Typesetting a book is harder than I hoped. As the translation is -mostly done, and a volunteer proof reader was going to check the text -on paper, it was time this summer to focus on formatting my translated -docbook based version of the -Free Culture book by Lawrence -Lessig. I've been trying to get both docboox-xsl+fop and dblatex to -give me a good looking PDF, but in the end I went with dblatex, because -its Debian maintainer and upstream developer were responsive and very -helpful in solving my formatting challenges.
- -Last night, I finally managed to create a PDF that no longer made -Lulu.com complain after uploading, -and I ordered a text version of the book on paper. It is lacking a -proper book cover and is not tagged with the correct ISBN number, but -should give me an idea what the finished book will look like.
- -Instead of using Lulu, I did consider printing the book using -CreateSpace, but ended up -using Lulu because it had smaller book size options (CreateSpace seem -to lack pocket book with extended distribution). I looked for a -similar service in Norway, but have not seen anything so far. Please -let me know if I am missing out on something here.
- -But I still struggle to decide the book size. Should I go for -pocket book (4.25x6.875 inches / 10.8x17.5 cm) with 556 pages, Digest -(5.5x8.5 inches / 14x21.6 cm) with 323 pages or US Trade (6x8 inches / -15.3x22.9 cm) with 280 pages? Fewer pager give a cheaper book, and a -smaller book is easier to carry around. The test book I ordered was -pocket book sized, to give me an idea how well that fit in my hand, -but I suspect I will end up using a digest sized book in the end to -bring the prize down further.
- -My biggest challenge at the moment is making nice cover art. My -inkscape skills are not yet up to the task of replicating the original -cover in SVG format. I also need to figure out what to write about -the book on the back (will most likely use the same text as the -description on web based book stores). I would love help with this, -if you are willing to license the art source and final version using -the same CC license as the book. My artistic skills are not really up -to the task.
- -I plan to publish the book in both English and Norwegian and on -paper, in PDF form as well as EPUB and MOBI format. The current -status can as usual be found on -github -in the archive/ directory. So far I have spent all time on making the -PDF version look good. Someone should probably do the same with the -dbtoepub generated e-book. Help is definitely needed here, as I -expect to run out of steem before I find time to improve the epub -formatting.
- -Please let me know via github if you find typos in the book or -discover translations that should be improved. The final proof -reading is being done right now, and I expect to publish the finished -result in a few months.
+ +In 2004, as the Creative Commons +movement gained momentum, its creator Lawrence Lessig wrote the +book Free +Culture to explain the problems with increasing copyright +regulation and suggest some solutions. I read the book back then and +was moved very by it. Reading the book inspired me and changed the +way I looked on copyright law, and I would love it if more people +would read it too.
+ +Because of this, I decided in the summer of 2012 to translate it to +Norwegian Bokmål and publish it for those of my friends and family +that prefer to read books in Norwegian. I translated the book using +docbook and a gettext PO file, and a byproduct of this process is a +new edition of the English original. I've been in touch with the +author during by work, and he said it was fine with him if I also +published an English version. So I decided to do so. Today, I made +this edition +available +for sale on Lulu.com, for those interested in a paper book. This +is the cover: + +
The Norwegian Bokmål version will be available for purchase in a +few days. I also plan to publish a French version in a few weeks or +months, depending on the amount of people with knowledge of French to +join the translation project. So far there is only one active +person, but the French book is almost completely translated but +need some proof reading.
+ +The book is also available in PDF, ePub and MOBI formats from +my +github project page. Note the ePub and MOBI versions have some +formatting problems I believe is due to bugs in the docbook tool +dbtoepub (Debian BTS issues +#795842 +and +#796871), +but I have not taken the time to investigate. I recommend the PDF and +ePub version for now, as they seem to show up fine in the viewers I +have available.
+ +After the translation to Norwegian Bokmål was complete, I was able +to secure some sponsoring from +the NUUG Foundation to +print the book. This is the reason their logo is located on the back +cover. I am very grateful for their contribution, and will use it to +give a copy of the Norwegian edition to members of the Norwegian +Parliament and other decision makers here in Norway.
I'm still working on the Norwegian version of the -Free Culture book by Lawrence -Lessig, and is now working on the final typesetting and layout. -One of the features I want to get the structure similar to the -original book is to typeset the footnotes as endnotes in the notes -chapter. Based on the -feedback from the Debian -maintainer and the dblatex developer, I came up with this recipe I -would like to share with you. The proposal was to create a new LaTeX -class file and add the LaTeX code there, but this is not always -practical, when I want to be able to replace the class using a make -file variable. So my proposal misuses the latex.begindocument XSL -parameter value, to get a small fragment into the correct location in -the generated LaTeX File.
- -First, decide where in the DocBook document to place the endnotes, -and add this text there:
- --<?latex \theendnotes ?> -- -
Next, create a xsl stylesheet file dblatex-endnotes.xsl to add the -code needed to add the endnote instructions in the preamble of the -generated LaTeX document, with content like this:
- --<?xml version='1.0'?> -<xsl:stylesheet xmlns:xsl="http://www.w3.org/1999/XSL/Transform" version='1.0'> - <xsl:param name="latex.begindocument"> - <xsl:text> -\usepackage{endnotes} -\let\footnote=\endnote -\def\enoteheading{\mbox{}\par\vskip-\baselineskip } -\begin{document} - </xsl:text> - </xsl:param> -</xsl:stylesheet> -- -
Finally, load this xsl file when running dblatex, for example like -this:
- --dblatex --xsl-user=dblatex-endnotes.xsl freeculture.nb.xml -- -
The end result can be seen on github, where -my -book project is located.
+ +Bitcoin er i litt vinden i Norge for tiden, med +kronikk +om bitcoin-overføringer på tvers av landegrensene hos NRK Ytring +for to dager siden og +dokumentar +om bitcoin på NRK 2 i forgårs og i går. I den sammenhengen er det +spesielt hyggelig med en gladnyhet fra EU om Bitcoin.
