X-Git-Url: http://pere.pagekite.me/gitweb/homepage.git/blobdiff_plain/9d8c4b213b28ab3ee1b4f2706bbb1eee4499ba06..b69b92b7550f55c3baf85587855c52265f944d87:/blog/archive/2012/04/04.rss?ds=sidebyside diff --git a/blog/archive/2012/04/04.rss b/blog/archive/2012/04/04.rss index f2c2a5e92e..503393e6e0 100644 --- a/blog/archive/2012/04/04.rss +++ b/blog/archive/2012/04/04.rss @@ -238,7 +238,7 @@ programvare i Norge</a> der i år. Kommer du?</p> Skolelinux</a> there are a lot of people doing the hard work of setting together all the pieces. This time I present to you Andreas Mundt, who have been part of the technical development team several -years. We was also a key contributor in getting GOsa and Kerberos set +years. He was also a key contributor in getting GOsa and Kerberos set up in the recently released <a href="http://wiki.debian.org/DebianEdu/Documentation/Squeeze">Debian Edu Squeeze</a> version.</p> @@ -385,6 +385,203 @@ komplett oppgave tilgjengelig. På tide å holde et øye med <a href="http://www.duo.uio.no/sok/search.html?q=skolelinux">Skolelinux-søket</a> til DUO...</p> + + + + + RAND terms - non-reasonable and discriminatory + http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/RAND_terms___non_reasonable_and_discriminatory.html + http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/RAND_terms___non_reasonable_and_discriminatory.html + Thu, 19 Apr 2012 22:20:00 +0200 + <p>Here in Norway, the +<a href="http://www.regjeringen.no/nb/dep/fad.html?id=339"> Ministry of +Government Administration, Reform and Church Affairs</a> is behind +a <a href="http://standard.difi.no/forvaltningsstandarder">directory of +standards</a> that are recommended or mandatory for use by the +government. When the directory was created, the people behind it made +an effort to ensure that everyone would be able to implement the +standards and compete on equal terms to supply software and solutions +to the government. Free software and non-free software could compete +on the same level.</p> + +<p>But recently, some standards with RAND +(<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reasonable_and_non-discriminatory_licensing">Reasonable +And Non-Discriminatory</a>) terms have made their way into the +directory. And while this might not sound too bad, the fact is that +standard specifications with RAND terms often block free software from +implementing them. The reasonable part of RAND mean that the cost per +user/unit is low,and the non-discriminatory part mean that everyone +willing to pay will get a license. Both sound great in theory. In +practice, to get such license one need to be able to count users, and +be able to pay a small amount of money per unit or user. By +definition, users of free software do not need to register their use. +So counting users or units is not possible for free software projects. +And given that people will use the software without handing any money +to the author, it is not really economically possible for a free +software author to pay a small amount of money to license the rights +to implement a standard when the income available is zero. The result +in these situations is that free software are locked out from +implementing standards with RAND terms.</p> + +<p>Because of this, when I see someone claiming the terms of a +standard is reasonable and non-discriminatory, all I can think of is +how this really is non-reasonable and discriminatory. Because free +software developers are working in a global market, it does not really +help to know that software patents are not supposed to be enforceable +in Norway. The patent regimes in other countries affect us even here. +I really hope the people behind the standard directory will pay more +attention to these issues in the future.</p> + +<p>You can find more on the issues with RAND, FRAND and RAND-Z terms +from Simon Phipps +(<a href="http://blogs.computerworlduk.com/simon-says/2010/11/rand-not-so-reasonable/">RAND: +Not So Reasonable?</a>).</p> + +<p>Update 2012-04-21: Just came across a +<a href="http://blogs.computerworlduk.com/open-enterprise/2012/04/of-microsoft-netscape-patents-and-open-standards/index.htm">blog +post from Glyn Moody</a> over at Computer World UK warning about the +same issue, and urging people to speak out to the UK government. I +can only urge Norwegian users to do the same for +<a href="http://www.standard.difi.no/hoyring/hoyring-om-nye-anbefalte-it-standarder">the +hearing taking place at the moment</a> (respond before 2012-04-27). +It proposes to require video conferencing standards including +specifications with RAND terms.</p> + + + + + Holder de ord og NUUG lanserer testtjeneste med stortingsinformasjon + http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/Holder_de_ord_og_NUUG_lanserer_testtjeneste_med_stortingsinformasjon.html + http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/Holder_de_ord_og_NUUG_lanserer_testtjeneste_med_stortingsinformasjon.html + Sun, 22 Apr 2012 15:45:00 +0200 + <p>I +<a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/Hva_har_mine_representanter_stemt_i_Storinget_.html">januar +i fjor</a> startet vi i NUUG arbeid med å gjøre informasjon om hvem +som har stemt hva på <a href="http://www.stortinget.no/">Stortinget</a> +enklere tilgjengelig. I løpet av få måneder fant vi sammen med +organisasjonen <a href="http://www.holderdeord.no/">Holder de ord</a> +som arbeidet mot et lignende mål.</p> + +<p>Siden den gang har vi fått tak i maskinelt lesbart informasjon om +hvem som stemte hva mellom 1990 og våren 2010, og tilgang til +stortingets nye datatjeneste som har informasjon fra høsten 2011 til i +dag. Det gjenstår litt arbeid med det første datasettet, men +datasettet fra høsten 2011 er klart til bruk. Begge datasettene er +tilgjengelig <a href="https://gitorious.org/nuug/folketingparser">via +git</a>.