Village Gamer

The lineup for Game Design Expo 2011 in Vancouver has been revealed, highlighted by keynotes from Rovio Mobile, the makers of all-time bestselling iPhone game Angry Birds, and Blizzard Entertainment, the creators of the world’s most popular subscription-based massively multiplayer online role-playing game, World of Warcraft®. The entire day of presentations by the luminaries behind some of the most important games of this year and next constitute the event’s biggest speaker lineup in its five-year history.

The event, slated for January 22-23, 2011, is hosted by the acclaimed one-year Game Design program at Vancouver Film School (VFS), which the Los Angeles Times has called “a top school favoured by game industry recruiters.” Saturday’s Industry Speaker Day at Game Design Expo will feature talks aimed at game industry professionals, students, and anyone interested in games. Tickets for Industry Speaker Day are on sale now and already selling fast.

Rovio Mobile’s Angry Birds, a puzzle game for iPhone, Android, and other mobile devices, has been downloaded over 20 million times. Rovio’s Senior Game Designer and Marketing Manager will kick off Saturday’s schedule by delving into the design and business factors behind its incredible success in a presentation called How to Design a Hit Game for the iPhone.

In addition to crossing the 12 million subscriber mark recently, Blizzard Entertainment’s World of Warcraft has racked up numerous achievements. Its first two expansions, The Burning Crusade® and Wrath of the Lich King®, both broke PC-game sales records upon their release, and Blizzard’s latest expansion for the game, Cataclysm™, is set to launch on December 7. Blizzard’s lead content designer on the game will discuss how the company uses macro design to stay focused on the big picture amid a world of details.

Among the schedule’s many other highlights are talks by leading minds behind Dead Space 2, Tron: Evolution, True Crime: Hong Kong, and Halo Waypoint, as well as PlayStation Move and Microsoft Kinect. The lineup represents an incredible cross-section of the game industry, from mobile and online games to big-budget AAA titles, from traditional platforms to new motion-based systems.

Game Design Expo Industry Speaker Day Guests – January 22, 2011

Jaakko Iisalo/Matthew Wilson – Senior Game Designer/Marketing Manager, Rovio Mobile (Angry Birds)
Jeff O’Connell/Mike Skupa – Lead Producer/Lead Designer, United Front Games (True Crime: Hong Kong)
Anton Mikhailov – Software Engineer, Sony Computer Entertainment (PlayStation Move)
Paul Parsons – Senior Game Designer, 343 Industries (Halo Waypoint)
Mitchell Lagran – Designer, most recently of Rockstar Games Vancouver (Max Payne 3)
Alan Shen – Senior Design Program Manager, Microsoft (Kinect)
Jonathan Gallina – Lead Game Designer, Propaganda Games (Tron: Evolution)
Seth Marinello – Level Designer, Visceral Games (Dead Space 2)
Cory Stockton – Lead Content Designer, Blizzard Entertainment (World of Warcraft)

The event is held in the intimate Vancity Theatre at the Vancouver International Film Centre, and has sold out every year. Anyone hoping to attend is encouraged to buy their tickets now.

“We’re incredibly excited to be welcoming these speakers and companies to Vancouver,” says Dave Warfield, Head of VFS Game Design and the host of Game Design Expo 2011. “Whether you’ve worked in the game industry for years or you’re just starting out, you never stop learning. Games like Angry Birds and World of Warcraft offer countless lessons to us all.”

In conjunction with Game Design Expo 2011, Warfield and VFS Game Design will be hosting a free Open House at the school (390 W. Hastings) on Sunday, January 23, where attendees will be able to hear about the program, meet students and faculty, play games, take sample classes, and get details on the full-tuition Women in Games Scholarship. Space is limited, so anyone interested in attending the always-popular Open House is strongly encouraged to register now.

VFS is proud to partner with the following event sponsors to realize Game Design Expo 2011: G4, 3vis, Annex Pro, Pixologic, Radical Entertainment, Sumo Lounge, and The Georgia Straight.

GameON: Finance, Canada’s premier investment forum for the interactive entertainment industry, is pleased to announce three featured international speakers who will be at the conference on January 20 & 21 in Toronto.

Dino Patti, Director, Co-Owner and Co-Founder, Playdead
In 2009 Playdead received 11 million DKK (Danish Kroner) in venture money to finish their game. Their critically acclaimed title, LIMBO, has now received several international awards including two awards at the Independent Games Festival in San Francisco and 3 Milthons for Game of the Year, Best Indie Game and Best Visual Art at the European Games Awards.

Juan Benito, Creative Director & Co-Founder, Joystick Labs
Juan Benito co-founded Joystick Labs during Summer 2010. Prior to Joystick, Juan Benito started the Atomic Games studio in Raleigh, NC, and before that co-founded Red Storm Entertainment in the Triangle area in 1996, where he was Executive Producer for the original Tom Clancy’s Rainbow Six. Before Red Storm, Juan designed the world’s first fully 3D military submarine simulation game, Tom Clancy’s SSN, while at Virtus Studios, a Triangle-area pioneer in 3D and game technologies. In addition, Juan has worked on numerous entertainment projects with companies such as Sony Computer Entertainment, Konami, Disney, Paramount Pictures, Columbia University, United Media, and has developed training systems in collaboration with the USMC, FBI, and agencies within the US Intelligence Community. He is also founder and CEO of Cooperative Entertainment, a boutique development group and consultancy, and serves as Creative Director for the Triangle Game Initiative.

Joel Benton, Founder & CEO, Easy Tiger Media Ltd.
Joel Benton is a video game professional who has spent a career helping games developers achieve their creative and commercial goals. After a successful career in software sales and marketing, Joel joined Indie developer Wide Games in Brighton, UK – creators of one of the first stealth-based console games Prisoner of War for Codemasters. When the Wide Games team was acquired by Kuju Entertainment Ltd, one of the UK largest game developers, Joel became Business Development Director for the six studios in the group and negotiated and signed development deals with all the major publishers. Joel left Kuju to work as Head of European Operations for international agents Digital Development Management before starting his own Business Development consultancy. In 2009 Joel started Easy Tiger Media Ltd, a digital publishing company which released two titles on XBLA in 2010 and PlayReplay Ltd, the world’s only marketing and PR agency focusing exclusively on successfully promoting digitally distributed games, which now has offices in London and Los Angeles.

Tricon Films & Television along with Toronto-based Shark Teeth Films have announced the launch of the CGI/live-action kid’s series in development, Smallfoot. The teaser has been licensed to CBBC’s My Toons in the UK, a hub for the funniest, quirkiest and coolest short ‘toons.

