Village Gamer

With the pairing of two unique talents and backgrounds, best selling author Stephen Joyce and pioneer software engineer Doug Oucharek have launched theLocBox, providing users with the opportunity to take security of their data into their own hands.

While encrypted file sharing isn’t a new concept, this add-on to existing cloud systems provides users with a new tool. theLocBox enables users to create a key that allows them the opportunity to protect their stored data and maintain control over who has access to that data. Users create their own individual keys, stored locally, to share and access encrypted files. The concept is simple; theLocBox creates a “vault” folder in Dropbox and any documents dragged to theLocBox window are encrypted and copied to this vault folder. Only the key the user creates will be able to access the files, protecting your personal data.

Doug Oucharek states, “Trusting third parties with your encryption keys is unacceptable, especially if you are a business. End-to-end encryption, where only the end users have the ability to decrypt the files, is the safest way to use cloud storage.”

Co-creator, Stephen Joyce added, “Today, more work than ever is conducted in a virtual space and as a result, it’s more important than ever to have confidence in your privacy when sharing and storing files and other personal data.”

theLocBox comes at a critical time when reports of personal data security breaches are rampant in the media and security is on everyone’s mind. Recently, Sony disclosed that nearly 77 million Playstation users were affected by a breach in data security – This information was stored in what Sony said was an “outdated database from 2007.”

TD Bank Group today announced a multi-year, $3.7-million renewed investment to the program to help Library and Archives Canada, Toronto Public Library and CNIB run the TD Summer Reading Club through to 2014.  As Canada’s largest reading club, more than half a million children are expected to participate and will read more than two million books in both English and French each year.

“The TD Summer Reading Club is a great way to keep young minds stimulated over the summer months,” said Frank McKenna, TD Bank Group deputy chair and literacy champion. “We are proud to help kids discover the joy of reading this summer and make a splash using their imaginations.”

From scuba diving for treasure to studying mythical water creatures, the award-winning TD Summer Reading Club’s theme, Splash! Celebrate Summer will inspire children to use their imaginations to explore lakes, rivers and oceans through reading.  Children in participating provinces will make a splash at their local libraries by registering for a free TD Summer Reading Club kit. Each child is encouraged to set a reading goal for the summer and at the end of the summer, the local librarian will present each child with a reading certificate.

“Children and their families are encouraged to dive into a good book at their local library,” said Jane Pyper, Toronto Public Library’s City Librarian. “Thousands of children participate in the program every year, building confidence in their reading abilities and providing a safe place to have fun during the summer.”

Summer reading clubs have a positive impact on children’s reading, but family really plays an important role by encouraging children to read for pleasure at home. Studies show that reading as little as six books over the summer will help young children maintain their reading levels.

“Nothing stimulates a child’s imagination like reading,” said Dr. Daniel Caron, Deputy Head and Librarian and Archivist of Canada. “It brings them to a world where magic can happen, the kind of world we once all believed in and a sense of wonder that we yearn for as we get older.”

In 2009, CNIB joined the program in an effort to increase accessibility for children with print disabilities. “We are thrilled to make the TD Summer Reading Club available to children with vision loss, by bringing stories to life with French and English audio recordings and Braille,” said Al Jameson, Chair, National Board of Directors, CNIB.

Rypple© has launched Loops, a disruptive new social performance summary application available as part of Rypple’s Phenomenal Plan for just $9-per-user-per month. It includes hundreds of feature enhancements of Rypple’s social performance platform, and plugs securely and seamlessly into existing work systems.. Loops makes it quick and easy for managers to pull together all the relevant information about employee performance already captured in Rypple’s existing applications—continuous feedback, social goals, one-on-one coaching, and meaningful recognition—into helpful, actionable performance summaries.

Everything is already in one place and easy to find so there’s no need to dig through old emails, notes, or spreadsheets and managers can run Loops whenever they choose—at the end of a goal, a project, or a quarter. They can invite anyone to contribute feedback, whether inside or outside their teams. And they can draft a series of customized questions to get the answers they need to accelerate performance. Greater visibility means no surprises when it comes to discussing promotions or compensation.

