<atom:link href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/index.rss" rel="self" type="application/rss+xml" />
<item>
- <title>Forslag i stortinget om å stoppe elektronisk stemmegiving i Norge</title>
- <link>http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/Forslag_i_stortinget_om____stoppe_elektronisk_stemmegiving_i_Norge.html</link>
- <guid isPermaLink="true">http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/Forslag_i_stortinget_om____stoppe_elektronisk_stemmegiving_i_Norge.html</guid>
- <pubDate>Tue, 31 Aug 2010 21:00:00 +0200</pubDate>
+ <title>Hvordan kringkaster T-banen i Oslo sine overvåkningskamerasignaler?</title>
+ <link>http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/Hvordan_kringkaster_T_banen_i_Oslo_sine_overv__kningskamerasignaler_.html</link>
+ <guid isPermaLink="true">http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/Hvordan_kringkaster_T_banen_i_Oslo_sine_overv__kningskamerasignaler_.html</guid>
+ <pubDate>Wed, 5 Jan 2011 18:30:00 +0100</pubDate>
<description>
-<p>Ble tipset i dag om at et forslag om å stoppe forsøkene med
-elektronisk stemmegiving utenfor valglokaler er
-<a href="http://www.stortinget.no/no/Saker-og-publikasjoner/Saker/Sak/?p=46616">til
-behandling</a> i Stortinget.
-<a href="http://www.stortinget.no/Global/pdf/Representantforslag/2009-2010/dok8-200910-128.pdf">Forslaget</a>
-er fremmet av Erna Solberg, Michael Tetzschner og Trond Helleland.</p>
-
-<p>Håper det får flertall.</p>
+<p>Jeg er den fornøyde eier av en håndholdt trådløs kamerascanner,
+dvs. en radioscanner som automatisk scanner frekvensområdet 900 - 2500
+MHz og snapper opp radiokilder med PAL eller NTCS TV-signal og viser
+signalet frem på en liten skjerm. Veldig morsom å ha med seg for å se
+hva som finnes av trådløse overvåkningskamera. En får se bildet som
+kameraet tar opp. :)</p>
+
+<p>Men en kilde har den ikke klart å snappe opp: Sporveiens
+overvåkningskamera på T-banestasjonene. Bildet sendes åpenbart
+trådløst til T-baneføreren, men min scanner har ikke klart å ta inn
+signalet. For å forsøke å finne ut av dette tok jeg i dag en nærmere
+titt på en av boksene som sto på Forskningsparken T-banestasjon for å
+se hva det er som sendes ut.</p>
+
+<p>Boksen hadde følgende tekst:</p>
+
+<blockquote><pre>
+SupraLink
+Outdoor Transmitter 5.8 GHz
+
+default channel [ ]
+ identity code [ ]
+
+VTQ Videotronik
+06268 Querfurt
+<a href="http://www.vtq.de/">www.vtq.de</a>
+Made in Germany
+
+AC 230V [strekkode]
+max 10W 84230936
+</pre></blockquote>
+
+<p>Det var hyggelig av produsenten å legge inn lenke til nettsiden
+sin. Der hadde de mye stilig elektronikk. Og forklaringen på hvorfor
+min scanner ikke tar inn signalet er åpenbar ut fra merkelappen. 5.8
+GHz er langt over min scanners grense på 2.5 GHz. Trenger visst en
+kraftigere scanner. :)</p>
</description>
</item>
<item>
- <title>Broken hard link handling with sshfs</title>
- <link>http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/Broken_hard_link_handling_with_sshfs.html</link>
- <guid isPermaLink="true">http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/Broken_hard_link_handling_with_sshfs.html</guid>
- <pubDate>Mon, 30 Aug 2010 19:30:00 +0200</pubDate>
+ <title>Inspirerende fra en ukjent Skolelinux-skole</title>
+ <link>http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/Inspirerende_fra_en_ukjent_Skolelinux_skole.html</link>
+ <guid isPermaLink="true">http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/Inspirerende_fra_en_ukjent_Skolelinux_skole.html</guid>
+ <pubDate>Tue, 4 Jan 2011 07:50:00 +0100</pubDate>
<description>
-<p>Just got an email from Tobias Gruetzmacher as a followup on my
-<a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/Broken_umask_handling_with_sshfs.html">previous
-post about sshfs</a>. He reported another problem with sshfs. It
-fail to handle hard links properly. A simple way to spot this is to
-look at the . and .. entries in the directory tree. These should have
-a link count >1, but on sshfs the count is 1. I just tested to see
-what happen when trying to hardlink, and this fail as well:</p>
-
-<pre>
-% ln foo bar
-ln: creating hard link `bar' => `foo': Function not implemented
-%
-</pre>
-
-<p>I have not yet found time to implement a test for this in my file
-system test code, but believe having working hard links is useful to
-avoid surprised unix programs. Not as useful as working file locking
-and symlinks, which are required to get a working desktop, but useful
-nevertheless. :)</p>
-
-<p>The latest version of the file system test code is available via
-git from
-<a href="http://github.com/gebi/fs-test">http://github.com/gebi/fs-test</a></p>
+<p>Følgende inspirerende historie fant jeg i
+<a href="http://www.digi.no/php/ny_debatt.php?id=858869#innlegg_770926">kommentarfeltet
+hos digi.no</a> i forbindelse med en trist sak om hvordan
+<a href="http://www.digi.no/858869/datakaos-etter-linux-satsing">skolen
+i Hemsedal har fått ødelagt</a> sin Skolelinux-installasjon. Jeg har
+fikset endel åpenbare skrivefeil for lesbarhetens skyld.</p>
+
+<blockquote>
+<p><strong>Lignende situasjon i annen kommune, se bare her:</strong>
+<br>av Inspektør Siri (gjest)
+
+<p>Kommunen min har to omtrent jevnstore tettsteder, og en
+ungdomsskole i hvert av tettstedene. Den minste av disse har ca 300
+elever og til denne sogner det 3 barneskoler. Den største har ca 350
+elever og til denne sogner det 4 barneskoler.</p>
+
+<ul>
+
+<li>Kommunen har i veldig lang tid forsømt IKT i skolen, og det har
+bare blitt gitt smuler i ny og ne. Det er kun den største av
+ungdomsskolene som har hatt en skikkelig datapark, og dette takket
+være en naturfaglærer som ble lei av å vente på kommunen. Det gjorde
+at vi bestemte oss for å ta ting i egne hender, og da vha
+skolelinux. En testinstallasjon med 10 gamle PCer ble gjort, og vi så
+raskt at dette var veldig lovende. Neste etappe var å gi alle lærere
+egen PC på arbeidsplassene sine (2004), og så sette opp 16 PCer på to
+datarom. Vi har kun basert oss på å kjøpe inn brukte maskiner, og
+aldri dyrere enn 1000 kr pr klient. For to år siden så hadde vi
+klienter i alle klasserom, og totalt hadde vi da rundt 250 stk. Rundt
+40 klienter brukes av lærerne og kjører på en egen server. Elvene har
+resten, og kjører også en egen server. Servere har vi også kjøpt
+brukt, 2 år gamle servere koster 6-7000 kroner.</li>
+
+<li>Skolen vår er et relativt gammelt bygg, men en meget dyktig
+vaktmester har sammen med IKT-ansvarlig/Naturfaglærer lagt kabler til alle
+rom. Gradvis har vi byttet ut billige svitsjer med mer solide saker
+som er mulig å fjernstyre.</li>
+
+<li>Vi har i all hovedsak greid å få dette til over eget budsjett, men
+vi har også passet på å få penger når de andre skolene har fått
+bærbare PCer til lærere osv.</li>
+
+<li>Vår IKT-ansvarlig har gjort (og gjør) en fenomenal jobb, og vi har
+en maskinpark som de andre av kommunens skoler bare kan drømme
+om.</li>
+
+</ul>
+
+<p>Så skjer det som ofte skjer. Det kommer en eller annen
+selger/blåruss og skal fikse ALT. I vårt tilfelle betyr dette også
+sentralisering av drift. Den ny-ansatte på kommunens IT-avdelingen
+skal også ha jobb, og ser for seg å ta over skoledriften. Kommunen
+kjøper inn eksterne driftstjenester, og nekter i samme slengen å ta
+hensyn til skolen vår. Dette til tross for at vi alene har like mange
+datamaskiner som de andre til sammen. </p>
+
+<ul>
+
+<li>Det blir krevd at vi skal innlemmes i de kommunale systemet, og
+det er VI som får ansvar for at dette kommer på plass. Og det er her
+de horrible tingene begynner å skje. </li>
+
+<li>Det settes opp en lukket Exchange server som gjør av vi ikke kan
+hente epost for våre ansatte. Og det kreves at vi finner løsning på
+dette.</li>
+
+<li>Det velges sak arkivsystem som vi pålegges å bruke, noe som gjør
+at vi må bruke en terminalløsning mot kommunal server. Ikke i seg selv
+et problem i følge IKT-ansvarlig hos oss. Men kommunens IT-avd nektet
+faktisk å åpne de porter OSV som vi måtte bruke.</li>
+
+<li>Vi blir pålagt å flytte på innsiden av det kommunale
+nettverket. Dette gjorde at vi mistet hjemmekontor for lærere og
+elever. Å få åpnet porter i kommunal brannmur var ikke
+aktuelt. Mulighet for fjerndrift ble også vekk i samme slengen. </li>
+
+<li>Vår LMS Moodle er ikke mulig å nå for elevene og lærerne.
