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Urbanears' $199 portable speaker is meant to be shared
Urbanears is back with a connected home speaker, but this time it's both portable and shareable. The Swedish company's new Rålis speaker is small enough to transport and comes with a carrying strap, so you can listen at home or bring it poolside -- where Urbanears promises it's water resistant (IPX2).
ICYMI: Poop fuel, magnet-attached spherical tires and more
#fivemin-widget-blogsmith-image-182793{display:none;} .cke_show_borders #fivemin-widget-blogsmith-image-182793, #postcontentcontainer #fivemin-widget-blogsmith-image-182793{width:570px;display:block;} try{document.getElementById("fivemin-widget-blogsmith-image-182793").style.display="none";}catch(e){}Today on In Case You Missed It: UCLA's biofuels lab is doing interesting work with manure protein, to see if supply of a better kind of alternative fuel can be produced on an industrial scale. Goodyear is out with crazy futuristic prototype tires that would connect to a car with magnets, be 3D printed, totally beach-ball round, include foam sponges inside the grooves to help with traction on water, and more. A Swedish musician spent a year constructing a marble music machine that is absolutely stunning to see in action. And even though this video has made the rounds before, the Japanese company that created it is still riding high so we wanted to include it. It's a tomato-headed, 18-pound robot backpack that automatically feeds you tomatoes while you run. As always, please share any interesting science or tech videos, anytime! Just tweet us with the #ICYMI hashtag to @mskerryd.
Apple to open first Swedish retail store
A visit to a mall in Sweden by Swedish site IDG.se has confirmed (by the familiar black covering and the Apple logo) that there is indeed a new store opening up near Stockholm. The Täby Spectrum shopping center will host that country's first Apple Store, starting on September 15. Apple's been laying the groundwork in Sweden for a while now, filing a business registration certificate last November, and hiring for the store earlier this year. But the company is now getting closer than ever to actually selling items in the store. And there are more stores on the way: Apple is also planning to open stores in the Harbour Street district of Stockholm, as well as in a brand new mall location near the southwestern city of Malmö. We've heard a lot in the past about how quickly Apple trying to expand in China, but that's not the only foreign land Apple is aiming to open up for business. [via MacRumors]
Star Vault memo reveals Mortal Online expansion date
Fansite Sandboxer.org reports that it has discovered the release date of Mortal Online's upcoming expansion The Awakening in a Star Vault report to investors. We had to do some digging to find the original Swedish document Sandboxer was referring to, but we were able to confirm that the memo does contain the expansion's release month and further as-yet unannounced information. The Awakening is slated for an April 2012 release, with May and June dedicated to magic and balance updates. The company expects to break even on a monthly basis between July and August of this year and sign a deal with publishers in August. Star Vault's plan is to have the game published in China between July and September and then release an as-yet unannounced expansion in October, with another in April next year.
Man builds DIY Segway for $434, begins casting 'Arrested Development' fan film (video)
This is Petter Forsberg. He's just like you or me, with one important difference: he built his own Segway for €300 ($434). Granted, it doesn't look quite as slick as Dean Kamen's off-the-shelf self-balancing electric vehicle, but if the videos are to be believed (and there are plenty of hi-def ones to choose from), the two-wheeler moves pretty well, particularly when spinning atop old stone structures or beneath a Swedish flag. Forsberg has a breakdown of the project over on his page, which you can find in the source link -- but be sure to check out the video below before heading over. It's not the first DIY Segway we've seen, but darn if it doesn't make us want to find some electric scooters to tear apart.
Wizard101 goes anti-disco in the June producer's letter
The community at Wizard101 is still riding high on the recent Wintertusk world expansion, and according to the June producer's letter, KingsIsle wants to keep the good times rolling. Apart from relaying a few testimonials about the recent expansion, the producer's letter is all about the Benjam-- er, Crowns. Leah Ruben spotlights a couple of promotional sales from the company, including a Dragon's Hoard booster pack that has the potential to deliver rare goodies, and a GameStop card that unleashes a genie (among other things) in your Wizard101 world. Ruben says that a recent graphical issue known as "discoing" on older machines is now fixed. "While sometimes it's fun to dance the disco with flashing colors and lights," she jokes, "it's a bit distracting when you're trying to adventure through the new worlds." Finally, Ruben says that the UK version of the game has added a German language version for those who perfer to play in their native tongue. Assuming that you're German and not Swedish. Or Kenyan. Or... well, you get the point. You can read the full producer's letter over at Wizard101.
