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Halifax company Upstart Industries has launched Vantage: A Social Approach to Project Management. Vantage is an online, subscription-based (SaaS) application which integrates project and portfolio management capabilities with enterprise social media. You can try it free for 30 days.

Upstart co-founder Kelly Kazimer notes, “Anyone who has managed or participated in a project understands the challenges of maintaining focus on project goals, and ensuring that every project team member is on the same page. These challenges are often further compounded by adopting project tools at the project level, which creates information and communication silos within the organization.  We created Vantage specifically to tackle these problems head on.”

Vantage provides a collaborative web-space for project teams to manage, work with, and share projects. Tasks, resources, budgets, schedules, project plans, issues, risks can all be managed on a per project basis, using only a web browser. Beyond individual project management, Vantage provides you with an organizational view of all of your projects and resources. Every project’s status and health can be viewed on a single page; every resource’s allocation & participation can be viewed across all projects; every resource can view an integrated task list of their assignments from all of their projects.

Vantage uses its own secured social media channel, VantagePoint, to source not only user-generated content but also project activity within one central activity steam. When a schedule is published, a new resource added, or a new task assigned, VantagePoint notifies the team.  At the same time, team members can use VantagePoint to update statuses, request approvals, seek consensus, flag issues, identify risks, and work together to achieve goals.

Kelly Kazimer explains, “As a solution, we created Vantage to support what we feel are the cornerstones of project success: communication, collaboration, visibility, and accountability.  As a tool, we designed Vantage to be a business application that’s as easy to use as the tools we use every day as consumers. Producing and consuming information has never been easier. And we applied those principles and expectations to Vantage.”

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Microsoft Canada and the University of Toronto are pleased to announce that UofT is the latest higher education institution to deliver Microsoft’s Live@edu e-mail and document management service. This joint initiative enables UofT’s 77,000 students to join a rapidly growing community of 11 million peers in more than 10,000 schools worldwide who are benefiting from the power of Live@edu.

This cloud-based collaboration suite will help the University reduce costs, improve communication and collaboration between students, and equip them with the tools they need for their academic career.

“Live@EDU is an outstanding addition to UofT’s robust student support services,” says Cheryl Misak, Vice-President and Provost for the University of Toronto.  “Our students are very much looking forward to having this powerful tool to help them get the most out of their university experience.”

Outside of the classroom, Canadians are increasingly using collaboration software and services and now expect these same capabilities in their learning experience. Extensive consultation with students led by the University’s Chief Information Officer, Robert Cook, showed that students wanted more comprehensive tools to complement their academic involvement.

The platform provides the flexibility of Office Web Apps that include web-optimized versions of Word, Excel, OneNote and PowerPoint – essential tools now accessible to UofT students anywhere, anytime, via any popular web browser or mobile device. Live@edu also includes Outlook for e-mail plus a 10 GB inbox, and enables powerful document sharing and collaboration with 25GB of password-protected online storage.

“Now more than ever, universities such as the University of Toronto require security-enhanced cloud services to deliver the flexibility and functionality that students need to succeed in their studies and in their future careers,” says Mike Tremblay, Vice President, Public Sector, Microsoft Canada. “Live@edu is arming University of Toronto students with tools that drive success in the classroom, and eventually the boardroom.”

The University of Toronto joins more than 10,000 schools in more than 130 countries around the world that have chosen Live@edu as a platform for student communication and collaboration. Live@edu innovations include great tools such as:

• Communication Services: Free, hosted email and calendaring with a 10 GB inbox and instant messaging through Outlook Live
• Collaboration Services: Ability to access, share and collaborate through SkyDrive, with 25 GB of free online storage space
• Productivity Services: Create, view, edit, and share Microsoft Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and OneNote files online with SkyDrive

Mundo Media has re-launched the social commerce site Living Deal as the newest component in an expanding portfolio of performance-based marketing tools. Mundo Media purchased the well-known site in August 2010 and now Living Deal will focus on matching merchants with high net worth customers.

