X-Git-Url: https://pere.pagekite.me/gitweb/homepage.git/blobdiff_plain/525c8f4d5fe33e5fec2c764cf123c4b2fffeba52..a0a971f55f61855eb0b27b68176b325f2a65995f:/blog/archive/2010/12/12.rss diff --git a/blog/archive/2010/12/12.rss b/blog/archive/2010/12/12.rss index 617126d7b8..dc7830187b 100644 --- a/blog/archive/2010/12/12.rss +++ b/blog/archive/2010/12/12.rss @@ -7,391 +7,418 @@ - Student group continue the work on my Reprap 3D printer - http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/Student_group_continue_the_work_on_my_Reprap_3D_printer.html - http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/Student_group_continue_the_work_on_my_Reprap_3D_printer.html - Thu, 9 Dec 2010 19:30:00 +0100 - <p>A few days ago, I was introduces to some students in the robot -student assosiation <a href="http://www.robotica.no/">Robotica -Osloensis</a> at the University of Oslo where I work, who planned to -get their own 3D printer. They wanted to learn from me based on my -work in the area. After having a short lunch meeting with them, I -offered them to borrow my reprap kit, as I never had time to complete -the build and this seem unlike to change any time soon. I look -forward to see how this goes. This monday their volunteer driver -picked up my kit and drove it to their lab, and tomorrow I am told the -last exam is over so they can start work on getting the 3D printer -operational.</p> + What standards are Free and Open as defined by Digistan? + http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/What_standards_are_Free_and_Open_as_defined_by_Digistan_.html + http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/What_standards_are_Free_and_Open_as_defined_by_Digistan_.html + Thu, 30 Dec 2010 23:15:00 +0100 + <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>The robotic group have already build several robots on their own, -and seem capable of getting the reprap operational. I really look -forward to being able to print all the cool 3D designs published on -<a href="http://www.thingiverse.com/">Thingiverse</a>. I even got -some 3D scans I got made during Dagen@IFI when one of the groups at -the computer science department at the university demonstrated their -very cool 3D scanner.</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> - Martin Bekkelund: En stille bønn om Datalagringsdirektivet - http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/Martin_Bekkelund__En_stille_b_nn_om_Datalagringsdirektivet.html - http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/Martin_Bekkelund__En_stille_b_nn_om_Datalagringsdirektivet.html - Thu, 9 Dec 2010 21:25:00 +0100 - <p><a href="http://www.bekkelund.net/">Martin Bekkelund</a> ved -<a href="http://www.friprog.no/">friprog-senteret</a> har skrevet -følgende -<a href="http://www.bekkelund.net/2010/12/09/en-stille-bonn/">korte -oppsummering</a> rundt datalagringsdirektivet, som jeg videreformidler -her.</p> + The many definitions of a open standard + http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/The_many_definitions_of_a_open_standard.html + http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/The_many_definitions_of_a_open_standard.html + Mon, 27 Dec 2010 14:45:00 +0100 + <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><blockquote><strong>Det pågår i disse dager en intens diskusjon om -innføring av Datalagringsdirektivet (<acronym -title="Datalagringsdirektivet">DLD</acronym>) i norsk rett. Kanskje -har du gjort deg opp en mening, kanskje er du usikker. I begge -tilfeller ber jeg deg lese videre.</strong></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>Samtlige fagmiljøer, både i Norge og EU, har konkludert med at -<acronym title="Datalagringsdirektivet">DLD</acronym> ikke bør -innføres på nåværende tidspunkt. Den tekniske kvaliteten på direktivet -er dårlig, det griper uforholdsmessig inn i personvernet, det har -store mangler og viktige spørsmål som hvem som skal ha tilgang og -hvordan data skal lagres er fortsatt uavklart.