“The workplace has changed,” said Daniel Debow, co-CEO of Rypple. “But performance management hasn’t changed with it. Traditional reviews have become disconnected from real performance, and they’re slowing us down. With the help of our customers—creative, innovative companies devoted to nurturing and developing their people—we’ve built a social performance management platform for the way we work today: in real-time.”

Hundreds of innovative companies already use Rypple to set key priorities, recognize meaningful accomplishments, and get ongoing feedback and coaching. Rypple worked closely with a select group of customers to build and refine Loops, including Facebook, Gilt Groupe, RichRelevance, PhotoBucket, Bazaarvoice, EventBright, Kobo, Nexj Systems, Pivotal Labs, and Insomniac Games. Now, with Rypple Loops, managers and their teams can collect everything in one place—in real time—finally making performance management both effective and painless.

“Rypple built a performance platform that supports Facebook’s social, collaborative, and fast-moving culture,” said Bob Trahan, the company’s Director of Engineering and Head of Culture & Engagement. “Working with Rypple means our performance summaries are more real-time and our people get the feedback they want and need.”

Rypple’s easy to use privacy controls allow managers and their teams choose how much to share—and how much to keep private: employees can recognize one another publicly for their accomplishments on a company-wide feed everyone can see; hold private one-on-ones with their manager in a private, shared space; or request anonymous feedback from anyone at the company.

Best Buy Canada has announced the pre-sale of the new HP TouchPad tablet at Best Buy stores across Canada. This is HP’s first webOS tablet, available with the option of 16GB or 32GB of internal storage – user-available storage subject to change based on system software and application usage. It will be available to purchase in-store at Best Buy on July 15th, and customers who pre-order the HP TouchPad through Best Buy will receive 6X Reward Zone points.

HP TouchPad is part of a growing family of webOS devices designed to keep people better connected. With webOS, HP TouchPad users have a next-level multitasking experience, integrated access to their information with HP Synergy, the ability to find information on the device or the web using the Just Type feature, and unobtrusive notifications. TouchPad is a productivity powerhouse that also offers access to the cloud and entertainment, including movies, TV shows, games, photos, books, magazines and premium audio playback with stereo speakers and Beats Audio™ technology.

Key Features of the HP TouchPad:

• HP’s first webOS tablet – facilitates easy multi-tasking and organizing
• 16GB for $519.99; 32GB for $619.99
• Just Type feature – start an email, message or status update without launching an app – just start typing
• HP Synergy – Sync contacts, calendars, email and photos with sources like Facebook and Google. (Within wireless coverage area only. Microsoft Exchange email, contacts, and calendars available for ActiveSync only; requires Microsoft Outlook using Exchange Server 2003 with SP2, Exchange Server 2007, or Exchange Server 2010.)
• HP exclusive Touch to Share capability (Touch to Share capabilities require TouchPad with webOS 3.0 and Pre3 (pending availability) or Veer (requires future over the air update) with webOS 2.2 or higher. Viewing URL web page content requires data connection via Wi-Fi or cellular connection.)
• Supports Adobe® Flash Player® and HTML 5

Other information about TouchPad use:

• Internet access within wireless coverage area only. Wi-Fi within range of 802.11a/b/g/n Wi-Fi network. Some Wi-Fi hotspots may require fee for usage. Not all web content may be available. Email and related information required for setup and activation.
• Third-party software available separately. Within wireless coverage area only. Requires data services at additional cost. Not all apps available on all devices.

Ivey School of Business case studies are now available anywhere, anytime through Apple’s iBookstore. One of the world’s leading business case publishers, the Richard Ivey School of Business is the first publisher to make business case studies available on the iBookstore. Starting today over 500 cases from Ivey’s inventory are available to download for $3.99 each. The iBookstore is available through the free iBooks app for iPad, iPhone or iPod touch.