+ +I dag konkluderte EU-domstolen at +Bitcoin-kjøp +fra Bitcoin-børser ikke er MVA-pliktig (sak Câ264/14). Fant +nyheten +først hos Reuters, etter tips fra innehaveren av +Bitmynt. EU-domstolens avgjørelse +er stikk i strid med +annonseringen +fra Skatteetaten i 2013, der de konkluderte med at bitcoin er et +«formuesobjekter» som det skulle betales mva pÃ¥ ved kjøp og salg. +Dermed la Skatteetaten opp til dobbel MVA-betaling hvis en kjøpte noe +med Bitcoin fra Norge (først mva pÃ¥ kjøp av Bitcoin, deretter mva pÃ¥ +det en kjøper med Bitcoin). Jeg lurer pÃ¥ om denne avgjørelsen fÃ¥r +Skatteetaten til Ã¥ bytte mening. Gleder meg til fortsettelsen.
I går fikk vi endelig lansert en norsk version av mySocietys -WhatDoTheyKnow. -Tjenesten heter Mimes brønn, og ble -annonsert -av NUUG via blogg, epost og twitter til NUUG-assosierte personer. -Det har tatt noen år, men de siste dagene fikk vi endelig tid til å få -på plass de siste bitene. Vi er to, Gorm og meg selv, som har vært -primus motor for det hele, men vi har fått hjelp med oversettelser og -oppsett fra mange flere. Jeg vil si tusen takk til hver og en av dem, -og er veldig fornøyd med at vi klarte å få tjenesten opp å kjøre før -ferietiden slo inn for fullt.
- -Vi er usikker på hvor mye belastning den virtuelle maskinen der -tjenesten kjører klarer, så vi har lansert litt i det stille og ikke -til for mange folk for å se hvordan maskinen klarer seg over sommeren, -før vi går mer aktivt ut og annonserer til høsten. Ta en titt, og se -om du kanskje har et spørsmål til det offentlige som er egnet å sende -inn via Mimes brønn.
- -Hvis du lurer på hva i alle dager en slik tjenestes kan brukes til, -anbefaler jeg deg å se -TED-foredraget til -Heather Brook om hvordan hun brukte WhatDoTheyKnow til å lære -hvordan offentlige midler ble misbrukt. Det er en inspirerende -historie.
+ +Last year, US president candidate +in the Democratic Party Lawrence interviewed Edward Snowden. The +one hour interview was +published by +Harvard Law School 2014-10-23 on Youtube, and the meeting took +place 2014-10-20.
+ +The questions are very good, and there is lots of useful +information to be learned and very interesting issues to think about +being raised. Please check it out.
+ + + +I find it especially interesting to hear again that Snowden did try +to bring up his reservations through the official channels without any +luck. It is in sharp contrast to the answers made 2013-11-06 by the +Norwegian prime minister Erna Solberg to the Norwegian Parliament, +claiming +Snowden is no Whistle-Blower because he should have taken up his +concerns internally and using official channels. It make me sad +that this is the political leadership we have here in Norway.
After asking the Norwegian Broadcasting Company (NRK) -why -they can broadcast and stream H.264 video without an agreement with -the MPEG LA, I was wiser, but still confused. So I asked MPEG LA -if their understanding matched that of NRK. As far as I can tell, it -does not.
- -I started by asking for more information about the various -licensing classes and what exactly is covered by the "Internet -Broadcast AVC Video" class that NRK pointed me at to explain why NRK -did not need a license for streaming H.264 video: - -
- -- -According to -a -MPEG LA press release dated 2010-02-02, there is no charge when -using MPEG AVC/H.264 according to the terms of "Internet Broadcast AVC -Video". I am trying to understand exactly what the terms of "Internet -Broadcast AVC Video" is, and wondered if you could help me. What -exactly is covered by these terms, and what is not?
- -The only source of more information I have been able to find is a -PDF named -AVC -Patent Portfolio License Briefing, which states this about the -fees:
- --
- -- Where End User pays for AVC Video -
- --
- Subscription (not limited by title) â 100,000 or fewer - subscribers/yr = no royalty; > 100,000 to 250,000 subscribers/yr = - $25,000; >250,000 to 500,000 subscribers/yr = $50,000; >500,000 to - 1M subscribers/yr = $75,000; >1M subscribers/yr = $100,000
- -- Title-by-Title - 12 minutes or less = no royalty; >12 minutes in - length = lower of (a) 2% or (b) $0.02 per title
-- Where remuneration is from other sources -
--
- Free Television - (a) one-time $2,500 per transmission encoder or - (b) annual fee starting at $2,500 for > 100,000 HH rising to - maximum $10,000 for >1,000,000 HH
- -- Internet Broadcast AVC Video (not title-by-title, not subscription) - â no royalty for life of the AVC Patent Portfolio License
-Am I correct in assuming that the four categories listed is the -categories used when selecting licensing terms, and that "Internet -Broadcast AVC Video" is the category for things that do not fall into -one of the other three categories? Can you point me to a good source -explaining what is ment by "title-by-title" and "Free Television" in -the license terms for AVC/H.264?
- -Will a web service providing H.264 encoded video content in a -"video on demand" fashing similar to Youtube and Vimeo, where no -subscription is required and no payment is required from end users to -get access to the videos, fall under the terms of the "Internet -Broadcast AVC Video", ie no royalty for life of the AVC Patent -Portfolio license? Does it matter if some users are subscribed to get -access to personalized services?
- -Note, this request and all answers will be published on the -Internet.
-
The answer came quickly from Benjamin J. Myers, Licensing Associate -with the MPEG LA:
- --- -Thank you for your message and for your interest in MPEG LA. We -appreciate hearing from you and I will be happy to assist you.
- -As you are aware, MPEG LA offers our AVC Patent Portfolio License -which provides coverage under patents that are essential for use of -the AVC/H.264 Standard (MPEG-4 Part 10). Specifically, coverage is -provided for end products and video content that make use of AVC/H.264 -technology. Accordingly, the party offering such end products and -video to End Users concludes the AVC License and is responsible for -paying the applicable royalties.
- -Regarding Internet Broadcast AVC Video, the AVC License generally -defines such content to be video that is distributed to End Users over -the Internet free-of-charge. Therefore, if a party offers a service -which allows users to upload AVC/H.264 video to its website, and such -AVC Video is delivered to End Users for free, then such video would -receive coverage under the sublicense for Internet Broadcast AVC -Video, which is not subject to any royalties for the life of the AVC -License. This would also apply in the scenario where a user creates a -free online account in order to receive a customized offering of free -AVC Video content. In other words, as long as the End User is given -access to or views AVC Video content at no cost to the End User, then -no royalties would be payable under our AVC License.
