Recently, we announced our plans to rollout localized Twitter feeds for cities within the Techvibes network.
Soon after, we launched our first two cities: TechvibesEDM for Edmonton, and TechvibesCGY for Calgary. Then, we launched TechvibesOTT for Ottawa, TechvibesKW for Kitchener-Waterloo, and synced our already-established TechvibesTO (Toronto).
Today, we launch TechvibesVAN for Vancouver, TechvibesVIC for Victoria, and TechvibesMTL for Montréal. As described in our previous posts:
You can easily access these streams via sidebar links on our main Twitter page, allowing you to view our localized content streams without even leaving the the main Techvibes page. And we'll add links for cities to all city accounts too, creating a connected network where one-click access is the name of the game. Plus, permanent links will be integrated into our blog filters over the coming weeks to further accommodate this hyper-local enhancement.
If you live in or near these cities, we encourage you to follow its specific Twitter account. In addition to relevant news content, we'll also localize job listings and event postings, effectively personalizing your Techvibes experience.
Our last rollout—Ontario's Toronto, Kitchener-Waterloo, and Ottawa—will get a special treat after the long weekend, so stay tuned.
Techvibes is the leading online community for technology professionals in Vancouver and across Canada. Techvibes provides an easy-to-use platform... [more]
On 22nd Street in West Vancouver, every motorist is going to nearly collide with a young girl chasing a ball across the road.
This phenomenon is fiction, however, in that the girl and the ball are 3D optical illusions.
t’s already on the big screen, but now a 3D image is being used on the streets of West Vancouver in an attempt to jolt reckless drivers into reality.
David Dunne of the BCAA Traffic Safety Foundation told The Globe and Mail, "We need to expect the unexpected because anything could happen, whether it is a 3D image on the road ... or whether it’s a live child or a dog running in front of the car, these are all things that we have to be able to control for in a vehicle."
The concept is that motorists see this girl, and get a jolt of possible reality—if she had been real, would they have been able to stop in time? “You’ll see this image start to rise off the pavement and it will look like a little child is crossing the street. As you get closer to the image, the image recedes into the pavement,” David explained.
The $15,000, one-week project is flawed, however. A driver who believes the image to be real with either swerve out of the way or slam on the brakes—the former of which becomes dangerous for everyone in the immediate area, and the latter of which may cause an accident between the driver and the vehicle behind them.
Furthermore, I'm reminded of the tale The Boy Who Cried Wolf. If drivers get used to driving over this girl, that's only going to make the school zone more dangerous because when a real girl appears, who's to say she isn't an optical illusion?
EA Sports has some great news for all us Cheeseheads out there: the Green Bay Packers will win the Super Bowl in Arlington, Texas come February.
That's what came out of their annual playoff simulation, which isn't exactly a shot in the dark; EA Sports has accurately predicted Super Bowl champs six out of the last seven years. They've had remarkably spot-on predictions with their algorithms, even calling the final score in the Pittsburgh Steelers-Arizona Cardinals match up in Super Bowl XLIII.
Want to be part of the Next Generation of games development? EA is the leading developer for next gen games and looking for passionate gamers who... [more]
Montreal is further establishing itself as Canada’s “second city” when it comes to video games, and further hiring by role-playing game giant BioWare isn’t hurting.
BioWare’s Montreal staff will more than double from 27 to 55, and plans are in the work to grow the Quebec studio to 150 staff eventually. BioWare has produced such franchises as Mass Effect, Dragon Age, Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic and Baldur’s Gate.
According to CBC News’ Peter Nowak, BioWare is hoping that with increased staff, increased autonomy will follow, perhaps with games developed in-house in Montreal:
“Now that we've proven ourselves and shown that we can be successful, we're taking the next step,” Montreal studio director Yanick Roy said. “We're also doubling our contribution to whatever happens next in the Mass Effect franchise.”
Roy said that when the Montreal studio reaches its optimal size, it will look at the possibility of developing its own franchises.
“We're leaving all of these doors open. We'll react to whatever makes most sense at the time.”
The latest instalment of the Mass Effect series, Mass Effect 3, has no release date currently. However, it will doubtlessly face huge expectations after the universal acclaim for Mass Effect 2.
BioWare Corp. is an electronic entertainment company that develops computer and console games. Our published projects include: Shattered Steel, the... [more]
Craigslist nixes its "adult services" section following complaints
The internet's favourite classifieds website, Craigslist, has nixed its "adult services."
It's not a huge surprise, considering its been under criticism from law enforcement and various anti-prostitution groups since its inception.
But it is a major hit to the site's revenue—adult ads were forecast to draw more than $30 million this year.
Apple withholds eco info on iPhone
A U.K.-based initiative to determine the carbon footprint of mobile devices was given the cold shoulder by the ever-secretive Apple Inc.
