Village Gamer

Dare To Be Digital 2011 is seeking applicants for its annual student competition held University of Abertay Dundee, Scotland. For complete details on how to apply and the full list of rules, please see the competition’s web site.

Microsoft Canada invites you to enter the Battle of the Apps, a WP7 app competition for student developers and designers. The Battle encompasses three rounds of competition with prizes awarded at the end of each round, as well as a grand prize awarded at the end of the competition for the top app. Round One is open for entries until February 15th. Also, Microsoft Canada would like to remind aspiring WP7 developers that Go DevMental will be in Calgary on February 7th and Winnipeg on February 11th. Go DevMENTAL is Microsoft’s free academic tour designed to teach you coding for the coolest apps and platforms, connect you with the industry, and help you pursue your career aspirations.

The Vancouver chapter of the Institute for International Film Financing (IIFF) continues its popular monthly gatherings at the junction of film & finance with a special Film Financing Townhall, hosted at Vancouver Film School’s downtown campus (420 Homer Street) on Thursday, January 27th from 7:00 PM – 10:00 PM.

This grassroots community get-together is designed to foster & inform productive relationships between attendees. It provides unbiased insight & education about the business of film and film financing in particular. The event features a powerful roster of highly topical speakers from the filmmaking and financial industries. We are delighted to welcome real-world financiers among our guests!

The evening’s five presentations plus panel discussion address key issues relevant to filmmakers, financiers and anyone interested in the economics, business mechanics, and financial dynamics of motion pictures. They are followed by Q&A time. Attendees also have ample opportunity to interact & network with our featured experts and amongst themselves. An informal après-meeting celebration will take place at a nearby restaurant.

RBC has issued a call for grant applications for the 2011-2012 school year as the RBC After-School Grants Project is offering more than $2 million in grants to fund first-time and renewed grant recipients.

The grants are awarded by regional community panels made up of experts in the fields of youth and education. Each organization should have a mandate to keep students in grades K-12 safe as well as positively engaged through an enriched curriculum after their classes end each day. RBC After-School grants of up to $40,000 are provided by the RBC Foundation to programs in at-risk or underserved communities. The deadline for funding applications is March 4, 2011, and grant recipients will be advised by June 2011.

“Research has shown that participation in after-school programs helps students enhance their academic performance, improve social skills and motivate them to excel in school,” said Shari Austin, executive director, RBC Foundation. “We are looking to fund the best after school programs in the country that help bridge the gap between schoolwork and homework and offer students an opportunity to participate in a wide-range of other activities that help build self-esteem and confidence.”

To qualify for a grant, after-school programs should offer structured, supervised activities five days a week and focus on offering a variety of activities, such as, computer instruction, sports, literacy tutoring, music and art lessons, nutrition guidance, and help with homework. RBC has been funding after-school programs since 1999, with over $22 million through 750 grants to 212 different organizations that have helped more than 24,000 children.

Bieber? Buffett? Oprah? Obama? WIND Mobile has launched a new competition that will give five Canadians the opportunity to talk to anyone they want in the world. To make these conversations happen, WIND Mobile will donate over a half a million dollars to Canadian charities. Once WIND confirms the winners, WIND will donate $100,000 on behalf of the chosen personalities for having the conversations. An additional $100,000 will also be donated to the six most popular charities as voted for online.

“The question we are asking ‘if you could talk to anyone in the world, who would it be?’ is the kind of question that really gets people talking, whether it’s at work, at home or even among strangers,” said Anthony Lacavera, Chairman, WIND Mobile. “We think it’s a powerful and fun question and we are look forward to hearing how Canadians answer it! Ultimately, we hope this unprecedented competition makes a few dreams come true and helps some important Canadian charities in a big way.”

When it comes to who they want to talk to, Canadians are encouraged to get creative: is it an actor or an author, a well known chef or business person? An athlete, journalist or politician? “Whether it’s a film student in Calgary whose dream is to speak to Steven Spielberg, an environmental scientist in Ottawa who wants a few minutes with Al Gore, or a restaurant owner in Vancouver keen to chat with Jamie Oliver – we are going to make some amazing conversations happen,” said Lacavera.

To help kick-off the competition WIND Mobile brought one the top newsmakers of 2010, Aron Ralston to Toronto for a conversation. Ralston, the real life mountain climber who was forced to cut off his own arm and whose journey is depicted in the much acclaimed film 127 Hours, shared his inspiring story and encouraged Canadians to think outside the box on who they’d like to speak with.

The launch event was held at Ryerson University where dozens of students gathered to hear the conversation and become among the first to enter the competition. WIND Mobile staff were on hand to help people record and upload their entries in the “Conversation Lounge” where the event was held. These lounges will be set up at universities and malls in cities across Canada through-out the course of the competition. Who knows who else might drop by these lounges to inspire people to think outside the box?

“From the beginning WIND Mobile was built by the power of conversation – listening to what Canadians wanted to build a better wireless carrier. Best Conversation Ever is an extension of that promise,” says Lacavera.

Who do these well known Canadians want to talk to?

Rob Ford, Mayor of Toronto – Warren Buffett
Justin Trudeau, MP – Neal Stephenson
Valerie Pringle, Canadian Journalist – Nelson Mandela
Gerard Kennedy, MP – Nelson Mandela
Sami Jo Small, Double Gold Medalist, Women’s Hockey – Obama
Lyle Bauer, President & Chief Operating Officer, Calgary Stampeders – Obama
Dan Hill, Songwriter – Obama
Dr. Samantha Nutt, Founder of War Child Canada…Lee Harper
Mark McEwan, Celebrity Chef – Alan Greenspan
Geoff Green, Arctic Explorer – Dr. E.O. Wilson
Jim Watson, Mayor of Ottawa – Sydney Crosby
Senator Mike Duffy – Queen Elizabeth II
Dean Del Mastro, MP – Warren Buffett
Senator Michael MacDonald – the Dalai Lama
Mike Harris, former Premier of Ontario – his wife
FeFe Dobson, Canadian singer – Stevie Nicks

The ultimate goal of the competition is to help five lucky Canadians have the conversations they never dreamed possible. The competition begins January 24, 2011 and runs until March 7, 2011. The winners will be selected by a panel of WIND judges and industry leading bloggers. Entries will be judged based on creativity and number of votes.

Don’t miss out! There’s only one week left to nominate your favourite Canadian blog for the 2011 Best Health Blog Awards. Best Health invites Canadians to nominate their favourite blogs in one of four healthy-living categories based on the brand’s four pillars: Look Great, Eat Well, Get Healthy and Embrace Life. Canadians can submit their entries until January 30, and for all those who nominate their favourite blog, each individual will also be entered for their chance to win one of 17 fabulous prizes!

Blogs can be nominated in one of four categories:

1. Look Great: Beauty
2. Eat Well: Cooking and healthy eating
3. Get Healthy: Fitness
4. Embrace Life: Personal growth, humour, crafting and charitable living

Finalists will be announced on February 16, 2011 for Canadians to then vote for their ultimate favourites, and the top bloggers will be revealed on March 31, 2011. All finalists will receive a Best Health Blog Awards badge for their blog, recognition on besthealthmag.ca and the four top blogs will also be featured in the Summer 2011 issue of Best Health Magazine.

Congratulations to everyone on the FlashPoint team for the U.S. syndication deal. FlashPoint is the uncontested favourite crime drama in our house, and apparently there is more news coming soon from the producers. Yesterday there was a teaser put out on Twitter that this news is something Canucks fans will like.

I’m very keen to find out what it could be – the team gets taken hostage by an angry fan? A former Canuck makes his acting debut? How to drive a Gemini crazy – say you have news, then don’t say what it is. 😉

The Documentary Organization of Canada is taking its National Fair Dealing Road Show again in 2011. The first stop is coming up in Toronto in January, followed by Ottawa in February, Edmonton and Vancouver in March. The cross-Canada event is a comprehensive effort to educate the documentary community, foster dialogue and identify common positions, or points of contention, around the issue of Fair Dealing and documentary filmmaking.

A little known exclusion to the Copyright Act, Fair Dealing allows for free use of otherwise copyrighted material under certain conditions. For example, some visual archives in a documentary with clear critical purposes could possibly invoke the Fair Dealing exclusion and be exempt from having to obtain clearances.