“The My Toons site is a great place to try out new shows, new talent and new formats which hopefully will benefit the audience, the producer and the broadcaster,” said Jon Rutherford, Vice President, International Sales and Acquisitions at Tricon Films & Television.

Created by Adrian Carter and Tom Mudd at Shark Teeth Films, Smallfoot, a hilarious and rambunctious action-comedy for kids, is based on the comedic and mischievous adventures of two miniature friends in the big city. Smallfoot,­ a miniature Sasquatch, ­ is around twice as big as a mouse and is a species unknown to science. He’s the new kid on the block and he’s out of his element. Luckily for Smallfoot, a resourceful mouse named Larry has decided to take him under his wing. Unluckily for Smallfoot, Larry is a chatterbox and a know-it-all, and his blabbermouth gets the two of them in trouble all the time.

“Smallfoot is a distinctive show with a unique, completely original style of production,” said Shark Teeth Films Tom Mudd, producer of Smallfoot. “Through on-camera techniques and digital post wizardry, the characters have life and a deep sparkle of intelligence. They feel like real creatures doing hilarious things.”

Under the theme of corporate rebooting through collaboration, communities and mobility, the 9^th edition of webcom-Montréal international conference on new technologies and Web 2.0 held on November 17, was a resounding success.

Through the participation of renowned keynote speakers, namely Jared Spool, founder of User Interface Engineering, and Marsha Collier, one of the world’s foremost experts on online sales communities, this edition benefited hundreds of attending professionals and amateurs in the fields of communications and new technologies.

Over 800 participants answered the call and gathered at OACI, where the event was held, thanks to the participation of numerous collaborators and partners in the business, Web, communications and multimedia sectors.

Guests participating in this 9^th edition had the option of attending 30-odd sessions and conferences presented by 42 speakers, including six case studies and one webCamp, a must-see event for 2.0 fans.

The four main themes presented, namely Business 2.0, Marcom 2.0, Solutions 2.0, as well as a theme focusing on mobility, enabled participants to learn more about the latest Web trends and practices.

The 9^th edition of webcom-Montréal also stood out through social media, thanks to a popular following on Facebook, Foursquare and Twitter, where the #webcomMT hashtag was very active. webcomLIVE’s noted presence on UStream once again enabled Web users from around the world a live connection to a continuous flow of unique interviews with both speakers and participants.

During this latest edition, webcom organizers also took the opportunity to present two important awards to individuals who contributed to and expanded in their own way Québec’s new tech industry, namely Patrick Lauzon and René Barsalo. Louise Guay and Sylvain Carle were the proud recipients of this award in the conference’s May edition.

Get your calendars out: webcom-Montréal is already gearing up for its 10^th edition, to be held on May 11, 2011, and which will once again prove to be a must-see event featuring international case studies, fascinating panels and free special conferences with the world’s greatest experts. Web best practices and new trends will be the main focus under four different themes, namely Business 2.0, Marcom 2.0, Solutions 2.0, as well as another to be announced next spring.

This event’s success stems from the collaboration of several partners, including Transcontinental, w.illi.am, Massy-Forget Public Relations and MarketingQc.

Canada Post has announced the official launch of its free application for iPhone, iPad and iPod touch that will provide customers with convenient and easy access to two of the most popular web tools at CanadaPost.ca.

The new application, which is now available for download at the iTunes App Store, enables customers to track their packages and find nearby post offices, either by typing in an address or by using their device’s GPS feature. Track a Package and Find a Post Office are two of the most frequently used tools on Canada Post’s website – with a combined monthly average of more than 4.25 million uses.

“Our customers are on the go, and we aim to provide them with convenient, easy access to our products and services by keeping abreast of current trends and new technologies. We have seen an increase in the use of mobile devices to access our website, and we expect demand for mobile-enabled services to continue to grow,” says Louis O’Brien, Senior Vice-President and Chief Customer Officer at Canada Post. “We’re pleased to be able to launch this application just in time for the holidays as this is the busiest time of year for many of our customers.”

The free application is now available for download at the iTunes App Store. Canada Post will release a Blackberry version of the application in early 2011.

According to a study by Ernst & Young, less than a third of global businesses, including Canada’s, have an IT risk management program in place capable of addressing the risks related to the use of new technologies. Borderless Security, the firm’s annual global information security survey, reveals that in spite of the rapid emergence of new technology, only one in 10 companies consider examining new and emerging IT trends as a very important activity for the information security function to perform.

A significant increase in the use of external service providers and business adoption of new technologies, including cloud computing, social networking and Web 2.0, is recognized to increase risk as much as 60% for respondents. Yet, in spite of this fact, less than half (46%) intend to increase their annual investment in information security.

“Technology advances have provided Canadian companies with seemingly endless ways to connect and interact with colleagues, customers and clients across the globe,” says Tony Ritlop, Canadian Leader of Ernst & Young’s IT Risk and Assurance practice. “While these developments represent a massive opportunity for IT to deliver significant benefits to the organization, new technology also brings significant risk.”

For example, more than half of respondents state that increased workforce mobility poses a considerable challenge to the effective delivery of information security initiatives, due to widespread use of mobile computing devices, allowing individuals to access and distribute business information from anywhere at any time. For almost two-thirds (64%) of respondents, employees’ level of security awareness is recognized as a considerable challenge.

For the first time, continuous availability of critical IT resources was identified by respondents as one of the top five risks. Increased mobility and lack of control over end-user devices can cause problems when trying to implement effective and efficient business continuity and disaster recovery capabilities — identified by 50% of respondents as an area of increased expenditure.

Cloud computing services are gaining greater adoption: 23% of respondents are currently using cloud computing services and a further 15% are planning to use them within the next 12 months. When asked if an external certification of cloud service providers would increase trust, 85% of respondents said yes, with 43% stating that the certification should be based upon an agreed standard and 22% requiring accreditation for the certifying body.

“It’s vital that companies not only recognize these developing risks, but take action to avoid them,” says Mr. Ritlop.

According to Mr. Ritlop, in addition to implementing new technology solutions and re-engineering information flows, companies must focus on informing the workforce about risks. The delivery of effective, and regular, security awareness training is a critical success factor as companies attempt to keep pace with the changing environment.

Half of respondents plan to spend more over the next year on data leakage and data loss prevention — a seven percentage point increase from last year. To address potential new risks, 39% are making policy adjustments, 29% are implementing encryption techniques and 28% are implementing stronger identity and access management controls.

Communities are changing; populations are aging; competition for talent is intensifying; the economy is slowly recovering; values are evolving and technology is rapidly shifting. Can leadership, knowledge and innovation save us?

The Ideas Festival brings together emerging leaders with established leadership from across all sectors and industries to discuss a variety of topics ranging from healthcare to energy and technology to creativity.