+
+</ul>
+
+<p>Den andre ungdomsskolen i kommunen begynner så å kreve at de skal
+få bedre datatetthet, og komme opp på et nivå som ligner det vi
+har. De ser at vi kan avholde eksamen hvor alle 10. klassingene får
+sitte ved hver sin PC. Og de har fått tilbakemelding (klager) fra VGS
+om manglende datakompetanse på elevene som kommer fra dem. Dette fører
+videre til at kommunen endelig innser at de må ta grep. </p>
+
+<p>Grepet betyr sentralisering, og farvel til vår plattform får vi
+høre. Det blir gjort en rekke bestemmelser og vedtak som vi ikke får
+være en del av. Det blir helt klart at vi må redusere antall maskiner,
+og det skal satses på bærbare maskiner. Siden vi ikke har fått tatt
+del i prosessene som angår oss, så bruker vi fagforening. Vi har ikke
+blitt hørt i forbindelse med endringer som er betydelig for vår
+hverdag, og greier å stoppe omlegging. I tillegg så har vi et politisk
+vedtak i kommunen på at vi skal kjøre Linux på elevnett, og dette
+vedtaket kan ikke administrasjonen i kommunene helt uten videre
+tilsidesette. </p>
+
+<p>I sum har dette gjort at vi har fått jobbe videre i fred. Og en del
+runder i kommunens kontrollutvalg har gjort det tydelig at vi har blitt
+systematisk motarbeidet. </p>
+
+<p>I dag har de andre skolene fått sine bærbare maskiner til elever og
+lærere, men etter 2 år med innkjøring er det fremdeles problemer
+her. </p>
+
+<ul>
+
+<li>Ungdomsskolen med windows kan ikke kjøre eksamen med sine bærbare,
+det er for mye arbeid å renske disse for innhold slik at juks ikke er
+mulig.</li>
+
+<li>Utskrift er et mareritt, etter sigende pga at utskrift først
+sendes til sentral server, og så sendes ut til rett skriver. I snitt
+så tar det 7-8 minutter før utskrift starter på enkelte av
+skolene.</li>
+
+<li>Trådløst skaper store problemer, og det er i perioder helt umulig
+å komme seg på nett. Og lagring på felles server er bare å glemme i
+perioder.</li>
+
+</ul>
+
+<p>Vi har slitt mye, kranglet og sloss. Ikke med tekniske problemer,
+men med omgivelsene rundt som vil oss til livs. Men det har vært verdt
+hver dråpe med svette, og timer med irritasjon. Men vi har begynt å få
+rutine her nå. </p>
+
+<ul>
+
+<li>Vi har fremdeles et system som vi styrer helt selv. </li>
+<li>Vi har vist at argumentet med at vår IKT-ansvarlig kan finne seg annen jobb ikke holder mål. Vi har kjøpt driftskonto hos et firma i tilfelle krise, og vi har kjørt opplæring på flere av de yngre lærerne. </li>
+<li>Vi har til enhver tid en lærling IKT driftsfag, og velger selvsagt ut dem som satser på Linux. Vi har nå begynt å få tilbake av våre tidligere elever som vil til oss nettopp fordi vi har Linux.</li>
+<li>Vi har vist at vi greier å opprettholde en dobbelt så stor datapark som naboskolen, og det til en billigere penge. </li>
+<li>Vi har datastøtte og support på huset, ALLTID tilgjengelig. De andre skolene må vente flere dager hvis det ikke er noe kritisk. </li>
+<li>Vår IKT-ansvarlig har 50% stilling som lærer og 50% som IKT-ansvarlig. </li>
+<li>Vi har en lærer på hvert trinn som har 3 timer i uka til å drive support/støtte til de andre lærerne. </li>
+<li>Vi opplever at de yngste lærerne ved den andre ungdomsskolen ønsker seg over til oss. </li>
+
+</ul>
+
+<p>Vi skal i løpet av året starte prosess med å planlegge ny skole, og vi har fått gjennomslag for at jeg (inspektør) og IKT-ansvarlig skal ha det fulle og hele ansvar for IKT/Infrastruktur. Begrunnelsen vår som ble avgjørende her, var at IT-avd i kommunen ikke kan noe om data i skolen. </p>
+
+<p>Beklager hvis dette ble litt usammenhengende, men det ble tastet i
+fei, og jeg har ikke lest gjennom</p>
+</blockquote>
+
+<p>Det kom raskt et lite svar:</p>
+
+<blockquote>
+<p><strong>SV: Lignende situasjon i annen kommune, se bare her:</strong>
+<br>av captain_obvious</p>
+
+<p>Inspirerende å lese. Har dere gjort noe for å fortelle denne
+historien videre?</p>
+
+<p>Hadde vært svært interessant om dere tok kontakt med dokument 2 eller
+lignende for å fortelle hvordan det egentlig står til med
+IT-satsningen i kommune-Norge. Om ikke annet kan du begynner med å
+raffinere innlegget ditt og få en gjesteartikkel på digi.no</p>
+</blockquote>
+
+<p>Og deretter en lengre oppfølging.</p>
+
+<blockquote>
+<p><strong>SV: Lignende situasjon i annen kommune, se bare her:</strong>
+<br>av Inspektør Siri (gjest)
+
+<p>Joda, vi har lekt med tanken, og vi har t.o.m skrevet flere lengre
+leserinnlegg myntet på aviser. Disse er ikke sendt til aviser, men
+brukt internt i forbindelse med møter med kommune. Vår IKT-ansvarlig
+har også truet med å si opp jobben sin hvis det ikke ble tatt hensyn i
+større grad enn hva som har vært tilfelle. VI kan også dokumentere
+flere brudd på anbudsregler, og vi kjenner til at relativt store
+IT-leverandører som ikke har fått tatt del i disse anbudene, rett og
+slett ikke tør melde fra av redsel for å få et dårlig rykte. </p>
+
+<p>Alt ser ut til å roe seg ned, og vi har fått opp øynene på
+politikerne. I sum gjør dette at vi ikke ønsker for mye publisitet nå,
+det vil bare rote til igjen. </p>
+
+<p>Jeg glemte å nevne at vi nå nesten ikke bruker tid på å drifte
+systemet vårt, noe som gjør at det aller meste av tid blir brukt til å
+støtte lærerne og elevene. F.eks så bruker vår IKT-ansvarlig den
+første timen på jobb, 0730-0830 kun til å gå ute på arbeidsplassene
+til læreren. Dette for å kunne svare på små og store problem, gi tips
+og råd, eller bare for å plukke opp hva som er behovet ute i
+undervisningsarealene. Det er dessverre ikke slik at alle lærerne har
+nok digital kompetanse til å kunne formulere alle spørsmålene de har,
+men ved å kunne få vise eller lufte tanker med IKT-ansvarlig så er det
+utrolig hva som kommer fram. </p>
+
+<ul>
+
+<li>Jeg ser at mange bruker økonomi som argument i forhold til å bruke
+SkoleLinux, og jeg skal ikke legge skjul på at det var dette som i
+utgangspunktet var årsaken til vårt valg. Men diskusjonene og kampen
+med kommunens IT-avdeling har gjort at vi har fått et noe annet
+fokus. Fordelene med drift og stabilitet, gjør at vi ville ha valgt
+samme løsning selv om den var dyrere. At vi slipper langt billigere
+unna, som følge av 0,- lisenskostnader og lave maskinvarekostnader, er
+bare en bonus. </li>
+
+<li>Etter å ha kranglet oss til å få skikkelig oversikt over hva de
+andre skolene i kommunen bruker på IT, så har vi fått gehør for å få
+samme midler til innkjøp. Dette har gjort at vi nå kan kjøpe inn
+utstyr som de andre skolene bare kan se langt etter. Vi har nettopp
+kjøpt inn 3 videokamera i semiproff-klassen for å kunne lage film,
+samt sende live fra skoleteater/konserter. Vi har kjøpt inn digitale
+kompaktkamera til alle klassene. Vi har et team av lærere som skal i
+gang med å teste ut tablets på svake elever. Håpet et at teknologien
+kan være med på å gi noen av elevene litt mer motivasjon. Vi har kjøpt
+inn et halvt klassesett med pulsklokker, noe som har vist seg å være
+overraskende inspirerende for en del av elevene. Vi har også oss på
+fag på en høyskole litt lengre sør for oss, slik at 3 av oss nå skal
+ta faget "Linux tjenestedrift". Som inspektør og en del av skolens
+administrasjon er det veldig praktisk å kunne trå til hvis det
+kniper. Men IKT-ansvarlig har vært UTROLIG flink til å lage rene
+smørbrødlister for hvordan de mest vanlige driftsproblem løses, så det
+er lett for flere av oss å ta del i den daglige driften. Vi har svært
+stor nytte av lærling (som også hjelper to av naboskolene), men det er
+nesten blitt slik at det er om å gjøre å komme til først for å få løse
+problem. Det å få fingrene på problem og utfordringer er den aller
+beste læremester. </li>
+
+</ul>
+
+<p>Når vi nå tar til med planlegging av ny skole, så vil det være med
+tanke på at det skal være mulig med datautstyr på alle plasser. Vi
+kommer i all hovedsak til å legge kabel til alle tenkelige og
+utenkelige plasser. WiFi koster tilnærmet NULL å sette opp i
+ettertid.</p>
+
+<p>Vi har ikke vært noe flink til å bidra til SkoleLinux-prosjektet,
+vi har rett og slett vært for opptatt med vår egen kamp. Vi har hentet
+mye inspirasjon fra diskusjoner som har gått i det miljøet, og vi
+håper at vi nå framover kan få tid til å bidra. Vi er i ferd med å
+bytte ut en av serverne våre, og da vil denne trolig bli satt opp som
+testserver for neste versjon av Skolelinux. På den måten vil vi i alle
+fall kunne gi tilbakemeldinger og rapportere feil. I tillegg så vil
+det kanskje gi oss noen nye utfordringer, for som lærlingen vår sier:
+"Skolelinux er noe herk, det skjer jo ikke noe galt og hvordan skal
+jeg da lære?"</p>
+
+</blockquote>
+
+<p>Det er veldig hyggelig å høre at
+<a href="http://www.skolelinux.org/">Skolelinux</a> fungerer så bra i
+skoleverdagen etter å ha jobbet med det i 10 år.</p>
</description>
</item>
<item>
- <title>Sikkerhetsteateret på flyplassene fortsetter</title>
- <link>http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/Sikkerhetsteateret_p___flyplassene_fortsetter.html</link>
- <guid isPermaLink="true">http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/Sikkerhetsteateret_p___flyplassene_fortsetter.html</guid>
- <pubDate>Sat, 28 Aug 2010 10:40:00 +0200</pubDate>
+ <title>Støtte for forskjellige kamera-ikoner på overvåkningskamerakartet</title>
+ <link>http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/St__tte_for_forskjellige_kamera_ikoner_p___overv__kningskamerakartet.html</link>
+ <guid isPermaLink="true">http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/St__tte_for_forskjellige_kamera_ikoner_p___overv__kningskamerakartet.html</guid>
+ <pubDate>Sun, 2 Jan 2011 11:05:00 +0100</pubDate>
<description>
-<p>Jeg skrev for et halvt år siden hvordan
-<a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/Sikkerhet__teater__og_hvordan_gj__re_verden_sikrere.html">samfunnet
-kaster bort ressurser på sikkerhetstiltak som ikke fungerer</a>. Kom
-nettopp over en
-<a href="http://www.askthepilot.com/essays-and-stories/terrorism-tweezers-and-terminal-madness-an-essay-on-security/">historie
-fra en pilot fra USA</a> som kommenterer det samme. Jeg mistenker det
-kun er uvitenhet og autoritetstro som gjør at så få protesterer. Har
-veldig sans for piloten omtalt i <a
-href="http://www.aftenposten.no/nyheter/iriks/article2057501.ece">Aftenposten</a> 2007-10-23,
-og skulle ønske flere rettet oppmerksomhet mot problemet. Det gir
-ikke meg trygghetsfølelse på flyplassene når jeg ser at
-flyplassadministrasjonen kaster bort folk, penger og tid på tull i
-stedet for ting som bidrar til reell økning av sikkerheten. Det
-forteller meg jo at vurderingsevnen til de som burde bidra til økt
-sikkerhet er svært sviktende, noe som ikke taler godt for de andre
-tiltakene.</p>
-
-<p>Mon tro hva som skjer hvis det fantes en enkel brosjyre å skrive ut
-fra Internet som forklarte hva som er galt med sikkerhetsopplegget på
-flyplassene, og folk skrev ut og la en bunke på flyplassene når de
-passerte. Kanskje det ville fått flere til å få øynene opp for
-problemet.</p>
-
-<p>Personlig synes jeg flyopplevelsen er blitt så avskyelig at jeg
-forsøker å klare meg med tog, bil og båt for å slippe ubehaget. Det
-er dog noe vanskelig i det langstrakte Norge og for å kunne besøke de
-delene av verden jeg ønsker å nå. Mistenker at flere har det slik, og
-at dette går ut over inntjeningen til flyselskapene. Det er antagelig
-en god ting sett fra et miljøperspektiv, men det er en annen sak.</p>
+<p>I dag har jeg justert litt på kartet over overvåkningskamera, og
+laget støtte for å gi fotobokser (automatisk trafikk-kontroll) og
+andre overvåkningskamera forskjellige symboler på kartet, slik at det
+er enklere å se forskjell på kamera som vegvesenet kontrollerer og
+andre kamera. Resultatet er lagt ut på
+<a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/surveillance-norway/">kartet
+over overvåkningskamera i Norge</a>. Det er nå 93 fotobokser av 380
+totalt
+<a href="http://www.vegvesen.no/Fag/Fokusomrader/Trafikksikkerhet/Automatisk+trafikkontroll+ATK">i
+følge vegvesenet</a> og 80 andre kamera på kartet, totalt 173 kamera.
