Village Gamer

Intertainment Media Inc., creators of real time experiential translation platform Ortsbo, has begun the full roll-out of  its multi-language application for the world’s most popular email platform, Microsoft Outlook. Users who register at Ortsbo.com for the free trial of Ortsbo for Outlook, or “O4O” will receive the ability to send and receive emails in over 50 languages. Later this year, Ortsbo will release Ortsbo 2.0 expanding the entire platform of services with 80 languages and enhanced email, online, mobile, portable, translation and learning based language services.

All currently registered and new O4O users who register by early August 2011 will be eligible to participate in Ortsbo’s Cruise Into Translation promotion and have the opportunity to win 1 of 5 trips on the KISS KRUISE in October 2011. Ortsbo is making available up to 10 Million copies of O4O beta for initial free trials and users who choose to convert to the full version of O4O will be entitled to initial introductory pricing of as low as $29.95 US for the application.

Ortsbo has also begun to ramp up its activation of users on its cloud computing based Windows Azure Platform, providing global users of Ortsbo the ability to connect through any desktop, mobile or portable computer browser. Ortsbo for Azure is a HTML based platform and does not require any downloading, allowing users in both consumer and commercial settings to use the program. Recent tests of the updated platform have seen the daily traffic accelerate by up to 150% over the previous records set for Ortsbo engagement and without the time delays experienced with the Silverlight version of Ortsbo. The Company is confident that Windows Azure will allow virtually unlimited global connections and immediate response for the Ortsbo platform. Ortsbo plans to release additional user statistics as it completes testing of the new platform. Read the rest of this entry »

The next generation of connected entertainment continues with the launch of the Shaw Gateway experience for Edmonton customers, who join  Shaw Gateway customers in Calgary, where the new program was launched; other Canadian markets will have access to Gateway soon.

The Gateway brings customers a shared PVR experience and more than 1,200 HD Video On Demand titles. The PVR supports the recording of up to six programs at once, while playing back up to three previously recorded programs – all in HD.

“The Gateway is the first product of its kind in Canada and brings customers a totally new way of experiencing technology and connectivity,” said Peter Bissonnette, President, Shaw Communications Inc. “We’re excited to launch the product to our Edmonton customers and provide them with the ultimate in entertainment with the Shaw Gateway.”

Customers can seamlessly pick up recordings on another TV and resume playback without missing a beat. The Gateway also enables customers to maximize HD/SD recordings with Shaw’s PVR expanders. An enriched Program Guide with content filters and enhanced search is one of the Gateway’s key features. Customers can access VOD titles through a live TV storefront, along with on-screen video games and live Shaw Pay Per View events.

In the coming months more features will be available on the Shaw Gateway, including:

• Integration of web content, providing customer access to Internet content through their TVs
• Remote PVR scheduling that allows customers to set up program recordings online and on their handheld devices
• Global Content Search of live TV, recorded TV, VOD and PPV content, and PC files on PCs and laptops
• Home sharing allowing customers to share pictures and content from their computer onto their television

The Shaw Gateway brings together broadband and HD technology with DLNA (Digital Life Network Alliance) standards to deliver the industry’s best in-home entertainment. The product launched in Calgary on May 3, and will be available in Vancouver and throughout the country during summer 2011.

The Gateway is available with the Shaw Easy Own program for $17 per month over 36 months or $598.

Big Blue Bubble Inc. is pleased to announce that Paper Munchers, an explosively new physics-based game has officially arrived on Apple’s iPad (Lite Version), iPhone and iPod Touch (Lite Version), as well as on Mac OSX via the Mac App Store.

That’s right, the Paper Munchers are here, they’re hungry and it’s up to you to make sure they get fed. Use the explosive power of your touch to match deliciously cute monsters with the ferocious mouths of the Paper Munchers. Use your arsenal of bombs to launch those delicious monsters into the jaws of the malicious maws.

Explode your way through five worlds and 75 levels of munching mayhem! Paper Munchers is packed full of explosive physics, unique characters, and 5 Worlds with a whole feast of new content to come!

Features of this monster eat monster world:

• 75 explosive levels with more on the way
• 5 Beautiful Paper Craft Worlds of nom nom nomming
• Tight physics based gameplay
• Game Center Achievements
• Tons of explosions and carnivorous action

[youtube:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fiiixY1RsC8]

With the pairing of two unique talents and backgrounds, best selling author Stephen Joyce and pioneer software engineer Doug Oucharek have launched theLocBox, providing users with the opportunity to take security of their data into their own hands.

