CNM Short Takes

Quebec well down digital highway: surveyAlliance numériQC, the association for Quebec’s new media industry, recently released its Indicateurs numériQC 2005 survey of digital device adoption in the province. Conducted in partnership with CEFRIO, a provincial educational/IT think-tank, the survey found that two-thirds of Quebecers now have a computer - either desktop or laptop - in the home; as well, 63% own DVD players and 56% own a mobile phone. In addition, more than a quarter of Quebec households boast a video game console, and nearly 30% subscribe to interactive or web TV services. According to Harold Gendron, market information coordinator at the Alliance, the purpose of the survey is to help device and content manufacturers better understand the unique profile of the Quebec market. ACD launches pro photographer solutionsImaging software firm ACD Systems International Inc. of Vancouver unveiled its new ACDSee Pro Photo Manager, a picture management offering aimed at professional photographers. Pro Photo Manager supports raw file formats from major digital camera makers including Canon, Nikon, Fujifilm, Konica Minolta, Olympus and Pentax, as well as digital negative specification standards. The software also features advanced workflow functionality and image control tools such as filters, shadow/highlight tools, and more. Open Text creates digital media unitWaterloo ON’s Open Text Corp., best known for its enterprise document and content management packages, is making a foray into multimedia with the creation of a new digital media group. The firm said in a media release it decided to form the new unit "to help customers address growing competitive and regulatory pressures to improve the management of digital content, such as audio, video, photos and graphics." Open Text already has a competitive advantage in its Artesia digital asset management solution, which is already in use by such notable firms as HBO, DreamWorks, 20th Century Fox, Random House and Whirlpool. New 3D simulator from TransGamingGraphics-rendering software maker TransGaming Technologies Inc. of Toronto has launched SwiftShader, an application that brings 3D graphics to games and applications on platforms that don’t feature dedicated 3D video hardware. The company says the technology will allow contemporary graphics-intensive games to run on older computers. TransGaming is also the creator of Cedega, a porting technology that allows Windows games to run on Linux platforms - some titles that have been ported to Linux to date include NHL ‘06, Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas, Day of Defeat: Source and more. A fun October for FUN TechnologiesLondon-incorporated but Toronto-based online gaming software firm FUN Technologies plc has a slew of new deals under its belt. First, FUN subsidiary SkillJam Gaming Technologies Corp. and Verizon Wireless have teamed up to offer SkillJam games to subscribers to Verizon’s Get It Now service. Users will be able to play such games as HexTwist, BlackJack Solitaire and Memory Match on their Verizon handsets, and can team up with as many as three other players for a tournament-style experience. Leader boards will also be available right on the handset.The firm also inked an agreement with Virgin Games Ltd. to have SkillJam’s offerings featured on the new Virgin Skill web site, which now offers more than 40 skill-based online games, including SkillJam’s Bejeweled 2 and Zuma. Players can go head-to-head to compete, as well as enter both fun and play-for-cash tournaments. Finally, SkillJam’s games will be featured on UK travel provider Last Minute Network Ltd.’s web site. Rogers in tune with Canadian Music WeekPerhaps as a foil to Bell Canada’s music content partnership with Universal Music (CNM Update, Aug. 25/05), Rogers Wireless has secured the title sponsorship of Canadian Music Week, an annual independent music festival held in Toronto for the past 24 years. The 2006 edition of CMW will feature more than 450 musical acts in 30 different venues, with upwards of 3,000 attendees expected to register for the four-day event. MTS to offer Netsweeper web filtersMTS Communications, a division of Manitoba incumbent telco Manitoba Telecom Services Inc., will offer web-filtering technology from Guelph ON’s Netsweeper Inc. to its commercial and residential customers under a private-label agreement. MTS will brand the two services MTS Internet Parental Controls and MTS Professional Content Filter. More than five million web surfers worldwide currently use Netsweeper’s intelligent content filtering products. Loto-Quebec finds i-marketing helpLoto-Québec has chosen Revolver 3 and Bell Canada property CESART, both of Montreal, to help with its interactive marketing strategy. The provincial lottery authority will draw on CESART’s marketing consulting expertise and Revolver 3’s creative strategy acumen to augment its in-house web communications team. Both firms have been contracted by Loto-Québec through 2005 and 2006. New MP3 phone available on Bell networkBell Canada and Motorola Inc. announced the availability of the new Motorola e815 flip phone in Canada. The device is the first MP3-capable phone to run on Bell’s 1X digital voice and data network, and features 1.3 megapixel camera, the ability to capture video, Bluetooth, and memory expandable up to 512 MB. The e815 also has an integrated speakerphone and a 64-bit polyphonic sound engine. Jokaroo launches weekly contestsBrampton ON-based online video content provider Jokaroo Entertainment Inc. announced it will hold weekly contests on its web site, which features on-demand video and movie trailers. Each Saturday, Jokaroo will hold an arcade game challenge, with a prize for the highest score at the end of the day. The site boasts more than 200,000 unique visitors daily, and counts more than 45,000 members in its online community. Iseemedia signs investor relations firmIseemedia Inc. has picked the Equicom Group Inc. as its provider of investor relations and financial communications services. Toronto-based Iseemedia will pay Equicom a $6,000 fee for each month of the contract, which runs for an initial six-month term. Iseemedia specializes in rich content publishing systems which allow images, documents and other potentially bulky files to be delivered to any device, over all types of connections. ExtendMedia taps further into debt issueToronto’s ExtendMedia Inc., which develops systems for delivering on-demand and subscription content over broadband, IPTV, wireless and other networks, said that it has drawn further funds from a promissory note held by financier Leland Verner. The firm now owes more than $690,000 to Verner through advances on promissory notes, which pay an annual 15% interest rate and may be converted into more than 260 million ExtendMedia shares should the company not repay the loans at maturity. Alcatel moves into content spaceAlcatel, the Paris-based telecommunications solutions vendor, recently announced it was creating a unit dedicated solely to mobile TV. Recent experiences with such content over 3G networks in Europe show a large consumer base waiting to be tapped, the company said in a media announcement. Olivier Coste, formerly senior VP of strategy and business development in Alcatel’s aerospace unit, will head up the new division; he joined Alcatel in 2001.The company also announced a deal with fellow Parisian firm Musiwave, a provider of ringtones, secure music downloads and other audio services for mobile network operators. Musiwave will now support Alcatel’s proprietary technology, such as the PacketVideo Network Solution and pvServer, both of which facilitate streaming, progressive streaming and downloading of multimedia content. MTV launches comedy for mobile phonesMotorola Inc. and Viacom’s MTV Networks International are claiming a first with the launch of Head and Body, a comedic live-action adventure designed expressly for mobile handsets. Head and Body follows the escapades of a character whose head and body exist separately, but rely on each other to get through life. The series of eight ‘mobisodes’ will be distributed through MTV’s existing mobile distribution channels, through the Motorola web site and, in the US, through Comedy Central.

CNM Short Takes

Broadcast | October 27, 2005

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