But how many of us know or understand this finer point of law and when to apply it? More often than not, producers are counseled by their risk-averse lawyers, sometimes at great and unnecessary cost to their clients, to “clear everything all the time.” This can be so costly as to inhibit the production or release of certain documentary films altogether. Whether filmmakers, producers, lawyers or insurance brokers, Fair Dealing and its advantages remain obscure to many of us and underutilized in general.

The National Fair Dealing Road Show aims to introduce potential users to DOC?s Copyright and Fair Dealing – Guidelines for Documentary Filmmakers (PDF), published in May 2010. Filmmakers are encouraged to share their experiences with copyright and to engage on case studies presented for discussion. Lawyers, visual researchers, insurance brokers and broadcasters are invited to take part in the conversation. This is an exercise in building community-based consensus on best practices where panelists and members of the audience discuss copyright myths and argue whether a particular use of copyrightprotected material would meet the Fair Dealing exclusion or not.

Given that copyright law is a federal responsibility, it is necessary to cast this as a national event to gather as many views as possible and present the federal government with a nation-wide consensus, where possible. It is DOC’s experience that the realities of production vary greatly from region to region yet the benefits to the industry from this initiative will accrue nation-wide.

The Road Show plans the following pit stops where local and invited experts will lead panel discussions:

January 27 – Ryerson University – Eaton Theatre – 80 Gould Street, Rogers Communication Centre, Rm 204
February 12 – Halifax – TBA
February 16 – Ottawa – TBA
March 1 – Edmonton – TBA
March 2 – Vancouver – TBA

Panel details and venue information will be listed on the DOC site as it becomes available.

The Canadian Innovation Exchange (CIX) is pleased to present the Canadian Technology Accelerator, a one-of-a-kind opportunity for three emerging Canadian companies working in Information Communication Technology or Digital Media to get unparalleled access to the tech community in Silicon Valley. In partnership with the Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade of Canada and the Consulate General in San Francisco, selected companies will be given the opportunity to spend three months beginning in June, 2011 working rent-free in the Plug and Play Tech Center (PnP) in Sunnyvale, CA. Selected companies will also receive one complimentary registration to CIX 2011, taking place December 2011 in Toronto.

To submit a company profile to be considered for the CIX Canadian Technology Accelerator, you need an account. Once your account is created, you can log in as necessary to revise your submission(s). The deadline for entries into the CIX Accelerator Program is Friday, March 11, 2011, with recipients to be announced early-April.

The second instalment of the social media networking event, the Edmonton Social Media Breakfast (SMBYEG), will be held on Friday, January 28 at 8:00 a.m. at the CBC Centre Stage. Based on the overwhelming success of thirteen Calgary Social Media Breakfasts, McQ Design Strategies is pleased to organize this second Edmonton event.

This month’s speaker will be Mike Spear who presents regularly at conferences around North America on such varied issues as social media, science communications, and genetic testing. He’ll bring his social media, science communication and extensive media background to bear on the two solitudes that seem to exist between mainstream media and social media. He feels that the two camps often live in their own bubbles and forget that they need each other to be successful.

Seating is limited and fills up quickly so hurry to book your place, as only those with advanced reservations will be permitted to attend. Stay after the discussion to network and share ideas within the realm of social media. Marketers, PR pros, entrepreneurs, bloggers, podcasters, new-media fanatics, and online social networkers are all welcome to attend.

Amazon.com, Inc. is extending the 70 percent royalty option to include books sold to Canadian customers through the Kindle Digital Text Platform, which will soon be known as Kindle Direct Publishing. This new option will allow authors and publishers around the world to receive a 70% royalty, net of delivery costs, for books sold to Canadian customers via the Kindle Store for Kindle, Kindle 3G, Kindle DX, or one of the Kindle apps for iPad, iPhone, iPod touch, BlackBerry, PC, Mac, Windows Phones and Android-based devices. Kindle Direct Publishing is a fast and easy self-publishing tool that lets anyone upload and publish their books for sale in the Kindle Store.

The National Post, on the heels of its successful launch on iPad, is proud to announce its second offering, the Financial Post Magazine App, is available now on the App Store with IBM as the exclusive launch advertiser.The first edition of the Financial Post Magazine for iPad is highlighted by the annual “Canada’s Outstanding CEO of the Year” feature.

“The content and design of the Financial Post Magazine App was a natural fit for the functionality and interactivity of iPad,” said National Post Publisher Douglas Kelly. “We received positive feedback for our first National Post App and our audience clearly wanted the innovation to keep coming.”

The Financial Post Magazine App takes full advantage of iPad’s large, high-resolution display and innovative Multi Touch interface, delivering an enhanced reading experience with exclusive embedded multimedia content including video, photo galleries and timelines. The app also includes Financial Post’s award-winning editorial content and features.

Vancouver’s Destiny Media Technologies, Inc., developer of the Play MPE® system has released an update in its lawsuit against Toronto-based Yangaroo, John Heaven and Clifford Hunt filed May 4, 2007. Destiny had claimed CDN$25,000,000 in damages for defamation and injurious falsehood, breaches of the Trademarks Act and Competition Act, and interfering with Destiny’s economic interests. Yangaroo had filed a counterclaim with similar allegations against Destiny Media and Destiny’s CEO, Steve Vestergaard.

Destiny filed a motion to have the counterclaim dismissed in its entirety as frivolous and the motion was heard in court on October 28th, 2010. On Jan. 20, 2011, Mr. Justice Stanley Kershman announced his verdict. Summary judgment was granted in favour of Destiny in respect of the torts of injurious falsehood and interference with economic relations. Additionally, summary judgment was granted in respect of all claims brought against Mr. Vestergaard in his personal capacity.

The judge also added that, in his view, many of the statements made by Destiny that Yangaroo counterclaimed for were clearly either not defamatory or were justified based upon the evidence filed in the motion. He names a number of statements in his ruling that cannot be fairly characterized as “false or misleading” citing statements that Destiny’s system predates Yangaroo’s patent and that MPE does not have the essential features necessary to infringe on Yangaroo’s patent.

Destiny CEO, Steve Vestergaard reflects on the lawsuit win, “We are pleased that after looking at the evidence, the judge was able to dismiss so much of Yangaroo’s counterclaim. This is the second major decision in our favor in our ongoing dispute with this regional competitor. In June 2010, Destiny successfully won a fast track motion to dismiss a frivolous patent infringement case.”

Destiny’s $25 million claim against Yangaroo remains unchanged and will proceed to trial.

Manitoba Premier Greg Selinger and the Honourable Lynne Yelich, Minister of State for Western Economic Diversification, today helped launch a provincial network of Cisco TelePresence™ video conference sites linking UWinnipeg, Brandon University (BU), and University College of the North (UCN) in The Pas.

Other dignitaries taking part in the landmark ceremony at UWinnipeg included Mr. Nitin Kawale, President, Cisco Canada; Dr. Lloyd Axworthy, President and Vice-Chancellor, The University of Winnipeg; Dr. Deborah Poff, President and Vice-Chancellor, Brandon University; and Dr. Kathryn McNaughton, Vice-President (Academic & Research) University College of the North, The Pas.

The Cisco TelePresence system, which promotes energy conservation by reducing travel and delivering measurable energy savings, enables high-quality distance education and more effective collaboration with research sites in Manitoba and around the world.

“An investment in education is an investment in Manitoba’s future; I’m honoured that our government has been able to assist in providing technology that will link students from across the province and around the world, allowing research, information and ideas to be shared,” said Premier Greg Selinger. “This is just one of the many ways that our government works to support and promote green innovation and education in our province.”

“Our Government is committed to building a competitive advantage for Canada and Manitoba based on excellence in science and technology,” said the Honourable Lynne Yelich, Minister of State for Western Economic Diversification. “Through investments in key public-private partnerships, we are helping to support knowledge-based research and development with a focus on the commercialization of new products, technologies and services.”

The Government of Canada and the Province of Manitoba supported the establishment of this Cisco TelePresence network through an investment of $7 million announced in January 2010 under the Canada-Manitoba Western Economic Partnership Agreement (WEPA).

“The Cisco TelePresence system is transformative in the way the Internet has been transformative. The Internet allowed us to instantly retrieve and share information in ways we could not imagine even 15 years ago,” said Dr. Axworthy. “TelePresence shrinks our world even further with tremendous implications for our students and faculty, for citizens of Winnipeg, Manitoba, and Canada in advancing solutions to the many global challenges facing us today. There is also enormous potential to grow this collaborative technology into a viable commercial unit to benefit business, governments, and others in our community.”

