Village Gamer

Heavy-hitting investors and business elite from across North America heard pitches from Canada’s youngest entrepreneurs yesterday, and are evaluating the first business ventures created through game-changing program, The Next 36. An initiative supported by more than 50 Canadian business leaders – including Galen Weston, Paul Desmarais Sr. and Jim Pattison as founding patrons – The Next 36 aims to transform the country’s most promising undergraduates into high-impact entrepreneurs and nation builders.

“For years, I have been looking for the best way to help young entrepreneurs,” explains Anthony Lacavera, a director of The Next 36 and Chairman and CEO of Globalive. “The Next 36 is the perfect formula.”

Yesterday’s ‘Venture Day’ marked the culmination of the program’s inaugural year. The accomplished young co-founders (aged 19 to 23) spent the last eight months working in teams and together with CEO mentors, top business school faculty, and others to seize opportunities in mobile application technology. These ventures include mobile apps relating to local bartering, customer feedback, exercise rewards, flirting and virtual clothing.

Monday’s graduation ceremony featured the presentation of three highly-coveted awards. The 2011 Valedictorian, selected by his peers, was David Berkal, a Peace & Conflict Studies graduate from The University of Toronto. Emily Dimytosh, who is entering her final year in Commerce at Queen’s, was chosen by the program’s co-founders as winner of the Satchu Prize, named in honour of Founding Chair, Reza Satchu.  “In terms of raising the bar, The Next 36 has taken me from varsity high jump to Olympic pole vaulting,” states Dimytosh.  The recipient of the Outstanding Venture Award was Tradyo, a swapping application that allows users to buy & barter on a local level through their smartphone.  Tradyo’s co-founders come from McGill, Western, Guelph and Toronto.

“Canadian prosperity depends on our ability to generate more seasoned entrepreneurs to drive this country forward.” said Claudia Hepburn, co-founder and executive director of The Next 36. “Entrepreneurs who see opportunities where others see challenges have the ability to change our community and our economy. We can’t wait to see how they build on this experience in the real world.”

As the first cohort of The Next 36 makes plans to forge ahead with their businesses – some while juggling their studies – the program is gearing up to welcome its next wave of students. The application process is open until October 7, 2011.

The Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) has given the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC) permission to continue broadcasting analog over-the-air television signals in 22 markets until August 31, 2012. This decision gives the CBC an additional year to find solutions for viewers who may lose access to its over-the-air signals after the transition to digital television.

In 2007, the CRTC set August 31, 2011 as the deadline for broadcasters to complete the transition from analog to digital television. The transition is mandatory in 28 Canadian markets, including provincial and national capitals, metropolitan areas with populations greater than 300,000, and markets served by more than one local television station.

The CBC operates 25 local stations in mandatory markets whose over-the-air transmitters will be converted to digital in time for the deadline. The CBC also operates 22 analog transmitters that rebroadcast its stations’ signals into other communities that are also considered mandatory markets, but does not intend to replace them with digital transmitters. For example, under the CBC’s current transition plans, the signal of its English-language television station in Montreal would not have been available in Quebec City after the transition.

As the national public broadcaster, the CBC has a unique mandate to serve the entire Canadian population. A one-year extension is necessary to guarantee over-the-air viewers in some mandatory markets do not lose access to the signals of CBC television stations and have sufficient time to find alternate means of accessing them.

The CRTC will examine the CBC’s long-term plans for its analog over-the-air transmitters during the June 2012 public hearing to renew its radio and television licences.

Following the transition to digital television, the government has reserved channels 52 to 69 for public safety and advanced wireless services. The CBC must vacate these channels by the August 31, 2011 deadline by either moving its signal to a lower channel on the dial or switching to a low-power transmitter.

Viewers who watch local television stations using rabbit ears or an outdoor antenna may experience some change in the way they receive television signals. For more information, please see Canada’s Transition to Digital Television.

The Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission has given the CBC permission to continue operating 22 analog over-the-air transmitters beyond the August 31, 2011 deadline for the transition to digital television. The transmitters, which serve markets where the transition is mandatory, rebroadcast the programming of CBC television stations located in other cities.

Below is a list of the local television stations and the transmitters that rebroadcast their programming:

Calgary Scientific has announced a strategic partnership with the CyberSKA project. This project provides scientists and researchers around the world a platform to access and collaborate on the massive data sets coming from newer and bigger radio telescopes. CyberSKA is using PureWeb® from Calgary Scientific to web- and mobile-enable the astronomy viewer so the data can be analyzed without being moved and the results can be accessed anywhere in the world, on any device. It also allows researchers on different sides of the globe to interact and collaborate in real-time on the same information about the origin, structure and evolution of the universe.

