Macbook Air is out

Apple has announced that the MacBook Air, which is purportedly the world’s thinnest notebook, is now shipping. MacBook Air measures at 0.16-inches at its thinnest point, while its maximum height of 0.76-inches is less than the thinnest point on competing notebooks.



MacBook Air has a 13.3-inch LED-backlit widescreen display, a full-size and backlit keyboard, a built-in iSight video camera for video conferencing, and a spacious trackpad with multi-touch gesture support so users can pinch, rotate and swipe. MacBook Air is powered by a 1.6 GHz or 1.8 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo processor with 4MB L2 cache, and includes as standard features 2GB of memory, an 80GB 1.8-inch hard drive, and the latest 802.11n Wi-Fi technology and Bluetooth 2.1.

We’ve built the world’s thinnest notebook—without sacrificing a full-size keyboard or a full-size 13-inch display,” said Steve Jobs, Apple’s CEO. “When you first see MacBook Air, it’s hard to believe it’s a high-performance notebook with a full-size keyboard and display. But it is.”


Although the official availability of the MacBook Air in Malaysia isn't until sometime at the end of this month, that doesn't mean you can't do an early booking for it. So stay tuned for the availablity and pricing of the MacBoook air. Meanwhile you can read on for the specifications of the MacBook Air.


MacBook Air delivers up to five hours of battery life for wireless productivity and includes AirPort Extreme 802.11n Wi-Fi networking, which delivers up to five times the performance and twice the range of 802.11g. Apple’s Migration Assistant software now enables users to quickly transfer files, applications and preferences from your old Mac to MacBook Air right over your wireless network.

Every MacBook Air comes with iLife ‘08, the most significant update ever to Apple’s award-winning suite of digital lifestyle applications, featuring a major new version of iPhoto and a completely reinvented iMovie, both seamlessly integrated with the new .Mac Web Gallery for online photo and video sharing. The new MacBook Air also comes with Leopard, the sixth major release of the world’s most advanced operating system.

Leopard introduces Time Machine, an effortless way to automatically back up everything on a Mac; a redesigned Finder that lets users quickly browse and share files between multiple Macs; Quick Look, a new way to instantly see files without opening an application; Spaces, an intuitive new feature used to create groups of applications and instantly switch between them; a brand new desktop with Stacks, a new way to easily access files from the Dock; and major enhancements to Mail and iChat. .Mac members can use the new Back to My Mac feature to browse and access files on their home computer from a MacBook Air over the Internet while out on the road.

MacBook Air Specifications

-13.3-inch LED-backlit glossy widescreen display with 1280x800 resolution;
-1.6 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo processor with 4MB L2 cache;
-800 MHz front-side bus;
-2GB of 667 MHz DDR2 SDRAM;
-80GB hard disk drive with Sudden Motion Sensor;
-Intel Graphics Media Accelerator X3100;
-Micro-DVI port (includes Micro-DVI to VGA and Micro-DVI to DVI Adapters);
-built-in iSight video camera;
-built-in AirPort Extreme® 802.11n wireless networking and Bluetooth 2.1+EDR;
-one USB 2.0 port;
-one headphone port;
-multi-touch TrackPad with support for advanced multi-touch gestures including tap, scroll, pinch, rotate and swipe; and
-45 Watt MagSafe® Power Adapter.

Underwater duck

Millions to be invested in cycling

The city has pledged to invest DKK 75 million on making the lives of Copenhagen’s cyclists easier in the next three years.

Plans include a bicycle route running through the Christianshavn district, hundreds more parking spaces by train and metro stations and more bike lanes on busy streets.

Some DKK 20 million of the investments will go to a ‘green’ bicycle route in extension to the future footbridge from Christianshavn to the Opera House in the Holmen neighbourhood.

A smaller portion of the budget will be used for providing 24-hour bicycle pumps costing DKK 200,000 to implement. Another DKK 1 million will go towards an internet guide that can send pollution warnings to cyclists' mobile phones.

Klaus Bondam, the deputy mayor for environmental issues and public works, was enthusiastic about the new plans, saying that they were part of the larger goal of having half of the city’s residents cycle to work by 2015.

With the latest initiative, the city has spent DKK 185 million on improving conditions for cyclists since the 2005 city election.

Erik Hjulman, the chairperson of the Danish Bicycle Association and an advisor to the city on the most recent projects, said: ‘Working on this bicycle project is like being an eight-year-old let loose in a sweet shop.’

Source: The Copenhagen Post

Danish prices EU's dearest

Danish consumers pay 39 percent than the EU average for many goods and services

Denmark is by far the most expensive country in the European Union when it comes to food, transport, restaurant and hotel prices, according to Statistics Denmark.

When an EU citizen on average hands out DKK 100 for goods in a supermarket, a Danish resident would have to pay DKK 139 for the same items.

This discrepancy is more than enough to place Denmark in first place ahead of 27 other European countries. And there's a long way between first and second position held by Ireland where the same goods would cost DKK 125.

In third and fourth places are Finland and Sweden respectively. At the other end of the spectrum is Bulgaria where the items would cost DKK 45.

In terms of private transportation, the exorbitant car prices and related expenses put Denmark 84 percent higher than the EU average.

Prices for food are 42 percent higher than in the rest of the EU, exceeding costs in neighbouring Germany and Sweden by far. Both countries have lower VAT on food than Denmark.

The latest numbers from Statistics Denmark do away with the notion of Switzerland being the most expensive nation in Europe. Swiss prices are 36 percent higher than the EU average.

'The only consolation is that it might possibly be more expensive in Norway and Iceland, even though that won't help much when you're presented with the bill at the check-out counter,' said Jes Asmussen, an economist at Handelsbanken.

The soaring prices have also placed the country lower in the rankings for the world's richest countries.

According to Statistics Denmark, the country was sixth richest in 2006.

Denmark is now ninth richest, after the gross national product rate has been adjusted with the high living expenses.

However, the economists at Statistics Denmark emphasised that the numbers did not reflect the generally high income levels in the country.


Source: The Copenhagen Post

Denmark 20 krone 2007 : The Frigate Jylland

The Frigate Jylland is the motif of the second coin in the series of coins with ships as their common theme.

On 10 September 2007, Danmarks Nationalbank issues a new 20-krone coin with the Frigate Jylland as its motif. This is the second coin in a series with ships as their common motif.

The coin will be presented today on the Frigate Jylland in the port of Ebeltoft. The Frigate Jylland is the world’s longest wooden ship and represents outstanding craftsmanship. It also marks the beginning of a new age, being powered by both sails and an engine – an innovation within shipbuilding at the time when it was launched. The Frigate was commissioned by the Royal Danish Navy and was involved in the Battle of Helgoland in 1864, in which it became a national symbol. Later it became the royal ship of King Christian IX. Today the Frigate Jylland is a popular tourist attraction in Ebeltoft.


SPECIFICATIONS
Composition: Aluminium Bronze, 92%Cu6%Al2%Ni
Diameter: 27.00 mm
Thickness: 2.35 mm
Weight: 9.30 g
Edge: rim with interrupted milling
Designer: Hans Pauli Olsen

Source: National Bank of Denmark