Cisco donated two TelePresence virtual meeting systems to UWinnipeg, making it the first university in Canada with this advanced technology.

One TelePresence endpoint will be based in the new Richardson College for the Environment and Science Complex in the coming months. The second will be located inside UWinnipeg’s Faculty of Business and Economics at the newly opened Buhler Centre. UWinnipeg is acquiring additional TelePresence technologies for future use.

“Establishing UWinnipeg as a centre of excellence for innovative collaboration technologies, like Cisco TelePresence, is already reaping benefits in global leadership, economic development, and cost savings,” said Mr. Nitin Kawale, president, Cisco Canada. “As the Cisco Innovation Centre for Collaboration Technologies continues to evolve at UWinnipeg, we look forward to continuing to work with the University, the Province of Manitoba, and the Government of Canada to help academic leaders and government policy makers extend expertise, share resources, and reduce environmental impact.”

The Province of Manitoba, under the Manitoba Research Innovation Fund, has contributed $2 million over 8 years to supporting UWinnipeg’s Cisco Endowed Research Chair for Collaborative Technologies.

VM6 Software, Inc., provider of the only all-in-one IT virtualization infrastructure software, today announced that its flagship product, VM6 VMex 2.1, has won a Bronze Award in the virtualization platforms category of the SearchServerVirtualization.com 2010 Products of the Year. The awards were presented by the editors of TechTarget’s data center and virtualization Media Group and judged by the SearchServerVirtualization.com editorial staff in conjunction with a team of users, industry experts, analysts and consultants.

The SearchServerVirtualization.com 2010 Products of the Year winners were chosen according to the following six criteria: ease of integration into existing environments, functionality, innovation, manageability, performance and value. VM6 VMex 2.1 was selected because of its ability to replicate storage among local disks on disparate virtualization hosts. This feature provides significant value to smaller shops that cannot afford shared disk environments.

“SMBs have gone through their first phase of virtualization adoption and are now demanding more advanced functionality,” said Claude Goudreault, CEO and founder of VM6 Software. “By removing the requirement for a SAN and simplifying the installation and operation of the virtualized infrastructure, VMex makes high availability affordable to SMBs.”

VM6 VMex 2.1 software offers small- to medium-sized businesses (SMBs) an all-in-one IT infrastructure solution that is designed to fully leverage the benefits of virtualization to manage, provision, consolidate and protect distributed servers and desktop environments at a fraction of the cost of traditional solutions. Judges selected the Products of the Year from among virtualization-related products introduced and shipped after November 1, 2009 and before October 15, 2010.

marblemedia interactive and Teletoon have flipped the On switch for Skatoony’s web page, which is filled with games, show information, downloadable craft projects and videos. Skatoony is a combined live action and animation quiz show for kids. Each week the two hosts, Chudd Chudders and The Earl pit 3 animated characters against real kids who hope to survive the show’s shenanigans, temperamental producer and environmental challenges to be declared victorious.

Several Canadian titles have been named as finalists for the AIAS Interactive Achievement Awards which will be presented at DICE Las Vegas this coming February 10th. The dev teams from EA Canada will be competing against each other in the Sports Game of the Year category with both FIFA Soccer 11 and NHL 11 receiving nominations. The debut title for United Front Games, ModNation Racers, has been named to the Racing Game of the Year category.

Relic Entertainment’s Dawn of War 2: Chaos Rising has been nominated in the Strategy Game of the Year category, while Ubisoft Montreal action title Tom Clancy’s Splinter Cell: Conviction is competing in the Achievements in Animation category. Bioware has been named to the Outstanding Character Performance category for Mass Effect 2 – Male Shepard, while Mass Effect 2 was given the nod for both the Outstanding Achievement in Story,  Role-Playing/Massively Multiplayer Game of the Year and Game of the Year categories.

Assassin’s Creed: Brotherhood has been nominated for an Outstanding Achievement in Original Music Composition Award as well as Adventure Game of the Year and Outstanding Achievement in Online Game Play. The Ubisoft Montreal blockbuster will also be going head to head with Bioware’s blockbuster Mass Effect 2 as they compete in the  Outstanding Achievement in Game Direction category. Best of luck to all of our Canadian nominees!

Vancouver Film School graduate Nicholas Yonge has officially launched his indie game development studio krangGAMES, which will initially be focusing on flash games with an eye to expanding its products to other platforms in the future. The studio is currently developing DotGuy vs The Galaxy, which is an action-puzzle game where the player must successfully guide DotGuy out of a damaged spaceship. According to the game’s description, DotGuy vs The Galaxy will feature a campaign mode, unlockable modes of play, multiple playable characters, and user-made content via the Assembly Level Editor. krangGAMES also developed a game named Prior, which was created for the Ludum Dare Competition #19. Prior is a msyterious 2D platformer that was built in Adobe Flash, and in following with the LD19 theme of Discovery, players must navigate through a dark facility in an effort to figure out who they are, what has happened, where they are, and why they are there, developing their story piece by piece.

Hothead Games has brought Swarm creator, Dr. Mike Hayward, out of his dark and windowless office for a few short minutes to explain how players can control their “Swarm” in this first edition of “Ask Dr. Mike.”

Since Dr. Mike tends to speak in programming code without even realizing it, Hothead brought in “man of the people” and “regular guy”, Lead Designer, Pete Low, to bridge the gap and explain to us laypeople the unique and fun way to control your Swarm. Swarm is the upcoming and ultra addictive action game from UTV Ignition and Hothead Games set to release early this year. Dr. Mike did his PhD research in the field of artificial intelligence, and while his research didn’t directly relate to causing the horrific deaths of little cute and pudgy blue creatures, he has harnessed his work to realize that vision in Swarm. In the newly released video, Dr. Mike shows us everything from how to jump, group up, huddle and even stack and bash your Swarmites.

[youtube:http://youtu.be/IeWVU-eVMAU]

Swarm gives players control of 50 utterly fearless Swarmites and drives them through an intense and often suicidal battle of survival. Swarm is the first game to feature mass character control, where players move all the Swarmites at once. Steer the flock of pudgy, clueless little blue morons through the game and they naturally flock and flow around obstacles. Creatively combine swarm moves to work your way through a relentlessly dangerous and hilariously brutal environment. Compete against friends to get the high score by deftly moving through the world and cleverly solving puzzles the game throws your way. Swarm is rated T for Teen by the ESRB

EA SPORTS™ and Virgin Gaming™ have penned a new agreement which names Virgin Gaming as the official worldwide provider of online tournaments for EA SPORTS. The agreement covers all head-to-head competitive play, pay-to-enter and sponsored tournaments for select EA SPORTS console video games.

As part of the agreement, the Virgin Gaming tournament platform will integrate directly with select EA SPORTS titles offering seamless web functionality and enhanced community tools for competitive gaming across Xbox 360® and PlayStation®3 consoles. The first tournaments will begin early 2011, with details to be announced in the near future.

“EA SPORTS is the leading sports video game brand and publisher in the world, and we are thrilled to offer our members the opportunities to compete in some of their very best multiplayer sports games,” said Rob Segal, CEO of Virgin Gaming. “Virgin Gaming is a unique convergence of competitive gaming, video games and social/community networking, and we are excited that EA SPORTS shares our vision for the platform and its potential.”

“Competitive online gaming is an increasingly popular component of our industry and a great way for EA SPORTS and Virgin Gaming to help connect gamers around the world through the global language of sports,” said Peter Moore, President of EA SPORTS. “Virgin Gaming demonstrates the system-wide integrity we desire, and this is a great opportunity for EA SPORTS fans to experience secure and impeccably managed online tournaments for some of our top titles.”

Wicked Interactive and Mission Against Terror (M.A.T.) today offered a first look at Occupation Mode, the eagerly anticipated update which brings hardcore, capture-the-flag-style competitive action to everyone’s favorite free-to-play shooter.

“Gamers have been extremely curious,” said Sam Ho, Director, Wicked Interactive. “Since there hasn’t been an Old School hardcore competitive title in quite some time, gamers seem like they can’t wait to get their hands on Occupation Mode. We hope that these screenshots hold them over until Occupation Mode goes live, which, we promise, will be very soon.”