The initiative, called O2 EcoRatings, saw Nokia, HTC, Samsung, LG, Palm, and Sony Ericsson all willingly offer up information so that O2 could determine the device's environmental impact. Apple, however, refused.
It's a little strange, given that Apple has been proud of its low eco-impact computers, leading consumers to believe something may be environmentally amiss with the iPhone.
When a YouTube user posts a video from something they shouldn't, such as a copyrighted television episode, the third party who owns those copyrights contacts YouTube, who then removes the video and may also ban the user. It's a lose-lose: effort from the third party, wasted efforts and frustration from the user (and those who wanted to watch the video as well), and effort from YouTube in playing the role of po-po.
But now YouTube has implemented a win-win: when a user commits this felony, instead of YouTube punishing the user and sending the video in the black abyss, they coat the video is advertisements, and then split the ad revenue between themselves and the third-party whose copyrights are violated. The user can upload freely, other users can watch guilt-free, and YouTube and third parties can swim in pools of cash.
Given that the premise is so simple, it's strange this wasn't tried sooner. But better late than never, as YouTube internal conferences are no longer riddled with lawyers and fretting execs, and uploaders have greater freedom on the site than ever before.
Founded in February 2005, YouTube is the leader in online video, and the premier destination to watch and share original videos worldwide through a... [more]
Questions will be answered and new ideas and technology will be introduced on September 30, when Vancouver plays host to the Itech Infrastructure Technology Summit at the Vancouver Convention Centre.
Solutions will be presented to your problems with data centres, mission critical infrastructure hardware, infrastructure management software, storage, security and more. IBM will be presenting a keynote address on data centre optimization.
This event is free to qualified industry professionals, but more information on registering can be found at www.itechsummit.ca. Also, check out Techvibes’ event listing for Itech here.
I am a little late to the game on this one, but I think this news is still important to recognize.
S.i. Systems announced mid-last week that it has acquired Datalist Inc., a full-service IT staffing company focused on the banking, retail, government and financial sectors. With the deal, S.i. Systems' presence in the Greater Toronto Area will double to approximately 250 consultants.
Founded in 1994 and headquartered in Calgary, S.i. Systems is a national supplier of on demand IT Professional Staffing Services, and the largest supplier in Western Canada.
Derek Bullen is the company's founder and president:
"Not only does this acquisition represent another milestone in our strategy to increase our footprint in the Toronto area, but it also deepens our specialization in banking, financial services, telecommunications and retail sectors. Datalist brings excellent professionals, a deep roster of contractors and leading clients to further enhance our existing strong team and business."
In late-2009, S.i. Systems opened two new offices in the GTA-region: one in Toronto and one in Mississauga. The company also has offices in Edmonton, Montreal, Ottawa, Vancouver and Victoria.
S.i. Systems is a Canadian corporation headquartered in Calgary , Alberta with offices in Edmonton , Vancouver and Ottawa . We have been providing... [more]
The GROW 2010 technology conference took place in August at the Vancouver Convention Center, and Techvibes was on location with an on-site studio conducting video interviews with a selection of speakers, sponsors and attendees.
Here, Techvibes interviews Bruno Morency of Dokdok. co-founder of Stage Two. Michelle speaks with Bruno about his company's Google Apps inbox-transformer.
Special thanks to KPMG, Freyburg Media, and Michelle Sklar.
DokDok enhances your inbox to make it easy to find, work on and share the latest version of any document. Sharing documents via email happens daily... [more]
What can social media marketing do for your company?
Over 75 speakers will teach you how to reach out to new business opportunities over the Internet at the IIMA sponsored Internet Marketing Conference, running from September 21st to 23rd at the Four Seasons Hotel in Vancouver. Learn about Facebook, Google, Twitter, Bing, Digg and more, and what these tools can do to help your bottom line.
Speakers from pioneering companies in social marketing like Mountain Equipment Co-op will be in attendance, and a keynote address will be given by Apple’s Guy Kawasaki, the original marketer of the Macintosh computer.
A wide range of topics will be discussed: Mobile to Social, Search to Affliate, Email to Video, Analytics to Creativity. Registration is open online; spaces are limited, so register early.
For more information, check out the IIMA at www.iimaonline.org.
The International Internet Marketing Association (IIMA) is a non-profit professional association serving Internet marketers and business... [more]
Banff Venture Forum
Infrastructure Technology Summit (I...
Infrastructure Technology Summit (I...
Social Media Camp
AndroidTO
“We wanted to give it a shot,” Phil Frazier, senior producer of the Madden franchise, told Wired.com. “There are a lot of variables at play with multiple teams, but we wanted to see how we do this year. It was one sim, and we let the chips fall where they may.”