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Who will reap the benefits of Quayside’s smart city data?

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KITCHENER—A lack of understanding about the value of data and technology led to the “fundamentally flawed” process that launched the Sidewalk Labs project, says a tech entrepreneur who sits on a digital panel advising Waterfront Toronto on the smart city proposal.

And Kurtis McBride, CEO and co-founder of Miovision, a Kitchener-based firm specializing in smart-city technology, warns that Waterfront Toronto, the city, province and federal government, need to focus more on the potential “economic value creation” of data and digital infrastructures that will flow from Quayside, a proposed smart city neighbourhood on the waterfront near Queens Quay and Parliament.

Waterfront Toronto has partnered with Manhattan-based Sidewalk Labs — an urban innovation company that is a sister firm of Google and owned by Alphabet — on a project that would include outfitting buildings with data-based sensors to measure every thing from air quality, to noise levels, the weather, and energy use.

Autonomous cars and waste disposal robots are also envisioned for the neighbourhood.

Sidewalk is planning to unveil a draft master plan for the proposal sometime next year.

McBride, who sits on Waterfront Toronto’s digital strategy advisory panel, a group of tech, data and privacy experts advising the corporation on Sidewalk’s plans, heads a company that captures traffic data from intersections and transfers it into software that helps cities understand what’s going on in their network of intersections.

Miovision has done work for dozens of European cities, and 100 in the U.S.

The firm has also worked in Kitchener and Toronto. Miovision has provided data for Toronto’s Bloor St. bike lane project, as well as the King St. transit pilot project.

On the Bloor St. project Miovision worked with the University of Toronto and looked at “conflicts” between cyclists and cars — moments when both occupied the same space on the road.

The goal of this work was to help avoid collisions.

On the King St. pilot, Toronto is using Miovision’s systems to measure traffic moving through intersections, predominantly along King before the pilot started and since.

The city had specific urban planning questions they wanted to use Miovision’s data to answer, McBride says.

In the case of Quayside, McBride believes the process was “flawed” from the start due to a lack of understanding by Waterfront Toronto — which represents the city, province and federal government — about how digital architecture can impact business models.

“What happened was (Waterfront Toronto) said “we don’t understand this technology stuff, so we’re going to bring in one of the biggest technology companies in the world (Sidewalk/Alphabet) and we’re going to have them run a process to discover what this architecture should look like,” he says.

What should have happened was a procurement process where the public first declared ‘this is what we want to buy, why, and this is how it should be structured’ followed by a search for a firm to carry that vision forward, McBride argues.

The Quayside project has been fraught with controversy. A fellow member on the digital strategy advisory panel, a member on Waterfront Toronto’s board, as well as prominent privacy expert advising Sidewalk, have all resigned this year over concerns about the Quayside project.

In a sharply worded report earlier this month Ontario’s auditor general called for the province to “reassess” whether Waterfront Toronto should be acting on its own in finalizing a long-term deal with Sidewalk.

The next day, the provincial government removed the chair and two other members from Waterfront Toronto’s board and it’s believed the corporation’s dealings with Sidewalk were partly to blame.

McBride says the potential market value from Quayside’s data infrastructure could be in the billions of dollars and policy makers should zero in on that.

“This (Quayside project) is not just a 12-acre development project. It’s a global, standard-setting project happening in Toronto. Digital architecture can move across borders instantly. It’s software, patents, intellectual property (IP) development.

“Once we build it here it will squish into every aspect of our lives as the digital domain moves across the internet with the speed of light,” McBride, 38, says in an interview at his company, one of several operations that lease space inside a massive tech hub near downtown Kitchener.

He fears the “economic value creation opportunity” from Quayside data could flow entirely to Sidewalk/Alphabet and other non-Canadian entities. Waterfront Toronto, and our political leaders need to dig in and ensure we get our fair share, McBride says.

“If you were able to find a way to capture value from that data, then you can actually share in the economic asymmetries created by giving that data to foreign multinationals. You could use that to fund infrastructure here in Canada, schools, roads, hospitals. It’s really nuanced and complicated but very important to get it right,” McBride argues.

