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        <channel>
                <title>Petter Reinholdtsen - Entries from July 2015</title>
                <description>Entries from July 2015</description>
                <link>http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/</link>

        
        <item>
                <title>MPEG LA on &quot;Internet Broadcast AVC Video&quot; licensing and non-private use</title>
                <link>http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/MPEG_LA_on__Internet_Broadcast_AVC_Video__licensing_and_non_private_use.html</link>        
                <guid isPermaLink="true">http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/MPEG_LA_on__Internet_Broadcast_AVC_Video__licensing_and_non_private_use.html</guid>
                <pubDate>Tue, 7 Jul 2015 09:50:00 +0200</pubDate>
                <description>&lt;p&gt;After asking the Norwegian Broadcasting Company (NRK)
&lt;a href=&quot;http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/Hva_gj_r_at_NRK_kan_distribuere_H_264_video_uten_patentavtale_med_MPEG_LA_.html&quot;&gt;why
they can broadcast and stream H.264 video without an agreement with
the MPEG LA&lt;/a&gt;, 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.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;I started by asking for more information about the various
licensing classes and what exactly is covered by the &quot;Internet
Broadcast AVC Video&quot; class that NRK pointed me at to explain why NRK
did not need a license for streaming H.264 video:

&lt;p&gt;&lt;blockquote&gt;

&lt;p&gt;According to
&lt;a href=&quot;http://www.mpegla.com/Lists/MPEG%20LA%20News%20List/Attachments/226/n-10-02-02.pdf&quot;&gt;a
MPEG LA press release dated 2010-02-02&lt;/a&gt;, there is no charge when
using MPEG AVC/H.264 according to the terms of &quot;Internet Broadcast AVC
Video&quot;.  I am trying to understand exactly what the terms of &quot;Internet
Broadcast AVC Video&quot; is, and wondered if you could help me.  What
exactly is covered by these terms, and what is not?&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;The only source of more information I have been able to find is a
PDF named
&lt;a href=&quot;http://www.mpegla.com/main/programs/avc/Documents/avcweb.pdf&quot;&gt;AVC
Patent Portfolio License Briefing&lt;/a&gt;, which states this about the
fees:&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;ul&gt;
 &lt;li&gt;Where End User pays for AVC Video
  &lt;ul&gt;
   &lt;li&gt;Subscription (not limited by title) – 100,000 or fewer
     subscribers/yr = no royalty; &amp;gt; 100,000 to 250,000 subscribers/yr =
     $25,000; &amp;gt;250,000 to 500,000 subscribers/yr = $50,000; &amp;gt;500,000 to
     1M subscribers/yr = $75,000; &amp;gt;1M subscribers/yr = $100,000&lt;/li&gt;

   &lt;li&gt;Title-by-Title - 12 minutes or less = no royalty; &amp;gt;12 minutes in
     length = lower of (a) 2% or (b) $0.02 per title&lt;/li&gt;
  &lt;/ul&gt;&lt;/li&gt;

 &lt;li&gt;Where remuneration is from other sources
  &lt;ul&gt;
   &lt;li&gt;Free Television - (a) one-time $2,500 per transmission encoder or
     (b) annual fee starting at $2,500 for &amp;gt; 100,000 HH rising to
     maximum $10,000 for &amp;gt;1,000,000 HH&lt;/li&gt;

   &lt;li&gt;Internet Broadcast AVC Video (not title-by-title, not subscription)
     – no royalty for life of the AVC Patent Portfolio License&lt;/li&gt;
  &lt;/ul&gt;&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;/ul&gt;

&lt;p&gt;Am I correct in assuming that the four categories listed is the
categories used when selecting licensing terms, and that &quot;Internet
Broadcast AVC Video&quot; 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 &quot;title-by-title&quot; and &quot;Free Television&quot; in
the license terms for AVC/H.264?&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;Will a web service providing H.264 encoded video content in a
&quot;video on demand&quot; 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 &quot;Internet
Broadcast AVC Video&quot;, 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?&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;Note, this request and all answers will be published on the
Internet.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;/blockquote&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;The answer came quickly from Benjamin J. Myers, Licensing Associate
with the MPEG LA:&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;&lt;blockquote&gt;
&lt;p&gt;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.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;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.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;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.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;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.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;Finally, in the case where AVC Video is distributed for free
through an &quot;over-the-air, satellite and/or cable transmission&quot;, then
such content would constitute Free Television AVC Video and would be
subject to the applicable royalties.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;For your reference, I have attached
&lt;a href=&quot;http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/images/2015-07-07-mpegla.pdf&quot;&gt;a
.pdf copy of the AVC License&lt;/a&gt;. 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.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;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.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;/blockquote&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;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:&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;&lt;blockquote&gt;
&lt;p&gt;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:

