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Gamestop grabs 49 stores in ... Norway (yes way!)
Not content with its sprawling store base across America, games retailer GameStop has continued its invasion expansion into Europe with the purchase of 49 stores in Norway, reports GamesIndustry.biz. The ubiquitous chain completed the transaction by ensnaring all of the outstanding share capital of "Free Record Shop," a business which, even to the layman's ear, doesn't sound terribly profitable. The acquired stores will now bear GameStop's brand and presumably start charging for their goods.
Norway's Get cable provider fetching Voom HD networks
Shortly after hearing that a FTTH network was on its way to Norway, a cable provider (Get) in the nation has just landed a carriage agreement that will bring Voom HD networks onto its lineup of high-definition channels. Granted, this isn't the first time the Voom channels have surfaced in the Nordic and Baltic regions, but when it launches on Get later this month, it will be a first on this particular carrier. Interestingly, there was no mention of rate changes associated with the newcomers, so here's to hoping users in the area are in fact gifted with these gratis.
FTTH network coming to Norway
Barely a month after Viasat Broadcasting launched a few new HD offerings in Norway (among other places), along comes word that ECI Telecom and Fibra Networks are teaming up to construct a gigabit passive optical network (GPON) in the country. By utilizing ECI's Hi-FOCuS MultiService Access Node (MSAN) platform in a GPON OLT (optical line terminator) configuration, the GPON endeavor will reportedly "deliver fiber-to-the-home (FTTH) with cost-effective broadband and video capabilities for Norwegian residents." As expected, the network will enable IPTV, HDTV and "multicast distribution of television, as well as internet access and IP-based telephony." Unfortunately, there's no word on when this project will reach completion, but the sooner the better, we say.
Player posts an abundance of AoC videos from Norway press event
A lucky player by the name of Avery, from Age of Conan guild The Acolytes, won a trip to attend Funcom's press event in Norway and has uploaded a huge amount of footage. There are videos on questing, raiding, mounts, music and more from AoC. Heck, there's even a video of the real-life mounted fighting that was performed for the event attendees in the parking lot outside. A few of these videos are embedded after the break, and this post at The Acolytes forums has a list of all of them, and includes a write-up of Avery's opinion on the crafting system at the current time. Keep in mind these videos are on Stage6 and require a Divx plugin.[Thanks, Griz]
Viasat launches high-definition offerings in Europe
Don't look now, but Viasat Broadcasting has just launched its first high-definition offerings (including two Viasat-branded premium HDTV channels, TV1000 HD and Viasat Sport HD) on its Nordic satellite pay-TV platform. Reportedly, TV1000 HD and National Geographic HD will be available in Sweden, Norway, Denmark and Finland, while Viasat Sport HD makes its debut in Sweden, Norway and Finland; as for Danish subscribers, they'll have access to TV2 Sport HD. Unfortunately, fetching said programming won't come cheap, as it'll demand SEK/NOK/DKK 99 per month (between $15 and $20) in addition to the currently undisclosed HD set-top-box upgrade cost. Speaking of which, two STBs will initially be available: a Viasat Plus HD PVR box from Pace and a standard Viasat HD box made by Samsung, both of which use NDS middleware / content security and support 720p / 1080i. And we thought we were starved for HD...
Norwegian Air rolling out in-flight phone use, internet access
Passengers on Norwegian Air Shuttle ASA will soon have something to talk about... literally. The company is joining the growing ranks of airlines that allow mobile phone and / or wireless internet service on flights. According to the Scandinavian airline, the new features will be offered sometime later this year, and will be provided by a new subsidiary, Norwegian AS. Now, if only they'd allow smoking again.
Age of Conan Product Developer interview, with gameplay video
var digg_url = 'http://digg.com/pc_games/Age_of_Conan_interview_and_video'; On December 5th, I was invited to the Eidos/Funcom Age of Conan press event, where I was privileged enough to be granted access to both the game itself and the development team. I was able to play the opening area, leading into the first town. I sussed out the combat and the conversation interface. I spoke with Jørgen Tharaldsen, the Product Developer, and he let drop a metric ton of knowledge upon my fevered noggin. I reprint here our conversation, interspersed with my handheld-shot video pieces, the first of which is shown above, which is where the game starts, with you as a survivor of a shipwrecked slaver ship. I'd like to thank Jørgen and the entire Eidos/Funcom team, all of whom I found to be gracious, witty, and enthusiastic about their game, which is refreshing to see. My take? The game looks incredible, and it's extremely immersive from the get-go. They say they're on schedule for an early 2008 release, so this is something to anticipate indeed. More videos and the interview after the jump!
