Village Gamer

Kinjoe, a new Vancouver-based startup, today announced the release of its new web and mobile social network available as a free public beta for residents of B.C.

Kinjoe is designed to solve one of the major issues of big-city living, where many people feel alone and anonymous despite being surrounded by millions of people. Vancouver is particularly afflicted by this phenomenon: a 2010 Angus Reid poll revealed that Vancouverites were among the loneliest city-dwellers in Canada, with only 69 per cent feeling well-connected socially.

Unlike Facebook, which only connects people with friends or family, Kinjoe enables people to expand their social network by making new, real-life friends who live within 20 minutes’ walking distance and share the same interests. After connecting online, it’s easy to get together offline to participate in activities that match your interests.

“Ask anyone and they will tell you that Vancouver is a difficult city to make new friends in,” said Emir Aboulhosn, Kinjoe founder and CEO. “Kinjoe takes away the awkwardness and difficulty in finding people who share your interests and live nearby.”

Kaishin Chu, a Yaletown resident and owner of DashOfFood.com, says, “The idea of Kinjoe really interested me because I finally had a tool to help me expand my own social network with real people in my neighbourhood, to help gain back some sense of community that is lacking these days.” Kaishin continued, “I was able to co-organize a game of bocce ball with a fellow neighbourhood resident in a park nearby. I got to meet some great new people and share a fun experience.”

During the pre-launch phase, Kinjoe teamed up with Blenz Coffee in Yaletown to promote the network locally. The partnership resulted in 500 new users from the Yaletown area, and based on the early success, Blenz will now be promoting Kinjoe in its stores throughout B.C. Kinjoe will be rolling out to cities across Canada and the USA later this year.

“Blenz Coffee is proud to support Kinjoe and we’re excited to introduce it to our customers throughout B.C.,” said George Moen, President of Blenz Coffee Co. “Finally, someone is using technology to combat isolation instead of contributing to it.”

Kinjoe features include:

• Browse–able profiles and interests of people who live within 20 minutes of each other.

• A “Me Too!” feature to show interest in an idea or simple stay updated on a discussion.

• A ‘meetup’ feature that allows users to suggest activities that anyone within a 20-minute walk can join.

• Instant polls that allow users to canvass their neighbourhood’s opinion on an issue, place or event.

• A ‘Recommended Friends’ feature that allows people who share similar interests and live close by to find each other.

Kinjoe respects safety and privacy, and never reveals home or email addresses. Users control the information that is displayed to others in their neighbourhood.

Teradici Corporation, developer of the innovative PC-over-IP® (PCoIP®) protocol that enables a true PC experience for desktop virtualization, announces the availability of PCoIP Firmware Release 3.4 and PCoIP Management Console 1.5.30. This firmware update includes event log, smartcard, and additional keyboard layout enhancements. The Management Console release includes new auto-configuration and profile scheduling capabilities. The firmware update and corresponding Management Console release are available as a free download from Teradici and OEM partners.

PCoIP Firmware Release 3.4 enhancements include:

• Support for “T=1” PIV CAC Smartcards
• Enhanced Event Log and configuration options, including Syslog support
• Added support for Czech, Slovenian and Romanian keyboard layouts

PCoIP Management Console 1.5.30 enhancements include:

• Device auto-configuration to automatically group and configure newly discovered PCoIP zero clients
• Profiles now include firmware file and On-Screen-Display (OSD) logo options
• Profile application to groups or individual devices can be scheduled for a future time

prairieFyre Software has completed verification field trials of its prairieFyre Contact Center for Microsoft^© Lync™ and the AudioCodes SmartTap Lync call recording solution. The combination of AudioCodes SmartTap and the prairieFyre Contact Center solution provides sophisticated contact center functionality for the Lync 2010 unified communications (UC) platform.

The prairieFyre Contact Center for Microsoft Lync is a modular software suite developed on the Voice-over-IP and UC architecture of Microsoft Lync Server 2010. The prairieFyre Contact Center is ideal for those organizations that wish to leverage the advanced enterprise voice features of the Lync UC platform and require a comprehensive contact center solution.

