Village Gamer

Last week Canada Post released the following warning on its web site:

A spam message is circulating which may contain a link to a virus. The email appears to come from Canada Post, and contains the tracking number RT094860142HK. We are aware of one version which is falsely reporting delivery of a package from the Heart and Stroke lottery foundation, but there may be others circulating with different package senders being spoofed.

This email is not coming from Canada Post, and is fraudulent. Please do not click on the links or open any attachments. The anonymous authors of this email virus unfortunately are using the Canada Post name to get you to trust the message.

Steps you can take to protect yourself if you receive an email that appears to be from Canada Post:

1. If you feel the email is suspicious or there is an attachment, delete it.
2. Whether you are expecting a package delivery by Canada Post or not, and there is a tracking number in the email, you can do the following:
   • Check the tracking number by going directly to www.canadapost.ca and entering the tracking number on the home page where indicated.
   • If the tracking number is not valid, “Invalid Tracking Number format. Please check your entries and try again.” will appear on the screen in red letters. Delete the email without clicking any links which may be in the email.

We regret any inconvenience this may cause and are taking this matter seriously. We will provide further updates as information becomes available.

Yesterday Frima Studio hosted the Quebec Minister of Family, Yolande James, in a press conference at Frima’s office to announce the new Work-Family Standard for local businesses— the first such business certification standards in the world. Frima Studio’s offices were chosen to host the press conference because of Frima’s notable respect for and contributions to the advancement of work-life balance for their employees.

The new standard announced by the government of Quebec yesterday aims to attract and retain employees. Similar to environmental standards established years ago, businesses will soon be able to apply for work-family certification, which when granted will serve as a demonstration of the company’s respect for a healthy balance between work life and family life.

“We truly believe in work and family balance as an investment for our company, rather than an expense,” remarked Steve Couture, CEO, Frima Studio. “We care about our employees’ lives outside of the workplace and we plan to be the first in line to apply for the new standard certification.”

After being recognized with an award in 2010 from the Quebec government for their efforts to balance employees’ work and family lives, Frima continues to put an emphasis on progressive programs that make Frima Studio one of the best places to work in the world. Frima employees are provided with the freedom to care for their families as needed, offering benefits such as flexible work schedules, free bus passes, in-office massage therapy, and a performance rewards system that trades points for services that can help in the home.

Frima is currently hiring to fill more than 35 open positions in art, design, and programming.
Photo Credit: Frima

Markham Electronic Medical Record service provider Nightingale Informatix Corporation has launched its web-based EMR and practice management solution, Nightingale On Demand on the Apple^® iPad™.

Nightingale On Demand for the iPad™ responds to the increasing need for physicians and healthcare providers to have mobile access to their patient data. Key functionalities of the application will allow physicians to review patient charts and lab results, respond to patient and staff messages, as well as manage the scheduling and billing of patient visits. This is a complimentary tool for physicians using Nightingale On Demand and has been designed with use in settings, such as hospital rounds or offsite patient management and homecare, in mind.

“We are pleased to offer Nightingale On Demand to our customers for use on the iPad™,” said Sam Chebib, President and CEO of Nightingale. “Product innovation is a cornerstone of the Company’s mandate. We strive to provide solutions that not only make EMR implementation easier for physicians but also leverage the most current technology available in the marketplace.  We are confident that this will be a significant value added product offering for our customers. As a result, we anticipate considerable uptake over the coming months.”

Nightingale is leading the Canadian EMR market as one of the first companies with plans to launch an iPad™-enabled solution. Physicians and healthcare providers will have the comfort of knowing that all patient data entered while using the iPad™ is stored directly to the same secure servers Nightingale uses for its existing ASP EMR, and that no patient data will remain on the iPad™ device. Nightingale On Demand for the iPad™ will be made available to the Company’s more than 3,000 EMR users in Canada, as well as all new EMR customers.

UK education software specialist NetSupport, who does have a subsidiary office in Markham, has once again responded to the challenges of the modern classroom with the release of NetSupport Assist; the new cost-effective and efficient way for teachers to manage and engage with their students in a Mac and Linux environment.

Twenty-first century education is providing students with inspiring learning opportunities and giving them unparalleled access to a diverse range of computing assets. However, providing the latest IT infrastructure is only half the equation. Ensuring it is used in the most effective way represents the other half.

