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Exceptional Webinars Made Easy by Calgary author Dr. Sarah Elaine Eaton was released globally this week by Amazon as a Kindle e-book. Designed for trainers, entrepreneurs and small business owners,  Exceptional Webinars Made Easy helps readers understand the basics of what is needed to develop and deliver marketing webinars and basic e-learning training sessions, combining practical “how to” tips with solid best practices for both elearning and business.

This is Dr. Sarah Elaine Eaton’s fourth book, but is her first book book on e-learning and her first Kindle book. Eaton founded Exceptional Webinars in 2010 to help independent services professionals and small business owners become more tech savvy in their work and use the power of webinars to become 21st century entrepreneurs and business people.

An international professional speaker, Dr. Sarah Elaine Eaton has presented to thousands of people around the globe. With a PhD in Education, she has been working with educational technology since the turn of the millennium and giving webinars since 2005. She is passionate about webinars and the potential they create for business and non-profit organizations. Her passion is effervescent, leaving audiences inspired and ready to take action.

Dr. Eaton has authored hundreds of articles and three previous books. Her work has been featured on radio and numerous websites. In 2009-10, she received a Pinnacle Award Honourable Mention from the Centre for Interactive Learning and Collaboration for her virtual training programs.

The second phase in the So You Want To Be an Artist? competition organized by the National Gallery of Canada is now complete, with work by 12 young finalists chosen throughout March by over 20,000 online voters using Facebook. In total, 126 talented artists aged 16 to 19 submitted their work, following the contest launch in January. To see the work and to learn more about the story behind each finalist’s piece visit the MakeArt Gallery.

“We were thrilled with the quality of the submissions we received and congratulate each of the finalists,” said NGC Manager, Youth and School Programs, Gary Goodacre.  “With over 50,000 visits to the contest website from Canada alone, the young people who took part in this contest have been able to share their creativity and passion with audiences in Canada and around the world.”

On May 25, the jury will select the three grand prize winners, who will be announced to the public on June 3. From now until July 2 NGC visitors can enjoy the finalists’ work on the Artissimo Gallery wall, just outside the Special Exhibition galleries, in the concourse leading to the Contemporary Art galleries. The jury is made up of well-known Montreal graffiti artist Roadsworth, Ottawa Citizen arts editor at large Peter Simpson, Radio-Canada cultural reporter Jhade Montpetit and contemporary curator and NGC Elizabeth Simonfay Curatorial Resident of Indigenous Art, Candice Hopkins.

First prize includes transportation, accommodation and meals for a two-night stay in Ottawa for the winner and an accompanying adult, as well as an exclusive behind-the-scenes visit to the NGC that will focus on careers in the visual arts. The winner will receive expert advice on his or her art portfolio and receive a $500 online gift certificate for art supplies. (Note: If the winner lives within a 100 km radius of downtown Ottawa, a $1,000 online gift certificate for art supplies will be awarded instead of the travel portion of the prize.)

The second prize winner will receive a $1,000 online gift certificate for art supplies, and the third prize winner will receive a $500 online gift certificate for art supplies.

The World Technology Network has announced its official Call for Nominations for the 2011 World Technology Awards, honoring those individuals and corporations deemed to be doing “the innovative work of the greatest likely long-term significance” in 20 different categories in science, technology and related fields.

Presented by the World Technology Network (“The WTN”) in association with TIME magazine, Fortune, CNN, Science/AAAS, Technology Review, and others, the World Technology Awards have been presented since 2000 as a way to honor those innovators who have made the most impactful contributions to science and technology.

“This year we are more eager than ever to identify and pay tribute to the talent and innovation of our individual and corporate honorees,” says James P. Clark, Founder/Chairman of the World Technology Network. “We try — through our peer-review process — to ensure that this program deserves the genuine global prestige that these Awards have achieved. This moment in history all but requires that we uncover and promote who is doing the most innovative and important work… the work that is and will continue to determine the 21st Century.” Read the rest of this entry »

Dovico Software has announced significant updates to both of its project and time management softwares; Dovico Timesheet and Dovico Planning & Timesheet. In these new releases, customers are now able to track time and expenses in multiple currencies. And with each expense entered into the system, you can now attach a receipt.

