CNM Short Takes

Collideascope develops new ecosystem learning toolHalifax-based Collideascope Digital Productions is in the final development stages of a new digital ecosystem online. Company president Steve Comeau recently told CNM that the project is being developed in conjunction with the Banff Centre for the Arts, and that he is now looking for a syndication and licensing deal for the property, likely with a content aggregator. "I’m just creating a gigantic planet ecosystem lab that kids can log on to and create their own creature. They can put them in the ecosystem and sort of watch them decline or thrive, and learn about ecology," he says. Further development will likely include a simple ITV application for which he is putting funding together, and a closed-circuit version for educational institutions. Whatcha looking for?Sympatico-Lycos has launched a new feature on its portal, a weekly list of the most popular searches. The list will tabulate and rank the search queries that reveal the greatest increase in popularity relative to the previous week. The first list, at www.sympatico.ca/topsearch, shows the National Football League in first place, followed by Halloween, flags, Big Brother and Terry Fox rounding out the top five. DLL plays host to N’Sync contest for CanWest InteractiveToronto-based DLL Communications Inc announced that it had built Global TV’s Baxtravaganza online contest site, featuring a chance to see boy band N’Sync live. The company says its tracking technology was a success, and that its "tell-a-friend" feature accounted for almost one-fifth of entrants in the contest. Radiant wins $5.4-million VC financing roundVancouver-based ISP Radiant Communications Inc has closed a $5.4 million private placement financing with existing shareholders and new investors. Participants in the round were Carmel Capital Corp, Encompass Ventures and Vancouver’s GrowthWorks Capital’s Working Opportunity Fund. Radiant will use the funds to boost its network and hosting facilities in Toronto, and to expand its offices across Canada. BCE chief claims top convergence spotBCE Inc chair Jean Monty told a Canadian Club audience in Toronto September 17 that only BCE has the necessary components to take on multinational new media companies. "One of the most significant consequences of convergence is that today in Canada, we’re vying for customers with the likes of Microsoft, IBM, and AOL. To date, BCE remains the only Canadian company with significant assets in new media and ecommerce capable of competing with these multinationals," he said. He also said that Canadian content will be one of the keys to differentiating itself from the global giants. CanWest cuts newspaper jobs, temporarily suspends dividendCanWest Global Communications Corp has undertaken several cost-cutting measures in the wake of its takeover of the National Post. It has slashed 120 jobs at the paper and cut Saturday Night magazine from its offerings. The cuts were necessary, in part, says the company, to "capture synergies between the various television, newspaper and interactive properties." Shareholders weren’t left just watching on the sidelines – a semi-annual dividend of $0.15 was suspended. Telefilm supports Baddeck Int’l New Media FestivalTelefilm Canada has announced support for the Baddeck International New Media Festival through the presentation of the Telefilm Canada Award, which will be presented Oct. 13. The festival will be held October 10-13. The agency also announced support for three other events this fall, including continued support for the Atlantic Film Festival, the Festival international du cinema francophone en Acadie, as well as new support for the St. John’s International Women’s Film and Video Festival next month in Newfoundland. Knowledge House deep-sixedHalifax online education company Knowledge House Inc has been forced to close its doors due to a lack of financing and an inability to meet its payroll and other obligations. Things had looked bright for the company in the past few months. In May, it had announced a contract with the Nova Scotia government for its online learning courseware that was to have been worth $10 million (CNM, May 17/01). NetActive reportedly bankruptThe Ottawa Business Journal is reporting that NetActive Inc has filed for bankruptcy. An Ottawa-based secure download software provider, the company was a spin-off of Nortel Networks Corp. It was reportedly unable to secure new venture capital to continue its business. The company employed 38. In 1999, the company, then called Channelware was spun out from parent Nortel. The name change came in February 2000 when the company began to focus on software that allowed customers to preview or buy multimedia content from companies such as Disney and Time Warner. At one point, it carried on operations in New York, San Francisco and Los Angeles, in addition to its Ottawa headquarters. Artist videos offered free over WWW from Media OneMedia One Communications, Calgary, has announced limited-time free access to 18 video programs featuring different Alberta artists. Timed to coincide with Art Week in Calgary, the initiative will run for at least one month with the potential of running longer depending on its popularity. The clips will run with the Shockwave and Real Video plug-ins. They were originally broadcast on CBC and PBS, and funded by the Alberta Foundation for the Arts. Follow the links at www.mediaonecom.com. eNblast won’t proceed with Great Big Music acquisitionThe previously announced acquisition of Great Big Music Inc by Toronto-based eNblast productions inc is off. The company announced Sept. 13 that a non-binding letter of intent announced July 24 to acquire 100% of Great Big Music won’t be pursued at this time. In June, eNblast executives told CNM that the company was hoping to buck the trend of recent dot com busts by taking control of both a music and television studio. Ownership and production of the content, it said, would provide cash flow and put it on the road to profitability (CNM, June 28/01). Though the Great Big acquisition won’t go ahead, the company is still on track to buy ELECTRIC ENTERTAINMENT (1198643 Ontario Ltd) as announced previously. Globemedia to lead CIBC, Diamond Trading ad campaignsThe Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce and the Diamond Trading Company (DTC) have turned to Bell Globemedia to implement multimedia marketing campaigns for them. The two campaigns kick off this fall on Bell Globemedia’s diverse platforms, including the globeandmail.com site, the Sympatico-Lycos portal, The Globe and Mail, CTV, TSN, CTV Newsnet, and specialty channel ROBTv. MGI releases consumer video editing package for DVDMGI has released VideoWave 5, an integrated combination of video editing and DVD authoring. According to MGI, the new software gives users unprecedented functionality and control for easily creating DVDs, DVDs on CD, and video CD movies. As well, the DVD authoring capability in MGI VideoWave 5 is seamlessly integrated as part of the core application. Coaching tips go online with McGraw-HillThe Online Coaching Clinic, a performance support program using web based coaching, has inked a deal to have its material distributed by McGraw-Hill Lifetime Learning (MHLL). Under the agreement, all of The Online Coaching Clinic’s 160-plus modules will be sold and supported by MHLL, a leading provider of comprehensive e-learning solutions. 4 organizations saluted at inaugural Voluntary Sector IT AwardsThe Community Information Online Consortium (CIOC), a province-wide collective of organizations serving local communities, received the Diamond Award of Excellence at the inaugural Voluntary Sector IT Awards on Sept. 12. The other winners were reBOOT Canada, which runs a program refurbishing and distributing used computer hardware to community organizations, St. Christopher House for its grassroots Bang the Drum initiative that provides free critical IT skills development training and In Kind Canada, for its cost-efficient program of bringing in-kind donations to those who need them. The awards were created by the Information Technology Association of Canada for Ontario, the Ontario Ministry of Citizenship and Showcase Ontario to mark the International Year of Volunteers.

CNM Short Takes

News | 09/20/2001 4:00 am EDT

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