CNM Short Takes

Seizing the Digital FutureUCLA researcher Jeffrey Cole was in Ottawa November 6 to address a gathering of Ottawa communications lawyers and other industry representatives on the subject of broadband connectivity. Cole presented unreleased numbers from the school’s latest Internet Report, which he says back up his thesis that the Internet will be "far more significant than television." Always on access, he noted, will be key to consumers’ use of the web for information searching and, increasingly, entertainment downloads. The chart below illustrates that the longer a user has been online, the more likely they are to spend greater time using the Internet. Pangaea plays key role in touch-over-the-Internet demoToronto-based Pangaea NewMedia is trumpeting a new collaboration tool it built in a matter of weeks that helped researchers demonstrate a new application that allows users to "touch" objects via the Internet. On Nov. 19, Pangaea, the National Capital Institute of Telecommunications (NCIT), Algonquin College, the University of Ottawa and other partners demonstrated the technology called tele-haptics at a CANARIE Inc. conference in Montreal. During the demonstration, a surgeon in this country simulated a gall bladder removal operation with a student in Australia. The trial was developed by the Commonwealth Scientific & Industrial Research Organisation in Australia to show how two surgeons in separate locations could plan and rehearse surgical procedures within a shared virtual environment. The event was viewable live online using Pangaea’s synchronized collaboration technology, which Pangaea staff tell Canadian NEW MEDIA will be launched as a commercial product within a matter of months. The collaboration software was built entirely using new Flash Communication MX server technology under the supervision of Pangaea developer Rick Mason. The same demonstration also took advantage of time delay compensation software from Waterloo ON-based Handshake Interactive Technologies Inc. Safe haven for children on Internet approved by CongressThe U.S. Congress unanimously approved a new .kids.us Internet domain on Nov. 15 to help guarantee a part of the Internet will be free of pornography and other inappropriate content. The bill was sent to president George Bush, who is expected to sign it. Sites using the new domain name will have to agree not to link to sites outside the kids-only area, and will also have to agree not to display material deemed inappropriate for anyone under 13. Further, chat programs or instant messaging would be prohibited unless certified. Authority over the domain will be contracted to NeuStar Inc., overseen by the Commerce Department’s National Telecommunications and Information Administration. This could be a boon for companies such as Decode Entertainment, which is currently demonstrating a new chat program that eliminates the possibility of revealing personal information on its Girl Stuff, Boy Stuff Avatar World site. New program in video game testing launched in QuebecA new course in professional video game testing is being offered by l’École des métiers de l’image et des médias numériques de Montréal in collaboration with the Fonds Jeunesse Québec and the Commission scolaire de Montréal. The course will take 405 hours, including theory and technical training. It will be launched January 13. Heritage funds French and Aboriginal folk traditions siteCanadian Heritage has announced it will fund Musilab Inc. to the tune of $596,719 for its project Le Monde d’objets parlés. The project’s goal is to promote French- and Aboriginal-language oral folk traditions through the Internet. It will expand an existing database of digital resources, as well as facilitate the conservation and distribution of these resources online. The site will also provide interactive tools to make using the resources simple. Musilab and its main partner, TELUS solutions affaires, are hoping to put the initiative online next spring. The Heritage funding is being drawn from the department’s Canadian Culture Online Program. NMBA invites producers to take festive night offThe New Media Business Alliance is inviting producers to its first New Media Producers Salon. The event offers an opportunity for producers of interactive content to meet with peers and colleagues in a relaxing environment. It will be held at The Victory Cafe in Toronto, Monday, Dec. 9 at 7 pm. CBC Radio 3 team wins EMMA for Belgrade 2001 siteCongratulations to Rob McLaughlin and the CBC Radio 3 team for winning an Electronic MultiMedia Award (EMMA) in the cultural expression category for its Belgrade 2001 web site. Also nominated was Radio 3’s 120seconds.com Film Festival site. This is the third EMMA award for CBC Radio. Last year, 120seconds.com and NewMusicCanada.com were awarded prizes at the competition held in Germany. A full list of EMMA winners is available at http://www.bombine.com/emma/index1.asp?partwin.CIPS warns against flaws in lawful access proposalsThe Canadian Information Processing Society (CIPS) is urging Ottawa to build in safeguards to proposed lawful access rules to protect the public’s right to privacy (CNM, Sept. 6/02). In a policy position released Nov. 28, CIPS asks the federal government to consider the appointment of a senior cabinet minister to ensure the interests of Canadians are protected, a prohibition against sharing information with other countries without superior court authorization, and the maintenance of a database of who has accessed material collected on individuals. The full paper is available at http://www.cips.ca/it/position/lawful. Workshop on creating content for kids announced by OMDCThe Ontario Media Development Corp. will be holding a workshop on Dec. 5 in Toronto on the topic of creating content for children. The day will look at common considerations whether creating kids content for books, films, magazines, music, new media or television. Confirmed speakers include Big Orbit Inc.’s Kelly Lynne Ashton, Corus Entertainment’s Bonita Siegel, Groundwood Books’ Patricia Aldana, Decode Entertainment’s Dan Fill and Line Gervais of Distican Publishing. The event is being sponsored by Telefilm Canada. Further information is available at http://www.ofdc.on.ca/BIGevent_reg/.Cinemage technology used to deliver Alberta heritage onlineVancouver-based Cinemage Corp.’s wholly owned subsidiary Advanced Cultural Technologies Inc. has announced that its software system is now powering the online offerings of the Archives Society of Alberta. Using the software, the archives can now offer a large database of photographs held in the province’s scattered archives. Previously, only text was offered, and the ability to upload and edit material was limited, according to a company media release. The same release indicates sound will soon be added to the site. The project to expand the site into multimedia was funded in part by the Canadian Culture Online Program, the National Archives of Canada, the Canadian Council of Archives and the Alberta Centennial Legacies Grant Program. Take a look at http://www.archivesalberta.org/general/database.htm. No dollar amount was released. Radio-Canada, petitmonde.com join forces for family portalPetitMonde.com and Radio-Canada/jeunesse have agreed to provide content to each others’ sites, with the broadcaster providing news reporting, games and other content linked to its television shows to PetitMonde, which will in turn provide articles on education, psychology and family life to Radio-Canada. No terms for the deal were disclosed. Grey Cup fan interaction offered by Zim, CBC SportsCBC Sports offered fans a chance to interact with the telecast of the 90th Grey Cup game Nov. 24 by giving them the chance to vote on plays via short messaging services on their cell phones. The application, called the Virtual Coach, was developed by Ottawa-based ZIM Technologies International Inc. "This service makes our telecast of the 2002 Grey Cup truly interactive," says Andrew Lundy, CBC Sports Online senior producer, in a media release. "We are pushing the envelope of fan interaction and making this telecast the most dynamic yet." No details have been released yet on the role the fans’ advice had on the play choices of Anthony Calvillo as his Montreal Alouettes crushed the Edmonton Eskimos 25-16 in a game seen by an estimated five million Canadians. Watchfire tunes up HMV site for holiday shopping seasonOttawa’s Watchfire Corp. has announced a contract win from HMV UK Ltd. to use its software to optimize the retailer’s site performance to ready it for online shoppers. The Watchfire software automates the process of searching for potential problems that stymie would-be shoppers. No value for the deal was released. Mainframe wins export awardVancouver-based Mainframe Entertainment Inc. has won a B.C. Export Award from the Canadian Manufacturers and Exporters’ British Columbia division. The award was presented to the company in reocgnition of the company’s contributions to B.C.’s export success.

CNM Short Takes

News | 11/28/2002 5:00 am EST

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