The new multiple currency features have already impressed long time multinational customers like Allianz and AON Global. These companies, which have staff employed all over the world, can now review, compare and analyze their costs in any currency. For a company like Technology Engineers, Inc. whose employees all stay close to home, and which has world-wide clients, the multi-currency features are equally beneficial when preparing contract bids or invoicing.

“Dovico’s goals in these product releases were to assist companies in managing, not only their time, expenses and projects, but also help them manage these in the reality of corporate expansion and outsourcing.” said Yves Doucet, CEO at Dovico.

Available as either a hosted service or an on-premise installation, both products are available for a free 30 day trial.

Features

• Analyze and bill projects when you use more than one currency to pay employees, or to bill your international clients.
• Track and budget project costs in any currency.
• Analyze and report on any project, in any currency.
• Enter expenses purchased from anywhere in the world.
• New simplified navigation with frequently used views just one click away.

Don’t miss your chance to vote for Game of the Year for the 2011 Canadian Videogame Awards.  Voting is open to the public until midnight, Friday, May 13th (note: Facebook Connect is required to vote).

The five 2011 Game of the Year finalists are:

·       Assassin’s Creed Brotherhood
·       Dead Rising 2
·       FIFA 11
·       Mass Effect 2
·       Tom Clancy’s Splinter Cell: Conviction

There are still great seats available for the 2011 Canadian Videogame Awards – and tickets start at just $30.00.  Come out next Wednesday night and enjoy an evening with the top developers and publishers in Canada! The show will be hosted by Victor Lucas and his team from The Electric Playground, and you can even get some autographs post-show!  Internationally renowned Video Games Live will be back to provide the musical entertainment AND Nintendo will be offering attendees a special opportunity to play The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time 3D for Nintendo 3DS.  

Don’t miss the 2011 Canadian Games Conference – there is still time to register.  This year’s event features sessions in business, production, design, programming, social games, and iPhone games, as well as a special line-up of “Best of GDC” speakers, and offers visionary keynotes, an expo hall, and evening networking events.  The Conference takes place May 19-20th at the Vancouver Convention Centre.

Just over a month ago Tiny Hippo became part of the RIM family, and the developers have announced that they are adding support for BlackBerry WebWorks 2.0.0 to their flagship product, Ripple Mobile Environment Emulator. This support includes most of the APIs in the WebWorks stack as well skinning for 3 supported BlackBerry devices (The BlackBerry Torch, BlackBerry Bold, and the BlackBerry PlayBook). Check out Ripple’s docs page to see the extent of the WebWorks support as well as what else is new in this release.

Decapod Studios has released a free version of its hit match 3 title Murphid for Windows Phone 7. The full version of Murphid is also available for 99 cents.

• Engaging Campaign spawning more that 70 levels of marble blasting madness.
• Three game modes for players to choose from to suit their playing style.
• More than 10 powerups to help players redefine the game field and wreak havoc in a blink of an eye.
• 8 exclusive Awards to boost the replay value further by throwing extra challenges at the player.
• Pre-filled Leaderboard to give the game nostalgic, old-school touch.
• Awe-inspiring HD visuals with full widescreen support.
• Charming sound effects to create the ambience.
• Adaptive gameplay technology for challenging and fun gaming expirience for players of all ages.

If you don’t have WP7, you can always play Murphid on your Xbox 360, too – it’s available in the Games Marketplace for only 80 MS Points.

Roaring Penguin Software Inc. has announced the release of CanIt 8.0.5. which adds several major improvements to the CanIt Archiver software. Several major new features were added including:

• CanIt-Archiver keeps an audit trail of searches and message accesses. Administrators and end-users can see the audit trail. (End-users can only see audit trails relating to their own archive.)
• CanIt-Archiver has a hook for archiving internal email that normally would not be seen by CanIt.
• CanIt-Archiver stores only one copy of duplicate messages received on a given day for a given realm.

CanIt Archiver, “The Uninteruptible E-mail Supply”, is a highly configurable e-mail archiving solution focused on e-mail continuity. CanIt Archiver ensures that e-mail is accessible in the event of a mail server outage and queues e-mail to make sure that it is delivered when mail service is restored.

