CNM Short Takes

CanJet uses digEplayer to entertain passengersCanJet Airlines has selected digEplayer in-flight entertainment system to be on some Florida bound flights as well as selected flights operated in partnership with Sunquest. "It is our plan to offer digEplayer rentals to passengers on all long-haul flights meaning our customers flying between Toronto-Calgary and Toronto-Vancouver will be able to enjoy this new in-flight feature," said CanJet director, sales and marketing, Doug Newson. DigEplayer features current early release movie content from Dream Works SKG, 20th Century Fox, Warner Brothers and Buena Vista (Disney). Blast Radius chosen by Esselte for 2005 web redesign projectBlast Radius has been chosen by Esselte to redesign its brand and corporate web sites, and to oversee the execution of all other global digital marketing activities in 2005. Since the relationship between the two companies began 18 months ago, Blast Radius has worked together with Esselte to launch www.dymo.com, www.esselte.com, and operational services for its web applications and technological infrastructure. Identity theft primary concern with Canadians, survey saysThirty-nine per cent of Canadians consider identity theft to be their primary security concern online, according to a recent study commissioned by AOL Canada Inc. The survey also says that Canadians were unable to accurately define the term "phishing". According to AOL Canada’s phishing study, almost one out of every three Canadians have received an email from a company seeking their account information. Atlantic Canadians seem to have been victimized most, with 40% having received suspicious emails asking to confirm their account information. Only 22% of Quebecers reported similar emails. "Criminals trick users by building near-perfect replicas of legitimate sites such as those of banks and online retailers, often forged trademarks, logos and internet domains," said AOL Canada VP of technology Alex Leslie. Canadians sent 95 million text messages in FebruaryCanadians have doubled their text message use for the second consecutive year, according to the Canadian Wireless Telecommunications Association (CWTA). The CWTA also said that in February, text messaging reached 95.5 million, or 3.4 million per day, and that text messaging was up 300% more from 2002 to 2004. Also, the use of camera and videophones is on the rise, known as multimedia messaging service (MMS). "The rise of MMS underscores the fact that wireless phones aren’t just for talking anymore," said Lawrence Surtees, IDC Canada Ltd. director of telecom and Internet research. TVA Group to broadcast Advertising on Demandetc.tv and TVA Group have signed an agreement to launch Advertising on Demand Network on the TVA broadcast network in fall 2005. This agreement follows a November 2004 agreement between etc.tv and Videotron Ltée to distribute Advertising on Demand Network on Vidéotron’s digital cable distribution system. CHUM selects UBSs for transmission infrastructureCHUM Ltd. will use Unique Broadband Systems Inc. to be the supplier of transmission infrastructure required to implement its proposed CHUM Subscription Radio Canada (CSRC). Also, CHUM, in partnership with Astral Media Inc., has filed a licence application with the CRTC for a subscription radio service. SBS system preproduction a goSBS Interactive’s duo interactive and immersive video system is ready for preproduction, said SBS president and CEO Todd Gotlieb. SBS has already ordered a preproduction run of duo with 25 test samples. Once preproduction is approved, the company will begin the first run of 1,000 units, to be deployed in trials in the near future. SBS already signed a deal with Digital Broadcast Corp. to provide 1,000 duo systems. Discreet merged into Autodesk Media and EntertainmentAutodesk, Inc. has rebranded its subsidiary Discreet into AutoDesk Media and Entertainment Division. The sales, support and product development teams will remain unchanged. As well, Autodesk Consulting is extending its organization by adding a dedicated Media and Entertainment practice. Martin Vann, VP of Autodesk and Entertainment said, "Autodesk Media and Entertainment will not only provide a broader and more strategic presence for Autodesk, but a better platform for us to compete within our core markets of film, television, gaming and design visualization." AutoDesk and Entertainment will demonstrate this integration at the National Association of Broadcasters Convention in Las Vegas, April 18-21. Autodesk Media and Entertainment division will be headquartered in Montreal. Cybertip.ca teams up with the government on webcam abuseCybertip.ca, Industry Canada, SchoolNet, and Justice Manitoba have teamed up with the RCMP/Winnipeg Police to work against the misuse of webcams that lead to the sexual exploitation of teenage girls. Authorities are warning the public about the growing trend of young girls posing nude for webcams and the pictures being disseminated on the Internet, which could have legal implications for parents. "Adolescent girls are most susceptible to this type of pressure," said Lianna McDonald, executive director of Child Find in Manitoba. "Once that picture is on the web, it’s there forever, and the damage can be life long." Cybertip.ca is using two posters in their efforts to raise awareness, to urge people to report incidents and access information and safety strategies to Cybertip’s web site. Bell and MSN’s video service featuring 2005 JUNO winnersBell Canada and MSN launched a new service called Sympatico/MSN Video, which will be available at http://video.sympatico.msn.ca. This video channel lets online visitors create playlists of streaming video clips from their favourite Canadian content using Windows Media Player. The product will be broadcasted online Sunday, April 3 at 8:30 p.m. EST, where it will be featuring backstage interviews with JUNO winners after they receive their awards. Ubisoft is using Windows XP for its desktop computersUbisoft’s Montréal studio has selected Microsoft Windows XP Professional operating system as its standard desktop platform to help improve security and desktop performance. The company has already upgraded 95% of its desktop base to Windows XP. The transition is due to the company wanting a more stable version of Windows to minimize work interruptions due to system crashes. Canadian new media experts to meet Asian counterpartsThe Department of Canadian Heritage is holding a three-day event in the Canadian pavilion at Expo 2005 in Japan. The event will take place June 6-8 and will bring representatives from the Canadian new media community together with representatives from four Asian countries: Japan, South Korea, Singapore and Taiwan. This meet and greet should help producers and others gain new perspectives about working in new media, and develop a relationship with experts in other countries. Mobile MUSE re:call used to enhance tourism experienceMobile MUSE’s new wireless application, re:call, is the reason behind an interactive demonstration of the product April 7 at 10 a.m. on Granville Island. Mobile MUSE Memory Team research leader Julie Zilber said the "launch of re:call will use wireless PDA’s to provide participants with an interactive island experience from the palm of their hand. Canadian Atlas available free of charge over the InternetThe Royal Canadian Geographical Society and Canadian Geographic magazine are launching a new online product called The Canadian Atlas Online at the National Film Board Mediatheque in downtown Toronto. Grade 9 students from across the country will be in attendance. The product will be a fully bilingual interactive web-based geographical resource, and will be available free of charge over the Internet. The Government of Canada, TD Bank Financial Group and Microsoft Canada supported this project. Canada Council professional storytelling grantCanada Council for the Arts has a grant called the Spoken Word and Storytelling Program, and the deadline is April 15. Grants range from $1,000 to $2,000, depending on the nature of the project. For requests for amounts higher than $15,000, priority is given to projects involving artists with a significant profile. Production costs associated with recording and promoting CDs, DVDs, audio cassettes or video formats (such as video poems) are eligible. Dissemination activities, other than festivals and performance series, are also eligible under this component. The program does not support web sites. Grant applicants can include professional spoken word artists or storytellers, professional writers who wish to transform their work to the spoken word or storytelling genre, and collectives, producers, publishers, or spoken word and storytelling hosts that have proven experience in producing spoken word or storytelling art.

CNM Short Takes

Broadcast | April 1, 2005

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