+Takk til de 26 stykkene som har bidratt til kamerainformasjonen så
+langt.</p>
</description>
</item>
<item>
- <title>Skolelinux i Osloskolen</title>
- <link>http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/Skolelinux_i_Osloskolen.html</link>
- <guid isPermaLink="true">http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/Skolelinux_i_Osloskolen.html</guid>
- <pubDate>Thu, 26 Aug 2010 22:25:00 +0200</pubDate>
+ <title>What standards are Free and Open as defined by Digistan?</title>
+ <link>http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/What_standards_are_Free_and_Open_as_defined_by_Digistan_.html</link>
+ <guid isPermaLink="true">http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/What_standards_are_Free_and_Open_as_defined_by_Digistan_.html</guid>
+ <pubDate>Thu, 30 Dec 2010 23:15:00 +0100</pubDate>
<description>
-<p>Denne høsten skal endelig alle Osloskolene få mulighet til å bruke
-<a href="http://www.skolelinux.org/">Skolelinux</a>. Ny IT-løsning
-har vært rullet ut i noen måneder nå, og så vidt jeg fikk vite før
-sommeren skulle alle skoler ha nytt opplegg på plass før oppstart nå i
-høst. På alle skolene skal en kunne velge ved installasjon om en skal
-ha Windows eller Skolelinux på maskinene, og en kan i tillegg
-PXE-boote maskinene over nett som tynne klienter eller diskløse
-arbeidsstasjoner. Jeg er spent på hvor mange skoler som velger å ta i
-bruk Skolelinux, og gleder meg til å se hvordan dette utvikler seg.
-Løsningen leveres av
-<a href="http://www.logica.no/">Logica</a> med
-<a href="http://www.slxdrift.no/">Skolelinux Drift AS</a> som
-underleverandør, og jeg har vært involvert i utviklingen av løsningen
-via Skolelinux Drift AS siden prosjektet starter. Jeg synes det er
-fantastisk at Skolelinux er kommet så langt siden vi startet i 2001 at
-alle elevene i Osloskolene nå skal få mulighet til å bruke
-løsningen. Jeg håper de vil sette pris på alle de
-<a href="http://www.skolelinux.no/linux-signpost/">fantastiske
-brukerprogrammene</a> som er tilgjengelig i Skolelinux.</p>
+<p>After trying to
+<a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/Is_Ogg_Theora_a_free_and_open_standard_.html">compare
+Ogg Theora</a> to
+<a href="http://www.digistan.org/open-standard:definition">the Digistan
+definition</a> of a free and open standard, I concluded that this need
+to be done for more standards and started on a framework for doing
+this. As a start, I want to get the status for all the standards in
+the Norwegian reference directory, which include UTF-8, HTML, PDF, ODF,
+JPEG, PNG, SVG and others. But to be able to complete this in a
+reasonable time frame, I will need help.</p>
+
+<p>If you want to help out with this work, please visit
+<a href="http://wiki.nuug.no/grupper/standard/digistan-analyse">the
+wiki pages I have set up for this</a>, and let me know that you want
+to help out. The IRC channel #nuug on irc.freenode.net is a good
+place to coordinate this for now, as it is the IRC channel for the
+NUUG association where I have created the framework (I am the leader
+of the Norwegian Unix User Group).</p>
+
+<p>The framework is still forming, and a lot is left to do. Do not be
+scared by the sketchy form of the current pages. :)</p>
</description>
</item>
<item>
- <title>Broken umask handling with sshfs</title>
- <link>http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/Broken_umask_handling_with_sshfs.html</link>
- <guid isPermaLink="true">http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/Broken_umask_handling_with_sshfs.html</guid>
- <pubDate>Thu, 26 Aug 2010 13:30:00 +0200</pubDate>
+ <title>The many definitions of a open standard</title>
+ <link>http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/The_many_definitions_of_a_open_standard.html</link>
+ <guid isPermaLink="true">http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/The_many_definitions_of_a_open_standard.html</guid>
+ <pubDate>Mon, 27 Dec 2010 14:45:00 +0100</pubDate>
<description>
-<p>My file system sematics program
-<a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/Testing_if_a_file_system_can_be_used_for_home_directories___.html">presented
-a few days ago</a> is very useful to verify that a file system can
-work as a unix home directory,and today I had to extend it a bit. I'm
-looking into alternatives for home directory access here at the
-University of Oslo, and one of the options is sshfs. My friend
-Finn-Arne mentioned a while back that they had used sshfs with Debian
-Edu, but stopped because of problems. I asked today what the problems
-where, and he mentioned that sshfs failed to handle umask properly.
-Trying to detect the problem I wrote this addition to my fs testing
-script:</p>
-
-<pre>
-mode_t touch_get_mode(const char *name, mode_t mode) {
- mode_t retval = 0;
- int fd = open(name, O_RDWR|O_CREAT|O_LARGEFILE, mode);
- if (-1 != fd) {
- unlink(name);
- struct stat statbuf;
- if (-1 != fstat(fd, &statbuf)) {
- retval = statbuf.st_mode & 0x1ff;
- }
- close(fd);
- }
- return retval;
-}
-
-/* Try to detect problem discovered using sshfs */
-int test_umask(void) {
- printf("info: testing umask effect on file creation\n");
-
- mode_t orig_umask = umask(000);
- mode_t newmode;
- if (0666 != (newmode = touch_get_mode("foobar", 0666))) {
- printf(" error: Wrong file mode %o when creating using mode 666 and umask 000\n",
- newmode);
- }
- umask(007);
- if (0660 != (newmode = touch_get_mode("foobar", 0666))) {
- printf(" error: Wrong file mode %o when creating using mode 666 and umask 007\n",
- newmode);
- }
-
- umask (orig_umask);
- return 0;
-}
-
-int main(int argc, char **argv) {
- [...]
- test_umask();
- return 0;
-}
-</pre>
-
-<p>Sure enough. On NFS to a netapp, I get this result:</p>
-
-<pre>
-Testing POSIX/Unix sematics on file system
-info: testing symlink creation
-info: testing subdirectory creation
-info: testing fcntl locking
- Read-locking 1 byte from 1073741824
- Read-locking 510 byte from 1073741826
- Unlocking 1 byte from 1073741824
- Write-locking 1 byte from 1073741824
- Write-locking 510 byte from 1073741826
- Unlocking 2 byte from 1073741824
-info: testing umask effect on file creation
-</pre>
-
-<p>When mounting the same directory using sshfs, I get this
-result:</p>
-
-<pre>
-Testing POSIX/Unix sematics on file system
-info: testing symlink creation
-info: testing subdirectory creation
-info: testing fcntl locking
- Read-locking 1 byte from 1073741824
- Read-locking 510 byte from 1073741826
- Unlocking 1 byte from 1073741824
- Write-locking 1 byte from 1073741824
- Write-locking 510 byte from 1073741826
- Unlocking 2 byte from 1073741824
-info: testing umask effect on file creation
- error: Wrong file mode 644 when creating using mode 666 and umask 000
- error: Wrong file mode 640 when creating using mode 666 and umask 007
-</pre>
-
-<p>So, I can conclude that sshfs is better than smb to a Netapp or a
-Windows server, but not good enough to be used as a home
-directory.</p>
-
-<p>Update 2010-08-26: Reported the issue in
-<a href="http://bugs.debian.org/594498">BTS report #594498</a></p>
-
-<p>Update 2010-08-27: Michael Gebetsroither report that he found the
-script so useful that he created a GIT repository and stored it in
-<a href="http://github.com/gebi/fs-test">http://github.com/gebi/fs-test</a>.</p>
+<p>One of the reasons I like the Digistan definition of
+"<a href="http://www.digistan.org/open-standard:definition">Free and
+Open Standard</a>" is that this is a new term, and thus the meaning of
+the term has been decided by Digistan. The term "Open Standard" has
+become so misunderstood that it is no longer very useful when talking
+about standards. One end up discussing which definition is the best
+one and with such frame the only one gaining are the proponents of
+de-facto standards and proprietary solutions.</p>
+
+<p>But to give us an idea about the diversity of definitions of open
+standards, here are a few that I know about. This list is not
+complete, but can be a starting point for those that want to do a
+complete survey. More definitions are available on the
+<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Open_standard">wikipedia
+page</a>.</p>
+
+<p>First off is my favourite, the definition from the European
+Interoperability Framework version 1.0. Really sad to notice that BSA
+and others has succeeded in getting it removed from version 2.0 of the
+framework by stacking the committee drafting the new version with
+their own people. Anyway, the definition is still available and it
+include the key properties needed to make sure everyone can use a
+specification on equal terms.</p>
+
+<blockquote>
+
+<p>The following are the minimal characteristics that a specification
+and its attendant documents must have in order to be considered an
+open standard:</p>
+
+<ul>
+
+<li>The standard is adopted and will be maintained by a not-for-profit
+organisation, and its ongoing development occurs on the basis of an
+open decision-making procedure available to all interested parties
+(consensus or majority decision etc.).</li>
+
+<li>The standard has been published and the standard specification
+document is available either freely or at a nominal charge. It must be
+permissible to all to copy, distribute and use it for no fee or at a
+nominal fee.</li>
+
+<li>The intellectual property - i.e. patents possibly present - of
+(parts of) the standard is made irrevocably available on a royalty-
+free basis.</li>
+
+<li>There are no constraints on the re-use of the standard.</li>
+
+</ul>
+</blockquote>
+
+<p>Another one originates from my friends over at
+<a href="http://www.dkuug.dk/">DKUUG</a>, who coined and gathered
+support for <a href="http://www.aaben-standard.dk/">this
+definition</a> in 2004. It even made it into the Danish parlament as
+<a href="http://www.ft.dk/dokumenter/tingdok.aspx?/samling/20051/beslutningsforslag/B103/som_fremsat.htm">their
+definition of a open standard</a>. Another from a different part of
+the Danish government is available from the wikipedia page.</p>
+
+<blockquote>
+
+<p>En åben standard opfylder følgende krav:</p>
+
+<ol>
+
+<li>Veldokumenteret med den fuldstændige specifikation offentligt
+tilgængelig.</li>
+
+<li>Frit implementerbar uden økonomiske, politiske eller juridiske
+begrænsninger på implementation og anvendelse.</li>
+
+<li>Standardiseret og vedligeholdt i et åbent forum (en såkaldt
+"standardiseringsorganisation") via en åben proces.</li>
+
+</ol>
+
+</blockquote>
+
+<p>Then there is <a href="http://www.fsfe.org/projects/os/def.html">the
+definition</a> from Free Software Foundation Europe.</p>
+
+<blockquote>
+
+<p>An Open Standard refers to a format or protocol that is</p>
+
+<ol>
+
+<li>subject to full public assessment and use without constraints in a
+manner equally available to all parties;</li>
+
+<li>without any components or extensions that have dependencies on
+formats or protocols that do not meet the definition of an Open
+Standard themselves;</li>
+
+<li>free from legal or technical clauses that limit its utilisation by
+any party or in any business model;</li>
+
+<li>managed and further developed independently of any single vendor
+in a process open to the equal participation of competitors and third
+parties;</li>
+
+<li>available in multiple complete implementations by competing
+vendors, or as a complete implementation equally available to all
+parties.</li>
+
+</ol>
+
+</blockquote>
+
+<p>A long time ago, SUN Microsystems, now bought by Oracle, created
+its
+<a href="http://blogs.sun.com/dennisding/resource/Open%20Standard%20Definition.pdf">Open
+Standards Checklist</a> with a fairly detailed description.</p>
+
+<blockquote>
+<p>Creation and Management of an Open Standard
+
+<ul>
+
+<li>Its development and management process must be collaborative and
+ democratic:
+
+ <ul>
+
+ <li>Participation must be accessible to all those who wish to
+ participate and can meet fair and reasonable criteria
+ imposed by the organization under which it is developed
+ and managed.</li>
+
+ <li>The processes must be documented and, through a known
+ method, can be changed through input from all
+ participants.</li>
+
+ <li>The process must be based on formal and binding commitments for
+ the disclosure and licensing of intellectual property rights.</li>
+
+ <li>Development and management should strive for consensus,
+ and an appeals process must be clearly outlined.</li>
+
+ <li>The standard specification must be open to extensive
+ public review at least once in its life-cycle, with
+ comments duly discussed and acted upon, if required.</li>
+
+ </ul>
+
+</li>
+
+</ul>
+
+<p>Use and Licensing of an Open Standard</p>
+<ul>
+
+<li>The standard must describe an interface, not an implementation,
+ and the industry must be capable of creating multiple, competing
+ implementations to the interface described in the standard without
+ undue or restrictive constraints. Interfaces include APIs,
+ protocols, schemas, data formats and their encoding.</li>
+
+<li> The standard must not contain any proprietary "hooks" that create
+ a technical or economic barriers</li>
+
+<li>Faithful implementations of the standard must
+ interoperate. Interoperability means the ability of a computer
+ program to communicate and exchange information with other computer
+ programs and mutually to use the information which has been
+ exchanged. This includes the ability to use, convert, or exchange
+ file formats, protocols, schemas, interface information or
+ conventions, so as to permit the computer program to work with other
+ computer programs and users in all the ways in which they are
+ intended to function.</li>
+
+<li>It must be permissible for anyone to copy, distribute and read the
+ standard for a nominal fee, or even no fee. If there is a fee, it
+ must be low enough to not preclude widespread use.</li>
+
+<li>It must be possible for anyone to obtain free (no royalties or
+ fees; also known as "royalty free"), worldwide, non-exclusive and
+ perpetual licenses to all essential patent claims to make, use and
+ sell products based on the standard. The only exceptions are
+ terminations per the reciprocity and defensive suspension terms
+ outlined below. Essential patent claims include pending, unpublished
+ patents, published patents, and patent applications. The license is
+ only for the exact scope of the standard in question.