Since 2010, Living Deal users have saved more than $3.7 million through over 29,000 discounted deals. Living Deals are offered on food, drink, attractions, products and a host of unique services.  The social commerce platform operates in Calgary, Mississauga and Toronto, with plans to expand to further Canadian and U.S. markets.

“Living Deal’s business structure perfectly complements Mundo Media’s focus on performance metrics and lifetime value of consumers,” explained Mundo CEO Jason Theofilos. “Living Deal brings Mundo Media’s knowledge of consumer habits and performance marketing to those small businesses on the lookout for long-term customers.”

Leveraging Mundo Media’s knowledge of consumer online behaviours, Living Deal targets those consumers most likely to convert from deal purchase to redemption.  With this efficiency, the most appropriate users are brought to merchants seeking to build a repeat customer base.

The model for Living Deal creates high long-term value for small businesses entering the market for daily deals.  Mundo Media’s performance metrics gather information on online click-throughs of consumers, so partners have an understanding of how users interact with ads and other marketing assets.  By applying this knowledge, Living Deal offers deals that appeal to consumer interests, leading to repeat customers for merchants.

In concert with Mundo Media’s focus on the net worth of consumers, Living Deal encourages customers to become repeat deal buyers through its affiliate program.  Living Deal pays affiliates money every time one of their friends buys a deal voucher.  Users sign up for an affiliate program and receive a referral link to send friends or post on social networks and sites when they purchase the deal.  When a friend purchases the same deal using that link, affiliates earn money.  Each deal has a payout amount posted the day said deal goes live.

Living Deal also partners with other social commerce platforms in cities without a Living Deal presence through a revenue sharing model.

As the economy slowly recovers from the recession, we need to do what is necessary to achieve a strong recovery in the short term and to begin repairing our fiscal situation federally and provincially. But our long-term challenge remains – raising our productivity, which is synonymous with improving our innovation capabilities and performance. Robust innovation results can be achieved through more key business investments and by the right government policies and strategies for innovation. This is the major conclusion of the 2011 Report on Canada, Canada’s innovation imperative (PDF), released today by the Institute for Competitiveness & Prosperity at at its 2011 Conference taking place today in Toronto.

In its Report, the Institute reaffirms that Canada’s economy is one of the world’s most successful among countries with populations greater than 10 million.  But against the United States, Canada’s GDP per capita continues to trail significantly. This gap represents lost prosperity potential, which negatively affects Canadians at all income levels.

The Institute reports that Canada’s GDP per capita – a measure of the value created by workers and firms in Canada from the human, physical, and natural resources in the country – trailed the US by $9,500 or 17 percent in 2010, essentially unchanged from the 2009 gap of $9,200 in constant (2010) dollars. “What’s really troubling,” observed Roger Martin, Chairman of the Institute, “is that the prosperity gap has more than tripled since 1981 when it was only $2,700. That has to be a call to action for all Canadians.”

The Report identifies Canada’s lower productivity as the key challenge in closing this prosperity gap. “Canadians are among the leaders in developed economies in work effort, hours worked per person, but we are laggards in creating economic value per hour worked.” said Martin.  “This comes from a poor innovation record. For a variety of reasons, we are not leading the world in creating innovative products, services, and processes in our businesses and workplaces.”

The Report concludes that businesses need to step up their investments in technology – from R&D to patents to adapting existing technology to their businesses. Equally important is the ongoing need to develop stronger management capabilities in our businesses. Although the research shows that Canada’s management capabilities are among the world’s best, there is still room for improvement.

The Institute recommends that governments improve their innovation policies by shifting their efforts from new-to-the-world inventions to relevant-to-the-market innovations. As Martin observed, “Our public policies are skewed toward creating science-driven inventions which are very important to our society, but we shouldn’t assume that much of this will lead to products and services that will respond to consumer needs and improve Canada’s innovation capabilities.” The Report shows how important business-led innovations in product design, service improvements, processes, and mergers & acquisitions have propelled our most successful companies to global leadership.