Boy attacked by moose "feigns death," thanks WoW
var digg_url = 'http://digg.com/gaming_news/Boy_Attacked_By_Moose_Feigns_Death_Thanks_WoW'; A Norwegian news site is reporting that a young boy and his sister were attacked by a moose (same thing happened to my sister once), and the boy reportedly "taunted' the moose away from his sister, and then feigned death, causing the moose to lose aggro and leave. "Just like you learn in level 30 in World of Warcraft," the boy is reportedly quoted as saying.Cynic that I am, I find it hard believing any of this is true at all-- maybe one of our Norwegian readers (and I know we have them, because I met two at BlizzCon) can let us know whether "Nettavisen" is to be trusted as a source or not. But even if it is true, I'm just as hesitant to jump to praise WoW for supposedly helping as I am to condemn it for supposedly hurting.Still, I'm glad the kid came out of it OK, and if WoW is to thank, all the better. Now if only he'd been able to control his DPS in the first place, he'd never have aggroed at all.[Via TN]
Dressed up right for Leopard release night
We asked for it, and even though I'm kind of regretting it, we got it. On the left is young readers Ben and Austin, dressed for the part (I can't believe no one threw red paint on them) at the Leopard launch this afternoon in Holyoke, MA. And on the right, in the, errr, eMac, is reader Geir Arne from Norway. Boy, do they loves them some hilarious Mac costumes in Norway, because as of this posting, he's on the front page of one of their biggest tech news sites.Oh man, I can't stop laughing, not just at how crazy these guys look, but just at how extremely happy they are to be dressed up like that and buying Leopard. You guys crack me up. All of these guys (and you, if you send us a picture) will be sure to appear in our Halloween costume gallery on Wednesday, so keep sending those pics in! Sure, you could spend hours on a great costume and show it off to one Apple store in the country, but why not take a pic, send it here, and be seen by all the world?
Think hoping to deliver web-enabled electric car
Wee electric cars such as the one pictured to the right aren't exactly uncommon, but if Think CEO Jan-Olaf Willums can get his dreams to pan out, his version of the urban green car may actually gain some serious traction. Reportedly, the firm has garnered upwards of $78 million from Silicon Valley and European investors who see promise in the carbon-neutral whip, and moreover, in changing the way we all buy and interact with our cars. Ideally, Think will only sell its vehicles online, which would reduce overhead dramatically, and will equip the cars with WiFi in order to become "a rolling computer that can communicate wirelessly with its driver, other Think owners, and the power grid." Notably, Think plans to "to sell the car but lease the battery as a way to overcome one of the biggest conundrums of electric automobiles," and while nothing is set in stone, the "City" could arrive in select locales as early as 2009.[Via Slashdot]
Apple Gets Reprieve from EU Competition Commission?
We have previously told you about some of Apple's difficulties in certain European countries regarding putatively anti-competitive actions in tying together the iPod and iTunes. Now Macworld UK is reporting that the EU doesn't see any reason to pursue prosecution against Apple's use of DRM.Although Norway, one of the most staunchly anti-iTunes countries, is not formally part of the EU, as IGM notes, it is part of EEA and thus would presumably be bound by any Europe-wide legal judgment. This suggests that Apple would have legal recourse against Norway, France, Germany, etc. if national regulators attempted to shut down iTunes.[Via IGM]
Automatic waffle maker simplifies breakfast
With all the flowers starting to bloom and bunny rabbits (stuffed or otherwise) beginning to emerge, we're sure it won't be long before you're busting out the Wham-o Peeps maker, but if you've been pondering a way to make those hearty breakfasts pop out a tad quicker, we've got just the thing. Apparently, a group of waffle-lovin' kiddos have concocted an automated machine that not only opens and closes on queue, cooks and unloads the finished waffle onto your plate, and closes back for easy cleanup, it even boasts a tiltable pail filled with waffle mix and a funnel so that filling the hot iron is no longer your (messy) responsibility. The project was crafted at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology, and looks to be constructed primarily of wood, strings, and pulleys, and while we certainly wouldn't recommend that novice DIYers try this unaided, be sure and hit the read link for a look at waffles made easy.
Apple's Norwegian troubles could increase
Norway's Ombudsman has never been a fan of Apple's DRM. We've covered this a few times here on TUAW, but it looks like things are coming to a head. It has been decided that the iTunes DRM is illegal according to Norwegian law, and now Apple has until March to change the terms until the first legal steps will be taken against Apple.Will this signal a massive change in Apple's DRM? Or will it mean Apple leaving Norway? Only time will tell, but I can't imagine Apple will just give up on the entire European market.Update: Norway, as it has been pointed out, is not now, nor has it ever been, a part of the EU. Finland, however, is and they have the same issues with Apple's DRM. My apologies to our Norwegian readers.
