Village Gamer

Ubisoft® has announced the creation of UbiCollectibles, a collection of premium, limited-edition merchandise for fans of the company’s popular brands, including Assassin’s Creed®, Might & Magic®, Tom Clancy’s Ghost Recon® and more. UbiCollectibles are available exclusively through UbiShop, Ubisoft’s official online store, and the store is now accepting pre-orders from European customers.

The first UbiCollectibles are inspired by fans of the Assassin’s Creed®, Might & Magic® Heroes® and Tom Clancy’s Ghost Recon franchises. More than 29 million people have purchased an Assassin’s Creed video game, and now a fortunate 2,000 will have the chance to buy a highly detailed, hand-crafted statuette called “Ezio’s Fury.” The figurine shows Ezio in a combative stance as he moves in for the kill.

In Might & Magic® Heroes VI, Michael, the legendary Archangel, is one of the most charismatic characters, and 500 fans will now have the opportunity to own an intricate polyresin figurine of Michael, wings spread and sword drawn for battle. UbiCollectibles is using a design chosen with fans on Facebook to create this unique offering.

From Ghost Recon, a limited quantity of “Production Team” t-shirts, with the same design as those worn by the development team during this year’s Electronic Entertainment Expo, will be available as UbiCollectibles.

“UbiCollectibles are designed to give true fans something special,” said Geoffroy Sardin, Chief EMEA Marketing and Sales Officer at Ubisoft. “Each item is a custom-designed, limited edition, created to give fans an exceptional way to deepen their experience with their favorite Ubisoft universes.”

Future offerings from UbiCollectibles will include apparel, figurines, lithographs, jewelry, and replicas from Ubisoft’s best-selling brands.

Xplornet Communications Inc. (formerly Barrett Xplore Inc.) has acquired Brockville region ISP RipNET Limited, which currently operates in the eastern Ontario region that extends from Manotick to Gananoque, and as far north as Perth.

“We are delighted to welcome the RipNET customers into the Xplornet family,” said John Maduri, Chief Executive Officer of Xplornet Communications Inc.  “This acquisition increases our fixed wireless broadband footprint in eastern Ontario and continues our company’s mission to make affordable broadband Internet services available to every rural Canadian.”

This acquisition is effective immediately.  However, RipNET will operate as a wholly owned subsidiary of Xplornet. RipNET’s customers will continue to enjoy their current service and packages. Mr. Maduri noted that Xplornet looks forward to working with RipNET’ s team. “Over the last 16 years, RipNET has built a skilled and committed team, and they bring significant expertise to Xplornet,” said Maduri.

Technical support contact information, service and billing practices will remain unchanged for all RipNET customers.

“Xplornet is committed to the ensuring that fast, affordable broadband is available everywhere in Canada,” said Maduri today.  “This acquisition is complementary to the work we are doing to roll out 4G wireless and satellite broadband in Eastern Ontario over the next year that will give more Ontarians the opportunity to enjoy a robust broadband connection.

The Canada Media Fund (CMF) announced an investment of $16.8 million in 51 new innovative interactive projects (download PDF for full list of results). Those projects were submitted in the first round of its 2011-2012 Experimental Stream. The CMF offers financial assistance to support projects at various stages of their completion: production, development or marketing.

In production, the CMF is investing $11.6 million in 22 new projects: 11 games, 5 interactive contents, 4 mobile applications, 1 interactive webseries and 1 application software. The average commitment to each project is $525,000. One project is being carried out in Alberta, 4 in British Columbia, 1 in Prince Edward Island, 1 in Nova Scotia, 11 in Ontario and 4 in Quebec.

In development, the CMF is investing $4.3 million in 25 projects. The average amount offered for each project is $171,000. Five will be developed in British Columbia, 1 in Prince Edward Island, 1 in New-Brunswick, 2 in Ontario, 15 in Quebec and 1 in Newfoundland and Labrador.

Finally, in terms of marketing assistance, the CMF is investing $1 million in 4 projects, with an average contribution of $262,000. One project is from British Columbia, 1 is from Ontario and 2 are from Quebec.

Projects were evaluated using the following criteria: innovation, production team, business plan and distribution strategy. Those criteria are detailed in the Evaluation Matrix included in our Experimental Stream’s Guidelines (PDF).

For projects at the production stage, the innovation and production team criteria were assessed by a jury of Canadian and international industry specialists: Frank Boyd (London, UK), Gina Desjardins (Montreal), Dre Labre (Toronto), Lucie Lalumière (Toronto), Frédérik Lesage (London, UK), Michael J. Sikorsky (Calgary). The CMF would like to thank each one of them for their valuable work.