- -On the other hand, if End Users pay for access to AVC Video for a -specific period of time (e.g., one month, one year, etc.), then such -video would constitute Subscription AVC Video. In cases where AVC -Video is delivered to End Users on a pay-per-view basis, then such -content would constitute Title-by-Title AVC Video. If a party offers -Subscription or Title-by-Title AVC Video to End Users, then they would -be responsible for paying the applicable royalties you noted below.
- -Finally, in the case where AVC Video is distributed for free -through an "over-the-air, satellite and/or cable transmission", then -such content would constitute Free Television AVC Video and would be -subject to the applicable royalties.
- -For your reference, I have attached -a -.pdf copy of the AVC License. You will find the relevant -sublicense information regarding AVC Video in Sections 2.2 through -2.5, and the corresponding royalties in Section 3.1.2 through 3.1.4. -You will also find the definitions of Title-by-Title AVC Video, -Subscription AVC Video, Free Television AVC Video, and Internet -Broadcast AVC Video in Section 1 of the License. Please note that the -electronic copy is provided for informational purposes only and cannot -be used for execution.
- -I hope the above information is helpful. If you have additional -questions or need further assistance with the AVC License, please feel -free to contact me directly.
-
Having a fresh copy of the license text was useful, and knowing -that the definition of Title-by-Title required payment per title made -me aware that my earlier understanding of that phrase had been wrong. -But I still had a few questions:
- --- -I have a small followup question. Would it be possible for me to get -a license with MPEG LA even if there are no royalties to be paid? The -reason I ask, is that some video related products have a copyright -clause limiting their use without a license with MPEG LA. The clauses -typically look similar to this: - -
- This product is licensed under the AVC patent portfolio license for - the personal and non-commercial use of a consumer to (a) encode - video in compliance with the AVC standard ("AVC video") and/or (b) - decode AVC video that was encoded by a consumer engaged in a - personal and non-commercial activity and/or AVC video that was - obtained from a video provider licensed to provide AVC video. No - license is granted or shall be implied for any other use. additional - information may be obtained from MPEG LA L.L.C. -- -It is unclear to me if this clause mean that I need to enter into -an agreement with MPEG LA to use the product in question, even if -there are no royalties to be paid to MPEG LA. I suspect it will -differ depending on the jurisdiction, and mine is Norway. What is -MPEG LAs view on this?
-
According to the answer, MPEG LA believe those using such tools for -non-personal or commercial use need a license with them:
- -- -- -With regard to the Notice to Customers, I would like to begin by -clarifying that the Notice from Section 7.1 of the AVC License -reads:
- -THIS PRODUCT IS LICENSED UNDER THE AVC PATENT PORTFOLIO LICENSE FOR -THE PERSONAL USE OF A CONSUMER OR OTHER USES IN WHICH IT DOES NOT -RECEIVE REMUNERATION TO (i) ENCODE VIDEO IN COMPLIANCE WITH THE AVC -STANDARD ("AVC VIDEO") AND/OR (ii) DECODE AVC VIDEO THAT WAS ENCODED -BY A CONSUMER ENGAGED IN A PERSONAL ACTIVITY AND/OR WAS OBTAINED FROM -A VIDEO PROVIDER LICENSED TO PROVIDE AVC VIDEO. NO LICENSE IS GRANTED -OR SHALL BE IMPLIED FOR ANY OTHER USE. ADDITIONAL INFORMATION MAY BE -OBTAINED FROM MPEG LA, L.L.C. SEE HTTP://WWW.MPEGLA.COM
- -The Notice to Customers is intended to inform End Users of the -personal usage rights (for example, to watch video content) included -with the product they purchased, and to encourage any party using the -product for commercial purposes to contact MPEG LA in order to become -licensed for such use (for example, when they use an AVC Product to -deliver Title-by-Title, Subscription, Free Television or Internet -Broadcast AVC Video to End Users, or to re-Sell a third party's AVC -Product as their own branded AVC Product).
- -Therefore, if a party is to be licensed for its use of an AVC -Product to Sell AVC Video on a Title-by-Title, Subscription, Free -Television or Internet Broadcast basis, that party would need to -conclude the AVC License, even in the case where no royalties were -payable under the License. On the other hand, if that party (either a -Consumer or business customer) simply uses an AVC Product for their -own internal purposes and not for the commercial purposes referenced -above, then such use would be included in the royalty paid for the AVC -Products by the licensed supplier.
- -Finally, I note that our AVC License provides worldwide coverage in -countries that have AVC Patent Portfolio Patents, including -Norway.
- -I hope this clarification is helpful. If I may be of any further -assistance, just let me know.
-
The mentioning of Norwegian patents made me a bit confused, so I -asked for more information:
- -- -- -But one minor question at the end. If I understand you correctly, -you state in the quote above that there are patents in the AVC Patent -Portfolio that are valid in Norway. This make me believe I read the -list available from <URL: -http://www.mpegla.com/main/programs/AVC/Pages/PatentList.aspx -> incorrectly, as I believed the "NO" prefix in front of patents -were Norwegian patents, and the only one I could find under Mitsubishi -Electric Corporation expired in 2012. Which patents are you referring -to that are relevant for Norway?
- -
Again, the quick answer explained how to read the list of patents -in that list:
- -- -- -Your understanding is correct that the last AVC Patent Portfolio -Patent in Norway expired on 21 October 2012. Therefore, where AVC -Video is both made and Sold in Norway after that date, then no -royalties would be payable for such AVC Video under the AVC License. -With that said, our AVC License provides historic coverage for AVC -Products and AVC Video that may have been manufactured or Sold before -the last Norwegian AVC patent expired. I would also like to clarify -that coverage is provided for the country of manufacture and the -country of Sale that has active AVC Patent Portfolio Patents.
- -Therefore, if a party offers AVC Products or AVC Video for Sale in -a country with active AVC Patent Portfolio Patents (for example, -Sweden, Denmark, Finland, etc.), then that party would still need -coverage under the AVC License even if such products or video are -initially made in a country without active AVC Patent Portfolio -Patents (for example, Norway). Similarly, a party would need to -conclude the AVC License if they make AVC Products or AVC Video in a -country with active AVC Patent Portfolio Patents, but eventually Sell -such AVC Products or AVC Video in a country without active AVC Patent -Portfolio Patents.
