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The Canada Media Fund would like to remind the development community that there are only four days left to tell them what you think about their programs and services. Your comments will help the Fund’s review for the 2010–2011 CMF program guidelines, scheduled to be published in December. You can offer your input in one of three methods:

* Comment on the CMF Forum
* Download a Word version for comments and submit it via email
* Take the short CMF survey

The CMF has also announced the latest round of funding awards, totaling $1 million for eight Television and Digital Media project applications in the Diverse Languages Program. The projects are to be produced in Italian, Mandarin, Portuguese, Punjabi, and Tamil languages, and will receive $898,000 for the television components and $102,000 for the Digital Media components. Of the total, seven are television components and four are digital media components. The successful projects include one children and youth show, five documentaries and two dramas. Of the projects approved for CMF funding, five originate in Toronto, two in Montreal, and one in Vancouver.

Cineplex Entertainment, Canada’s largest and most successful motion picture theatre exhibitor, and D-BOX Technologies Inc. have signed an agreement to add approximately 250 D-BOX MFX Seats to be installed in 10 theatres across Canada over the next 12 months with an option for 10 additional locations on the same terms.

“We are very proud of this agreement with Canada’s leading theatre circuit, which will provide movie-goers across the country with the opportunity to experience our unique technology,” said Claude Mc Master, President & CEO, D-BOX Technologies Inc. “This Canadian expansion will complement D-BOX’s foray into foreign markets while increasing visibility at home. More so, this significant milestone clearly demonstrates the attractiveness of our business model driven by the growing worldwide acceptance of our technology.”

As of November 19th, three Cineplex theatres will feature D-BOX Motion Systems and will feature Warner Bros. Pictures’ Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1. Disney’s Tron Legacy (3D), which opens December 17th will be the next movie available utilizing D-BOX Motion technology.

Scotiabank Theatre Montreal, 977 St. Catherine Street West, Montreal
Cineplex Odeon Beauport Cinemas, 825 Clemenceau Street, Beauport
Cineplex Odeon Queensway Cinemas, 1025 The Queensway, Toronto

Rogers Media has announced that it is the exclusive digital media sales agent for NBA Canada. Through this partnership, Rogers will sell advertising across NBA.com platforms including display ads, video content and mobile applications.

Rogers Digital Media, known for creating innovative advertising solutions, will leverage the NBA’s strong sports and lifestyle brand to develop customized programs for Canadian advertisers looking to connect with the NBA’s growing fan base in the country.

Poynt Corporation announced yesterday that their Poynt Local Search application is available for Windows Phone 7 and was selected as a launch partner in Canada. Poynt for Windows Phone 7 is now available in Canada and the United States.

Poynt harnesses the power of multiple applications in one intuitive package. Users can view search results, call businesses and get driving directions, as well as view restaurant information and even make dinner reservations. The movie section provides showtimes, trailers and the ability to book movie tickets through the application. Poynt for Windows Phone 7 also features movie ratings, giving users an overall ranking of how critics feel about the latest movies. The App also provides local weather forecasts and has an integrated weather screen.

Poynt is a free application that connects Windows Phone 7 users to business, movie, retailer, restaurant, and local weather information. The App integrates with the device using click-to-call, click-to-browse, map location and email results to friend in addition to using including some of the unique features of the device including the pivot feature to facilitate toggling between different features and screens.

Angoss Software Corporation has acquired the mobile solutions assets of Hitgroup.ca, formerly operated as “The Hornby Solution”.

The Hornby Solution reflects more than a decade of domain expertise in the Canadian loyalty and rewards space. Hitgroup founders Blair Calder and Stevi Hanson are assisting Angoss with transitional support and collaboration on sales and business development for existing opportunities after closing.

The Hornby system provides a robust mobile marketing platform that enables marketers and their agencies to provide mobile loyalty and rewards programs including offers, coupons, and other location based services. It is especially well positioned to help retailers and other high frequency consumer services providers extend existing loyalty and rewards programs to create mobile marketing and rewards opportunities.

Angoss will be integrating the Hornby capabilities into its Intellimaxx™ integrated marketing solutions platform as Intellimaxx™ Mobile and extending its data capture, communications, promotions, loyalty and customer intelligence capabilities across Blackberry, iPhone and Android mobile platforms.

“By extending Intellimaxx™ with these exciting mobile capabilities, Angoss will be able to provide our customers with a comprehensive suite of customer management, insight, engagement and loyalty” said Eric Apps, President of Angoss. “In addition, this solution will provide us with valuable opportunities to provide more advanced analytics and measurement than currently exist in the mobile space to help marketers better understand the dynamics of the mobile marketplace”.