+
+ <ul>
+
+ <li> May be conditioned only on reciprocal licenses to any of
+ licensees' patent claims essential to practice that standard
+ (also known as a reciprocity clause)</li>
+
+ <li> May be terminated as to any licensee who sues the licensor
+ or any other licensee for infringement of patent claims
+ essential to practice that standard (also known as a
+ "defensive suspension" clause)</li>
+
+ <li> The same licensing terms are available to every potential
+ licensor</li>
+
+ </ul>
+</li>
+
+<li>The licensing terms of an open standards must not preclude
+ implementations of that standard under open source licensing terms
+ or restricted licensing terms</li>
+
+</ul>
+
+</blockquote>
+
+<p>It is said that one of the nice things about standards is that
+there are so many of them. As you can see, the same holds true for
+open standard definitions. Most of the definitions have a lot in
+common, and it is not really controversial what properties a open
+standard should have, but the diversity of definitions have made it
+possible for those that want to avoid a level marked field and real
+competition to downplay the significance of open standards. I hope we
+can turn this tide by focusing on the advantages of Free and Open
+Standards.</p>
</description>
</item>
<item>
- <title>Elektronisk stemmegiving er ikke til å stole på - heller ikke i Norge</title>
- <link>http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/Elektronisk_stemmegiving_er_ikke_til____stole_p_____heller_ikke_i_Norge.html</link>
- <guid isPermaLink="true">http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/Elektronisk_stemmegiving_er_ikke_til____stole_p_____heller_ikke_i_Norge.html</guid>
- <pubDate>Mon, 23 Aug 2010 19:30:00 +0200</pubDate>
+ <title>Is Ogg Theora a free and open standard?</title>
+ <link>http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/Is_Ogg_Theora_a_free_and_open_standard_.html</link>
+ <guid isPermaLink="true">http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/Is_Ogg_Theora_a_free_and_open_standard_.html</guid>
+ <pubDate>Sat, 25 Dec 2010 20:25:00 +0100</pubDate>
<description>
-<p>I Norge pågår en prosess for å
-<a href="http://www.e-valg.dep.no/">innføre elektronisk
-stemmegiving</a> ved kommune- og stortingsvalg. Dette skal
-introduseres i 2011. Det er all grunn til å tro at valg i Norge ikke
-vil være til å stole på hvis dette blir gjennomført. Da det hele var
-oppe til høring i 2006 forfattet jeg
-<a href="http://www.nuug.no/dokumenter/valg-horing-2006-09.pdf">en
-høringsuttalelse fra NUUG</a> (og EFN som hengte seg på) som skisserte
-hvilke punkter som må oppfylles for at en skal kunne stole på et valg,
-og elektronisk stemmegiving mangler flere av disse. Elektronisk
-stemmegiving er for alle praktiske formål å putte ens stemme i en sort
-boks under andres kontroll, og satse på at de som har kontroll med
-boksen er til å stole på - uten at en har mulighet til å verifisere
-dette selv. Det er ikke slik en gjennomfører demokratiske valg.</p>
-
-<p>Da problemet er fundamentalt med hvordan elektronisk stemmegiving
-må fungere for at også ikke-krypografer skal kunne delta, har det vært
-mange rapporter om hvordan elektronisk stemmegiving har sviktet i land
-etter land. En
-<a href="http://wiki.nuug.no/uttalelser/2006-elektronisk-stemmegiving">liten
-samling referanser</a> finnes på NUUGs wiki. Den siste er fra India,
-der valgkomisjonen har valgt
-<a href="http://www.freedom-to-tinker.com/blog/jhalderm/electronic-voting-researcher-arrested-over-anonymous-source">å
-pusse politiet på en forsker</a> som har dokumentert svakheter i
-valgsystemet.</p>
-
-<p>Her i Norge har en valgt en annen tilnærming, der en forsøker seg
-med teknobabbel for å få befolkningen til å tro at dette skal bli
-sikkert. Husk, elektronisk stemmegiving underminerer de demokratiske
-valgene i Norge, og bør ikke innføres.</p>
-
-<p>Den offentlige diskusjonen blir litt vanskelig av at media har
-valgt å kalle dette "evalg", som kan sies å både gjelde elektronisk
-opptelling av valget som Norge har gjort siden 60-tallet og som er en
-svært god ide, og elektronisk opptelling som er en svært dårlig ide.
-Diskusjonen gir ikke mening hvis en skal diskutere om en er for eller
-mot "evalg", og jeg forsøker derfor å være klar på at jeg snakker om
-elektronisk stemmegiving og unngå begrepet "evalg".</p>
+<p><a href="http://www.digistan.org/open-standard:definition">The
+Digistan definition</a> of a free and open standard reads like this:</p>
+
+<blockquote>
+
+<p>The Digital Standards Organization defines free and open standard
+as follows:</p>
+
+<ol>
+
+<li>A free and open standard is immune to vendor capture at all stages
+in its life-cycle. Immunity from vendor capture makes it possible to
+freely use, improve upon, trust, and extend a standard over time.</li>
+
+<li>The standard is adopted and will be maintained by a not-for-profit
+organisation, and its ongoing development occurs on the basis of an
+open decision-making procedure available to all interested
+parties.</li>
+
+<li>The standard has been published and the standard specification
+document is available freely. It must be permissible to all to copy,
+distribute, and use it freely.</li>
+
+<li>The patents possibly present on (parts of) the standard are made
+irrevocably available on a royalty-free basis.</li>
+
+<li>There are no constraints on the re-use of the standard.</li>
+
+</ol>
+
+<p>The economic outcome of a free and open standard, which can be
+measured, is that it enables perfect competition between suppliers of
+products based on the standard.</p>
+</blockquote>
+
+<p>For a while now I have tried to figure out of Ogg Theora is a free
+and open standard according to this definition. Here is a short
+writeup of what I have been able to gather so far. I brought up the
+topic on the Xiph advocacy mailing list
+<a href="http://lists.xiph.org/pipermail/advocacy/2009-July/001632.html">in
+July 2009</a>, for those that want to see some background information.
+According to Ivo Emanuel Gonçalves and Monty Montgomery on that list
+the Ogg Theora specification fulfils the Digistan definition.</p>
+
+<p><strong>Free from vendor capture?</strong></p>
+
+<p>As far as I can see, there is no single vendor that can control the
+Ogg Theora specification. It can be argued that the
+<a href="http://www.xiph.org/">Xiph foundation</A> is such vendor, but
+given that it is a non-profit foundation with the expressed goal
+making free and open protocols and standards available, it is not
+obvious that this is a real risk. One issue with the Xiph
+foundation is that its inner working (as in board member list, or who
+control the foundation) are not easily available on the web. I've
+been unable to find out who is in the foundation board, and have not
+seen any accounting information documenting how money is handled nor
+where is is spent in the foundation. It is thus not obvious for an
+external observer who control The Xiph foundation, and for all I know
+it is possible for a single vendor to take control over the
+specification. But it seem unlikely.</p>
+
+<p><strong>Maintained by open not-for-profit organisation?</strong></p>
+
+<p>Assuming that the Xiph foundation is the organisation its web pages
+claim it to be, this point is fulfilled. If Xiph foundation is
+controlled by a single vendor, it isn't, but I have not found any
+documentation indicating this.</p>
+
+<p>According to
+<a href="http://media.hiof.no/diverse/fad/rapport_4.pdf">a report</a>
+prepared by Audun Vaaler og Børre Ludvigsen for the Norwegian
+government, the Xiph foundation is a non-commercial organisation and
+the development process is open, transparent and non-Discrimatory.
+Until proven otherwise, I believe it make most sense to believe the
+report is correct.</p>
+
+<p><strong>Specification freely available?</strong></p>
+
+<p>The specification for the <a href="http://www.xiph.org/ogg/doc/">Ogg
+container format</a> and both the
+<a href="http://www.xiph.org/vorbis/doc/">Vorbis</a> and
+<a href="http://theora.org/doc/">Theora</a> codeces are available on
+the web. This are the terms in the Vorbis and Theora specification:
+
+<blockquote>
+
+Anyone may freely use and distribute the Ogg and [Vorbis/Theora]
+specifications, whether in private, public, or corporate
+capacity. However, the Xiph.Org Foundation and the Ogg project reserve
+the right to set the Ogg [Vorbis/Theora] specification and certify
+specification compliance.
+
+</blockquote>
+
+<p>The Ogg container format is specified in IETF
+<a href="http://www.xiph.org/ogg/doc/rfc3533.txt">RFC 3533</a>, and
+this is the term:<p>
+
+<blockquote>
+
+<p>This document and translations of it may be copied and furnished to
+others, and derivative works that comment on or otherwise explain it
+or assist in its implementation may be prepared, copied, published and
+distributed, in whole or in part, without restriction of any kind,
+provided that the above copyright notice and this paragraph are
+included on all such copies and derivative works. However, this
+document itself may not be modified in any way, such as by removing
+the copyright notice or references to the Internet Society or other
+Internet organizations, except as needed for the purpose of developing
+Internet standards in which case the procedures for copyrights defined
+in the Internet Standards process must be followed, or as required to
+translate it into languages other than English.</p>
+
+<p>The limited permissions granted above are perpetual and will not be
+revoked by the Internet Society or its successors or assigns.</p>
+</blockquote>
+
+<p>All these terms seem to allow unlimited distribution and use, an
+this term seem to be fulfilled. There might be a problem with the
+missing permission to distribute modified versions of the text, and
+thus reuse it in other specifications. Not quite sure if that is a
+requirement for the Digistan definition.</p>
+
+<p><strong>Royalty-free?</strong></p>
+
+<p>There are no known patent claims requiring royalties for the Ogg
+Theora format.