</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><a href="http://ikt-norge.no/norge-kan-slippe-datalagringsdirektivet/">EU-ekspertene sier</a> at konsekvensene av å benytte vetoretten er minimale</li> -<li><a href="http://www.regjeringen.no/pages/2281080/Deninternasjonalejuristkommisjon.pdf">Juristene påpeker</a> at direktivet er i strid med EMK</li> -<li><a href="http://www.dagbladet.no/2010/12/06/kultur/debatt/kronikk/dld/personvern/14594699/">Datatilsynet sier</a> direktivet får store konsekvenser for personvernet og at direktivet er irreversibelt</li> -<li><a href="http://www.bekkelund.net/?s=dld">Teknologene sier</a> at sikker lagring ikke er mulig, at det er svært enkelt å omgå og mulig å manipulere data og produsere falske beviser</li> -<li><a href="http://www.regjeringen.no/pages/2281080/NJ_247460_1_P.pdf">Pressen sier</a> nei av hensyn til kildevernet</li> -<li>Det er store <a href="http://tetzschner.blogspot.com/2010/03/den-tyske-forfatningsdomstol.html">interne</a> <a href="http://stoppdld.no/2010/03/02/datalagring-stoppet-av-tysk-forfatningsdomstol/">stridigheter</a> i EU. Blant annet har den tyske forfatningsdomstolen funnet at måten <acronym title="Datalagringsdirektivet">DLD</acronym> er innført på er i strid med tysk grunnlov</li> -<li>Alle de store <a href="http://www.bekkelund.net/2010/12/08/lokasjonsdata-og-datalagringsdirektivet/">operatørene og tilbyderne sier nei</a>, av tekniske og personvernmessige årsaker</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 +(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>Jeg liker å tro at jeg er en hyggelig fyr. Jeg har et rent -rulleblad, og med unntak av to fartsbøter har jeg aldri vært en byrde -for samfunnet. Det akter jeg å fortsette med. Det er mange som meg, -lovlydige, pliktoppfyllende borgere som aldri vil utgjøre en trussel -mot noe som helst. Vi synes derfor det er trist og sårende at all vår -atferd skal overvåkes døgnkontinuerlig.</p> +<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> -<p><strong>Understøttet av faglige vurderinger kan du trygt si nei til -<acronym title="Datalagringsdirektivet">DLD</acronym>.</strong></p> +<blockquote> -<p><a href="http://www.bekkelund.net/kontakt/">Ta kontakt med meg</a> -hvis du har spørsmål om <acronym -title="Datalagringsdirektivet">DLD</acronym>, uansett hva det måtte -gjelde.</p> +<p>En åben standard opfylder følgende krav:</p> -<p class="info">Denne teksten er å anse som <a -href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/publicdomain/"><em>Public -Domain</em></a>. Spre den videre til alle som kan ha nytte av -den!</p> -</blockquote></p> +<ol> -<p>Siste <a href="http://www.nettavisen.no/it/article3043918.ece">melding -fra Nettavisen</a> er at regjeringen planlegger å fremme sitt forslag -til implementering av datalagringsdirektivet i morgen, i ly av -fredprisutdelingen for å få minst mulig pressedekning om saken. Vi -får snart se om det stemmer.</p> - - - - - Now accepting bitcoins - anonymous and distributed p2p crypto-money - http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/Now_accepting_bitcoins___anonymous_and_distributed_p2p_crypto_money.html - http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/Now_accepting_bitcoins___anonymous_and_distributed_p2p_crypto_money.html - Fri, 10 Dec 2010 08:20:00 +0100 - <p>With this weeks lawless -<a href="http://www.salon.com/news/opinion/glenn_greenwald/2010/12/06/wikileaks/index.html">governmental -attacks</a> on Wikileak and -<a href="http://www.salon.com/technology/dan_gillmor/2010/12/06/war_on_speech">free -speech</a>, it has become obvious that PayPal, visa and mastercard can -not be trusted to handle money transactions. -A blog post from -<a href="http://webmink.com/2010/12/06/now-accepting-bitcoin/">Simon -Phipps on bitcoin</a> reminded me about a project that a friend of -mine mentioned earlier. I decided to follow Simon's example, and get -involved with <a href="http://www.bitcoin.org/">BitCoin</a>. I got -some help from my friend to get it all running, and he even handed me -some bitcoins to get started. I even donated a few bitcoins to Simon -for helping me remember BitCoin.</p> +<li>Veldokumenteret med den fuldstændige specifikation offentligt +tilgængelig.</li> -<p>So, what is bitcoins, you probably wonder? It is a digital -crypto-currency, decentralised and handled using peer-to-peer -networks. It allows anonymous transactions and prohibits central -control over the transactions, making it impossible for governments -and companies alike to block donations and other transactions. The -source is free software, and while the key dependency wxWidgets 2.9 -for the graphical user interface is missing in Debian, the command -line client builds just fine. Hopefully Jonas -<a href="http://bugs.debian.org/578157">will get the package into -Debian</a> soon.</p> +<li>Frit implementerbar uden økonomiske, politiske eller juridiske +begrænsninger på implementation og anvendelse.</li> -<p>Bitcoins can be converted to other currencies, like USD and EUR. -There are <a href="http://www.bitcoin.org/trade">companies accepting -bitcoins</a> when selling services and goods, and there are even -currency "stock" markets where the exchange rate is decided. There -are not many users so far, but the concept seems promising. If you -want to get started and lack a friend with any bitcoins to spare, -you can even get -<a href="https://freebitcoins.appspot.com/">some for free</a> (0.05 -bitcoin at the time of writing). Use -<a href="http://www.bitcoinwatch.com/">BitcoinWatch</a> to keep an eye -on the current exchange rates.