Information about a new Youth Privacy Online Conference just came my way. Presented by Verney Conference Management, this event will “explore social networking and its relationship to issues such as online advertising, online scams, identity theft and online predators. Through a number of case studies, keynote addresses and discussions, the conference will show how providing too much personal information through social networking activity can lead to embarrassment, loss of career opportunities, disciplinary action and even danger. Whether the concern is privacy, online relationships or cyber-bullying – this is a conference that no educator, public employee, parent or youth exploring the Web 2.0 world, will want to miss.

The Youth Privacy Conference will take place on December 1st at the Toronto Renaissance Hotel, with individual tickets priced at $349.00 (+ HST). Group ticket pricing is also available.

The Canadian Internet Registration Authority (CIRA) will be hosting two invitation-only events tomorrow, November 10th – one in Winnipeg, the other in Halifax. Both consultations will centre on how Canadians view the role of the Internet in their lives and the economy

The consultations are part of a CIRA-led initiative with the International Institute for Sustainable Development (IISD) and the Media Awareness Network (MNet) to discuss, debate and propose directions for the development, deployment and governance of the Internet in Canada. IISD will help CIRA facilitate a group of about 20 participants in Winnipeg which will focus on the development of Canada’s digital economy, while in Halifax the discussion will centre on issues regarding digital literacy, including online privacy and identity, social media, social cohesion, and ethics.

Open Text Corporation will convene with customers, partners, and Enterprise Content Management (ECM) industry experts from across the globe to share best practices, learn how to yield maximum benefits from content management technology and hear about Open Text’s vision and long-term strategy at Content World 2010, November 8-12 in Washington D.C. The company will also showcase its just released ECM Suite 2010, which was announced in September.

The power of ECM Suite 2010 is its wide ranging new functionality covering 90 products and modules linked through a consistent integration framework, and spanning everything from compliance, business process management and portals to integrated mobile experience and enterprise information archiving. The result gives customers the most complete content management environment available to handle the vast array of content types, languages, applications, user needs and business processes in their organizations.

The six-day conference, attended and sponsored by the world’s leading brands, is being staged at the award-winning Gaylord National Resort and Convention Center and offers more than 110 sessions, peer-to-peer networking events, panel discussions and a distinguished keynote speaker, this year’s event will explore how to ensure governance, improve efficiency and drive monetization of enterprise content management. Participants will also learn vital information about how to optimize current Open Text solutions—whether their focus is on lifecycle management, engagement, or transactional content. They will also learn how Open Text Everywhere boosts productivity by bringing the full power of the ECM Suite to smartphones.

Toronto’s Yangaroo Inc. has signed an agreement with the Academy of Country Music (ACM) to power online review and professional member voting for the forthcoming 46th Annual Academy of Country Music Awards to be held in the spring of 2011. The Academy 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.

Each year, the Academy presents awards honoring country music’s top talent and the industry’s hottest emerging talent. Awards are voted on in three rounds by the Academy’s professional members. The 46th Annual Academy of Country Music Awards will be broadcast LIVE on the CBS Television Network, on an as-yet-unannounced date.

The agreement with the Academy follows similar, previous deals Yangaroo has inked with The Grammys, The Junos, and others to provide award shows with a cost-saving and environmentally friendly solution.

“The Academy has always been ahead of the curve when it comes to adopting new technology that serves our membership and our mission to support the country music industry,” said Michelle Goble, Vice President, Membership and Events for the Academy. “We’re delighted to work with DMDS to streamline the time our dedicated professional members spend on the voting process.”

“Since the launch of our DMDS Awards solution two years ago, it has quickly become the standard for music industry award shows,” said Scott Wambolt, CEO of Yangaroo. “DMDS offers an easy to implement, cost-saving, environmentally friendly solution for music and broadcasting trade organizations. We are honored to be providing this for a renowned organization like the ACM and this is consistent with our profitable growth strategy of expanding our strategic relationships with key players across multiple music genres.”

Disney Institute is bringing its renowned professional development program, “Disney’s Approach to Quality Service” to Surrey BC this November 30th. Sponsored locally by Kwantlen Polytechnic University School of Business and the Surrey Board of Trade, the full-day event will demonstrate how anticipating and reacting to customers’ needs, wants, and emotions is an integral aspect of delivering quality service and achieving business results.

The program will be held at the Cedar Building Conference Centre in Surrey, and give participants new ideas for creating a service-driven organization that delivers excellence.