What’s New in Occupation Mode:

· New maps
· Territory capture and control – the two essential ingredients of a competitive title
· New team-based action and coordination
· Ability to set time-challenges – game creators determine how long one team has to hold all points on map for the win
· Opportunity to test out recently purchased or unlocked weapons in new, challenging environments

“With Occupation Mode, we offer players a great mix of flexibility and raw competition,” added Ho. “Some players want an experience that is nothing less than a fight to the death, with matches lasting countless rounds until one team finally emerges victorious from the firefight. For others, it’s about light, scrimmage with friends. We are proud to serve both communities of gamers with this latest update to M.A.T.”

Mobile IT management solution provider Rove has announced the rapidly growing adoption of its award-winning solution, Rove Mobile Admin, a secure smartphone- and tablet-enabled IT management solution giving IT staff unprecedented mobile access to incident detection, diagnosis, triage and resolution.

Spurring the surge of interest and uptake has been Rove’s Dashboard, functionality that aggregates alerts, alarms, notifications and tickets from IT monitors and incident management systems, presents them to IT administrators directly on their mobile device’s screen, and makes it possible to drill down quickly into problem details to identify the cause and implement a fix.

“We use Microsoft’s System Center Operations Manager to monitor a wide variety of security and server health issues,” said Jeff Rountree, Global Network Manager for Dover’s Pump Solutions Group (PSG), a world-leading manufacturer of industrial pumps and compressors. “While email alerts for warnings and errors are available to us, setting them up takes a number of steps and our time. With the Rove Mobile Admin Dashboard my team can view alerts directly, without the need for any email escalations. The added value is being able to receive alerts regarding our Exchange and/or Blackberry servers even if they’re offline – as long we have network connectivity we can get the Rove Dashboard alerts and begin taking corrective action.”

“There is a growing awareness within IT organizations that robust, proven mobile solutions are required to effectively manage their networks and infrastructure,” said Russell Ure, President and COO, Rove. “Rove Mobile Admin is increasingly seen as the preferred solution to address these needs.”

Interactive Ontario (IO) in partnership with The G. Raymond Chang School of Continuing Education, Ryerson University, is pleased to announce the launch of EDGE: Education for Digital and Games Entrepreneurs. This part-time academic program will deliver targeted business-skills training to video game and digital media entrepreneurs. It will pilot in the spring with a full launch in the fall of 2011.

The goal of EDGE is to help grow the interactive digital media industry by providing in-depth business knowledge to video game entrepreneurs. EDGE will provide the training needed to make key business decisions and will teach entrepreneurs skills in training, leadership and administration.

“The EDGE program will be of huge value to digital entrepreneurs because the key to being a successful creator or innovator lies in your ability to navigate an ever-changing business environment,” says Ian Kelso, President and CEO, Interactive Ontario. “Ryerson is uniquely positioned to combine world class business training, a solid digital media focus, and an embedded entrepreneurial spirit which will ensure this program will add tremendous advantage to anyone trying to grow an interactive digital media business.”

Worldwide, the gaming industry is expected to grow 9.1 percent annually. Canada will benefit from this boom with profits estimated to be in excess of $346 million in 2012. The funding for the EDGE project was underwritten by Ontario’s Ministry of Economic Development and Trade.

“Ontario is rapidly becoming viewed as a leader in digital media and gaming,” says Dr Gervan Fearon, Dean of The G. Raymond Chang School of Continuing Education at Ryerson University. “Recognizing this growing market, The Chang School is pleased to be a partner with Interactive Ontario to offer programming to help prepare the next generation of leaders in this innovative industry.”

EDGE will specialize in areas relevant to the business aspect of the digital media sector, including courses on Business Strategy and Tactics, HR/Labour Relations, Project Management, Finance and Marketing. The program will feature industry experts from Canada and around the world. It will also provide opportunities to network and forge select business relationships.

WaveFront, DFAIT and Nokia are taking the Introduction to Nokia Platforms and OVI Services breakfast seminar across the country, and would like to invite Ottawa, Toronto and Montreal developers to these free sessions. (Pour la version française, s’il vous plaît clic ici). As we told you earlier this week, the seminar will also be held in Vancouver on February 8th.

Montreal – February 1st in the Mt-Royal I Room at the Centre Mont-Royal, 2200 Mansfield Street
Ottawa – February 2nd at the Brookstreet Hotel, 525 Legget Drive
Toronto – February 4th at the MaRS Centre, 101 College St (Breakfast: Cafe | Seminar: CR-3)
Vancouver – February 8th at 1055 W Hastings St, Conference Room, Lower Level

This introduction to Nokia platforms and OVI Services is an opportunity to bring your Canadian apps to the world’s largest application distribution network – the Nokia OVI Store. Attend this seminar to receive an end-to-end overview of Nokia platforms and OVI services which reaches hundreds of millions of consumers in over 190 countries downloading over 3 million applications per day. Developers and publishers will learn about the latest Nokia OVI business opportunities and receive practical advice on how to develop and port your mobile application/content on Nokia platform and publish it to the OVI Store, an easy way to distribute and monetize your applications and content to Nokia users all over the world.

OVI store makes it easy to distribute and pay for your Canadian apps:

• Consumers can browse and purchase content from Ovi Store in more than 190 countries through credit card billing
• 91 operators in 27 countries support integrated mobile billing
• Publishers from more than 90 countries are distributing their content through Ovi Store

This is a must attend for Canadian mobile app developers and mobile content publishers to network with business and technical specialists from Nokia and local developer peers. All attendees will receive copy of “Foundations of Qt Development” and can enter draw for several Nokia N8 smartphones that are being given away.

Attendance at this seminar will also give you an opportunity to set up a one-on-one engagement meeting with Nokia during and after each seminar, so please also let us know if you would like to set-up a meeting when you register. Mr. Johan Nyman, DFAIT Trade Commissioner from Helsinki, Finland will also be available for one-on-one meetings (between 9:30-11:00am) to discuss Finnish market opportunities.

Toronto’s PadWorx Digital Media Inc. and The Juno Company, a leading children’s digital media publisher based in San Francisco, have begun working together on The Juno Company’s 2011 series of music education gaming apps and eBooks. This collaborative partnership will see The Juno Company and PadWorx Digital Media develop and publish eight music education apps, games and eBooks based on the Juno franchise of DVDs and books, all of which will be released in 2011. The first app in the series is scheduled to launch in March; more details will be released in the coming weeks. The Juno eBooks will be narrated by actress and dedicated mom Brooke Shields.

“PadWorx’s technical expertise and design aesthetic is rocket fuel for our creative content as we roll out our line of children’s apps,” said Barrett Cohn, CEO of The Juno Company. “We are raising the bar in 2011 in terms of fun, engagement and learning for children with our eBooks, apps and games; we’re looking to make a significant impact in the children’s new media world!”

The Juno Company was founded by mom and composer Belinda Takahashi, Ph.D., and is dedicated to inspiring a lifelong love and appreciation for music in children. The company is best known for its Emmy Award-winning Juno Baby line and its newly released Juno Jr. line of products, which include DVDs, CDs, books, digital apps, toys and apparel. The Juno Company team is a blend of senior technologists, top children’s creatives and leading children’s educators.

“The creativity and design aesthetic we used to develop our award-winning eBooks creates an immersive, user-driven experience, and that’s exactly what fans of the Juno franchise are going to see with this new series of apps,” said Jeffrey Alan Schechter, CEO of PadWorx Digital Media, Inc. “Through the combination of text, animation, gameplay elements, touch screen interaction, original music, and sound effects, children will gain the ability to interact with the Juno characters they love in an entirely new way.”

Regina’s NetSecure Technologies is growing, and to support that growth the company has announced a new website to better reflect the company’s strengths and expanding product line – developing breakthrough security solutions for online transaction security.

With hackers becoming more sophisticated, antivirus software is no longer enough to protect consumers. NetSecure’s product suite, powered by its patented Dynamic SSL technology, provides complete protection from endpoint security threats by ensuring that sensitive information is never present in the data stream until the point of encryption.

The company’s award-winning SmartSwipe, an online purchase security system, enables consumers to swipe their credit cards at home for secure transactions while shopping online. According to a recent survey of 1,000 consumers and small businesses, there is a clear demand for such devices with nearly 70 percent of respondents indicating they would use one if their financial institution or credit card company offered it.