“PureWeb provides the ability to analyze large multi-dimensional data sets from modern telescopes through our web portal without having to download these enormous files,” said University of Calgary Professor Russ Taylor, Director of the Institute for Space Imaging Science and CyberSKA Project Leader. “This eliminates the need to move these massive amounts of data to individual users, and provides the unique ability for researchers across the globe to collaborate with each other on the analysis of these data using whatever device they have – whether a desktop, laptop or tablet.”

Traditional approaches will not be able to process and move this massive amount of data as output will be in the range of 60GB per second – totaling terabytes in hours and petabytes in days. This includes the Square Kilometer Array – an international multi-billion dollar project to build the largest radio telescope in the world. With a total collecting area a million square meters (one square kilometre), it will be 50 times more sensitive and 10,000 times faster for imaging the sky than the most powerful telescopes today. Information collected will be shared around the world creating huge technical challenges.

“The partnership with the CyberSKA project is another example of how Calgary Scientific continues to demonstrate that PureWeb is a powerful, enabling platform that can uniquely address the most challenging issues related to high performance cloud computing. This project faces the ‘big data’ issue on an extreme scale and PureWeb is the answer,” emphasizes Byron Osing, CEO and Chair of Calgary Scientific. “PureWeb also maintains the highest degree of security as the data is never copied or moved across any network to the user. This is true whether it is a single user or a large group collaborating in real-time with the same data.”

PureWeb is the first software platform that allows multiple users to interact with the same instance of an application simultaneously. This new capability allows geographically distributed users to access any PureWeb enabled application and collaborate with other users in real-time. PureWeb allows existing software applications to be used in new ways and places, for less time and money, while maintaining high performance and security.

Canadian funding for the CyberSKA project is provided by CANARIE, Canada’s Advanced Research and Innovation Network.  Within Alberta, CyberSKA partners also include Cybera, a not-for-profit organization that spurs and supports innovation, for the economic benefit of Alberta, through the use of cyberinfrastructure.

Funcom and EA Partners, a division of Electronic Arts Inc. would like you to know that the highly anticipated modern-day, Massively Multiplayer Online Game, The Secret World™ will release for the PC in April 2012. Starting August 26^th, gamers can register to join upcoming betas, through a unique interactive social media campaign that will be made available on the game’s official site.

Imagine a world where secret societies pull the strings of kings and presidents, where vampires are more than just a Hollywood fantasy, and where all the myths, legends and conspiracies are true. The Secret World is an MMO that breaks free from the confinements of character classes and levels and allows players to explore real-world locations with an engrossing storyline. Funcom will not only challenge but redefine long-established MMO standards.

“It has never been more rewarding working on The Secret World than it is now,” says Senior Producer and Creative Director Ragnar Tørnquist. “The progress we are making in development allows the whole team to really enjoy just playing the game for hours on end. We are all looking forward to bringing in players through upcoming betas, and their feedback will be crucial to the further development of the game as we progress toward the April 2012 launch.”

Electronic Arts Inc. has announced that EA Sports™ is developing an authentic street soccer game that will replicate the way the game is played by street players all over the world. From the creators of the award-winning EA Sports FIFA Soccer franchise at EA Canada, and inspired by street soccer styles and stars from around the world, EA Sports FIFA Street will be built to the level of quality and depth that millions of FIFA fans have come to expect from the EA Sports FIFA development team. The game will be available for the PlayStation®3  and Xbox 360® in early 2012.

“This is the first time our award-winning FIFA development team is creating a street soccer game, and we are going to deliver a level of authenticity never before seen in this genre, along with amazing gameplay,” said Matt Bilbey, Vice President and GM of Soccer, EA Sports. “FIFA Street will appeal to new fans that are looking for a unique, fun soccer experience, and long-time FIFA fans looking for an authentic street soccer experience with the level of quality that they know and love from the FIFA franchise.”

Powered by the revolutionary FIFA Soccer gameplay engine, and introducing Street Ball Control, FIFA Street will deliver an arsenal of groundbreaking street dribbling styles and trick moves that ignite the one-on-one battles within matches. Whether performing one panna after another without breaking a sweat the way street soccer is played in Amsterdam, or a physical, fight-for-possession style the way players compete in London, fans will enjoy a superior fidelity of ball control and responsiveness than anything ever experienced in a soccer videogame. Plus, for the first time ever, utilize aerial skills to maneuver past opponents, an all-new sophisticated one-touch passing system for quick, precision passes, and over 50 never-before-experienced skill moves.

