Tag: switzerland

DAB receives major setback as Germans and Swiss say no

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The future of DAB radio took a bit of a kicking today when Germany and Switzerland’s commercial radio stations refused to invest in developing the DAB system to replace existing FM/AM transmissions. Their argument was that it didn’t make financial sense to do so.

The news has big repercussions for the UK and the rest of Europe. The Digital Britain report stated that the government would “work with our European partners, including the European Commission, to develop a common European approach to digital radio”. Well, it seems like all of the European partners aren’t interested in coming to the party.

The move could also be bad news for consumers. DAB radios are already much more expensive than their analogue brethren and the lack of a Europe-wide market is hardly going to help the cause. Car manufacturers are also less likely to include DAB radios in cars if they’ll only get maximum usage in selected countries.

The whole DAB scenario has been a bit of a shambles from the start really. Some DAB radios in the UK- reportedly as many as 9million – won’t even work if/when the system gets upgraded to the superior DAB+ system.

Campaigns such as Save FM argue that there is no need to take radio digital anyway – with many people arguing FM audio quality is, in fact, superior. The rise of internet radio also raises questions for the need of a digital radio network.

(via The Register)

Paul Lamkin DAB

Doodle helps you make choices with a large group of people online

Need to make a decision in a hurry online, with a group of people? Doodle’s got your back. It bills itself as a scheduling and choice-making site, and it pretty much does that – and nothing else – which is a breath of fresh air compared to most sites.

The question-asker just puts in the details, and up pops a link which he or she can then send to anyone they want to get input from. You can choose whether your poll is private or whether anyone can see anyone else’s answers – which will reassure the privacy-conscious.

Doodle’s free, and you can try it out right now. Registration is optional, but it’s quick and simple. It’s ad-supported and the company is based in Zurich, Switzerland. Go try it.

Doodle

Duncan Geere Startup Of The Day, Web 2.0

Vladimir Putin lays the smack down on Michael Dell

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File this one under “lol”. Last night at the World Economic Forum on Davos, Switzerland, Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin gave a 40 minute keynote speech about a variety of topics. In the ‘questions’ section afterwards, Dell chairman Michael Dell said nice things about Russia’s scientific prowess, and then asked how his company could help Russia expand its IT infrastructure.

Putin’s response?

“We don’t need your help. We are not invalids. We don’t have limited mental capacity.”

Ouch. Video over the jump, the smackdown begins right at the start.

Duncan Geere Computers, Weirdness