Village Gamer

Florida company tXtBlocker announced today the launch of its distracted driving solution in Ontario and all of Canada’s provinces. The launch coincides with tXtBlocker’s sponsorship of the Ontario Association of Chiefs of Police (OACP) annual R.I.D.E. Drive Safe! Campaign. The initiative was launched during Police Week and supports efforts throughout the upcoming year by the Ontario Provincial Police and municipal police services across Ontario to eliminate texting, calling, and other forms of distracted driving on their roadways.

tXtBlocker is the leading technology platform in preventing distracted driving incidents in the United States. The service, which costs as little as $6.99 (Canadian) a month, allows owners to control when, where and how their phones are used. With a simple download, parents, employers and organizations can keep their loved ones and others safe on the road, while limiting distractions at school or the worksite. tXtBlocker was featured in the April 2011 edition of Consumer Reports, which described the technology as the best product available for preventing distracted driving. The service enjoys high customer satisfaction and is currently available through AT&T’s mobile app website and Best Buy stores.

“I’m very encouraged that the Ontario Association of Chiefs of Police has taken a leading role in both educating the public and enforcing distracted driving laws. They intend to stop the growing epidemic of motorists using their mobile phone,” said Stan Van Meter, CEO of tXtBlocker. “We are pleased to announce the launch of tXtBlocker in Ontario and the rest of Canada. tXtBlocker is the leading technology solution to distracted driving incidents in the United States and is proud to have been selected as a partner in OACP’s unique outreach campaign in Canada.” Read the rest of this entry »

Cineplex Entertainment has announced it will host a special Community Day in Edmonton at Cineplex Odeon North Edmonton Cinemas and in Grande Prairie at Cineplex Odeon Grande Prairie Cinemas on Saturday, June 11, 2011 beginning at 8:30 a.m. The morning event will feature free movies and discounted popcorn and soft drinks with proceeds of these concession items donated to the Canadian Red Cross in support of the residents of Slave Lake, AB.

“At Cineplex, we are extremely proud of the relationships we have within the communities we operate and we wanted to show the residents of Slave Lake we care and want to help,” said Pat Marshall, Vice President Communications and Investor Relations, Cineplex Entertainment. “Community Day is a fun outing that supports a very worthwhile cause.”

On the morning of Saturday, June 11^th, Cineplex invites Edmonton residents to enjoy a selection of FREE movies and specially discounted items at the concession stand. Regular-sized popcorn and regular-sized fountain drinks will be available at a reduced price of $2 each with 100% of the proceeds of these concession items donated to the Canadian Red Cross Alberta Fire Response efforts.

“The Canadian Red Cross is very grateful to Cineplex Entertainment for this support,” says Steve Armstrong, Director of the Canadian Red Cross in Alberta. “Many families were impacted by the fires in Slave Lake and Red Cross is committed to assisting with their recovery. Donations from events like this enable us to help people rebuild their lives.”

The FREE movie schedule for Community Day on Saturday, June 11, 2011 at Cineplex Odeon North Edmonton and Cineplex Odeon Grande Prairie Cinemas includes:

9:00 a.m. – Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader
9:10 a.m. – Yogi Bear
9:20 a.m. – Gnomeo and Juliet (3D)
9:30 a.m. – Hop
9:40 a.m. – Megamind

All movies are free of charge to guests and are based on seat availability on a first- come first- serve basis. Cineplex Odeon North Edmonton Cinemas is located at 14231 137th Avenue NW in Edmonton and Cineplex Odeon Grande Prairie Cinemas is located at 10330-109th St. in Grande Prairie.

In other cinema-related news, D-BOX Technologies Inc. has signed its second agreement with CineLux Theatres to equip its Scotts Valley, California theatre with 28 D-BOX MFX Seats.

“Given our motion technology’s successful performance and increasing popularity among moviegoers, commitments from existing theatre partners like CineLux continue steadily,” said President and CEO of D-BOX Technologies, Claude Mc Master.

“CineLux is delighted to continue its relationship with D-BOX and announce a second location,” said President of CineLux Theatres, Paul Gunsky. “We’ve experienced great success at our Morgan Hill location and expect similar results at our CineLux Scotts Valley Stadium 10, which has been expanded and now features every modern amenity, including D-BOX technology.”

In response to growing customer demand and rapid organizational expansion, FINCAD is pleased to announce the construction of a new state-of-the-art Data Centre to be housed in the company’s Surrey headquarters. The world-class facility brings to 5 the total number of Centers the firm operates globally.

Intelliware Development Inc. is pleased to announce its participation in the initial funding of start-up Vouchfor!™, a social referral marketing platform. Intelliware, along with GC Global Capital Corp and founder John Stewart, are co-investors.