</p> +<li>Standardiseret og vedligeholdt i et åbent forum (en såkaldt +"standardiseringsorganisation") via en åben proces.</li> -<p>As an experiment, I have decided to set up bitcoind on one of my -machines. If you want to support my activity, please send Bitcoin -donations to the address -<b>15oWEoG9dUPovwmUL9KWAnYRtNJEkP1u1b</b>. Thank you!</p> - - - - - Pornoskannerne på flyplassene bedrer visst ikke sikkerheten - http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/Pornoskannerne_p__flyplassene_bedrer_visst_ikke_sikkerheten.html - http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/Pornoskannerne_p__flyplassene_bedrer_visst_ikke_sikkerheten.html - Sat, 11 Dec 2010 10:45:00 +0100 - <p>Via <a href="http://webmink.com/2010/12/10/links-for-2010-12-10/">en -blogpost fra Simon Phipps i går</a>, fant jeg en referanse til -<a href="http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2010/dec/9/exposed-tsas-x-rated-scanner-fraud/">en -artikkel i Washington Times</a> som igjen refererer til en artikkel i -det fagfellevurderte tidsskriftet Journal of Transportation Security -med tittelen -"<a href="http://springerlink.com/content/g6620thk08679160/fulltext.html">An -evaluation of airport x-ray backscatter units based on image -characteristics</a>" som enkelt konstaterer at -<a href="http://www.dailysquib.co.uk/?a=2389&c=124">pornoscannerne</a> -som kler av reisende på flyplasser ikke er i stand til å avsløre det -produsenten og amerikanske myndigheter sier de skal avsløre. Kort -sagt, de bedrer ikke sikkerheten. Reisende må altså la ansatte på -flyplasser <a href="http://www.thousandsstandingaround.org/">se dem -nakne eller la seg beføle i skrittet</a> uten grunn. Jeg vil -fortsette å nekte å bruke disse pornoskannerne, unngå flyplasser der -de er tatt i bruk, og reise med andre transportmidler enn fly hvis jeg -kan.</p> - - - - - Some thoughts on BitCoins - http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/Some_thoughts_on_BitCoins.html - http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/Some_thoughts_on_BitCoins.html - Sat, 11 Dec 2010 15:10:00 +0100 - <p>As I continue to explore -<a href="http://www.bitcoin.org/">BitCoin</a>, I've starting to wonder -what properties the system have, and how it will be affected by laws -and regulations here in Norway. Here are some random notes.</p> +</ol> -<p>One interesting thing to note is that since the transactions are -verified using a peer to peer network, all details about a transaction -is known to everyone. This means that if a BitCoin address has been -published like I did with mine in my initial post about BitCoin, it is -possible for everyone to see how many BitCoins have been transfered to -that address. There is even a web service to look at the details for -all transactions. There I can see that my address -<a href="http://blockexplorer.com/address/15oWEoG9dUPovwmUL9KWAnYRtNJEkP1u1b">15oWEoG9dUPovwmUL9KWAnYRtNJEkP1u1b</a> -have received 16.06 Bitcoin, the -<a href="http://blockexplorer.com/address/1LfdGnGuWkpSJgbQySxxCWhv8MHqvwst3">1LfdGnGuWkpSJgbQySxxCWhv8MHqvwst3</a> -address of Simon Phipps have received 181.97 BitCoin and the address -<a href="http://blockexplorer.com/address/1MCwBbhNGp5hRm5rC1Aims2YFRe2SXPYKt">1MCwBbhNGp5hRm5rC1Aims2YFRe2SXPYKt</A> -of EFF have received 2447.38 BitCoins so far. Thank you to each and -every one of you that donated bitcoins to support my activity. The -fact that anyone can see how much money was transfered to a given -address make it more obvious why the BitCoin community recommend to -generate and hand out a new address for each transaction. I'm told -there is no way to track which addresses belong to a given person or -organisation without the person or organisation revealing it -themselves, as Simon, EFF and I have done.</p> +</blockquote> -<p>In Norway, and in most other countries, there are laws and -regulations limiting how much money one can transfer across the border -without declaring it. There are money laundering, tax and accounting -laws and regulations I would expect to apply to the use of BitCoin. -If the Skolelinux foundation -(<a href="http://linuxiskolen.no/slxdebianlabs/donations.html">SLX -Debian Labs</a>) were to accept donations in BitCoin in addition to -normal bank transfers like EFF is doing, how should this be accounted? -Given that it is impossible to know if money can across the border or -not, should everything or nothing be declared? What exchange rate -should be used when calculating taxes? Would receivers have to pay -income tax if the foundation were to pay Skolelinux contributors in -BitCoin? I have no idea, but it would be interesting to know.