France and Germany pile on the EU iTunes anti-DRM pressures
Apple doesn't seem to have given much weight to Norway's threats of repercussions for the continued iPod + iTunes + FairPlay lockdown, but even if the Norwegians decided to actually get nasty about it, Apple could always pull iPods from Norway shelves and take its business elsewhere. However, Apple might have to start paying attention now that other EU members are hopping aboard, with France and Germany leading the charge. Norway, which had originally set a June '06 date for an Apple response, which then got bumped to August, has a fresh September date for Apple to respond to, and the members of this new anti-DRM coalition are promising increased pressure as that date looms near. No telling how this will end up playing out, but we're sure Apple isn't going to give up its little cash-cow ecosystem without a fight. All of this is in addition to a law that went into effect in France last August which allows regulators to force Apple to open up the iPod and iTunes, but we haven't heard a peep out of that one so far.[Via Slashdot]
Thermonor body temp regulation tubes to be tested by US Navy
Leave it to the contemporary descendants of the Vikings, to come up with a way to help American sailors stay physically afloat longer; Congress has just approved $500,000 for testing of five Norwegian-made "temperature management" units. The firm behind this invention, Thermonor, claims to have built a device that can alter an injured sailor's limb by encasing it in a plastic cylinder to keep the body's temperature high enough to avoid hypothermia and also pressurized enough to control severe bleeding. Still though, Thermonor may want to work on the product's design a little more just so that the patient doesn't feel like they've been turned into a freakish version of Captain Hook.
Scandinavian artist merges cellphones and fruit flies, world wonders why
We know that Scandinavians have a reputation for high-tech and ultra-liberal attitudes, but this one may be a bit over the top. Laura Beloff, an artist who seems to have a penchant for her cellphone and for fruit flies, has built what she calls "The Fruit Fly Farm" -- a wearable sculpture involving a transparent acrylic ball that contains a bunch of fruit flies munching away on a piece of rotting fruit. A cellphone is positioned so that its camera can take a picture of the swarm in action upon receiving a text message from the public; the snapshot is then uploaded to a website for posterity and is also sent back to the sender as a reply. If you want to get your own shot of these amazingly boring insects, you've got until November 30 to text +47 92096767 (Norway), after which time the shirtless dude walking around in the Norwegian winter wants to get some clothes on.[Via Textually]
US DOJ sides with Apple in brewing fight with Europe
DRM lovers and haters alike, gather round, because the good ol' US Cavalry (played in this film by the US Department of Justice), has just saddled up and taken sides in what is prepared to be an epic showdown between some wild west cowboys (Apple) and strangers from the east (Europe). As IDG News Service reported yesterday, the first shot has been fired by Thomas Barnett, an assistant attorney general at the DOJ's antitrust division. Barnett and his DOJ posse are siding with Apple and warning European countries like Norway, Sweden, Denmark and France to back off, arguing that forcing companies to reveal their intellectual property slows innovation -- and they haven't discussed the anti-consumer angle, or the increasing feeling abroad that Apple is acting anti-competitively. Meanwhile, the Norwegian Consumers Council is going to meet with Apple later this month to try to solve this issue more diplomatically before things gets out of control and Apple and Europe have to duke it out in the OK Corral court.[Via Boing Boing]
French iTunes law now, um, law; Apple takes stand against Scandis
Last we heard, the France's Constitutional Court had approved the iTunes law -- altered, mixed up a bit, but still generally intact -- for the final signature by President Jacques Chirac. The President, of course, has now signed the bill, which among other things now effectively mandates a regulatory committee to oversee DRM issues in the country when formed this fall. According to USA Today, Apple appears to have fallen silent on France for now, but they certainly weren't entirely reserved on one of the other FairPlay-challenging motions in the region. In a 50-page statement released to the public by Norway's consumer agency, Apple appeared rather vocal with regard to the Scandi iPod regulations and laws currently being erected. Their take? You guessed it. Apple was described as "defiant," and apparently appeased few of the demands made by the consumer ombudsmen attempting to bring order to the situation, only causing further frustration and vexation for consumer advocates and, well, consumers. In a nutshell, Apple expressed their disinterest in changing their business model to accommodate Scandinavian consumers' demands; if you found anything in this post at all surprising, you probably haven't been reading long or paying much attention, but if there's any one thing that's clear, it's that things are going to get much harder for Apple Europe before they get any easier.Read - iPod law now lawRead - Apple defends selves against Scandinavian consumer groups
Norway takes iTMS ToS gripes to court
A consumer advocacy group in Norway is apparently not too happy with the iTMS ToS (Terms of Service) and has won a preliminary ruling in an attempt to force Apple to make some edits. Specifically, the Norwegian group is attacking Apple's liability for any security breaches their software might allow (think: "Sony rootkits"), as well as the company's 'we can edit these ToS anytime we want' policy that is outlined in said ToS. Also on the table, yet again, is the use of DRM and whether it violates fundamental consumer rights in Norway, and the proposition of a 'cooling off' period for iTMS purchases.First France, now Norway. The iTMS and its practices are taking quite the beating lately. We should take bets as to how long it will take Norwegian pro-music industry lobbyists to get these rulings fixed this time around.[via MacNN]
Blizzard Europe at The Gathering
Blizzard (in the guise of CM Thundgot) will be at The Gathering in Hamar, Norway next Friday and Saturday (the 14th and 15th). He'll be meeting and greeting players as well as taking employment applications (a list of current European openings can be found here). So if you're in the neighborhood or were planning on attending , here's your chance to meet one of Blizzard's own in the flesh!
