[MobileRatty] tag: danish-born

TouchDiva: the greatest entertainment device you've never heard of

Fri, 14 Nov 2008 20:48:00 +0000

Now, we're sure that everything's on the up and up here, but the lack of information about the TouchDiva from any source other than the makers of the TouchDiva gives us pause, especially as the product's apparently launching on December 1st. Regardless, here's what we've gathered: the device is a 15.4-inch touchscreen unit you install in your home, and, via the magical wonders of the internet, you get all the music your heart could ever desire, free of charge -- besides the ~~$75~~ $13 monthly subscription fee, of course. The Danish manufacturers claim to have "agreements with the four major music companies in the world (Warner, EMI, Sony-BMG and Universal)," giving them access to over 2 million songs. Housed inside the unit are two 125W Bang & Olufsen-manufactured speakers, and the Diva itself has just two buttons -- an on / off, and a reset, giving it a pretty stark exterior. As you can probably imagine, it's um, not cheap -- in fact, you're going to have to cough up ~~$6,000~~ $1,100 if you want one, and you'll have to live in Europe or Great Britain, where the device is (supposedly) about to go on sale.

Update: As a few commenters have pointed out, the prices are in Danish Kroner, and we've updated to reflect that.

Read - Danish invention will change music sales
Read - TouchDiva

[Thanks, Soren]

TouchDiva: the greatest entertainment device you've never heard of originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 14 Nov 2008 23:48:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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US Air Force Abandoned Nuclear Bomb in Greenland [Top Secret]

Tue, 11 Nov 2008 05:00:00 +0000

The US government plotted to hide the fact that they were constantly flying nuclear-armed B-52 bombers over Greenland during the 1960s, the BBC has discovered in a recent investigation. The operation, called Chrome Dome, was designed to instantly respond against the Soviet Union in the case the latter launched a nuclear missile attack on Thule, a US Air Force strategically placed near the North Pole. The Pentagon believed that this was one of the possible ways to start a full scale thermonuclear war, so having the birds on the sky at all times was an insurance to respond straight against Moscow. Until one of them crashed on January 21 1968.

It happened in a frozen bay a few miles near the base, and the rescue job was extremely difficult, as the documentation and video obtained under the US Freedom of Information Act shows. It took months for the government to collect thousands of pieces from the B-52, scattered all around the bay, plus 500 million gallons of ice, some of it radioactive.

Until then it was just a giant recovery operation. Then the real problems started. After trying to make sense out of all the pieces they obtained, the new documents reveal that they were only able to find three out of the four nuclear bombs on board the plane. The possible reason: "Something melted through ice such as burning primary or secondary".

Nevertheless, the government said all four weapons were destroyed and everything was ok. Meanwhile, on April the US government sent a Star III submarine to try to find the bomb, making the Danish government believe it was a "survey of bottom under the impact point":

Fact that this operation includes search for object or missing weapon part is to be treated as confidential NOFORN [not to be disclosed to any foreign country]. For discussion with Danes, this operation should be referred to as a survey repeat survey of bottom under impact point.

The search was finally abandoned. According to William H Chambers, a former nuclear weapons designer at Los Alamos, "there was disappointment in what you might call a failure to return all of the components. It would be very difficult for anyone else to recover classified pieces if we couldn't find them." There you go, people. If you are ever attacked by a 45-foot high shrimp, remember to call Mr. Chambers and tell him that, apparently, our new crustacean overlords didn't find it so difficult. [BBC News]

Building Block iPod Dock

Mon, 10 Nov 2008 07:08:05 +0000

We have yet to meet a person who has such a hatred for Lego bricks since there is something universally appealing about this Danish product (just like Danish butter cookies - yummy!). This time round, we have the Building Block iPod Dock that looks as though it was constructed from Lego bricks, featuring a trio of thick layers made up of red, white and blue bricks with the top featuring those familiar Lego bumps. Compatible with just about any modern iPod, you will be able to place your pre-order at Urban Outfitters for $60 a pop.

Add a comment | From: Building Block iPod Dock | Visit Ubergizmo | Good deals

JLearnItME: Free MultiLingual Translator & Dictionary for Java J2ME Mobile Devices

Fri, 07 Nov 2008 14:01:40 +0000

JLearnItME is a freeware multi-lingual dictionary and translator for Java J2ME mobile devices. It supports two-way translation for multiple languages which include English, French, Spanish, Dutch, German, Italian, Hebrew, Portuguese, Swedish, Danish, Norwegian, Hungarian, Russian, Latin and Czech. And best of all, it is only 2MB in size inspite of all these language packs.