CanIt 8.0.5 is available as:

* CanIt-PRO, an anti-spam software solution suitable for small and medium business.
* CanIt-Domain-PRO, spam filtering software for MSPs to host anti-spam for their customers.
* Hosted CanIt, a fully outsourced, hosted anti-spam service.

Scott is a retired volunteer firefighter and my grandfather, father and two uncles were volunteer firefighters, so we are both very happy to see that construction has officially begun on a permanent, national memorial to pay tribute to Canada’s fallen firefighters, thanks to an investment by the Government of Canada. The announcement was made today by Pierre Poilievre, Member of Parliament (Nepean-Carleton), on behalf of the Honourable James Moore, Minister of Canadian Heritage and Official Languages, as part of an official sod-turning ceremony alongside the Canadian Fallen Firefighters Foundation.

“No job is more important than protecting the lives of Canadians and their families,” said Minister Moore. “This memorial will be a permanent reminder of the sacrifices firefighters across Canada make to keep us safe.”

“Our gratitude to those who put their lives on the line to make Canada safer is often difficult to express,” said Mr. Poilievre. “This memorial will serve to remind all Canadians of the men and women who put their lives at risk for their communities.”

The Canadian Fallen Firefighters Foundation is building the monument in the Lebreton Flats area of the National Capital Region, near the Canadian War Museum. This monument, the only official memorial to Canada’s firefighters, will be located at the exact location where the Great Fire of 1900 was finally brought under control after destroying 1400 buildings and killing seven people in Ottawa, and destroying 1300 buildings in Gatineau.

The Government of Canada announced funding of $2,529,800 for the construction of this monument in 2009. This funding is being providing through the Commemorate Canada component of the Department of Canadian Heritage’s Celebration and Commemoration Program. This component provides financial support to initiatives of national significance that commemorate various aspects of Canadian history.

INplay 2011 has announced the five successful kids interactive projects that will be showcased at the upcoming INplay Conference; the unique, international event that connects kids creative industries with insights and opportunities in the interactive space. INplay is taking place at the Liberty Grand in Toronto on May 17 & 18. For tickets, schedule and speaker information please visit the event’s web site.

INplay has partnered with the Canada Media Fund (CMF) to create an exclusive opportunity to showcase Canadian interactive projects. The Canadian Interactive Showcase presented by CMF will provide Canadian companies with a chance to share their interactive project, product or service with an audience of investors, potential partners and peers. The following five projects will be presented to the INplay audience at the conference on May 18, hosted by Mike Wise, Anchor: CBC News Toronto, and Host, iDesk

PO-MO Inc. – Meghan Athavale, Winnipeg, Manitoba
Project: Customizable projection software
PO-MOtion is a free, customizable motion-reactive projection software that can be installed on any computer. The software can be used with any projector or large display (including TVs) and any kind of web camera. The software allows childhood educators and special needs educators to install their own motion reactive floors and walls.

Soma Creates – Josh Heidebrecht, Calgary, Alberta
Project: OLIVIA Paints iPhone app
Soma Creates will showcase two iPhone Kids games. Paint like never before by mixing colours together in OLIVIA Paints, make your very own fruit smoothie with none other than Strawberry Shortcake, and catch a glimpse into their next upcoming project.

Tactica Interactive – Kevin Glasier, Winnipeg, Manitoba
Project:  Tiga Talk Speech Therapy Games for the iPhone
Tiga Talk Speech Therapy Games is an innovative iPhone/iPod app that helps children improve speaking clarity and confidence. Voice-controlled games give children a fun and engaging way to master 23 core phonetic sounds. The product was developed and tested in direct consultation with speech and language pathologists.

Kidobi – Eric Sorenson, Toronto, Ontario
Project: Kidobi
Kidobi is a revolutionary technology that creates personalized programming blocks for preschool children, helping them get the most out of their media. Extensive parental controls and reporting tools give parents peace of mind, while our subscription-based business model helps content partners generate new revenue streams.

