Village Gamer

Ubisoft^® has  announced the development of Far Cry 3^®, marking the return of the highly-acclaimed video game franchise. Development on Far Cry 3 is led by Ubisoft Montréal with the support of Ubisoft Shanghai and Massive Entertainment. Far Cry 3 will be available for the Xbox 360^®, the Sony^® PlayStation^®3 and Windows^® PC in 2012.

With Far Cry 3, players step into the shoes of Jason Brody, a man alone at the edge of the world, stranded on a mysterious tropical island. In this savage paradise where lawlessness and violence are the only sure thing, players dictate how the story unfolds, from the battles they choose to fight to the allies or enemies they make along the way. As Jason Brody, players will slash, sneak, detonate and shoot their way across the island in a world that has lost all sense of right and wrong.

“Far Cry 3 brings something new and unexpected, while still building upon the foundations of excellence that are inherent to the Far Cry brand,” said Dan Hay, producer at Ubisoft Montréal. “Whether you’re already a fan of the Far Cry series or jumping into the franchise for the very first time, you’re going to be blown away by the gritty story and epic adventure we’re going to deliver.”

Canada’s Privacy Commissioner is satisfied with Google’s response to her Office’s investigation into the company’s inappropriate collection of personal information from unsecured wireless networks across Canada, but plans further follow-up on the issue.

“An investigation that revealed Google Inc. lacked proper controls to protect personal information has led to a commitment by the company to implement remedial measures that will reduce the risk of future privacy violations,” says Privacy Commissioner of Canada Jennifer Stoddart.

Jennifer Stoddart

“Google appears to be well on the way to resolving serious shortcomings in the way in which it addresses privacy issues,” says Commissioner Stoddart.  “However, given the significance of the problems we found during our investigation, we will continue to monitor how Google implements our recommendations.”

The Privacy Commissioner has requested that Google undergo an independent, third-party audit of its privacy programs within a year and share the results with her Office.  An audit will help measure the effectiveness of Google’s proposed measures vis-à-vis its overall privacy compliance regime.

This is the first time the Commissioner has asked a company to undergo an independent audit. In order to strengthen accountability going forward, organizations may, in appropriate cases, be asked to file independent, third-party reports attesting to the fact that they have lived up to their commitments and have complied with the Commissioner’s recommendations.

“Google is a world leader in innovation and, by its own admission, it pursues ideas which push the limits of social norms and technologies.  As such, the company has an added responsibility to ensure that privacy protection gets the attention it deserves.  Unfortunately, past history suggests that has not been the case until now,” she says.

The Privacy Commissioner initiated an investigation under the federal private-sector privacy law, the Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act, or PIPEDA, after Google admitted that its cars – which were photographing neighbourhoods for its Street View map service – had collected data transmitted over unprotected wireless networks installed in homes and businesses around the globe.  It’s likely that thousands of Canadians were affected.

The personal information collected included complete e-mails, e-mail addresses, usernames and passwords, names, home telephone numbers and addresses, and even the names of people suffering from certain medical conditions. The investigation concluded that the incident was largely a result of Google’s lack of proper privacy policies and procedures.

The Office of the Privacy Commissioner issued its findings and recommendations in October 2010 and asked for a response by February 2011.  Google responded and subsequently provided clarification of certain issues at the request of the Office of the Privacy Commissioner.

The Privacy Commissioner is now satisfied with the measures that Google has agreed to implement, including:

• Significantly augmenting privacy and security training provided to all employees;
• Implementing a system for tracking all projects that collect, use or store personal information and for holding the engineers and managers responsible for those projects accountable for privacy;
• Requiring engineering project leaders to draft, maintain, submit and update Privacy Design Documents for all projects in order to help ensure engineering and product teams assess the privacy impact of their products and services from inception through launch;
• Assigning an internal audit team to conduct periodic audits to verify the completion of selected Privacy Design Documents and their review by the appropriate managers; and
• Piloting a review process whereby members of Google’s Privacy Engineering, Product Counsel and Privacy Counsel teams review proposals involving location-based data, as well as the software programs that are to be used for the collection of data.