Vouchfor! leverages the power of word-of-mouth referrals to drive more business to companies by rewarding both current and new customers. Vouchfor! allows a Merchant to create and execute local referral reward campaigns turning happy, loyal customers into an extended sales force.

The service is easy to use and takes advantage of the most popular social networks such as Facebook® and Twitter® to refer friends to Merchants they like, and be rewarded for that referral.

“Vouchfor! is the next evolution of monetizing social commerce,” states Glen Johnson, SVP Product Ventures at Intelliware. “This early stage business fits our investment criteria and expertise very well. Vouchfor! has huge potential because it uniquely combines the power of social media to drive revenue for a wide range of businesses.”

Intelliware is providing business strategy and incubation services, in addition to leading all aspects of product design and development.

“We are thrilled to have Intelliware as an invested partner in Vouchfor!,” says John Stewart, Founder and CEO of Vouchfor!. “The team brings a unique mix of entrepreneurial skill, capital and practical experience in building products – a combination that is exceptionally hard to find.”

I’m passing along this information from the Trade Commissioner’s office for those Canadian companies who will be attending E3. If you are interested in either of these breakfast sessions, please register online or contact your local Trade Commissioner for more information.

The Canadian Consulate in Los Angeles is organizing these two activities that you may wish to take part in:

Los Angeles Pipeline Program – Monday, June 6, 2011

Ken Rutkowski will lead 10-20 ICT companies through a rigorous one-day program involving:

(1) Face-to-face dialogue with other successful entrepreneurs
(2) Direct feedback on business strategy
(3) Coaching (prior to arrival and during event)
(4) Pitch opportunity to Finance professionals and potential partners

Each company will receive specialized attention for his/her company that are inline with their market objectives.

Los Angeles E3 Networking Breakfast – Tuesday, June 7, 2011

Ken Rutkowski will lead two panel discussions on entrepreneurship and financing:

(1) Cross-fertilization to meet other Canadians and key business drivers in entertainment
(2) Access to Los Angeles decision makers in the high-tech community
(3) Relaxed and dynamic environment for professional networking.
(4) Expecting 175 – 200 professional attendees.

AceTech Ontario has started a new Roundtable Group in Ottawa, expanding its mandate to help Technology CEOs in Ontario become better at their jobs through professional development and peer mentoring.

The Ottawa group will be led by Don Chapman, Corporate Director and AceTech Ontario Board Member and will be supported by AceTech Ontario sponsors in the Ottawa area, including Gowlings.  Says David Pamenter, Partner at Gowlings and Leader of the Technology Industry Group “We already have a strong group of experienced and enthusiastic CEOs signed on, eager to begin experiencing the value of AceTech Ontario.”

Programming for the Ottawa group will include the Annual Retreat (this year in Blue Mountain Village from May 31st to June 2nd), and all the Quarterly Dinners and Power Sessions in Toronto, together with the members located in the GTA.  The backbone of the programming will be the Roundtable Sessions held monthly in Ottawa.

Roundtables are discussion groups formed by CEO peers committed to helping diagnose and resolve real-life questions, problems or issues, without any fear of being judged. Roundtables offer an ideal environment for CEOs to really understand what the “best” looks like and work with a trusted group of peers to identify how to get there.  CEOs who commit to the Roundtables form a trusted environment that is supportive, yet challenging, without being confrontational. The result is real-world solutions to today’s problems and tomorrow’s opportunities.  The results are remarkable! Roundtables are the most valued benefit of AceTech Ontario membership.

“AceTech Ontario is growing rapidly due to the real need for Technology CEOs to have a trusted network of experienced and supportive peers to bounce ideas off of and to learn from” says David Nyland, CEO of Blueprint and Chairman of AceTech Ontario.  “We are proud to be expanding into the vibrant Ottawa Technology Community and we are looking forward to having these CEOs join us for our events and become valued contributors to our network”

Intertainment Media Inc. has announced that its desktop app KNCTR®, a key program of Intertainment’s wholly owned division itiBiti Systems Inc. is now counting over 664,000 unique installations in the North American market.

KNCTR® saw 79,622 unique installations throughout North America over the previous week period and the program increasingly continues to be part of consumer’s daily digital consumption pattern with an average of over 13.3 minutes of daily active user engagement. The active user engagement continues to make the premium advertising supported KNCTR® model a key tool that features video content, integration of social media and the ability to make free long distance phone calls to cell phones and land lines to anywhere in North America.

KNCTR® is the next generation of social communication and entertainment applications that allows users to aggregate their social media(s) and voice services into one location on their desktop. Unlike Skype, the telephone feature on KNCTR® is completely free to the consumer allowing free local and long distance calls to mobile phones and land lines. KNCTR® is a premium advertising model that allows for branded sponsorship, pre-roll and display advertising opportunities for brands and service providers alike.