The Public Policy Forum (PPF), an independent, non partisan organization dedicated to improving the quality of governance in Canada and 21inc are co-hosting the conference in St. Andrews by the Sea, New Brunswick at the Fairmont Algonquin, November 24-26. Event hashtag: #ideas2010

Topics include:

* Can innovation save health care? Business model innovation in health care
* Can Atlantic Canada be an energy hub?
* The Future of Media: How new media is changing our roles and relationships
* Conversations with people changing the game and shaping our future
* The Economic Future of Atlantic Canada

Absolute® Software Corporation announced today that it has launched Absolute Manage Mobile Device Management (MDM) for iOS 4 devices, such as the iPhone® and iPad®. The breakthrough solution available with Absolute Manage allows IT departments to efficiently manage and secure iOS 4 devices alongside their PC and Mac® computers from their platform of choice, Mac or Windows.

“Apple mobile devices are immensely popular with consumers and are now making a notable impact in the enterprise. People want to use their preferred device at work as well, but IT has been hesitant due to a lack of solutions on the market that can provide security and management capabilities for Apple mobile devices. Absolute Software is a leader in managing and securing endpoints, and our customers asked us to extend our cross-platform capabilities to iOS 4 devices,” said Peter Frankl, vice president of lifecycle management at Absolute Software. “With the launch of Absolute Manage MDM for iOS 4, our customers can have the control and security they need for the enterprise while keeping their employees happy and increasing productivity.”

Absolute Manage is one of the first software solutions to allow IT administrators to remotely manage, wipe and lock Apple® iOS 4 devices from either a PC or Mac, computer -without the need for extra hardware or software infrastructure. With the addition of MDM, Absolute Manage customers can manage PCs, Mac computers and now iOS 4 devices from a single, comprehensive user interface in a PC or Mac infrastructure.

Yangaroo has been granted Canada patent number 2,349,797 titled “Biometric Rights Management System” by the Canadian Intellectual Property Office (CIPO). The Biometric Rights Management (“BRM”) patent relates to YANGAROO’s innovative use of biometric security measures to provide secure online distribution of digital media. The BRM patent will be in effect until June 2021.

“The receipt of this fourth patent grant is further confirmation that we continue to lead through innovation,” said Cliff Hunt, Chairman and COO of YANGAROO. “As more and more valuable media assets are made available online, the need to control and monitor the users accessing that media continues to grow. The utilization of BRM in our Digital Media Distribution System provides a secure, user-friendly and portable way to link media access rights to an individual through their unique traits, rather than to a machine or an easily shared password. This feature provides our customers with the most advanced solution available today.”

This BRM patent augments YANGAROO’S intellectual property portfolio, which includes the related United States patent number 7,003,670 titled “Biometric Rights Management System”, United States patent number 7,529,712 titled “Content Distribution System and Method” and Canadian patent number 2,407,774 titled “Content Distribution System and Method”. YANGAROO also has pending U.S. continuation patent application number 12/398,238 titled “Content Distribution System and Method” and U.S. patent application number 11/854,289 titled “Media File Distribution System and Method”. Together these provide a North America-wide safeguard for the company’s sector leading innovations.

Toronto boutique advisory and technology services company Project X Ltd. has entered into a partnership with California-based BigDataLabs, Inc. to distribute the company’s technology in Canada.

Project X will be the sole Canadian partner for BigDataLabs GeoDash™ technology. GeoDash is a new way to add GeoSpatial context to business intelligence environments through the integration of MicroStrategy technology and Google Maps. GeoDash is a lightweight solution for the business intelligence market with no extra hardware or server costs and no extensive training needed for users.

Project X President, Stephen Hayward remarked, “BigDataLabs matches our rapid business intelligence model and like Project X, is focused on fast to market technology that demonstrates maximum innovation and value for customers.”

Ajo Abraham, BigDataLabs founder commented, “We looked for a Canadian partner with the right combination of experience and passion for delivering business intelligence solutions with the best technology available and found Project X. As we expand into the Canadian market, they will lead the way.”

AOL Canada Corp. is making big gains heading into the holiday season. According to comScore’s Media Metrix, Canada, All Locations October 2010 data, the AOL Inc. owned and operated web properties have grown by 10% from last month to 9.2M unique visitors. With the reach of their ad network, Advertising.com, AOL advertising properties reach over 20 million Canadians each and every month.

This upsurge in traffic is largely attributed to the strategic acquisitions of the web properties TechCrunch and 5Min. TechCrunch brings with it breaking tech news and insight into the innovative world of start-ups to the AOL Technology suite of sites, and matches perfectly with the expert content of their marquis tech property, Engadget.com. The acquisition of 5Min allows AOL to significantly expand its consumer offering of contextually relevant, high-quality video across its sites and increases AOL’s appeal to advertisers, allowing it to capture share the growing video advertising spend. This combo delivers a power punch technology content offering and expands the affluent male audience key to advertisers in this category. _{(AOL Networks: Technology is 78% more likely than the average Internet web site to generate page views with males 25-34 and 103% more likely with males age 35-44 as well as 47% more likely to attract unique visitors with a household income of more than $100k. comScore Media Metrix. Canada, All Locations. October 2010.)}

To support this growing business AOL Canada has made a number of strategic hires as well. Since Graham Moysey joined AOL in August of this year, he has grown his team by 10, most recently hiring Laura Pearce as Director of Marketing, Dana Toering as Director of Business Development and Tanya Iliakis, Account Executive. Laura brings with her valued experience in online media and marketing, hailing from Postmedia Network and companies such as Trader Media and Dell Canada, and will be key to the strategy of positioning AOL to consumers and advertisers as a leader in premium content and network advertising, under an innovative and creative global brand.

Other hires include Michelle Edwards-Boldt, heading up Moysey’s office, Melissa McLintock, Alia Iannuzzi and Tanya Penala, all Account Managers and previously announced Brad Cressman, Head of Content, Julie Howlett, Account Director & Allison Burley, Account Executive.

The Canada Media Fund (CMF), successor organization to the Canadian Television Fund (CTF), has published the CTF 2009-2010 Annual Report (French) outlining its funding activities over the past year, which saw the CTF disburse a record amount of $327 million to help produce 4,400 hours of programming, including 932 hours of new broadcast programs. Flashpoint, The Young Romantic, Les Invincibles, and Les hauts et les bas de Sophie Paquin are only a few examples of programs that received numerous awards, attracting many repeat viewers as indicated by audience rating numbers.

“If there were a theme to this year, that theme would be dialogue” said Louis Roquet, Chair of the Board of Directors. “The dialogue between the various stakeholders of the corporation was strengthened through an extensive year-long consultation”. The consultation process and the significant review of content funding parameters led to the creation of programs and policies currently provided by the Canada Media Fund.