Key features of JLearnItME for J2ME include:

+ 15 languages: English, French, Spanish, Dutch, German, Italian, Hebrew, Portuguese, Swedish, Danish, Norwegian, Hungarian, Russian, Latin and Czech.
+ The same dictionary can translate from any language to any language (eg: English->French and French->English)
+ Only 2.0MB for the 15 languages
+ User interface available in English, French, Dutch, German, Italian and Czech
+ Create your own dictionary with JLearnIt (e.g.: only french< ->Italian)
+ Browse the nearest words if you don’t find a translation

Download JLearnItME 2.2 for MIDP 2.0 compatible mobile device: JLearnItME.jad and JLearnItME.jar (2.0 MB). Language packs can be downloaded from the homepage.

JLearnItME: Free MultiLingual Translator & Dictionary for Java J2ME Mobile Devices

Fri, 07 Nov 2008 14:01:40 +0000

Key features of JLearnItME for J2ME include:

Download JLearnItME 2.2 for MIDP 2.0 compatible mobile device: JLearnItME.jad and JLearnItME.jar (2.0 MB). Language packs can be downloaded from the homepage.

Copenhagens New Sky Village Stacked Neighborhood

Wed, 05 Nov 2008 01:55:23 +0000

The municipality of Rødovre of Copenhagen, Denmark, announced today the Sky Village as the winner of the Rødovre Skyscraper design competition. This 116 meter tall tower will accommodate apartments, a hotel, offices, and a public park and a plaza.

With 21,688m2 of real estate the new skyscraper will be located at Roskildevej, on the East side of Copenhagen. The design is based on a flexible grid, allowing possible modifications by re-arranging the units. Each ‘pixel unit’ is 60m2 square and are attached to the central core of the structure. This strategic design creates a stacked neighborhood, which they call a Sky Village. It will also integrate the most advanced technologies suit to satisfy the Danish environmental standards. [CONTEMPORIST]

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Björk, On How TVs Work

Mon, 03 Nov 2008 02:00:12 +0000

Though not as hilarious as Audrina learning about the Large Hadron Collider, but adorable for a different reason, this video of Björk demonstrating what goes on inside the guts of a television is my new favorite YouTube video.

Listen to her (I could listen to her explain just about anything in that Icelandic accent) tell you what she learned from her Danish television book, and of course, the lies she endured from poets. Trust me: it makes sense after you watch the video.

Take a whiz in your garden the high tech way with a Biokube

Sat, 01 Nov 2008 09:25:20 +0000

If anyone has ever told you that taking a leak out in the garden is just a natural way to help the grass and plants to grow, you can now suggest a slightly less embarrassing way to do the same thing.

The Venus septic system from the Danish company Biokube, takes all of your household waste water, including sewage, and treats it until it's clean enough to be used in a garden sprinkler system. Still, even with all of its bio filters and leeching fields, I'm not sure I'd want my kid crawling on a lawn watered by toilet water.

Biokube developed the Venus for use in California, where water supplies are extremely tight, and the climate is too dry to rely on rainwater.With the average American home going through 400 gallons of tap water per day, there should be plenty going down the drain to keep those lawns luscious and green.

Greentech Media, via Treehugger.com

Bang & Olufsen ditch mobile phones as credit crunch bitesOctober

Thu, 30 Oct 2008 14:27:42 +0000

in the land of the £10,000 TV pennies are being pinched, as Danish audiophiles Bang & Olufsen announce they are to stop making handsets and gadgets.

Dad’s favourite hi-fi company have announced they will be pulling the plug on manufacturing everything outside their core TV and sound system business, so it’s Haj Haj to DVD players, recorders and mobile phones in an attempt to claw back some profit.

Proof that those bankers and hedge fund managers really are starting to feel the strain. Bless.

In a classic, no s**t Sherlock statement, in the FT Gartner telecoms analyst Carolina Milanesi said: “What Bang & Olufsen was trying to do with their devices was not fitting the current environment … people are looking to spend less, not more, on phones.”

Bang & Olufsen’s chief executive Karl Kristian Hvidt Nielsen blames the slump in the property market for steady falling sales across the board. Someone better tell Tag Heuer, Motorola and Plantronics before it’s too late.

source

Out with a Bang

Wed, 29 Oct 2008 18:31:05 +0000

People flush with cash and with an eye for design have spent voraciously on loudspeakers, televisions and mobile phones from Danish audio and video company Bang & Olufsen in recent years.

But in a sign that €800 ($1,022) mobile phones and €1,250 DVD recorders are no longer must-have items, the company last week said it would stop making phones, DVD players and recorders and instead stick to "core products" such as sound systems and televisions.

Gartner telecoms analyst Carolina Milanesi says: "What Bang & Olufsen was trying to do with their devices was not fitting the current environment ... people are looking to spend less, not more, on phones."

Bang & Olufsen's chief executive Karl Kristian Hvidt Nielsen says the collapse in the property market has hurt sales because people no longer have as much money to spend on the company's audio and video equipment, which costs an average of €7,000-€8,000 - and as much as €20,000. Sales of all products have been falling, he says: "It's a pretty broad spread."

source