</p> +<p>Then there is <a href="http://www.fsfe.org/projects/os/def.html">the +definition</a> from Free Software Foundation Europe.</p> -<p>For a currency to be useful and successful, it must be trusted and -accepted by a lot of users. It must be possible to get easy access to -the currency (as a wage or using currency exchanges), and it must be -easy to spend it. At the moment BitCoin seem fairly easy to get -access to, but there are very few places to spend it. I am not really -a regular user of any of the vendor types currently accepting BitCoin, -so I wonder when my kind of shop would start accepting BitCoins. I -would like to buy electronics, travels and subway tickets, not herbs -and books. :) The currency is young, and this will improve over time -if it become popular, but I suspect regular banks will start to lobby -to get BitCoin declared illegal if it become popular. I'm sure they -will claim it is helping fund terrorism and money laundering (which -probably would be true, as is any currency in existence), but I -believe the problems should be solved elsewhere and not by blaming -currencies.</p> +<blockquote> -<p>The process of creating new BitCoins is called mining, and it is -CPU intensive process that depend on a bit of luck as well (as one is -competing against all the other miners currently spending CPU cycles -to see which one get the next lump of cash). The "winner" get 50 -BitCoin when this happen. Yesterday I came across the obvious way to -join forces to increase ones changes of getting at least some coins, -by coordinating the work on mining BitCoins across several machines -and people, and sharing the result if one is lucky and get the 50 -BitCoins. Check out -<a href="http://www.bluishcoder.co.nz/bitcoin-pool/">BitCoin Pool</a> -if this sounds interesting. I have not had time to try to set up a -machine to participate there yet, but have seen that running on ones -own for a few days have not yield any BitCoins througth mining -yet.</p> +<p>An Open Standard refers to a format or protocol that is</p> -<p>Update 2010-12-15: Found an <a -href="http://inertia.posterous.com/reply-to-the-underground-economist-why-bitcoi">interesting -criticism</a> of bitcoin. Not quite sure how valid it is, but thought -it was interesting to read. The arguments presented seem to be -equally valid for gold, which was used as a currency for many years.</p> - - - - - How to test if a laptop is working with Linux - http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/How_to_test_if_a_laptop_is_working_with_Linux.html - http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/How_to_test_if_a_laptop_is_working_with_Linux.html - Wed, 22 Dec 2010 14:55:00 +0100 - <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 organised 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> +<ol> -<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> +<li>subject to full public assessment and use without constraints in a +manner equally available to all parties;</li> -<p>Anyway, to get to the point of this post. Here is the simple tests -I perform on a new model.</p> +<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>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>Its development and management process must be collaborative and + democratic: -<li>Is X.org working? If the graphical login screen show up after -installation, X.org is working.</li> + <ul> -<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>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>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>The processes must be documented and, through a known + method, can be changed through input from all + participants.</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>The process must be based on formal and binding commitments for + the disclosure and licensing of intellectual property rights.</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>Development and management should strive for consensus, + and an appeals process must be clearly outlined.</li> -<li>Is any built in camera working? Test using cheese, and see if a -picture from the v4l device show up.</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> -<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> + </ul> -<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> -<li>For laptops, is suspend/hibernate working? I'm testing if the -special button work, and if the laptop continue to work after -resume.