While encrypted file sharing isn’t a new concept, this add-on to existing cloud systems provides users with a new tool. theLocBox enables users to create a key that allows them the opportunity to protect their stored data and maintain control over who has access to that data. Users create their own individual keys, stored locally, to share and access encrypted files. The concept is simple; theLocBox creates a “vault” folder in Dropbox and any documents dragged to theLocBox window are encrypted and copied to this vault folder. Only the key the user creates will be able to access the files, protecting your personal data.

Doug Oucharek states, “Trusting third parties with your encryption keys is unacceptable, especially if you are a business. End-to-end encryption, where only the end users have the ability to decrypt the files, is the safest way to use cloud storage.”

Co-creator, Stephen Joyce added, “Today, more work than ever is conducted in a virtual space and as a result, it’s more important than ever to have confidence in your privacy when sharing and storing files and other personal data.”

theLocBox comes at a critical time when reports of personal data security breaches are rampant in the media and security is on everyone’s mind. Recently, Sony disclosed that nearly 77 million Playstation users were affected by a breach in data security – This information was stored in what Sony said was an “outdated database from 2007.”

Rypple© has launched Loops, a disruptive new social performance summary application available as part of Rypple’s Phenomenal Plan for just $9-per-user-per month. It includes hundreds of feature enhancements of Rypple’s social performance platform, and plugs securely and seamlessly into existing work systems.. Loops makes it quick and easy for managers to pull together all the relevant information about employee performance already captured in Rypple’s existing applications—continuous feedback, social goals, one-on-one coaching, and meaningful recognition—into helpful, actionable performance summaries.

Everything is already in one place and easy to find so there’s no need to dig through old emails, notes, or spreadsheets and managers can run Loops whenever they choose—at the end of a goal, a project, or a quarter. They can invite anyone to contribute feedback, whether inside or outside their teams. And they can draft a series of customized questions to get the answers they need to accelerate performance. Greater visibility means no surprises when it comes to discussing promotions or compensation.

“The workplace has changed,” said Daniel Debow, co-CEO of Rypple. “But performance management hasn’t changed with it. Traditional reviews have become disconnected from real performance, and they’re slowing us down. With the help of our customers—creative, innovative companies devoted to nurturing and developing their people—we’ve built a social performance management platform for the way we work today: in real-time.”

Hundreds of innovative companies already use Rypple to set key priorities, recognize meaningful accomplishments, and get ongoing feedback and coaching. Rypple worked closely with a select group of customers to build and refine Loops, including Facebook, Gilt Groupe, RichRelevance, PhotoBucket, Bazaarvoice, EventBright, Kobo, Nexj Systems, Pivotal Labs, and Insomniac Games. Now, with Rypple Loops, managers and their teams can collect everything in one place—in real time—finally making performance management both effective and painless.

“Rypple built a performance platform that supports Facebook’s social, collaborative, and fast-moving culture,” said Bob Trahan, the company’s Director of Engineering and Head of Culture & Engagement. “Working with Rypple means our performance summaries are more real-time and our people get the feedback they want and need.”

Rypple’s easy to use privacy controls allow managers and their teams choose how much to share—and how much to keep private: employees can recognize one another publicly for their accomplishments on a company-wide feed everyone can see; hold private one-on-ones with their manager in a private, shared space; or request anonymous feedback from anyone at the company.

Ivey School of Business case studies are now available anywhere, anytime through Apple’s iBookstore. One of the world’s leading business case publishers, the Richard Ivey School of Business is the first publisher to make business case studies available on the iBookstore. Starting today over 500 cases from Ivey’s inventory are available to download for $3.99 each. The iBookstore is available through the free iBooks app for iPad, iPhone or iPod touch.

Since the Ivey Business School’s inception in 1922 the case method has been the keystone of its highly regarded approach to teaching general management. Students and executives at universities around the world use Ivey cases to learn by doing. Business students, executives or anyone can now benefit from enhanced convenience, quicker delivery, and more flexibility in accessing published cases.

“Making Ivey cases available through the iBookstore provides an opportunity to reach a new and wider audience that may not have been exposed to business case studies previously,” said Paul Beamish, Director of Ivey Publishing. “It supports our emphasis on making Ivey cases easily accessible to everyone.”

Each case provides readers with an opportunity to stand in the shoes of the decision-maker, analyzing the business issue presented, making judgments and determining a course of action. Ivey is the second largest producer and distributor of business case studies in the world.