Additionally, Google has advised that it has begun to delete the data it collected in Canada.  This process has been complicated by various rules and regulations that the company is subject to under Canadian and U.S. laws.  The company has stated that, until such time as the data can be fully destroyed, it will remain secured and will not be used.

The Office of the Privacy Commissioner will follow up with Google next year to gauge full implementation of its recommendations.  At that time, the Privacy Commissioner will determine whether and how best to pursue the matter in accordance with her authorities under the Act.

The Report of Findings and a Backgrounder on the Google investigation is available on the Privacy Commissioner’s website.

Can you beat the clock?  A new contest has been launched on the Interac® Facebook page that challenges you to put your knowledge of  Interac e-Transfer to the test by answering a series of questions before time runs out.

New questions will be posted on the Facebook wall each week until the contest ends on July 11th, giving you multiple chances to show off your Interac IQ. Every question answered correctly means a ballot for a chance to win 1 of 3 $1,000 Interac e-Transfers.  You can also get extra ballots by sharing with us the different ways you have used Interac e-Transfer.

Think you have the speed and the smarts? Take the 2-Minute Challenge here.

Interac e-Transfer – the quick, easy and secure alternative to cheques and cash.

• It’s a simple, convenient, and secure way to send and receive money directly from one bank account to another.
• All you need is access to online or mobile banking through a participating financial institution, and you can send money to anyone with an email address or mobile phone number and a bank account in Canada — without sharing any personal or financial information.
• There’s no need to set up a new account; and funds are available immediately.
• Notification is by email or text – no need for stamps or mailboxes!

XMG’s Style Studio has hit its one millionth design milestone. Since its release in May of 2010, Style Studio has remained the only app that allows you to create, customize and share your own original fashion designs. A player can choose between colours, prints and styles, and superimpose them onto one of many articles of clothing. If there’s something they want to change, the designer also has the option of making alterations. For anyone hoping to bring style into their life in a fun, portable way, the app is perfect. Now, less than one year after its launch, more than 1 million items have been designed in Style Studio.

“Style Studio has the most extensive customization engine for clothing design ever seen on the iPhone” said Ray Sharma, Founder of XMG Studio. “While there are a few apps out there that allow you to apply colors to pre-set clothing items and mix and match them, Style Studio is the first app that actually allows the designer to choose different materials, make alterations, customize prints and apply add-ons or decorative elements to each piece of clothing.”

Style Studio is available in the iTunes app store for $2.99 for any Apple mobile device running OS 3.0 or higher.

At SES Toronto at the Hyatt Regency Toronto, June 13-15, 2011, Incisive Media is featuring “Meet the Experts Roundtable Forum,” giving attendees an opportunity to address their specific questions and share information. In addition to the presentations and panels on search engine optimization (SEO), social media, local, mobile, link building, video optimization, pay-per-click (PPC), usability and more, these two new Meet the Experts Roundtable Forums will be held: Monday, June 13 at 4:30 pm and Tuesday, June 14 at 11:30 am.

For two hours on each day of the conference, SES Toronto attendees will be able to receive a free personal consultation of their websites from SES experts, Bryan Eisenberg, Shari Thurow, Bruce and Krista Neher. These drop-in, interactive express site clinics are open to all attendees on a first-come, first-serve basis. It’s an opportunity to receive free feedback on usability, SEO and all facets of the site, and also to learn from the analysis of other websites.

From now through June 12, marketers can register for SES Toronto to receive a $100 savings.

“We’re always looking for more ways to give attendees the most up-to-date information targeted to their specific marketing and search programs. So we came up with the idea that will allow people to move among discussion groups and interact with their peers and the experts in a very personal way. We’ve scheduled both experts forums at times during the day that we can add a networking element to the mix – Monday with a cocktail reception and Tuesday with a lunch in the expo hall,” said Matt McGowan, Managing Director of Americas for Incisive Media.