</li> +</ul> -<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> +<p>Use and Licensing of an Open Standard</p> +<ul> -<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> +<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> -<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 frame rate than -RHEL6 with glxgears. No idea why.</p> +</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> - 165 norske overvåkningskamera registert så langt i OpenStreetmap.org - http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/165_norske_overv_kningskamera_registert_s__langt_i_OpenStreetmap_org.html - http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/165_norske_overv_kningskamera_registert_s__langt_i_OpenStreetmap_org.html - Fri, 24 Dec 2010 11:20:00 +0100 - <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> + Is Ogg Theora a free and open standard? + http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/Is_Ogg_Theora_a_free_and_open_standard_.html + http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/Is_Ogg_Theora_a_free_and_open_standard_.html + Sat, 25 Dec 2010 20:25:00 +0100 + <p><a href="http://www.digistan.org/open-standard:definition">The +Digistan definition</a> of a free and open standard reads like this:</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> - - - - - Officeshots still going strong - http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/Officeshots_still_going_strong.html - http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/Officeshots_still_going_strong.html - Sat, 25 Dec 2010 09:40:00 +0100 - <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> +<blockquote> -<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> +<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> @@ -600,418 +627,391 @@ Congressman of the Republic of Perú.</p> - Is Ogg Theora a free and open standard? - http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/Is_Ogg_Theora_a_free_and_open_standard_.html - http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/Is_Ogg_Theora_a_free_and_open_standard_.html - Sat, 25 Dec 2010 20:25:00 +0100 - <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> + Officeshots still going strong + http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/Officeshots_still_going_strong.html + http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/Officeshots_still_going_strong.html + Sat, 25 Dec 2010 09:40:00 +0100 + <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> -<p>The Digital Standards Organization defines free and open standard -as follows:</p> +<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> + + + + + 165 norske overvåkningskamera registert så langt i OpenStreetmap.org + http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/165_norske_overv_kningskamera_registert_s__langt_i_OpenStreetmap_org.html + http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/165_norske_overv_kningskamera_registert_s__langt_i_OpenStreetmap_org.html + Fri, 24 Dec 2010 11:20:00 +0100 + <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> -<ol> +<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> + + + + + How to test if a laptop is working with Linux + http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/How_to_test_if_a_laptop_is_working_with_Linux.html + http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/How_to_test_if_a_laptop_is_working_with_Linux.html + Wed, 22 Dec 2010 14:55:00 +0100 + <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 organised 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> -<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>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>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: +<p>Anyway, to get to the point of this post. Here is the simple tests +I perform on a new model.</p> -<blockquote> +<ul> -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. +<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> -</blockquote> +<li>Is X.org working? If the graphical login screen show up after +installation, X.org is working.</li> -<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> +<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> -<blockquote> +<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> -<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> +<li>Is the USB subsystem working? I test this by plugging in a USB +memory stick and see if Gnome/KDE notices this.</li> -<p>The limited permissions granted above are perpetual and will not be -revoked by the Internet Society or its successors or assigns.