NetSecure’s newest PINCheckout, a chip and PIN technology solution, enables card issuers and financial institutions to offer their customers a secure online shopping environment for their chip and PIN transactions. Research has indicated that more than half of consumers would feel more comfortable making online purchases if offered a secure shopping solution. With PINCheckout, e-commerce transactions are secured by encrypting sensitive information through an external device and remains protected throughout the entire transaction. NetSecure offers this viable solution via licensing options, with or without hardware.

“NetSecure Technologies is at the leading edge of e-Commerce solutions, protecting consumers where they need it most: the point of origin,” said Daniel McCann, president, NetSecure Technologies. “We are dedicated to providing consumers the very best in protection technology, but also believe technology should be user friendly and follow the mantra “simplicity, speed, security and compatibility.” Our solutions embrace those elements to provide better and solid Internet security, and are proven by the growth we’ve realized since our inception. As we enter 2011, we look forward to even more growth as well as contributing to a safer online environment.”

Included in the new website is NetSecure’s blog, highlighting company news as well as emerging security threats, providing solutions and security best practices to readers. In addition, the site features a tool called “Ask an Expert,” allowing site visitors to ask questions regarding data security. Each week, NetSecure features the question and provides an answer.

Once again the internet has made business easier. In this case it’s show business – the business of Shakespeare with William On Web. It’s now easy to get your own copy of either a Classic (Free) or Director’s Choice ($19.97) version of the most popular plays of all time -thanks to the innovation of a local Vancouver social profit enterprise. For professional companies, community theatres, academic or school productions, the editorial expertise contained in a Director’s Choice is a huge benefit. It streamlines the editing process by offering industry insider professional editorial suggestions coupled with a custom built online editor from Vancouver’s PointyHat dev team. The website offers versions of Shakespeare’s most popular plays including A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Twelfth Night, Much Ado About Nothing, As You Like It, Romeo & Juliet as well as Hamlet, King Lear, The Tempest, Comedy of Errors, Macbeth, Love’s Labours Lost, Julius Caesar and more.

Most Shakespeare scripts, with 40-plus roles and running times over 3 hours, rarely get performed as-written in modern productions. But what to cut? Editing is a daunting process that may leave a director struggling with characters’ motives and plot flow, and requires time-consuming manual reformatting. To help solve these problems, WilliamOnWeb created their Director’s Choice scripts to suggest specific cuts which help you reduce cast size and running time while maintaining the integrity of the script.

This new production edition draws on every credible version of the plays, from the original Folio to today’s academic gold standard, the Arden. Unlike academic works, the scripts have been carefully crafted to work for directors and producers preparing from production. Accurate and faithful to the originals, these scripts also offer industry expertise on what and where to cut, delivering modern clarity to the characters and stories.

“We think of our project as bringing Shakespeare into the 21st Century”, stated COO James Pollard. “This new edition of his plays and Scriptivate — our custom-built online script editor — represent the first real change in the way to work with the Bard’s plays since he wrote them 400 years ago.”

Scriptivate, an online script editor free with both Classic and Director’s Choice versions, allows you to customize these scripts for your production. Scriptivate preserves all formatting of Shakespeare’s text — showing suggested cuts as strikethroughs — and lets you accept, reject or make your own cuts and additions. Once you’re satisfied, accepting your changes lets you e-mail or print your revised script in a rehearsal-ready format. Scriptivate works with modern web browsers on any computer connected to the Internet. Scripts are stored online “in the cloud”, bringing the process of editing Shakespeare into the digital age.

Game developers now have the opportunity to win over $50,000 in prizes, with the top finalists receiving significant recognition at major industry events such as the prestigious Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3) and Game Developers Conference (GDC). Select finalists are also eligible to have their games distributed on the GameTree TV Platform itself, bringing them to the forefront of the Smart TV revolution and into consumers’ homes. The competition will run until April 30th, with winners chosen by a celebrity judging panel and announced at E3 in June.

GameTree TV is the premiere on-demand Smart TV gaming platform, offering an unprecedented user experience on the next generation of set-top boxes and connected consumer electronic (CE) devices. Launching with major European cable operators in Q1 of 2011 with a projected global user base in the millions by year’s end, the GameTree TV Platform gives game developers instant access to an immense and burgeoning market.

“TransGaming has already licensed hundreds of games on GameTree TV from an impressive range of game developers and publishers that includes rising independent talent and trend-setting established studios”, commented Vikas Gupta, CEO & President of TransGaming. “The demand to be featured on GameTree TV is abundantly clear, and this competition will give the game development community the ability to usher in the Smart TV era by expanding their reach through our global gaming platform.”

Game developers can immediately create compelling content, join a vibrant community, and submit their games for distribution on the Platform through the GameTree TV Developer Program. The Program offers access to the GameTree TV SDK, technical documentation, and support services, providing developers with cost-effective tools for the development of original games or the adaptation of existing PC or OpenGL ES-based games for GameTree TV.

To join the competition today and compete for over $50,000 in prizes, simply enroll in the GameTree TV Developer Program. GameTree TV will also be showcased at the upcoming Game Developers Conference (GDC) in San Francisco, and will be featured at a GDC developer session on Wednesday, March 3rd, 3 – 4pm in room 302.

Corel has added Corel® WordPerfect® Viewer to its list of mobile apps. Developed to allow for viewing, sharing and storing WordPerfect documents on the iPhone® and iPad®, mobile users can mobile users can conveniently read WordPerfect email attachments and downloaded files on the fly, eliminating the need to go back to their desktops to retrieve important information.

iPhone and iPad users can now view, share and store their WordPerfect documents with Corel WordPerfect Viewer. The added ability to search and bookmark WordPerfect files enables users to quickly take care of simple tasks and access important information when needed. Corel WordPerfect Viewer is available in English in various markets worldwide and is priced at $4.99 for the iPhone version and $5.99 for the iPad version in the US and Canada from Apple’s App Store.

Corel WordPerfect Viewer Features

* View, scan and store WordPerfect documents conveniently on your iPhone or iPad
* Drag and drop files into WordPerfect Viewer from iTunes or send them directly to the viewer from other applications, for example, iPhone email client and DropBox
* Search, bookmark and email files that have automatically been converted to formats that your iPhone or iPad can display
* Export converted files to any other program registered to handle HTML files
* Easily retrieve WordPerfect attachments without the need to go back to your desktop

“Discovering new ways to help our users save time and be as productive as possible is always top of mind for us when we’re developing new tools. With people on the go more than ever before, we understood that it was important that our users have access to their files on their mobile devices so they can stay up-to-date and keep important projects moving.” said Jay Larock, Director of Office Productivity at Corel.”

Bell has announced construction of a new Tier 3 Certified data centre in the National Capital Region, significantly enhancing the availability of highly secure data hosting in the region with one of the most energy efficient facilities in North America.

Three customers have already signed long-term co-location contracts worth a total of nearly $100 million to use the new Bell data centre, which is scheduled to begin operation in late 2012.

The centre is designed to meet LEED Gold standards and to be in the top 2% of data centres for the most effective use of power in North America. The 82,000 square foot (7,600 square metre) building will use green hydro power on a grid separate from most National Capital users and deploy redundant utility components.

“The National Capital area market, with its unique mix of high tech giants and government departments, has been struggling to keep up with the demand for high-end, secure data centre space,” said Stéphane Boisvert, President, Bell Business Markets. “This facility will help meet the demand for top-tier data hosting with an exceptionally green, cost-effective facility that supports the development of world-class technology solutions and provides high-speed access to one of Canada’s leading Cloud providers.”

With 50,000 square feet (4,650 square metres) of space available for data centre equipment, Bell’s facility will provide unmatched availability through physically redundant, fully diverse connectivity to the Bell network and direct fibre connectivity to the National Capital Region. It will also comply with the strictest security standards, including the use of advanced biometric access controls.

Like five other data centres already operating in Bell’s national network, the Ottawa centre will provide Bell customers with co-location, managed hosting and next-generation cloud computing services, such as software as a service and hosted unified communications.

“As with Bell’s entire National Data Hosting Services portfolio, the new centre will be supported by the largest and most capable team of information and communications technology professionals in the country,” said Mr. Boisvert.