Highlights of the CTF 2009-2010 Annual Report include:

· The CTF supported a total of 931 projects, including 476 Production and 352 Development projects.
· Development funding reached a record high of $9.8 M.
· 427 CTF funded programs were nominated for awards and won 95 Gemini and Gémeaux awards.
· 2009–2010 total production budgets climbed above $1 billion, or 20% above the average of the preceding four years.
· Performance envelopes (BPEs) were allocated to 59 English and 20 French broadcasters; five new broadcasters received envelopes in 2009–2010.
· Regional production received 30% of the funding allocated in 2009-2010 (including Aboriginal Language Projects).
· The Digital Media Pilot Program budget grew from 2 to 10 million dollars. The number of projects funded by the program increased almost twofold from 30 to 77.

The full text of the speech delivered by The Honourable Tony Clement, PC, MP Minister of Industry at the International Institute of Communications Canada Conference which is currently underway in Ottawa, is now available online.

In speaking on Canada’s future in a digital economy, Minister Clement stated that he is looking to the future “with confidence, even optimism. Not because I am insensitive to the challenges, but because, like you, I see the possibilities. And few areas offer greater reason for optimism than the digital economy.” He also outlined what we can expect when the Digital Economy strategy is launched in the spring of 2011, saying that “it will be a living document, one that will continue to evolve to meet the changing needs of changing times. But it will be an important milestone in Canada’s path to greater competitiveness and innovation.”

Minister Clement went on to reiterate five areas of particle interest that are critical to creating a digital Canada:

* building a world-class infrastructure that connects ideas, individuals and opportunities.
* encouraging businesses to adopt digital technologies to boost their productivity and drive innovation.
* developing a digitally skilled workforce to take advantage of the opportunities these technologies provide.
* growing successful Canadian companies — to supply digital technologies to global markets.
* creating made-in-Canada content across all platforms to bring Canada to the world.

Following this, Minister Clement touched on several areas of forthcoming change for both the digital industry and industry at large, in Canada. These include changes to policy at the Business Development Bank which will see ICT becoming a focus for new and expanding enterprises. He also covered other areas to be visited by the Digital Economy strategy, including access to broadband in all regions of Canada and the cost of services from our telecom providers. Minister Clement also touched on what the government is working on in regards to ensuring “a well-functioning digital marketplace by introducing important new laws and amendments — including copyright, anti-spam and privacy legislation.”

Minister Clement also spoke about the need to nurture Canadian ICT talent and educational programmes, whereupon he announced the “awarding of 25 Knowledge Synthesis Grants on the Digital Economy. The research proposed by the recipients reflects both the diversity of Canada’s intellectual capital and the diversity of the digital economy itself.” He concluded his presentation with discussion of growing Canada’s digital economy both within our borders and internationally, as well drawing attention to the Canada Media Fund and Canada 3.0. During his speech, Minister Clement also noted that The Honourable Diane Finley, Minister of Human Resources and Skills Development, will be presenting more about digital skills development today at IIC (see below). You can read the full text of Minister Clement’s speech on the Industry Canada web site.

The Honourable Diane Finley, Minister of Human Resources and Skills Development, delivered her comments this morning at IIC as part of her update on Canada’s Digital Economy Strategy development at an industry conference earlier today, opening her presentation with the acknowledgement that technology is becoming more and more intertwined in Canadians’ everyday lives, and supporting digital skills development will be key to our future economic success.

“For Canada to be a leader in a rapidly developing, global digital economy, Canadians need to have strong digital skills,” said Minister Finley. “That’s why the Government of Canada will develop and implement a strategy that will help us work in collaboration with our industry, education and government partners to build a skilled workforce and a stronger Canada.”

As Canada heads towards economic recovery, new digital skills needs are being added to existing labour market challenges. Recent public consultations on the digital economy will help the Government develop a strategy to address many broad challenges.

The conference, entitled Connections, Content and Consumers: Towards a National Digital Strategy for Canada, was hosted by the Canadian Chapter of the International Institute of Communications (IIC Canada).

Mr. Bernard Lord, Chair of IIC Canada, welcomed the Minister’s remarks. “The Government of Canada’s Digital Economy Strategy is a once-in-a-generation opportunity to chart the path Canadians will take towards prosperity in the 21st century,” said Mr. Lord. “Networks and connections will enable that prosperity, but it will be the digital skills, hard work and inspiration of Canadians that will maximize it.”

While elements of digital skills training can be found in existing Government of Canada programming, developing an overarching Digital Economy Strategy will improve our innovation and competitiveness and help prepare Canadians for the jobs of tomorrow.

A coalition of over 40 Canadian video game developers, academic institutions, and intermediate enabling organizations are working together to establish Canada as the globally recognized innovator and exporter of digital interactive game development software, technology, and IP. Meeting at the Digital Interactive Game Developer’s conference, DIG 2010, key partners discussed this initiative, striking an action committee to define the initiative’s strategic priorities and execution plan, with hopes to launch in the summer of 2011.

Through a robust partnership, industry, academics, NGOs from across Canada are working to create a Centre for testing, validation, and commercialization of game development IP. With over $5.5 million raised in cash and $5.5 million in-kind contributions, the team is committed to levering existing investments and assets to create a competitive advantage for Canadian game developers. The partners are putting together a program to:

* Identify and aggregate existing digital interactive game technology IP
* Support small and medium sized game developers to access the resources required to identify, validate, and accelerate the commercialization and licensing of their IP
* Facilitate and promote the ongoing collaboration among and between industry, academia, and national networks to mobilize the resources needed to solve technology related problems and develop marketable digital interactive game technology
* Develop, attracting, and retaining highly skilled software developers and engineers, researchers, and IT professionals
* Provide a conduit for digital interactive game developers to leverage access to industry information
* Host an annual series of national workshops – physical and virtual to bring together partner organizations for education, networking, and development of new programs
* Contribute to Canada’s digital media content creation by establishing and facilitating a path to market for hundreds of new Canadian digital interactive game technology licenses and content

“An opportunity exists to position Canada as a global leader in the creation, commercialization, and licensing of digital interactive game technology. This opportunity will be achieved by enabling synergistic interactions at all levels of game technology development through access to technologies that enable development, industry intelligence, and research,” says Michael Schmalz, a key leader of this initiative. “Our recent application to the National Centres of Excellence was not funded, but our team is committed to moving forward with our plan and defining the best opportunity for our industry,” adds Schmalz.

