December 21 , 2010

Headlines
Wireless industry, government oppose "iPod tax"
Best Buy awards $250,000 in technology grants
KB Media joins forces with ScreenScape
CGI, Interac extend long-term partnership to 2013
Mobilicity exceeds 50,000 subscriber additions
Digital Journal launches apps with Polar Mobile
Wildcat announces new senior appointments
Ingram Micro Canada wins Distributor of the Year
BICSI establishes first traning facility in Canada

Wireless industry, government oppose "iPod tax"

Canada's wireless industry has confirmed its support of the Canadian Government's decision to oppose a new tax on MP3 players and smartphones as part of its copyright legislation.

Bernard Lord, President and CEO of the Canadian Wireless Telecommunications Association (CWTA), offered the following comment:

"This is absolutely the right decision for consumers as the Government moves forward with its digital economy strategy. We don't agree that law-abiding consumers should have to pay twice - once to legally download a song, and once again for the right to play it on a MP3 player or smartphone. There are also lots of uses for digital media players and smartphones that don't involve playing recorded music, and this proposal would have unfairly penalized consumers that way too. The Government definitely got this right." Top of Page

Best Buy awards $250,000 in technology grants

Christmas has come early for a number of Canadian students as they were officially announced winners of the Best in Class Fund, the annual technology grant program awarded by Best Buy, Canada's fastest growing retailer and e-tailer of consumer electronics. In total, 15 schools were presented with a collective   $250,000  in technology grants in recognition of their winning proposals submitted at the start of school year.

"Every year, we at Best Buy are so inspired by the innovative ways of incorporating technology into the classroom proposed in the Best in Class Fund submissions," said   Danielle Jang, Communications Manager at Best Buy   Canada. "We initially set out to award ten   $20,000  grants, but we were so impressed by the innovation and quality of proposals received, that we decided to award an additional five schools with honorable mentions each worth   $10,000."

In addition to the coveted technology grant, which will help fund schools with new consumer electronics that support the education-focused projects outlined in their proposals, Best Buy will also provide the top ten schools with ongoing Geek Squad support. This will ensure the students and teachers understand how to get as much as possible out of this new technology and maximize the learning experience.

The ten schools to receive a technology grant worth $20,000  and complimentary Geek Squad services are:

Clayburn Middle School - Abbotsford, BC

Langley Fine Arts School - Fort Langley, BC

Elizabeth School  - Cold Lake, AB

Bethlehem Catholic High School - Saskatoon, SK

École W.S. Hawrylak School- Regina, SK

Daniel McIntyre Collegiate Institute -   Winnipeg, MB

Crosby Heights Public School -   Richmond  Hill, ON

St.   Rita Catholic  School - Woodstock, ON

École Secondaire Sieur-de-Coulonge - Mansfield-et-Pontefract, QC  

Millwood High School - Lower Sackville, NS

The five additional schools to receive an honorary grant of $10,000 are:

St. Mary's High School - Calgary, AB

Shaftesbury High School - Winnipeg, MB

Sunny View  Junior and Senior Public School - Toronto, ON

École Jean-Jacques-Bertrand - Farnham, QC

École Joseph-Hermas-Leclerc - Granby, QC
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KB Media joins forces with ScreenScape

KB Media of Toronto, the exclusive distributor of Mirror Image products in Canada, has announced that it has chosen ScreenScape, a community-based digital signage network and key enabler of location-based media, to power a new location-based marketing service based on ScreenScape technology. KB Media operates a national advertising network that spans restaurants, bars, arenas and community sporting venues.

"KB Media is thrilled to find in ScreenScape a technology partner that can help us rapidly expand our points of presence and help us to focus on what we do best, which is working on behalf of our advertising clients to deliver memorable experiences that resonate with today's consumer,” commented David Brisson, president and CEO, KB Media. "A ScreenScape Group gives us a KB-powered command center for distributing content to the ScreenScape Community and we are excited to bring this technology to our existing venue clients and advertisers, many of whom have requested this comprehensive digital solution. We also look forward to working with established members of the ScreenScape Community to involve them in our campaigns," he adds. Top of Page

CGI, Interac extend long-term partnership to 2013

CGI Group Inc. has announced that it will continue providing managed services to Interac Association for three additional years. This will extend the decade long partnership until   October 2013.

CGI will continue to be responsible for the technology management and operations of the   Interac  Inter-Member Network, a national payments network for the processing of   Interac  Debit and   Interac  Shared Cash transactions. CGI also provides, under a separate agreement, managed services in support of Interac  e-Transfer  and   Interac  Online.

"We chose to renew our technology management and operations agreement for   Interac  Debit and   Interac  Shared Cash network managed services based on CGI's demonstrated ability to provide high-quality and reliable services to the members of Interac Association,” said   Amanda Holden, Vice President, Operations, Security and Technology, Interac Association and Acxsys Corporation.

Mobilicity exceeds 50,000 subscriber additions

Mobilicity revealed it has already added over 50,000 new subscribers in just the fourth quarter, reinforcing its position as the rising new force in Canada's competitive wireless market. This milestone comes with the key holiday sales period still ahead and just one month after launching in three new markets.

"Mobilicity is thriving and is on track to account for approximately 10 percent of the Canadian wireless industry's growth in subscribers this quarter with three of our key markets open for only six weeks," said Mobilicity President and CEO   Dave Dobbin. "We are proud of achieving so much in so short a time period and look to Canadians' thirst for more affordable mobile phones and plans as a sign to continue chipping away at the high cost of wireless in this country."