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Play with and against the stars of the most popular clubs in the world—or real-life street players—and compete at more than 35 locations around the world. From one-on-one battles in parking lots and parks to prestigious 5v5 tournaments on the streets of the world’s biggest cities, FIFA Street will replicate the unique street soccer style. Plus, it will feature a host of modes and online features that will be revealed in the months ahead that will make the game a social, connected experience.

FIFA Street will be connected to EA Sports Football Club (Online Pass, FIFA Street and internet connection required), so from the first nutmeg on, gamers will be contributing to their Football Club identity. Fans who purchase EA Sports Season Ticket will also get, as a bonus offer, full-game digital access to FIFA Street three days in advance of launch.

An EA Sports Season Ticket subscription provides full-game digital access to all participating EA Sports games three days before launch, a 20% discount on all downloadable content, free premium web content and membership recognition through an in-game and online EA Sports Season Ticket badge. An annual subscription to EA Sports Season Ticket is now available through the PlayStation Store and Xbox LIVE for $24.99 or 2000 MS Points. EA Sports Season Ticket is available for Xbox 360 in North America, Europe, Australia and New Zealand, and PS3 in North America. Benefits begin with the launch of Madden NFL 12. Moving forward, participating franchises include NHL hockey, FIFA Soccer, Tiger Woods PGA Tour golf and NCAA Football. Subscribers will also get, as a bonus offer, three-day early digital access to FIFA Street.

A team of seven students in the Masters of Digital Media program at The Center for Digital Media have come together to create an all-new physics-based puzzle game for iPads and iPhones within an ambitious timeline of 4 months. These students have also created Digital Touch Games, a brand new Vancouver independent studio. Crash Craving is their debut title.

Crash Craving is designed with casual gamers and non-gamers in mind, making the game easy to play but difficult to master. The game features a lovable orange chameleon fittingly named Mango. Mango is in search for food and he comes across jars of flies in a… French Cafe? That’s a classy meal right there and Mango knows how to get it. If you enjoy wreaking havoc in a fancy cafe by swinging like Tarzan with a super long sticky tongue, you’ll love this game. There are 50 levels to play through which is sure to provide hours of fun for just a single dollar on the iTunes app store.

The Masters of Digital Media program is a professional degree designed to be a practical program in which students are set up to work for real industry projects with real clients as well as some high profile companies like Electronic Arts and Microsoft. On the last semester of the 20-month program, the students are given the chance to pitch their own project ideas to the directors of the school as well as industry judges in the style of Dragons’ Den to gauge the viability and profitability of what is being proposed. Making sure that they get a shot at creating a game from concept through development and production, these students endeavoured to have a marketable, polished game within a semester’s time.

Advanced digital imaging company Point Grey has announced the launch of its new Flea3 FL3-GE series of GigE Vision digital cameras, setting a new industry standard with an ultra-compact size of just 29 x 29 x 30 millimeters, making it the world’s smallest Gigabit Ethernet camera. The first available models use monochrome and color versions of the popular Sony® ICX445 CCD, a high sensitivity 1.3 megapixel 1/3-inch EXview HAD image sensor that runs at 30 FPS. The Flea3 offers superior imaging performance, unbeatable price-performance, and a host of new features, including opto-isolated GPIO for industrial triggering and strobe output, non-volatile flash memory for user data storage, and on-camera frame buffer.

“We are very excited to launch the Flea3 GigE series, which will provide customers with a unique combination of size, performance, and price,” says Vladimir Tucakov, Director of Sales and Marketing at Point Grey. Tucakov adds, “Point Grey has a history of bringing innovative and ground-breaking products to market. This drive for innovation has led to many industry firsts, including the world’s first and smallest FireWire-b cameras. With Flea3 we’re pushing technology boundaries again by providing three different interfaces—FireWire, GigE, and soon USB 3.0—in the same small, ice-cube form factor.”

