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Cambridge based software company iVenuto has launched its first business app for the Apple iPad platform. Sign In, the reception desk visitor registry app is now available on iTunes App store for the introductory price of $24.99 (regular price $28.99). This innovative app is the first of its kind, allowing users to convert their iPad device into an easy-to-use Visitor registry.

Most offices require all visitors or contractors to “sign in,” satisfying the needs of health and safety concerns providing an accurate head count in the event of an emergency. The head count is given to emergency officials when asked if everyone is present and accounted for during a fire evacuation, for example.

The problem is: most visitor registries are paper binders with a collection of illegible scribblings, purposely so to keep competitors unaware of appointments or to hide personal information when asked for an email or license plate by the host company.

The “Sign In” app addresses this problem by keeping all information private. Visitors enter their own information on a graphical interface that mimics a paper page in a book. Visitors can not see the information on previous visitors.

Data collected on each visitor is unique to each company’s policy. The data is then easily accessible to only administrative staff. A custom report writing tool allows users to quickly create instant reports. The software also has a badge printing feature – creating personalized & dated color badges for each visitor (according to the software’s FAQ, this is done via AirPrint). The software also assigns a Sign In and Sign Out time stamp, managing a dynamic “on-premises” report.

Canadian-based manufacturer of satellite, RF equipment and microwave systems, Advantech Wireless Inc., has announced the launch of its newest generation of VSAT Hubs – the Discovery Series. The Discovery Series Hub is the perfect starter system offering better value for your dollar than any other manufacturer. The Discovery Series is a two-way, open standard (DVB-RCS), broadband satellite access system and includes a fully functional hub with 4 inbound carriers, scalable as your needs grow, all for under $50,000.

Overwhelming customer demand has driven the company to create a new series of Hubs for each market. The new Discovery series allows small to medium private satellite networks, commercial enterprises or government to get started today at the lowest possible cost.

As you grow, your investment remains intact, as the solution will scale with your needs. Advantech Wireless has removed all barriers to entry and has configured many systems for quick turnaround. For example, those companies seeking a turnkey package can opt for a complete, fully functional Hub along with 50 Remote Terminals (the S4120) from Advantech Wireless for less than $100,000.

• Lowest Entry Level Price: Starting at less than $50,000 for a fully-functional Hub
• Unmatched Features: 4 inbound carriers (Upgradeable to 32 carriers at a low incremental cost)
• Maximum Flexibility for Economical Scalability
• Up to18 Mbps Throughput
• Support for up to 500 terminals
• Minimize CAPEX and OPEX, instantly improve ROI
• DVB-RCS, DVB-S/S2
• Includes an Advantech Wireless Layer 3 Router!
• Advanced options available

Toronto’s emailtopia has announced the much-anticipated release of Response Manager 5.5, a product designed to help organizations manage their customer service email inboxes.

“We are very proud of the work completed by our development team that has allowed us to begin shipping Response Manager 5.5”, said emailtopia President and CEO Mike Senechal. “With the latest version of Response Manager we are ensuring that our product adapts to the latest changes in the marketplace, and continues to offer an affordable email management solution to both SMBs and large organizations.”

* JavaScript custom actions offers the ability to put in place dynamic business rules to satisfy very specific needs, such as updating information in other enterprise systems such as CRM. For instance, if a client emails an organization’s customer service team asking for a price quote, a custom business rule could be used to automatically update the organization’s CRM system with an instruction for the account manager to send the client a price quote.

* More flexible user scheduling. A new user scheduling option for Response Manager lets each user have two “working” time spans per day, which makes it easy to avoid assigning messages to users during break periods.

* Closed message reporting. A new Response Manager report is now available which assesses user performance based on the number of messages closed within the defined service level, as well as providing average close time values.

* SQL 2008 support

* Outlook 2010 support. Outlook 2010 is supported on any operating system, including Windows 7 (32- & 64-bit).

* Secure IMAP connection support.

* Pure JDBC database connections. Response Manager no longer requires additional SQL Server client software or an ODBC data source.

The Recycling Council of British Columbia (RCBC) is proud to announce that the Trailer Trashed 2011 competition is now open. Trailer Trashed is the environmental short film competition with a twist – all entries must be in the form of a movie trailer and convey this year’s waste reduction theme, The Unrecycled. Please see the competition web site for full details and contest rules.

