CNM Short Takes

Hexagram taps six new projectsSix new interactive media projects have been chosen for the sixth round of funding from Hexagram, a consortium of Quebec universities. The projects – by second- and third-year students from Concordia University and l’Université du Québec à Montréal – are experimental in nature and range from wearable instruments to building installations that react to the movements of passersby. Hexagram’s investment capital totals approximately $400,000 and is funded by entities such as the Cirque du Soleil, Clear Channel Entertainment, le Groupe Spectacles Gillett and Daniel Langlois; other partners include Valorisation Récherche Québec, Economic Development Canada, and various Quebec government and quasi-governmental groups. Montreal’s SAT debuts IP media blogMontreal’s Society for Arts and Technology (SAT) has launched a new weblog, Thermo, which promises to "witness and explore the evolution of the new digital distribution infrastructure the Internet provides, as well as the ways that individuals and groups can create and share their creative work." Specifically of interest is the way in which traditional media forms will embrace and leverage IP-based media such as mobile broadband distribution, IPTV, streaming video, photoblogging and others. The blog is hosted and maintained by two individuals, Jon Husband in Vancouver and Michel Dumais in Montreal, in partnership with SAT’s director of strategy and liaison, René Barsalo, and is funded in part by the Department of Canadian Heritage’s Canadian Culture Online initiative. Parlay posts record results for 2005Oakville ON-based bingo software creator Parlay Entertainment Inc. grew its business by 58% in the 2005 fiscal year, according to the firm’s latest earnings statement. Parlay set a new corporate record for both fourth-quarter and year-end revenue, bringing in nearly $6 million worth of business during the 2005 fiscal year, with more than $1.7 million of that coming in the final quarter. The firm also grew its international and license partnerships to include Spanish-language games. "Fiscal 2005 was the year in which Parlay’s financial results began to reflect our efforts over the past few years, as well as the tremendous interest in Internet bingo," Parlay president and CEO Scott F. White said a media release announcing the results. CPCC holds the line with 2007 tariffThe Canadian Private Copying Collective, the agency set up to distribute money obtained from the private copying levy to record companies, songwriters, artists and music publishers, has filed a tariff proposal for 2007. The CPCC’s proposal will see the levy remain unchanged, at 21 cents for each blank CD-R sold in Canada, 29 cents for blank cassette tapes, and 77 cents on blank MiniDiscs; those rates have been constant since 2001. The Copyright Board has yet to approve the CPCC’s proposed levies for 2005 and 2006, although it has approved interim tariffs for both years. A formal hearing on the 2005 and 2006 levies will take place sometime this fall. Monster.ca gets new ad partnerJob and careers portal Monster.ca has inked an exclusive one-year deal with Montreal’s Redux Media Inc., a publisher network and media representation agency, under which the Quebec-based firm will act as agent for all advertising on the Monster.ca website. If all goes according to plan, Redux will bring non-HR-related advertisers and ad agency clients to the website, providing an additional revenue stream for Monster.ca. TransGaming rolls out Cedega 5.1Gaming development platform maker TransGaming Technologies Inc. has released version 5.1 of its Cedega Windows-to-Linux game porting software. The new version supports leading PC game titles such as Civilization IV, Need For Speed: Most Wanted, and Battlefield 2. "Cedega is our flagship Linux product and is designed to ensure that Windows-based games run transparently and seamlessly on the Linux operating system," said TransGaming CEO and president Vikas Gupta in a media release, adding that the firm will "continue to develop software portability products that allow game developers and publishers to create games for one system and deploy them across alternate platforms more cost-effectively than through the traditional redevelopment process." New features in Cedega 5.1 include an updated user interface, installer and copy protection enhancements, and improved support for wide-screen computer monitors and international keyboards. PhotoChannel backs Black’s prepaid programLeading Canadian photographic retailer Black Photo Corp. has signed an agreement with Vancouver’s PhotoChannel Networks Inc. to offer a prepaid photo developing card vending program in a variety of locations countrywide, including gas stations such as Petro Canada and Shell and convenience stores such as Mac’s. Shoppers will be able to buy the cards in 50- and 100-print amounts, then order their 4x6 prints at the Black’s website. Netlogix, Adzilla pair in ad partnershipTwo Vancouver firms, NetLogix Information Technologies Inc. and Adzilla New Media, have teamed up to offer cities and municipal governments that operate free-of-charge Wi-Fi networks a chance to earn additional revenue. The two firms will provide ad serving solutions to both carriers and municipalities that will send targeted, location-specific content to users on free municipal wireless networks. The companies also say the user data collected is anonymous and adheres to all privacy legislation. While the offering is aimed at those municipalities and carriers looking to introduce advertising content via serving ads, insertions or interstitials, there are also other applications for the technology, said Netlogix VP of business development Eric DaVersa in a media release. "In addition to delivering revenue from advertising, Zillacasting solution offers service providers the ability to better communicate with end-users by giving them a platform to reduce support calls, deliver marketing messages and deliver advisories and warnings," he said. Dell outfits Ubisoft’s Montreal campusToronto-headquartered Dell Canada Inc., a wholly owned unit of Austin TX’s Dell Computer Corp., has been awarded a contract to update the desktop environment at video game developer Ubisoft Inc. The deal will see more than 1,100 Optiplex desktops, 200 Latitude notebooks, 1,200 Precision workstations and "hundreds" of Poweredge servers installed at Ubisoft’s Montreal development studio, where leading titles such as Tom Clancy’s Splinter Cell and Prince of Persia have been created. Interactive games prescribed for US hospitalsTVR Communications LLC of Fort Lauderdale FL, a provider of interactive digital media for the healthcare sector, will work with Valley Stream NY’s Zodiac Gaming LLC to develop interactive TV-based games for use by patients, visitors and staff in hospitals and other healthcare institutions. The offering will allow customers to choose from 20 of the hundreds of arcade, puzzle and logic games available from Zodiac Gaming, which will then be delivered via set-top boxes in patients’ rooms, visitor lounges and other public spaces within the location. Developer guides for mobile Internet now availableDublin, Ireland’s Mobile Top Level Domain (MTLD) has released the first in a new series of guides, dubbed Switch On!, aimed at getting developers ready for the wireless Internet experience. The guides will provide "mandatory rules and highly recommended best practices for content developers and mobiles supporting website owners, ensuring that their websites can be optimally accessed by any mobile device," according to a media release. The release went on to quote Reinhard Kreft, global head of industry initiatives and standards at UK mobile network operator Vodafone, as saying: "We are confident the Switch On! guides will make the development of dotmobi sites easier. As this will generate considerable amounts of new, high-quality mobile content it will benefit the mobile user and transform the experience of mobile web-browsing worldwide." MTLD are owners of the ".mobi" or "dotmobi" domain for wireless Internet hosting, which when it launches this summer will give wireless device users a clear indication of which websites are optimized for their mobile handsets, the firm says.

CNM Short Takes

Broadcast | March 7, 2006

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