“Our Express Clinics have been very popular with attendees. After all, what marketer wouldn’t want to receive free personal consulting from an expert,” continued McGowan. “This year we have specialized clinics providing feedback on conversion, usability, SEO and social media, but other aspects of the website will also be analyzed.”

Now in its eighth year, the SES Toronto conference includes two days of search marketing sessions, vendor exhibitions, and networking events on June 13 and 14, and one day of training on June 15. Many of the sessions are specifically geared towards a Canadian audience.

Toronto’s Uken Games has released Crime, Inc. HD to the iTunes App Store. This free to play game of crime and corruption is compatible with iPhone, iPod touch and iPad devices running iOS 3.2 or later. Players of this game will be tasked with building their crime crew, equipping minions with custom weapons and sending them on special assignments designed to fund your crime syndicate.

The goal is to build up your family and destroy your rivals in epic battles as you take down each crime boss one fight at a time, winning bounty to become the ruler of the seedy underside of society. In-game purchases will also help you build your kingdom of crime when you bribe and pay-off others to gain respect. As this game plays in real time, an online connection is required to play the game, which is rated 9+ for the infrequent use of mild realistic violence, and those players with an iPad can play in full screen HD.

Other titles by Uken include Villains, Forces of War,  Dark Galaxy, Age of Legends and TowerUp! Plus.

PROTOTYPE 2 from Radical Entertainment for the Xbox 360, PlayStation 3 and Windows PC takes the unsurpassed carnage of the original PROTOTYPE and continues the experience of becoming the ultimate shape-shifting weapon. As the game’s all-new infected protagonist Sgt. James Heller, players will cut a bloody swath through the wastelands of post-viral New York Zero (NYZ) as they build up a genetic arsenal of deadly biological weapons and abilities, and hunt and consume their way toward the ultimate goal…to kill Alex Mercer.  PROTOTYPE 2 is not yet rated by the ESRB, but will most likely receive an M rating.

Spider-Man™: Edge of Time – Playing the roles of Amazing Spider-Man and Spider-Man 2099, Spider-Man: Edge of Time propels gamers on a high-octane, adrenaline-fueled adventure in which the two versions of the heroic web-slinger must urgently work together across time to save each other and prevent a disaster that ultimately leads to the death of Amazing Spider-Man. Against the backdrop of a rich, tightly crafted narrative by acclaimed Marvel veteran Peter David, the game features two individual timelines evolving in parallel and narrative-driven “cause-and-effect” moments, uniquely utilizing “picture-in-picture” moments where the actions of one Spider-Man have immediate effects on the other Spider-Man and his surroundings. The Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, Wii and Nintendo 3DS versions are in development at Beenox Studios, while Other Ocean is developing the Nintendo DS version. Spider-Man: Edge of Time has not yet been rated by the ESRB.

X-Men™ Destiny will let players control the fate of one of three brand-new mutant characters forced to choose between saving humanity or ensuring its destruction.   The game allows players to customize the path, powers and development of their character and to decide their role in the mutant cause alongside, or against, some of Marvel’s greatest X-Men franchise characters.  Gamers will evolve their mutant skills through a unique upgrade system that allows them to choose how they will mix and match the powers from their favorite X-Men and Brotherhood characters, then engage in fast and furious combat against a variety of opponents bent on defending their beliefs.  X-Men Destiny is being developed by Silicon Knights for Xbox 360™, PlayStation®3  and Wii, while Other Ocean is developing the Nintendo DS™ version. This title has not yet been rated by the ESRB.

Waterloo’s OpenText™ will be hosting a speaker series in the U.S. that will feature  bestselling authors and thought leaders in digital technology, including Simon Sinek and MIT’s Andrew McAfee, focusing on how companies can become truly social and collaborative organizations.

