Village Gamer

An alarming trend of ever-bigger data breaches is prompting Privacy Commissioner Jennifer Stoddart to call for substantial fines against major corporations that fail to adequately protect Canadians’ personal information from preventable breaches.

“I am deeply troubled by the large number of major breaches we are seeing, including serious incidents in recent weeks that have affected hundreds of thousands of Canadians,” says Commissioner Stoddart.

Jennifer Stoddart

During a speech today at the Canada 3.0 forum in Stratford, Ontario, the Commissioner stated:   “Too many companies are collecting more personal information than they are able to effectively protect…. It seems to me that it’s time to begin imposing fines – significant, attention-getting fines – on companies when poor privacy and security practices lead to breaches.”

Before the federal election campaign, the Canadian Parliament was considering legislation to create a requirement for private-sector organizations to report significant data breaches to the Privacy Commissioner and affected individuals.

Commissioner Stoddart said the new session of Parliament creates the opportunity to strengthen the legislation to give the Privacy Commissioner the power to impose substantial fines in appropriate cases.

“I have come to the conclusion that the only way to get some corporations to pay adequate attention to their privacy obligations is by introducing the potential for large fines that would serve as an incentive for compliance,” she said, noting that her counterparts in a number of other countries, including the United Kingdom, France and Spain, have already moved to impose hefty fines following breaches.

The Privacy Commissioner of Canada is mandated by Parliament to act as an ombudsman and guardian of privacy in Canada.

The Canadian Internet Registration Authority (CIRA) has released a report on the findings from its national consultation on how the Internet is run. The report will be presented to the United Nations coordinated Internet Governance Forum, a venue for nations to discuss the future of the Internet.

The Canadian Internet Forum (CIF) was a national consultation hosted by CIRA, along with its partners, the International Institute for Sustainable Development (IISD) and the Media Awareness Network (MNet). It consisted of face-to-face consultations that took place across Canada along with input received from an online discussion forum, and culminated at a national event held in Ottawa and webcast across the country in February 2011.

The consultations were broadly themed under two topics: the digital economy and digital literacy, and Canadians identified numerous issues that are important to them. These issues included online safety and security, the development of a ‘Canadian vision’ for the Internet and the cost and speed of broadband.

Digifest 2011 is Toronto’s international festival celebrating innovation and digital creativity. From October 26-30 established and emerging designers, technologists and artists will learn about the latest trends and experience innovations firsthand through panel discussions and presentations, demos, interactive exhibitions, workshops, art installations, “doors open” academic tours, creative showcases and parties.

Digifest will showcase digital media creativity in Toronto, bringing together academic, industry and the public to experience the convergence of interactive & mobile media, gaming, art and design, architecture, simulation and more.

Digifest will celebrate the latest achievements in visualization, simulation and interaction in many fields, inspiring and connecting all involved.  The festival’s long-term vision is to globally brand Toronto as a leading digital media and technology centre based on the unique breadth and depth of its digital sectors.

Digifest has been renewed and updated by the School of Design at George Brown College in partnership with the Sony Centre for the Performing Arts, the Toronto International Film Festival Group (TIFF), Applied Arts Inc., Meet The Media Guru (Italy), TOJam, Gamercamp, OCAD University, Ryerson University, Seneca College and various media and venue partners.

Innovation Days

(Wednesday October 26 – Thursday October 27, daytime)

This exciting portion of Digifest will showcase results of industry/school research partnerships to a crowd made up of industry members, academics and students. The content will be selected by Digifest and its academic partners. Each morning / afternoon will be devoted to one of the four Digifest streams: play, touch, build, watch.

Talks will be delivered by industry “thought leaders” followed by shorter presentations from various innovators in related fields.

Tiff.nexus Innovation Day

(Friday October 28)

TIFF.nexus is the connection of the existing and emerging media sectors of Film, Gaming and New Media, designed as a catalyst for collaboration between them.  This innovation day will feature emerging technology talks and presentations as well as the results of the 2011 Gaming Peripherals Jam – putting game developers together with hardware hackers to innovate in areas of interface – which will be showcased in an evening reception at the TIFF Bell Lightbox.