The Institute applauds recent provincial tax policy changes, including the introduction of the HST, as important initiatives that will stimulate business investment. In particular, it encourages British Columbia voters to affirm the adoption of the HST as it will benefit them and all Canadians. According to Martin, “Canada is moving to become one of the better tax jurisdictions in the world, but we’re simply adopting best practices from others. It’s time Canada became a world leader in innovative tax policies and we have some suggestions for further exploration.” Read the rest of this entry »

The secret to finding a suitable job today lies in mastering the digital search environment used by employers, says noted author and managing partner of Perry-Martel International David Perry. Perry, co-author with Jay Levinson of “Guerrilla Marketing for Job-Hunters 3.0“, says that a rapid transformation in hiring practices has gone unnoticed by those looking for work.

“Every year, 50-million jobs are filled in the United States — almost all without a job posting,” stated Mr. Perry. The executive search professional who the Wall St. Journal called the “Rogue Recruiter”, explained that “this is happening because employers can’t deal with the avalanche of resumes they would get. Today, employers are relying on a brand new digital suite of tools and tactics to find the handful of “most qualified” recruits that they want to interview.”

The revolution in recruiting is taking place at the same time as the job market itself is under huge strain, according to Steven O’Hanlon, President and COO of Numerix, an analytics firm headquartered in New York. “The current state of the global job market is more challenging than it has been in over 25 years. The magnitude of job force reductions is unprecedented. Guerrilla Marketing for Job Hunters 3.0 is the most important and critical tool to use as a competitive advantage. When you think about the quantity of people who are vying for the few job openings that might exist, the job hunter must be clever and think outside of the box. This book provides ample ways to stand out head and shoulders beyond all others in a very crowded job market.”

“Because of this, we have shifted emphasis put a booster rocket on our earlier book, going beyond previous book ‘where to look’, to include ‘how to be found’. The market has changed — no one advertises anymore. America is in a revolutionary new era, defined by digital employer searches”, says Perry. “There is no doubt that employers are using radical new search techniques to find their candidates, and if you don’t know how to show up on their radar, you will be looking for a job forever.”

While still addressing the other critical elements of the job hunt, such as resumes, getting past the door keepers, and advice on talking to the hiring managers, Perry and Levinson lay out the digital strategies job-hunters need to light-up employers’ radars. Sub-titled: “How to Stand Out from the Crowd and Tap into the Hidden Job Market Using Social Media and 999 other Tactics Today”, Guerilla Marketing for Job Hunters 3.0 is the first multi-media book for job hunters, and provides the tools and lays out the innovative digital tactics that job-hunters should use.

Stop wasting time with resumes and newspaper searches, advises Perry. “The job-search paradigm has shifted. You need to use a Force Multiplier effect to shine on different social media at the same time.” Guerilla Marketing 3.0 tells precisely how to leverage online resources like ZoomInfo, LinkedIn, and Facebook, to take advantage of “the secret lives of top corporate recruiters”. Job-hunters are advised on little-known search-engine optimization tricks used by those looking for employees.
Read the rest of this entry »

As a follow up to the first ever Ghostbusters digital title Ghostbusters: Sanctum of Slime, Atari is releasing additional downloadable content – Challenge Pack. In conjunction with Sony Pictures Consumer Products, Ghostbusters: Sanctum of Slime Challenge Pack, developed by Behaviour Interactive, will bring hours of a new single player experience to the successful digital title with two game modes, Lonely Hero and Arcade Challenge, on Xbox LIVE® Arcade for the Xbox 360® for 160 MS Points, and Windows PC on Steampowered.com as of today, June 1st.

Ghostbusters: Sanctum of Slime is a four player, ghost-busting adventure that will take players on a brand new paranormal experience. But with Challenge Pack, players will suit up with their proton packs and assume the role of a lone rookie Ghostbuster tasked to save New York City from a disaster of ghoulish proportions, without any help.