“As an early adopter of Microsoft’s United Communications platform, prairieFyre has taken a lead position in providing an innovative, presence-aware contact center solution.” Said Nimrod Borovsky, Vice President of Marketing at AudioCodes. We are very pleased to complete interoperability testing, and partner with prairieFyre to provide Microsoft Lync customers with a feature rich contact center solution.”

AudioCodes, known in the industry for providing best-in-class VoIP technology, has extended their product offering to include a complete call recording solution for Microsoft Lync. SmartTap is a fully IP-centric application that utilizes open standard protocols to record both internal and external calls for compliance regulations, dispute resolution, customer satisfaction and public safety requirements.

“Our prairieFyre Contact Center in conjunction with AudioCodes SmartTap provides a complete, scalable solution for those customers who have chosen Lync for their enterprise voice solution.” said Chris Courneya, CEO, prairieFyre Software. “The SmartTap solution is compelling in an ACD environment because it records calls without consuming valuable Lync resources such as conferencing services. Instead, it deploys a certified plugin on the Lync server that decrypts SRTP signaling while preserving the data integrity and quality of the conversation.”

With its broad functionality and modular design, the prairieFyre Contact Center for Microsoft Lync can be tailored to businesses of any size or industry in departmental, standalone, or geographically dispersed deployments.

The prairieFyre Contact Center for Microsoft Lync will be on display at prairieFyre’s booth, #1135, at the Microsoft Worldwide Partner Conference in Los Angeles, July 10^th to 14^th, 2011.

prairieFyre Software has deployed contact center solutions to over 8,000 customers in over 70 countries worldwide. They have leveraged this experience to create an affordable yet feature-rich solution that is ideal for enterprises looking for a contact center designed to work with Lync Server 2010.

Multichannel newspaper and magazine content distributor NewspaperDirect Inc. has released an enhanced version of PressReader for Android that takes advantage of the larger screen sizes and hardware acceleration offered by the Google Android Honeycomb platform. The new PressReader apps gives Android phone and tablet users a convenient and immersive read of the more than 1,800 full-content newspapers and magazines from 95 countries and in 48 languages that are available on PressDisplay.com.

PressReader for Android Honeycomb is now available in the Android Market and is compatible with 3.0/3.1 Honeycomb-based tablets, such as the Asus Eee Pad Transformer, the HTC Flyer, the Motorola Xoom, and the Samsung Galaxy Tab 8.9 and 10.1. A Gingerbread-specific version of PressReader is also available for Android devices running Android 2.2/2.3. Pre-installations of the app on a number of Honeycomb devices are planned for the near future.

Key features of PressReader for Android include:

• Support for on-board hardware acceleration on Honeycomb-based devices
• A more immersive reading interface, customized for larger screen sizes
• Automatic daily download of user-selected titles
• High-performance navigation using thumbnails or tables of contents
• Intuitive reading experience: flip, pan, rotate and zoom articles and photos
• Support for full-graphic page views or easy-to-read text views of articles
• On-demand narration of news stories
• Sharing of articles by email or by posting on social network sites

“PressReader is the ultimate digital newsstand for readers who want the widest possible selection of full-content newspapers on their favorite Android device,” said Alex Kroogman, CEO of NewspaperDirect. “For publishers, PressReader for Android enables them to instantly expand their distribution to the fastest growing audience of mobile and tablet users, without incurring any operational or development costs.”

PressReader for Android is available as a free download from the Android Market. New customers receive seven trial issues for free. Most newspapers and magazines can be purchased for $0.99 per issue through PressDisplay.com or downloaded in conjunction with a paid PressDisplay.com subscription. For subscription pricing, visit the PressDisplay subscription page.

One of the most historically potent places in the world, Jordan is often overlooked in favour of its neighbours, Egypt and Israel. Fortunately for travellers, the fewer amount of tourists makes this small country an enchanting place to visit. Jordan: A Different Middle East follows the author Lori Henry’s adventures as she visits the two most emblematic tourist attractions in the country – Petra and Wadi Rum – and discovers the lesser known parts that make Jordan so exceptional. Published by Vancouver company Dancing Traveller Media, Jordan: A Different Middle East is (or will be) available on all e-readers.

