CNM Short Takes

BREAKING: ARIM funding sees $1-million extensionAs this issue of Canadian NEW MEDIA goes to press, CANARIE Inc. has announced that the Applied Research in Interactive Media (ARIM) program has been extended with $1 million in new funding from Canadian Heritage’s Canadian Culture Online program. Researchers are now invited to respond to a call for proposals that focus on areas of advanced networking such as grid computing and other ways to share network-based cultural expression and experiences. Applications for this second round of funding are due by August 12. Further information is available at http://www.canarie.ca/funding/arim/guidelines.html. CNM will have further details in an upcoming issue. Nokia on cross country tour to promote new N-Gage gamesNokia Canada is on the road to demonstrate its newN-Gage QD mobile gaming deck. The road show will be parked at major music, arts and sports festivals in cities across Canada this summer. At the demonstration, visitors can check out the new N-Gage phone, as well as The Nokia Playground. The Playground is an 11-foot-by-17-foot interactive display featuring a plasma screen for face-to-face competitions. Using Bluetooth wireless connectivity, users can compete head-to-head for prizes from DC Shoes, Ripcurl, Premium Skateboards, Dakine backpacks and Nokia handsets. A complete schedule of events is available at http://www.nokia.ca/playgroundtour. The road show is being mounted in the context of a new marketing strategy by Nokia Canada. This spring, Nokia Canada GM Nathalie LeProhon told Canadian New Media affiliate publication Report on Wireless that the company planned to shift its marketing focus from sponsorship of high profile events to grassroots ones in the hope of better reaching young Canadians. News of the marketing tour also follows fast on the heels of an announcement earlier this month that Nokia Canada is counting on Canadian content to help drive the success of it portable games devices. The N-Gage design studio in Vancouver will be developing more than half of the games in the 50-strong roster of titles expected to be available by the end of this year. The studio is also responsible for providing localized user guides, marketing materials and packaging for each title. CTV Newsnet begins 24/7 subscription streamingCTV Newsnet is offering live streaming of its broadcast on a subscription basis. The service is being offered in partnership with Vancouver-based INSINC, which is providing the TCP/IP back-end. The signal is on offer for $6.95 per month, or $4.95 for a low bandwidth option. The offering follows a successful trial offering free streaming of CTV’s election night coverage. Catherine Warren, a Vancouver consultant, says CTV is testing the market for subscription-based services. Warren consulted with INSINC on the CTV Newsnet deal, and is known for her work at Blue Zone Inc. From September 2000 until September 2002, Blue Zone powered CTVNews.com with its MediaBZ software. Warren tells Canadian NEW MEDIA that CTV saw the potential of video partly as a result of its recent success of the Canadian Idol franchise. ""Canadian Idol, which INSINC did, helped to solidify the relationship between CTV and INSINC. CTV saw that they could get a million video plays and that there was real interest in this. Now, what CTV is trying to do is see if a subscription model is going to work." She says relatively low bandwidth costs – prices have fallen by 50% over the past three years – make the service possible. With barriers to entry dropping, Warren says CTV is testing the market. "CTV has been at the forefront of convergence for many, many years. And, what they did with Blue Zone was truly bleeding edge. Now, there’s a tremendous pressure for broadcasters to start generating revenue through new media. So, I’m - I wouldn’t say that this is an experiment. I would say that it’s more of an ongoing strategy within CTV to continue to see what revenue models are viable." IWAYs accepting nominationsCANARIE Inc. is now accepting nominations for the 2004 IWAY Awards. The prizes recognize outstanding contributions to Canada’s information society. This year, the awards will be held at the Halifax World Trade and Convention Centre on Monday, Nov. 22, 2004. Sponsorship opportunities are also open for the various awards. Further information is available at http://www.canarie.ca/iway/index.html. The deadline for submissions is September 24. Slipstream and Kidsnet team up to offer ISP toolsWaterloo ON-based SlipStream Data Inc. has entered into partnership with Kidsnet Inc., Florida, to offer ISPs a range of tools to help parents control their kids’ web experience. Kidsnet uses a 100% rated database of sites to ensure kids don’t stumble across inappropriate content. The service will now be offered to ISPs in partnership with SlipStream, which offers accelerated dial-up Internet services. SBS sells product to ViBE studioSBS Interactive Co., Toronto, has sold its Side by Side virtual environment software and hardware to ViBE Dance and Fitness Studios Inc. Further, ViBE has agreed to become a reseller of the products to its own customers and customers at related dance instruction facilities, as well as DVDs. The deal is expected to result in the sale of 1,000 hardware units and 3,000 DVDs, according to a media release. SBS’ software and hardware allow for the integration of video content, with a computer environment in real time. IM announcement foretells greater enterprise useMicrosoft Corp., America Online Inc. and Yahoo! Inc. have jointly announced that they are collaborating to enable connectivity between Microsoft’s Live Communications Server 2004 and the AOL, MSN and Yahoo! public instant messaging systems. A news release notes: "This IM connectivity arrangement reflects a shared vision for the potential impact of enterprise IM as a productivity tool and platform for the delivery of value-added business services." The announcement means that users of Microsoft’s software will eventually be able to communicate with organizations not using the same system via instant messaging. TELUS to be title sponsor for in-flight Chalk contentTELUS Communications Inc. has signed on as title sponsor for the Dave Chalk Connected series of in-flight entertainment shows. Chalk Media Corp. will provide TELUS with advertising space around the show, and an informational tip labeled as a TELUS Tip. The TELUS logo will also be featured in the sponsorship section of the show. A news release notes that the show, available on Air Canada flights, reaches approximately 24 million passengers a year. Cineplex Galaxy files for trademark for online serviceCineplex Galaxy Limited Partnership has filed for trademark protection for the term "JUMP!" The company’s application notes that it is in connection with "Online ticket sales; online information services in the field of motion pictures, entertainment and special events." The application was filed after Cineplex announced April 30 that it has signed multi-year agreements with RepeatSeat Inc. to offer private label Internet ticketing. The move, notes a press release, could pave the way for barcodes to be sent to cell phones to be used as virtual tickets. CNMF announces first phase applicationsTelefilm Canada’s Canada New Media Fund saw 310 eligible applications for 190 individual products in the first phase of its two-step application process this year. For the projects that are chosen to submit full applications based on their expressions of interest, the deadline will be August 13 for English-language applications and October 1 for French-language applications. In the first EOI round, 24 applications for 16 projects were received in Atlantic Canada, 100 applications for 58 products in Quebec, 100 applications for 62 products in Ontario, and 86 applications for 54 products in Western Canada. Copps tapped to write for PostFormer minister of Canadian Heritage Sheila Copps has won a gig writing a column for the National Post. Post executives recognize that Copps’ unabashedly protectionist and interventionist views may be at odds with their existing columnists, but say they are "committed to offering our readers the daring, the unexpected and the controversial," according to a recent media release. BBM adopts wireless metersBBM Canada will use new wireless portable people meters in the Montreal and Quebec regional markets for the 2004/2005 television year. The new meters pick up audio codes embedded in TV broadcasts to meter which shows people are watching. The codes are included in the broadcast at a slightly weaker frequency than the human ear can hear when alongside a stronger frequency, which is dubbed psychoacoustic masking by scientists.

CNM Short Takes

News | 07/23/2004 4:00 am EDT

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