The remaining factors for the production projects, as well as the applications for development and marketing funding, were evaluated by analysts from the CMF Program Administrator, Telefilm Canada. All decisions made by the CMF are final.

Since the creation of its Experimental Stream in 2010, the Canada Media Fund has invested $44 million in 132 innovative interactive projects.

The National Angel Capital Organization (NACO) is pleased to announce the release of the Investment Activity by Canadian Angel Groups: 2010 Report.  This report, the first of its kind, was completed in partnership with the Government of Canada and authored by Professor Colin Mason. It highlights the importance of Angel capital to the growth of Canada’s high-potential companies.

Significant findings of this report include that:

• 90% of companies funded by Angel groups in 2010 were new not follow-on.
• Angel groups collectively received around 1,850 business plans. 14% were considered in detail. Roughly 32% received investment.
• Angels groups invested CAN$35.3 million in the 88 deals for which we have information; an under-estimate as some groups did not report the amount invested. Co-investors were involved in 58% of investments and invested at least a further CAN$29.4 million. It should be noted that these statistics are for Angel groups only and do not include individual Angel investments.
• Angels invested in a wide range of industries but with a strong technology focus including: ICT sector (43%), followed by life sciences (18%) and clean tech (16%).
• 74% of investee businesses had sales revenue in 2010.

“This landmark study confirms the strong activity level of organized Angel investors across all of Canada,” said Bryan Watson, Executive Director of NACO. “We encourage the Angel community that NACO represents to keep investing, through the Year of the Entrepreneur, to support the businesses best positioned to drive the economy forward.”

“Angel investors invest experience and mentorship along with capital, and continue to invest in new companies even as other investors consolidate around their previous investments,” said Michelle Scarborough, Co-Chair of NACO.  “This makes Angels an increasingly vital part of the innovation ecosystem as they support their investments to exit.”

NACO would like to acknowledge Industry Canada and the Federal Economic Development Agency for Southern Ontario for their support of this research.

Score Media Inc., home of sports app ScoreMobile®, has announced the launch of an optimized application for the BlackBerry® PlayBook^TM tablet. It will provide sports fans with access to real-time scores, stats, news, live blogs and original video.

The perfect sidekick for sports fans, the app offers features for TV companion viewing including interactive live blogs and Twitter streams of sporting events.  The BlackBerry PlayBook version of the ScoreMobile app is designed specifically for the tablet form factor and features full support for both portrait and landscape modes.

“ScoreMobile for BlackBerry smartphones launched two years ago,” says Dale Fallon, Vice President, Digital Products, Score Media Inc. “Due to the overwhelming success to date it was clear that an app for the BlackBerry PlayBook tablet was an essential part of our mobile strategy.”

“The BlackBerry PlayBook is elegant and powerful, which is very much how we think of ScoreMobile,” says Fallon.  “Our fans have extremely high standards in terms of usability, and we’ve worked hard to deliver a stunning overall experience on this exciting new platform.”

Built from the ground up for the BlackBerry PlayBook using HTML 5 and the BlackBerry WebWorks SDK for Tablet OS, ScoreMobile is a comprehensive multi-sport app covering top worldwide leagues including MLB, NFL, NBA, NHL, EPL and PGA.

“ScoreMobile applications have found great success on the BlackBerry platform and we are excited about the launch of the ScoreMobile application for the BlackBerry PlayBook,” said Tyler Lessard, Vice President of BlackBerry Global Alliances and Developer Relations at RIM. “With real-time updates, interactive features and original video, the application is optimized for the PlayBook’s form factor in either portrait or landscape mode.”

As with previous apps for BlackBerry smartphones, Score Media partnered with innovative Toronto-based mobile software developers Five Mobile Inc. The new version of ScoreMobile is available for download today on the BlackBerry PlayBook by visiting BlackBerry App World.  Tablet OS version 1.0.6 or higher is required.

Research conducted by the Canadian Federation of Independent Business (CFIB) with the assistance of its American counterpart, the National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB) and the participation of the U.S. Embassy (Ottawa) reveals a number of challenges and obstacles small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) must overcome in order to be able to successfully conduct business across the border.