-
As far as I understand it, MPEG LA believe anyone using Adobe -Premiere and other video related software with a H.264 distribution -license need a license agreement with MPEG LA to use such tools for -anything non-private or commercial, while it is OK to set up a -Youtube-like service as long as no-one pays to get access to the -content. I still have no clear idea how this applies to Norway, where -none of the patents MPEG LA is licensing are valid. Will the -copyright terms take precedence or can those terms be ignored because -the patents are not valid in Norway?
+ +The movie "The +Internet's Own Boy: The Story of Aaron Swartz" is both inspiring +and depressing at the same time. The work of Aaron Swartz has +inspired me in my work, and I am grateful of all the improvements he +was able to initiate or complete. I wish I am able to do as much good +in my life as he did in his. Every minute of this 1:45 long movie is +inspiring in documenting how much impact a single person can have on +improving the society and this world. And it is depressing in +documenting how the law enforcement of USA (and other countries) is +corrupted to a point where they can push a bright kid to his death for +downloading too many scientific articles. Aaron is dead. Let us all +weep.
+ +The movie is also available on +Youtube. I +wish there were Norwegian subtitles available, so I could show it to +my parents.
Several people contacted me after my previous blog post about my -need for a new laptop, and provided very useful feedback. I wish to -thank every one of these. Several pointed me to the possibility of -fixing my X230, and I am already in the process of getting Lenovo to -do so thanks to the on site, next day support contract covering the -machine. But the battery is almost useless (I expect to replace it -with a non-official battery) and I do not expect the machine to live -for many more years, so it is time to plan its replacement. If I did -not have a support contract, it was suggested to find replacement parts -using FrancEcrans, but it -might present a language barrier as I do not understand French.
- -One tip I got was to use the -Skinflint web service to -compare laptop models. It seem to have more models available than -prisjakt.no. Another tip I got from someone I know have similar -keyboard preferences was that the HP EliteBook 840 keyboard is not -very good, and this matches my experience with earlier EliteBook -keyboards I tested. Because of this, I will not consider it any further. - -
When I wrote my blog post, I was not aware of Thinkpad X250, the -newest Thinkpad X model. The keyboard reintroduces mouse buttons -(which is missing from the X240), and is working fairly well with -Debian Sid/Unstable according to -Corsac.net. The reports I -got on the keyboard quality are not consistent. Some say the keyboard -is good, others say it is ok, while others say it is not very good. -Those with experience from X41 and and X60 agree that the X250 -keyboard is not as good as those trusty old laptops, and suggest I -keep and fix my X230 instead of upgrading, or get a used X230 to -replace it. I'm also told that the X250 lack leds for caps lock, disk -activity and battery status, which is very convenient on my X230. I'm -also told that the CPU fan is running very often, making it a bit -noisy. In any case, the X250 do not work out of the box with Debian -Stable/Jessie, one of my requirements.
- -I have also gotten a few vendor proposals, one was -Pro-Star, another was -Libreboot. -The latter look very attractive to me.
- -Again, thank you all for the very useful feedback. It help a lot -as I keep looking for a replacement.
- -Update 2015-07-06: I was recommended to check out the -lapstore.de web shop for used laptops. They got several -different -old -thinkpad X models, and provide one year warranty.
+ +Jeg lot meg fascinere av +en +artikkel i Aftenposten der det fortelles at «over 600 telefoner som +benyttes av stortingsrepresentanter, rådgivere og ansatte på +Stortinget, kan «fjernstyres» ved hjelp av +programvaren +Airwatch, et såkalte MDM-program (Mobile Device Managment)». Det +hele bagatelliseres av Stortingets IT-stab, men det er i hovedsak på +grunn av at journalisten ikke stiller de relevante spørsmålene. For +meg er det relevante spørsmålet hvem som har lovlig tilgang (i henhold +til lokal lovgiving, dvs. i hvert fall i Norge, Sverige, UK og USA) +til informasjon om og på telefonene, og hvor enkelt det er å skaffe +seg tilgang til hvor mobilene befinner seg og informasjon som befinner +seg på telefonene ved hjelp av utro tjenere, trusler, innbrudd og +andre ulovlige metoder.
+ +Bruken av AirWatch betyr i realiteten at USAs etteretning og +politimyndigheter har full tilgang til stortingets mobiltelefoner, +inkludert posisjon og innhold, takket være +FISAAA-loven +og +"National +Security Letters" og det enkle faktum at selskapet +AirWatch er kontrollert av et +selskap i USA. I tillegg er det kjent at flere lands +etterretningstjenester kan lytte på trafikken når den passerer +landegrensene.
+ +Jeg har bedt om mer informasjon +fra +Stortinget om bruken av AirWatch via Mimes brønn så får vi se hva +de har å fortelle om saken. Fant ingenting om 'airwatch' i +postjournalen til Stortinget, så jeg trenger hjelp før jeg kan be om +innsyn i konkrete dokumenter.
+ +Oppdatering 2015-10-07: Jeg er blitt spurt hvorfor jeg antar at +AirWatch-agenten rapporterer til USA og ikke direkte til Stortingets +egen infrastruktur. Det stemmer at det er teknisk mulig å sette +opp mobiltelefonene til å rapportere til datamaskiner som eies av +Stortinget. Jeg antar det rapporteres til AirWatch sine sentrale +tjenester basert på det jeg leste fra beskrivelsen av +Mobile +Device Management på AirWatch sine egne nettsider, koblet med at +det brukes en standard app som kan hentes fra "app-butikkene" for å få +tilgang. Enten må app-en settes opp individuelt hos Stortinget, eller +så får den beskjed fra AirWatch i USA om hvor den skal koble seg opp. +I det første tilfellet vil den ikke rapportere direkte til USA, men +til programvare utviklet av AirWatch som kjører på en maskin under +Stortingets kontroll. Det er litt bedre, men fortsatt vil det være +umulig for Stortinget å være sikker på hva programvaren som tar imot +forbindelser gjør. Jeg ser fra beskrivelsen av +Enterprice +Integration hos AirWatch at det er mulig å ha lokal installasjon, +og håper innsynsforespørsler mot Stortinget kan fortelle mer om +hvordan ting konkret fungerer der.