</p> -</blockquote> +<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> -<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> +<li>Is any built in camera working? Test using cheese, and see if a +picture from the v4l device show up.</li> -<p><strong>Royalty-free?</strong></p> +<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> -<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> +<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> -<p><strong>No constraints on re-use?</strong></p> +<li>For laptops, is suspend/hibernate working? I'm testing if the +special button work, and if the laptop continue to work after +resume.</li> -<p>I am not aware of any constraints on re-use.</p> +<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> -<p><strong>Conclusion</strong></p> +<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> -<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> +</ul> -<p>It would be nice to see other analysis of other specifications to -see if they are free and open standards.</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 frame rate than +RHEL6 with glxgears. No idea why.</p> - The many definitions of a open standard - http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/The_many_definitions_of_a_open_standard.html - http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/The_many_definitions_of_a_open_standard.html - Mon, 27 Dec 2010 14:45:00 +0100 - <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> + Some thoughts on BitCoins + http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/Some_thoughts_on_BitCoins.html + http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/Some_thoughts_on_BitCoins.html + Sat, 11 Dec 2010 15:10:00 +0100 + <p>As I continue to explore +<a href="http://www.bitcoin.org/">BitCoin</a>, I've starting to wonder +what properties the system have, and how it will be affected by laws +and regulations here in Norway. Here are some random notes.</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> +<p>One interesting thing to note is that since the transactions are +verified using a peer to peer network, all details about a transaction +is known to everyone. This means that if a BitCoin address has been +published like I did with mine in my initial post about BitCoin, it is +possible for everyone to see how many BitCoins have been transfered to +that address. There is even a web service to look at the details for +all transactions. There I can see that my address +<a href="http://blockexplorer.com/address/15oWEoG9dUPovwmUL9KWAnYRtNJEkP1u1b">15oWEoG9dUPovwmUL9KWAnYRtNJEkP1u1b</a> +have received 16.06 Bitcoin, the +<a href="http://blockexplorer.com/address/1LfdGnGuWkpSJgbQySxxCWhv8MHqvwst3">1LfdGnGuWkpSJgbQySxxCWhv8MHqvwst3</a> +address of Simon Phipps have received 181.97 BitCoin and the address +<a href="http://blockexplorer.com/address/1MCwBbhNGp5hRm5rC1Aims2YFRe2SXPYKt">1MCwBbhNGp5hRm5rC1Aims2YFRe2SXPYKt</A> +of EFF have received 2447.38 BitCoins so far. Thank you to each and +every one of you that donated bitcoins to support my activity. The +fact that anyone can see how much money was transfered to a given +address make it more obvious why the BitCoin community recommend to +generate and hand out a new address for each transaction. I'm told +there is no way to track which addresses belong to a given person or +organisation without the person or organisation revealing it +themselves, as Simon, EFF and I have done.</p> -<blockquote> +<p>In Norway, and in most other countries, there are laws and +regulations limiting how much money one can transfer across the border +without declaring it. There are money laundering, tax and accounting +laws and regulations I would expect to apply to the use of BitCoin. +If the Skolelinux foundation +(<a href="http://linuxiskolen.no/slxdebianlabs/donations.html">SLX +Debian Labs</a>) were to accept donations in BitCoin in addition to +normal bank transfers like EFF is doing, how should this be accounted? +Given that it is impossible to know if money can across the border or +not, should everything or nothing be declared? What exchange rate +should be used when calculating taxes? Would receivers have to pay +income tax if the foundation were to pay Skolelinux contributors in +BitCoin? I have no idea, but it would be interesting to know.