Specific highlights from the Challenge Pack include:

• Arcade Challenge: Designed for seasoned gamers, Aracade Challenge gives players a limited number of lives to see how their skills line up on a distinct Global Leaderboard. Players run through 5 of the game’s most challenging levels in single player mode and once the lives are up, the game is over.  Player scores are automatically posted to a new real-time Leaderboard.
• Lonely Hero: Players can select any level they have unlocked and start from there but this time you are on your own – no co-op, no friendly teammates- just one player to combat the waves of the paranormally possessed.

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Millions of racing fans have flocked to ­Need for Speed™ World to experience the thrill of illicit street racing in the popular Play4Free online PC title. Over five million registered users have battled other gamers in intense races, evaded the cops in thrilling pursuits and joined friends to outrun the law in Team Escape mode. Need for Speed World delivers an enormous, socially-connected white-knuckle Need for Speed experience.

Need for Speed World features some of the hottest cars of today including the Lamborghini Murcielago, Nissan Skyline R34 and Corvette Z06. Players can visually customize their own vehicles for that personal flair as they take down other racers in style. In addition, Need for Speed World players can be the first in the world to test drive the Audi A1 clubsport quattro unveiled at the annual Worthersee tour in Austria today. The Audi A1 clubsport quattro is exclusive to Need for Speed World and will be available to all players as a free in-game rental car from June 1 to June 4.

Joining the A1 clubsport quattro on the Audi stand at the GTI meeting are 17 series production vehicles from the current Audi model lineup. Sporting a very dynamic appearance and an exquisite finish, the Audi A1 clubsport quattro makes no secret of its potential: it is designed as a road vehicle for the race track. The heart of the showcar is a classic Audi gasoline engine – a five-cylinder unit displacing 2.5 liters with turbocharging and direct fuel injection. The output of the TFSI engine has been increased dramatically to 503 hp and 486.79 lb-ft of torque. Another area where the A1 clubsport quattro shines is its overall weight of just 3,064 lb. The powerful engine catapults the car from 0 to 100 km/h in 3.7 seconds. From 0 to 200 km/h takes just 10.9 seconds, while the car goes from 80 to 120 km/h in fourth gear in just 2.4 seconds. A six-speed manual transmission and quattro permanent all-wheel drive deliver the power to all four wheels. Top speed is governed at 250 km/h.

Need for Speed World brings together best-in-class action racing with an unparalleled social experience on the PC. Players can compete against their friends and family or pick from thousands of players to challenge in intense online battles and police pursuits. Gamers race the way they want in an ever-expanding world with a constant stream of new content, cars, and features.

Nintendo Canada invites gamers in and around the Vancouver area to come down to the corner of Robson & Burrard (in front of HMV) this Saturday, June 4^th to check out the world of one of the most critically acclaimed games of all time.

Watch as  “Chalkmaster” David Johnston will work his creative magic as he brings to life the new highly anticipated The Legend of Zelda™: Ocarina of Time™ 3D game for Nintendo 3DS™, with a life-size work of art. Weather permitting (this is Vancouver, after all) David will be at work on the image all day. Should the weather not co-operate, the art presentation will have to be re-scheduled for a sunnier day.

This event will also be the perfect spot for gamers to gather for StreetPass™ activity on the Nintendo 3DS. If you’re able to pass by, feel free to tweet about the art using Nintendo’s hashtag, #ZeldaChalkArt. The finished art work is anticipated to be complete by 7pm.

Vancouver’s SIGGRAPH chapter presents The Art of Lighting and Rendering Rio with Lighting Supervisor Jim Gettinger. The final event of the 2010/2011 season, this presentation will take place on June 21st at District 319. Jim Gettinger’s talk will explore the developmental work pursued by Jim and his team taking the listener through many stages of the production process at Blue Sky. Lighting and lighting techniques will be presented from concept art, through pre-visualization, master lighting, and compositing. Jim will also highlight the artistic and technical challenges encountered developing a stylized vision of the world renowned city Rio de Janeiro and believable original characters using Blue Sky’s proprietary photo-realistic ray-tracing software, CGI Studio™. Tickets for this event are now on sale – $15.00 for members and $25.00 for non-members.