</p> + +<p>På +<a href="http://www.goopen.no/holder-de-ord-datadrevet-oppfolging-av-politiske-lofter/">Go Open</a> i morgen lanserer +NUUG sammen med Holder de ord <a href="http://beta.holderdeord.no/">en +test-tjeneste</a> som viser hva som er og blir behandlet på Stortinget og +hvem som har stemt hva siden oktober i fjor. Du får herved mulighet +til å ta en sniktitt.</p> + + + + + HTC One X - Your video? What do you mean? + http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/HTC_One_X___Your_video___What_do_you_mean_.html + http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/HTC_One_X___Your_video___What_do_you_mean_.html + Thu, 26 Apr 2012 13:20:00 +0200 + <p>In <a href="http://www.idg.no/computerworld/article243690.ece">an +article today</a> published by Computerworld Norway, the photographer +<a href="http://www.urke.com/eirik/">Eirik Helland Urke</a> reports +that the video editor application included with +<a href="http://www.htc.com/www/smartphones/htc-one-x/#specs">HTC One +X</a> have some quite surprising terms of use. The article is mostly +based on the twitter message from mister Urke, stating: + +<p><blockquote> +"<a href="http://twitter.com/urke/status/194062269724897280">Drøy +brukeravtale: HTC kan bruke MINE redigerte videoer kommersielt. Selv +kan jeg KUN bruke dem privat.</a>" +</blockquote></p> + +<p>I quickly translated it to this English message:</p> + +<p><blockquote> +"Arrogant user agreement: HTC can use MY edited videos +commercially. Although I can ONLY use them privately." +</blockquote></p> + +<p>I've been unable to find the text of the license term myself, but +suspect it is a variation of the MPEG-LA terms I +<a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/Terms_of_use_for_video_produced_by_a_Canon_IXUS_130_digital_camera.html">discovered +with my Canon IXUS 130</a>. The HTC One X specification specifies that +the recording format of the phone is .amr for audio and .mp3 for +video. AMR is +<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adaptive_Multi-Rate_audio_codec#Licensing_and_patent_issues">Adaptive +Multi-Rate audio codec</a> with patents which according to the +Wikipedia article require an license agreement with +<a href="http://www.voiceage.com/">VoiceAge</a>. MP4 is +<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/H.264/MPEG-4_AVC#Patent_licensing">MPEG4 with +H.264</a>, which according to Wikipedia require a licence agreement +with <a href="http://www.mpegla.com/">MPEG-LA</a>.</p> + +<p>I know why I prefer +<a href="http://www.digistan.org/open-standard:definition">free and open +standards</a> also for video.</p> + + + + + NUUGs leverer høringsuttalelse om v3.1 av statens referansekatalog + http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/NUUGs_leverer_h_ringsuttalelse_om_v3_1_av_statens_referansekatalog.html + http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/NUUGs_leverer_h_ringsuttalelse_om_v3_1_av_statens_referansekatalog.html + Fri, 27 Apr 2012 15:30:00 +0200 + <p>NUUG-styremedlem Hans-Petter Fjeld +<a href="https://plus.google.com/u/0/110394259537201279374/posts/AGzRmAuFdW1">meldte +nettopp</a> at han har sendt inn <a href="http://www.nuug.no/">NUUG</a>s +høringsuttalelse angående Difi sin standardkatalog v3.1. Jeg er veldig +glad for at så mange bidro og sikret at vår stemme blir hørt i denne +høringen. Anbefaler alle å lese våre +<a href="http://wiki.nuug.no/uttalelser/201204-standardkatalog-v3.1">to +sider med innspill</a>.</p> + + + + + Cutting it short - and picking the right tool for the job + http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/Cutting_it_short___and_picking_the_right_tool_for_the_job.html + http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/Cutting_it_short___and_picking_the_right_tool_for_the_job.html + Mon, 30 Apr 2012 23:30:00 +0200 + <p><!-- IMG_5869.JPG --> +<img src="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/images/panasonic-er-1611.jpeg"></p> + +<p>I normally cut my hair short, and my tool of choice has been a +common hair/beard cutter, bought in a electrical shop here in Norway. +But the last ones have not really been up to the task. My last +cutter, some model from Braun, could only cut a few of my hairs at the +time, and cutting my head took forever. And the one before that did +not work very well either. We have looked for something better for a +while, but it was not until I ended up visiting a hairdresser that we +discovered that there are indeed better tools available. But these +are not marketed and sold to "regular consumers". The hair saloons +can get them through their suppliers, but their suppliers only sell +companies. The models they sell, are very different from the ones +available from Elkjøp and Lefdal. The main difference is their +efficiency. It would cut my hair in 5 minutes, instead of the 30-40 +minutes required by my impotent Braun. The hairdresser I visited had +a Panasonic ER160, which unfortunately is no longer available from the +producer. But I found it had a successor, the Panasonic ER1611.</p> + +<p>The next step was to find somewhere to buy it. This was not +straight forward. The list of suppliers I got from the hairdresser +did not want to sell anything to me. But searching for the model on +the web we found a supplier in Norway willing to sell it to us for +around NOK 4000,-. This was a bit much. We kept searching and +finally found a Danish supplier +<a href="http://nicehair.dk/panasonic-er-1611-professionel-hartrimmer.html">selling +it for around NOK 1800,-</a>. We ordered one, and it arrived a few +days ago.</p> + +<p>The instructions said it had to charge for 8 hours when we started +to use it, so we left it charging over night. Normally it will only +need one hour to charge. The following evening we successfully tested +it, and I can warmly recommend it to anyone looking for a real hair +cutter. The ones we have used until now have been hair cutter +toys.</p>