Village Gamer

Retailers who focus on getting their product and services messages out on Facebook and Twitter are probably spending time and effort in the wrong area, according to data sourced from KubasPrimedia’s Major Market Retail Report (MMRR) study – a survey of over 1,500 consumers on their retail shopping habits and store preferences.

“Social media, like Twitter and Facebook, has been heavily hyped in advertising and promotion circles,” said Ed Strapagiel, Executive Vice President of KubasPrimedia. “MMRR shows that retailers and product manufacturers who are relying on social media to sway consumer purchase decisions may be misguided.”

“When consumers are researching a purchase online, over 70% visit retailer and product manufacturer websites. Only about 25% turn to social media sites or blogs for product or shopping information,” said Strapagiel.

KubasPrimedia has been conducting retail analysis for over 15 years. MMRR, based on surveys of Canadians in Vancouver, Edmonton, Calgary, Toronto, Ottawa, and Montreal, examined shopping behaviour in 33 product categories at 147 retailers to determine competitive retail metrics, such as market coverage, shopping levels, drawing power, loyalty, and retailer performance scores.

MMRR found that that 77% of Canadian consumers “often” or “sometimes” visit retailer websites and 71% visit manufacturer websites to get information about upcoming purchases. Only 27% use social media and just 23% use blogs. Comparison-shopping, such as pricing a specific item, is the most popular online retail-related activity, with 76% of consumers doing so “often” or “sometimes”. Comparison shopping activity is high across all demographic groups.

“Given consumer behaviour, a company’s website is still by far the top online priority for retailers,” said Strapagiel. “Retailers that pursue other digital marketing avenues risk taking resources away from where they’re most needed”.

While services like Facebook, Twitter, and WordPress are free, they are not cheap, says Strapagiel, “Utilizing social media properly and effectively requires time, money, and talent. Retailers have to focus on what will provide the best return on investment considering where their customers are turning to for information.” Read the rest of this entry »

Calgary’s Blackline GPS Corp. has begun delivery of the new Javelin™ Covert Tracker, a purpose-built GPS tracking device for professional surveillance and loss prevention markets in North America.

In a sector where software and hardware solutions often come from two separate companies, Blackline’s complete end-to-end technology – delivered by its internal multidisciplinary research & development team – is a key differentiator that enables the company to respond to specific customer requirements with highly-tailored solutions.

“Javelin was built from the ground up for investigators and police services. Unlike competing products, that are often modified consumer trackers, Javelin is a true professional grade covert tracker with features like device removal detection and track-on-motion,” says Cody Slater, CEO and Chairman for Blackline. “Police forces are accustomed to paying upwards of $2,000 for tracking products whereas Javelin’s price point is less than $700.”

“Our new platform’s modular hardware and firmware architecture enables us to efficiently bring new products to market with reduced engineering timelines.” indicates Barry Moore, Head of Research & Development. He further adds “Javelin addresses critical customer feedback, including a custom waterproof case, dual neodymium magnets with 240 pounds of mounting force, a new Ultimate Sense® 2 GPS internal antenna with improved tracking of weak satellite signals, and a large 6000 mAh battery.”

Javelin provides more than 4 times the battery capacity of the existing Entourage PS portable security product. Coupled with advanced power management features, Javelin enables users to choose between an aggressive 3-week tracking profile through to multi-month operation for long-term surveillance applications.

As of the date of this release our initial production run of Javelin has been oversold and the company is currently increasing its production capacity to accommodate demand.

Blackline will be showcasing Javelin at the National Technical Investigators Association (NATIA) trade show in Tampa, Florida on July 16^th – 22^nd. NATIA is composed of over 3,000 law enforcement and intelligence personnel who provide the technical operations, surveillance activities, and scientific support for hundreds of federal, state, local law enforcement and related agencies across the United States, Canada and the United Kingdom.

The Product Lair is a new idea in shopping search engines. What makes it different is the fact that there are no advertisements, pop-ups, bogus or irrelevant materials of any kind on the site. Combine that with the ability to search for products, coupons, discounts and sales, etc. and you get an incredibly concise, easy to use shopping experience. There is one goal and one goal only, to help shoppers find the products/services and prices they’re looking for.

The site boasts a powerful, yet easy to use, product search engine which is complimented by the ability to find special deals including:

• coupons and coupon codes
• product discounts
• sale items
• seasonal deals
• special offers
• items that qualify for free shipping
• sweepstakes entries

Plus, the site ensures that only active deals are listed. No need to wade through expired or out-of-date offers.