Over 500 cases are currently available, with newer cases to be added regularly.  More than 200 new cases are created each year from business faculty at Ivey and from other partnered universities. Articles from the Ivey Business Journal will also be available through the iBookstore.

Richard Ivey School of Business, the world’s largest producer of Asian cases, will continue to offer its inventory in printed or digital PDF form through its network of 18 traditional academic publishing partners including Harvard Business Publishing and the European Case Clearing House.

Fit Brains has released a new iPhone app that encourages you to get walking.  Available as a free download, Arookoo: Walk+Game is a breakthrough app that makes it fun to walk because every step counts.

This new app and its companion web site turns walking into a game by sending you on fun challenges that motivate you to move around your city. Arookoo rewards you for increasing the amount of steps you walk each day by completing a wide variety of fun activities, including:

• Fun Walking Challenges and GPS Map-based Scavenger Hunts – Arookoo’s strong game layer makes walking fun through imaginative walking challenges, collectable GPS-map rewards, and a loads of special awards to earn
• Daily Team Challenges with Friends – Invite friends to join your team or compete against you, and help each other stay motivated
• Healthy Calorie & Distance Tracking – Want to go deeper? Improve your health by setting personal walking goals, tracking distance, burning calories, and more
• Is always with you – Arookoo automatically tracks your walking, making it easy to walk and take more steps to a healthier you

Big Blue Bubble, Inc. has burned its way onto Android with their smash hit Burn the Rope, which is finally available on Android Market. A critically-acclaimed best seller, Burn the Rope is a puzzle adventure where the goal is as simple as it is addictive: burn as much rope as possible. I can attest to this – the game is incredibly addictive and has a very high replayability factor. Release your inner arsonist and ignite your way through over 100 delightful levels, with new user generated puzzles every day. Get involved and submit your very own puzzle to be featured in Puzzle of the Day.

[youtube:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZCj9HorjsG8]

Game Description:

In Burn the Rope users have the freedom to set fire without any fire hazard or need for a fire extinguisher. The game involves a mix of strategic planning, thinking ahead, coordination and the ability to stay in deep focus. Users have to feed the fire and burn as much rope as they can in each level to progress. The challenge is that fire only burns upwards, leaving players to tilt and turn their iPhones to keep the flame alive.

The game features 116 devilishly tricky levels with polished graphics and mesmerizing fire effects. Bugs that crawl along the rope spice things up demonstrating different reactions to the flame from level to level. Ants change the color of the flame so that users could burn different colored ropes, and the spider shoots out a web bridge providing access to the parts of the level that were beyond players’ reach before.

Burn The Rope is also available on Ovi for Nokia phones, the iTunes App for mobile iOS devices and in the Mac Store.

Fluik Entertainment & Big Fat Simulations, the original creators of Office Jerk, are proud to bring the iPhone hit to the Android market for 99 cents. Settle for nothing less. Office Jerk has already experienced over 7 million downloads on iTunes, and has been the number one iphone app in 50 countries.

Working in an office sure can be boring, and it doesn’t help when some do-good know-it-all sits across from you all day. You know the type: he runs to the boss when you do something wrong, complains when you get the last bag of chips in the snack room or always has a better idea than you.

No longer will you sit back and take it. Instead, grab whatever you have nearby — a crumpled piece of paper, a mug, a shiny red stapler or crack open the ACME pack for even more loads of endless fun — and wipe that smirk off his face in the feel-good app of the year. Upgrade your arsenal with in-app purchases of office weaponry.

[youtube:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-p2s4mC50L0]

Calling all secret agents – Rocketfuel Games has announced your latest assignment. Step One is to download the free app from the iTunes App Store and unlock the clues at a museum, science centre, zoo or aquarium in a city near you – see below for the currently available locations.

Upon completion of your mission sync your award to Discovery Kids: Seek Your Own Proof to earn tokens and special rewards. You can continue your career as a secret agent by customizing your avatar, playing online missions and puzzles, and defeating the villains of I.C.E.

While currently-available sites are limited, Rocketfuel invites their secret agent corps to submit locations for further investigation.  The free to download Discovery Kids Field Missions is rated 4+ and is compatible with  iPhone, iPod touch, and iPad devices running iOS 4.0 or later.

*Current Investigation Locations*

Canada

Lethbridge, AB – Galt Museum & Archives

United States

New York, NY – Discovery Times Square
Seattle, WA – The Burke Museum
West Palm Beach, FL – Johnson History Museum