Village Gamer

Game developers now have the opportunity to win over $50,000 in prizes, with the top finalists receiving significant recognition at major industry events such as the prestigious Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3) and Game Developers Conference (GDC). Select finalists are also eligible to have their games distributed on the GameTree TV Platform itself, bringing them to the forefront of the Smart TV revolution and into consumers’ homes. The competition will run until April 30th, with winners chosen by a celebrity judging panel and announced at E3 in June.

GameTree TV is the premiere on-demand Smart TV gaming platform, offering an unprecedented user experience on the next generation of set-top boxes and connected consumer electronic (CE) devices. Launching with major European cable operators in Q1 of 2011 with a projected global user base in the millions by year’s end, the GameTree TV Platform gives game developers instant access to an immense and burgeoning market.

“TransGaming has already licensed hundreds of games on GameTree TV from an impressive range of game developers and publishers that includes rising independent talent and trend-setting established studios”, commented Vikas Gupta, CEO & President of TransGaming. “The demand to be featured on GameTree TV is abundantly clear, and this competition will give the game development community the ability to usher in the Smart TV era by expanding their reach through our global gaming platform.”

Game developers can immediately create compelling content, join a vibrant community, and submit their games for distribution on the Platform through the GameTree TV Developer Program. The Program offers access to the GameTree TV SDK, technical documentation, and support services, providing developers with cost-effective tools for the development of original games or the adaptation of existing PC or OpenGL ES-based games for GameTree TV.

To join the competition today and compete for over $50,000 in prizes, simply enroll in the GameTree TV Developer Program. GameTree TV will also be showcased at the upcoming Game Developers Conference (GDC) in San Francisco, and will be featured at a GDC developer session on Wednesday, March 3rd, 3 – 4pm in room 302.

Corel has added Corel® WordPerfect® Viewer to its list of mobile apps. Developed to allow for viewing, sharing and storing WordPerfect documents on the iPhone® and iPad®, mobile users can mobile users can conveniently read WordPerfect email attachments and downloaded files on the fly, eliminating the need to go back to their desktops to retrieve important information.

iPhone and iPad users can now view, share and store their WordPerfect documents with Corel WordPerfect Viewer. The added ability to search and bookmark WordPerfect files enables users to quickly take care of simple tasks and access important information when needed. Corel WordPerfect Viewer is available in English in various markets worldwide and is priced at $4.99 for the iPhone version and $5.99 for the iPad version in the US and Canada from Apple’s App Store.

Corel WordPerfect Viewer Features

* View, scan and store WordPerfect documents conveniently on your iPhone or iPad
* Drag and drop files into WordPerfect Viewer from iTunes or send them directly to the viewer from other applications, for example, iPhone email client and DropBox
* Search, bookmark and email files that have automatically been converted to formats that your iPhone or iPad can display
* Export converted files to any other program registered to handle HTML files
* Easily retrieve WordPerfect attachments without the need to go back to your desktop

“Discovering new ways to help our users save time and be as productive as possible is always top of mind for us when we’re developing new tools. With people on the go more than ever before, we understood that it was important that our users have access to their files on their mobile devices so they can stay up-to-date and keep important projects moving.” said Jay Larock, Director of Office Productivity at Corel.”

Bell has announced construction of a new Tier 3 Certified data centre in the National Capital Region, significantly enhancing the availability of highly secure data hosting in the region with one of the most energy efficient facilities in North America.

Three customers have already signed long-term co-location contracts worth a total of nearly $100 million to use the new Bell data centre, which is scheduled to begin operation in late 2012.

The centre is designed to meet LEED Gold standards and to be in the top 2% of data centres for the most effective use of power in North America. The 82,000 square foot (7,600 square metre) building will use green hydro power on a grid separate from most National Capital users and deploy redundant utility components.

“The National Capital area market, with its unique mix of high tech giants and government departments, has been struggling to keep up with the demand for high-end, secure data centre space,” said Stéphane Boisvert, President, Bell Business Markets. “This facility will help meet the demand for top-tier data hosting with an exceptionally green, cost-effective facility that supports the development of world-class technology solutions and provides high-speed access to one of Canada’s leading Cloud providers.”