With 22 years of development expertise to call upon, NetSupport Assist brings together NetSupport’s core classroom management technology to deliver a focused feature set that ensures teachers can give their time and attention to their students, without having to worry about learning and maintaining the software.

Crystal clear student thumbnails enable teachers to monitor the entire class in a single real-time view, each thumbnail displaying visual indicators to show when applications and websites are in use. To ensure the resources being accessed by each student are appropriate, with a single click you can switch to a view that details exactly which files and websites are open and, if needed, take remedial action to block the internet.

A powerful range of remote control tools enables teachers to interact with students individually or as a class. Teachers can discreetly view an individual desktop to confirm the student is on task and, for example, conduct a two-way chat session without disrupting the rest of the room.

With NetSupport Assist there’s also no need for expensive front-of-class display equipment: real-time presentation tools enable the teacher to ‘show’ their screen to students.

To gauge topic understanding, teachers can, on the fly, poll students for their feedback. A question can be sent to each machine with a pre-defined list of responses and, once the students have responded, the results are instantly reported on the teacher’s screen. Read the rest of this entry »

Communitech’s Venture Services program is expanding to support the burgeoning number of startup companies relying on Communitech for commercialization expertise, with more new companies “walking through the doors” every week, Communitech CEO Iain Klugman said today. The program provides expertise and resources to startup companies, engaging executive-level talent from the Region.

“Part of the tech ecosystem is ensuring that the wealth of executive knowledge in all aspects of entrepreneurship is shared with others who are the future leaders of successful ventures,” said Klugman. “It’s one of the reasons that hundreds of entrepreneurs have chosen Waterloo Region for their startups.”

More than 250 early-stage companies are actively engaged with the Venture Services Program, up from 50 since the inception of the EIR program five years ago, Klugman said. In 2010, more than 7000 hours were spent by EIRs coaching startups.

Communitech continually seeds its Executives-in-Residence team with high-level executives who have experience in “C-level” jobs and can coach startup tech firms, and the program has expanded from one to a complement of six EIRs. Each EIR has experience and expertise in a particular sector and a capability essential to business success. Klugman says most EIRs continue to be active in their field, either as senior executives or entrepreneurs.

Entrepreneurs work with the team of advisors best suited to their business, and have access not only to the expertise needed, but also resources and connections across a range of disciplines and sectors.

The Venture Services team at Communitech currently includes the following Executives-in-Residence:

– Lillian Bass, a Chartered Accountant who provides leadership and helps get things done for fast-growing small and medium-sized businesses. Lillian was VP Finance and Operations at IGLOO Inc., an early stage business social software company, CFO for engineering company Brock Solutions, and Corporate Financial Manager for ATS Automation Tooling Systems and was involved with the inception of Angstrom Engineering.

– Marc Castel, CEO at Maintenance Assistant Inc. and formerly CEO at ROBOsky, who brings extensive experience in the private and public sectors. Castel serves as Director of Commercialization for the Ontario Centres of Excellence, and works in collaboration with Angel Investment Groups in Ontario. Castel is also the founder of the Resource Alliance, Ontario’s largest network of commercialization professionals.

– Cameron Hay, a professional from the global high-tech world, who was for six years president and CEO of Unitron and previously COO and VP Operations at Unitron; Hay also had experience at IBM and Celestica as a process engineer, and subsequently focused on both entrepreneurial businesses and global high-tech.

– Chris Howlett has been involved with Communitech since its own startup days and applies his PhD in Mathematics to helping companies solve business problems with software systems. He has held executive positions as a VP at Geosign, as CTO at Maplesoft and as CEO at Freedom Intelligence/Aruna. In his current EIR role, Howlett is CTO-in-Residence at Communitech.

– Dave Litwiller brings senior executive experience from Prinova Technologies where he was COO, as well as DALSA Corporation where he was Corporate VP Marketing and Business Development. At Prinova, Litwiller led R&D, Quality Assurance and Product Management for the company’s enterprise software development and delivery. Prior to joining DALSA, Litwiller was a design engineer at several high-tech startups in the wireless, fibre optic telecom and broadcast industries.