Meet The Media Guru

(Wednesday October 26 – Friday October 28, evening)

Meet The Media Guru (MMG) is a Social Network and an Open Community of Digital Culture that organizes local Events in Italy to meet the world famous protagonists of Innovation. Digifest is bringing MMG events to Ontario by making them a key component of the DF schedule. These evening speaker events will bring innovators from across the globe for thought-provoking presentations that will inspire and challenge attendees.

Exhibits and Activities

(Saturday October 29 – Sunday October 30)

The Digifest weekend activities will feature an array of exhibits, interactive displays, presentations and more, with many free events open to the general public. Events include:

• TOJam: featuring a day of talks by local game makers and industry thinkers, exclusive in-progress demos, and an arcade installation of over 20 games from TOjam.
• Art by Gamercamp exhibition, displaying digital art and design installations.
• Ziris™ wall: an on-going display of Digifest Ziris™ competition entries to be featured on the Sony Centre for the Performing Arts Ziris™ wall throughout the week and into the weekend. The Ziris Competition is open for entries until May 27th – get yours in now.

Already planning your summer of fun? The curious and courageous need look no further than the Ontario Science Centre. With a captivating special exhibition, a thrilling featured live interactive performance and dynamic programming that will engage children and adults alike, visitors have a lot to be excited about this summer.

These new arrivals are included with general admission, providing great value for visitors and members.

Featured Exhibition

Reptiles: The Beautiful and the Deadly June 10 to Sept. 5, 2011
Which snake has the longest fangs? What is the difference between venom and poison? How many sounds can a crocodile make? Visitors will learn the answers to these questions and many others in the exhibition Reptiles: The Beautiful and the Deadly. This interactive zoological experience brings visitors eye-to-eye with living reptiles from around the world. Deadly snakes, colourful lizards, bizarre turtles, alligators and crocodiles are exhibited in naturalistic habitats. Children can climb on a life-sized model of a giant Galapagos turtle shell and learn fascinating reptile facts from interactive displays. The exhibition will leave visitors with a new appreciation for these often misunderstood creatures.

Reptiles: The Beautiful and the Deadly was created by Peeling Productions at Clyde Peeling’s REPTILAND, Allenwood, Pennsylvania.

Featured Live Interactive Stage Performance

CSI: Live! June 6 to Sept. 5, 2011
The world’s number one television franchise is about to hit the stage!  Mad Science presents CSI: LIVE!, an exciting, interactive journey through the fascinating world of crime scene investigations.  When a crime is committed at the Las Vegas premiere of the Max Spade Magic Show, the CSI team springs into action. Audience members are invited on stage with CSI “investigators” to be part of the investigation; becoming witnesses, suspects and CSI recruits. Together they will use their superior logic and forensic know-how to uncover hidden details, investigate the evidence and test their theories. Whether it’s analyzing mysterious gases, launching projectiles into a target or firing a laser beam across the stage, the CSI recruits will have to be on their toes to help solve the crime before it’s too late. How was the crime committed? Who is guilty? Only you can find the answers. It’s CSI: LIVE! – join the adventure! Recommended for children 8 years of age and up. Read the rest of this entry »

Future Shop has released version 2 of the Future Shop App for iPhone. Future Shop’s App for iPhone gives Canadians instant access to all of the products and latest deals, right at their fingertips. The updated App is compatible with all generations of iPhone, iPod Touch, iPad, and packed with new features such as QR code scanner, enlarged product views and access to consumer ratings and reviews.

Future Shop App downloads place among the highest downloads in the Canadian App Store among free iPhone Apps with more than 260,000 downloads to date.

Key features of the updated Future Shop App:

• Scan barcodes and QR codes instantly.
• Browse and search over 100,000 products with detailed specs, including customer ratings and reviews.
• Easy, enlarged viewing to see the latest, hottest items on sale.
• Check stock levels in-store and online.
• Rate and review products directly from an Apple iOS device.
• Faster and more robust checkout process.
• Get items faster using the In-store Pickup feature.
• Geo-location powered Store Locator.
• Save products to Favourites and revisit later.
• Compatible with all generations of iPhone, iPod Touch and iPad.
• Easy access to “Tech Yeah,” Future Shop’s leading online community for technology enthusiasts.

Interactive Ontario has announced the speaker line-up for the second annual INplay Conference, which takes place at the Liberty Grand in Toronto on May 17th and 18th. With its three major topic streams of Investment, Inspiration and Insights, the conference will examine the world of interactive entertainment and education for children. Registration for INplay is still open, so get your ticket now if you haven’t already.