The person behind this product search engine is software designer Ted Neustaedter of Sooke, BC. When asked by one colleague why not simply use one of the existing tools on the internet, Ted’s reply was: “Simply put, shopping online is painful enough without having to wade through a lot of advertising, pop-ups and other junk to find what you want. I built a simple, easy to use tool that I think a lot of people out there will appreciate.”

It’s also important to note that the site is completely free and allows users to maintain complete anonymity, with no strings attached. You won’t be asked to enter your email address, or sign up for anything whatsoever. It’s a philosophy that the creator feels will make it much more appealing to the majority of internet users.

At the 12th annual DesignThinkers Conference, the industry’s leading visual communicators connect to discuss how design builds relationships between organizations, products and people. Presented by the Association of Registered Graphic Designers of  Ontario (RGD), DesignThinkers takes place November 2-3 in Toronto.

“The pace of change around the world continues to accelerate, but it is our ability as graphic designers to imagine and implement what is new, innovative and meaningful that sustains us,” says Lionel Gadoury R.G.D., President of RGD. “DesignThinkers 2011 is fuel for creative minds, igniting inspirations and blasting us forward to explore emerging trends.”

This year’s diverse speaker lineup includes:

• Deborah Adler (NY) – Clients include Johnson & Johnson and Target
• Principals and partners of Chermayeff & Geismar
• Steve Edge (London) – Clients include Cartier and Dior
• Stanley Hainsworth (Seattle) – Former Creative Director, Starbucks
• Jessica Hische (NY) – Clients include Barnes & Noble and Kellogg’s
• Rei Inamoto (San Francisco) – Clients include Nike, Xbox and Visa
• Chip Kidd (NY) – Book designer and best-selling author
• George Lois (NY) – Campaigns include “I Want My MTV”
• Patrick Mitchell (Rockport) – Former Creative Director of Fast Company and O Magazine
• Richard Morrison (London) – Titles designer for Batman and A Fish Called Wanda
• William Poundstone (NY) – Author of “The Myth of Fair Value”
• Robert Wong (NY) – Executive Creative Director at Google Creative

SEVEN24 Films and marblemedia have announced a partnership to develop Little Wombat, an animated series (26 X 11 minutes) for preschoolers based on the internationally acclaimed Little Wombat books by Charles Fuge. Through the adventures of Little Wombat, preschoolers explore, learn, and discover new things.

Each episode follows the mischievous marsupial Little Wombat and his friends Mouse and Koala as they adventure within the Hollow where they live. Although their adventures don’t always go smoothly, Little Wombat and his friends use teamwork to solve problems and complete their adventures successfully.

The adventures of Little Wombat continue online and on mobile devices. Kids are immersed in the world of Little Wombat through interactive digital books, bonus animated content, age-appropriate games, puzzles, and sing alongs.

“We’re pleased to be developing this series, and look forward to telling Little Wombat’s timeless stories through charming animation,” says Jordy Randall, Executive Producer, SEVEN24 Films. “The show really captures the fun and adventure of being a 4 year-old, where every day is filled with optimism and curiosity.”

“This is a great opportunity to expand the adventures of Little Wombat across multiple platforms,” says Matt Hornburg, Executive Producer/Partner, marblemedia. “Having already gained phenomenal success as a book series, the doors are open to bring these stories to life in other unique and exciting ways, including the TV series we’re currently developing.”

International distribution and format sales will be handled by marblemedia and SEVEN24 Films’ distribution arm, Distribution360.

Make Technologies has launched its innovative Make Technologies ISV Suite for independent software vendors. ISV Suite includes everything a software company needs to reinvent its products and stay ahead in its market.

Many software vendors have built their products on legacy platforms that are as much as 25 years old. This makes it difficult to improve their feature sets, integrate with other products and to take advantage of modern technologies such as cloud and mobile. As a result, these vendors are losing market share to more nimble competitors that are better able to embrace cutting-edge technologies. These vendors have a critical choice to make: rejuvenate legacy platforms through a modernization initiative or face market share erosion.

With the Make Technologies ISV Suite, independent software vendors can revitalize their product offerings and give their customers all the advantages of a modern technology stack. With ISV Suite, vendors get:

• Cloud enablement: to transform the way products are delivered to customers by creating a cloud-ready software package
• Rich user experience: to provide easy-to-use interfaces in a variety of environments, including mobile devices, to streamline user training and improve productivity.
• Global reach: to increase market coverage by adding full internationalization and improved extensibility.