Hockey Fight Pro by Ratrod Studios is now available in the Android Marketplace. Compatible with most Android phones and tablets running Android 2.1 and up, Hockey Fight Pro for Android will let you compete against iOS and Mac users using the online cross-platform leaderboard. Hockey Fight Pro is loaded with the following features:

• The only 3D hockey fighting game available on the market.
• Intuitive controls for a realistic hockey fighting experience.
• Follow the interactive tutorial to learn the basics.
• Real-time damage system, see your opponent taking punishment.
• Next gen 3D graphics with HD support.
• Fight against 9 of the world’s most dangerous hockey fighters.
• Execute over 40 unique combos and punch combinations.
• Gain respect from your opponents and upgrade your character attributes.
• View your fighting stats and replay highlights to improve your skills.
• Complete a list of over 14 unique achievements.
• Online global cross-platform leaderboard to become the world’s toughest hockey fighter.
• Share your victory with your friends on Facebook and Twitter.
• Complete the game to unlock a special hardcore mode.
• Support for multiple profiles and extensive game options to adjust the game to your preferences.

Vancouver’s Acrylic Apps has launched its news app to the Mac Store. Pulp for Mac takes your favorite news feeds and presents them in a reader-friendly format, making it easy for users to quickly scan through headlines, previews, and photos as if you had your own newspaper right on your desktop. Pulp includes such features as built-in Google search, customizable categories and layout, plus rich descriptors for visual media. You can also put articles on your virtual shelf to read later or easily share them on your Twitter or Facebook feeds. Another great feature is Pulp Sync, a free, cloud-based service that keeps all of your pages, feeds, read articles, and other settings in sync on all of your Macs and iPads, over the air, completely seamlessly. Every change you make is pushed instantly to your iPad, so you never have to go hunting for a refresh button.

Rhino.ca is a proud partner of the Vancouver Canucks, and like the rest of Vancouver hockey fans, is confident this is the season we bring home the Cup. On the heels of the Vancouver Canucks victory over the San Jose Sharks, Rhino.ca has launched the final round of the Rhino Cup Run 2011 hockey pool and is gearing up for the Stanley Cup Finals.

For the last time during these NHL playoffs, hockey fans can pit themselves against each other for leaderboard supremacy in this free, Vancouver Canucks themed, interactive hockey pool. Contestants enter their picks for game scores and individual player stats in categories like most goals, assists, and penalty minutes, and can log-in anytime to see where they stack up amongst the competition.

“We’re die-hard Vancouver Canucks fans and are excited to have partnered with the Canucks in their 40th year during this cup run. It seems like a dream,” said Doug Morneau, RHINO.ca’s Chief Rhino. “Seventeen years since our last trip to the finals and like the rest of this town, we can’t get enough playoff hockey.”

The Vancouver Canucks take on the Boston Bruins in the Stanley Cup Finals beginning Wednesday, June 1st and there is undeniable playoff fever around RHINO.ca headquarters. “We love how energized this city is right now and Rhino Cup Run in something we could do to help Canucks fans participate and get even more psyched for the finals,” added Morneau.

Frima Studio has announced that the Gods of Olympus have seen fit to allow the discounting of PlayStation® mini title Young Thor, now available for 75% off its retail price at $1.25 USD. The sale price of the adolescent god’s title runs from today through the month of June across all markets, and is exclusively available for PlayStation® Plus members on the PlayStation® Store.

The three Norns – Urd, Skuld and Verdandi – have gone missing, leaving no one to tend to Yggdrasil, the World Tree and connector of all realms. With the world now in chaos, players will take on the role of Young Thor and travel to Midgard and Asgard, battling hordes of mythical creatures from Norse mythology, as they strive to restore balance in both worlds in this fun, all-ages appropriate platformer. Defeat Hel, the mischievous daughter of Loki, along with her two allies Ratatoskr and Nidhogg, and save Yggdrasil once and for all—it’s hammer time!