Village Gamer

The largest ever global research project into people’s online activities and behaviour – Digital Life – was released today, Digital Day, by TNS, the world’s largest custom research company. Covering 88% of the world’s online population through 50,000 interviews with consumers in 46 countries including all of the BRICs (Brazil, Russia, India and China), the study reveals a number of very significant findings and provides indicators for the future of the world’s online behaviour.

Core data from the study is being made publicly available via an interactive website, with TNS providing more detailed reports and breakdowns to its clients.

“This study covers more than twice the markets of any other research of this kind. So, it will really allow us to determine Canada’s position in the online world.” said Michael Ennamorato, TNS Canada’s Managing Director. “Plus, we have taken the research to the next level by going beyond basic behaviour to provide more detailed data into attitudes and emotional drivers of that behaviour.”

A main take-away is that when it comes to online behaviours, Canada, despite being a mature market with advanced infrastructure, is being hopscotched by the rapid growth markets:

* Canada lags in digital engagement. When looking at behaviour online, rapid growth markets such as Egypt (56%) and China (54%) have much higher levels of digital engagement – that is, they are more active with the technology – than mature markets such as Canada (37%), Japan (20%), Denmark (25%) or Finland (26%). Read the rest of this entry »

Voices.com has released its newest educational offering, Voices.com Webinars. Webinars produced by Voices.com feature top voice over consultants and industry professionals with how-to sessions in one convenient place.

Stephanie Ciccarelli, co-founder/CMO, hosts the interactive webinars and Scott Lumley, Job Postings Manager, moderates the much anticipated virtual events. The company’s webinar series offers free on-going training for those new to voice overs or those looking to learn more about the industry and about Voices.com. The hour long webinars are designed to educate, entertain and engage the listener, allowing them to participate live during the event and ask questions of the experts on the line.

‘I’ve found our webinars to be incredibly useful and informative for our subscribers and even our staff. It seems like every time we get someone to join us and share their knowledge, I learn something new,” Scott Lumley says. “We’ve had people join our webinars and freely share so much information that it becomes a problem trying to remember it all. That’s why we provide audio recordings of the webinar material.’’

Broken into two parts, participants receive a half hour filled with pearls of wisdom from industry professionals followed by a half hour question and answer period. Registered users of Voices.com and their fans on Facebook are informed of these opportunities in advance and can call in to participate on the live webinar. Audio recordings of the webinar are then emailed to those who registered to enjoy again at their convenience.

An archive of all free webinars has been made available and is frequently updated for anyone who can not make it to the live events. Mobile users can subscribe to Voices.com’s webinars via iTunes.

A new fundraising campaign from Sears Canada and Boys and Girls Clubs of Canada (BGCC) is inviting the public to visit the Sears Canada website and help support Canada’s children and youth with just the click of a mouse.

“Click for Kids” is setting out to raise $100,000 to support Boys and Girls Clubs across the country who are providing essential after school programs. By simply visiting www.sears.ca/clickforkids and clicking on the “Click for Kids” button, $1 will be donated by Sears to BGCC for each “click”, up to a maximum of $100,000. Sears support, through initiatives like “Click for Kids,” has allowed Clubs to provide valuable after school programming to tens of thousands of additional children and youth for 45 years.

One of the most significant programs recently initiated by Sears is the Sears After School Enhancement Grants program. This year, 18 Clubs will each be receiving $10,000 to deliver specialized programs that meet the needs of children in their communities. These range from academic support to technology skills development to nutritious meals to working with children with special needs. Through the Sears After School Enhancement Grants program, more than $2 million has been provided since 2001 to enhance and expand programs that help children and youth realize their full potential.

“For 45 years, Sears Canada has partnered with Boys and Girls Clubs of Canada to create positive opportunities for young people coast to coast,” said Dene Rogers, President and CEO, Sears Canada. “The ‘Click for Kids’ campaign is a wonderful way to involve our customers in marking this special anniversary while making a difference for families in communities across the country.”

“Forty-five years is a remarkable amount of time for a company to support a non-profit organization,” said Pam Jolliffe, President and CEO, Boys and Girls Clubs of Canada. “But even more impressive than the length of Sears’ commitment is their continued interest in deepening support to help even more young people have access to safe, enriching programs after school. Through innovative fundraising ideas like ‘Click for Kids’ and helping even more Clubs through the Sears After School Enhancement Grants, this partnership is having a tremendous impact on the lives of the children, youth and families we serve.” Read the rest of this entry »

At a news conference today, members of the Ontario AMBER Alert Program launched an effective new broadcast tool and announced an important new partner to help police locate abducted children when an AMBER Alert is initiated anywhere in Ontario, becoming the third province to add Facebook as an alert tool. New Brunswick and Prince Edward Island both launched AMBER Alert Facebook pages earlier this year.

