CNM Short Takes

"Video Game U" offers $200k in scholarshipsThe Center for Digital Imaging and Sound (CDIS), Burnaby BC, has announced an additional $200,000 in scholarships for its three-year Video Game Development Pro-gram. CDIS staff say it is preparing for a day when 4.5-8 GHz computers are a reality, allowing real-time interaction in virtual environments. $100,000 will be awarded starting in June, with an additional $100,000 awarded in various amounts for students who qualify to enter the second or third year of the program directly. Tuition is approximately $11,000 per year. Destiny wins weather contractDestiny Media Technologies has scored a contract with weather.com to supply its Clipstream audio streaming product. Clipstream will be used to deliver current national and regional weather forecasts. No terms for the deal were disclosed. Japanese adopt aggressive IT strategyThe Japanese government has launched a new "e-Japan" strategy for IT and ecom growth rivaling many of the world’s most ambitious plans. It has stated that it will become the most advanced IT nation in the world within five years, accomplished through an action plan to be compiled and released at the end of this month. Key elements of the strategy include wide rollout of broadband to homes and businesses, the reduction of government red tape in dealing with industry conflicts and demands, the facilitation of ecom through the revision of regulations which hinder its growth, and the realization of e-government. The Japanese have also committed themselves to foster IT-related human resources to levels greater than in the United States by 2003. CANARIE Inc’s Bill St. Arnaud, a strong advocate for Canada’s similar strategy, says that as far as he’s aware, Japan’s strategy won’t be funded until that country’s budget next year. In the meantime, St. Arnaud says, Canada’s own connectedness agenda is still ahead of the curve. Virtual Museum gets public launchThe Virtual Museum of Canada will get its public launch March 22 at a Toronto event attended by Heritage Minister Sheila Copps and hockey great Jean Béliveau. SKG seeks alternatives to listingToronto-based SKG Interactive Inc was suspended from trading on the TSE March 8 for failure to meet the listing requirements of the exchange. Company officials say the de-listing is the result of a delay in certain acquisitions and related financing, and a declining share price. In light of those difficulties, SKG will seek alternate financing plans for its acquisitions and a temporary delay in the re-listing procedure. The company is not releasing any other details at this time. The company eventually hopes to secure a listing on a public exchange. SKG was negotiating the $2.7-million, all-stock acquisition of Montreal-based Athena Educational Partners Inc which had been scheduled to close by Nov. 30. Alias inks Xbox deal with MicrosoftAlias/Wavefront has signed an agreement with Microsoft Corp to develop its proposed Xbox — a new competitor in the video game console market. Developers can now use Alias’ Maya product to create graphics and animation for the new platform. Xbox is slated to be released this fall. Blue Zone joins Virage programVancouver-based Blue Zone Inc has inked a software development agreement with Virage Inc to integrate Virage’s interactive video technology into its MediaBZ product. By teaming with Virage in its developer program, Blue Zone will also take advantage of joint marketing arrangements, integration assistance, technical support and consulting services. QR Capital writes off two companiesQR Canada Capital Inc, Montreal, has swallowed a $2.7-million write-off as it ceases funding two subsidiaries, Fac-Simile E-commerce Systems Inc and Unpublished Works Inc. The decision was taken after progress in those companies proved too slow, and to stem QR’s burn rate. QR management have announced an undisclosed investment in a U.S. company developing "breakthrough" technology for the data industry. Media panel nixed in favour of committee studyThe federal government’s plans for a special panel studying media concentration in Canada have been axed as there was the potential for the panel to conflict with twp planned hearings on the mandate of the CRTC and on the future of the Broadcasting Act. Ownership questions would have to be addressed in the course of those hearings, anyway, say government officials. Cinram earnings affected by low pricesCinram International Inc is blaming lower prices for multimedia products such as CDs, higher raw material costs and the start-up costs associated with a major new contract for a significant decline in its yearly earnings. While the top line grew slightly, EBITDA was $74.2 million this year compared to $140.7 million in the previous year. Toronto.com hires Iceberg for streaming musicToronto.com, a partnership between Torstar Corp and Sympatico/Lycos, has turned to Iceberg Media.com for its streaming media. Custom-designed, hosted and streamed by Iceberg, toronto.com radio will feature a variety of music. No terms for the deal were announced. New Canadian safety site to launchVOXCOM Security Systems, Access TV and Canadian Learning Television have launched a new website, www.yoursafety.ca, to provide safety information and resources to Canadians. The web site features fire, child, home and travel safety as topics, among others. The site was launched as part of a partnership between the three partners to promote VOXCOM’s security services. Lions Gate buys Mr. BillLions Gate Home Entertainment and subsidiary CinemaNow have bought the home video and Internet rights to the complete library of Mr. Bill films. The content will be featured as movie-on-demand on the CinemaNow site. Mr. Bill was a highly popular character on the television series Saturday Night Live.xwave to develop chopper simulation for DNDAliant subsidiary xwave Inc has been given a $3.3-million contract to develop a simulation system for the CH146 Griffon helicopter. As prime contractor, xwave will network five government and industry simulation facilities across North America to create the virtual model. The HFE Group will provide modeling, simulation and high level architecture and SGI will provide high-performance visualization systems. CANARIE announces $200k for online ecom trust projectCANARIE Inc has invested $200,625 for the Canadian Online Trust Project as part of its e-business clusters program. The project is supported by national consumer and business associations as well as government. It will try to increase consumer confidence in ecommerce, and stimulate Canadian innovation in the field. The project will be carried out in two phases. In the first, it will codify best practices and, in the second, will develop a national standard. Bell Canada, Cable Television Standards Foundation, Canadian Association of Internet Providers, the Canadian Cable Television Association and the Canadian Wireless Telecommunications Association are just some of the partners involved in the project. Watchfire launches website quality campaign with AkamaiKanata ON-based Watchfire Corp is collaborating with Akamai, NetGenesis and Interwoven to develop a series of white papers and online seminars addressing the impact of website problems on returns on investment, usability and overall effectiveness. Ultimately, the papers will explore how a variety of products and services from the partners can help improve visitor’s experiences at business’ sites. No date for the seminars or papers was announced. iKnowledge wins Lineup Technologies content contractEdmonton-based iKnowledge Inc has won a contract on undisclosed terms to provide its content lifecycle automation tool to Lineup Technologies. Lineup will use the software as the foundation for its proprietary digital content syndication platform.

CNM Short Takes

Broadcast | March 22, 2001

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