&lt;p&gt;&lt;blockquote&gt;
  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 (&quot;AVC video&quot;) 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.
&lt;/blockquote&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;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?&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;/blockquote&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;According to the answer, MPEG LA believe those using such tools for
non-personal or commercial use need a license with them:&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;&lt;blockquote&gt;

&lt;p&gt;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:&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;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 (&quot;AVC VIDEO&quot;) 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&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;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&#39;s AVC
Product as their own branded AVC Product).&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;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.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;Finally, I note that our AVC License provides worldwide coverage in
countries that have AVC Patent Portfolio Patents, including
Norway.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;I hope this clarification is helpful.  If I may be of any further
assistance, just let me know.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;/blockquote&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;The mentioning of Norwegian patents made me a bit confused, so I
asked for more information:&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;&lt;blockquote&gt;

&lt;p&gt;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 &amp;lt;URL:
&lt;a href=&quot;http://www.mpegla.com/main/programs/AVC/Pages/PatentList.aspx&quot;&gt;http://www.mpegla.com/main/programs/AVC/Pages/PatentList.aspx&lt;/a&gt;
&amp;gt; incorrectly, as I believed the &quot;NO&quot; 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?&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;/blockquote&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;Again, the quick answer explained how to read the list of patents
in that list:&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;&lt;blockquote&gt;

&lt;p&gt;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.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;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.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;/blockquote&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;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?&lt;/p&gt;
</description>
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                <title>New laptop - some more clues and ideas based on feedback</title>
                <link>http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/New_laptop___some_more_clues_and_ideas_based_on_feedback.html</link>        
                <guid isPermaLink="true">http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/New_laptop___some_more_clues_and_ideas_based_on_feedback.html</guid>
                <pubDate>Sun, 5 Jul 2015 21:40:00 +0200</pubDate>
                <description>&lt;p&gt;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 &lt;a href=&quot;http://www.francecrans.com/&quot;&gt;FrancEcrans&lt;/a&gt;, but it
might present a language barrier as I do not understand French.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;One tip I got was to use the
&lt;a href=&quot;https://skinflint.co.uk/?cat=nb&quot;&gt;Skinflint&lt;/a&gt; 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.