Since the Ivey Business School’s inception in 1922 the case method has been the keystone of its highly regarded approach to teaching general management. Students and executives at universities around the world use Ivey cases to learn by doing. Business students, executives or anyone can now benefit from enhanced convenience, quicker delivery, and more flexibility in accessing published cases.

“Making Ivey cases available through the iBookstore provides an opportunity to reach a new and wider audience that may not have been exposed to business case studies previously,” said Paul Beamish, Director of Ivey Publishing. “It supports our emphasis on making Ivey cases easily accessible to everyone.”

Each case provides readers with an opportunity to stand in the shoes of the decision-maker, analyzing the business issue presented, making judgments and determining a course of action. Ivey is the second largest producer and distributor of business case studies in the world.

Over 500 cases are currently available, with newer cases to be added regularly.  More than 200 new cases are created each year from business faculty at Ivey and from other partnered universities. Articles from the Ivey Business Journal will also be available through the iBookstore.

Richard Ivey School of Business, the world’s largest producer of Asian cases, will continue to offer its inventory in printed or digital PDF form through its network of 18 traditional academic publishing partners including Harvard Business Publishing and the European Case Clearing House.

The remarkable effort of Vancouverites to show the world that the raucous actions of a select few by no means defines the city they love has garnered widespread attention, both locally and abroad.

Now, with the aid of a sophisticated online platform that aggregates comments, photos, and video content from the far reaches of the internet, online users can delve into the profound outpouring of affection for Vancouver that has dominated the social sphere in recent days.

The site, affectionately named ‘This Is Our Vancouver‘, makes use of the latest digital technology to pull content into one space that would ordinarily require days of surfing to unearth. This Is Our Vancouver permits even novice users to access the overwhelming content generated by those who are passionate about Vancouver on a single, intuitive platform.

“In recent days we’ve seen an outpouring of emotion and love for Vancouver from our citizens, who spontaneously shared their thoughts on the temporary plywood storefronts downtown,” said Vancouver Mayor Gregor Robertson. “This opportunity will continue through This Is Our Vancouver, a new site that is supported by 100% donated services from our community. It provides one more way for everyone to express their love for our city as we collectively move forward and show the world what kind of city Vancouver truly is.”

Developed by creative agency DDB Canada, in partnership with Tourism Vancouver, the online platform scours the web for compelling content from diverse sources such as Facebook, Twitter, Flickr and YouTube.

“Last Wednesday Vancouver was reeling from a blindside,” said Tourism Vancouver President & CEO Rick Antonson. “Today, Vancouver’s integrity shines again. This is a testament to the commitment of this city’s citizens to set things right if they have gone wrong. ‘This Is Our Vancouver.com’ is our way of helping the world know that Vancouver’s greatest asset is its people.”

In addition to creating a one-stop portal for existing Vancouver content, This Is Our Vancouver is a user-friendly platform that encourages all Canadians to contribute their take on what best defines the city.

Says Greg Klassen, the Canadian Tourism Commission’s Senior Vice President, Marketing Strategy,  “The mindless destruction we witnessed last week has been eclipsed by a collective effort of Canadians of all ages that is truly extraordinary. We applaud the citizens who mobilized so quickly to remind the world what Canada is really all about.”

The ease of making an online contribution paired with the inspiration that comes from browsing the diverse and heartfelt content of fellow Canadians puts this new platform in prime position to continue generating testimonials that will help restore the nation’s image.

Lance Saunders, Executive Vice President & Managing Director of DDB Canada’s Vancouver office, said, “As a creative agency, our world is about harnessing emotion. We mobilize people around sentiments that hold real meaning for them. Vancouver is our national headquarters; it’s a natural time for us to put our experience into practice for a vital cause. This is about celebrating Vancouver and restoring its image to where it deserves to be.”

Since the website has gone live, many local businesses and media outlets have volunteered their services to generate awareness about the new platform and encourage widespread participation.  Project partners The Vancouver Sun and The Province have generously contributed significant ad space to promote the site with a view to helping citizens reclaim their city and shape its future.