– Brett Shellhammer, an expert on aligning marketing, sales and services activities around product lines to build successful organizations. Shellhammer was previously SVP of Marketing at Coreworx Inc. in Kitchener, and was previously SVP of Product Management at Eloqua in Toronto and VP and General Manager of the Global 2000 and Government business unit at OpenText. Shellhammer’s experience also includes having worked with five San Francisco Bay area startups.

Communitech and the Waterloo Accelerator Centre announced in late 2010 that they would team up to ensure one-stop shopping for early-stage companies looking for help taking their business to the next level. Now startups located at both the AC and The Communitech Hub have access to the same ‘Accelerator Program’, operated by the Accelerator Centre, which includes amenities for tenants, educational programming, in-house mentors and access to the Entrepreneurship Council and the Venture Services Program.

Technivores do it with the latest gadgets, Escapists do it to get away from reality, while Tech Turtles rarely do it at all. What are they doing? They’re engaging their mobile devices to access the internet, apps, and social media.

That’s according to Unlocking Canadian Connectivity, a newly-released study commissioned by BBC.com and OMD and conducted by Ipsos Reid on mobile device usage. The study surveyed over 2,400 Canadians in a comprehensive two-phase process, revealing a significant jump in the number of Canadians that connect to the internet on their mobile devices – rising from 20% in December 2010, to 26% just two months later. Over the same two-month period, the proportion of tablets, such as the iPad, had doubled, illustrating the warp speed in which the mobile landscape is growing.

Unlocking Canadian Connectivity unearths key insights into how Canadian consumers interact with their mobile devices and respond to mobile content and advertising – valuable information for advertisers and marketers eager to connect with consumers by means of mobile technology. The core of the study classifies mobile users into six different segments, covering the full spectrum of the interactive mobile market, from those who are fueling content to those who use the tools these new technologies present very cautiously.

The two most advanced segments the study identifies are Creative Connectors and Technivores, which offer a glimpse of what future mobile device usage in Canada will most likely look like. Both groups actively browse the web on their mobile devices and are receptive to mobile advertising. Creative Connectors are content creators and influencers; they’re influential in social media and create and share online content with other users. Making up 13% of mobile internet users, Creative Connectors blog, write product reviews, and drive the prized “buzz factor” brands crave. Technivores are the heaviest mobile internet users, who fully exploit their device features and are members of multiple social networking sites, such as FourSquare. They crave the latest gadgets and their mobile device is their lifeline. What sets Technivores apart from Creative Connectors is their thirst for technology – they enjoy being the first to have the latest and greatest device. With such sophisticated levels of knowledge and activity, these two groups represent the ideal consumers that content creators and advertisers need to engage. Read the rest of this entry »

March Networks^® has launched its Command video management platform. The scalable software provides customers with a sophisticated, web-based interface that is easy to use and highly customizable. Command fits easily into existing Information Technology (IT) infrastructure to ensure rapid installation and management. It also enables customers to select from hundreds of IP surveillance cameras and encoders through its support for ONVIF devices and direct integrations with leading surveillance products.

A full member of ONVIF (Open Network Video Interface Forum) since 2008, March Networks designed Command and all of its next-generation IP cameras, encoders and hybrid recorders to meet the industry standard, ensuring interoperability with other ONVIF-compliant products. In addition, the Command software platform delivers further capabilities when used as part of a complete March Networks solution, including total fail-safe management with the company’s innovative Shadow Archiving^™ technology.

The intuitive Command interface is one of the industry’s only clients able to run on both Windows^® and Mac^® operating systems, as well as multiple browsers including Internet Explorer^®, Safari^®, FireFox^® and Chrome^™. The award-winning software is also easily tailored, allowing an organization to provide its distinct user groups with only the features they require, which simplifies training and improves user efficiency.

To accommodate different customer environments, Command comes in two versions with the same user interface, powerful feature set and the ability to scale as required. Command Professional supports up to 128 cameras and is ideal for single-server environments. Command Enterprise can support as many as 128,000 cameras with multiple servers, and can also manage March Networks’ new 7532 Hybrid NVR as well as existing 4000 C Series NVR installations.