Program registration is $395 per person and includes Breakfast, Lunch and all course materials. For more information or to register, call 877-544-2384 or visit the event information page.

“Delivering great service is critical for companies looking to survive and prosper,” said Jeff James, vice president for Disney Institute. “This program is a rare opportunity for Vancouver-area business professionals to go inside the Disney organization and learn innovative, easy-to-implement best practices that can give them the competitive edge.”

The full-day “Disney’s Approach to Quality Service” program will give participants an “insider’s look” at business practices that have helped Disney become respected for product and service quality. In 2010, Fortune magazine recognized Disney as the world’s most admired company for quality. Participants will learn how to exceed customer expectations using a well-defined service infrastructure, ongoing research and service standards.

“In an era where everyone is competing for business and market share, excellent customer service isn’t a luxury, it’s a necessity,” James said. “This program is made for organizations – large and small – that are looking to create a service experience that exceeds customer expectations and drives repeat business.”

Disney Institute was created to showcase “the business behind the magic” – Disney best practices that easily adapt to other organizations. One of the most recognized names in professional development, Disney Institute travels the world offering engaging seminars, workshops and presentations, as well as fully customized programming. Immersive learning experiences are also offered at Disney destinations in the Americas, Europe and Asia, enabling participants to go behind the scenes and see firsthand how business theory drives operational excellence. The Disney Institute client roster includes Fortune 500 companies as well as a wide range of small businesses, non-profits and government agencies.

Think you can be the next big music star? Well now you’ve got all the tools right at your fingertips with Mix Superstar from Digital Leisure. Create, mix and record your own royalty-free musical masterpieces right on your Wii™ system. There are over 1,000 Dance, Hip Hop and Techno loops included across multiple instruments like Drum, Bass, Synth, Guitar and even voice tracks.

Once you’ve got that next hit created, it’s time to show it off. Mix Superstar allows you to export your music creations, and download them to your computer so you can take them on-the-go. You can also use WiiConnect24™ to send those hits to your Wii Friends and even collaborate on mixes!

Also included is full support for both the Logitech® USB Microphone and Wii Speak™ so you can lay down your own vocals on that next hit.

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

Looking to give your mix a unique flare? Over a dozen new music loop packs will be releasing via Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection Pay & Play™ to enhance your music creation experience. Thousands of additional loops from packs like Rock, Pop, Latin, House and even World.

Visit mixsuperstar.com to hear what you’ll be able to create with Mix Superstar, available today in North America exclusively on WiiWare for only 500 Wii Points™.

Toronto’s DreamCatcher Games and its parent company JoWooD Group announce the launch of the official website for SpellForce 2: Faith in Destiny, which will be available on November 30th for $19.99USD.

SpellForce 2 opens four years after the Shaper’s defeat through the use of Archfire. During that time scientists, dragons and inventors have tried to find to counter the mysterious deterioration of the portals – in vain. The portal network has now totally collapsed and the islands are cut off from one another. The dragons and the Shaikan act as the only connection between the races, but even their resources are limited.

Now, with the nations isolated from one another, a new nameless enemy strikes. Eo is completely at the mercy of the attackers ascending from demonic depths. In the midst of this chaos a new hero appears. To discover his destiny our hero must acquire new skills and do battle with enemies new and old. But wherever he goes – the Nameless always seem to be a step ahead, and futile battles break out in which the hero holds the destiny of all of Eo in his hands.

SpellForce 2 Features:

* An all new campaign that fits into the SpellForce series and enriches the world of SpellForce, including favourite characters and quests.
* An all new race of demonic enemies are also playable in multiplayer mode, featuring new units and structures.
* Ride into battle on a fierce dragon and use new spells and effects to enhance your tactical possibilities.
* Innovative new Role-Playing-Strategy Genre.
* Click’n’Fight and Quick-Action-Buttons: The revolutionary control system guarantees instant action, and a wealth of unique tactical possibilities at your fingertips.
* Easy Skill tree system that allows individual character development.
* Enjoy a highly detailed and living fantasy world that adapts to the actions of the player: Fight monsters, gather items, adventure, trade and collect mighty artifacts to use for your battles.
* 5 different fractions: Lead The Realm, The Clans, The Pact, the Shaikan and the Nameless to victory, with 12 very different units consisting of infantry, cavalry and flyers.
* 10 different races: heroic humans, powerful elves, strong dwarves, barbaric trolls,battle-tested orcs, destructive barbarians, powerful dark elves, unbreakable gargoyles, malicious shadows and mean demonic powers.