New at the conference this year is the Canadian Interactive Showcase. Interactive Ontario has partnered with the Canada Media Fund to create an exclusive opportunity at INplay to showcase Canadian talent. 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.

INplay also gives registered delegates a chance to sit down with one of our event speakers or other featured participants for a 10 minute speed-dating style conversation in 1×1 Meetings.

Here are some of this year’s featured speakers:

Warren Buckleitner, Ph.D., Editor, Children’s Technology Review • Founder, Dust or Magic conference, author & children’s technology expert

Gever Tulley, Co-Founder, Brightworks • TED speaker, author of Fifty Dangerous Things (You Should Let Your Children Do)

Russ McLeod, Chief Operations Director, Me To We • Audience favourite and key player in youth inspiration events

Rupert Harris, Series Producer, BBC Children’s • Series producer for the BBC smash hit TV show and website: Bamzooki where you can create your own virtual Bamzooki creature.

Julie Sun, Senior Director of Digital Marketing, Nickelodeon • Sets the strategy and implementation methodologies for the internationally acclaimed kids network, Nickelodeon.

David Merrill, President and Co-Founder, Sifteo • Entrepreneur, Ph.D. & TED speaker with a vision for the future of kids games – Sifteo Cubes: 1.5 inch computers with full colour displays that sense motion, sense each other, and wirelessly connect to your computer

Some of the Featured Sessions:

* Inspiration Stream – creativity and content stream featured session: I <3 / H8 Transmedia
Back in the day, having an interactive component to a property was something of a novelty. Now, most would agree that all consumable media should be developed with interactive in mind. So, does this make the term Transmedia moot? This session will explore successful cross-platform projects via case studies, followed by a charged discussion about one of the industry’s most hated buzzwords.

* Investment Stream – business stream featured session: Cross Merchandising – The Chicken or the Egg?
What comes first? The video game, toy, TV show or iPad application? This panel of industry experts will discuss various merchandising and licensing opportunities. What are the benefits to licensing your property to a 3rd party? When is the right time to start to build your brand around merchandising?

* Insights Stream – research and e-learning stream featured session: Bye Bye Textbooks, Hello Learning by Playing
From human/primate evolutionary behavioral parallels, to classroom archetypes, this session considers the very specific question of how computer based gaming will likely change the look and feel of education forever. The core point being that current educational materials are deeply connected to the peculiarities of the printing press – which we are no longer bound to. What are the implications of learning materials being technology-based?

Office Jerk, the latest game from Fluik Entertainment and Big Fat Simulations, is off to an incredibly successful start with more than 1.6 million downloads from the iTunes App Store in its first four days of availability. Download numbers continue to climb for the feel-good game of the year for anyone tired of dealing with brown-nosing, know-it-all coworkers, as Office Jerk quickly became the #1 free app in 23 countries, including the United States, United Kingdom and Canada, and placed among the top 5 free apps in 62 countries. Office Jerk is available for free in the iTunes App Store.

Office Jerk is the 10^th game from Edmonton-based Fluik Entertainment, and the latest in a string of successful collaborations with Vancouver’s Big Fat Simulations. The two companies previously teamed up to bring Airport Madness Challenge to iOS devices, a game that surpassed 750,000 downloads – albeit not nearly as fast as Office Jerk. Office Jerk is free to download for iPhone, iPad and iPod Touch, with in-app purchases unlocking the satisfyingly destructive ACME Pack (dynamite, pie and eggs) for $1.99, as well as the office-supply-themed Remove Ads pack (mug, stapler) for $0.99.

“We are thrilled to see the enthusiastic response to Office Jerk, and couldn’t possibly be happier with the game’s success. Obviously there are a lot of people who like to chuckhousehold objects and office supplies at people… virtually, of course,” said Victor Rubba, CEO of Fluik Entertainment. “We had high hopes for the game, and reaching the top of the App Store charts in so many countries is truly humbling; we’ll continue to support the franchise in the future, and I assure you that this is just the beginning for Office Jerk – and for Fluik, as a developer of top-quality, highly engaging gamesthat players of all ages can enjoy.”