My primary work horse laptop is failing, and will need a -replacement soon. The left 5 cm of the screen on my Thinkpad X230 -started flickering yesterday, and I suspect the cause is a broken -cable, as changing the angle of the screen some times get rid of the -flickering.
- -My requirements have not really changed since I bought it, and is -still as -I -described them in 2013. The last time I bought a laptop, I had -good help from -prisjakt.no -where I could select at least a few of the requirements (mouse pin, -wifi, weight) and go through the rest manually. Three button mouse -and a good keyboard is not available as an option, and all the three -laptop models proposed today (Thinkpad X240, HP EliteBook 820 G1 and -G2) lack three mouse buttons). It is also unclear to me how good the -keyboard on the HP EliteBooks are. I hope Lenovo have not messed up -the keyboard, even if the quality and robustness in the X series have -deteriorated since X41.
- -I wonder how I can find a sensible laptop when none of the options -seem sensible to me? Are there better services around to search the -set of available laptops for features? Please send me an email if you -have suggestions.
- -Update 2015-07-23: I got a suggestion to check out the FSF -list -of endorsed hardware, which is useful background information.
+ +As I wrap up the Norwegian version of +Free +Culture book by Lawrence Lessig (still waiting for my final proof +reading copy to arrive in the mail), my great +dblatex helper and +developer of the dblatex docbook processor, Benoît Guillon, decided a +to try to create a French version of the book. He started with the +French translation available from the +Wikilivres wiki +pages, and wrote a program to convert it into a PO file, allowing +the translation to be integrated into the po4a based framework I use +to create the Norwegian translation from the English edition. We meet +on the #dblatex IRC +channel to discuss the work. If you want to help create a French +edition, check out +his git +repository and join us on IRC. If the French edition look good, +we might publish it as a paper book on lulu.com. A French version of +the drawings and the cover need to be provided for this to happen.
Last oktober I was involved on behalf of -NUUG with recording the talks at -MakerCon Nordic, a conference for -the Maker movement. Since then it has been the plan to publish the -recordings on Frikanalen, which -finally happened the last few days. A few talks are missing because -the speakers asked the organizers to not publish them, but most of the -talks are available. The talks are being broadcasted on RiksTV -channel 50 and using multicast on Uninett, as well as being available -from the Frikanalen web site. The unedited recordings are -available on -Youtube too.
- -This is the list of talks available at the moment. Visit the -Frikanalen video -pages to view them.
- --
-
-
- Evolutionary algorithms as a design tool - from art - to robotics (Kyrre Glette) - -
- Make and break (Hans Gerhard Meier) + +
- Making a one year school course for young makers - (Olav Helland) - -
- Innovation Inspiration - IPR Databases as a Source of - Inspiration (Hege Langlo) - -
- Making a toy for makers (Erik Torstensson) - -
- How to make 3D printer electronics (Elias Bakken) - -
- Hovering Clouds: Looking at online tool offerings for Product - Design and 3D Printing (William Kempton) - -
- Travelling maker stories (Ãyvind Nydal Dahl) - -
- Making the first Maker Faire in Sweden (Nils Olander) - -
- Breaking the mold: Printing 1000âs of parts (Espen Sivertsen) - -
- Ultimaker â and open source 3D printing (Erik de Bruijn) - -
- Autodeskâs 3D Printing Platform: Sparking innovation (Hilde - Sevens) +
- How Making is Changing the World â and How You Can Too! - (Jennifer Turliuk) +cd /sys/class/power_supply -
- Open-Source Adventuring: OpenROV, OpenExplorer and the Future of - Connected Exploration (David Lang) +for bat in BAT*; do + (cd $bat && log_battery >> "$logfile") +done + -
- Making in Norway (Haakon Karlsen Jr., Graham Hayward and Jens - Dyvik) +
- The Impact of the Maker Movement (Mike Senese) +
- Konsesjoner - lokalradio FM pr. 31.12.2014 [PDF (original)] - -
- Konsesjoner - lokalfjernsyn i det digitale bakkenettet for fjernsyn, pr. mars 2015 [DOCX (original), -PDF] - -
- Konsesjoner - DAB-radio, status mars 2015 [XPS (original), -PDF] - -
- Registreringspliktige kringkastere - status mars 2015: [XPS (original), PDF]
-
-
-
-
- Kabelsendt fjernsyn -
- Satellittsendt fjernsyn -
- Nett-tv -
- Kabelsendt radio -
- Satellittsendt radio -
- Nett-radio -
- - July (6) -
- August (1) +
- August (2) + +
- September (2) + +
- October (6) @@ -1142,7 +829,7 @@ should be able to adjust it for all the formats handled by ffmpeg.
- bankid (4) -
- bitcoin (8) +
- bitcoin (9)
- bootsystem (15) @@ -1150,7 +837,7 @@ should be able to adjust it for all the formats handled by ffmpeg.
- chrpath (2) -
- debian (111) +
- debian (112)
- debian edu (153) @@ -1158,17 +845,17 @@ should be able to adjust it for all the formats handled by ffmpeg.
- dld (15) -
- docbook (15) +
- docbook (19)
- drivstoffpriser (4) -
- english (285) +
- english (292)
- fiksgatami (23)
- fildeling (12) -
- freeculture (17) +
- freeculture (21)
- freedombox (9) @@ -1194,17 +881,17 @@ should be able to adjust it for all the formats handled by ffmpeg.
- multimedia (36) -
- norsk (264) +
- norsk (266)
- nuug (177) -
- offentlig innsyn (19) +
- offentlig innsyn (20)
- open311 (2) -
- opphavsrett (53) +
- opphavsrett (54) -
- personvern (86) +
- personvern (88)
- raid (1) @@ -1222,7 +909,7 @@ should be able to adjust it for all the formats handled by ffmpeg.
- scraperwiki (2) -
- sikkerhet (41) +
- sikkerhet (43)
- sitesummary (4) @@ -1232,9 +919,9 @@ should be able to adjust it for all the formats handled by ffmpeg.
