CNM Short Takes

NMBA changes name to Interactive OntarioThe New Media Business Alliance, Ontario’s digital media trade association, announced following a meeting on November 16 that it will change its name to Interactive Ontario. "We have chosen the name Interactive Ontario to better communicate the mandate and commitment we have to represent interactive media companies in this province," said Ian Kelso, NMBA’s president, in a news release. Formed five years ago, the NMBA currently represents 100 companies in the games, mobile, eLearning and convergence production sectors. The association works with all levels of government to represent the interests of its members, and is also a founding member of the Canadian Interactive Alliance/Alliance interactive canadienne. A new branding strategy defining the new identity will be introduced soon. CryptoLogic inks three-year deal with BetsafeInternet gaming software supplier CryptoLogic Inc. has signed an exclusive three-year contract with Betsafe, a Scandinavian online poker site. The agreement was made through CryptoLogic’s wholly-owned subsidiary WagerLogic Ltd. and will introduce CryptoLogic’s poker software to Betsafe players this year. "Our size advantage, plus our adherence to strict regulatory standards will give Betsafe and its players a profitable, safe home online," said Lewis Rose, CryptoLogic’s president and CEO, in a press release. Through WagerLogic, Betsafe’s players will have access to the largest shared poker network in the world that excludes the United States. Players can take advantage of CryptoLogic’s popular online games, including its exclusive Hold’Em Blackjack, a combination of poker and blackjack. New service from Sony will help users Connect with digital musicSony of Canada Ltd. has launched Connect, a new online music service with a library of more than one million songs. The service allows downloaded songs to be transferred from a computer to a Walkman digital music player or any other ATRAC compatible device. Sony supported the Canadian launch of Connect by sponsoring the current Canadian tour of the rock group Three Days Grace. Sony set up the Walkman Listening Lounge at the concerts where fans could collect a postcard that included for three free Connect downloads. Security and privacy concerns hinder online shoppingA national survey commissioned by Symantec Corp. and conducted by Decima Research Inc. finds that only 24% of Canadians plan to shop online this holiday season and 62% of regular Internet shoppers have curtailed their online purchases. This, along with the fact that 49% of all Canadians fear their credit card information may be stolen while they shop online, should be cause for concern by online merchants. In a press release, Symantec’s director of consumer solutions Lynn Hargrove said consumers can take precautions to protect themselves while they shop online: "Consumers need a transaction security solution, such as Norton Confidential, which provides both phishing and crimeware protection…. They should also have the latest antivirus software and firewalls installed, as well as the most up-to-date patches to ensure their software applications and operating system are secure." Lingo to launch kindergarten English programToronto-based Lingo Media Inc., a publisher of English language learning programs in China, has announced plans to launch Lingo Kindergarten English, a new educational program aimed at China’s vast preschool market. According to the Chinese State Ministry of Education, China’s kindergarten market of three to six year old children is currently 21 million and growing. "Lingo Kindergarten English is part of our growth strategy to develop new programs to increase our long-term royalty income from China," said Michael Kraft, Lingo’s president and CEO, in a press release. Nstein, Transcontinental sign dealNstein Technologies Inc., a multilingual text mining and information access solutions provider based in Montreal, has signed a contract with Transcontinental Media. The deal involves the deployment of Nstein’s Ntelligent Content Mangement (NCM) Suite so Transcontinental can optimize the publication and administration of more than 20 online information portals. NCM makes online searches easier and faster using a series of semantic analysis tools. "NCM Suite is one of the most comprehensive and innovative solutions on the market," said Zouhaire Sekkat, VP of digital media at Transcontinental. "It will help us maximize the value of our product by providing more content more quickly to our users and to better serve their research related needs." VIQ picks up $9.3 million contract down underMarkham-ON based VIQ Solutions Inc., a global provider of digital audio products and solutions for voice-driven systems in legal, medical, business and government industries, has announced that its wholly-owned Australian subsidiary Spark & Cannon Australasia Pty Ltd. has been awarded a contract by the Western Australia Department of the Attorney General for the provision of court recording and transcription services. The three-year contract has an estimated annual value of AUS$3.1 million. "As the leaders in efficient transcriptions services in Australia, we are confident we will supply the with the highest level of quality court recording and transcription services," said Gregory Farmer, GM of Spark & Cannon, in a press release. Canadians more likely to visit online classifieds: comScoreAccording to Internet research firm comScore, seven million Canadians visited a classifieds website in September, up 57% from a year earlier, and one third of online Canadians visit a classifieds website every month – significantly outpacing the US where only 22% of online Americans visit a classifieds site every month. Free local classifieds website Kijiji.ca has lead this growth by becoming Canada’s largest online classifieds site, with 1.5 million visitors every month, less than a year after launching. A different study from eMarketer gives some clarity to the comScore findings. It reveals that 81% of Canadians shop or browse for goods online, but only 56% actually make online purchases. Those numbers in the US are 78% and 66% respectively, showing that while Canadians like to look for goods online, they prefer to make purchases in person, which online classifieds enable them to do.

CNM Short Takes

News | 11/30/2006 5:00 am EST

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