The short answer about why we want Endgame back is because it’s Canadian and we like it, but in greater detail, here’s the long answer. Earlier this television season, Scott and I began watching the brand-new Canadian TV drama Endgame from Thunderbird Films, and it rapidly became one of our favourites. We enjoyed the writing, the acting, the story-lines, the fact that it was made in Vancouver – and for once wasn’t pretending to be somewhere else like Seattle,  San Francisco or even Switzerland. The show’s premise is somewhat original – Russian chess master Arkady Balagan (Shawn Doyle) witnesses the murder of his fiancee Rosemary (Lisa Ray) outside The Huxley Hotel (The Westin Bayshore), and the resulting trauma turns him into an agoraphobic who experiences panic attacks if he even thinks about leaving the hotel.

From his hotel room and with the assistance of chess groupie Sam (Torrance Coombs), bartender Danni (Katharine Isabelle), hotel maid Alcina (Carmen Aguirre) and hotel security chief Hugo (Patrick Gallagher), the lovably naive yet egotistical genius Arkady helps people solve problems – from being accused of murder to getting hostages released to finding a missing child. While the crimes themselves may not be original, the methods used to solve them certainly are. While other crime shows have used “detective visualization” to look at solution possibilities, none of them puts the characters on a chess board and interacts with them, or constantly rewinds the image of someone pushed from the hotel roof to ask the victim questions or to see what minute clue was missed.

Of course, Arkady does have a motive for helping these people – it usually involves the payment of a fee or the winning of favours so that he doesn’t get evicted from his penthouse suite by hotel manager Barbara (Veena Sood). Added into the mix is Rosemary’s younger sister Pippa (Melanie Papalia), a blogger and freelance documentary maker. She is obsessed with solving Rosemary’s murder, and often butts heads with Arkady over the clues and possibilities she uncovers.

Endgame is lighthearted entertainment that makes the viewer think a little bit and chuckle often, so you can imagine our disappointment when we heard that Showcase had put the show on the chopping block. We’d already lost Human Target, which was another lighthearted and made in Vancouver television show which we enjoyed – even though it had the city being portrayed as locations around the world – I bet you didn’t know that  the new convention centre was really a Swiss bank, did you.

There are already far too many reality shows on the airwaves that we have absolutely no interest in watching – we don’t care who will be Canada’s next idol or who can dance and who can’t. We rarely watch to see who is the worst handyman or the worst driver, and we certainly have no interest in The Glee Project. Chances are if we’re watching a reality-based show, it’s shows like Electric Playground, Reviews on the Run, Museum Secrets, Daily Planet, Disaster DIY, Sarah’s House, Holmes on Homes or Income Property – and HGTV Canada viewing would not be complete without Colin & Justin, who will apparently be returning with a new Canadian show soon. Our one guilty-pleasure reality show is Gene Simmons Family Jewels, which technically has Canadian content. 😉

While we are proponents of Canadian content, as anyone who is familiar with this site knows, we are particular fans of quality Canadian content, and Endgame is in that category, along with one of our other favourite crime dramas, FlashPoint (no killing off Ed or breaking up the team, CTV!). We also like Breakout Kings – and while it’s technically an American production, it is filmed in Toronto and has two Canadian actresses in the lead cast. Yes, we like a little humour mixed in with our murder and mayhem.

Shows often get pulled because a network says it has low ratings, yet time and again we see large and active fan bases fighting to keep their shows on the air while less-than-worthy shows get renewed season after season. This happened most recently with The Event (NBC), and while it’s not a Canadian show, we did watch it. Untimely demises also met CBS shows The Unit and Jericho, with the fan backlash at CBS over the cancellation of Jericho coming through loud and clear.

In my opinion, I think it’s fair to say that the Nielsen rating system, which seems to have much power in what shows stay or go, is in no way an accurate indicator of what people are watching, in part because their sampling is so small when compared to the population at large. Again in my opinion, the Nielsen Ratings System is archaic and has been the subject of much criticism. The ratings do not appear to accurately measure what people are watching online, whether it’s on their PC or their mobile device, and even time-shifting or PVRing a show can skew ratings.