+<a href="http://www.streamingmedia.com/Articles/ReadArticle.aspx?ArticleID=65782">MPEG-LA</a>
+and
+<a href="http://yro.slashdot.org/story/10/04/30/237238/Steve-Jobs-Hints-At-Theora-Lawsuit">Steve
+Jobs</a> in Apple claim to know about some patent claims (submarine
+patents) against the Theora format, but no-one else seem to believe
+them. Both Opera Software and the Mozilla Foundation have looked into
+this and decided to implement Ogg Theora support in their browsers
+without paying any royalties. For now the claims from MPEG-LA and
+Steve Jobs seem more like FUD to scare people to use the H.264 codec
+than any real problem with Ogg Theora.</p>
+
+<p><strong>No constraints on re-use?</strong></p>
+
+<p>I am not aware of any constraints on re-use.</p>
+
+<p><strong>Conclusion</strong></p>
+
+<p>3 of 5 requirements seem obviously fulfilled, and the remaining 2
+depend on the governing structure of the Xiph foundation. Given the
+background report used by the Norwegian government, I believe it is
+safe to assume the last two requirements are fulfilled too, but it
+would be nice if the Xiph foundation web site made it easier to verify
+this.</p>
+
+<p>It would be nice to see other analysis of other specifications to
+see if they are free and open standards.</p>
</description>
</item>
<item>
- <title>Robot, reis deg...</title>
- <link>http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/Robot__reis_deg___.html</link>
- <guid isPermaLink="true">http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/Robot__reis_deg___.html</guid>
- <pubDate>Sat, 21 Aug 2010 22:10:00 +0200</pubDate>
+ <title>The reply from Edgar Villanueva to Microsoft in Peru</title>
+ <link>http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/The_reply_from_Edgar_Villanueva_to_Microsoft_in_Peru.html</link>
+ <guid isPermaLink="true">http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/The_reply_from_Edgar_Villanueva_to_Microsoft_in_Peru.html</guid>
+ <pubDate>Sat, 25 Dec 2010 10:50:00 +0100</pubDate>
<description>
-<p>I dag fikk jeg endelig tittet litt på mine nyinnkjøpte roboter, og
-har brukt noen timer til å google etter interessante referanser og
-aktuell kildekode for bruk på Linux. Det mest lovende så langt er
-<a href="http://ispykee.toyz.org/">ispykee</a>, som har en
-BSD-lisensiert linux-daemon som står som mellomledd mellom roboter på
-lokalnettet og en sentral tjeneste der en iPhone kan koble seg opp for
-å fjernstyre roboten. Linux-daemonen implementerer deler av
-protokollen som roboten forstår. Etter å ha knotet litt med å oppnå
-kontakt med roboten (den oppretter et eget ad-hoc wifi-nett, så jeg
-måtte gå av mitt vanlige nett for å få kontakt), og kommet frem til at
-den lytter på IP-port 9000 og 9001, gikk jeg i gang med å finne ut
-hvordan jeg kunne snakke med roboten vha. disse portene. Robotbiten
-av protokollen er publisert av produsenten med GPL-lisens, slik at det
-er mulig å se hvordan protokollen fungerer. Det finnes en java-klient
-for Android som så ganske snasen ut, men fant ingen kildekode for
-denne. Derimot hadde iphone-løsningen kildekode, så jeg tok
-utgangspunkt i den.</p>
-
-<p>Daemonen ville i utgangspunktet forsøke å kontakte den sentrale
-tjenesten som iphone-programmet kobler seg til. Jeg skrev dette om
-til i stedet å sette opp en nettverkstjeneste på min lokale maskin,
-som jeg kan koble meg opp til med telnet og gi kommandoer til roboten
-(act, forward, right, left, etc). Det involverte i praksis å bytte ut
-socket()/connect() med socket()/bind()/listen()/accept() for å gjøre
-klienten om til en tjener.</p>
-
-<p>Mens jeg har forsøkt å få roboten til å bevege seg har min samboer
-skrudd sammen resten av roboten for å få montert kamera og plastpynten
-(armer, plastfiber for lys). Nå er det hele montert, og roboten er
-klar til bruk. Må få flyttet den over til mitt vanlige trådløsnett
-før det blir praktisk, men de bitene av protokollen er ikke
-implementert i ispykee-daemonen, så der må jeg enten få tak i en mac
-eller en windows-maskin, eller implementere det selv.</p>
-
-<p>Vi var tre som kjøpte slike roboter, og vi har blitt enige om å
-samle notater og referanser på <a
-href="http://wiki.nuug.no/grupper/robot/">NUUGs wiki</a>. Ta en titt
-der hvis du er nysgjerrig.</p>
+<p>A few days ago
+<a href="http://www.idg.no/computerworld/article189879.ece">an
+article</a> in the Norwegian Computerworld magazine about how version
+2.0 of
+<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/European_Interoperability_Framework">European
+Interoperability Framework</a> has been successfully lobbied by the
+proprietary software industry to remove the focus on free software.
+Nothing very surprising there, given
+<a href="http://news.slashdot.org/story/10/03/29/2115235/Open-Source-Open-Standards-Under-Attack-In-Europe">earlier
+reports</a> on how Microsoft and others have stacked the committees in
+this work. But I find this very sad. The definition of
+<a href="http://www.nuug.no/dokumenter/standard-presse-def-200506.txt">an
+open standard from version 1</a> was very good, and something I
+believe should be used also in the future, alongside
+<a href="http://www.digistan.org/open-standard:definition">the
+definition from Digistan</A>. Version 2 have removed the open
+standard definition from its content.</p>
+
+<p>Anyway, the news reminded me of the great reply sent by Dr. Edgar
+Villanueva, congressman in Peru at the time, to Microsoft as a reply
+to Microsofts attack on his proposal regarding the use of free software
+in the public sector in Peru. As the text was not available from a
+few of the URLs where it used to be available, I copy it here from
+<a href="http://gnuwin.epfl.ch/articles/en/reponseperou/villanueva_to_ms.html">my
+source</a> to ensure it is available also in the future. Some
+background information about that story is available in
+<a href="http://www.linuxjournal.com/article/6099">an article</a> from
+Linux Journal in 2002.</p>
+
+<blockquote>
+<p>Lima, 8th of April, 2002<br>
+To: Señor JUAN ALBERTO GONZÁLEZ<br>
+General Manager of Microsoft Perú</p>
+
+<p>Dear Sir:</p>
+
+<p>First of all, I thank you for your letter of March 25, 2002 in which you state the official position of Microsoft relative to Bill Number 1609, Free Software in Public Administration, which is indubitably inspired by the desire for Peru to find a suitable place in the global technological context. In the same spirit, and convinced that we will find the best solutions through an exchange of clear and open ideas, I will take this opportunity to reply to the commentaries included in your letter.</p>
+
+<p>While acknowledging that opinions such as yours constitute a significant contribution, it would have been even more worthwhile for me if, rather than formulating objections of a general nature (which we will analyze in detail later) you had gathered solid arguments for the advantages that proprietary software could bring to the Peruvian State, and to its citizens in general, since this would have allowed a more enlightening exchange in respect of each of our positions.</p>
+
+<p>With the aim of creating an orderly debate, we will assume that what you call "open source software" is what the Bill defines as "free software", since there exists software for which the source code is distributed together with the program, but which does not fall within the definition established by the Bill; and that what you call "commercial software" is what the Bill defines as "proprietary" or "unfree", given that there exists free software which is sold in the market for a price like any other good or service.</p>
+
+<p>It is also necessary to make it clear that the aim of the Bill we are discussing is not directly related to the amount of direct savings that can by made by using free software in state institutions. That is in any case a marginal aggregate value, but in no way is it the chief focus of the Bill. The basic principles which inspire the Bill are linked to the basic guarantees of a state of law, such as:</p>
+
+<p>
+<ul>
+<li>Free access to public information by the citizen. </li>
+<li>Permanence of public data. </li>
+<li>Security of the State and citizens.</li>
+</ul>
+</p>
+
+<p>To guarantee the free access of citizens to public information, it is indispensable that the encoding of data is not tied to a single provider. The use of standard and open formats gives a guarantee of this free access, if necessary through the creation of compatible free software.</p>
+
+<p>To guarantee the permanence of public data, it is necessary that the usability and maintenance of the software does not depend on the goodwill of the suppliers, or on the monopoly conditions imposed by them. For this reason the State needs systems the development of which can be guaranteed due to the availability of the source code.</p>
+
+<p>To guarantee national security or the security of the State, it is indispensable to be able to rely on systems without elements which allow control from a distance or the undesired transmission of information to third parties. Systems with source code freely accessible to the public are required to allow their inspection by the State itself, by the citizens, and by a large number of independent experts throughout the world. Our proposal brings further security, since the knowledge of the source code will eliminate the growing number of programs with *spy code*. </p>
+
+<p>In the same way, our proposal strengthens the security of the citizens, both in their role as legitimate owners of information managed by the state, and in their role as consumers. In this second case, by allowing the growth of a widespread availability of free software not containing *spy code* able to put at risk privacy and individual freedoms.</p>
+
+<p>In this sense, the Bill is limited to establishing the conditions under which the state bodies will obtain software in the future, that is, in a way compatible with these basic principles.</p>
+
+
+<p>From reading the Bill it will be clear that once passed:<br>
+<li>the law does not forbid the production of proprietary software</li>
+<li>the law does not forbid the sale of proprietary software</li>
+<li>the law does not specify which concrete software to use</li>
+<li>the law does not dictate the supplier from whom software will be bought</li>
+<li>the law does not limit the terms under which a software product can be licensed.</li>
+
+</p>
+
+<p>What the Bill does express clearly, is that, for software to be acceptable for the state it is not enough that it is technically capable of fulfilling a task, but that further the contractual conditions must satisfy a series of requirements regarding the license, without which the State cannot guarantee the citizen adequate processing of his data, watching over its integrity, confidentiality, and accessibility throughout time, as these are very critical aspects for its normal functioning.</p>
+
+<p>We agree, Mr. Gonzalez, that information and communication technology have a significant impact on the quality of life of the citizens (whether it be positive or negative). We surely also agree that the basic values I have pointed out above are fundamental in a democratic state like Peru. So we are very interested to know of any other way of guaranteeing these principles, other than through the use of free software in the terms defined by the Bill.</p>
+
+<p>As for the observations you have made, we will now go on to analyze them in detail:</p>
+
+<p>Firstly, you point out that: "1. The bill makes it compulsory for all public bodies to use only free software, that is to say open source software, which breaches the principles of equality before the law, that of non-discrimination and the right of free private enterprise, freedom of industry and of contract, protected by the constitution."</p>
+
+<p>This understanding is in error. The Bill in no way affects the rights you list; it limits itself entirely to establishing conditions for the use of software on the part of state institutions, without in any way meddling in private sector transactions. It is a well established principle that the State does not enjoy the wide spectrum of contractual freedom of the private sector, as it is limited in its actions precisely by the requirement for transparency of public acts; and in this sense, the preservation of the greater common interest must prevail when legislating on the matter.</p>
+
+<p>The Bill protects equality under the law, since no natural or legal person is excluded from the right of offering these goods to the State under the conditions defined in the Bill and without more limitations than those established by the Law of State Contracts and Purchasing (T.U.O. by Supreme Decree No. 012-2001-PCM).</p>
+
+<p>The Bill does not introduce any discrimination whatever, since it only establishes *how* the goods have to be provided (which is a state power) and not *who* has to provide them (which would effectively be discriminatory, if restrictions based on national origin, race religion, ideology, sexual preference etc. were imposed). On the contrary, the Bill is decidedly antidiscriminatory. This is so because by defining with no room for doubt the conditions for the provision of software, it prevents state bodies from using software which has a license including discriminatory conditions.</p>
+
+<p>It should be obvious from the preceding two paragraphs that the Bill does not harm free private enterprise, since the latter can always choose under what conditions it will produce software; some of these will be acceptable to the State, and others will not be since they contradict the guarantee of the basic principles listed above. This free initiative is of course compatible with the freedom of industry and freedom of contract (in the limited form in which the State can exercise the latter). Any private subject can produce software under the conditions which the State requires, or can refrain from doing so. Nobody is forced to adopt a model of production, but if they wish to provide software to the State, they must provide the mechanisms which guarantee the basic principles, and which are those described in the Bill.</p>
+
+<p>By way of an example: nothing in the text of the Bill would prevent your company offering the State bodies an office "suite", under the conditions defined in the Bill and setting the price that you consider satisfactory. If you did not, it would not be due to restrictions imposed by the law, but to business decisions relative to the method of commercializing your products, decisions with which the State is not involved.</p>
+
+<p>To continue; you note that:" 2. The bill, by making the use of open source software compulsory, would establish discriminatory and non competitive practices in the contracting and purchasing by public bodies..."</p>
