Village Gamer

Calgary’s Blackline GPS Corp. has begun delivery of the new Javelin™ Covert Tracker, a purpose-built GPS tracking device for professional surveillance and loss prevention markets in North America.

In a sector where software and hardware solutions often come from two separate companies, Blackline’s complete end-to-end technology – delivered by its internal multidisciplinary research & development team – is a key differentiator that enables the company to respond to specific customer requirements with highly-tailored solutions.

“Javelin was built from the ground up for investigators and police services. Unlike competing products, that are often modified consumer trackers, Javelin is a true professional grade covert tracker with features like device removal detection and track-on-motion,” says Cody Slater, CEO and Chairman for Blackline. “Police forces are accustomed to paying upwards of $2,000 for tracking products whereas Javelin’s price point is less than $700.”

“Our new platform’s modular hardware and firmware architecture enables us to efficiently bring new products to market with reduced engineering timelines.” indicates Barry Moore, Head of Research & Development. He further adds “Javelin addresses critical customer feedback, including a custom waterproof case, dual neodymium magnets with 240 pounds of mounting force, a new Ultimate Sense® 2 GPS internal antenna with improved tracking of weak satellite signals, and a large 6000 mAh battery.”

Javelin provides more than 4 times the battery capacity of the existing Entourage PS portable security product. Coupled with advanced power management features, Javelin enables users to choose between an aggressive 3-week tracking profile through to multi-month operation for long-term surveillance applications.

As of the date of this release our initial production run of Javelin has been oversold and the company is currently increasing its production capacity to accommodate demand.

Blackline will be showcasing Javelin at the National Technical Investigators Association (NATIA) trade show in Tampa, Florida on July 16^th – 22^nd. NATIA is composed of over 3,000 law enforcement and intelligence personnel who provide the technical operations, surveillance activities, and scientific support for hundreds of federal, state, local law enforcement and related agencies across the United States, Canada and the United Kingdom.

Make Technologies has launched its innovative Make Technologies ISV Suite for independent software vendors. ISV Suite includes everything a software company needs to reinvent its products and stay ahead in its market.

Many software vendors have built their products on legacy platforms that are as much as 25 years old. This makes it difficult to improve their feature sets, integrate with other products and to take advantage of modern technologies such as cloud and mobile. As a result, these vendors are losing market share to more nimble competitors that are better able to embrace cutting-edge technologies. These vendors have a critical choice to make: rejuvenate legacy platforms through a modernization initiative or face market share erosion.

With the Make Technologies ISV Suite, independent software vendors can revitalize their product offerings and give their customers all the advantages of a modern technology stack. With ISV Suite, vendors get:

• Cloud enablement: to transform the way products are delivered to customers by creating a cloud-ready software package
• Rich user experience: to provide easy-to-use interfaces in a variety of environments, including mobile devices, to streamline user training and improve productivity.
• Global reach: to increase market coverage by adding full internationalization and improved extensibility.

The Make Technologies ISV Suite uses TLM® 6, the proven modernization platform, to cover the three key components of the product modernization lifecycle:

1. Application re-architecture: Make Technologies conducts an in-depth analysis of every aspect of a legacy product; including functionality, source code and data structures. Next we help determine which functionality can be slimmed down, reused or eliminated as the product transitions to a modern architecture. Make Technologies ensures valuable intellectual property built up in the code base over time is safely retained while still adopting a new state-of-the-art, cloud-enabled platform.
2. New module development: ISVs can leverage Make Technologies’ TLM Application Design and Collaboration tools to define and build the new features and modules of the modernized product. This allows software vendors to deliver the improvements their customers have been asking for at a fraction of the cost of traditional approaches while ensuring that the new functionality is seamlessly integrated with the modernized functionality.
3. Customer roll-out: Make Technologies provides the tools needed to automatically and smoothly upgrade an ISV’s customers to its modernized system. ISVs can use Make Technologies’ TLM Code and Data Analysis products to identify not just custom modifications to source code but also the business impact of those changes. TLM Data Migration uses the transformation rules created during modernization to automatically migrate customer data to the rearchitected system.