- stavekontroll (3) -
- stortinget (9) +
- stortinget (10) -
- surveillance (33) +
- surveillance (35)
- sysadmin (2)
When I get a new laptop, the battery life time at the start is OK. +But this do not last. The last few laptops gave me a feeling that +within a year, the life time is just a fraction of what it used to be, +and it slowly become painful to use the laptop without power connected +all the time. Because of this, when I got a new Thinkpad X230 laptop +about two years ago, I decided to monitor its battery state to have +more hard facts when the battery started to fail.
+ +
First I tried to find a sensible Debian package to record the +battery status, assuming that this must be a problem already handled +by someone else. I found +battery-stats, +which collects statistics from the battery, but it was completely +broken. I sent a few suggestions to the maintainer, but decided to +write my own collector as a shell script while I waited for feedback +from him. Via +a +blog post about the battery development on a MacBook Air I also +discovered +batlog, not +available in Debian.
+ +I started my collector 2013-07-15, and it has been collecting +battery stats ever since. Now my +/var/log/hjemmenett-battery-status.log file contain around 115,000 +measurements, from the time the battery was working great until now, +when it is unable to charge above 7% of original capacity. My +collector shell script is quite simple and look like this:
-+#!/bin/sh +# Inspired by +# http://www.ifweassume.com/2013/08/the-de-evolution-of-my-laptop-battery.html +# See also +# http://blog.sleeplessbeastie.eu/2013/01/02/debian-how-to-monitor-battery-capacity/ +logfile=/var/log/hjemmenett-battery-status.log + +files="manufacturer model_name technology serial_number \ + energy_full energy_full_design energy_now cycle_count status" + +if [ ! -e "$logfile" ] ; then + ( + printf "timestamp," + for f in $files; do + printf "%s," $f + done + echo + ) > "$logfile" +fi + +log_battery() { + # Print complete message in one echo call, to avoid race condition + # when several log processes run in parallel. + msg=$(printf "%s," $(date +%s); \ + for f in $files; do \ + printf "%s," $(cat $f); \ + done) + echo "$msg" +} -
The script is called when the power management system detect a +change in the power status (power plug in or out), and when going into +and out of hibernation and suspend. In addition, it collect a value +every 10 minutes. This make it possible for me know when the battery +is discharging, charging and how the maximum charge change over time. +The code for the Debian package +is now +available on github.
-The collected log file look like this:
- ++timestamp,manufacturer,model_name,technology,serial_number,energy_full,energy_full_design,energy_now,cycle_count,status, +1376591133,LGC,45N1025,Li-ion,974,62800000,62160000,39050000,0,Discharging, +[...] +1443090528,LGC,45N1025,Li-ion,974,4900000,62160000,4900000,0,Full, +1443090601,LGC,45N1025,Li-ion,974,4900000,62160000,4900000,0,Full, +-
Part of the reason this took so long was that the scripts NUUG had -to prepare a recording for publication were five years old and no -longer worked with the current video processing tools (command line -argument changes). In addition, we needed better audio normalization, -which sent me on a detour to -package -bs1770gain for Debian. Now this is in place and it became a lot -easier to publish NUUG videos on Frikanalen.
+I wrote a small script to create a graph of the charge development +over time. This graph depicted above show the slow death of my laptop +battery.
+ +But why is this happening? Why are my laptop batteries always +dying in a year or two, while the batteries of space probes and +satellites keep working year after year. If we are to believe +Battery +University, the cause is me charging the battery whenever I have a +chance, and the fix is to not charge the Lithium-ion batteries to 100% +all the time, but to stay below 90% of full charge most of the time. +I've been told that the Tesla electric cars +limit +the charge of their batteries to 80%, with the option to charge to +100% when preparing for a longer trip (not that I would want a car +like Tesla where rights to privacy is abandoned, but that is another +story), which I guess is the option we should have for laptops on +Linux too.
+ +Is there a good and generic way with Linux to tell the battery to +stop charging at 80%, unless requested to charge to 100% once in +preparation for a longer trip? I found +one +recipe on askubuntu for Ubuntu to limit charging on Thinkpad to +80%, but could not get it to work (kernel module refused to +load).
+ +I wonder why the battery capacity was reported to be more than 100% +at the start. I also wonder why the "full capacity" increases some +times, and if it is possible to repeat the process to get the battery +back to design capacity. And I wonder if the discharge and charge +speed change over time, or if this stay the same. I did not yet try +to write a tool to calculate the derivative values of the battery +level, but suspect some interesting insights might be learned from +those.
+ +Update 2015-09-24: I got a tip to install the packages +acpi-call-dkms and tlp (unfortunately missing in Debian stable) +packages instead of the tp-smapi-dkms package I had tried to use +initially, and use 'tlp setcharge 40 80' to change when charging start +and stop. I've done so now, but expect my existing battery is toast +and need to be replaced. The proposal is unfortunately Thinkpad +specific.
I en global verden med eierskap på tvers, trengs det informasjon om -hvem som har kontrollen i selskaper og bedrifter. Og for å få tilgang -til slik informasjon for alle som ønsker å analysere eierskap, holder -med ikke med nasjonale databaser over eierskap, det må globale -samledatabaser med åpne data til. Heldigvis finnes det en -internasjonal bevegelse for å gjøre selskapsinformasjon for alle land -offentlig tilgjengelig. En slik database heter -OpenCorporates, der -informasjonen er gratis tilgjengelig med en "del på samme -vilkår"-lisens. De samler inn selskapsinformasjon, eierskap, -konsesjonstildelinger og lignende. De manglet ganske mye for Norge, -da bruksvilkårene til Norsk offentlig informasjon i stor grad -blokkerer OpenCorporates fra å samle den inn.
- -Men jeg er jo involvert i -Frikanalen, som har -TV-konsesjon, og tenkte det kunne være fint om informasjon om alle -mediakonsesjoner var tilgjengelig i OpenCorporates, så jeg sendte -avgårde følgende spørsmål til Medietilsynet 2015-06-22:
- --- -Hei. Finnes det en oversikt over enhetene som Mediatilsynet fører -tilsyn med som åpne data? Jeg lette etter den på -<URL:http://data.norge.no/> og -<URL:http://hotell.difi.no/> uten å -finne noe der, og fant heller ikke noe under -<URL:http://www.medietilsynet.no/>.
- -Jeg tenker på alle som har fått kringkastingskonsesjon og alle som -er omtalt under -<URL:http://www.medietilsynet.no/mediebildet/>.