+
+<p>This statement is just a reiteration of the previous one, and so the response can be found above. However, let us concern ourselves for a moment with your comment regarding "non-competitive ... practices."</p>
+
+<p>Of course, in defining any kind of purchase, the buyer sets conditions which relate to the proposed use of the good or service. From the start, this excludes certain manufacturers from the possibility of competing, but does not exclude them "a priori", but rather based on a series of principles determined by the autonomous will of the purchaser, and so the process takes place in conformance with the law. And in the Bill it is established that *no one* is excluded from competing as far as he guarantees the fulfillment of the basic principles.</p>
+
+<p>Furthermore, the Bill *stimulates* competition, since it tends to generate a supply of software with better conditions of usability, and to better existing work, in a model of continuous improvement.</p>
+
+<p>On the other hand, the central aspect of competivity is the chance to provide better choices to the consumer. Now, it is impossible to ignore the fact that marketing does not play a neutral role when the product is offered on the market (since accepting the opposite would lead one to suppose that firms' expenses in marketing lack any sense), and that therefore a significant expense under this heading can influence the decisions of the purchaser. This influence of marketing is in large measure reduced by the bill that we are backing, since the choice within the framework proposed is based on the *technical merits* of the product and not on the effort put into commercialization by the producer; in this sense, competitiveness is increased, since the smallest software producer can compete on equal terms with the most powerful corporations.</p>
+
+<p>It is necessary to stress that there is no position more anti-competitive than that of the big software producers, which frequently abuse their dominant position, since in innumerable cases they propose as a solution to problems raised by users: "update your software to the new version" (at the user's expense, naturally); furthermore, it is common to find arbitrary cessation of technical help for products, which, in the provider's judgment alone, are "old"; and so, to receive any kind of technical assistance, the user finds himself forced to migrate to new versions (with non-trivial costs, especially as changes in hardware platform are often involved). And as the whole infrastructure is based on proprietary data formats, the user stays "trapped" in the need to continue using products from the same supplier, or to make the huge effort to change to another environment (probably also proprietary).</p>
+
+<p>You add: "3. So, by compelling the State to favor a business model based entirely on open source, the bill would only discourage the local and international manufacturing companies, which are the ones which really undertake important expenditures, create a significant number of direct and indirect jobs, as well as contributing to the GNP, as opposed to a model of open source software which tends to have an ever weaker economic impact, since it mainly creates jobs in the service sector."</p>
+
+<p>I do not agree with your statement. Partly because of what you yourself point out in paragraph 6 of your letter, regarding the relative weight of services in the context of software use. This contradiction alone would invalidate your position. The service model, adopted by a large number of companies in the software industry, is much larger in economic terms, and with a tendency to increase, than the licensing of programs.</p>
+
+<p>On the other hand, the private sector of the economy has the widest possible freedom to choose the economic model which best suits its interests, even if this freedom of choice is often obscured subliminally by the disproportionate expenditure on marketing by the producers of proprietary software.</p>
+
+<p>In addition, a reading of your opinion would lead to the conclusion that the State market is crucial and essential for the proprietary software industry, to such a point that the choice made by the State in this bill would completely eliminate the market for these firms. If that is true, we can deduce that the State must be subsidizing the proprietary software industry. In the unlikely event that this were true, the State would have the right to apply the subsidies in the area it considered of greatest social value; it is undeniable, in this improbable hypothesis, that if the State decided to subsidize software, it would have to do so choosing the free over the proprietary, considering its social effect and the rational use of taxpayers money.</p>
+
+<p>In respect of the jobs generated by proprietary software in countries like ours, these mainly concern technical tasks of little aggregate value; at the local level, the technicians who provide support for proprietary software produced by transnational companies do not have the possibility of fixing bugs, not necessarily for lack of technical capability or of talent, but because they do not have access to the source code to fix it. With free software one creates more technically qualified employment and a framework of free competence where success is only tied to the ability to offer good technical support and quality of service, one stimulates the market, and one increases the shared fund of knowledge, opening up alternatives to generate services of greater total value and a higher quality level, to the benefit of all involved: producers, service organizations, and consumers.</p>
+
+<p>It is a common phenomenon in developing countries that local software industries obtain the majority of their takings in the service sector, or in the creation of "ad hoc" software. Therefore, any negative impact that the application of the Bill might have in this sector will be more than compensated by a growth in demand for services (as long as these are carried out to high quality standards). If the transnational software companies decide not to compete under these new rules of the game, it is likely that they will undergo some decrease in takings in terms of payment for licenses; however, considering that these firms continue to allege that much of the software used by the State has been illegally copied, one can see that the impact will not be very serious. Certainly, in any case their fortune will be determined by market laws, changes in which cannot be avoided; many firms traditionally associated with proprietary software have already set out on the road (supported by copious expense) of providing services associated with free software, which shows that the models are not mutually exclusive.</p>
+
+<p>With this bill the State is deciding that it needs to preserve certain fundamental values. And it is deciding this based on its sovereign power, without affecting any of the constitutional guarantees. If these values could be guaranteed without having to choose a particular economic model, the effects of the law would be even more beneficial. In any case, it should be clear that the State does not choose an economic model; if it happens that there only exists one economic model capable of providing software which provides the basic guarantee of these principles, this is because of historical circumstances, not because of an arbitrary choice of a given model.</p>
+
+<p>Your letter continues: "4. The bill imposes the use of open source software without considering the dangers that this can bring from the point of view of security, guarantee, and possible violation of the intellectual property rights of third parties."</p>
+
+<p>Alluding in an abstract way to "the dangers this can bring", without specifically mentioning a single one of these supposed dangers, shows at the least some lack of knowledge of the topic. So, allow me to enlighten you on these points.</p>
+
+<p>On security:</p>
+
+<p>National security has already been mentioned in general terms in the initial discussion of the basic principles of the bill. In more specific terms, relative to the security of the software itself, it is well known that all software (whether proprietary or free) contains errors or "bugs" (in programmers' slang). But it is also well known that the bugs in free software are fewer, and are fixed much more quickly, than in proprietary software. It is not in vain that numerous public bodies responsible for the IT security of state systems in developed countries require the use of free software for the same conditions of security and efficiency.</p>
+
+<p>What is impossible to prove is that proprietary software is more secure than free, without the public and open inspection of the scientific community and users in general. This demonstration is impossible because the model of proprietary software itself prevents this analysis, so that any guarantee of security is based only on promises of good intentions (biased, by any reckoning) made by the producer itself, or its contractors.</p>
+
+<p>It should be remembered that in many cases, the licensing conditions include Non-Disclosure clauses which prevent the user from publicly revealing security flaws found in the licensed proprietary product.</p>
+
+<p>In respect of the guarantee:</p>
+
+A<p>s you know perfectly well, or could find out by reading the "End User License Agreement" of the products you license, in the great majority of cases the guarantees are limited to replacement of the storage medium in case of defects, but in no case is compensation given for direct or indirect damages, loss of profits, etc... If as a result of a security bug in one of your products, not fixed in time by yourselves, an attacker managed to compromise crucial State systems, what guarantees, reparations and compensation would your company make in accordance with your licensing conditions? The guarantees of proprietary software, inasmuch as programs are delivered ``AS IS'', that is, in the state in which they are, with no additional responsibility of the provider in respect of function, in no way differ from those normal with free software.</p>
+
+<p>On Intellectual Property:</p>
+
+<p>Questions of intellectual property fall outside the scope of this bill, since they are covered by specific other laws. The model of free software in no way implies ignorance of these laws, and in fact the great majority of free software is covered by copyright. In reality, the inclusion of this question in your observations shows your confusion in respect of the legal framework in which free software is developed. The inclusion of the intellectual property of others in works claimed as one's own is not a practice that has been noted in the free software community; whereas, unfortunately, it has been in the area of proprietary software. As an example, the condemnation by the Commercial Court of Nanterre, France, on 27th September 2001 of Microsoft Corp. to a penalty of 3 million francs in damages and interest, for violation of intellectual property (piracy, to use the unfortunate term that your firm commonly uses in its publicity).</p>
+
+<p>You go on to say that: "The bill uses the concept of open source software incorrectly, since it does not necessarily imply that the software is free or of zero cost, and so arrives at mistaken conclusions regarding State savings, with no cost-benefit analysis to validate its position."</p>
+
+<p>This observation is wrong; in principle, freedom and lack of cost are orthogonal concepts: there is software which is proprietary and charged for (for example, MS Office), software which is proprietary and free of charge (MS Internet Explorer), software which is free and charged for (Red Hat, SuSE etc GNU/Linux distributions), software which is free and not charged for (Apache, Open Office, Mozilla), and even software which can be licensed in a range of combinations (MySQL).</p>
+
+<p>Certainly free software is not necessarily free of charge. And the text of the bill does not state that it has to be so, as you will have noted after reading it. The definitions included in the Bill state clearly *what* should be considered free software, at no point referring to freedom from charges. Although the possibility of savings in payments for proprietary software licenses are mentioned, the foundations of the bill clearly refer to the fundamental guarantees to be preserved and to the stimulus to local technological development. Given that a democratic State must support these principles, it has no other choice than to use software with publicly available source code, and to exchange information only in standard formats.</p>
+
+<p>If the State does not use software with these characteristics, it will be weakening basic republican principles. Luckily, free software also implies lower total costs; however, even given the hypothesis (easily disproved) that it was more expensive than proprietary software, the simple existence of an effective free software tool for a particular IT function would oblige the State to use it; not by command of this Bill, but because of the basic principles we enumerated at the start, and which arise from the very essence of the lawful democratic State.</p>
+
+<p>You continue: "6. It is wrong to think that Open Source Software is free of charge. Research by the Gartner Group (an important investigator of the technological market recognized at world level) has shown that the cost of purchase of software (operating system and applications) is only 8% of the total cost which firms and institutions take on for a rational and truly beneficial use of the technology. The other 92% consists of: installation costs, enabling, support, maintenance, administration, and down-time."</p>
+
+<p>This argument repeats that already given in paragraph 5 and partly contradicts paragraph 3. For the sake of brevity we refer to the comments on those paragraphs. However, allow me to point out that your conclusion is logically false: even if according to Gartner Group the cost of software is on average only 8% of the total cost of use, this does not in any way deny the existence of software which is free of charge, that is, with a licensing cost of zero.</p>
+