“It is ultimately our intent, shared by many supporters in industry, academia, and government across Canada, to create increased opportunities for Canadian digital interactive media technology developers, commercialize their IP, and export Canadian Digital interactive media technology globally,” says Douglas Robertson, President and CEO of Tech Southeast in New Brunswick.

Vancouver indie studio All Seeing Eye Games is pleased to announce that its new game Drum Studio: Platinum Edition will be available this December on the Xbox LIVE indie games channel of Xbox LIVE Marketplace.

Record songs, share them online, and jam with your friends in real-time over Xbox LIVE in Drum Studio: Platinum Edition. The follow-up to the multiple award-winning Drum Studio expands upon the original virtual drum recording tool with all-new graphics, Xbox 360 Avatar support, and extensive online features. Players will be able to meet online, chat, share songs, listen to each other play, and jam together in real-time. Lead Programmer Darren Joe says, “Music has always been about sharing. Drum Studio put music creation in the player’s hands. Now, Drum Studio: Platinum Edition allows players from around the world to share their creations with each other.”

[youtube:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZNIowRt3gSQ]

Drum Studio: Platinum Edition also features all new art by graphic artist Terry Wong (Cirque Du Soleil, National Geographic, Electronic Gaming Monthly) and full Xbox 360 Avatar support, allowing players to turn their Xbox 360 Avatars into full-fledged animated virtual drummers. It features the same simple yet powerful song recording interface as the award-winning original and hundreds of high-quality drum sounds to choose from. Players can play with any combination of one to four Xbox 360 drum kits or controllers.

The original title in the series, Drum Studio, received widespread critical acclaim & multiple awards upon its release, including an Editor’s Choice Award from teamxbox.com, who declared that it “takes music games to a whole new level”. You can get the original Drum Studio game now from Xbox Live Indie Games for 80 MS Points.

Once again the clock tells me that it is high time I head for my day job at “the salt mine” but before I go, I’d like to draw attention to two events currently underway – the first is Desert Bus for Hope – which, according to the event’s FAQ, is an “internet telethon by accident – you give donations to Child’s Play, and we play Desert Bus.  It’s really boring and mind numbing and generally unpleasant. The more you donate the longer we play. To keep you and us amused, and to increase the donations we auction off  and give away prizes, have celebrity guests stop by, and become your monkeys. Want us to sing “Still Alive?” Sure, we’ll do it for a $20 donation.  We play 24 hours a day until you stop donating.” Be sure to visit the site and check out their Challenges, Giveaways and Auctions.

The second event is happening at Velocity, the University of Waterloo’s Start-Up Incubator. The involves a group of coders who, beginning on November 20th, locked themselves in for seven days with, to quote “food, energy drinks, and beanbag chairs” during which time they will attempt to write an app a day for seven days. The group has promised video summaries of each day, and according to the Project’s site, the participants firmly believe “that seven smart people with perfect communication, mutual trust, and an agile mindset can get more done in a day than anyone would believe. And if all that isn’t enough, we have no intention of being timid. We’ll choose difficult problems, and we’ll probably fail once or twice. If we didn’t, we would know we didn’t shoot high enough. We’ll work insanely hard, probing the limits of human creativity and team productivity.”

Greg Aasen, Chair of the BC Innovation Council has announced the appointment of Danny Robinson as Chief Executive Officer.

“Danny brings over 15 years of experience to BCIC and has a proven track record of successfully working with early-stage technology companies,” said Aasen. “Danny will be a great asset to our organization and will ensure that BCIC continues to play a leading role in promoting the development of entrepreneurs and the commercialization of technology in British Columbia.”

Prior to joining BCIC, Danny Robinson was co-founder of Bootup Labs, an Internet Seed Accelerator, which invested and mentored eight new Internet companies in the last two years. Along with his wife, Maura Rodgers, he was co-founder of the Bootup Entrepreneurial Society, a non-profit, community and mentor-driven organization that was formed to inspire entrepreneurship and help Internet startups take their idea from concept to commercialization.

“This is a tremendous opportunity to work with some of the best and brightest minds to create more tech startups in BC,” said Robinson. “In partnership with industry, academia, government and the dedicated team at BCIC, I am committed to ensuring our province continues to capitalize on the tremendous potential of our high tech companies.”

“The board is excited to bring the passion and energy of Danny to BCIC. His experience at Bootup will accelerate our mission of helping entrepreneurs and startups across all segments of British Columbia’s high tech community,” added Aasen.

With Danny’s departure from Bootup, Board member Boris Wertz of W Media Ventures has accepted the role as the new Chairman over at Bootup Entrepreneurial Society. According to the BES blog, other changes over at the Lab, have included Jeff Magnusson becoming the interim COO, where he will assist in rolling out their plan for a cool new space for Founders, details of which will be coming in the near future.

Bootup has also announced the nine new companies who will be presenting at LaunchParty Vancouver 10, which is being held at the Canvas Lounge on December 1st:

ClinicBook

Clinicbook is a local health care website that helps over 60 000 Canadians each month find health care in a convenient and timely manner through consumer reviews and its up-to-date search directory. After launching the feature where the live wait time at walk-in clinics is displayed, Clinicbook will be demoing its online booking system for dental appointments in Greater Vancouver.

Foodtree

Foodtree helps you discover where your food is from and connects you directly with the source, so you can feel confident about the food you buy. Just like a family tree, a Foodtree traces the origins of your food from the farm, ocean or forest right to your table. For example, a quick search on Foodtreecan tell you not only where you can buy the freshest local salmon in your area but also provide you with detailed information on the fisherman, who caught it. With Foodtree, transparent (or reliable) and relevant food information is finally at your fingertips.

OpenCal

We’ve spent the past year and a half building OpenCal – the web’s most beautiful and easy-to-use online appointment system. With OpenCal, service-based businesses (think hair salons, massage therapists, anyone that sells their time) can receive appointments online 24/7, manage their staff’s schedules, track clients, create insightful reports, and lots of other cool things.

Panty by Post

Make the Postman Blush. Panty by Post delivers French panties right to your door, no matter where in the world you live. When your pretty panty surprise arrives monthly, the nostalgia of the packaging, note and tissue paper is a sensual experience bound to generate a mood to help you discover your inner sexiness. This means you can enjoy a taste of French romance every month (wink). Or, share this sensual surprise as a thoughtful gift for a friend or loved one. They’ll love you for it. There is also a line for brides, plus sizes and Briefs in a Box for men.

Geotoko

Geotoko is a promotional campaign management platform for geo-location based services. By leveraging existing API’s that provide checkin functionality (foursquare, gowalla, twitter, etc…), Geotoko help businesses engage their customers.  By creating simple self serve tools to create, manage and track promotional campaigns and reward loyal costumers, Geotoko aims to reduce the friction for businesses to get into the growing geo-location trend.  We’ll be officially launching our app at LPV.