“The public’s help is critical in locating an abducted child and thanks to our new partner Facebook,” said OPP Commissioner Chris D. Lewis. “We now have a special AMBER Alert Facebook page we can use as an important broadcast medium when we issue AMBER Alerts in Ontario.”

Ontario AMBER Alert partners have teamed up with Facebook to create a special Ontario AMBER Alert Facebook page on this popular social media network. The Facebook page will now broadcast all AMBER Alerts that are issued in the province, and Facebook users who subscribe to this new page will receive critical AMBER Alert information when police activate the system.

“Protecting children is a responsibility shared by parents, educators, members of the public sector, and companies like Facebook.” commented Jordan Banks, Managing Director for Facebook Canada. “As a father of two, I sincerely hope that we never again have to activate an AMBER alert in Ontario or anywhere else in Canada. However, we are thrilled to be part of this important initiative and would like to thank the many AMBER Alert partners for their dedication to it. I’m also proud that Canada is the first country in the world to broadcast AMBER alerts via Facebook.”

This new partnership was forged through the efforts of the New Brunswick-based child safety non-profit Child Safety Research and Innovation Centre along with WiredSafety.org, a key member of Facebook’s Security Advisory Board.

“The expansion of the AMBER Alert program to Facebook will provide police with another tool to help locate abducted children, as well as give the families of these children the additional comfort of knowing that we are able to do more to improve the safety of our children.” stated Jim Bradley, Minister of Community Safety and Correctional Services.

The Ontario Provincial Police facilitates the Amber Alert program under the direction of the Ministry of Community Safety and Correctional Services, and collaborates with its many partners throughout the province to locate children who are abducted in Ontario, and as part of new recommendations that were implemented in 2009, the program now has a dedicated AMBER Alert Coordinator who is responsible for all aspects of the program, including training, education/awareness, communication, ongoing enhancements and expansion of the program.

Canadians can also sign up to receive Wireless Amber Alerts on their smart phones.

Less than a year after provincial support for a major digital media innovation centre was announced, The Communitech Hub has officially opened for business, ready to foster the next-generation of digital media innovation in Ontario.

The Hub, which occupies 30,000 square feet of a renovated downtown Kitchener Tannery building, is now home to start-up companies, small-medium enterprises, and global multi-nationals all aiming to accelerate the pace of development of new ideas and products in the digital media sector. Leaders from business, government, and community organizations gathered at The Communitech Hub today to recognize the expansive effort that has now created a leading-edge facility customized to meet the needs of its occupants.

Iain Klugman, Communitech, Tom Jenkins, Open Text, and Kevin Tuer, CDMN at The Hub grand opening

“Ontario has a tremendous legacy of innovation in digital media and ICT, and this sector is exploding around the world. The Communitech Hub will help launch more made-in-Ontario companies, create good jobs and better lives for families,” said Glen Murray, Minister of Research and Innovation.

The Communitech Hub will not only serve as a collaboration centre for resident companies, but will also link to other digital media centres across Canada as part of the Canadian Digital Media Network (CDMN). The CDMN headquarters reside in The Hub along with Communitech offices.

“Creating this facility has been a collaborative effort between community organizations, industry, all levels of government and the community itself, making this a truly remarkable achievement,” said Iain Klugman, President and CEO of Communitech.

Founding partner companies who have contributed to the establishment of The Communitech Hub include: Canada’s largest software company Open Text Corporation; leading-edge visual technologies company Christie Digital Systems Canada Inc.; and high-tech heavyweight Research In Motion (RIM). The Communitech Hub — a $100 million project — was created with contributions from the provincial government, the federal government, the City of Kitchener, and private industry.

“Open Text and the other founding industry partners are committed to innovation; The Communitech Hub will enable R&D projects that might not have been possible without this unique environment,” said Tom Jenkins, Executive Chairman & Chief Strategy Officer at Open Text, and Chair of the CDMN.