To quell concerns over who controls the data pertaining to Quayside, Sidewalk is calling for the creation of a third-party ‘civic data trust’ that would oversee “stewardship, management and responsibility” for the data collected and used for the neighbourhood.

But McBride says rather than the data itself, the trust should control the source code, the base layer for the exchange of smart city data — like ‘HTTP” on the internet.

Code creates rules of the data economy such as the means by which data gets distributed and its format, says McBride.

“So a more democratic way of designing the protocol for (Quayside), in my opinion, would be to make the source code open source — publicly controlled and governed,” he says.

Donovan Vincent is a housing reporter based in Toronto. Follow him on Twitter: @donovanvincent

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Nostalgia and much more with Starburst XXXtreme

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Get a taste of adventure with Starburst XXXtreme based on the legendary NetEnt Game. The nostalgic themes are sure to capture fans of the classic version as they get treated to higher intensity, better visuals, and features. The most significant element of the game is its volatility. Patience will not be an essential virtue considering the insane gameplay, and there is a lot of win potential involved. It retains the original makeup of the previous game while adding a healthy dose of adrenaline. 

Starburst Visuals and Symbols

The game is definitely more conspicuous than before. The setting happens over a 5-reel, 3-row game grid with nine fixed win lines, which function if a succession from the left to the right reel is present. Only those players that that attain the highest win per bet line are paid. From a visual standpoint, the Starburst XXXtreme slots illustrates lightning effects behind the reels, which is not surprising as it is inherited from the original version. Available themes include Classic, Jewels, and Space. The game is also available in both desktop and mobile versions, which is advantageous for players considering the global pandemic. According to Techguide, American gamers are increasingly having more engaging gaming experiences to socialize to fill the gap of in-person interaction. Starburst XXXtreme allows them to fill the social void at a time when there is so much time to be had indoors. 

Starburst XXXTreme Features

Players get to alternate on three features which are Starburst Wilds, XXXtreme Spins, and Random Wilds. The first appears on reels 2,3, or 4. When these land, they expand to cover all positions while also calculating the wins. They are also locked for a respin. If a new one hits, it also becomes locked while awarding another respin. Starburst XXXtreme offers a choice between two scenarios for a higher stake. In one scenario with a ten times stake, the Starburst Wild is set on random on reels 2,3, or 4, and a multiplier starts the respin. The second scenario, which has a 95 times stake, starts with two guaranteed starburst wilds on reels 2,3, or 4. it also plays out using respin game sequence and features. The game also increases the potential with the Random Wilds feature to add Starburst Wilds to a vacant reel at the end of a spin. Every Starburst Wild gives a random multiplier with potential wins of x2, x3, x5, x10, x25, x50, x100, or even x150.

The new feature is sure to be a big hit with the gaming market as online gambling has shown significant growth during the lockdown. AdAge indicates the current casino customer base is an estimated one in five Americans, so Starburst XXXtreme’s additional features will achieve considerable popularity. 

What We Think About The Game

The gambling market has continued to diversify post-pandemic, so it is one of the most opportune times to release an online casino-based game. Thankfully Starburst XXXtreme features eye-catching visuals, including the jewels and space themes. These attract audience participation and make the gameplay inviting. The game also has a nostalgic edge. The previous NetEnt iteration featured similar visuals and gameplay, so the audience has some familiarity with it. The producers have revamped this version by tweaking the features to improve the volatility and engagement. 

That is characterized by the potential win cap of 200,000 times the bet. Starburst XXXtreme does not just give betting alternatives for players that want to go big. The increase of multipliers also provides a great experience. If the respins in the previous version were great, knowing that multipliers can go hundreds of times overtakes the game to a new level. 