“To keep pace with changing customer needs, every independent software vendor needs to add new features and improve the functionality of their products,” says Bill Bergen, President and CEO of Make Technologies. “The only way to do this is through a highly scalable, modernized architecture. The Make Technologies ISV Suite lets you leapfrog your competition and set a new standard in your market.”

Register now to participate in a hosted webinar about the Make Technologies ISV Suite will be presented on Wednesday July 13, 2011 at 8:30am PDT.

DBI Technologies Inc., the leading provider of scheduling and UI design component software for Windows Development is proud to announce the release of dbiCalendarWPF.  Through many months of developer and customer consultations along with intensive research and development these activities are now showcased in a new 3-in-1 Scheduling product for Windows Presentation Foundation (WPF) application development.

Straight forward and to the point – Scheduling and Calendar presentations for WPF application development – now in one, fully customizable control.  dbiCalendarWPF combines three controls;  a Multi Column Day/Resource View, a Month Calendar View and a Week Calendar View, into one compact, feature rich, royalty free WPF component software product.  The goal for this product is to help developers manage; Appointments, Contacts, Locations and Tasks, from local to global perspectives, in one fluid, drag and drop, context menu driven scheduling control.

Gone are the days of developers having to create data entry dialogues and then separately having to manage collections of Appointments, Contacts, Locations and Tasks. dbiCalendarWPF incorporates all of the necessary entities and data management features for building outstanding Schedule and Calendar functionality in a fraction of normal development time.

Great developer and user scheduling experiences start right here with dbiCalendarWPF. Direct appointment creation and inline editing features that include setting appointment attributes via built-in, customizable context menus offer .NET developers the control for building elegant scheduling interfaces and smooth Calendar navigation.

“DBI has reset the bar once again when it comes to providing Windows developers with functional, get the job done Scheduling component software. They’ve taken their time to properly research and implement functionality and data management capabilities that will allow developers to intuitively support their global software development needs” said Craig Gluck, VP of commercial product development.  “From being able to sort and group local and global appointments based on Contact, Location and /or Task will make conference call coordination and corporate resource scheduling a snap.”

Full, 30 day evaluation licenses are freely downloadable from the product detail web page or from DBI’s general download site.  A single , royalty free developer’s license of dbiCalendarWPF starts at $399.  All DBI .NET component products come with sample applications and demo’s written in C# (C Sharp) and VB .NET. Technical support is provided at the code level and each new product license includes one year of full subscription product upgrade and component update services.  DBI component products may be purchased directly from DBI or from any one of DBI’s registered value added resellers serving all four corners of the globe.

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.

Intranet Connections has announced the latest release of their social intranet software. Intranet Connections v11 builds on employee participation and engagement via your intranet by giving users the power to embrace and share company culture with innovative tools that are out of the box.

“Our intranet software helps to connect employees by information and knowledge sharing, online collaboration and the enhancement of your company culture,” says Carolyn Douglas, CEO of Intranet Connections. “We added dynamic tools such as our new Application Builder, allowing you to easily create any type of application you need for your intranet. We want to provide tools that help improve your business, through your employees and the intranet.”

Application Builder gives you the power to be creative when building applications. You have complete control over input forms, fields, and layout screens. Intranet Connections has harnessed AJAX drag and drop, creating an easy to use and dynamic application-building experience, with collaborative social elements such as employee tagging, comments, ratings and widgets.

Microsoft Gold Certified Partner Binary Stream Software and Corporate Renaissance Group (CRG) recently partnered to bring a new innovative and streamlined approach to multi-entity implementation projects.  The recent release of CRG’s Company Combiner brings Microsoft Dynamics GP users a new company consolidation option that will bring significant value to these users during their implementations.

“With the complementary combination of Corporate Renaissance Group’s Company Combiner and Binary Stream’s Multi-Entity Management we are very excited to be able to provide the Microsoft Dynamics GP community with an incredibly easy way to set-up and start managing their entities with our solution,” said Lak Chahal, President and CEO of Binary Stream Software.