Viatec is hosting its first ever Victoria Launch Party, an evening of innovation, drinks and appetizers at the Bard & Banker on Government Street in Victoria. If you have recently launched or are about to launch a new product, opened a new office or added a key executive to your team, contact Viatec today, because the association would like to help you spread the word at the launch party. Don’t miss this opportunity to network with Victoria Tech Executives and discover some of Victoria’s most promising up-and-coming tech companies, including five of the finalists from the New Ventures BC Regional Competition. If you pre-register now, attendance is free; for those who drop in at the Launch Party without pre-registering, you’ll be ask to drop a $5.00 donation into the jar for Victoria-area Science Fairs. The Launch Party will be held on February 3rd at the Bard and Banker Scottish Pub from the 5:00pm until 8:00pm. The pub is located at 1022 Government Street in Victoria.

BCTIA invites you to TechBrew at the Stanley Park Pavillion, where you can experience cool technology demos, meet cutting-edge entrepreneurs and innovators, network with influential decision-makers and make new connections. This edition of Innovation on Tap will take place on March 9th from 5:00pm – 8:00pm, tickets are $34.95 for BCTIA Members, $44.95 for Non-Members and $19.95 for Students. Ticket prices include your first drink plus appetizers. Featured companies will be named in the coming weeks.

Ignite Montreal has announced the 14 speakers who will be presenting at the next Ignite Montreal event, which will be taking place at 7:00pm on Tuesday Feb 8th at Il Motore. Each of the 14 speakers will have 5 minutes to get through a presentation which includes 20 slides that auto-advance every 15 seconds. Check out the event’s info page to find out who was chosen – it looks to me like attendees are in for a very entertaining, informative and inspiring evening at the next Ignite Montreal. Tickets for this event are $10.00 (+ tax), and registration is now open.

The CIO Canada Summit team announced today that Canadian CIOs and senior technology executives are invited to qualify as speakers for the upcoming event to be held February 27 – March 2, 2011 at the Fairmont The Queen Elizabeth in Montreal, QC.

The CIO Canada Summit will bring together CIOs, technology analysts and solution providers to discuss the latest IT topics and trends. The event’s agenda features think tanks, analysts Q&A sessions, roundtables and open forums, and is designed to encourage in-depth conversation and idea sharing among the event’s attendees.

Current speakers at the technology event include representatives from Rogers Communication, ING Direct Canada, MTS Allstream, CIBC Mellon and the Government of Canada. Topics to be discussed include paradigm shifts in IT, simplifying business communications, and transforming the organization through cloud computing.

“The CIO Canada Summit is a great opportunity for technology executives to establish themselves as industry leaders. The event creates a relaxed, yet professional forum where executives can discuss transformative technology projects, lessons learned, and best practices. Our current speakers represent some of the largest organizations in Canada and I look forward to hearing what each of them has to say,” said Mark Southam, Event Director, CIO Canada Summit.

Qualified speakers for the CIO Canada Summit must be senior-level IT decision makers at a major Canadian organization or have executive-level experience with a direct technology focus. Qualified executives may receive complimentary travel, accommodations, food and drink for the duration of the event.

Fan Expo Canada has announced that changes will be coming to this year’s event. Organizers have added another full day to Expo’s schedule, and to help ease the overcrowding experienced at the 2010 event, Fan Expo will occupy the entire south building at the Toronto Convention Centre, doubling the amount of floor space available. Fan Expo 2011 will run from August 25th through 28th,

Endloop X has announced their game Please Stay Calm, and the studio claims that you have not played this type of game before. Not only will it amuse you and your online friends, it will also help prepare you for the inevitable zombie apocalypse. Well, if not apocalypse, then at least a mild case of zombies.

If this sounds like your cup of tea and you have an iOS device for the initial roll-out, feel free to here sign up here as Endloop X is taking applications for early access.

Here’s a sneak peak of some of the unique features we are building for Please Stay Calm:

* Innovative co-operative gameplay
* Unique location based exploration that lets you play on-site as well as remotely
* Immersive alternate reality

The team will be rolling out the title city by city, as well as platform by platform. On a side note, Endloop X is looking for a PHP developer to fill a contract position. Know anybody?

Hoping to show that not all robots are purely cold and mechanical, Thandros Media presents “Fun With Thandros,” a playful new iPhone app featuring a fun-loving robot who is sure to thrill little ones and big kids alike. This delightful app features four classic games: Play, Maze Quest, Stories, and Twins.

Jeffrey Pierson, the creator of the characters featured in the app, worked with the programmers at Thandros Media and author Mike Jackson. The team understood that children love digital gaming and grasp it at a faster rate than anyone else, but for their first app wanted to incorporate a classic style and varied gameplay mode that many apps seemed to be lacking – and thus, “Fun With Thandros” was born.

“I first drew Thandros for my nephew,” says Pierson, “and he really liked him, so I started to think about what he would act like, and who some of his friends could be. It was a lot of fun to come up with this world, and I’m looking forward to adding to it in the future.”

The new app introduces kids and their parents to Thandros, a happy, friendly robot who loves to go on adventures and isn’t afraid to undertake a quest or a challenge. Toddlers can enjoy meeting Thandros in the “Play” mode, where they can tap on the robot and see how he reacts. The preschool set and older can choose “Stories,” with their choices throughout the course of the tale affecting its ultimate outcome, or “Twins,” a matching game that reinforces memory skills. Finally, big kids are sure to love “Maze Quest,” which takes Thandros on a journey through simple to complex mazes in his efforts to halt the evil Professor Stouch’s dastardly plans.

With its colorful, hand-drawn graphics, cheerful music, and exciting sound effects, “Fun With Thandros” is sure to provide hours of entertainment for children of all ages, while teaching them important lessons about sharing, hard-work, and determination. Fun With Thandros 1.0 is $0.99 USD and available worldwide exclusively through the iTunes App Store in the Games – Kid’s section.

Ubisoft announced today that the Animus Project Update 2.0 downloadable content (DLC) for Assassin’s Creed Brotherhood for the Xbox 360® video game and entertainment system from Microsoft and the PlayStation®3 computer entertainment system is now available on XBOX LIVE® and PlayStation® Network for download for free.

The Animus Project Update 2.0 includes a brand-new game mode and brand new map for Assassin’s Creed Brotherhood Multiplayer. The Pienza Map provides the perfect free-running playground where predators and targets can blend and disappear.

In the new Chest Capture Multiplayer Mode, two teams, comprised of three players each, partner with fellow Templars to either defend or capture Chests. The “Capturers” must use their HUDs to locate and capture the chests, while “Defenders” must use their skills and quick reflexes to track down their foes and protect the chests.

Also included in Animus Project Update 2.0 is the new “Templar Score” feature. To achieve order and maintain competition, Abstergo created the Templar Grade. Updated weekly and based on the users scores of the previous four weeks, the Templar Grade splits recruits in 10 specific slices – each representing part of the hierarchy of the community. The goal is to reward diligent work by Abstergo recruits. Assassins’ Creed Brotherhood is rated M for Mature by the ESRB.

BioWare™ and Electronic Arts Inc. announced today that Mass Effect™ 2 is now available on the PlayStation 3 for $59.99 in North America at retail and on PlayStation® Network*. The PlayStation 3 version of Mass Effect 2, which received a perfect 10 out of 10 score from PlayStation: The Official Magazine, will include six hours of bonus content, including ” Kasumi – Stolen Memories”, “Overlord” and the award-winning “Lair of the Shadow Broker”.

“The PlayStation 3 version of Mass Effect 2 offers gamers a great entry point to the Mass Effect experience,” said Casey Hudson, Executive Producer of the Mass Effect franchise. “We’re extremely excited and proud to now bring PlayStation 3 owners the opportunity to explore the rich and tumultuous universe of Mass Effect and shape the story and events within it by the individual choices they make.”

Mass Effect Genesis, an interactive comic from Dark Horse Comics and BioWare, will also be available today exclusively on the PlayStation 3 computer entertainment system, giving players a high-level overview of the events of the original Mass Effect. The interactive comic offers players the chance to make critical choices that will affect their storyline in Mass Effect 2 and beyond. Mass Effect Genesis is included in the Cerberus Pack, a downloadable content pack included for first time purchasers of Mass Effect 2 on PlayStation 3. Players who do not have original access to the Cerberus Pack can purchase it for $14.99 on the PlayStation Network. Mass Effect 2 on the PlayStation 3 has a MSRP of $59.99 in North America and is rated M for Mature by the ESRB.