RIM buys TAT, BlackBerry UI in danger of becoming awesome
This is not a joke, in fact it's quite official. Research In Motion has just confirmed the acquisition of Swedish UI design company TAT, which will soon be "bringing their talent to the BlackBerry PlayBook and smartphone platforms." You'll be familiar with TAT as the team that helped polish the original Android interface on the T-Mobile G1 as well as from more recent UI design projects -- the important thing is that these guys have shown they know what they're doing. We have to admit, pairing the rock solid foundation of the QNX-built PlayBook OS with some top-level spit-shine from a company specializing in exactly that has us legitimately excited. Who knows, maybe we'll even see a BlackBerry with a user interface that someone other than a BBMer could love. [Thanks, Rasmus]
Inhabitat's Week in Green: of mirror cubes and urban icebergs
Each week our friends at Inhabitat recap the week's most interesting green developments and clean tech news for us -- it's the Week in Green. With summer in full swing, this week Inhabitat watched the mercury rise as the world's largest thermostat burst forth with an array of 72,000 building-mounted LEDs. We also kept things cool with a remarkable plan to transform frozen construction sites into event-hosting urban icebergs. And if you haven't made plans for a summer vacation yet, might we recommend this stunning Swedish "Treehotel" housed within a silvery mirror cube in the sky? Heartening news rang forth from the renewable energy sector this week as a UN-backed study reported that the building of new renewable energy plants has officially overtaken fossil fuel plants in Europe and the US. We also took a look at two brand new types of power plants -- the world's first hydrogen-driven power plant in Italy and the first hybrid coal-solar power plant in Colorado. The past week also saw several remarkable advances in clean tech, starting with MIT's latest innovation, a new type of high-tech fiber that can transmit sound, light, and generate electricity. We also paid homage to one of our all-time favorite sources of (surprisingly green) home entertainment - the Roku Box.
Swedes honor their own: Mirror's Edge wins Swedish GOTY
Little known fact: Swedes love a good pat on the back. It's true, all of us like to be congratulated on a job well done, but for them it's in a league of its own. This year, they've heaped the honor for the best Swedish-made game at the annual Dataspelsgalan award show onto DICE's parkour-inspired first-person scoot-er, Mirror's Edge. When asked why it was so special, top Swedes commented to Joystiq that the "graphics on level three were really tight," among other things. One thing is certain: Mirror's Edge was definitely one of the better games from last year.Previous Swedish GOTY winners: 2000 Fem myror är fler än fyra elefanter 2001 Ground Control 2002 Headhunter 2003 Battlefield 1942 2004 - 2005 Riddick: Escape from Butcher Bay 2006 Battlefield 2 2007 GTR 2: FIA GT Racing Game 2008 World in Conflict
Star Vault announces new MMO: Mortal Online
Swedish developer Star Vault has officially introduced the world to its first game, an MMO by the name of Mortal Online. The game's official site has launched, and visitors are treated to the above trailer upon arrival -- and as far as first impressions go, we'll say that the graphics certainly do look good (a disclaimer at the start even promises that what we're seeing is real in-game footage). Higher quality versions of the teaser can be found here.Of course, it takes more than just pretty graphics to have a successful MMO, and from looking at some of the proposed features of Mortal Online it would appear that the developers are well aware of this. The game will be played in first-person, and one of the primary focuses will be hardcore PvP, with a real-time combat system. Couple this with the fact that there will be no leveling at all, and you start to realize that we're looking at a very different game here.