The ratings certainly don’t count what we’re watching in our house – although I’d like to know how the networks know just how many people watched the Stanley Cup Finals – and was that just on TV or did they include those who watched it online like The CaveChild did because he prefers to watch his shows (like Pure Pwnage) online in his cave, while we tend to watch them on the TV. How do they know how many people in each house are watching a particular show? We have more than one TV in this house – sometimes we’re both watching the same show on one TV, sometimes we’re watching different shows on different TVs in different rooms, so how does Nielsen really know, and how can their count be an accurate reflection of what people are or want to watch? Do the Conspiracy Theorists out there have an answer for this?

According to Nielsen’s Canadian site, Nielsen TV Audience Analysis software offerings are built for today’s most pressing TV campaign and programming issues – but I could not find how many households are actually measured. Perhaps you have to be a client to get that information, or I just didn’t look in the right spot on their site.

Borealis enables detailed audience characteristics to be queried while accessing a national respondent-level database through a server based application. This powerful and easy to use analysis tool allows detailed analysis of Canadian television audiences.

SpotWatch offers the most in-depth advertising intelligence available for television in Canada.  A monthly commercial spot database available by product class, company, brand and/or creative theme.

Ad*Views provides the most comprehensive source of competitive advertising intelligence available with access to current and historical advertising data across 13 markets and 5 media types.  Ad*Views can be used to analyze occurrences, GRPs, dollars and television creatives in a single, easy-to-use system.

Why do networks not look at the overall engagement of a show’s audience? Isn’t each and every show a brand property? Or are brand properties measured differently in TV and film from how they are measured in the game development industry? Do they take into account internet activity surrounding a show such as fan sites, discussions, social media participation and brand mentions? Do they take into account how many people have experienced the Endgame interactive features and games? It wouldn’t seem so, because as I mentioned earlier, shows with an actively engaged fan base are repeatedly getting pulled off the air and replaced with drivel. Would not the measuring of total engagement be a major part of a brand’s influence? I thought it was – at least that’s what all of the marketing and branding experts have been saying.

Thus far I have not seen any announced new shows that will hold any interest for me the way Endgame has.  Will King? It’s too early to tell. Will XIII? I’ll get back to you on that.  I can safely say that I have absolutely no interest based on the advertising I’ve seen in Single White Spenny, Kenny Hotz and his Triumph Over Will or Almost Heroes. I have never been a fan of Trailer Park Boys and never will be – I prefer entertaining shows that have some modicum of class and intelligence. That said, and before you go thinking that I have little to no sense of humour, I completely enjoyed Kids In The Hall, The Royal Canadian Air Farce, Wayne & Shuster – and even that other guy, Rick Mercer. I liked The Beachcombers and loved Due South. Being a proper geeky type, I also like Big Bang Theory.

But getting back to Endgame, which ended its first season with a cliff-hanger. It seems that the leads Pippa has been following as she tries to solve her sister’s murder have caused ripples among those who reside on the underbelly of society, and a brutal warning was delivered to Arkady, making it appear that Pippa’s line of investigation has hit a few nerves. How can the network be that uncaring about its viewers to leave Endgame fans hanging with absolutely no sense of the whys or wherefores?

For all intents and purposes, it would appear that Showcase has a total disregard for what Endgame’s engaged fans want from the network. If I’d been able to attend the Banff World Media Festival this year, I would have been front and centre with their representatives, telling them exactly how I feel about the axing of Endgame. Then I would have let Thunderbird’s creative staff know that I want Endgame to continue and will gladly support any movement to keep Endgame on the air. There is hope that perhaps Global, as part of the same Shaw Media family as ShowCase, could possibly pick the show up. This would make us happy viewers. If they don’t, it will cause our Shaw Satisfaction metre to dip – and while you may think that the majority of people at Shaw don’t care how the public feels, trust me, they do.