- -Jeg skulle gjerne hatt dette maskinlesbart, og inkludert -organisasjonsnummer og hva slags forhold mediatilsynet har til -organisasjonene. Tanken er å importere det i -<URL:https://opencorporates.com/> for analyse, så det bør ikke ha -bruksbegresninger som gjør dette umulig.
-
To dager senere fikk jeg svar, med de datasettene de hadde -tilgjengelig. Svaret fra Hanne Sekkelsten hos Medietilsynet var -informativt og imøtekommende.
- --- -Vi viser til din e-post av 22. juni, der du ber om å få tilsendt oversikter -over aktører Medietilsynet fører tilsyn med.
- -Medietilsynet fører tilsyn med kringkastere og audiovisuelle -bestillingstjenester som omfattes av kringkastingsloven, og med -eierskap i aviser, fjernsyn radio og elektroniske medier etter -medieeierskapsloven. I tillegg vil Medietilsynet etter at -beskyttelsesloven trer i kraft fra 1. juli ha tilsyn med en rekke nye -aktører. Nærmere informasjon om den nye loven finnes på Medietilsynets -nettsted, her: -http://www.medietilsynet.no/mediebransjen/bildeprogramloven/ -. Vi har ikke utarbeidet oversikter over alle aktørene, men vi sender -deg her de listene vi har utarbeidet, hentet fra våre databaser. Vi -har dessverre ikke ferdige rapporter som inneholder -organisasjonsnummer. Dersom du ønsker flere opplysninger ber vi om at -du tar kontakt med oss slik at vi kan finne ut av hvilke opplysninger -du trenger, og hvilke vi kan fremskaffe.
- -Vedlagt følger: - -
- -
- -Vi må ta forbehold om at det kan være enkelte feil i oversiktene -siden disse ikke er oppdaterte pr. dags dato. Vi vil foreta nye -oppdateringer i august.
- -Med hilsen
- -Hanne Nistad Sekkelsten -
-
Seniorrådgiver | Senior Legal Adviser -
Medietilsynet | Norwegian Media Authority -
A: Nygata 4, NO-1607 Fredrikstad -
T: [telefonnummer fjernet] -
E: [adresse fjernet] | W: www.medietilsynet.no -
Desverre er formatene for ustrukturerte til maskinell behandling og -mangler endel informasjon, men det er gode oversikter over hvem -Medietilsynet fører tilsyn med. Filene er på formatene PDF, XPS -(XML-basert PDF-lignende format fra Microsoft) og DOCX, så det vil -være en stor jobb å strukturere informasjonen på en måte som kan -importeres i OpenCorporates. Svaret er ikke i tråd med -Forskrift -om IT-standarder i offentlig forvaltning som sier epostvedlegg -skal sendes som PDF, så jeg har gjorde PDF-utgaver av XPS og -DOCX-utgavene tilgjengelig for å gjøre det enklere for alle å se -innholdet.
+ +Creating a good looking book cover proved harder than I expected. +I wanted to create a cover looking similar to the original cover of +the +Free +Culture book we are translating to Norwegian, and I wanted it in +vector format for high resolution printing. But my inkscape knowledge +were not nearly good enough to pull that off. + +
But thanks to the great inkscape community, I was able to wrap up +the cover yesterday evening. I asked on the +#inkscape IRC channel +on Freenode for help and clues, and Marc Jeanmougin (Mc-) volunteered +to try to recreate it based on the PDF of the cover from the HTML +version. Not only did he create a +SVG document with +the original and his vector version side by side, he even provided +an instruction +video explaining how he did it. But the instruction video is +not easy to follow for an untrained inkscape user. The video is a +recording on how he did it, and he is obviously very experienced as +the menu selections are very quick and he mentioned on IRC that he did +use some keyboard shortcuts that can't be seen on the video, but it +give a good idea about the inkscape operations to use to create the +stripes with the embossed copyright sign in the center.
+ +I took his SVG file, copied the vector image and re-sized it to fit +on the cover I was drawing. I am happy with the end result, and the +current english version look like this:
+ +
I am not quite sure about the text on the back, but guess it will +do. I picked three quotes from the official site for the book, and +hope it will work to trigger the interest of potential readers. The +Norwegian cover will look the same, but with the texts and bar code +replaced with the Norwegian version.
+ +The book is very close to being ready for publication, and I expect +to upload the final draft to Lulu in the next few days and order a +final proof reading copy to verify that everything look like it should +before allowing everyone to order their own copy of Free Culture, in +English or Norwegian Bokmål. I'm waiting to give the the productive +proof readers a chance to complete their work.
It is a bit work to figure out the ownership structure of companies -in Norway. The information is publicly available, but one need to -recursively look up ownership for all owners to figure out the complete -ownership graph of a given set of companies. To save me the work in -the future, I wrote a script to do this automatically, outputting the -ownership structure using the Graphviz/dotty format. The data source -is web scraping from Proff, because -I failed to find a useful source directly from the official keepers of -the ownership data, Brønnøysundsregistrene.
- -To get an ownership graph for a set of companies, fetch -the code from git and run it using the organisation number. I'm -using the Norwegian newspaper Dagbladet as an example here, as its -ownership structure is very simple:
- --% time ./bin/eierskap-dotty 958033540 > dagbladet.dot - -real 0m2.841s -user 0m0.184s -sys 0m0.036s -% -- -
The script accept several organisation numbers on the command line, -allowing a cluster of companies to be graphed in the same image. The -resulting dot file for the example above look like this. The edges -are labeled with the ownership percentage, and the nodes uses the -organisation number as their name and the name as the label:
- --digraph ownership { -rankdir = LR; -"Aller Holding A/s" -> "910119877" [label="100%"] -"910119877" -> "998689015" [label="100%"] -"998689015" -> "958033540" [label="99%"] -"974530600" -> "958033540" [label="1%"] -"958033540" [label="AS DAGBLADET"] -"998689015" [label="Berner Media Holding AS"] -"974530600" [label="Dagbladets Stiftelse"] -"910119877" [label="Aller Media AS"] -} -- -
To view the ownership graph, run "dotty dagbladet.dot" or -convert it to a PNG using "dot -T png dagbladet.dot > -dagbladet.png". The result can be seen below:
- -
Note that I suspect the "Aller Holding A/S" entry to be incorrect -data in the official ownership register, as that name is not -registered in the official company register for Norway. The ownership -register is sensitive to typos and there seem to be no strict checking -of the ownership links.