Office Jerk Bio:

You know the guy. He works late, always gets stuff done on time and would never, ever think about calling in sick. But don’t let his do-good attitude get you down… it’s time to get even. Grab whatever you have on your desk and throw it at him when he least expects it, racking up your score with each consecutive, bone-crunching impact. Just be sure to account for the gusting winds caused by the communal office fan, or you might end up causing damage to something other than that brown-noser… And nobody wants that, right?

If you haven’t already registered for the Canadian Games Conference, there is still time, but don’t wait too long. This year’s event features Sessions in business, production, design, programming, social games, and iPhone games, and offers visionary keynotes, an expo hall, and some great parties, receptions and networking events. Group and student rates also available.

Victor Lucas, host and executive producer of The Electric Playground is confirmed to open Day 2 of this year’s Canadian Games Conference with a 9:30am keynote address. Seen daily by millions on his popular TV show, Victor is also the President of Greedy Productions and Executive Producer of Reviews on the Run. Victor will be interviewed onstage at CGC by Blaine Kyllo, Games critic and columnist for The Georgia Straight.

Here are the latest Session and Speaker Announcements for CGC 2011:

* Monster Teams: How One Producer Tamed the Beast and Lived to Tell About It – Alexandre Parizeau, Senior Producer, Ubisoft Toronto

* Classic Game Postmortem: Bejeweled – Jason Kapalka, Co-founder, and Chief Creative Officer, Popcap Games

* Don’t Just Build an App: Build a Mobile Business – Charles Yim, Strategic Partner Development, Google

* Late to the Party: Go or No Go? A Facebook Games Panel featuring:

Brenda Bailey Gershkovitch, CEO Silicon Sisters
David Bezahler, CEO Blitzoo Games
Rick Davidson, CEO Inspirado Games

* Making Academic/Industry Partnerships Work

Magy Seif El-Nasr, Professor, School of Interactive Arts and Technology, Simon Fraser University
Paul Newton, QA Development Director, Electronic Arts Canada
Sang Mah, former Director of Interactive Media, Bardel Entertainment
Bruce Gooch, Associate Professor, Department of Computer Science, University of Victoria, President and Manager, Relevant Games and Toon-FX.

You don’t want to miss the PechaKucha Session that will be closing out this year’s conference. Devised in Tokyo in February 2003 as an event for young designers to meet, network, and show their work in public, PechaKucha has turned into a massive celebration, with events happening in hundreds of cities around the world, inspiring creatives worldwide. Drawing its name from the Japanese term for the sound of “chit chat”, it rests on a presentation format that is based on a simple idea: 20 images x 20 seconds. It’s a format that makes presentations concise, and keeps things moving at a rapid pace. Come be inspired by high energy stories from the world of Games as CGC closes with PechaKucha.

The Canadian Videogame Awards featuring Video Games Live is a great way to kick off your conference experience. The show takes place on May 18th at the Centre for the Performing Arts in Vancouver, and will be hosted by Electric Playground’s Victor Lucas. This is the party that will kick-off CGC, and tickets start at just $30.00 Join the biggest names in the Canadian game industry as we celebrate Canadian excellence.

It’s also not too late to become a sponsor, exhibitor or show partner. Visit the Conference or Awards sites to find out about exhibiting at CGC, hosting a party, reception or networking event.

The following Multimedia and Social Media Summer Bootcamps are being offered at UBC Robson Square in Vancouver:

Digital Video Production with Final Cut Studio: June 13-17
Plan, shoot and edit a video project from start to finish with HD cameras and Final Cut Pro.
Save $100 if you register by May 16.

Introduction to Mobile Web Design: June 20-24
Learn to adapt content, style sheets and graphics for mobile devices.
Save $100 if you register by May 23.

Web Design: July 4-22
In just three weeks, learn to create a website with Photoshop, Dreamweaver and Flash.
Save $210 if you register by June 6.

UBC Summer Institute in Social Media: July 11-15
An Introduction to Social Media Tools and Community Engagement – Learn about social media tools and how they can help you engage your customers and fans, and create a sense of community.
Save $145 if you register by June 14.

Adobe InDesign: July 25-29
Learn print layout and create multi-page documents using Adobe InDesign.
Save $100 if you register by June 27.

Plus there will be a free information session for the UBC Certificate in Entertainment Administration program at UBC Robson Square on June 8th.