Renovating the 30,000 square foot space in the former Tannery building and transforming it into a state-of-the-art facility for digital innovation was no small undertaking, given the size and scope of the project. The facility features unique amenities such as a four-sided 3D ‘immersive environment’ provided by Christie Digital powered by Christie’s 3D stereoscopic projectors, enabling display of vast amounts of data. The Hub has an open concept area for the established companies to brainstorm and collaborate, and private office areas for entrepreneurs to ‘incubate’ ideas in close proximity to tools and services they need to succeed. Companies have access to a suite of expert resources including entrepreneurs in residence, project manager support, and marketing & branding expertise.

“This facility is a dream come true for many of the people who celebrated The Communitech Hub opening today who can now envision the innovative technologies that will undoubtedly have their start in this facility,” said Kevin Tuer, VP Digital Media of Communitech and CDMN Managing Director.

Nintendo Canada has released an updated schedule for the Wii Party Mobile appearances in British Columbia, Ontario and Quebec. Here is the updated schedule:

BRITISH COLUMBIA

October 9th (11am-5pm) – Future Shop, #102 – 5300 No.3 Road, Richmond
October 10th (11am-5pm) – Best Buy, 1135 Pinetree Way, Coquitlam
October 16th (11am-5pm) – Best Buy, #700 – 5300 No. 3 Road, Richmond
October 17th (11am-5pm) – Toys”R”Us, 1110 Lougheed Highway, Coquitlam
October 23rd & October 24th (930am-400pm) – The Pumpkin Patch at Richmond Country Farms, 12900 Steveston HWY, Richmond
October 31st (11am-5pm) – Toys”R”Us, 1110 Lougheed Highway, Coquitlam

ONTARIO

October 9th (11am-5pm) – Best Buy, 50 Ashtonbee Road, Scarborough
October 9th (11am-5pm) – Future Shop, 1561 Queensway, Toronto
October 10th (11am-5pm) – Future Shop, #2 – 5900 Mavis Road, Mississauga
October 10th (11am-5pm) – Future Shop, 9145 Airport Road, Brampton
October 16th (11am-5pm) – Best Buy, 167 Queen Street North, Etobicoke
October 16th (11am-5pm) – Best Buy, 480 Progress Avenue, Scarborough
October 17th (11am-5pm) – Best Buy, #1 – 6075 Mavis Road, Mississauga
October 17th (11am-5pm) – Toys”R”Us, 300 Steeles Ave West, Thornhill
October 23rd & October 24th (930am-430pm) – Boo at the Zoo at Toronto Zoo, 361A Old Finch Avenue, Toronto
October 23rd (11am-5pm) – Best Buy, 695 Wilson Avenue, North York
October 24th (11am-5pm) – Toys”R”Us, 690 Evans Avenue, Etobicoke
October 30th (11am-5pm) – Future Shop, 2975 Argentia Road, Mississauga
October 30th (11am-5pm) – Toys”R”Us, 300 Steeles Ave W, Thornhill
October 31st (11am-5pm) – Best Buy, #1 – 6075 Mavis Road, Mississauga
October 31st (11am-5pm) – Toys”R”Us, 50 Thickson Road South, Whitby

QUEBEC

October 9th (11am-5pm) -Best Buy, 8871 De L’Acadie Boulevard, Montreal
October 10th (11am-5pm) – Future Shop, 6321 Trans Canada, Pointe Claire
October 17th (11am-5pm) – Best Buy, 7200 Des Roseraies Boulevard, Anjou
October 23rd & October 24th (11am-7pm) – Fright Fest at La Ronde, 22 Chemin Macdonald, Ile Sainte-Hélène, Montreal
October 30th (11am-5pm) – Toys”R”Us, 655 Boul des Promenades, Saint-Bruno
October 31st (11am-5pm) – Toys”R”Us, 6855 Boul Tashereau, Brossard

Desire2Learn Incorporated is expanding the Desire2Learn® 2GO suite of applications. Desire2Learn 2GO Mobile Web is a new set of mobile browser-optimized pages that enables students and faculty to take teaching and learning on the road. They stay connected – Anytime. Anywhere. Access will soon be available from mobile web browsers on iPhone™, Android™, in addition to BlackBerry® devices, without needing to download or install an application on smartphone or mobile devices.

Desire2Learn 2GO Mobile Web provides access to courses wherever the individual is located. Individuals can stay connected with their classes and on-top of their work. Getting caught-up on lessons whenever and wherever they like is quick and easy. Desire2Learn 2GO Mobile Web provides the freedom to work the way the Smartphone user wants to work.