- -Let me know if you improve the script or find better data sources. -The code is licensed according to GPL 2 or newer.
- -Update 2015-06-15: Since the initial post I've been told that -"Aller -Holding A/S" is a Danish company, which explain why it did not -have a Norwegian organisation number. I've also been told that there -is a web -services API available from Brønnøysundsregistrene, for those -willing to accept the terms or pay the price.
+ +Today, finally, my first printed draft edition of the Norwegian +translation of Free Culture I have been working on for the last few +years arrived in the mail. I had to fake a cover to get the interior +printed, and the exterior of the book look awful, but that is +irrelevant at this point. I asked for a printed pocket book version +to get an idea about the font sizes and paper format as well as how +good the figures and images look in print, but also to test what the +pocket book version would look like. After receiving the 500 page +pocket book, it became obvious to me that that pocket book size is too +small for this book. I believe the book is too thick, and several +tables and figures do not look good in the size they get with that +small page sizes. I believe I will go with the 5.5x8.5 inch size +instead. A surprise discovery from the paper version was how bad the +URLs look in print. They are very hard to read in the colophon page. +The URLs are red in the PDF, but light gray on paper. I need to +change the color of links somehow to look better. But there is a +printed book in my hand, and it feels great. :)
+ +Now I only need to fix the cover, wrap up the postscript with the +store behind the book, and collect the last corrections from the proof +readers before the book is ready for proper printing. Cover artists +willing to work for free and create a Creative Commons licensed vector +file looking similar to the original is most welcome, as my skills as +a graphics designer are mostly missing.
Television loudness is the source of frustration for viewers -everywhere. Some channels are very load, others are less loud, and -ads tend to shout very high to get the attention of the viewers, and -the viewers do not like this. This fact is well known to the TV -channels. See for example the BBC white paper -"Terminology -for loudness and level dBTP, LU, and all that" from 2011 for a -summary of the problem domain. To better address the need for even -loadness, the TV channels got together several years ago to agree on a -new way to measure loudness in digital files as one step in -standardizing loudness. From this came the ITU-R standard BS.1770, -"Algorithms to -measure audio programme loudness and true-peak audio level".
- -The ITU-R BS.1770 specification describe an algorithm to measure -loadness in LUFS (Loudness Units, referenced to Full Scale). But -having a way to measure is not enough. To get the same loudness -across TV channels, one also need to decide which value to standardize -on. For European TV channels, this was done in the EBU Recommondaton -R128, "Loudness -normalisation and permitted maximum level of audio signals", which -specifies a recommended level of -23 LUFS. In Norway, I have been -told that NRK, TV2, MTG and SBS have decided among themselves to -follow the R128 recommondation for playout from 2016-03-01.
- -There are free software available to measure and adjust the loudness -level using the LUFS. In Debian, I am aware of a library named -libebur128 -able to measure the loudness and since yesterday morning a new binary -named bs1770gain -capable of both measuring and adjusting was uploaded and is waiting -for NEW processing. I plan to maintain the latter in Debian under the -Debian -multimedia umbrella.
- -The free software based TV channel I am involved in, -Frikanalen, plan to follow the -R128 recommondation ourself as soon as we can adjust the software to -do so, and the bs1770gain tool seem like a good fit for that part of -the puzzle to measure loudness on new video uploaded to Frikanalen. -Personally, I plan to use bs1770gain to adjust the loudness of videos -I upload to Frikanalen on behalf of the -NUUG member organisation. The program seem to be able to measure -the LUFS value of any media file handled by ffmpeg, but I've only -successfully adjusted the LUFS value of WAV files. I suspect it -should be able to adjust it for all the formats handled by ffmpeg.
+ +Typesetting a book is harder than I hoped. As the translation is +mostly done, and a volunteer proof reader was going to check the text +on paper, it was time this summer to focus on formatting my translated +docbook based version of the +Free Culture book by Lawrence +Lessig. I've been trying to get both docboox-xsl+fop and dblatex to +give me a good looking PDF, but in the end I went with dblatex, because +its Debian maintainer and upstream developer were responsive and very +helpful in solving my formatting challenges.
+ +Last night, I finally managed to create a PDF that no longer made +Lulu.com complain after uploading, +and I ordered a text version of the book on paper. It is lacking a +proper book cover and is not tagged with the correct ISBN number, but +should give me an idea what the finished book will look like.
+ +Instead of using Lulu, I did consider printing the book using +CreateSpace, but ended up +using Lulu because it had smaller book size options (CreateSpace seem +to lack pocket book with extended distribution). I looked for a +similar service in Norway, but have not seen anything so far. Please +let me know if I am missing out on something here.
+ +But I still struggle to decide the book size. Should I go for +pocket book (4.25x6.875 inches / 10.8x17.5 cm) with 556 pages, Digest +(5.5x8.5 inches / 14x21.6 cm) with 323 pages or US Trade (6x8 inches / +15.3x22.9 cm) with 280 pages? Fewer pager give a cheaper book, and a +smaller book is easier to carry around. The test book I ordered was +pocket book sized, to give me an idea how well that fit in my hand, +but I suspect I will end up using a digest sized book in the end to +bring the prize down further.
+ +My biggest challenge at the moment is making nice cover art. My +inkscape skills are not yet up to the task of replicating the original +cover in SVG format. I also need to figure out what to write about +the book on the back (will most likely use the same text as the +description on web based book stores). I would love help with this, +if you are willing to license the art source and final version using +the same CC license as the book. My artistic skills are not really up +to the task.
+ +I plan to publish the book in both English and Norwegian and on +paper, in PDF form as well as EPUB and MOBI format. The current +status can as usual be found on +github +in the archive/ directory. So far I have spent all time on making the +PDF version look good. Someone should probably do the same with the +dbtoepub generated e-book. Help is definitely needed here, as I +expect to run out of steem before I find time to improve the epub +formatting.
+ +Please let me know via github if you find typos in the book or +discover translations that should be improved. The final proof +reading is being done right now, and I expect to publish the finished +result in a few months.