With 50,000 square feet (4,650 square metres) of space available for data centre equipment, Bell’s facility will provide unmatched availability through physically redundant, fully diverse connectivity to the Bell network and direct fibre connectivity to the National Capital Region. It will also comply with the strictest security standards, including the use of advanced biometric access controls.

Like five other data centres already operating in Bell’s national network, the Ottawa centre will provide Bell customers with co-location, managed hosting and next-generation cloud computing services, such as software as a service and hosted unified communications.

“As with Bell’s entire National Data Hosting Services portfolio, the new centre will be supported by the largest and most capable team of information and communications technology professionals in the country,” said Mr. Boisvert.

Viatec is hosting its first ever Victoria Launch Party, an evening of innovation, drinks and appetizers at the Bard & Banker on Government Street in Victoria. If you have recently launched or are about to launch a new product, opened a new office or added a key executive to your team, contact Viatec today, because the association would like to help you spread the word at the launch party. Don’t miss this opportunity to network with Victoria Tech Executives and discover some of Victoria’s most promising up-and-coming tech companies, including five of the finalists from the New Ventures BC Regional Competition. If you pre-register now, attendance is free; for those who drop in at the Launch Party without pre-registering, you’ll be ask to drop a $5.00 donation into the jar for Victoria-area Science Fairs. The Launch Party will be held on February 3rd at the Bard and Banker Scottish Pub from the 5:00pm until 8:00pm. The pub is located at 1022 Government Street in Victoria.

BCTIA invites you to TechBrew at the Stanley Park Pavillion, where you can experience cool technology demos, meet cutting-edge entrepreneurs and innovators, network with influential decision-makers and make new connections. This edition of Innovation on Tap will take place on March 9th from 5:00pm – 8:00pm, tickets are $34.95 for BCTIA Members, $44.95 for Non-Members and $19.95 for Students. Ticket prices include your first drink plus appetizers. Featured companies will be named in the coming weeks.

Ignite Montreal has announced the 14 speakers who will be presenting at the next Ignite Montreal event, which will be taking place at 7:00pm on Tuesday Feb 8th at Il Motore. Each of the 14 speakers will have 5 minutes to get through a presentation which includes 20 slides that auto-advance every 15 seconds. Check out the event’s info page to find out who was chosen – it looks to me like attendees are in for a very entertaining, informative and inspiring evening at the next Ignite Montreal. Tickets for this event are $10.00 (+ tax), and registration is now open.

The CIO Canada Summit team announced today that Canadian CIOs and senior technology executives are invited to qualify as speakers for the upcoming event to be held February 27 – March 2, 2011 at the Fairmont The Queen Elizabeth in Montreal, QC.

The CIO Canada Summit will bring together CIOs, technology analysts and solution providers to discuss the latest IT topics and trends. The event’s agenda features think tanks, analysts Q&A sessions, roundtables and open forums, and is designed to encourage in-depth conversation and idea sharing among the event’s attendees.

Current speakers at the technology event include representatives from Rogers Communication, ING Direct Canada, MTS Allstream, CIBC Mellon and the Government of Canada. Topics to be discussed include paradigm shifts in IT, simplifying business communications, and transforming the organization through cloud computing.

“The CIO Canada Summit is a great opportunity for technology executives to establish themselves as industry leaders. The event creates a relaxed, yet professional forum where executives can discuss transformative technology projects, lessons learned, and best practices. Our current speakers represent some of the largest organizations in Canada and I look forward to hearing what each of them has to say,” said Mark Southam, Event Director, CIO Canada Summit.

Qualified speakers for the CIO Canada Summit must be senior-level IT decision makers at a major Canadian organization or have executive-level experience with a direct technology focus. Qualified executives may receive complimentary travel, accommodations, food and drink for the duration of the event.

Fan Expo Canada has announced that changes will be coming to this year’s event. Organizers have added another full day to Expo’s schedule, and to help ease the overcrowding experienced at the 2010 event, Fan Expo will occupy the entire south building at the Toronto Convention Centre, doubling the amount of floor space available. Fan Expo 2011 will run from August 25th through 28th,