Players should get excited about this offering. All of the features can be triggered within a single spin. Whether one plays the standard game or takes the XXXtreme spin route, it is possible to activate all of the features. Of course, the potential 200,000 times potential is a huge carrot. However, the bet size is probably going to be restricted and vary depending on the casino. It is also worth pointing out that a malfunction during the gameplay will void all of the payouts and progress. Overall, the game itself has been designed to provide a capped win of 200,000 times the original bet. 

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Anglais

‘We’re back’: Montreal festival promoters happy to return but looking to next year

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In downtown Montreal, it’s festival season.

In the city’s entertainment district, a musical act was conducting a sound check on stage Friday evening — the second day of the French-language version of the renowned Just For Laughs comedy festival. Tickets for many of the festival’s free outdoor shows — limited by COVID-19 regulations — were sold out.

Two blocks away, more than 100 people were watching an acoustic performance by the Isaac Neto Trio — part of the last weekend of the Festival International Nuits d’Afrique, a celebration of music from the African continent and the African diaspora.

With COVID-19 restrictions continuing to limit capacity, festival organizers say they’re glad to be back but looking forward to next year when they hope border restrictions and capacity limits won’t affect their plans.

Charles Décarie, Just For Laughs’ CEO and president, said this is a “transition year.”

“Even though we have major constraints from the public health group in Montreal, we’ve managed to design a festival that can navigate through those constraints,” Décarie said.

The French-language Juste pour rire festival began on July 15 and is followed by the English-language festival until July 31.

When planning began in February and March, Décarie said, organizers came up with a variety of scenarios for different crowd sizes, ranging from no spectators to 50 per cent of usual capacity.

“You’ve got to build scenarios,” he said. “You do have to plan a little bit more than usual because you have to have alternatives.”

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Anglais

MELS new major movie studio to be built in Montreal

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MONTREAL — MELS Studios will build a new film studio in Montreal, filling some of the gap in supply to meet the demand of Hollywood productions.

MELS president Martin Carrier said on Friday that MELS 4 studio construction will begin « as soon as possible », either in the fall or winter of next year. The studio could host productions as early as spring 2023.

The total investment for the project is $76 million, with the Quebec government contributing a $25 million loan. The project will create 110 jobs, according to the company.

The TVA Group subsidiary’s project will enable it to stand out « even more » internationally, according to Quebecor president and CEO Pierre Karl Péladeau. In the past, MELS Studios has hosted several major productions, including chapters of the X-Men franchise. The next Transformers movie is shooting this summer in Montreal.

Péladeau insisted that local cultural productions would also benefit from the new facility, adding that the studio ensures foreign revenues and to showcase talent and maintain an industry of Quebec producers.

STUDIO SHORTAGE

The film industry is cramped in Montreal.

According to a report published last May by the Bureau du cinéma et de la télévision du Québec (BCTQ), there is a shortage of nearly 400,000 square feet of studio space.

With the addition of MELS 4, which will be 160,000 square feet, the company is filling part of the gap.

Carrier admitted that he has had to turn down contracts because of the lack of space, representing missed opportunities of « tens of millions of dollars, not only for MELS, but also for the Quebec economy. »

« Montreal’s expertise is in high demand, » said Montreal Mayor Valérie Plante, who was present at the announcement.

She said she received great testimonials from « Netflix, Disney, HBO and company » during an economic mission to Los Angeles in 2019.

« What stands out is that they love Montreal because of its expertise, knowledge and beauty. We need more space, like MELS 4, » she said.

There is still not enough capacity in Quebec, acknowledged Minister of Finance, the Economy and Innovation Eric Girard.

« It is certain that the government is concerned about fairness and balance, so if other requests come in, we will study them with the same seriousness as we have studied this one, » he said.

Grandé Studios is the second-largest player in the industry. Last May, the company said it had expansion plans that should begin in 2022. Investissement Québec and Bell are minority shareholders in the company.

For its part, MELS will have 400,000 square feet of production space once MELS 4 is completed. The company employs 450 people in Quebec and offers a range of services including studio and equipment rentals, image and sound postproduction, visual effects and a virtual production platform.

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