Command software runs on any commercial-off-the-shelf (COTS) server or in a virtualized environment, reducing capital expenditures and allowing it to be managed similarly to other corporate applications. It supports LDAP/Active Directory^® for quick user setup and the efficient administration of security policies, passwords, access control, and group policy configuration. Command also delivers mass configuration and management capabilities that lower installation and maintenance costs significantly. Further, with Command’s unique server-to-server gateway technology, customers can reduce WAN bandwidth traffic by as much as 90 percent. Read the rest of this entry »

Every year, more than 50 000 children are reported missing in Canada. Avis de recherche (ADR.tv), the Quebec television channel devoted to public safety, is launching Child Alert, an iPhone application that allows parents to create and save a digital profile of their child. In the event of emergency, parents can then quickly send this data sheet to the authorities. A version for Android will be available in the near future.

The authorities stress that the first few hours following a disappearance are crucial. Reacting quickly can significantly increase the chances of finding a child safe and sound. More often than not, however, parents in such a situation are in a state of panic and therefore incapable of giving an accurate description of their child.

The Child Alert data sheet features height, weight, hair and eye colour, plus all other distinguishing features. The app also lets parents save photos of their child taken from a number of different angles.

“Our Child Alert application lets parents have a detailed physical description of their children at their fingertips”, explains Vincent Géracitano, President of Avis de recherche. “The app also sends users a regular reminder to keep their data up-to-date.”

The launch of the Child Alert app has been enthusiastically received by the national police community.

”Our goal at the Center is to protect and save children’s lives. The more tools we have the more we can fulfill our mandate, explains Monique Perras, S/Sgt, NCO i/c National Missing Children’s Services, of the RCMP. We want to congratulate Avis de recherche.tv for their initiative and their support. In working together we can achieve so much more!”

Sergeant Jean-Yves McCann, coordinator of the AMBER alert program for the Sûreté du Québec, agrees wholeheartedly : “When an AMBER alert is activated, time is crucial and every minute counts – so having an electronic ID profile on a cell phone seems like an extremely valuable tool. We will clearly be able to save a lot of time by broadcasting accurate details of the child. And broadcasting photos will greatly increase our chances of success. I would therefore encourage parents in Quebec to use this application, which could become a kind of police insurance if your child ever disappears or is abducted.”

The Child Alert app can be downloaded for $0.99. For every purchase, ADR.tv will assist organizations that help families look for missing children in Canada. The channel will donate a quarter of all funds raised. In Canada the funds will be given to the Child Find organization. Whereas, in Quebec, these funds will be donated to Enfant-Retour Québec.

« Given that one in five children are found after being recognized in a photograph, it is extremely important that parents have recent photos to show the police if their child disappears”, adds Pina Arcamone, Director General of Enfant-Retour Quebec. “The Child Alert app lets parents keep an electronic ID profile on their cell phones. By moving the child identification program onto an electronic platform, we have made it more widely available and easier to access for families everywhere.”

This is the second app launched by ADR.tv. Last fall, the channel launched ADR Alerte, an app that lets users receive and view photos of missing persons, as well as police photos and videos of suspects. In this way, ADR Alerte allows the public to participate in police enquiries.

The Globe and Mail has introduced an exciting and innovative new Facebook app, Globe Lifestream, providing readers with a personalized stream of lifestyle articles, news items, columns and contests that can be shared with friends.

The launch of Globe Lifestream complements the recently redesigned Globeandmail.com/life featuring extensive video libraries, expert advice and indepth archived content under the Globe Life pillars: Health & Fitness, Food & Wine, Fashion & Beauty, Parenting, Relationships, Home & Garden and Travel. Additional Globe Life features include Horoscopes and The Hot Button, a blog for lifestyle buzz and chatter around the hot topics everyone wants to discuss.

“Globe Life is an inspiring and energetic hub offering tips, advice and insight on how to live better. In a dynamic digital age, Globe Life and Globe Lifestream provide readers with the daily content they need to get more out of life wherever they are, whenever they want it,” said Jill Borra, Managing Editor, Features, The Globe and Mail. “Life can change in an instant, and Globe Lifestream allows users to change their personal content stream at any time to suit their evolving interests.”

Readers can install the Facebook application, which customizes content based on current Facebook interactions and specified preferences, make updates, share articles and invite their Facebook friends to join. Likewise, friends can make updates, share and invite others to participate in the conversation.

Users of Globe Lifestream will be able to earn and spend ballots to enter an ongoing contest series with great prizes, such as gift cards and the grand prize including a VIP Package to the upcoming Toronto International Film Festival® in September.