NodeFly

We are a hosted application and infrastructure monitoring service that will be launching at LPV10.

TaxiNow

TaxiNow a free iPhone app that allows passengers to see the exact location of nearby available taxis on their iPhone map and hail them with one simple click. And passengers can track the taxi all the way to their pickup location through Apple’s GPS. Our goal is to make the the experience of hailing a taxi way better. The taxi industry is inefficient and we’re certain we can reduce the amount of time passengers wait for taxis and reduce the idle time for drivers. TaxiNow is available to any passenger and driver, anywhere in the world but the initial focus will be in Vancouver, Canada. We plan on rolling this out to other cities across Canada and revolutionize the way taxis are hailed. This will be the official launch of TaxiNow. We will demo the product and actually hail a taxi to Canvas Lounge to show how just how powerful what we have built is!

XKeyAMS

RSI is a company that offers software solutions, support and first class customer service for the hospitality industry. Our latest project is an amazing new product called XKey Activity Management System, which provides activity vendors the opportunity to maximize their revenues by having their inventory online! We will demo our visually appealing online booking engine, the seamless reservation integration, the personalized confirmations and the ability to use XKey as a Central Reservation System for multiple vendors (ie. Vancouver Attractions)!

AppGrower

AppGrower is a service meant to increase the traffic for social apps mainly on Facebook and other social game platforms. Appgrower will offer a pay per install campaign allowing the app developer to set the sale rate of their traffic.

One of the most iconic characters in video game history has made a triumphant, chest-pounding return just in time for the holidays. The game Donkey Kong Country™ Returns is now available exclusively for the Wii™ system, giving new and experienced players a wild new way to get acquainted with the legendary Donkey Kong™. Combining imaginative new features and dynamic motion controls with classic elements from the original Donkey Kong Country games for Super NES™, this side-scrolling jungle adventure also marks the first time in the series that friends can play together in a cooperative two-player mode.

“The Tsunami” Takeru Kobayashi, the king of competitive eating consumed a bunch of bananas at Nintendo’s Donkey Kong Country Returns Banana Eating Challenge last weekend in Toronto. Kobayashi competed against a Donkey Kong fan who played the new game to determine how many bananas Kobayashi would have to consume in 60 seconds. “The Tsunami” ate 16 bananas, exceeding the challenge of consuming at least ten.

Donkey Kong Country Returns takes place on scenic Donkey Kong Island, where the mischievous Tiki Tak Tribe has plundered Donkey Kong’s banana stash. Players use either the Wii Remote™ and Nunchuk™ controllers or a single Wii Remote held horizontally to maneuver the famous ape as he runs, jumps and climbs on a quest to recover the stolen bananas. Players can feel the power of Donkey Kong by shaking the controllers to perform moves such as the mighty Ground Pound or forward-tumbling Barrel Roll as they advance through more than 70 beautifully rendered levels. The new simultaneous two-player mode lets a second player (with his or her own Wii Remote and Nunchuk controller or Wii Remote held horizontally) swing into action as Donkey Kong’s agile sidekick, Diddy Kong™, whose special talents include riding high on Donkey Kong’s back, using his Barrel Jet to defy gravity and firing his Peanut Popgun.

“Players of every generation know they can count on Donkey Kong to deliver timeless video game experiences, and with Donkey Kong Country Returns, they can also pair up with a friend and enjoy the fun together,” said Ron Bertram, Nintendo of Canada’s vice-president and general manager. “Whether you’re a longtime fan or just getting your first video game console, Donkey Kong’s latest jungle adventure is right at home on Wii with collaborative multiplayer action, fun motion controls and colourful worlds to explore.”

The creatively designed levels in Donkey Kong Country Returns contain loads of hidden items for players to discover, keeping them coming back for more to uncover all of Donkey Kong Island’s secrets. By finding hidden puzzle pieces and collecting “K-O-N-G Letters,” players can unlock fun enhancements like new stages and behind-the-scenes concept art as they progress through the game. Donkey Kong Country Returns also includes a built-in Super Guide feature, which players of all kinds can activate to help make it through tricky levels.

The Donkey Kong character was originally created by veteran Nintendo game designer Shigeru Miyamoto, and first appeared in the 1981 arcade classic Donkey Kong, which also marked the debut of Mario™ (then known as Jumpman). Donkey Kong has since been featured in countless games across multiple console and hand-held platforms, selling a combined total of more than 49 million units worldwide to date.

The holiday season is here and what better way for families to get into the holiday spirit than by decorating a personal online living room? Vancouver-based online marketing firm October 17 Media has teamed up with Future Shop once again to embrace the gift of giving by creating an innovative online contest with weekly and instant chances to win fantastic prizes.

“The team at October 17 Media knows a thing or two about getting into the holiday spirit,” said Tamara Brooks, Partner, October 17. “We welcomed the opportunity to develop a marketing idea that would put Canadian families in a festive mood and highlight Future Shop as the go-to destination for holiday gift buying. In preparation for this contest, the October 17 team began listening to Christmas music weeks before Halloween had arrived!”

October 17 Media prides itself as a local leader in creating cutting-edge virtual contests, collaborating with businesses to develop elaborate viral campaigns focused on an organization’s particular needs. The “Thrilling to Win!” campaign is the company’s fourth collaboration with Future Shop.

“We’re excited to partner with October 17 Media again to launch another fun-filled holiday contest,” said Nikki Hellyer, Director of Marketing, Future Shop. “We know Canadians will enjoy this year’s online contest where they create their own virtual holiday-themed living rooms and have the chance to win incredible prizes.”

Between November 19 and December 16, Canadians are invited to visit the contest’s page to register online and dive into the holiday spirit with online activities for chances to win prizes such as Apple product bundles. Special codes will be available in-store and through other Future Shop online marketing channels and can be redeemed on the contest site to unlock unique holiday activity options and increase the chances of winning.

Participants can spread the holiday cheer by inviting friends and family to their virtual decorated living room through social media channels, like Facebook and Twitter. Additionally, for every user that registers online, Future Shop will donate $1 for every room created – up to $25,000 – to put gifts under the tree for deserving kids across Canada.

BCTIA presents Part II of the MOBCOM speaker series, Always Connected: The Risk & Opportunity of 24/7 Connectivity this November 23rd at CBC Vancouver’s Studio 700, 700 Hamilton Street. The doors open at 5:30pm, and tickets are $45.00 each.

Mobile market Update:

• Jonathan Carrigan, Founder & President, MOBCOM Consulting Inc.

Mobile computing is enhancing connections between people, businesses, and machines. In this opening presentation Jonathan reveals emerging market trends and new business models as consumers and business shift from eCommerce to mCommerce.