Library and Archives Canada, the Canadian Urban Libraries Council, and the Canadian War Museum have officially announced a collaborative agreement for the delivery of Lest We Forget workshops across Canada. These workshops allow students to consult and research primary source documents by looking through the military service files of Canadian soldiers, doctors or nurses who served in the First World War or who were killed in action in the Second World War.

Under the terms of the collaboration, librarians and other trained individuals across Canada will be able to organize and deliver Lest We Forget workshops using the online tools provided by Library and Archives Canada.

The workshops will be held in four libraries across the country as well as at the Canadian War Museum. Current collaborating libraries include the Burlington Public Library, the Fraser Valley Regional Library, the Winnipeg Public Library, and the Toronto Public Library.

“We are delighted to see that our Lest We Forget project is being expanded,” said Dr. Daniel J. Caron, Librarian and Archivist of Canada. “This new collaboration with the Canadian Urban Libraries Council and the Canadian War Museum will allow students from across Canada to experience a Lest We Forget workshop with a trained facilitator.” Read the rest of this entry »

Seventy-three entries, seven judges, and over 62,000 online votes cast has produced a winner: Taryn Green, a 28-year-old freelance film editor from Sudbury, Ontario, has claimed first prize of $5000 in Holland Bloorview Kids Rehabilitation Hospital’s filmpossible contest, which challenged entrants to create a video bringing visibility to disability.

Taryn’s winning video, The Triangle Girl Retold, is a touching retelling of a story she wrote at age six, in which the triangle represents her disability, Cerebral Palsy. She longs to be like everyone else, but in the end, she becomes more confident and proud and embraces her disability, or “inner triangle”.

“Filmpossible was a great learning experience for me, as well as a very humbling one,” said Taryn. “I was competing against so many amazing videos that really challenged my own perception of disability. Through filmpossible, Holland Bloorview initiated a great change toward the public perception of disability. We need to keep this dialogue alive long after this contest is over. It is important to keep watching all the videos and to keep telling our stories.” Read the rest of this entry »

Canada’s largest independent game development studio Artificial Mind & Movement (A2M) has walked through a hole in the fabric in time and re-launched itself with a new brand that is really its old studio name, Behaviour. The change is a return to the name the company was formerly known by when they were a small upstart developer of PlayStation® games in the 90’s. Today that company has grown to 375 talented employees in Montreal and Santiago, Chile and is a licensed developer for all of the major game consoles, handheld and online platforms.

While Behaviour has always been recognized as a premiere work-for-hire game studio, the company has renewed their focus on developing original IP on multiple platforms alongside its work-for-hire business with major publishers. With five specialized internal studios (gamer, portable, online, downloadable and family), Behaviour offers a development solution for any project.

“We are and will always strive to be the best and most trusted independent game development studio in the industry,” said Rémi Racine, CEO, Behaviour. “The change in name is not only a return to our previous name but also an indicator of the evolution of the company. We have developed a strong reputation as a high-quality work-for-hire studio as well as a creator of our own original content and will continue to pursue both sides of the business. The new name reflects the renaissance of the company.”

“Wet 2 (multi-platform), Naughty Bear 2 (multi-platform), Doritos Crash Course (XBLA) as well as Rango (multi-platform), which was announced by EA and Paramount Digital Entertainment on November 4th, are all currently in development at Behaviour,” added Jamie Leece, Senior Vice President of Business Development. “We have just completed Sims 3 (Wii), and are also working on several unannounced games for the Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, Nintendo’s Wii and DS systems, Xbox Live Arcade, PlayStation Network, next generation handhelds, a Facebook game to be launched in November and a Casual MMO to be launched early next year. The studio’s platform diversification strategy has been well received by our publishing partners, allowing cross platform executions while leveraging Behaviour’s established technologies.”

Bitcasters spin-off Social Game Universe, pioneers of the concept of inter-connected social games, has announced the launch of the Inter-Game API (IGAPI), a solution for game developers to drive traffic by letting users “play” through a cross-promotion bar.

IGAPI uses the power of the social graph to let players interact with their friends across games and apps without leaving the game they are currently playing. Rather than seeing a typical banner ad or cross promotion, players see IGAPI “Action Cards” that they can play on their friends in other apps. Action Cards can vary from the simple (e.g., “Give film to your friend Nathon to help him grow his studio in Hollywood Tycoon”) to the more zany and bizarre (e.g., “Release a horde of zombies on your friend Jen’s horror set!”). IGAPI’s actions are limited only by the imagination and creativity of the developers looking to attract attention to their games.