The Make Technologies ISV Suite uses TLM® 6, the proven modernization platform, to cover the three key components of the product modernization lifecycle:

1. Application re-architecture: Make Technologies conducts an in-depth analysis of every aspect of a legacy product; including functionality, source code and data structures. Next we help determine which functionality can be slimmed down, reused or eliminated as the product transitions to a modern architecture. Make Technologies ensures valuable intellectual property built up in the code base over time is safely retained while still adopting a new state-of-the-art, cloud-enabled platform.
2. New module development: ISVs can leverage Make Technologies’ TLM Application Design and Collaboration tools to define and build the new features and modules of the modernized product. This allows software vendors to deliver the improvements their customers have been asking for at a fraction of the cost of traditional approaches while ensuring that the new functionality is seamlessly integrated with the modernized functionality.
3. Customer roll-out: Make Technologies provides the tools needed to automatically and smoothly upgrade an ISV’s customers to its modernized system. ISVs can use Make Technologies’ TLM Code and Data Analysis products to identify not just custom modifications to source code but also the business impact of those changes. TLM Data Migration uses the transformation rules created during modernization to automatically migrate customer data to the rearchitected system.

“To keep pace with changing customer needs, every independent software vendor needs to add new features and improve the functionality of their products,” says Bill Bergen, President and CEO of Make Technologies. “The only way to do this is through a highly scalable, modernized architecture. The Make Technologies ISV Suite lets you leapfrog your competition and set a new standard in your market.”

Register now to participate in a hosted webinar about the Make Technologies ISV Suite will be presented on Wednesday July 13, 2011 at 8:30am PDT.

D-BOX Technologies Inc. has announced its third feature film with Lionsgate^® for the upcoming summer blockbuster, Conan the Barbarian in theatres August 19.

This legendary tale is brought to life with D-BOX Motion Effects that pitch, roll and heave moviegoers in theatre seats that move in perfect sync with all the onscreen action. The audience will become completely immersed in the film’s epic battle scenes as motion effects deliver real-life action that can only be experienced in D-BOX MFX Seats.

“This is an incredible addition to our summer lineup, Conan the Barbarian is a perfect match for our subtle, refined motion effects,” said President and CEO of D-BOX Technologies, Claude Mc Master. “Lionsgate has been a long-time supporter of D-BOX and we expect great success with this upcoming motion picture.”

“We are thrilled to be working with D-BOX again,” says Lionsgate EVP, General Sales Manager David Spitz. “Conan the Barbarian is the ultimate immersive experience that I know will be a great ride for audiences.”

D-Box has also announced its first agreement with Hoyts Cinemas of Australia and New Zealand, one of the world’s leading entertainment companies, to equip its Hoyts TE AWA, Hamilton, New Zealand location with 44 D-BOX MFX Seats.

Hoyts TE AWA is the first theatre in the country to offer the immersive D-BOX entertainment experience and marks the first sale of D-BOX in New Zealand for commercial theatre use.

“Confidence in our international business model and the D-BOX product continues to drive steady international expansion,” said President and CEO of D-BOX Technologies, Claude Mc Master. “Hoyts is one of the leading exhibitors in Australia and New Zealand providing a high quality cinematic experience and we are proud to name them as a partner.”

Available in more than 90 theatres in the United States and Canada, in addition to this first location in New Zealand, D-BOX is also available in several other countries to include Austria, Germany, Hong Kong, Japan and the Netherlands.

“We are delighted to be the first theatre circuit to introduce D-BOX to movie patrons in New Zealand,” said Brian Eldridge, General Manager of Hoyts Cinemas. “Our commitment to excellence and exceptional entertainment is unwavering. With D-BOX we have the opportunity to offer a one-of-a-kind experience that enhances our existing digital technology capabilities and distinct comforts and service.”

DBI Technologies Inc., the leading provider of scheduling and UI design component software for Windows Development is proud to announce the release of dbiCalendarWPF.  Through many months of developer and customer consultations along with intensive research and development these activities are now showcased in a new 3-in-1 Scheduling product for Windows Presentation Foundation (WPF) application development.

Straight forward and to the point – Scheduling and Calendar presentations for WPF application development – now in one, fully customizable control.  dbiCalendarWPF combines three controls;  a Multi Column Day/Resource View, a Month Calendar View and a Week Calendar View, into one compact, feature rich, royalty free WPF component software product.  The goal for this product is to help developers manage; Appointments, Contacts, Locations and Tasks, from local to global perspectives, in one fluid, drag and drop, context menu driven scheduling control.

Gone are the days of developers having to create data entry dialogues and then separately having to manage collections of Appointments, Contacts, Locations and Tasks. dbiCalendarWPF incorporates all of the necessary entities and data management features for building outstanding Schedule and Calendar functionality in a fraction of normal development time.