“The Globe and Mail is aggressively pursuing our commitment to provide readers with provocative and compelling content in print, online and mobile,” said John Stackhouse, editor-in-chief of The Globe and Mail. “These new and innovative offerings will continue to stimulate and engage our readers with conversation, analysis and advice on the touchpoints of life.”

The Globe and Mail has also introduced a Globe Life mobile app for readers to access Globe Life content on the go.

Everyone knows the best way to start the day is with a good breakfast, but it’s something many Canadian children miss out on. That’s why Microsoft Canada teamed up with long-time partner Boys and Girls Clubs of Canada to create the MSN.ca Breakfast Campaign, which launches nationally today.

“Close to 700,000 Canadian children live below the poverty line. Boys and Girls Clubs in 700 communities across Canada support critical areas of healthy child development, including addressing child hunger through the provision of nutritious meals and snacks to thousands of young people in need,” says Pam Jolliffe, President and CEO, Boys and Girls Clubs of Canada. “Our longstanding partnership with Microsoft is having a tremendous impact on the lives of the more than 200,000 children, youth and families we serve, and we are thrilled to be working with the MSN.ca team on this Breakfast Campaign, which will help us have an even greater impact on child hunger and nutrition in Canada.”

The eight-week social media campaign encourages Canadians to reset their homepage to MSN.ca – for every homepage reset, Microsoft Canada will donate a breakfast to Boys and Girls Clubs of Canada. With a target of 100,000 homepage resets and breakfast donations, the campaign is anchored by a Facebook application that allows users to ‘toast’ their profile photo and post it to the Wall of Toast, share the cause with their social networks on Facebook and visit MSN.ca to reset their homepage.

“Microsoft Canada has proudly partnered with Boys and Girls Clubs of Canada for over a decade through programs like CanTech, Digital Arts competitions and an Annual Holiday Greeting Card competition,” says Gavin Thompson, Director of Corporate Citizenship, Microsoft Canada. “We are thrilled to offer our Facebook fanbase a unique way to engage with MSN.ca and make a difference in the lives of Canadian kids through the breakfast campaign.”

Distribution360 has been very busy over in Europe. Earlier today the company announced that it has secured the worldwide distribution rights—excluding the UK—for the brand new animated preschool adventure series, Olive the Ostrich (52 x 5’), created by BAFTA-winning animation studio Blue-Zoo. The series will premiere in the UK on Nick Jr. in September 2011.

Written in a highly descriptive, storybook style, Olive the Ostrich is a CGI animated series for kids, which chronicles the adventures of a young ostrich named Olive on her imaginary travels to all sorts of amazing places. In each episode, animators bring to life real pictures drawn by children and submitted through an integrated online component. These animations create all the guest characters, places and objects that Olive encounters. Inquisitive and enthusiastic, Olive loves to solve problems and help people whenever she can. She’ll try anything once, which can get her into trouble, but always finds fun and inventive ways of getting herself out of it.

“Olive the Ostrich is a wonderful new series, and we’re very pleased to be partnering with Blue-Zoo to bring Olive’s adventures to markets internationally,” says Stéphanie Röckmann-Portier, Head of Sales, Distribution360. ?This truly engaging and interactive property allows us to further explore the preschool market for new and exciting opportunities.”

“Olive is a unique property that has been brought to life by children for children. Core to Olive is story making and creativity – both important ingredients in creating a successful property, said Oli Hyatt,Director Blue-Zoo. “We are pleased to be working with Distribution360, and hopefully Olive will now be enjoyed by children in many more countries.”

Join your peers and industry experts from Panduit, The Uptime Institute, Cisco, and Emerson at the Novotel Toronto Centre in Downtown Toronto on May 26th to learn how you can drive change within your enterprise to become more efficient, productive and agile.

Panduit’s ‘The Nature of Transformation’ Roadshows feature presentations, interactive sessions, and roundtable discussions with industry experts that will address business challenges such as evolving customer expectations, technologies, regulations and sustainability initiatives. With a focus on best practices and methodologies, Panduit, Emerson, and Cisco will also discuss cutting-edge solutions in data center and building planning, design, and management that reduce costs while enhancing business performance. Space is limited, so register early if you want to attend.