribute content marketing, social media initiatives and services for HeadStart’s clients.

“Our partnership will enhance our recruitment and employer branding offerings for our existing client base, as well as attract new clients in the emerging digital technology space. I’m looking forward to working with Sue who brings a wealth of experience in content and social media communications.  This makes it a perfect match for us to collaborate and build upon HeadStart’s foundation,” says Marc Roginsky, Founder and President of HeadStart.

Best Buy Canada is hosting The Windows Experience Tour at select Best Buy stores in Ontario and Quebec. Beginning May 6^th until June 26^th, the tent activation will be set up in the parking lots of select stores where customers can check out the hot new hardware while experiencing how Windows 7 and free Windows Live services can help them create, connect and share using their PC and the cloud. In addition, customers can speak with Windows brand ambassadors and Best Buy blue shirts and have the chance to win prizes including one of seven ultimate jet-setter experiences to a music festival somewhere around the globe, or many other prizes as part of the Rock the Globe contest.

Two Best Buy locations will feature a Windows “tailgate” parking lot party, complete with a free barbeque and music. The parties will be at the Newmarket location on May 14^th and May 15^th and the Leaside location on May 21^st.

Dates and locations of the Windows Experience Tours:

May 6 – 8: Sherway – 167 North Queen Etobicoke
May 13 – 15: Newmarket – 175 Green Lane East, Newmarket
May 20 – 22: Leaside – 147 Laird Drive East York
May 27 – 29: Laval – 1560 boulevard Le Courbusier Laval
June 3 – 5: Woodbridge – 7850 Weston Road Woodbridge
June 10 – 12: Sherway – 167 North Queen Etobicoke
June 17 – 19: Kitchener – 215 Fairway Road South Kitchener
June 24 – 26: St. Catherine’s – 420 Vansickle Road St. Catherine’s
June 24 – 26: Ottawa East – 380 Coventry Road Ottawa

Intelliware Development Inc. has officially introduced its newest Roadmap process designed specifically  for BlackBerry® platform applications. This tool enables companies to rapidly but strategically plan and launch mobile solutions. Whether your company requires an enterprise application to improve organizational efficiency, or a consumer app to drive customer engagement, Intelliware’s Roadmap jump-starts your initiative. The Roadmap for BlackBerry app is the latest addition to a variety of Roadmaps that Intelliware offers to help clients accelerate their software development initiatives.

“We’ve been developing mobile apps for years and the first question our clients ask is, Where do we start?” explains Greg McKenzie, SVP, Strategic Alliances & Partnerships, Intelliware. “With the explosion of devices in the marketplace and proliferation of apps, organizations are starting to take a more strategic approach to the mobile ecosystem. Our Roadmap for BlackBerry apps results in a strategic, actionable plan that enables companies to get to market quickly with a solution that provides immediate, enduring value.”

On April 19th, RIM’s latest device, the BlackBerry® PlayBook™ tablet was launched and is proving to become popular not only among consumers, but in particular, for enterprises. Companies are trying to determine how best to leverage what this new enterprise-class tablet has to offer. To help, Intelliware adapted its proven Roadmap process to incorporate the unique attributes and opportunities the PlayBook offers.

To coincide with the introduction of the BlackBerry PlayBook tablet, Loblaw® launched its President’s Choice™ Recipe Box app for the PlayBook. The app, developed by Intelliware, has been extremely popular and continues to have positive ratings and strong downloads.

“We’ve already used our Roadmap process to produce an opening day hit on BlackBerry App World™ for the PlayBook. Now, we’re working with other partners using this process to plan and develop new apps as well as launch existing apps on the new platform,” comments Dave Scapillati, VP, Mobile Solutions, Intelliware. “The PlayBook is the world’s first true enterprise-class tablet, and, deployed strategically, it can transform how an organization uses technology.”