Last year, 280 million beverage containers were not recycled in B.C. Despite the convenience of depots, return-to-retail options and the incentive of refundable deposits, containers are still trashed. Studies show there’s one group collectively responsible for 242 million of these missing containers. They’re mostly single, mostly male, and for the most part, aged 18-34. The other thing they mostly have in common is watching movies. That’s why RCBC wants filmmakers to help change this wasteful behaviour by making a movie! A movie trailer to be exact; a spectacular, entertaining movie trailer to enlighten this group to return their containers, collect their deposits, and help save the planet, one bottle and can at a time.

You can use animation, live action, claymation, Lego, toy soldiers or sock puppets, in any genre you like such as drama, horror, comedy, sci-fi, action, romance, musical, parody, satire or wherever you creative energies take you.

Anyone can enter, young or old, amateur or professional, as long as your entry is engaging, entertaining and enlightening. Enter as many films as you like. The trailers will be judged by a panel of RCBC staff, sponsor representatives and film industry experts. First prize is $2000 and HD video camera, second place is $1000 and third place is $500 plus all the fame and glory you can handle. Yes, fame and glory because these trailers will be used in a viral internet campaign to put an end to . . . THE UNRECYCLED!

Trailer Trashed is generously sponsored by Encorp Pacific, Belkorp Environmental Services Inc., London Drugs, the B.C. Film Commission and Warner Bros.

Virgin Mobile is bringing something awesome to the East Coast today as it opened the doors to its first flagship store in Canada’s Atlantic region at Halifax’s Mic Mac Mall.

“This flagship store truly amps up our presence in Halifax and brings the experience of Membership to life like nothing the East Coast has seen before,” says Robert Blumenthal, President, Virgin Mobile Canada. “We’ve created a full-on experience – from a great atmosphere to the best range of smartphones and more.”

The awesome space, helping spice up Nova Scotia’s largest mall, shows off all the hottest phones and gadgets that are up for grabs on the super-speedy 4G network. Plus, the new flagship store will sell tablets like the Samsung Galaxy Tab and BlackBerry Playbook. For a limited time, Virgin Mobile is also offering a special deal of $100 off to Members who activate a smartphone in store.

Virgin Mobile’s flagship store was designed by IIBYIV Design Associates and is located in Mic Mac Mall at 21 MicMac Boulevard. Members and Member-wannabes can check out the store Monday through Saturday, 9:30 a.m. – 9 p.m. and noon – 5 p.m. on Sunday.

Ubisoft will redefine music gaming with the release of Rocksmith in October 2011. Rocksmith is the first and only music video game where players can plug into any electric guitar. Every copy of the game will include a Rocksmith™ Real Tone Cable, a standard quarter-inch to USB cable allowing guitars to be played through an Xbox 360^®, a PlayStation^®3 or a PC for the first time. Players can access an in-depth library of music including everything from the latest hits to classic rock songs.

Rocksmith features gameplay that automatically adjusts to the player’s skill level, mini-games to help hone specific skills, a split-screen multiplayer option, and a first-person perspective that puts the player on stage. Rocksmith will feature a huge variety of in-game effects pedals that allow users to customize and reproduce their favourite tones. Its innovative game design makes reading music visually fun and intuitive. The game includes a sizable catalogue of music from classic rock bands such as The Animals, David Bowie and The Rolling Stones, to current artists like The Black Keys and Interpol.

[youtube:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Egr-D0ot2cs]

“Canadian music and game lovers can be among the first in the world to try out Rocksmith at select, high profile music events this summer,” says Lucile Bousquet, Director of Marketing and Communications for Ubisoft Canada. “Rocksmith not only engages experienced musicians, it’s also exciting for those who are playing a guitar for the very first time.”

Canadians are invited to pick up a guitar and try out Rocksmith at official Rocksmith Rehearsal Studios across the country, which are designed to look and feel like an authentic garage-style rehearsal studio space. The Rocksmith Rehearsal studios will be located at some of the country’s biggest rock music festivals including:

• Heavy TO in Toronto: July 23-24
• Osheaga Music and Arts Festival in Montreal: July 29-31
• Sonic Boom in Edmonton: September 3

The start of your personal Star Wars™ saga grows ever nearer, and now BioWare has revealed three editions of Star Wars™: The Old Republic™, each custom-designed to delight RPG and Star Wars fans worldwide. The Star Wars: The Old Republic Collector’s Edition, Digital Deluxe Edition and Standard Edition are available for pre-order today at participating retailers (some conditions apply), with digital versions available exclusively at Origin™. Upon pre-order, players will be granted a redemption code that will unlock early game access as well as an in-game color stone to change your weapon effect. Note that pre-order quantities are limited, they will be processed in the order in which they were received, and Early Game Access will only be available to those who pre-order the game and redeem their code before the game’s official release.