Binary Stream’s Multi-Entity Management solution has long been the primary multi-entity solution for the Microsoft Dynamics GP channel. By enabling companies to work securely from one consolidated company set-up, this solution has enabled organizations worldwide to effectively manage and report on their multiple locations, subsidiaries and corporate entities with ease. Now with CRG’s Company Combiner, existing Microsoft Dynamics GP users can cut down their data conversion costs by over 50% and streamline the overall go-live process.

CRG’s Company Combiner gives Microsoft Dynamics GP users the ability to efficiently and easily consolidate companies with identical charts of accounts.  By reducing the risk of database consolidations, this solution bridges the divide between the essential consolidation steps involved in Multi-Entity Management set-ups and enables companies to quickly gain efficiencies in their launch processes.

“CRG and Binary Stream are long time Dynamics GP ISVs with great solutions.  We are thrilled to now offer a complementary product.  With both solutions, organizations will be able to get to their optimum configuration quicker and become more efficient with their use of Dynamics GP.  As organizations continue to get lean, we see the need of our solutions even more over the next few years,” said Dr. Vijay Jog, President of Corporate Renaissance Group.

The new release of the Company Combiner is currently available from the Corporate Renaissance Group team.

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.

Bulletproof Outlaws, an indie start-up studio documenting the process of developing a videogame from scratch, has teamed up with Ravenous Games, developers of the wildly popular iOS version of League of Evil, to release Elusive Ninja: The Shadowy Thief for the iPhone and iPod Touch.  Elusive Ninja has full-screen visuals, tight controls, catchy music, and comes packed with a ton of behind-the-scenes information about the game’s development, starting up a game studio, a Post-Mortem analysis, the original Game Design Document with commentary, and more.

“We’re proud to release our first game, and eager to get started on the next,” says Bulletproof Outlaws founder Jeff Hangartner, “It’s been a long journey, and we’ve learned a lot about everything from streamlining the game development process to handling the business and financial side of starting a studio up.  We’ve documented every step of the journey and there’s over 100 pages of game development information for other developers and gamers curious about what goes into making and releasing a videogame.”

Game Features:

• Epic full-screen visuals
• A whole bunch of behind-the-scenes Bonus Features everything from a Post-Mortem to the original Game Design Document with commentary on how the final game compared to the original design
• Leaderboard support (both OpenFeint and Apple Game Center) so you can compete with the whole world or stick to one-upping your close group of friends
• Achievements (OpenFeint and Apple Game Center) to give you some extra challenges to shoot for when you’ve got your skills rockin’
• Super tight controls, and a difficulty curve that’s challenging but not impossible…the AI gets smarter the longer you last but there are a few strategies to discover and master that will help you survive the most chaotic situations

IUGO is pleased to announce the launch of its next mobile social title Sunshine Cruise Lines. Sunshine Cruise Lines is a free-to-play title offering a fresh and innovative spin on social games. Begin your cruise today by visiting the iTunes App Store and downloading Sunshine Cruise Lines for your iPhone, iPod touch or iPad device running iOS 3.0 or later.

“We have strived to create a new and unique experience for mobile gamers, and I think we have succeeded with Sunshine Cruise Lines,” states IUGO’s CEO Hong-Yee Wong. “It is engaging, easy to play, and you can share the experience with your friends.”

Sunshine Cruise Lines App Description

Welcome aboard your very own cruise ship! Build, customize and manage your one-of-a-kind dream cruise. Play with friends, earn rewards and have the most fun in the sun.

• Customize your own cruise ship with over 40 different facilities, unique crew members, color schemes and more
• Choose your play style! Fun, fast-paced en-route gameplay or take it easy and let the crew handle it for you
• See the world! 50 different ports around the globe (and more to come)
• Take on the role of Captain while getting to know your lovable and quirky crew
• Rich storyline infused with personality and humour
• Play with friends through Facebook (optional)
• Gamecenter achievements give you and friends plenty of rewards
• 100 beautiful postcards to collect and share with friends
• Hundreds of fun destination facts
• View friends‘ routes on your world map
• One-of-a-kind art style, signature IUGO polish and quality
• In-app purchases optional with Cruise Bucks

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.