International publisher 505 Games and Ontario developer Reverie World Studios have penned a publishing deal for the studio’s upcoming massively multiplayer online real time strategy (MMORTS) title Dawn of Fantasy. Set in the massively multiplayer fantasy world of

Mythador which supports its own living economic, trading, development and diplomacy systems, players will be given the opportunity to leave their mark on the land’s already war torn history when Dawn of Fantasy for PC is launched on June 3rd, 2011.

Offering a fresh perspective on the fantasy RTS genre, Dawn of Fantasy will deliver a persistent world war experience like none before.Thousands of Players living, building, exploring and fighting together to crush with AI controlled strongholds and empires, in a rich tapestry of story-driven encounters that help to build upon the already weighty single player campaign experience. In a world that continues to trade and evolve even after logging off, Players will also be able to test their armies’ constitution in matched head-to-head, multiplayer encounters on their road to becoming the biggest city-state in Mythador.

Each of the three different races available to players – elves, men and orcs – offer a radically different playing style based on a carefully balanced system of strengths and weaknesses. With an in-game narrative driven by a dramatic historical background, Dawn of Fantasy will combine rich storytelling with compelling gameplay to provide a strategy experience to appeal to MMO and RTS fans alike.

“Dawn of Fantasy is nothing short of the next step in the genre, highlighting the best elements that MMORTS games have to offer with just the right level of considered innovation,” commented Ralph Pitt-Stanley, 505 Games. “In what we feel is an underrepresented genre, we’re confident that Dawn of Fantasy will have what it takes to stay in the hearts of MMO, RTS and fantasy fans for a long time to come.”

“As we catch a glimpse of the finish line after many years of development, we are thrilled to announce our partnership with 505 Games,” said Konstantin Fomenko, Reverie World CEO.“Their dedication, ambition, and extensive history in the strategy genre will prove indispensable as we work toward completing our upcoming MMORTS, Dawn of Fantasy.”

Designed with low system requirements in mind, the Dawn of Fantasy engine will nonetheless render armies of thousands of units and hundreds of terrain objects on screen for epic battle encounters. Once the dust settles on the in game campaigns, players can try exploring their creative side by using the powerful map editor to design the fantasy encounters of their dreams.

WaveFront would like to invite Vancouver developers to a free WaveGuide Breakfast Seminar being presented By Wavefront and DFAIT on the morning of Tuesday, February 8th. This introduction to Nokia platforms and OVI Services is an opportunity to bring your Canadian apps to the world’s largest application distribution network – the Nokia OVI Store. Attend this seminar to receive an end-to-end overview of Nokia platforms and OVI services which reaches hundreds of millions of consumers in over 190 countries downloading over 3 million applications per day. Developers and publishers will learn about the latest Nokia OVI business opportunities and receive practical advice on how to develop and port your mobile application/content on Nokia platform and publish it to the OVI Store, an easy way to distribute and monetize your applications and content to Nokia users all over the world.

OVI store makes it easy to distribute and pay for your Canadian apps:

• Consumers can browse and purchase content from Ovi Store in more than 190 countries through credit card billing
• 91 operators in 27 countries support integrated mobile billing
• Publishers from more than 90 countries are distributing their content through Ovi Store

This is a must attend for Canadian mobile app developers and mobile content publishers to network with business and technical specialists from Nokia and local developer peers. All attendees will receive copy of “Foundations of Qt Development” and can enter draw for several Nokia N8 smartphones that are being given away.

Attendance at this seminar will also give you an opportunity to set up a one-on-one engagement meeting with Nokia during and after each seminar, so please also let us know if you would like to set-up a meeting when you register.  Mr. Johan Nyman, DFAIT Trade Commissioner from Helsinki, Finland will also be available for one-on-one meetings (between 9:30-11:00am) to discuss Finnish market opportunities.

OpenText has announced the availability of OpenText StreamServe Persuasion™ version 5, which helps businesses improve their customer communication in an effective, consistent, and engaging way. Persuasion is the first major product release from StreamServe since it was acquired by OpenText in October 2010 and represents an important addition to the OpenText ECM Suite.

Whether communicating with customers and suppliers or facilitating payment and revenue, documents keep business transactions flowing and the organization healthy. Persuasion helps increase the efficiency of document-based communication and improves customer engagement by allowing businesses to include impactful marketing messages that are best suited to individual audiences.

Linked with existing business systems, and requiring few or no changes to them, Persuasion adds extensive in-house capabilities for defining, producing and interacting with mass-produced, personalized documents. It provides straightforward tools for business users such as designers, marketing staff, customer support agents, and process owners to efficiently create and use the documents that matter to them.

“At OpenText, we’re giving customers new ways to engage with, interact with, and improve the customer experience using our growing portfolio of technologies,” said James Latham, Chief Marketing Officer at OpenText. These technologies include social media, web experience management, mobility, and now the customer communications solutions from StreamServe, with Persuasion becoming the first addition to the line up in the OpenText ECM Suite.”

Supporting Customer Communications Management, for example, Persuasion empowers business managers to rapidly and directly create content such as marketing messages, campaigns, and cross/upsell offers. It also gives them control over how and when this content is automatically included in customer correspondence and touch points, such as customer support conversations.

In document-intensive business processes—logistics and distribution, for example—Persuasion eliminates most, if not all, costly and error-prone manual handling. By allowing to automate the flow of paperwork through electronic checkpoints, Persuasion helps to reduce cost, accelerates timelines, and can assist substantially to improve the accuracy of the documentation. This can result in better customer, partner and supplier relationships – Open Text invites you to find out more about Persuasion on the product’s information page.

When Doris McCarthy passed away on November 25th 2010, Canada lost a revered and talented artist, best known for her landscape paintings. Fool’s Paradise, the Scarborough property where she lived and worked, will remain a part of her remarkable legacy. In 1998, McCarthy generously donated it to the Ontario Heritage Trust to become a retreat for future generations of artists. The Trust will post more about the retreat later this year as more information becomes available.

“My colleagues at the Ontario Heritage Trust and I were deeply saddened by the loss of Doris McCarthy. Her unique brand of talent and enthusiasm will be missed,” said Dr. Thomas H.B. Symons, Chairman of the Ontario Heritage Trust. “We are thankful for the memories of Doris that will live on. Fool’s Paradise, as well as McCarthy’s many works of art, will be an inspiration to artists for years to come.”

In 1939, McCarthy bought a picturesque 12-acre (4.9-hectare) property on the Scarborough Bluffs overlooking Lake Ontario. Her mother viewed the purchase as an extravagance, referring to “that fool’s paradise of yours.” The name Fool’s Paradise stuck and she eventually made it her full-time home.

In addition to its significance by association with McCarthy, Fool’s Paradise is also an important natural heritage site. The property is perched on a narrow plateau of the ecologically sensitive and geologically significant Scarborough Bluffs. In 1986, to help conserve the site, McCarthy donated seven acres (2.8 hectares) to the Metropolitan Toronto Region Conservation Authority under an Erosion Control Agreement.

In 1998, McCarthy donated the remainder of Fool’s Paradise to the Ontario Heritage Trust, along with a charitable remainder trust to maintain the property in perpetuity. She retained a life tenancy, with the intent that after her death it would become a retreat for artists, musicians and writers, and a setting for heritage activities. In the coming year, the Trust will be working to plan the retreat McCarthy envisioned – giving other artists the opportunity to be inspired by the beauty of Fool’s Paradise, just as she was herself.

The Board of Montreal Museum Directors (BMMD) launches its 25^th anniversary by opening a new gateway into Montreal museums and culture with its new iPhone and iPod touch app, Montreal Museums. Starting today, mobile users from around the globe can visit the App Store and download the Montreal Museums app for free, putting temporary and permanent exhibitions, works of art and museum circuits, all at the fingertips of mobile users. The Montreal Museums app allows users to catch a glimpse of the utterly fascinating collections of Montreal museums.

Frequent updates allow users to stay in tune, in real time, with the ever-changing Montreal museum landscape. The Montreal Museums app will allow tourists and Montrealers alike to utilize integrated geo-positioning technology to easily search and discover the BMMD’s 35 member museums.

Montreal’s iBwave, leading designer of solutions for wireless in-building networks has announced that it has signed a multi-year, multi-license agreement with one of North America’s pre-eminent Tier 1 wireless operators. This major contract secures iBwave as the in-building network design solution across all major wireless operators in North America. iBwave’s solutions and its market leading iCP training and certification program provide RF professionals, technology vendors and systems integrators with the tools and knowledge to design, plan and deploy advanced wireless in-building networks.