Panel Discussion:

Moderator:

• Gillian Shaw, Vancouver Sun

Speakers:

• Rob Goehring, VP Product Management & Marketing, Contigo
• Sandy Fleischer, VP & General Manager, Fjord
• Caroline Lewko, CEO, Wireless Industry Partnership (WIP)
• David Vogt, Executive Director, Mobile Muse

Mobile connectivity has become ubiquitous. People now carry connected devices where ever they go – even to bed. This level of connectivity is unprecedented but what does this mean for business? How are consumer behaviours and expectations changing? The Vancouver Sun’s Gillian Shaw leads an insightful discussion with a multidisciplinary panel of industry experts about the unprecedented growth of personal mobile computing and how location-aware, 24/7 connectivity is changing the way business is done.

Case Study:

• Trevor Nimegeers, President & CEO, Kryos

Research shows that extending applications to the smartphone platform can improve workforce productivity, enhance customer service and communication, and reduce operating costs. But how does it all really happen? And what is the impact on the business when customers can access service instantly? Trevor will share lessons from a customer case study – Sykes Assistance Services Corporation. Learn how Sykes plans to reduce operating costs and enhance their customers’ experience by extending their roadside assistance program to GPS-enabled BlackBerry smartphone and iPhone applications for Canada’s leading luxury auto manufacturers.

After the presentations, join speakers and attendees for drinks (first drink free) and lively discussion at the BREAD GARDEN (outside and next to the front doors of CBC Vancouver).

Jason Michael Paul Productions, Inc. has announced that PLAY! a symphony concert world tour with music from a catalogue of blockbuster video game titles will be making a stop in Vancouver for a special concert on Monday, December 6th at 8:00 pm at the Orpheum with the Vancouver Symphony and Chorus.

As a special treat for fans prolific composer Jeremy Soule (The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion, Guild Wars, Prey and Company of Heroes) will be in attendance along with Oleksa Lozowchuk (Dead Rising 2), Michael Curran and Geoff Knorr (Civilization 5). All will be signing items after the show as part of special meet and greet.

Music and visuals from Civilization 5 will be premiered as part of this concert. In cooperation with 2K Games and Firaxis, there will be a drawing to give away 10 copies of Civilization 5, and a limited number of free Civilization 5 soundtracks will be available for those who attend the meet & greet. Tickets are priced from $29.00 – $68.00 plus fees and taxes.

In conjunction with Global Entrepreneurship Week (GEW) Canada, the Canadian Youth Business Foundation (CYBF), Canada’s entrepreneur gateway and official host of GEW Canada, is pleased to announce the opening of a new regional office in Winnipeg, Manitoba. The opening is a momentous occasion for the organization, which has worked diligently to foster youth entrepreneurship from coast to coast to coast since its inception in 1996.

The office, located at 230-3025 Portage Avenue in Winnipeg’s St. James neighbourhood, provides an environment for young entrepreneurs to learn about CYBF’s start-up financing, pre-launch coaching, mentorship and online resources. The new location also features access to mobile workstations, additional business resources and complimentary wireless internet access.

“The growing interest in entrepreneurial careers combined with the desire to ‘come home’ to Manitoba creates significant opportunities for CYBF to begin to reverse the historic outward migration and cultivate future business leaders within the province,” says Joelle Foster, director of Manitoba, Nunavut and Northwest Territories, CYBF. “CYBF looks forward to working with young entrepreneurs and helping to turn their fresh ideas into a reality.”

The expansion of CYBF into Manitoba comes at a pivotal time in Canada’s economic recovery. According to the Business Development Bank of Canada, more Canadians living in the regions most affected by the crisis, including Manitoba, have stated their intentions to start a business. Currently, there are 90,000 self-employed entrepreneurs in the province, a number that has risen nearly 70 per cent over the last three decades. CYBF aims to further encourage this persuasion towards entrepreneurship and provide the necessary supports for success. One such program is the CYBF Newcomer Entrepreneur Program, which offers flexible loan assessments and a hand-matched mentor to provide new Canadians with insight into running a business in Canada.

Cineplex Entertainment today announced movies can now be digitally downloaded into your home with Download To Own (DTO) and Video on Demand (VoD) service from the Cineplex Store. New releases will be available for digital download on the same day they are released on DVD and Blu-ray. This new service complements the DVD and Blu-ray products already available for purchase at the Cineplex Store. Customers will now have the option to easily and seamlessly select whichever option best suits their movie-watching needs. Effective today, digital downloads purchased from Cineplex.com can be played on your PC or other compatible devices.

To celebrate the launch of the download service, Cineplex Entertainment is offering a buy one get one free promotion until December 31, 2010 where customers who purchase any regularly-priced DTO movie will receive a second movie of equal or lesser value free. Some restrictions apply so visit Cineplex.com for full promotional details.

DTO and VoD purchases made from the Cineplex Store can be stored either on a customer’s hard drive or in a digital locker contained within the Cineplex Player that customers will download when they make their first digital download purchase. The locker enables purchasers to store their movie safely and securely without depleting space on their device’s hard drive while still allowing unlimited future downloads of DTO titles. The Cineplex Player and digital locker technology are powered by RoxioNow™ from Sonic Solutions®.

Today’s launch is the first of a multiphase rollout, with several key features planned for a 2011 update. Cineplex.com will feature streaming High Definition content for DTO and VoD titles and, once available, the ability to store content in a cloud-based UltraViolet™ account. UltraViolet™ is a digital rights locker and account management system that will allow consumers to watch their digital entertainment across multiple platforms, such as connected TVs, PCs, game consoles, smartphones and tablet PCs, in an easy, consistent way.

Poynt Corporation has announced that their Poynt Local Search app is available for Windows Phone 7 in the United Kingdom. Poynt harnesses the power of multiple applications in one intuitive package. Users can view search results, call businesses, and get driving directions, as well as view restaurant information, make dinner reservations, and view local weather forecasts. Poynt’s integrated weather screen allows users to view real-time weather conditions. The movie section provides showtimes, trailers and features movie ratings. Poynt for Windows Phone 7 also features movie ratings.

Poynt is a free application that connects Windows Phone 7 users to business, movie, retailer, restaurant, and local weather information. The App integrates with the device using click-to-call, click-to-browse, map location and email results to friend in addition to including some of the unique features of the device including the pivot feature to facilitate toggling between different features and screens.

“As the company continues to grow and build momentum, adding Windows Phone 7 to the variety of platforms Poynt is already available on in the United Kingdom extends our local search solution to even more consumers in the region,” said Andrew Osis, CEO, Poynt Corp. “Windows Phone 7 is poised to be a successful platform worldwide and we are extremely excited to be among the early developers.”