Canada 3.0 Platinum Sponsor PwC has announced the launch of its Digital Readiness Assessment (DRA). The DRA is a diagnostic business offering that helps companies to assess their current “digital state” and seek out new business opportunities to go digital.

At Canada 3.0 2011, attendees can try out a DRA survey on their mobile devices, a short online version that will help them self-assess in a few minutes where they are on their digital journey. It is made up of a short number of questions by priority areas including: Strategy & Innovation, Revenue Growth, Partner Ecosystem, Customers and others.

“Currently, most Canadian companies are moving to digital models in gradual steps that are being pushed forward by their more entrepreneurial managers and the tactical needs of the business,” says Jerry Brown, an associate partner in the Consulting practice in PwC’s Toronto office. “The goal of the DRA is to help companies create an effective digital strategy and really transform their business model to keep up with the quick pace of change.”

“The successful companies will be the ones who have the best strategy to engage with all of their digital partners – everyone from their customers, to their suppliers, vendors, distributors and other businesses.”

PwC, a keynote speaker at the Canada 3.0 Conference, will also be a judge at the first ever Road to Banff Pitch Off Contest. Hosted by the Banff Venture Forum and the Canadian Digital Media Network, the competition is open to early stage ICT, life sciences and clean tech companies with annual revenues of less than $5 million. The top three finalists will win an all-expense paid trip to the Banff Venture Forum, October 6 – 7 in Banff, Alberta. At the Forum, finalists will attend a one-day workshop where they will be introduced to potential investors and paired up with a Venture Capital (VC) mentor for the conference.

In a few weeks, PwC will hold its eighth annual one-day conference for CEOs of emerging Canadian technology companies, Connecting Vision to Reality 2011. This year’s conference is on May 11, 2011 at the Ted Rogers School of Management, 55 Dundas Street West, Toronto. The speaker roster includes a number of industry experts including keynote speaker Jeremy Gutsche, founder of TrendHunter.com. The results of PwC’s 2011 Report on Emerging Canadian Technology Companies will also be released at the event.

D-BOX Technologies Inc. has announced the company’s agreement with Warner Bros. Pictures to feature D-BOX’s immersive motion technology with the studio’s franchise finale, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2 in theatres July 15.

This final act is the third film in the series to offer D-BOX’s motionals effects. Fans of the movie franchise can expect to be transported back to Hogwarts with Harry and friends feeling sensations of motion along the way. Intense battles and exhilarating flights onscreen become real as D-BOX MFX Seats move in perfect sync with all ofals the onscreen action.

“Warner Bros. has been a tremendous supporter of our motion technology and this is such a legendary movie franchise for D-BOX to be associated,” said President and CEO of D-BOX Technologies, Claude Mc Master. “We have collaborated on a number of new releases over the past two years and look forward to partnering on future movie content with the studio.”

PEER 1 Hosting has announced the arrival of its IPv6 enabled 10GB backbone network today, bringing future-ready network reach to customers ahead of the imminent IPv4 address exhaustion.

PEER 1 Hosting’s network is one of the first supporting both IPv4 and IPv6 traffic, ensuring customers’ websites remain visible to all users around the world, irrespective of the networks or hardware they are using.

The IPv6 upgrade is the result of $10M investment over the last three years by PEER 1 Hosting and has included a beta phase, allowing Colocation and transit customers to test the backbone through PEER 1 Hosting’s network of datacenters. Offering both IPv4 and IPv6 network capabilities will allow PEER 1 Hosting’s Colocation and hosting customers to adopt the new protocol at their own pace, by providing a bridge to both worlds as networks transition towards IPv6 as standard protocol.

“Ping is one of the things we pride ourselves on and here is the perfect example of how we’re making sure businesses are accessible and online,” said Jag Bains, director of Network Operations for PEER 1 Hosting. “IPv6 is the next wave and we’re at the forefront of the transition. When IPv4 reaches capacity we’re ready to support our clients with the new protocol.”

PEER 1 Hosting is ahead of the curve in bringing IPv6 online for its customers, while industry debate continues to linger over standards and adoption. The PEER 1 Hosting backbone will also offer the added network benefits of the IPv6 protocol including increased addressing capacity, more flexible security, the ability to expand infrastructure and accelerate business.