Earlier this year, Canada and the U.S. issued a declaration on the countries’ shared border. The objective of the pact was to ‘streamline and decongest’ the Canada-U.S. border, as well as find ways to reduce and prevent regulatory barriers to cross-border trade. A high-level commitment to improving the efficiency of the border will reduce the costs of doing business, enhance security and facilitate trade. “A Canada-U.S. border that is more effective, secure and trade-friendly will increase Canadian competiveness and create jobs on both sides of the border,” stated CFIB vice president, national affairs, Corinne Pohlmann.

CFIB’s policy brief, Border Barriers: SMEs Experience With Cross-Border Trade involved interviewing 12 small business owners: eight Canadian and four American. This report offers mixed results from Canadian small business owners about their experiences with border agencies on both sides of the border.

The number one obstacle in cross-border trade for smaller companies relates to the complexity of the process and its related paperwork. The data shows the common thread in the problems faced by small business is the varying requirements of government agencies and complicated rules and regulations. “And, although the requirements of any one entity may not be unreasonable, it is the combined effects that impede SME participation in cross-border trade,” said Pohlmann.

“Simple measures, such as providing information in plain language, making information sources readily accessible and easy to find, providing contact information (email/telephone) to respond to questions and creating a one-stop web portal with trade and border information specific to SMEs, will help address some of these issues,” said Pohlmann. Adding, “With this in mind, the brief offers policy maker’s practical recommendations on how to make trade and border processes more small-business friendly.”

As both Canada and the U.S. have a strong entrepreneurial presence with SMEs accounting for half the GDP, more than half of employment and the bulk of net new jobs, this research offers ways to encourage cross-border trade. By focusing on small-business friendly policies, making an extra effort to provide information and services geared to small business’ unique needs, and creating a culture of service and understanding of small business challenges within the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) and U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) may help to encourage more small firms to take the plunge and start looking to other markets to grow and expand their business.

The newly announced Nextsportstar.com is a social networking website combining the best of Facebook, Twitter and YouTube and adds elements of Kijiji and Craigslist to create a unique social media site for one of our biggest passion touchpoints – and entertainment businesses – worldwide: Sports.

Nextsportstar.com is the digital meeting place for amateur athletes, teams, students and fans of all ages as well as amateur and professional coaches. Members (stars) share content and information for their passion for high school, college/university amateur sports and minor leagues.

Student and amateur male and female athletes create a profile (home page) of their sports achievements and share statistics, photos and video highlights. This information may just be of personal interest, but it will also be of interest to any amateur looking to gain a scholarship or be scouted for a professional team.

And for the professional recruiter and scout, it is a great site that captures the available talent in one convenient location, helping them evaluate athletes while giving a site to promote their college/university or team to prospects.

When a new member registers on Nextsporstar.com as a member (star), they share their interests and passions while connecting with other members and their friends (fans) in Nextsportstar.com blogs, polls, forums and private or public chat rooms worldwide.

Plus Nextsportstar.com has a classified advertising section, similar to Kijiji and Craigslist, where members advertise products and services to other members of their sport communities. The classified section is directly linked to PayPal to make transactions convenient and worry-free.

“I love this website” says Josh Rimer, television and radio sports broadcast producer, “It’s a never ending way to connect with all levels of sport.”

Hockey Hall of Famer Phil Esposito says, “Finally a social network that all hockey fans can connect with.”

Besides being a unique site to network with people who are passionate about sports, Nextsportstar.com is also giving members an opportunity to win money with the $1 Million Dollars Up For Grabs contest, a first-ever in social networking websites. In total, there’s $800,000 to be won by amateur athletes, with another $200,000 for schools’ athletic programs!

The Bell Aliant Pioneers are marking 100 years of volunteering and community support by the TelecomPioneers and awarding twelve SMART Boards to schools in Newfoundland and Labrador.

“Across North America the TelecomPioneers are celebrating 100 years of community volunteering and fundraising,” said Joan Neil, President of the local Pioneers Chapter. “In Newfoundland and Labrador the Bell Aliant Pioneers have been active since 1972 and to celebrate we are awarding twelve SMART Boards to schools in the province.”

Over the past two months students around the province have been participating in a contest and have submitted presentations that highlight their schools’ volunteer efforts, the history on the Bell Aliant Pioneers and what a SMART Board would mean to the school. In addition to the SMART Boards the Bell Aliant Pioneers will donate $500 to each of the schools who submitted a presentation. The total value of the donation by the Pioneers is $55,000.

“This donation reflects our commitment to funding programs that support literacy and education,” said Neil. “Last year alone we recorded over 33,000 volunteer hours and donated over $73,000 across the province.  In addition, among other projects, we delivered over 1,100 books for literacy and distributed 450 backpacks filled with school supplies donated by Bell Aliant employees and retirees to a variety of local community groups.”