With the projected impact that tablets will have on the personal computing space, with over 50 million units to be sold within the next two years in North America alone, KNCTR® is positioned to enhance the functionality and usability of these devices by allowing them to become a fully functioning phone unit.

“Week over week we are continuing to see significant growth in our new installation base for KNCTR®,” said Brad Parry, CMO Intertainment Media Inc., “The level of engagement and sharing is notable as we continue to see KNCTR® becoming a core element in the consumer’s daily digital habit.”

Notably, the itiBiti desktop app has been hailed by Microsoft Corp. as “the next generation of integrated social media applications – easy, scalable and fun.”

ProFusion 2011 is happening June 17th and 18th at the Toronto Congress Centre, and it’s much more than Canada’s largest professional photo and video tradeshow.

Along with new technology and product demonstrations, ProFusion will showcase a long list of professional seminars and workshops, conducted by world-renowned experts in the field of photography and videography, some lecturers in Canada for the first time.

“Last year’s show exceeded our expectations, particularly the overwhelming response to our seminars and workshops” says Vistek President, Ron Silverstein. “With the success of last year’s show, we decided to up the ante and to expand our selection of seminars, both in quantity and quality.”

According to Mr. Silverstein that’s what distances ProFusion 2011 from any other tradeshow. “It’s not your average ordinary tradeshow. I mean, along with all the new products and technology, we’re offering the most impressive list of seminar presenters ever assembled in this country. These are the best of the best. Most of these guys only do custom workshops on their home turf. Ordinarily you’d have to leave the country to hear them speak. How we convinced them to come to Toronto is still beyond belief.”

Some of the high profile lecturers Mr. Silverstein is referring to include: Jay Maisel, Vincent Laforet, Philip Bloom, Seth Resnick, Douglas Spotted Eagle, Peter Krogh, Mark Cleghorn, Gary Fong, and others.

One of Canada’s leading Web conferences, mesh, has come west by way of a one-day event in Calgary on June 8 at the MacEwan Conference & Event Centre at the University of Calgary. Tickets are $ 279.00 each and can be purchased online.

Like mesh, meshwest will focus on providing insight and stimulating conversations around four streams – media, society, marketing and business. Led by opinion leaders and entrepreneurs, meshwest will provide the opportunity to have thought-provoking and engaging conversations in which the attendees are involved as much as the speakers.

“We think Calgary is a great place to launch meshwest,” said Mark Evans, co-founder of the mesh conference. “There’s a growing start-up and high-tech community, and there are many large companies exploring the use of social media as a new way to communicate, market and sell.”

From Canada’s leading digital marketers to local social media strategists, meshwest will provide an emphasis on exploring what’s over the horizon in the digital world.

Speakers to include:

Tobias Lütke – CEO of Shopify
Stuart MacDonald – One of Canada’ leading digital marketers
Doug Lacombe – Canada’s Internet publishing pioneer
Greg Hounslow – Emerging Media Advisor for WestJet
Mark Evans – mesh Co-founder and former technology reporter with the National Post and Globe & Mail
Leigh Himel – Owner of Toronto-based, Gravity Ltd., a ‘Social Enterprise Design’ firm
Sarah Dickinson – SVP, Strategy at Blast Radius
Tony Rino – Web & Social Media Advisor, Canadian Association of Petroleum Producers (CAPP)

meshwest sponsors include CIRA, Yahoo! Canada, CNW and Hill & Knowlton Calgary.

Zevrix Solutions has announced Deliver 2.3.4, a feature update to its file delivery solution for remote and local destinations. Deliver lets users send files over Internet and local networks with variable e-mail notifications, automatic compression, encryption and other powerful capabilities. It supports FTP, Amazon S3, MobileMe and other remote and local services, and lets users send files to multiple destinations at once.

Deliver 2.3.4 can be purchased from Zevrix website for US$19.95 (free with purchase of BatchOutput for InDesign). The update is free for licensed users of Deliver, and a free trial is also available for download. Deliver is a Universal Binary and available for Mac OS X 10.5-10.6.

The new version lets users view destination passwords in clear text making it much easier for administrators to manage, store and retrieve passwords. Users have an option to view current password only, or to keep passwords in clear text as they switch between destinations. This feature is available through admin authentication only. Deliver also lets users automatically send output files and collected jobs from Adobe InDesign through seamless integration with Zevrix plug-ins BatchOutput and InPreflight.

Deliver quickly gains popularity as file delivery tool of choice at ad agencies, printers, audio recording studios, video producers and other facilities. Users only need to drop files onto the program icon, or select them from the system list, and the items will be delivered automatically to the desired destinations. The program will send automatic email notifications upon delivery, eliminating the need to babysit the files in order to notify the recipients. Files can be instantly downloaded from links included in the email. In addition, Deliver automates such repetitive tasks as file compression and encryption, and offers a detailed history of all deliveries.