Lori Henry left for Jordan near the end of March 2011 on a week and a half long trip through the country. This also happened to be just over a month after the protests against President Mubarak in Egypt, and in the middle of the uprisings in Syria and fighting against Muammar Gaddafi in Libya.

As she would learn very quickly, Jordan – although in the middle of the conflicts in Syria, Lebanon and Egypt – was staying out of trouble. The country was stable enough for a thriving tourism industry to welcome visitors, but many of them had cancelled their trips. Most travellers include Jordan on an Egypt and Israel circuit, so when things heated up in Cairo, tours were cancelled and trips postponed or re-booked to other parts of the world.

What a shame. Jordanians were watching the news just as carefully as those in North America were, waiting to see what would happen, but were otherwise open for business. Lori discovered the charming children who were eager to tag along with her in Amman; hiked through the lowest nature reserve on earth, Wadi Mujib; ate lunch with a Druze family in the lightly populated eastern desert; stayed at an incredible off-the-grid eco lodge in the Dana Biosphere Reserve; and spent the evening with a Bedouin family in the western desert.

An exciting new health and fitness iPhone app has been released by Calgary’s Gratisites Inc. Body Tracker is an app that allows users to keep all of their essential measurements in one place and compare their progress over time when used in conjunction with a workout regime. Progress can be viewed by measurement or pictures to help with motivation.

“Gratisites prides itself on creating technological answers to everyday problems,” says Gratisites spokesman Danton Lalonde. “Our objective is that Body Tracker will fill the need of enabling people to reach their fitness goals.”

Body Tracker monitors users’ body fat and weight, while keeping track of the following measurements:

• Waist
• Chest
• Hips
• Thighs
• Calves
• Neck
• Arms

“We recognize that goals need to be written down if they are to be effective. With Body Trackers “History” and “Compare” functions, you can easily see your progress, encouraging you to stay on track,” Lalonde explains, “Body Tracker is your accountability partner.”

Body Tracker for iPhone is available immediately for $0.99 on your mobile device or from Apple’s App Store. The app is compatible with iPhone, iPod touch, and iPad, and requires iOS 3.1.3 or later.

Ubisoft® has announced the creation of UbiCollectibles, a collection of premium, limited-edition merchandise for fans of the company’s popular brands, including Assassin’s Creed®, Might & Magic®, Tom Clancy’s Ghost Recon® and more. UbiCollectibles are available exclusively through UbiShop, Ubisoft’s official online store, and the store is now accepting pre-orders from European customers.

The first UbiCollectibles are inspired by fans of the Assassin’s Creed®, Might & Magic® Heroes® and Tom Clancy’s Ghost Recon franchises. More than 29 million people have purchased an Assassin’s Creed video game, and now a fortunate 2,000 will have the chance to buy a highly detailed, hand-crafted statuette called “Ezio’s Fury.” The figurine shows Ezio in a combative stance as he moves in for the kill.

In Might & Magic® Heroes VI, Michael, the legendary Archangel, is one of the most charismatic characters, and 500 fans will now have the opportunity to own an intricate polyresin figurine of Michael, wings spread and sword drawn for battle. UbiCollectibles is using a design chosen with fans on Facebook to create this unique offering.

From Ghost Recon, a limited quantity of “Production Team” t-shirts, with the same design as those worn by the development team during this year’s Electronic Entertainment Expo, will be available as UbiCollectibles.

“UbiCollectibles are designed to give true fans something special,” said Geoffroy Sardin, Chief EMEA Marketing and Sales Officer at Ubisoft. “Each item is a custom-designed, limited edition, created to give fans an exceptional way to deepen their experience with their favorite Ubisoft universes.”

Future offerings from UbiCollectibles will include apparel, figurines, lithographs, jewelry, and replicas from Ubisoft’s best-selling brands.

Score Media Inc., home of sports app ScoreMobile®, has announced the launch of an optimized application for the BlackBerry® PlayBook^TM tablet. It will provide sports fans with access to real-time scores, stats, news, live blogs and original video.