Called the Purpose-Driven Speaker Series, and set to kick off in July with a wealth of online resources at a just-launched website, the series is inspired by the premise that people can reach higher and achieve more when they have a shared understanding and a common purpose.

Featured speakers include:

• Simon Sinek, author of Start With Why, a bestselling business book subtitled “How Great Leaders Inspire Everyone to Take Action”
• Andrew McAfee of the MIT Center for Digital Business and author of Enterprise 2.0: New Collaborative Tools for Your Organization’s Toughest Challenges
• John Seely Brown, author of the book A New Learning Culture and Independent Co-Chairman of the Deloitte Center for the Edge
• Michael Edson, Director of Web and New Media Strategy for the Smithsonian Institution

Each will host interactive sessions focusing on the various ways people and organizations can work together more effectively. The sessions will be captured on video and will be available online. While the sessions will be free, space will be limited and pre-registration is encouraged.  Purpose-Driven Speaker Series dates and cities include:

• Simon Sinek, July 11, New York City
• Michael Edson, September 21, Washington, D.C.
• John Seely Brown, October 18, San Francisco
• Andrew McAfee, November 1, Boston

“Companies looking to achieve a truly collaborative environment need to ensure that they – and every member of their organization – have a shared purpose. New technologies can make collaboration and connections within the organization organic and highly effective, but only that sense of purpose can inspire people to truly engage,” said James Latham, Chief Marketing Officer at OpenText. “With this speaker series, we are applying our marketing resources in a way that we believe will bring real value to our customers and inspire them to achieve new levels of success.” Read the rest of this entry »

Fusion informatics has announced the opening of its new office in Canada (in the 905 area code region), where it hopes to benefit from the iPhone application development market boom. The company is also preparing to open other new branches not only in Canada but also in other parts of the world, adding to their branches already open in the USA, UK, Australia and its home country, India.

The company states that their new Canadian office will be handing only Canadian-based customers and will provide services related to software development for mobile devices including Android tablet applications, BlackBerry applications, iPhone and iPad applications and eCommerce website development. The company also stated that it has 10 years of experience and that their teams can work on any challenging project, using their past experience to create unique and useful applications.

The Green Men, the two super fans known as Force and Sully who root for the Vancouver Canucks, aim to spice up Hockey Night in Canada’s upcoming broadcast with their antics. As I mentioned on Thursday, the Green Men were hosting a Fan Rally yesterday at the Robson Square Skating Rink in Vancouver. Just before the Fan Rally, the Green Men announced that they will be making the trip to Boston to watch their beloved Canucks play the Boston Bruins for Games Three and Four of the Stanley Cup finals — thanks to Travelzoo Inc., a global Internet media company.

“In Vancouver and across Canada this spring the Canucks are the big story,” says Sully.  “We’re going to help make Vancouver’s hockey story a little bigger in Boston next week. Our goal is to get some rings on the Canucks’ fingers and we’re not going to sleep until that happens.”

The Green Men have caught the nation’s attention for their fun antics at Canucks games and have even spawned a whole group of imitators.

“I don’t think we’ll be honoured with a Key to the City, but we’re thrilled to be traveling to Boston for both games and look forward to visiting — as only Green Men can,” says Force.  “Lots of people have offered us money but we can’t justify taking any other fans hard earned money. However, when Travelzoo asked us if we were interested in bringing the Green to Beantown ,we were more than stoked.”

“As well as being deal experts, the team at Travelzoo Canada are huge Canucks fans. So when we heard that The Green Men might need help getting to the final, we just had to help out and find a deal that would get them there to support Canada’s team” said Lara Barlow, Country Manager for Travelzoo Canada. “Hockey and sports fans everywhere love to travel and support their teams abroad. So, it’s a great fit for our brand.”

In honour of the Vancouver Green Men, Travelzoo Canada will be giving out a phenomenal trip for two to anyone who is a member or signs up to be a member at Travelzoo.