Radiant Communications Corp. today announced the opening of its cloud datacenter located at 151 Front Street in Toronto, expanding the company’s cloud computing infrastructure to two facilities. Radiant’s other facility is located in Vancouver. Together, the two datacenters provide one of the widest cloud computing footprints in the country.

“The availability of Radiant’s AlwaysThere Enterprise Cloud platform in Toronto gives companies greater geographic options when selecting their cloud or managed hosting partner,” said Radiant’s President and CEO, David Buffett. “Located at a central downtown address, the Toronto facility provides companies situated near the datacenter with the added advantage of geographic proximity and high end-user performance.

“The central location of our facility in downtown Toronto minimizes network latency for Toronto based customers and provides a disaster recovery location for our Vancouver based clients,” said Buffett.

When a company selects a cloud hosting provider, the services are typically delivered from a single datacenter, making the customer vulnerable to disaster based outages in that area.

Radiant has two datacenters situated in Western and Eastern Canada, which allows customers to select the datacenter nearest their offices, providing the best end user experience possible while also taking advantage of Radiant’s disaster recovery services hosted in the other datacenter.

Another competitive advantage of Radiant’s AlwaysThere cloud infrastructure is that it is based in Canada and not subject to the U.S. Patriot Act. Under the provisions of this legislation, American authorities can access and collect companies’ data without their knowledge or consent.

“Some Canadian businesses want assurance that their data will remain under the jurisdiction of Canadian privacy laws,” said Buffett. “They are more comfortable knowing their data is kept here, always under the control of a Canadian corporation.”

Radiant’s infrastructure reflects this focus on privacy. “Our approach is quite unique in Canada in that we bundle cloud services with high-speed business Internet and private networking security products to create a hosted ‘private cloud’ with security and user experiences comparable to any internal IT infrastructure,” said Buffett.

AlwaysThere cloud-based solutions are flexible, reliable and affordable. Radiant’s AlwaysThere products are sold on a pay-as-you-use pricing model. Virtual servers are available from $149 per month and the company’s flagship Hosted Microsoft Exchange service is available for between $4.95 and $14.95 per user, per month. Radiant’s AlwaysThere services are sold by a direct sales force to midsize businesses in Canada and through partner programs with IT service vendors across the country.

Bell today announced it has begun to double HSPA+ network speeds to a maximum of 42 Megabits per second (42 Mbps), and will introduce initial commercial service in Toronto with the launch of the Novatel Wireless U547 Turbo Stick – the first 42 Mbps product available in North America – on November 23.

“Canada’s Best Network just got better. By implementing HSPA+ Dual Cell technology, Bell Mobility offers clients the ability to access the Internet and other data services at what we believe are the fastest mobile data speeds commercially available from any wireless carrier in North America,” said Wade Oosterman, President of Bell Mobility & Residential Services, and Bell’s Chief Brand Officer. “Bell is leading the way in Canadian wireless investment and innovation, enabling the mobile ecosystem that supports the development of new apps and data services by Canadian developers for mobile users here and abroad.”

HSPA+ Dual Cell technology combines two wireless 21 Mbps data carriers through multiplexing techniques at individual HSPA+ cell sites, increasing top-end data speeds from 21 Mbps to 42 Mbps for compatible products. Bell will continue enhancing HSPA+ network with Dual Cell technology to serve more Canadian cities and towns through 2011.

Coordinated through Bell Development Labs, this HSPA+ Dual Cell network enhancement leveraged the technical expertise of chipset, radio and core network infrastructure manufacturers and suppliers, including Huawei, Novatel Wireless and Qualcomm. Already providing speeds up to 21 Mbps to consumer and business clients, Bell Mobility’s HSPA+ network provides a robust platform on which developers continue to deliver a wide range of innovative business, entertainment and productivity applications.

Bell introduced broadband HSPA+ service in November 2009, bringing high-speed wireless service to 93% of the Canadian population in rural and remote locations, small towns and major urban centres across the country. The new network has supported the development of industry-leading data services such as Bell Mobile TV and rapid wireless growth at Bell, including a 39% increase in mobile data revenue and a 74% increase in the company’s base of smartphone users year over year.

The first product able to take advantage of 42 Mbps Dual Cell technology is the U547 Turbo Stick from Novatel Wireless, available at Bell retail locations, including The Source, in Toronto next Tuesday November 23. When paired with a laptop or netbook. Novatel Wireless’ latest Turbo Stick will allow Bell Mobility clients to experience mobile access speeds never before available for the fastest mobile Internet access, business applications, video streaming, gaming and much more.

Bell will also introduce new speed-based pricing with the launch of these Dual Cell compatible devices. A $10 add-on feature will be available on all Mobile Internet pricing plans to allow Bell clients to take advantage of speeds up to 42 Mbps. The pricing model aligns with the approach for fixed broadband services, which ensures clients benefit from the value associated with the highest access speeds available.

From December 1 to 5, 2010, the entertainment industry will meet in the mountains at the Whistler Film Festival’s industry forum. Designed to facilitate international alliances and financial partnerships, the Whistler Summit presents 21 informative and thought provoking sessions that address filmmaking in the digital age and the range of issues affecting the film, television and digital media industry. Sessions are complimented by networking opportunities including one-on-one meetings, roundtable information sessions, luncheons and receptions.

“As new tools and formats emerge, boundaries are breaking down like never before, and today’s filmmakers are telling their stories across multiple media platforms,” says Kryssta Mills, Whistler Summit Industry Program Producer. “The Whistler Summit is a unique gathering for the international industry to connect with Canadian producers to address the impact of filmmaking in the digital age, build relationships and take projects to new heights, all in an intimate and an inspiring setting.”

The Whistler Summit opens on Wednesday, December 1st with a networking reception that precedes the Festival’s Opening Gala. The program officially launches on Thursday, December 2nd with a focus on the international business of feature film production and cross platform collaboration. Producer roundtables begin the day with a series of ‘no pitch’, small group meetings with high-level industry executives. Panels include International Financing & Distribution: The View from L.A., an in depth dissection of the recent upturn in the international market after a very challenging few years, with some of the best in business, and Navigating the Digital Domain, an inside look at how film, television and digital media professionals can work together for cross-platform success. The Keynote Luncheon features Mass Animation founder and former Sony Pictures Digital President, Yair Landau, who will address collaboration in the digital age from his unique perspective, followed by One-on-one Meetings with attending International industry executives (pre registration is required) and the much-anticipated Merging Media Pitch, which features five advanced convergent media projects pitched before an international jury of digital content buyers and a live audience. An après networking reception rounds off day one of the Summit.
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