Originally developed for Social Game Universe’s own critically acclaimed Hollywood games, the IGAPI technology let players in the movie-mogul sim game Hollywood Tycoon hire actors from the fame and stardom game Avastar. Having seen the power of interconnecting the games, Social Game Universe turned IGAPI into a scalable, point-and-click tool that any third party developer can use. The result is greater player interaction, site engagement, and increased awareness of new apps.

“The IGAPI inter-game action system is very innovative, and I think it will improve the way games drive traffic, re-engagement, and revenue across the industry” said Hussein Fazal, CEO of AdParlor, a leading social application marketing business.

According to Eric Goldberg, Managing Director of Crossover Technologies, “IGAPI is a step forward in the cross-promotion of social games and a great tool for independent developers to reach new players”. Mr. Goldberg has now joined the advisory board of Social Game Universe, along with Manu Rekhi (Vice President of MySpace Games & Content) and Greg Bate (Co-founder of Neverblue).

Nathon Gunn, Founder and CEO of Social Game Universe, added “We knew we had something special going on between Avastar and Hollywood Tycoon, and we’re even more excited now that these innovations can be shared by other developers.”

On a side note, Social Game Universe is hiring. Check out their Jobs page for more details.

Toronto’s Longbow Games, one of the few selected for this year’s PAX 10 showcase winners, is proud to announce that their strategy wargame, Hegemony: Philip of Macedon, is now available on Steam. In addition, they have lowered the price to only $19.99.

“As an independent developer, it’s always a struggle to gain the attention of your audience,” said Jim McNally, president of Longbow Games. “We’re very excited to be launching Hegemony: Philip of Macedon on Steam, where we can share our game with a much wider audience.”

Longbow Games is currently working on their next title, Hegemony Gold: Wars of Ancient Greece, which will soon be in beta testing. Customers of Hegemony: Philip of Macedon can help test the new game for free at www.LongbowGames.com.

Hegemony: Philip of Macedon lets you conquer the ancient Greek world in this PC RTS war game that follows the rise of Philip of Macedon, father of Alexander the Great. Players campaign across a continuous satellite-accurate map of ancient Greece encountering the full range of warfare from reconnaissance to raids to field battles to mountain blockades. The game also features:

* Innovative supply system – Siege and starve the enemy by cutting their supply lines or burning their crops, all the while building and protecting your own supply network to support your growing empire.
* Steeped in history – In-game pedia and 100+ historical objectives recreate the rise of the Macedonian empire.
* Detailed and stylized world and map – Transition smoothly between the detailed 3D world and the stylized board-game map while maintaining complete control over your empire. Read the rest of this entry »

GameON: Finance 2011 will return to the Design Exchange on January 20 and 21, 2011, and the Kick-off rate of $489.00 is available now through November 15th 2010. Early Bird Tickets go on sale from November 16th through December 15th, with a price of $559.00. Once the Early Bird rate expires, ticket prices will go up to $699.00 if you purchase online, or $874.00 if you want and buy them at the conference. Interactive Ontario members will save an additional 30% off all ticket prices. See the event site for details.

GameON: Finance is Canada’s top business forum for the interactive entertainment industry connecting developers, innovators, investors and industry leaders. Delegates will gather in downtown Toronto for two days of keynotes, case-studies, lectures and panel discussions which will provide insight on topics such as:

* Emerging opportunities in game project financing
* The bottom line on equity investments
* Dealmaking across transmedia platforms
* Tips and tricks to optimize public finance opportunities

GameON: Finance’s 2011 Advisory Board members are: David Crow (Influitive), Jason Della Rocca (Perimeter Partners), Vikas Gupta (TransGaming Technologies), Marc Jackson (Seahorn Capital Group), Sean Kauppinen (International Digital Entertainment Agency), Jim Laird (Bedlam Games), Wanda Meloni (M2 Research), Ray Sharma (XMG Studio), Scott Steinberg (TechSavvy Global), John Sutyak (DDM) and Dean Takahashi (GamesBeat).

To compliment the release of Your Shape: Fitness Evolved, Ubisoft has launched Your Shape Centre, a website which works in tandem with the game, offering a truly personal online gym centre.

· Track your workouts and set yourself fitness challenges
· Compete and compare your progress with friends
· Set yourself fitness challenges
· Get advice from other players and fitness experts to help you reach your fitness goals
· Share your fitness achievements on your Facebook or Twitter

To help organizations meet expanding requirements for archiving, eDiscovery and regulatory compliance, Waterloo’s Open Text will embed Oracle technology to deliver a new set of enterprise content solutions. Read the rest of this entry »