&lt;p&gt;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
&lt;a href=&quot;http://www.corsac.net/X250/&quot;&gt;Corsac.net&lt;/a&gt;.  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&#39;m also told that the X250 lack leds for caps lock, disk
activity and battery status, which is very convenient on my X230.  I&#39;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.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;I have also gotten a few vendor proposals, one was
&lt;a href=&quot;http://pro-star.com&quot;&gt;Pro-Star&lt;/a&gt;, another was
&lt;a href=&quot;http://shop.gluglug.org.uk/product/libreboot-x200/&quot;&gt;Libreboot&lt;/a&gt;.
The latter look very attractive to me.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;Again, thank you all for the very useful feedback.  It help a lot
as I keep looking for a replacement.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;Update 2015-07-06: I was recommended to check out the
&lt;a href=&quot;&quot;&gt;lapstore.de&lt;/a&gt; web shop for used laptops.  They got several
different
&lt;a href=&quot;http://www.lapstore.de/f.php/shop/lapstore/f/411/lang/x/kw/Lenovo_ThinkPad_X_Serie/&quot;&gt;old
thinkpad X models&lt;/a&gt;, and provide one year warranty.&lt;/p&gt;
</description>
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        <item>
                <title>Time to find a new laptop, as the old one is broken after only two years</title>
                <link>http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/Time_to_find_a_new_laptop__as_the_old_one_is_broken_after_only_two_years.html</link>        
                <guid isPermaLink="true">http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/Time_to_find_a_new_laptop__as_the_old_one_is_broken_after_only_two_years.html</guid>
                <pubDate>Fri, 3 Jul 2015 07:10:00 +0200</pubDate>
                <description>&lt;p&gt;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.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;My requirements have not really changed since I bought it, and is
still as
&lt;a href=&quot;http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/Thank_you_Thinkpad_X41__for_your_long_and_trustworthy_service.html&quot;&gt;I
described them in 2013&lt;/a&gt;.  The last time I bought a laptop, I had
good help from
&lt;a href=&quot;http://www.prisjakt.no/category.php?k=353&quot;&gt;prisjakt.no&lt;/a&gt;
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.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;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.&lt;/p&gt;
</description>
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                <title>MakerCon Nordic videos now available on Frikanalen</title>
                <link>http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/MakerCon_Nordic_videos_now_available_on_Frikanalen.html</link>        
                <guid isPermaLink="true">http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/MakerCon_Nordic_videos_now_available_on_Frikanalen.html</guid>
                <pubDate>Thu, 2 Jul 2015 14:10:00 +0200</pubDate>
                <description>&lt;p&gt;Last oktober I was involved on behalf of
&lt;a href=&quot;http://www.nuug.no/&quot;&gt;NUUG&lt;/a&gt; with recording the talks at
&lt;a href=&quot;http://www.makercon.no/&quot;&gt;MakerCon Nordic&lt;/a&gt;, a conference for
the Maker movement.  Since then it has been the plan to publish the
recordings on &lt;a href=&quot;http://www.frikanalen.no/&quot;&gt;Frikanalen&lt;/a&gt;, 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
&lt;a href=&quot;https://www.youtube.com/user/MakerConNordic/&quot;&gt;available on
Youtube too&lt;/a&gt;.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;This is the list of talks available at the moment.  Visit the
&lt;a href=&quot;http://beta.frikanalen.no/video/?q=makercon&quot;&gt;Frikanalen video
pages&lt;/a&gt; to view them.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;ul&gt;

  &lt;li&gt;Evolutionary algorithms as a design tool - from art
      to robotics (Kyrre Glette)&lt;/li&gt;

  &lt;li&gt;Make and break (Hans Gerhard Meier)&lt;/li&gt;

  &lt;li&gt;Making a one year school course for young makers
      (Olav Helland)&lt;/li&gt;

  &lt;li&gt;Innovation Inspiration - IPR Databases as a Source of
      Inspiration (Hege Langlo)&lt;/li&gt;

  &lt;li&gt;Making a toy for makers (Erik Torstensson)&lt;/li&gt;

  &lt;li&gt;How to make 3D printer electronics (Elias Bakken)&lt;/li&gt;

  &lt;li&gt;Hovering Clouds: Looking at online tool offerings for Product
      Design and 3D Printing (William Kempton)&lt;/li&gt;

  &lt;li&gt;Travelling maker stories (Øyvind Nydal Dahl)&lt;/li&gt;

  &lt;li&gt;Making the first Maker Faire in Sweden (Nils Olander)&lt;/li&gt;

  &lt;li&gt;Breaking the mold: Printing 1000’s of parts (Espen Sivertsen)&lt;/li&gt;

  &lt;li&gt;Ultimaker — and open source 3D printing (Erik de Bruijn)&lt;/li&gt;

  &lt;li&gt;Autodesk’s 3D Printing Platform: Sparking innovation (Hilde
      Sevens)&lt;/li&gt;

  &lt;li&gt;How Making is Changing the World – and How You Can Too!
      (Jennifer Turliuk)&lt;/li&gt;

  &lt;li&gt;Open-Source Adventuring: OpenROV, OpenExplorer and the Future of
      Connected Exploration (David Lang)&lt;/li&gt;

  &lt;li&gt;Making in Norway (Haakon Karlsen Jr., Graham Hayward and Jens
      Dyvik)&lt;/li&gt;

  &lt;li&gt;The Impact of the Maker Movement (Mike Senese)&lt;/li&gt;

&lt;/ul&gt;

&lt;p&gt;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
&lt;a href=&quot;http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/Measuring_and_adjusting_the_loudness_of_a_TV_channel_using_bs1770gain.html&quot;&gt;package
bs1770gain for Debian&lt;/a&gt;.  Now this is in place and it became a lot
easier to publish NUUG videos on Frikanalen.&lt;/p&gt;
</description>
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