Pixton Comics Inc. – Clive Goodinson, Parksville, BC
Project: Pixton Click-n-Drag Comics
Pixton introduces the world to Click-n-Drag Comics™, a revolutionary new patent-pending technology that gives anyone the power to create comics on the web.From fully posable characters to dynamic panels, props, and speech bubbles, every aspect of a comic can be controlled in an intuitive click-n-drag motion. Pixton Comics was named a “leading Web 2.0 pioneer” and “one of the 20 companies driving innovation and changing the way we use the Internet” by Backbone Magazine / KPMG.

On May 18, May 19 and May 20, the 36th Congress of the Quebec Association of Business Economists (ASDEQ) will be held in Gatineau. This year, the delegates will discuss the challenges raised by the rise of information technology. Under co-chairs François Delorme, president of the Quebec Association of Business Economists, and Marc Duhamel, executive director of the Canadian Institute for Research on Public Policy and Public Administration, the congress will bring together over 200 economists from across Quebec to discuss emerging economic, social and cultural issues related to information technology.

Several guest speakers will be on hand for the event, including:

Dr. Preston McAfee, vice-president and research fellow at Yahoo!
Dale Jorgensen, economist
Samuel W. Morris, professor at Harvard University
Bruno Guglieminetti, director of digital communications at National Public Relations
Gina Desjardins, journalist and blogger

Political representatives will join us as well, including:

Denis Coderre, MP for Bourassa, known for his effective use of Web 2.0
Clément Gignac, Minister of Economic Development, Innovation and Export Trade

Also in attendance will be figures from the business, university and IT communities to discuss topics such as the digital economy, the media weight of economists, economy and innovation, and many other ideas.

“The constant growth in the use of information technologies within our organizations has led to many new challenges. At the 36th ASDEQ Congress, we will discuss the means we should develop to allow us to make the most of this technological revolution,” said Marc Duhamel, co-chair of the 2011 Congress.

“In a period of economic and social transition like the one we’re experiencing today, the ASDEQ Congress will give stakeholders an opportunity to discuss their experiences and the means at our disposal to build bridges between the economy and information technology,” said François Delorme, president of the Quebec Association of Business Economists.

We invite you to join us at this important event and follow us on Facebook and Twitter (#ASDEQ2011).

The commercial value of unlicensed software installed on personal computers in Canada reached US$1.066 billion in 2010 as 28 per cent of software deployed on PCs during the year was pirated. These are among the findings of the Business Software Alliance (BSA) 2010 Global Software Piracy Study, which evaluates the state of software piracy around the world.

“At 28 per cent, Canada’s piracy rate is at an all time low, dropping six percentage points since 2006,” said Michael Murphy, Chairman of the BSA Canada Committee. “While these findings show that progress has been made in reducing the software piracy rate in Canada, there is still more work to be done on behalf of Canadian businesses and consumers alike. The further we reduce software piracy, the better it will be for the Canadian economy.”

This is the eighth study of global software piracy to be conducted by BSA in partnership with IDC, the IT industry’s leading market research and forecasting firm, using a methodology that incorporates 182 discrete data inputs for 116 countries and regions around the world. This year’s study also includes a new dimension: a public-opinion survey of PC users on key social attitudes and behaviors related to software piracy, conducted by Ipsos Public Affairs.

The opinion survey found strong support for intellectual property rights in Canada, with 68 per cent of respondents saying we should reward inventors for their creations to promote more technology advances.  Strikingly, the global survey found that support for intellectual property rights was strongest in markets with high piracy rates.

The survey also found widespread recognition among Canadians that licensed software is better than pirated software when it comes to technical support (92 per cent), security (83 per cent) and reliability (81 per cent).

However, across the globe the survey found that many PC users lack a clear understanding of whether common ways of acquiring software, such as buying a single program license for multiple computers or downloading a program from peer-to-peer network, are likely to be legal or illegal. In Canada, a majority of respondents said that peer-to-peer, lending software and street markets are illegal, but 59 per cent believe that auction sites provide legal software.  Almost two-thirds said installing multiple copies at home is legal. Read the rest of this entry »

Future Shop carries all the major cellular carriers, features a variety of plans, accessories and 100 handsets all under one roof. With an abundant selection, choosing the right phone, plan and setting it up can be a daunting task. To ease the burden or new phone set-up and help Canadians maximize their handset, Future Shop is rolling out new cellular services through ConnectPro, Canada’s premier provider of technology installation and services.

