A first in Canadian sports apps, Toronto’s controversial digital signage proposal, and more

Every Monday, CommerceLab brings you a roundup of all the gamification, user experience and interactive display news that’s fit to print. (Or the stuff we liked best, anyway.)

Good news for digitally minded sports fans this week. The Score’s new app was named to PC Mag’s prestigious list of the 100 best Android apps of 2013. The app was completely redesigned earlier this year and is supported by a newsroom dedicated entirely to mobile updates—a first of its kind in Canada.

Less good news for waiters at Applebee’s. The restaurant chain announced this week that it would be installing iPads at every table in all of its restaurants, allowing customers to order, pay and play games without talking to any over-flared, aggressively peppy waitstaff.

Back in Canada, a glimmer of hope for digital signage activists: Toronto city planners have tabled a proposal to allow digital signage into commercial/residential districts in the city (currently digital signs only exist on commercial strips).

It’s not just Toronto getting on the digital signage bandwagon, either. The signage company NanoLumens has announced it will be offering professional development courses to designers and  builders through the venerable American Institute of Architects. The idea is to get architects thinking about digital signage from the very early planning stages of a building.

A great example of well-conceived digital signage is the new lobby of Christie’s office in Montreal. Check it out here.

And finally, a little food for thought. Fast Company asks an important question: do developers need a code of ethics? And if so, what would it look like?