Sweden's SF and Scanbox go Blu-ray exclusive
Granted, HD DVD didn't exactly have a foothold on the Swedish market to begin with, but the red camp is still losing two firms that it certainly wouldn't mind having around. Reportedly, both SF and Scanbox have decided to follow in Warner's footsteps and distribute their high-definition films on Blu-ray alone. As for the near future, there doesn't seem to be a concrete date for when SF will roll out its films in Blu, but purportedly, Scanbox will get things going as early as April.[Via Blu-ray, thanks Kiwi616]
Swedish Valei Computer intros ZC-HV0105 media streamer
It's hard to tell exactly what's so special about Swedish Valei Computer's ZC-HV0105, but we'll do our best to translate. This self-proclaimed Home Media Center looks an awful lot like a jazzed up router at first glance, and appears to tout a front LCD, DVI / component / S-Video / composite outputs, 720p / 1080i upscaling, support for an internal HDD, USB 2.0 connectivity, Ethernet and a slew of audio outs to boot. Best of all, this piece will play nice with a whole bucketful of formats including MP3, WMA, OGG, WMV, DivX, XviD and MPEG1/2/4. Sadly, we've no idea on the price, and worse still, we've a really bad feeling about it ever coming stateside. [Via Readle Gadgets]
Neonode N2 launches in Europe on Vodafone, Wind
Intelligently waiting until after the iPhone lived out its (first) 15 minutes of fame, Neonode has just now went and threw a launch party to celebrate the official debut of the Neonode N2. Yesterday, the firm went wild at the Babae Club in Athens, Greece as it celebrated with MyPhone (its distributor for south-eastern Europe) and announced that the handset would play nice with "operators such as Vodafone and Wind." Sadly, exact releases dates were obviously muddled through all the jumpin' and jivin' going on, but the N2 should be in "select shops in south-eastern Europe" very soon, with the rest of Europe and "other major markets" to follow suit shortly thereafter.[Thanks, Sleepless]
High frequency processors could put your GPS on the fritz
Just when you think things couldn't get any more gloomy in the world of in-car navigation systems, here comes news that high frequency processors surrounding your GPS system could actually cause some seriously screwy routing. According to a study by the Swedish Defense Research Agency, "computers used near a NAV could disturb the signals utilized in the GPS receiver." More specifically, Intel CPUs with clock speeds of 1.7GHz, 3.0GHz, and 3.2GHz were pinpointed as potential troublemakers, but a member of the study actually went so far as to suggest that a variety of other (untested) chips could indeed wreak the same havoc. The study showed that "modern computers produce interfering signals that reach as far as the frequency bandwidths used for GPS systems," and while specific reactions weren't apparent, testers did suggest to move any computer equipment further away from the GPS unit if it began to "play up" for no ostensible reason. Of course, we've huddled our own laptops and GPS systems together on many occasions with no ill consequences, so as always, your miles may vary.[Via NaviGadget]
GBA wishes come true at The Old Well
Originally intended as a demo to entice interested publishers, The Old Well has been sitting in Athletic Design's vaults since 2004. The Swedish developer abandoned its hopes of a commercial release for the GBA title as years passed, and has decided to hand the puzzle platformer over to the homebrew community.The Old Well starts with a cute introduction to the game's story and controls, but it's easy to pick up after a few seconds. Avoid the falling bricks that track your position, don't get trapped in a pit, and line up the slabs to progress to the next "level." You can punch, push, and jump over the blocks, so you aren't a complete slave to their whims. There's a limited amount of punches that you're able to throw before becoming tired, but you can get your energy back during the lunch breaks that come every ten levels.The game plays out like a reverse Mr. Driller, forcing you to constantly move around and climb the accumulating landscape until you can pull yourself out of the well. It's a fun diversion, and you can't argue with the price.