Every Flea3 GigE camera is equipped with an industry-standard C-mount lens holder, removable IR cut filter (color models) / optical window (monochrome models), and a 12-bit analog-to-digital converter. Additional features include automatic control of most camera properties, such as gain, exposure, and white balance; user configuration sets for defining custom power-up settings; gamma and programmable lookup table; customizable region of interest settings; and pixel binning. The Flea3 also complies with version 1.2 of the GigE Vision specification, which allows it to be used with many third-party software packages. Included with every camera is the FlyCapture® SDK, a full software library that provides a common control interface for all Point Grey cameras under both Windows and Linux.

The Flea3 FL3-GE-13S2 (1/3-inch 1.3 MP 30 FPS), list priced at USD $765, is available to order now from Point Grey and its network of distributors. Additional GigE Vision models are planned to be released throughout 2011.

Intertainment Media Inc. has announced that its social media, real time, experiential communications platform Ortsbo has begun beta testing of its Google Android platform for smartphones and mobile devices. This complements the recent market release of Ortsbo for iPhone (“Ortsbo 2Go” or “O2Go”), which in its first week of release received the highest level of product review, 5 Stars, from users. Ortsbo for Android, as part of the Ortsbo 2Go mobile suite, is expected to launch in the Android Marketplace by mid September.

The launch of Ortsbo’s Android beta testing is the latest in a series of mobile solution developments from Ortsbo as it continues to meet its milestone objectives for mobile offerings during Summer 2011. In addition to mobile solutions for Apple and Android, Ortsbo reported earlier that it has filed a patent for its “O2O” mobile platform for portable computing devices and expects that that product line will also be unveiled to consumers over the next 60 days.

With the purchase and integration of Commobility, Ortsbo is currently developing additional secured IP mobile and portable computing technology initiatives, including solutions for multi-lingual communications, location based and proximity communications solutions as well as additional device solutions for Windows Phone and BlackBerry. Details of these applications will be released as they become available.

Welcome to Airways Virtual, a website that features virtual airlines for flight simulator FSX.  These include British Airways Virtual, Thai Airways Virtual, Tiger Airways Virtual, Hewa Bora Airways Virtual and many more.  If you are interested in managing a virtual airline then contact SimMiles and complete a virtual airline application form.  If you are interested in becoming a virtual airline pilot at one of these Virtual Airlines then you can click on the link that will take you to their website where you can complete a virtual airline pilot application.  Each virtual airline is independently managed and operated by the management of that specific virtual airline.

SimMiles is an airline simulation game for virtual airlines that allows real people to manage the virtual airline in an airline simulation game environment and it also allows virtual airline pilots to complete the flights for the virtual airline using Flight Simulator FSX in real time.  This way pilots also get to participate in this real time airline simulation game online in the most realistic environment.  Airways Virtual is a website that promotes virtual airlines, the airline management game genre in general and the flight simulator FSX community.

Airways Virtual features FSX Virtual Airlines that are based all over the world including countries like Canada, Singapore, United States (USA), UK (United Kingdom), Australia, Germany, France, New Zealand and Ireland.  There are many virtual airlines that you can choose from in these countries and many more.  Airways Virtual mainly features real world based virtual airlines to make the FSX Virtual Airline Management experience more realistic and fun.

California-based provider of scale-out, open source storage solutions company Gluster co-founder and chief technology officer Anand Babu Periasamy will be among the industry experts presenting at LinuxCon, taking place August 17 – 19 at the Hyatt Regency in Vancouver. On Friday, August 19 from 10:15 a.m. to 11:00 a.m., Periasamy will present “Bringing Intelligent Storage to OpenStack.” Additionally, John Mark Walker, Gluster’s community director, will host a GlusterFS Birds-of-a-Feather (BoF) on Thursday, August 18 at 5:15 p.m.

During Periasamy’s presentation he will discuss the pain points of storage in cloud computing environments and specifically address the benefits of using OpenStack and Gluster. Additionally, the discussion will feature code examples and use cases. Prior to Gluster, Periasamy served as CTO at California Digital Corporation and, in 2004, led the development of the world’s second-fastest supercomputer, “Thunder,” for Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory. Periasamy also serves on the board of “Free Software Foundation – India.”

“OpenStack has experienced blinding success over the past year, with many developers, system administrators and companies participating in its ecosystem,” said Periasamy. “We have been collaborating with the OpenStack community to determine the largest pain points and storage is one of them. My discussion will outline how Gluster provides highly-scalable and highly available VM storage functionality for OpenStack.”

The GlusterFS BoF will be an opportunity for LinuxCon attendees to discuss and learn more about the GlusterFS roadmap, recent integration work and recipes for deploying at scale. Periasamy will be on hand to share his expertise and answer audience questions.