The winning schools were notified in time for their year-end assemblies and the SMART Boards will be delivered in time for the new school year. SMART Boards are being awarded to:

• Queen of Peace Middle School, Happy Valley-Goose Bay
• Green Bay South Academy, Robert’s Arm
• E.A. Butler All Grade,  Mckay’s
• Xavier Junior High, Deer Lake
• Canon Richards Memorial Academy, Flower’s Cove
• Coley’s Point  Elementary, Coley’s Point
• Catalina Elementary, Catalina
• Random Island Academy, Random Island
• Ackerman Elementary, Green’s Harbour
• Newtown Elementary, Mount Pearl
• Morris Academy, Mount Pearl
• Roncalli Elementary, St. John’s

From risqué postings on the Facebook page of a South Carolina police officer to tweets in support of the recent riots in Vancouver, anti-social behaviour has left many individuals out of work, illuminating the issue of employer rights over workers’ private lives. In other words, how can off-duty conduct impact business reputation? Canadian legal firm Borden Ladner Gervais LLP has released five simple but important guidelines any employer should consider including in their company’s hiring (and firing) policies.

In the past, only certain employers with employees in high-profile roles or positions of trust, such as company spokespeople or teachers, had to be concerned with the public image of their employees. Now, the accessibility of online images and information can threaten an employer’s reputation in new and evolving ways, as the Vancouver riots illustrated. In fact, firings over postings on Facebook and Twitter have led to numerous lawsuits and complaints in both the US and Canada. A photograph or a tweet may have powerful and immediate ramifications for an employer’s business, no matter what the employee’s position is.

“The terminations arising out of the Stanley Cup riots have prompted a very important discussion for all North American employers,” says Peter Eastwood, partner in BLG’s Labour and Employment Group. “With new technology and the demands of the modern workplace, employees’ professional and private lives are becoming more intertwined, creating an increasingly grey area of when work starts and finishes. The wide-spread use of social and digital media makes employers particularly vulnerable to harm from employees’ inappropriate behaviour in their private lives.”

As businesses navigate these evolving risks and rights, BLG recommends the following five tips:

1. Create and clearly communicate policies around employees’ duties and obligations and any expectations for behaviour – both within and outside the workplace. Include detailed policies concerning standards of conduct, harassment, intellectual property, IT/computer use, conflicts of interest and privacy.
2. Remind employees that online communications can be read by anyone – their employer, their co-workers, and the company’s customers – and they should consider how their online activities could affect the company’s reputation.
3. Outline potential problems for employees in referring to the company name or other identifying information such as photos when using social media. If employees are encouraged to communicate for professional purposes online, the employee should include a disclaimer that their views are their own and not the employer’s.
4. Establish clear guidelines and policies for employee use of social media in the workplace and identify specific rules and expectations for the use of company assets such as laptops and smartphones. Negative comments made using these tools could make you liable to defamation lawsuits.
5. Clearly communicate these expectations to employees and identify the consequences of breaching these policies. Include this information in your employment contracts.

Sand Technology Inc., provider of an advanced column store database, has announced that Sand Analytics has passed MicroStrategy’s comprehensive test suite, certifying it as a supported database for the MicroStrategy platform.

“Sand and MicroStrategy are the ideal combination for enterprises that need to handle big data for big user populations,” said Richard Grondin, CTO and VP of R&D and Deployment at Sand. “Sand has worked with MicroStrategy for years, but official certification means even greater support for MicroStrategy’s large end-user BI community, and industry leading integrated reporting, analysis, and monitoring software. In return, Sand’s massive, concurrent user scalability and the ability to efficiently drill down to detail data and execute large summarization, perfectly fits MicroStrategy environments.”

“With social data, machine data, and structured data being an increasing competitive requirement for Enterprise, you need an analytic database that can support multiple new data types,” said Mike Pilcher, Chief Operating Officer of Sand. “Further, that database needs to scale to support everyone in the enterprise – thousands to tens of thousands of concurrent users – with tools to mine the data. Together, Sand and MicroStrategy customers get best-of-breed reporting and analytics, at lower cost, with less effort, and scalability unmatched by any other solution.”

“We are pleased with Sand’s official certification as a MicroStrategy partner,” said Sanju Bansal, MicroStrategy Chief Operating Officer. “MicroStrategy’s high performance BI platform helps companies with some of the largest data volumes in the world gain valuable insights and make informed business decisions.”