CNM Short Takes

More Canadians access Internet in September: Jupiter MediaMore than 14 million Canadians accessed the Internet from home last month, a 4.4% increase over levels recorded in the month of August. Jupiter Media Metrix, Toronto, reports that the need for information and communication in the wake of the terrorist attacks in New York and Washington contributed to the increase in traffic. The web monitoring firm also indicates that news sites were inundated with people trying to get up-to-the-minute information. CNN.com led the pack with 1.8 million unique visitors in September, a nearly 200% increase in traffic over the month of August. The four other most visited sites were: MSNBC.com, CBC.ca, Radio-Canada.ca, and globeandmail.com. Excite Canada cuts more staffFinancial troubles at @Home Corp. have affected its Canadian subsidiary, Excite Canada, which has had to lay off more staff. The Internet portal company reduced its staff by six more employees, leaving it with 33 full-time employees and six contract workers. The company, which is also owned in part by Rogers Communications Inc., has also put a freeze on media sales for 2002. MagiCorp scores with Virgin MagiCorp Entertainment Inc. will receive a $7-million investment from Richard Branson’s Virgin Entertainment Group in the form of a four-year debenture. The money will be used to develop a new digital media and entertainment business, in association with Virgin. The new company will operate under the Lucid banner. FCMM to demonstrate five innovative new media projectsLe Fesitval international du nouveau Cinéma et des nouveaux Médias de Montréal (FCMM) will get a look at five interactive new media projects today. The projects selected include interactive TV, web TV and convergence elements. Claude Paré’s Pick-up sticks is an interactive poetry web site. Total panic, produced by Sarbakan, is an interactive 3D game. Colin Edgely’s Clean Slate is a prototype for interactive stories. Bonbon.net, produced by Oboro, is a web interface for the diffusion of web books. Pierre-Paul Mongeon has created a multi-platform educational model. Technology increases manufacturing productivityAccording to a new Statistics Canada report, the implementation of information and communications technologies (ICT) helps manufacturers grow through increased productivity. The report, Impact de l’adoption des technologies de l’information et des communications de pointe sur la performance des enterprise du secteur de la fabrication au Canada, tracked the use of ICT in the manufacturing sector from 1988 to 1997. Fifty-four per cent of manufacturers that implemented information and communications technologies experienced high growth, compared to only 39 per cent that posted only slight increases in growth. Sony joins Vancouver-based new media groupSony Corp. of America has joined the Vancouver-based New Media Innovation Centre (NewMIC), an industry/academic/government collaborative research centre, as a sustaining member. Sony has committed $1.5 million to the centre over the next five years. The money will go to sponsor a newly established research cluster in rich media entertainment. In this cluster, industry and academic researchers will collaborate on technologies aimed at delivering rich media to the home. SMEs to win better exposure through CNW/Venngo dealSmall- and medium-sized businesses will now have better exposure, and could potentially increase sales and net worth, through an agreement between Canada Newswire and Venngo Inc. that will publish news relevant about their company on the web. Venngo will use its Internet-based software to add the newswire service to existing virtual business networks including those of Hewlett-Packard Canada, Certified Management Accountants of Canada, University of Toronto, McMaster University and the Canadian Youth Business Foundation. The goal of the agreement is to make information about SMEs more readily available. New Media promotes partnering in JapanNew Media BC and the Japan External Trade Organization (JETRO) will promote British Columbia’s new media industry in Japan. Early next month, about 40 Japanese companies will be coming to Canada to identify technology opportunities. This year’s mission will focus in large part on the digital media and content industry. New Media BC is also promoting the new media industry at Softworld 2001 in Vancouver this November. This year’s show will give digital content creators the opportunity to leverage the brand and customer base of leading firms such as Electronic Arts, Adobe, Sony, Yahoo, Shockwave and AOL. Streaming media companies can profit in current conditionsThere are significant opportunities for "slimmed down" streaming media players in current market conditions, according to market research firm Cahners In-Stat Group. The company says that while the big three (Apple, Microsoft and Real) will continue to be forces to be reckoned with, more focused business opportunities make it possible for smaller firms to make some inroads. Companies such as AT&T and its partner SANZstream, Activate, helloNetwork, Interactive Video Technologies, and others will find expansive markets for their products. Anonymous emailing gets shuttered, lack of demandZero Knowledge Systems Inc., Montreal, has shut down an Internet service that allows users to anonymously send email, visit chat rooms and browse the web due to lack of demand for the service. The service will be closed this month. The company made the announcement in conjunction with the release of its new version of its Freedom security software that doesn’t provide the anonymity features. ‘Who Wants To Be A Millionaire?’ goes interactiveDTI-Infogrames and Celador International have signed an agreement that will allow airline passengers to use an interactive, multi-player version of the popular game show Who Wants To Be A Millionaire?. Interactive forms of the game show are already available with CD-ROMs, Internet and other interactive TV formats.

CNM Short Takes

News | 10/18/2001 4:00 am EDT

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