Mobilicity is gearing up to roll out its 3.5G network in Calgary  early next year. The unlimited wireless carrier launched in   Vancouver, Edmonton  and Ottawa almost a month ago, to the day. Mobilicity first opened its doors in Toronto in mid-May. Top of Page

As one of the first news outlets to bring user-generated content to mobile phones, Digital Journal is extending its presence to smartphones in partnership with Polar Mobile. Today, Digital Journal announces apps for almost every smartphone on the market.

Digital Journal has partnered with  Polar Mobile  to release free news apps for the Apple iPhone and iPod Touch as well as BlackBerry, Android and Windows Phone devices. Available for free at app.digitaljournal.com, the apps enable smartphone users to read news from Digital Journalists working in 175 countries around the world.

Readers can follow breaking news via Digital Journal's smartphone app and share articles via Facebook, Twitter and email from within the apps.

"We're very excited about bringing user-generated content to virtually all smartphone platforms at once," said   Chris Hogg, CEO of Digital Journal Inc. " Mobile platforms are shaping the future of media, and we're happy to partner with Polar Mobile to bring our engaging news network into the palm of your hand." Top of Page

Wildcat announces new senior appointments

Wildcat Silver Corporation is pleased to appoint   Gil Clausen  to the position of Vice Chairman of the Board of Directors and Charles Magolske to the position of Vice President, Corporate Development.

"We are pleased to supplement Wildcat's Board and management team with such reputable individuals as the Company continues to advance and exhibit remarkable growth," said   Chris Jones, Wildcat's President and CEO. "Both Gil and Charles have demonstrated significant success and we believe their knowledge and experience will benefit Wildcat tremendously."

Gil Clausen  is currently the President and Chief Executive Officer and Director of Augusta Resource Corporation.   Mr. Clausen  has over 25 years of executive and operations experience in the mining industry with several major global and domestic mining companies. He has held senior operations and project development positions before moving into executive roles where he was responsible for executing corporate growth strategies including development and operations for several large precious metal, base metal, and coal producing companies.   Mr. Clausen  is also a Director of Jaguar Mining Inc. He holds a Bachelors and Masters degree in Mining Engineering from Queens University.

Charles Magolske is also currently the Vice President of Corporate Development for Augusta Resource Corporation. Mr. Magolske  has more than 25 years of experience in industrial capital goods businesses in marketing, operations management, business management, joint ventures and acquisitions in both domestic and international venues. Prior to joining Wildcat and Augusta Resource,   Mr. Magolske  was the Vice President of Business Development and Strategy for FreightCar America, and held prior positions with Trinity Industries, FMC Corporation, Owens Illinois and Western Gear, a division of Bucyrus Eerie. Charles holds degrees in Law, Business and Engineering and is a Professional Engineer.
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Ingram Micro Canada wins Distributor of the Year

Ingram Micro Canada, a subsidiary of Ingram Micro Inc., is pleased to announce it has been named Distributor of the Year at the 2010 Microsoft Partner Network IMPACT Awards.

The eighth annual IMPACT awards recognize excellence across the large and diverse community of Microsoft's Canadian technology partners. The honour was presented to Ingram Micro Canada  at an award ceremony in Toronto on November 9, 2010.

"Distributor of the Year is an honour we strive for as an organization and take great pride in," says  Mark Snider, vice president and general manager, Ingram Micro Canada. "Together with Microsoft Canada, we've grown our Microsoft business year-over-year and enabled hundreds of new and existing Microsoft channel partners with the resources, technology and support they need to effectively sell to and service the Canadian market."

Microsoft Canada  awarded Ingram Micro Canada  with the honour of Distributor of the Year as a result of the company's exceptional performance and continued focus on partner enablement and growth. Ingram Micro Canada made a number of investments in the Microsoft business in 2010, including a dedicated team of more than a dozen associates.
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BICSI establishes first training facility in Canada

BICSI, the association supporting the information technology systems (ITS) industry with information, education and knowledge assessment, is pleased to announce that Pearson Electrotechnology Centre in Lachine, Quebec, has received the prestigious status of BICSI Authorized Training Facility (ATF). This effort is a milestone in BICSI global training endeavors and is in line with the BICSI Board Strategic Plan.

"BICSI is very excited to expand our educational training offerings in   Canada," said BICSI   President Brian Hansen, RCDD, NTS, CSI. "We believe this new ATF will offer a quality product with excellent teaching, which equals a great educational experience for our Installers and Technicians."

BICSI ATFs are BICSI-approved sites using the same quality curriculum, classroom equipment and materials offered in BICSI-conducted classes. The ATF's individual trainers must also be certified by BICSI. This replication of a BICSI classroom environment ensures the same quality training you'd expect at a course taught by BICSI, while extending access to a variety of convenient locations. ATFs are recognized providers of BICSI's ITS Cabling Installation Program.

"This BICSI Canadian ATF is well positioned to begin graduating the next generation of information technology infrastructure technicians," stated   Richard Smith, RCDD, NTS, OSP, BICSI Canadian Region Director. "The demand for this expertise is being driven by technological change and a retiring generation of expertise who maintained many forms of legacy technologies."

Supported by the Lester B. Pearson School Board, Pearson Electrotechnology Centre is using facilities that are representative of the working environment. The professional staff of Pearson instructors are well-known by industry peers for their expertise and knowledge, and actively cooperating with government, educational and industry leaders.

The Pearson Electrotechnology Centre offers many other educational programs in both electricity and telecommunications and successful candidates will be able to receive credentialing in many different subjects.  Top of Page