Star Wars: The Old Republic has been honored with over 95 industry awards and accolades from game critics worldwide and continues to be one of the most anticipated launches of 2011. The game innovates and advances the MMO genre by emphasizing story as a key pillar of the experience – a proven strength of BioWare and Lucasfilm. As anticipation grows, BioWare also announced today that Star Wars: The Old Republic will open “Beta Test Weekends” starting this September. These weekend play sessions will be open to selected players worldwide and create an opportunity for fans to get a sneak peek of the epic stories, worlds, quests, battles and characters in the game.  Read the rest of this entry »

The Internet Marketing Conference is coming to the Renaissance Vancouver Harbourside Hotel on October 3rd and 4th (Monday and Tuesday). This conference features an experienced roster of speakers who will present their thoughts on the many challenges faced by today’s moderner marketer, with a focus on the following:

• Are the web marketing lessons of the past 10 years still relevant?
• Do we still need to be “site” focused?
• What is our Cross-Platform Content Strategy?
• Who should manage our social media initiatives? Is it replacing PR?
• Should social commerce be managed separately from social media?
• Should we spend more on campaigns, technology or people?
• Is now the time to test mobile? What does a mobile strategy look like?
• Should we invest in an app or mobile site? What kind of results should we expect?
• How do we win the budget for more advanced digital marketing programs?

The digital eco-system has expanded across multiple platforms through multiple devices putting pressure on marketers to not only manage multiple touch points, but make sense of new behavior, sentiment and intent. At IMC Vancouver you will have the chance to explore, discuss and debate today’s challenges, opportunities and solutions in four different tracks:

Content, Community, Campaigns and Insights:

• Content Strategy: Email, Video, Website Content, SEO
• Community Strategy: Social Media Management and Participation
• Campaigns: Paid Search, Display, Social and Mobile
• Insights: Voice of Customer, Analytics and User Experience

Why You Should Attend:

• Take home practical, tactical advice you can apply immediately
• Get up to speed on marketing technology without becoming an engineer
• Improve your ability to manage multiple campaigns across multiple platforms
• Learn how to get insights out of data without becoming a statistician
• Align online marketing with overall business goals

Double Early Bird pricing for this conference is available until July 30th, with Regular Early Bird prices available until September 9th, when Regular prices come into effect.

Last night at Casual Connect in Seattle, Toronto’s  TransGaming Inc. announced that Yo Deshi by Scottish developer Proper Games had been declared the winner of the company’s $ 50 000.00 GameTree Developer Competition.

Yo Deshi is a cerebral martial arts-themed board game that challenges players of all levels with a unique multi-player puzzle experience. Gamers can experience the excitement of incredible gains and stunning losses as they engage both real and simulated opponents with a range of thought-provoking strategies. Featuring highly immersive and fully customizable gameplay, the game was chosen as the grand prize winner of TransGaming’s GameTree Developer Competition.

The influential celebrity judges included actor, director, producer and writer LeVar Burton, President of Development at Jerry Bruckheimer Games Inc., Jay Cohen, and Lorne Lanning, co-founder of Oddmobb, Inc. The competition was launched in January,  with developers being offered the chance to win $50,000 and have their game featured on the GameTree TV platform for Smart TV, making it accessible to millions of Smart TV users as the GameTree TV market adoption continues to grow.

“We were highly impressed by the level of skill that all the finalists demonstrated. In the end it came down to talent, attention to detail and the overall quality of the winning game,” said panel judge LeVar Burton. “We’ve been able to offer developers the chance to reach a global audience with GameTree TV, a fantastic opportunity for a new developer eager to make their mark on the industry. It’s an exciting time for developers as the way we all interact with games and entertainment on a daily basis is changing rapidly, and TransGaming is playing a vital part in that process.”

If you are interested in developing titles playable on the GameTree TV platform, visit the GameTree Developer Portal to find out how to have your games published on Smart TV systems around the world. Other games in this first competition included Smiles HD by Canadian developer Sykhronics Entertainment and Bubblenauts: The Hunt For Jolly Roger’s Treasure by Western Star Entertainment of Oregon.

“Our passion for discovering, promoting and distributing the innovative content developed by the incredibly talented independent game development community is the main reason we decided to run this competition. We received an overwhelming response from developers around the world and were thrilled by the quality of the submissions,” commented Vikas Gupta, CEO & President of TransGaming. “GameTree TV is emerging as a top new gaming platform and we are extremely happy that Yo Deshi, and all of our finalists, are going to be part of the experience. My sincere congratulations go out to Yo Deshi and Proper Games.”