(Street Life is a regular feature that focuses on what's playing in the stock market.)

Act I: Eat or be eaten

* The Player: Constellation Software (TSX:CSU)

* Action: Up 17 per cent in a month (from $23 on May 2)

* Recent Price: $27

* 52-Week High/Low: $27.99/$22.50 Bigger is better for a Toronto-based software company that is continuing to gobble everything in its path.

On an acquisition binge, Constellation Software announced the purchase of its ninth company so far this year. This time, through a subsidiary, Constellation bought Gulf Coast Software Inc. (doing business as Vertical Market Software Inc.), a Florida-based company providing software and services to the construction industry in the U.S.

Other recent acquisitions include System Innovators Inc., 2K Technology Group Ltd. and Schoolhouse Software Inc.

The acquisitions are paying off: Q1 revenue was US$73.6 million, up 32 per cent from US$55.9 million in Q1 2007. Net income rose to US$4.3 million from US$2.6 million in Q1 2007.

Shareholders are loving the results, pushing the stock through 52-week highs.

Act II: Say 'click'

* The Player: Photochannel Networks Inc. (TSXV:PN)

* Action: Up 11 per cent in a month (from $3.60 on May 2)

* Recent Price: $4

* 52-Week High/Low: $4.50/2.65 It's been a jerky ride for investors, but new deals for a Vancouver photography company may give the upward push shareholders need.

Photochannel Networks, which provides online digital photography and gifting for retailers, announced record results for the quarter. Revenue was up to $3.3 million, from $1.3 million in Q1 2007. Net loss, however, rose to $2.6 million from $718,000 in Q1 2007.

But CEO Peter Fitzgerald says most of the company's large expenses are behind it, and it's onward and upward for the rest of 2008.

That may be true, as Photochannel recently signed contracts with new business partners Kodak China, Hallmark Cards PLC, Kodak Australia, Costco USA, Sam's Club USA and Loblaw Companies Ltd.

Act III: Fax fix

* The Player: Sangoma Technologies Corp. (TSXV:STC)

* Action: Up 13 per cent in a month (from $1.15 on May 2)

* Recent Price: $1.30

* 52-Week High/Low: $1.72/$0.86 The days of fax errors such as missing pages, extra lines and garbled images may soon be gone.

Toronto's Sangoma Technologies Corp., which creates hardware and software to enable PCs to communicate with public telephone networks, has filed a patent application for a fax synchronization product that guarantees reliable faxing.

How? According to a news release, the product "increases the capacity of the board-based PBX to enable the synchronization of multiple interface cards, enabling error-free faxing on PC-based analog phone systems including T1, E1, and BRI digital.”

(Aren't you glad you asked?)

Sangoma has won several awards in the past couple of years, and recently reported quarterly sales up to $3.21 million from $2.24 million in Q1 2007 and net income up 66 per cent from Q1 2007 to $0.96 million.

Share performance, however, has been rocky, bouncing down under a dollar several times in the last year.

Act IV: Surf's ... flat

* The Player: Immersive Media Corp. (TSXV:IMC)

* Action: Flat in a month (from $1.05 on May 2)

* Recent Price: $1.02

* 52-Week High/Low: $5.45/$0.90 Too chicken to surf for real, or maybe no time to take holidays? Well don't worry; do it virtually.

Calgary's Immersive Media Corp., a spherical video technology and production company, produced a first-of-its-kind video experience for Red Bull's surfing website. Using a mouse, "riders" can look up, down, left, right, forward or back as they follow professional big wave surfers in Tahiti's notorious Teahupoo surf.

Immersive Media also created technology used in Bahrain to support national geospatial efforts, and provided live 360° video of the National Association of Broadcasters tradeshow (NAB 2008), so online visitors could experience booth activities without actually being there.

Recent Q3 revenue was up 165 per cent to $2.6 million (compared to $983,000 in Q3 2007), and net loss decreased to $540,000 from $1 million in Q3 2007.

But the cool products and better financials aren't enough: Shares have been languishing around a dollar for most of the year after cresting over $5 in mid--2007.

NOTE: The above is not intended as investment advice to buy or sell any mentioned securities. Investors should do due diligence before investing. Quotes are based on results through June 2, 2008.

(Nicole Strandlund can be reached at nicole@businessedge.ca)