The perfect sidekick for sports fans, the app offers features for TV companion viewing including interactive live blogs and Twitter streams of sporting events.  The BlackBerry PlayBook version of the ScoreMobile app is designed specifically for the tablet form factor and features full support for both portrait and landscape modes.

“ScoreMobile for BlackBerry smartphones launched two years ago,” says Dale Fallon, Vice President, Digital Products, Score Media Inc. “Due to the overwhelming success to date it was clear that an app for the BlackBerry PlayBook tablet was an essential part of our mobile strategy.”

“The BlackBerry PlayBook is elegant and powerful, which is very much how we think of ScoreMobile,” says Fallon.  “Our fans have extremely high standards in terms of usability, and we’ve worked hard to deliver a stunning overall experience on this exciting new platform.”

Built from the ground up for the BlackBerry PlayBook using HTML 5 and the BlackBerry WebWorks SDK for Tablet OS, ScoreMobile is a comprehensive multi-sport app covering top worldwide leagues including MLB, NFL, NBA, NHL, EPL and PGA.

“ScoreMobile applications have found great success on the BlackBerry platform and we are excited about the launch of the ScoreMobile application for the BlackBerry PlayBook,” said Tyler Lessard, Vice President of BlackBerry Global Alliances and Developer Relations at RIM. “With real-time updates, interactive features and original video, the application is optimized for the PlayBook’s form factor in either portrait or landscape mode.”

As with previous apps for BlackBerry smartphones, Score Media partnered with innovative Toronto-based mobile software developers Five Mobile Inc. The new version of ScoreMobile is available for download today on the BlackBerry PlayBook by visiting BlackBerry App World.  Tablet OS version 1.0.6 or higher is required.

Frima Studios and Bolt Creative want you to know that the Pygmies of Pocket God on Facebook will be celebrating the 4th of July festivities with a global in-game event. From now until July 7, players can participate in a new dance craze sweeping the island and win a new idol in the process, and can also send a special holiday-themed item to their friends.

Move over Macarena, the Indepen-Dance is the premier dance all the cool kids are doing nowadays. During the night, Pygmies may display the urge to cut a rug—or rather, sand—and it’s up to you to make sure that your hip, little Pygmies keep with the times and participate. Until July 7th, if 100,000 Pygmies shake their booties on the floor, all players will receive a limited edition Liberty Bell idol for their island. What are you waiting for, get on the dance floor already!

Players can also send their “friends” a special gift in the form of a rocket. For just one bone, would-be deities can bestow a rocket to their loved ones, giving the recipient a chance to view a monumental fireworks show. Each fireworks show also recharges five devotion points so you can keep the party going. And no, you can’t light the rocket underneath your friend’s butt.

Score Media Inc. has launched a Spanish edition of ScoreMobile® FC .  The makers of ScoreMobile, a top 5 free sports app worldwide on Android™, BlackBerry® and Windows® Phone, are proud to now offer detailed coverage for Spanish-speaking soccer fans just in time for Copa America, Latin America’s most important soccer event.

With comprehensive coverage of over 60 leagues and competitions including Copa America, Copa Libertadores, Copa Sudamericana, and leagues in Mexico, Brazil, Argentina, Colombia and Spain, the Spanish version of ScoreMobile FC will have die-hard soccer fans covered.  Just like the original ScoreMobile FC, the app is a free, comprehensive source of information offering:

• Live scores, stats and standings
• Real-time push alerts sent directly to a user’s device
• Breaking news, top stories and game odds
• Interactive live blogs for key games

“With over 3 million monthly users, ScoreMobile has been a hit with fans in many countries,” says Dale Fallon, Director, Mobile, Score Media Inc.  “Through our audience feedback, we have heard loud and clear that Spanish is the most popular choice for additional language support and we are proud to make Spanish our company’s first offering beyond English.”

ScoreMobile FC in Spanish is now available on the BlackBerry platform and will be available imminently for iPhone users.  Also coming soon are the Android and Windows Phone versions of the app.  Other popular languages will be offered later in 2011.  Download the Spanish version of ScoreMobile FC from BlackBerry App World™