Great developer and user scheduling experiences start right here with dbiCalendarWPF. Direct appointment creation and inline editing features that include setting appointment attributes via built-in, customizable context menus offer .NET developers the control for building elegant scheduling interfaces and smooth Calendar navigation.

“DBI has reset the bar once again when it comes to providing Windows developers with functional, get the job done Scheduling component software. They’ve taken their time to properly research and implement functionality and data management capabilities that will allow developers to intuitively support their global software development needs” said Craig Gluck, VP of commercial product development.  “From being able to sort and group local and global appointments based on Contact, Location and /or Task will make conference call coordination and corporate resource scheduling a snap.”

Full, 30 day evaluation licenses are freely downloadable from the product detail web page or from DBI’s general download site.  A single , royalty free developer’s license of dbiCalendarWPF starts at $399.  All DBI .NET component products come with sample applications and demo’s written in C# (C Sharp) and VB .NET. Technical support is provided at the code level and each new product license includes one year of full subscription product upgrade and component update services.  DBI component products may be purchased directly from DBI or from any one of DBI’s registered value added resellers serving all four corners of the globe.

Absolute^® Software Corporation has surpassed a significant IT industry milestone with over 20,000 stolen computers now recovered. These devices have been recovered using Absolute’s flagship Computrace^® and LoJack^® for Laptops products and returned to customers ranging from consumers to some of the world’s largest organizations.

“As the undisputed leader and inventor of the computer theft recovery product category, we’re very proud of our Theft Recovery Team and in turn wish to give tremendous thanks and acknowledgment to the many law enforcement professionals that count on Absolute’s Computrace and LoJack for Laptops everyday to recover stolen computers for their local citizens,” said John Livingston, chairman and CEO of Absolute. “This milestone confirms that our patented technology, process, and approach to managed theft recovery is, by far, the most successful – and only proven – theft recovery solution available to both consumers and organizations on the market today. The reason we continue to safely recover devices on behalf of our customers lies in the strength of our technology combined with our global network of Theft Recovery Investigators and trusted relationships with over 6,000 law enforcement agencies worldwide.”

“At DPS, we’ve already seen the effect of these recoveries,” said Robert Barenie, special investigator for Detroit Public Schools (DPS) Office of Inspector General. “Absolute Software’s Computrace is truly the finest investigative tool for the recovery process of stolen devices, leading us to the successful conviction of numerous individuals stealing laptops. We would have never recovered any of the 300 plus laptops stolen from our district without the aid of Absolute Software.”

As a result of Absolute’s technology being embedded in the firmware of computers from leading PC manufacturers since 2005, the recovery success rate has been increasing every year, with over 17,000 devices recovered in the last six years, and over 5,000 in the last year alone. In addition to the value of the device, the importance of data not falling into the wrong hands is critical to consumers and organizations alike.  Many of Absolute’s customers have purchased our data protection solutions that don’t include recovery. For these customers, our persistent technology has successfully performed over 8,500 remote data deletions to secure the privacy of their data.

On the heels of its 20,000^th recovery, Absolute has gathered statistics highlighting the sheer volume of hardware, software, data, and additional collateral the company has helped to recover during more than 18 years in the industry. In 2009 and 2010 alone, Absolute’s recoveries have represented: Read the rest of this entry »

New market research conducted on behalf of PayPal Canada by Leger Marketing shows that 56 per cent of Canadians are comfortable with never having to handle cash to make a purchase and many would prefer the use of a digital wallet to give money to others or pay for items when shopping. PayPal accounts have always provided digital wallet functionality. PayPal is Canada’s most trusted digital wallet and provides its more than four million Canadian customers the ability to pay and get paid using their bank account, credit cards or PayPal balance from their computer, smartphone or virtually any Internet-connected device.

Given the choice, 34 per cent of survey respondents would rather carry a mobile phone to make a payment than a pocket full of change. The survey also indicates that 36 per cent of Canadians would make mobile payments for a wide variety of purchases, on average, saying they would use their mobile device to buy something as expensive as an iPod ($272.30) or as inexpensive as a latte ($5.50). As consumers continue to transition to smartphones and get more comfortable shopping and paying with their mobile phone, PayPal, which reported $750 million in mobile payment volume in 2010 anticipates the company’s mobile payment volume should increase by the end of 2011 to $3 billion globally. In Canada, a PayPal mobile transaction happens once almost every minute.

Canadians are also looking for an easier and faster way to give money to others. Almost 40 per cent of survey respondents say using a mobile phone to make a payment would be more convenient because they can make transactions whenever and wherever they want and 60 per cent of respondents would find it appealing to not have to find a bank machine every time they need to pay someone back. Read the rest of this entry »