+<p>In addition, in this paragraph you correctly point out that the service components and losses due to down-time make up the largest part of the total cost of software use, which, as you will note, contradicts your statement regarding the small value of services suggested in paragraph 3. Now the use of free software contributes significantly to reduce the remaining life-cycle costs. This reduction in the costs of installation, support etc. can be noted in several areas: in the first place, the competitive service model of free software, support and maintenance for which can be freely contracted out to a range of suppliers competing on the grounds of quality and low cost. This is true for installation, enabling, and support, and in large part for maintenance. In the second place, due to the reproductive characteristics of the model, maintenance carried out for an application is easily replicable, without incurring large costs (that is, without paying more than once for the same thing) since modifications, if one wishes, can be incorporated in the common fund of knowledge. Thirdly, the huge costs caused by non-functioning software ("blue screens of death", malicious code such as virus, worms, and trojans, exceptions, general protection faults and other well-known problems) are reduced considerably by using more stable software; and it is well known that one of the most notable virtues of free software is its stability.</p>
+
+<p>You further state that: "7. One of the arguments behind the bill is the supposed freedom from costs of open-source software, compared with the costs of commercial software, without taking into account the fact that there exist types of volume licensing which can be highly advantageous for the State, as has happened in other countries."</p>
+
+<p>I have already pointed out that what is in question is not the cost of the software but the principles of freedom of information, accessibility, and security. These arguments have been covered extensively in the preceding paragraphs to which I would refer you.</p>
+
+<p>On the other hand, there certainly exist types of volume licensing (although unfortunately proprietary software does not satisfy the basic principles). But as you correctly pointed out in the immediately preceding paragraph of your letter, they only manage to reduce the impact of a component which makes up no more than 8% of the total.</p>
+
+<p>You continue: "8. In addition, the alternative adopted by the bill (I) is clearly more expensive, due to the high costs of software migration, and (II) puts at risk compatibility and interoperability of the IT platforms within the State, and between the State and the private sector, given the hundreds of versions of open source software on the market."</p>
+
+<p>Let us analyze your statement in two parts. Your first argument, that migration implies high costs, is in reality an argument in favor of the Bill. Because the more time goes by, the more difficult migration to another technology will become; and at the same time, the security risks associated with proprietary software will continue to increase. In this way, the use of proprietary systems and formats will make the State ever more dependent on specific suppliers. Once a policy of using free software has been established (which certainly, does imply some cost) then on the contrary migration from one system to another becomes very simple, since all data is stored in open formats. On the other hand, migration to an open software context implies no more costs than migration between two different proprietary software contexts, which invalidates your argument completely.</p>
+
+<p>The second argument refers to "problems in interoperability of the IT platforms within the State, and between the State and the private sector" This statement implies a certain lack of knowledge of the way in which free software is built, which does not maximize the dependence of the user on a particular platform, as normally happens in the realm of proprietary software. Even when there are multiple free software distributions, and numerous programs which can be used for the same function, interoperability is guaranteed as much by the use of standard formats, as required by the bill, as by the possibility of creating interoperable software given the availability of the source code.</p>
+
+<p>You then say that: "9. The majority of open source code does not offer adequate levels of service nor the guarantee from recognized manufacturers of high productivity on the part of the users, which has led various public organizations to retract their decision to go with an open source software solution and to use commercial software in its place."</p>
+
+<p>This observation is without foundation. In respect of the guarantee, your argument was rebutted in the response to paragraph 4. In respect of support services, it is possible to use free software without them (just as also happens with proprietary software), but anyone who does need them can obtain support separately, whether from local firms or from international corporations, again just as in the case of proprietary software.</p>
+
+<p>On the other hand, it would contribute greatly to our analysis if you could inform us about free software projects *established* in public bodies which have already been abandoned in favor of proprietary software. We know of a good number of cases where the opposite has taken place, but not know of any where what you describe has taken place.</p>
+
+<p>You continue by observing that: "10. The bill discourages the creativity of the Peruvian software industry, which invoices 40 million US$/year, exports 4 million US$ (10th in ranking among non-traditional exports, more than handicrafts) and is a source of highly qualified employment. With a law that encourages the use of open source, software programmers lose their intellectual property rights and their main source of payment."</p>
+
+<p>It is clear enough that nobody is forced to commercialize their code as free software. The only thing to take into account is that if it is not free software, it cannot be sold to the public sector. This is not in any case the main market for the national software industry. We covered some questions referring to the influence of the Bill on the generation of employment which would be both highly technically qualified and in better conditions for competition above, so it seems unnecessary to insist on this point.</p>
+
+<p>What follows in your statement is incorrect. On the one hand, no author of free software loses his intellectual property rights, unless he expressly wishes to place his work in the public domain. The free software movement has always been very respectful of intellectual property, and has generated widespread public recognition of its authors. Names like those of Richard Stallman, Linus Torvalds, Guido van Rossum, Larry Wall, Miguel de Icaza, Andrew Tridgell, Theo de Raadt, Andrea Arcangeli, Bruce Perens, Darren Reed, Alan Cox, Eric Raymond, and many others, are recognized world-wide for their contributions to the development of software that is used today by millions of people throughout the world. On the other hand, to say that the rewards for authors rights make up the main source of payment of Peruvian programmers is in any case a guess, in particular since there is no proof to this effect, nor a demonstration of how the use of free software by the State would influence these payments.</p>
+
+<p>You go on to say that: "11. Open source software, since it can be distributed without charge, does not allow the generation of income for its developers through exports. In this way, the multiplier effect of the sale of software to other countries is weakened, and so in turn is the growth of the industry, while Government rules ought on the contrary to stimulate local industry."</p>
+
+<p>This statement shows once again complete ignorance of the mechanisms of and market for free software. It tries to claim that the market of sale of non- exclusive rights for use (sale of licenses) is the only possible one for the software industry, when you yourself pointed out several paragraphs above that it is not even the most important one. The incentives that the bill offers for the growth of a supply of better qualified professionals, together with the increase in experience that working on a large scale with free software within the State will bring for Peruvian technicians, will place them in a highly competitive position to offer their services abroad.</p>
+
+<p>You then state that: "12. In the Forum, the use of open source software in education was discussed, without mentioning the complete collapse of this initiative in a country like Mexico, where precisely the State employees who founded the project now state that open source software did not make it possible to offer a learning experience to pupils in the schools, did not take into account the capability at a national level to give adequate support to the platform, and that the software did not and does not allow for the levels of platform integration that now exist in schools."</p>
+
+<p>In fact Mexico has gone into reverse with the Red Escolar (Schools Network) project. This is due precisely to the fact that the driving forces behind the Mexican project used license costs as their main argument, instead of the other reasons specified in our project, which are far more essential. Because of this conceptual mistake, and as a result of the lack of effective support from the SEP (Secretary of State for Public Education), the assumption was made that to implant free software in schools it would be enough to drop their software budget and send them a CD ROM with Gnu/Linux instead. Of course this failed, and it couldn't have been otherwise, just as school laboratories fail when they use proprietary software and have no budget for implementation and maintenance. That's exactly why our bill is not limited to making the use of free software mandatory, but recognizes the need to create a viable migration plan, in which the State undertakes the technical transition in an orderly way in order to then enjoy the advantages of free software.</p>
+
+<p>You end with a rhetorical question: "13. If open source software satisfies all the requirements of State bodies, why do you need a law to adopt it? Shouldn't it be the market which decides freely which products give most benefits or value?"</p>
+
+<p>We agree that in the private sector of the economy, it must be the market that decides which products to use, and no state interference is permissible there. However, in the case of the public sector, the reasoning is not the same: as we have already established, the state archives, handles, and transmits information which does not belong to it, but which is entrusted to it by citizens, who have no alternative under the rule of law. As a counterpart to this legal requirement, the State must take extreme measures to safeguard the integrity, confidentiality, and accessibility of this information. The use of proprietary software raises serious doubts as to whether these requirements can be fulfilled, lacks conclusive evidence in this respect, and so is not suitable for use in the public sector.</p>
+
+<p>The need for a law is based, firstly, on the realization of the fundamental principles listed above in the specific area of software; secondly, on the fact that the State is not an ideal homogeneous entity, but made up of multiple bodies with varying degrees of autonomy in decision making. Given that it is inappropriate to use proprietary software, the fact of establishing these rules in law will prevent the personal discretion of any state employee from putting at risk the information which belongs to citizens. And above all, because it constitutes an up-to-date reaffirmation in relation to the means of management and communication of information used today, it is based on the republican principle of openness to the public.</p>
+
+<p>In conformance with this universally accepted principle, the citizen has the right to know all information held by the State and not covered by well- founded declarations of secrecy based on law. Now, software deals with information and is itself information. Information in a special form, capable of being interpreted by a machine in order to execute actions, but crucial information all the same because the citizen has a legitimate right to know, for example, how his vote is computed or his taxes calculated. And for that he must have free access to the source code and be able to prove to his satisfaction the programs used for electoral computations or calculation of his taxes.</p>
+
+<p>I wish you the greatest respect, and would like to repeat that my office will always be open for you to expound your point of view to whatever level of detail you consider suitable.</p>
+
+<p>Cordially,<br>
+DR. EDGAR DAVID VILLANUEVA NUÑEZ<br>
+Congressman of the Republic of Perú.</p>
+</blockquote>
</description>
</item>
<item>
- <title>2 Spykee-roboter i hus, nå skal det lekes</title>
- <link>http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/2_Spykee_roboter_i_hus__n___skal_det_lekes.html</link>
- <guid isPermaLink="true">http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/2_Spykee_roboter_i_hus__n___skal_det_lekes.html</guid>
- <pubDate>Wed, 18 Aug 2010 13:30:00 +0200</pubDate>
+ <title>Officeshots still going strong</title>
+ <link>http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/Officeshots_still_going_strong.html</link>
+ <guid isPermaLink="true">http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/Officeshots_still_going_strong.html</guid>
+ <pubDate>Sat, 25 Dec 2010 09:40:00 +0100</pubDate>
<description>
-<p>Jeg kjøpte nettopp to
-<a href="http://www.spykee-robot.com/">Spykee</a>-roboter, for test og
-leking. Kjøpte to da det var så billige, og gir meg mulighet til å
-eksperimentere uten å være veldig redd for å ødelegge alt ved å bytte
-ut firmware og slikt. Oppdaget at lekebutikken på Bryn senter hadde
-en liten stabel på lager som de ikke hadde klart å selge ut etter
-fjorårets juleinnkjøp, og var villig til å selge for en femtedel av
-vanlig pris. Jeg, Ronny og Jarle har skaffet oss restbeholdningen, og
-det blir morsomt å se hva vi får ut av dette.</p>
-
-<p>Roboten har belter styrt av to motorer, kamera, høytaler, mikrofon
-og wifi-tilkobling. Det hele styrt av en GPL-lisensiert databoks som
-jeg mistenker kjører linux. Firmware-kildekoden ble visst publisert i
-mai. Eneste utfordringen er at kontroller-programvaren kun finnes til
-Windows, men det må en kunne jobbe seg rundt når vi har kildekoden til
-firmwaren. :)</p>
+<p>Half a year ago I
+<a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/Officeshots_taking_shape.html">wrote
+a bit</a> about <a href="http://www.officeshots.org/">OfficeShots</a>,
+a web service to allow anyone to test how ODF documents are handled by
+the different programs reading and writing the ODF format.</p>
-<ul>
-<li><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spykee">Wikipedia-oppføring</a></li>
-<li><a href=http://www.spykeeworld.com/spykee/US/freeSoftware.html">Nedlasting av firmware-kilden</a></li>
-<li><a href="http://wiki.nuug.no/grupper/robot">prosjektwiki hos NUUG</a></li>
-</ul>
+<p>I just had a look at the service, and it seem to be going strong.