Canadians feeling smartphone angst can take advantage of ConnectPro’s new Smartphone Services. Starting Friday, May 13, 2011, ConnectPro launches the following in all 146 stores*:

1. Smartphone set-up and personalization, $49.99, includes:
   • Initial setup. ConnectPro experts will take care of all initial set-ups on the smartphone, including voicemail password, email, transfer of prior phone data to the new device, Bluetooth set-up and demonstrate the powers the device carries.
   • Personalization. ConnectPro ensures the smartphone user account is configured properly, default apps, software setup and updates, eliminate dead pixels, perform a network test and ensures the audio and input are working optimally.
   • Wireless printer setup. Today’s smartphones are “smart” enough to do more than just call, text and surf the web. Canadians with printers offering web or e-print capabilities, ConnectPro will set up the smartphone to print at the touch of the screen.
   • ConnectPro tutorial. Once the smartphone is set-up professionally by ConnectPro, a demo will be provided of how to maximize the device. Included in the demo are the following: how to connect the device to a computer for updates and media transfer, navigate built-in apps, download new apps, adjust settings, browse the web, save favourites and use the device as a GPS.
2. Smartphone set-up with security, $79.99, includes all of the above, plus:
   • Security installation. Smartphones are much like handheld computers. With that come similar threats that can compromise the functions of the smartphone and information contained within it. In addition to the above set-up and personalization, ConnectPro will install security software to block viruses, malware, harmful websites and apps to keep the smartphone running error-free.
3. Smartphone set-up with protection, $79.99, includes all of the smartphone set-up, personalization, plus:
   • Zagg Invisible Shield with install. Smartphones deserve to be protected from their daily grind. Included in this service is set-up, personalization and the installation of an award-winning Zagg Invisible Shield, bubble-free and perfectly placed to protect the smartphone from unexpected spills and scratches.
4. Smartphone setup with security and protection, $119.99, and includes all of the above.

*In-home Smartphone Services are available for an additional $49.99.

The Online Marketing Summit is coming to Toronto on June 13th and 14th. Taking place at the Hyatt Regency, Sundeep Kapur will be presenting Social Integration: Creating Interactive Conversations Across Channels on the morning of the 13th, while Thought Labs’ Cappy Popp will present Facebook: Beyond the Basics on the morning of the 14th. Each session runs from 07:30 until 08:45 and costs $99.00. I’m not sure if the organizers just haven’t finished updating the site or not, but it seems that Toronto is not getting the full Summit that is being offered in the US, as the agendas and prices are quite different. I had thought that a Summit entailed a number of components, not two presentations on two consecutive mornings.

Score Media Inc., home of ScoreMobile®, has acquired rival offering, SportsTap. The deal reinforces Score Media’s position as a definitive market leader in smartphone sports apps.

Launched in 2007, SportsTap, like ScoreMobile, was one of the early sports app innovators. Its ad-supported iPhone and Android apps have been widely adopted and enjoyed by sports fans across North America. SportsTap is currently the 3rd most popular free sports app on Android (according to Android Market, May 9th) – the fastest growing mobile platform – right behind the 2nd most popular free sports app, ScoreMobile.

According to comScore’s MobiLens™ March 2011 report which ranks mobile sports app audiences in the United States, the combined monthly audience of ScoreMobile and SportsTap would rank as #3 behind ESPN and Yahoo! and ahead of competitors FOX and CBS (according to comScore Inc,  MobilLens US, March 2011 3 Month Average), Potential reach with duplication, Mobile Brands: News – Sports – Application).

“ScoreMobile’s acquisition of SportsTap brings together two innovative and popular services and positions us well to deliver even more exciting experiences for sports fans and creative solutions for our advertising partners,” says Benjie Levy, Executive Vice-President & COO, Score Media Inc. “This deal further cements our position as a mobile sports leader among the world’s premier sports brands.”

The strategic acquisition of SportsTap adds to Score Media’s growing portfolio of mobile apps which includes ScoreMobile, ScoreMobile FC and theScore® iPad Edition and increases its global monthly unique user base to more than 3 million. Score Media plans to operate SportsTap as a stand-alone application. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.