Mobile data traffic is growing at an incredible rate. Vendors and analysts following the wireless industry project global mobile data volumes in 2014 at anywhere from 25 to 50 times what is seen on networks today. Confronted with this new reality and the impact this will have on their wireless network, operators worldwide are now upgrading their networks by deploying faster technologies such as HSPA+ and LTE, which promise to bring additional network capacity immediately by a factor of 2-3 times. But those capacity improvements won’t be nearly enough to handle the projected increases in traffic. Recognizing that more than 70% of the traffic is generated inside buildings and that faster technologies alone won’t be sufficient, wireless operators are now trending towards deploying advanced in-building wireless networks, using distributed antennae systems (DAS), to offload their outdoor macro-cellular networks. From airports, hospitals, and stadiums, to shopping malls, skyscrapers and corporate offices, increasing in-building coverage is now a critical strategy for wireless operators to meet the growing demand on their data networks.

“We are extremely pleased and excited to have been awarded such a significant contract,” said Mario Bouchard, President and CEO at iBwave. “It accentuates the strategic importance of in-building wireless coverage, it underscores our unrivaled experience, and it magnifies iBwave’s unwavering commitment to supporting our customers with targeted solutions that deliver real business value,” continues Mr. Bouchard. “With such a substantial amount of wireless traffic originating from the inside of a building, operators recognize that in-building coverage is no longer a luxury, but an immediate necessity.”

With iBwave Design, RF engineers can generate high volumes of 2G, 3G and LTE in-building wireless network design and eliminate guesswork, bringing strong, reliable wireless communications to indoor and near-building environments that bear the brunt of the upsurge in mobile data activity. And since small cells and DAS are increasingly used to handle capacity requirements, in-building solutions are becoming more critical and complex, making it even more essential to work with a software solution that delivers superior designs. The iBwave Design suite guides RF engineers through network planning, design, costing, validation, documentation and reporting, delivering top performance, reducing capital expenditure and increasing productivity. Additionally, iBwave’s Unity platform delivers business intelligence to in-building projects by acting as a centralized project collaboration and information database and providing advanced data mining and reporting functionality to the entire wireless ecosystem.

Toronto’s Mood Media Corporation, provider of in-store media, music and digital signage solutions has signed a partnership with The Please Hold Group (“Please Hold”), a leading supplier of digital message on hold solutions to over 50,000 retail clients across the United States, Canada, Caribbean and Europe

Through this partnership Mood Media will now offer Please Hold’s leading-edge VOIP utilities for digital voice response systems, automated receptionists, voice mail, interactive voice response platforms, digital announcers and other peripheral add-on audio video components to an existing client base of over 170,000 locations.  In turn, Please Hold will utilize Mood Media’s rights included library for background and foreground music programming on a go forward basis to existing and future Please Hold customers.

Autodesk has launched an animation contest which is open to students 18 and over (or over the age of majority in their jurisdiction or residence, whichever is older), in the United States and Canada, but excluding residents of Florida, New York, Puerto Rico, Rhode Island and the Province of Quebec. As part of the First Robotics Challenge 2011, students are being tasked to create a 30 second animation that depicts a solution to a series of challenges that the iiko, an alien race, face on their home planet.

As a contestant, you have the opportunity to identify a challenge the iiko face and tell us how your idea/product/invention would change their world – for the better! It might be something that makes a positive difference in the lives of the iiko, in their world at large, or even in space. It may save lives or make daily life easier, or bring back their world to the way it once was. It’s up to you. You can use and modify the characters if you choose, or you may decide on other ways to tell the story of how you chose to help the Iiko. We want you to be creative and innovative, maybe it’s a new invention, maybe you recycle something from what we have found.

As part of your entry, you are required to create a storyboard, 30 second animation and accompanying jpeg image. Please visit the contest page for complete details and full rules.

Desire2Learn will receive a grant of $4.25 million from the province of Ontario’s Ministry of Economic Development and Trade as part of the company’s investment of more than $28 million, which will see 21 new jobs created at Desire2Learn and an additional 33 existing jobs will be sustained. The company is continuing its R&D and staffing investment to build out platforms for learning focused on three technology pillars including teaching and learning applications, mobile learning, and analytics that will help Desire2Learn increase its share of the growing eLearning market.

“Desire2Learn has demonstrated a real commitment to research and development,” states Sandra Pupatello, Minister of Economic Development and Trade. “We’re proud to support their latest investment that will help the company grow its share of the global eLearning market and create good jobs for Ontario families.”

The Government of Ontario offers a number of programs that support innovative ventures in technology, research, development and commercialization across industries and attract new investment in strategic areas of Ontario’s economy. Working proactively to promote the province’s technology sector and support high-value jobs for Ontario families is part of the government’s five-year Open Ontario Plan.

“We are very appreciative to be the recipient of a provincial grant that will support our ongoing commitment to R&D and job creation,” says John Baker, President & CEO, Desire2Learn. “We’re very excited about the future and fortunate to be experiencing incredible growth; financial infusions such as this are invaluable in assisting us achieve our goals.”

“Great ideas create great jobs. As Minister of Training, Colleges and Universities, and as a resident of Waterloo Region, I am proud that Desire2Learn’s software is making learning more accessible for students around the world while creating jobs here in Waterloo Region,” remarks John Milloy, Minister of Training, Colleges and Universities, and MPP for Kitchener Centre.

How many angles of equal measure are there in an isosceles triangle? What do plants need in order to conduct photosynthesis? How do you turn a good idea into a well-written paragraph? Every child tackling homework is bound to hit a stumbling block, but perhaps the bigger challenge for kids is overcoming the anxiety and frustration that often follow. What can kids do? Where can they turn for help?

Support and encouragement are just a click away thanks to the newly launched TVOKids Homework Zone, available now at tvokids.com. The TVOKids Homework Zone is a microsite that aggregates TVOKids’ massive inventory of kid and teacher-tested, curriculum-linked resources into an easy-to-navigate and fun work zone. Primary grade-school kids can practice and review concepts learned in school and get problem-solving tips and tricks for three core areas of the Ontario curriculum: math, science and literacy.

“We’ve heard from kids, parents and educators that these subjects are areas of need,” says Stacie Goldin, TVOKids’ in-house educator/research advisor. Goldin led the mammoth task of identifying the content appropriate for the microsite, and tagging and categorizing resources in a way that kids – and their parents – could easily find help. “As parents, we often struggle to help our kids with homework because we ourselves may have struggled in those subjects, especially math. One key objective of the site is to help parents, not just kids, better understand these subjects,” she adds.

Kids can locate the subject they need help with and drill down to a specific topic, be it perimeter or patterns; the animal kingdom or outer space; or spelling and grammar. To illustrate these concepts, the Homework Zone provides episodes of popular TVOKids-produced shows and web games from some of tvokids.com’s 160+ offerings, as well as new resources exclusive to the Homework Zone including:

* teacher videos featuring experts in each of the three subject areas (math expert Troy Langevine, principal at Ellesmere-Statton Public School; science expert Aldo Petrucci, vice principal at Edgewood Public School; and language expert Wynne Ng, a Grade 2/3 teacher at Glamorgan Jr. Public School)
* printable activities and worksheets
* interactive practise tools
* general homework and study tips on things such as practising for the EQAO tests

Language expert Wynne Ng agrees that the TVOKids Homework Zone will be a useful resource for the whole family. “Students are taught that nouns are people, places and things and verbs are action words, but when you ask them to identify the noun from the verb in a sentence they can’t transfer that skill. Even adults forget basic grammar,” she says. “The Homework Zone gives parents a chance to see how [grammar] might be taught in a classroom and how they can kick-start rich conversations at home with their kids.”

She adds, “I wish I had the Homework Zone when I was in school. Instead of just turning to the Internet as a source of gaming or entertainment, students can use it as a tool to become accountable for their learning.”

Coupled with the TVOKids Homework Zone microsite is a bi-monthly, live broadcast-webcast event in which students can connect directly with a teacher and ask questions via email or phone on a variety of homework topics. The next live TVOKids Homework Zone event airs Monday January 31 on TVOKids’ afterschool block, The Space, and online on the Homework Zone microsite.