+Very interesting to see the results reported in the gallery, how
+different Office implementations handle different ODF features. Sad
+to see that KOffice was not doing it very well, and happy to see that
+LibreOffice has been tested already (but sadly not listed as a option
+for OfficeShots users yet). I am glad to see that the ODF community
+got such a great test tool available.</p>
</description>
</item>
<item>
- <title>Rob Weir: How to Crush Dissent</title>
- <link>http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/Rob_Weir__How_to_Crush_Dissent.html</link>
- <guid isPermaLink="true">http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/Rob_Weir__How_to_Crush_Dissent.html</guid>
- <pubDate>Sun, 15 Aug 2010 22:20:00 +0200</pubDate>
+ <title>165 norske overvåkningskamera registert så langt i OpenStreetmap.org</title>
+ <link>http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/165_norske_overv__kningskamera_registert_s___langt_i_OpenStreetmap_org.html</link>
+ <guid isPermaLink="true">http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/165_norske_overv__kningskamera_registert_s___langt_i_OpenStreetmap_org.html</guid>
+ <pubDate>Fri, 24 Dec 2010 11:20:00 +0100</pubDate>
<description>
-<p>I found the notes from Rob Weir on
-<a href="http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/robweir/antic-atom/~3/VGb23-kta8c/how-to-crush-dissent.html">how
-to crush dissent</a> matching my own thoughts on the matter quite
-well. Highly recommended for those wondering which road our society
-should go down. In my view we have been heading the wrong way for a
-long time.</p>
+<p>Jeg flikket litt på OpenStreetmap.org i går, og oppdaget ved en
+tilfeldighet at det er en rekke noder som representerer
+overvåkningskamera som ikke blir med på kartet med overvåkningskamera
+i Norge som
+<a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/Kart_over_overv__kningskamera_i_Norge.html">jeg
+laget</a> for snart to år siden. Fra før tok jeg med noder merket med
+man_made=surveillance, mens det er en rekke noder som kun er merket
+med highway=speed_camera. Endret på koden som henter ut kameralisten
+fra OSM, og vips er antall kamera økt til 165.</p>
+
+<a href="http://people.skolelinux.no/pere/surveillance-norway/">Kartet</a>
+er fortsatt ikke komplett, så hvis du ser noen kamera som mangler,
+legg inn ved å følge instruksene fra
+<a href="http://personvern.no/wiki/index.php/Kameraovervåkning">prosjektsiden</a>.
+Hvis du vet om noen flere måter å merke overvåkningskamera i OSM, ta
+kontakt slik at jeg kan få med også disse.</p>
</description>
</item>
<item>
- <title>No hardcoded config on Debian Edu clients</title>
- <link>http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/No_hardcoded_config_on_Debian_Edu_clients.html</link>
- <guid isPermaLink="true">http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/No_hardcoded_config_on_Debian_Edu_clients.html</guid>
- <pubDate>Mon, 9 Aug 2010 20:15:00 +0200</pubDate>
+ <title>How to test if a laptop is working with Linux</title>
+ <link>http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/How_to_test_if_a_laptop_is_working_with_Linux.html</link>
+ <guid isPermaLink="true">http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/How_to_test_if_a_laptop_is_working_with_Linux.html</guid>
+ <pubDate>Wed, 22 Dec 2010 14:55:00 +0100</pubDate>
<description>
-<p>As reported earlier, the last few days I have looked at how Debian
-Edu clients are configured, and tried to get rid of all hardcoded
-configuration settings on the clients. I believe the work to be
-mostly done, and the clients seem to work just fine with dynamically
-generated configuration.</p>
-
-<p>What is the point, you might ask? The point is to allow a Debian
-Edu desktop to integrate into an existing network infrastructure
-without any manual configuration.</p>
-
-<p>This is what happens when installing a Debian Edu client here at
-the University of Oslo using PXE. With the PXE installation, I am
-asked for language (Norwegian Bokmål), locality (Norway) and keyboard
-layout (no-latin1), Debian Edu profile (Roaming Workstation), if I
-accept to reformat the hard drive (yes), if I want to submit info to
-popcon.debian.org (no) and root password (secret). After answering
-these questions, the installer goes ahead and does its thing, and
-after around 50 minutes it is done. I press enter to finish the
-installation, and the machine reboots into KDE. When the machine is
-ready and kdm asks for login information, I enter my university
-username and password, am told by kdm that a local home directory has
-been created and that I must log in again, and finally log in with the
-same username and password to the KDE 4.4 desktop. At no point during
-this process did it ask for university specific settings, and all the
-required configuration was dynamically detected using information
-fetched via DHCP and DNS. The roaming workstation is now ready for
-use.</p>
-
-<p>How was this done, you might wonder? First of all, here is the
-list of things that need to be configured on the client to get it
-working properly out of the box:</p>
+<p>The last few days I have spent at work here at the <a
+href="http://www.uio.no/">University of oslo</a> testing if the new
+batch of computers will work with Linux. Every year for the last few
+years the university have organized shared bid of a few thousand
+computers, and this year HP won the bid. Two different desktops and
+five different laptops are on the list this year. We in the UNIX
+group want to know which one of these computers work well with RHEL
+and Ubuntu, the two Linux distributions we currently handle at the
+university.</p>
+
+<p>My test method is simple, and I share it here to get feedback and
+perhaps inspire others to test hardware as well. To test, I PXE
+install the OS version of choice, and log in as my normal user and run
+a few applications and plug in selected pieces of hardware. When
+something fail, I make a note about this in the test matrix and move
+on. If I have some spare time I try to report the bug to the OS
+vendor, but as I only have the machines for a short time, I rarely
+have the time to do this for all the problems I find.</p>
+
+<p>Anyway, to get to the point of this post. Here is the simple tests
+I perform on a new model.</p>
<ul>
-<li>IP address/netmask and DNS server.</li>
-<li>Web proxy URL.</li>
-<li>LDAP server for NSS directory information (user, group, etc).</li>
-<li>Kerberos server for PAM password checking.</li>
-<li>SMB mount point to access the network home directory. (*)</li>
-<li>Central syslog server to send syslog messages to. (*)</li>
-<li>Sitesummary collector URL to submit info to central server. (*)</li>
+
+<li>Is PXE installation working? I'm testing with RHEL6, Ubuntu Lucid
+and Ubuntu Maverik at the moment. If I feel like it, I also test with
+RHEL5 and Debian Edu/Squeeze.</li>
+
+<li>Is X.org working? If the graphical login screen show up after
+installation, X.org is working.</li>
+
+<li>Is hardware accelerated OpenGL working? Running glxgears (in
+package mesa-utils on Ubuntu) and writing down the frames per second
+reported by the program.</li>
+
+<li>Is sound working? With Gnome and KDE, a sound is played when
+logging in, and if I can hear this the test is successful. If there
+are several audio exits on the machine, I try them all and check if
+the Gnome/KDE audio mixer can control where to send the sound. I
+normally test this by playing
+<a href="http://www.nuug.no/aktiviteter/20101012-chef/ ">a HTML5
+video</a> in Firefox/Iceweasel.</li>
+
+<li>Is the USB subsystem working? I test this by plugging in a USB
+memory stick and see if Gnome/KDE notices this.</li>
+
+<li>Is the CD/DVD player working? I test this by inserting any CD/DVD
+I have lying around, and see if Gnome/KDE notices this.</li>
+
+<li>Is any built in camera working? Test using cheese, and see if a
+picture from the v4l device show up.</li>
+
+<li>Is bluetooth working? Use the Gnome/KDE browsing tool to see if
+any bluetooth devices are discovered. In my office, I normally see a
+few.</li>
+
+<li>For laptops, is the SD or Compaq Flash reader working. I have
+memory modules lying around, and stick them in and see if Gnome/KDE
+notice this.</li>
+
+<li>For laptops, is suspecd/hibernate working? I'm testing if the
+special button work, and if the laptop continue to work after
+resume.</li>
+
+<li>For laptops, is the extra buttons working, like audio level,
+adjusting background light, switching on/off external video output,
+switching on/off wifi, bluetooth, etc? The set of buttons differ from
+laptop to laptop, so I just write down which are working and which are
+not.</li>
+
+<li>Some laptops have smart card readers, finger print readers,
+acceleration sensors etc. I rarely test these, as I do not know how
+to quickly test if they are working or not, so I only document their
+existence.</li>
+
</ul>
-<p>(Hm, did I forget anything? Let me knew if I did.)</p>
-
-<p>The points marked (*) are not required to be able to use the
-machine, but needed to provide central storage and allowing system
-administrators to track their machines. Since yesterday, everything
-but the sitesummary collector URL is dynamically discovered at boot
-and installation time in the svn version of Debian Edu.</p>
-
-<p>The IP and DNS setup is fetched during boot using DHCP as usual.
-When a DHCP update arrives, the proxy setup is updated by looking for
-http://wpat/wpad.dat and using the content of this WPAD file to
-configure the http and ftp proxy in /etc/environment and
-/etc/apt/apt.conf. I decided to update the proxy setup using a DHCP
-hook to ensure that the client stops using the Debian Edu proxy when
-it is moved outside the Debian Edu network, and instead uses any local
-proxy present on the new network when it moves around.</p>
-
-<p>The DNS names of the LDAP, Kerberos and syslog server and related
-configuration are generated using DNS information at boot. First the
-installer looks for a host named ldap in the current DNS domain. If
-not found, it looks for _ldap._tcp SRV records in DNS instead. If an
-LDAP server is found, its root DSE entry is requested and the
-attributes namingContexts and defaultNamingContext are used to
-determine which LDAP base to use for NSS. If there are several
-namingContexts attibutes and the defaultNamingContext is present, that
-LDAP subtree is used as the base. If defaultNamingContext is missing,
-the subtrees listed as namingContexts are searched in sequence for any
-object with class posixAccount or posixGroup, and the first one with
-such an object is used as the LDAP base. For Kerberos, a similar
-search is done by first looking for a host named kerberos, and then
-for the _kerberos._tcp SRV record. I've been unable to find a way to
-look up the Kerberos realm, so for this the upper case string of the
-current DNS domain is used.</p>
-
-<p>For the syslog server, the hosts syslog and loghost are searched
-for, and the _syslog._udp SRV record is consulted if no such host is
-found. This algorithm works for both Debian Edu and the University of
-Oslo. A similar strategy would work for locating the sitesummary
-server, but have not been implemented yet. I decided to fetch and
-save these settings during installation, to make sure moving to a
-different network does not change the set of users being allowed to
-log in nor the passwords required to log in. Usernames and passwords
-will be cached by sssd when the user logs in on the Debian Edu
-network, and will not change as the laptop move around. For a
-non-roaming machine, there is no caching, but given that it is
-supposed to stay in place it should not matter much. Perhaps we
-should switch those to use sssd too?</p>
-
-<p>The user's SMB mount point for the network home directory is
-located when the user logs in for the first time. The LDAP server is
-consulted to look for the user's LDAP object and the sambaHomePath
-attribute is used if found. If it isn't found, the home directory
-path fetched from NSS is used instead. Assuming the path is of the
-form /site/server/directory/username, the second part is looked up in
-DNS and used to generate a SMB URL of the form
-smb://server.domain/username. This algorithm works for both Debian
-edu and the University of Oslo. Perhaps there are better attributes
-to use or a better algorithm that works for more sites, but this will
-do for now. :)</p>
-
-<p>This work should make it easier to integrate the Debian Edu clients
-into any LDAP/Kerberos infrastructure, and make the current setup even
-more flexible than before. I suspect it will also work for thin
-client servers, allowing one to easily set up LTSP and hook it into a
-existing network infrastructure, but I have not had time to test this
-yet.</p>
-
-<p>If you want to help out with implementing these things for Debian
-Edu, please contact us on debian-edu@lists.debian.org.</p>
-
-<p>Update 2010-08-09: Simon Farnsworth gave me a heads-up on how to
-detect Kerberos realm from DNS, by looking for _kerberos TXT entries
-before falling back to the upper case DNS domain name. Will have to
-implement it for Debian Edu. :)</p>
+<p>By now I suspect you are really curious what the test results are
+for the HP machines I am testing. I'm not done yet, so I will report
+the test results later. For now I can report that HP 8100 Elite work
+fine, and hibernation fail with HP EliteBook 8440p on Ubuntu Lucid,
+and audio fail on RHEL6. Ubuntu Maverik worked with 8440p. As you
+can see, I have most machines left to test. One interesting
+observation is that Ubuntu Lucid has almost twice the framerate than
+RHEL6 with glxgears. No idea why.</p>
</description>
</item>
projects / homepage.git / blobdiff