Do you want to show your support for Endgame? Check out (and Like) the Endgame and  Save Endgame Facebook fan pages or sign the petition (yes, we did). You can also follow Endgame on Twitter – along with Shawn Doyle, Torrance Coombs, Patrick Gallagher, Melanie Papalia, Thunderbird Films, Showcase and Shaw Media TV.

Fit Brains has released a new iPhone app that encourages you to get walking.  Available as a free download, Arookoo: Walk+Game is a breakthrough app that makes it fun to walk because every step counts.

This new app and its companion web site turns walking into a game by sending you on fun challenges that motivate you to move around your city. Arookoo rewards you for increasing the amount of steps you walk each day by completing a wide variety of fun activities, including:

• Fun Walking Challenges and GPS Map-based Scavenger Hunts – Arookoo’s strong game layer makes walking fun through imaginative walking challenges, collectable GPS-map rewards, and a loads of special awards to earn
• Daily Team Challenges with Friends – Invite friends to join your team or compete against you, and help each other stay motivated
• Healthy Calorie & Distance Tracking – Want to go deeper? Improve your health by setting personal walking goals, tracking distance, burning calories, and more
• Is always with you – Arookoo automatically tracks your walking, making it easy to walk and take more steps to a healthier you

In response to the growing consumer and merchant demand for mobile payment technologies in Canada, Vancouver’s Payfirma Corporation has launched its proprietary iPhone Mobile Payment app, also compatible with iPod Touch and iPad.

Developed in Vancouver by the Company’s Fintech Innovation Team, the app is available as a free download from Apple’s iTunes App Store. It can be activated remotely by any merchant account customer of Payfirma’s, and the optional card swiper can be purchased directly from the Company.

“Canadian consumers and businesses are extremely technology literate and savvy,” says Michael Gokturk, Founder & CEO of Payfirma, Canada’s leading innovator of payment processing technologies & services. “They are always seeking efficient and secure means of transacting financially with one another, and our mobile payment app enables them to do just that.”

Payfirma’s proprietary app lets any business or consumer accept all major credit cards securely on an iPhone, iPod Touch or iPad. Users can swipe or manually input a credit card, capture a digital signature on the screen, and authorize the transaction within 10 seconds. A customizable receipt can then be emailed directly to the customer from within the app.

“We developed the this product with Canadians in mind,” continues Gokturk. “While there are other apps similar to Payfirma’s out there, none are designed with the needs and culture of Canadian merchants or consumers in mind.”

The app is offered for free, but users must have a valid Canadian merchant account to process live transactions. Opening a merchant account with Payfirma is easy, and can be opened directly within the app itself, or on the Company’s website.

Big Blue Bubble, Inc. has burned its way onto Android with their smash hit Burn the Rope, which is finally available on Android Market. A critically-acclaimed best seller, Burn the Rope is a puzzle adventure where the goal is as simple as it is addictive: burn as much rope as possible. I can attest to this – the game is incredibly addictive and has a very high replayability factor. Release your inner arsonist and ignite your way through over 100 delightful levels, with new user generated puzzles every day. Get involved and submit your very own puzzle to be featured in Puzzle of the Day.

[youtube:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZCj9HorjsG8]

Game Description:

In Burn the Rope users have the freedom to set fire without any fire hazard or need for a fire extinguisher. The game involves a mix of strategic planning, thinking ahead, coordination and the ability to stay in deep focus. Users have to feed the fire and burn as much rope as they can in each level to progress. The challenge is that fire only burns upwards, leaving players to tilt and turn their iPhones to keep the flame alive.

The game features 116 devilishly tricky levels with polished graphics and mesmerizing fire effects. Bugs that crawl along the rope spice things up demonstrating different reactions to the flame from level to level. Ants change the color of the flame so that users could burn different colored ropes, and the spider shoots out a web bridge providing access to the parts of the level that were beyond players’ reach before.

Burn The Rope is also available on Ovi for Nokia phones, the iTunes App for mobile iOS devices and in the Mac Store.