Ikonoskop readies new Super 8 "movie camera"
Hot on the heels of Hasselblad's latest 31-megapixel monster, rumors of Canon introducing a 1DS Mark III, and the RED camcorder getting more real everyday comes news that Ikonoskop is looking to bust out the "first new Super 8 movie camera design in over 20 years." The Swedish firm is hoping to offer up a Double Super 8 version of its "compact and affordable A-Cam SP-16 Super 16-millimeter model," and will feature a good bit of similar attire such as the same interchangeable C-Mount lenses, parallel viewfinder, 100-foot film capacity, and "microprocessor-synchronized frame rates between 6- and 37.5-frames per second." The device would utilize a "hybrid" design to use "16-millimeter wide film to capture Super 8 sized frames," and although the company boasts about its numerous advantages, the "main downside is that relatively few film stocks are available in the format." Still, things aren't off and running just yet, as Leif Bystrom has announced that the outfit needs 25 eager customers to lay down a €1,000 ($1,301) deposit ensuring that at least that many will be sold for the €5,200 ($6,764) retail price. So if you need no more introduction to convince yourself that this bad boy is worth your while (and coin), send your down payment on in so we can see this thing materialize.[Via CNET]
Britain's CSR developing uber-sensitive Bluetooth / GPS hybrid chip
Considering how governments are suddenly feeling that tracking your every move, or at least providing the means for someone else to, is such a brilliant idea, it's no surprise to see the Bluetooth masters at Cambridge-based CSR buy up NordNav and Cambridge Positioning Systems. The new mishmash of companies now has consolidation on the brain, as it's developing an all-in-one microchip that will sport both Bluetooth and GPS functionality on a single module. Additionally, the chip would reportedly "drain less power and be cheaper for handset makers than having two separate chips in their devices," as both technologies would have one processor doing the work, resulting in a more efficient process. The company's CEO claimed that its combo chips would cost manufacturers "an extra dollar per chip as opposed to around $5 to $10 for putting in a current standalone GPS chip," and moreover, these devices are designed to be ultra-sensitive, giving it connection abilities indoors and in "deep urban areas" where current units fall short. Already being hit up by a few anonymous mobile producers, CSR plans to get these things shipping "during the first half of this year," and hopes to start turning a profit on them by 2008.
Swedes envision greener navigation routing
We can all agree that having a navigation system at all helps the environment out, since you'll be headed right where you need to go (well, most of the time, anyway) rather than spinning your wheels trying to figure out what's what, but a group of Swedish researchers have envisioned a plan that could actually help drivers cut down on emissions without even requiring them to hop in a hybrid. Instead of sorting your routes by criteria like "shortest distance" or "near food," Eva Ericsson at the Lund Institute of Technology in Sweden would rather you follow the path of least resistance, which would channel through the most efficient pathway depending on traffic, time of day, and speed limit. The team has trialed various routes and estimates that its thrifty approach to navigating provides fuel savings of "near four percent," but commercializing the idea has some tall hurdles ahead. A spokesperson for NAVTEQ insinuated that re-mapping the current roadways based on these scenarios is practically infeasible, and the idea only becomes marginally plausible if drivers were to volunteer en masse to use their vehicle as a "probe" device that could track and record data as they drove, slowly covering larger areas. Of course, folks aren't apt to cruise around for hundreds of miles (and burn through multiple tanks of fuel) on a whim, but with the right marketing approach, it's possible to turn an entire fleet of vehicles into one giant guinea pig.
NonStop launches VOOM HD in Estonia
Apparently even the HD companies believe it's truly better to give than to receive, as we've seen Poland, Spain, and the ole US of A receive new HD content in recent weeks. Next in line is, well, a little more of Europe, but it'll be "the first HD content" delivered to needy consumers in the Baltic region. NonStop Television has reportedly struck a deal with Estonian telecoms and IT provider Elion to make VOOM HD available on the firm's IPTV platform just a month after it launched in Scandinavia on Canal Digital. The company stated that Elion would be "the first HDTV provider in Estonia," but hopefully not the last. So for you folks stuck up in the northern sects of Europe, take heart, as a taste of HD is coming to cable and IPTV in your neck of the woods this February.
Swedish man has appendix burst while waiting for Wii
var digg_url = 'http://digg.com/gaming_news/Swedish_man_has_appendix_burst_while_waiting_for_Wii'; A Swedish man who had worked very hard to make sure he was first in line had a bit of catastrophe strike him while waiting. Turns out, his appendix burst right there while waiting. After a 48 hour stay in the hospital, he was right back in line, the very first customer waiting out for his Wii. The manager of the store, with his infinite kindness, held the gentleman's place in line for him. So, short stay in a warm hospital bed eating disgusting food, only to be discharged 48 hours later and assume his place back outside in the cold, cold line, his only company the other fanboys populating the line, eating greasy fried foods? Sounds like dedication to us, and that, we admire.[Via Go Nintendo]