“Mobile learning is a dynamic and rapidly growing component of eLearning,” states John Baker, President & CEO, Desire2Learn. “Mobile learning applications like Desire2Learn 2GO enable learners to receive a well-rounded and rich learning experience around the clock and around the globe. We are committed to enhancing mobile offerings for our clients.” Desire2Learn 2GO Mobile Web will be available with Desire2Learn Learning Suite 9.1 being launched Tuesday, October 12.

Features of Desire2Learn 2GO Mobile Web will include:

Mobile Content

* Instant access to all course content on-the-go
* Review what has been read in a history of recently viewed topics
* Ability to mark content for reading later with bookmarks and automatically sync them with other bookmarks online
* Easily identify unread topics and stay in-sync with what you’ve read on your laptop or desktop

Gradebook

* Keep on-top of academic progress
* See the latest graded assignments, quizzes, projects, and exams

Campus and Course News

* Keep up-to-date with the latest campus news
* Stay in-touch with announcements made in courses the minute they are posted

Schedule

* Track important events and deadlines
* View upcoming campus events
* Add reminders and goals to keep organized

Corel has released Corel® Paint it!™ Show, the first photo-painting slideshow app created specifically for the iPad™. Offering a fun way to show off favorite photos from Facebook® and the iPad photo library, Corel Paint it! Show draws you in and offers a photo-viewing experience unlike any other.

Fun to watch and virtually effortless to use, Corel Paint it! Show automatically turns your snapshots into a customizable slideshow of painted masterpieces, right before your eyes. Select an album from your Facebook account or images from your iPad, start the slideshow and let Corel Paint it! Show do the rest. You can also save your favorite painted images on your iPad, post them to your Facebook account, or email them to friends and family.

[youtube:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lGldXXeqtq0]

“At Corel, we’re continuously inspired by the question, ‘What else is possible.’ For 25 years, this question has motivated our teams around the world to come up with new and better ways to help our customers express their creativity and become even more productive,” said Nick Davies, Senior Vice President, Corporate Marketing at Corel. “With our first iPad app, we wanted to take the photo-viewing experience one step further. Corel Paint it! Show transforms your iPad into a portable art gallery, using a variety of painting effects to transform each photo, brushstroke-by-brushstroke, into a beautiful masterpiece. It’s a unique and eye-catching way to enjoy and show off your favorite photos and, watching people play with Paint it! Show, I can tell you, it’s addictive!”

Corel Paint it! Show includes 5 different painting effects. The app will apply effects to your images randomly or you can select specific effects to be applied. In addition, you can also customize your slide transitions and access your iTunes® Library to add songs or personalized playlists.

Built on Corel’s ground-breaking digital painting technologies, Paint it! Show is Corel’s first iPad app and the latest addition to the Corel Paint it! product family. Recently, the Corel Paint it! photo-painting software for Mac® and Windows® was honored with the PTPA (Parent Tested, Parent Approved) Seal of Approval, recognizing excellence in family products.

Corel Paint it! Show is available in English in various markets worldwide and is priced at $0.99 in the US and Canada from Apple’s App Store.

Barrett Xplore Inc., under the Xplornet brand, announced that this Fall it is commencing a next-generation 4G network for rural Canadians, starting with terrestrial fixed wireless, and quickly followed by a new satellite network. This is the first commercial deployment of a national 4G network in Canada. For rural Canadians, the deployment of this technology will mean they have better access to faster, affordable broadband with higher bandwidth allowances – and this state of the art technology is coming to rural Canada first.

4G wireless and satellite means a new world of opportunity for rural Canadians. “Barrett Xplore’s mission is to bridge the urban/rural broadband divide in Canada,” said Barrett Xplore CEO John Maduri today. “4G means the goal of bringing fast, robust, affordable broadband to all Canadians, regardless of location will be achieved in the very near future. The potential impact of rural broadband can’t be overstated. From telecommuting, to new business in rural areas, to distance health and education, rural broadband can change the face of Canada,”

The 4G network will have both terrestrial and satellite components. The terrestrial wireless network, which will be comprised of roughly 1200 towers, will be capable of speeds over 40 Mbps improving to over 100Mbps by next year. While speed is important the key to a great experience is more bandwidth, and the new network will provide the capacity for more robust service packages – ranging from 3x – 10x the capacity of today’s HSPA. The terrestrial 4G network will initially be based on Wimax, and is software-upgradable to the future Wimax protocol or to LTE – whichever will offer rural customers a better experience. BXI’s investment in the terrestrial wireless network is roughly $150 million.
Read the rest of this entry »