</p> -<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> +<p>For a currency to be useful and successful, it must be trusted and +accepted by a lot of users. It must be possible to get easy access to +the currency (as a wage or using currency exchanges), and it must be +easy to spend it. At the moment BitCoin seem fairly easy to get +access to, but there are very few places to spend it. I am not really +a regular user of any of the vendor types currently accepting BitCoin, +so I wonder when my kind of shop would start accepting BitCoins. I +would like to buy electronics, travels and subway tickets, not herbs +and books. :) The currency is young, and this will improve over time +if it become popular, but I suspect regular banks will start to lobby +to get BitCoin declared illegal if it become popular. I'm sure they +will claim it is helping fund terrorism and money laundering (which +probably would be true, as is any currency in existence), but I +believe the problems should be solved elsewhere and not by blaming +currencies.</p> -<li>free from legal or technical clauses that limit its utilisation by -any party or in any business model;</li> +<p>The process of creating new BitCoins is called mining, and it is +CPU intensive process that depend on a bit of luck as well (as one is +competing against all the other miners currently spending CPU cycles +to see which one get the next lump of cash). The "winner" get 50 +BitCoin when this happen. Yesterday I came across the obvious way to +join forces to increase ones changes of getting at least some coins, +by coordinating the work on mining BitCoins across several machines +and people, and sharing the result if one is lucky and get the 50 +BitCoins. Check out +<a href="http://www.bluishcoder.co.nz/bitcoin-pool/">BitCoin Pool</a> +if this sounds interesting. I have not had time to try to set up a +machine to participate there yet, but have seen that running on ones +own for a few days have not yield any BitCoins througth mining +yet.</p> -<li>managed and further developed independently of any single vendor -in a process open to the equal participation of competitors and third -parties;</li> +<p>Update 2010-12-15: Found an <a +href="http://inertia.posterous.com/reply-to-the-underground-economist-why-bitcoi">interesting +criticism</a> of bitcoin. Not quite sure how valid it is, but thought +it was interesting to read. The arguments presented seem to be +equally valid for gold, which was used as a currency for many years.</p> + + + + + Pornoskannerne på flyplassene bedrer visst ikke sikkerheten + http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/Pornoskannerne_p__flyplassene_bedrer_visst_ikke_sikkerheten.html + http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/Pornoskannerne_p__flyplassene_bedrer_visst_ikke_sikkerheten.html + Sat, 11 Dec 2010 10:45:00 +0100 + <p>Via <a href="http://webmink.com/2010/12/10/links-for-2010-12-10/">en +blogpost fra Simon Phipps i går</a>, fant jeg en referanse til +<a href="http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2010/dec/9/exposed-tsas-x-rated-scanner-fraud/">en +artikkel i Washington Times</a> som igjen refererer til en artikkel i +det fagfellevurderte tidsskriftet Journal of Transportation Security +med tittelen +"<a href="http://springerlink.com/content/g6620thk08679160/fulltext.html">An +evaluation of airport x-ray backscatter units based on image +characteristics</a>" som enkelt konstaterer at +<a href="http://www.dailysquib.co.uk/?a=2389&c=124">pornoscannerne</a> +som kler av reisende på flyplasser ikke er i stand til å avsløre det +produsenten og amerikanske myndigheter sier de skal avsløre. Kort +sagt, de bedrer ikke sikkerheten. Reisende må altså la ansatte på +flyplasser <a href="http://www.thousandsstandingaround.org/">se dem +nakne eller la seg beføle i skrittet</a> uten grunn. Jeg vil +fortsette å nekte å bruke disse pornoskannerne, unngå flyplasser der +de er tatt i bruk, og reise med andre transportmidler enn fly hvis jeg +kan.</p> + + + + + Now accepting bitcoins - anonymous and distributed p2p crypto-money + http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/Now_accepting_bitcoins___anonymous_and_distributed_p2p_crypto_money.html + http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/Now_accepting_bitcoins___anonymous_and_distributed_p2p_crypto_money.html + Fri, 10 Dec 2010 08:20:00 +0100 + <p>With this weeks lawless +<a href="http://www.salon.com/news/opinion/glenn_greenwald/2010/12/06/wikileaks/index.html">governmental +attacks</a> on Wikileak and +<a href="http://www.salon.com/technology/dan_gillmor/2010/12/06/war_on_speech">free +speech</a>, it has become obvious that PayPal, visa and mastercard can +not be trusted to handle money transactions. +A blog post from +<a href="http://webmink.com/2010/12/06/now-accepting-bitcoin/">Simon +Phipps on bitcoin</a> reminded me about a project that a friend of +mine mentioned earlier. I decided to follow Simon's example, and get +involved with <a href="http://www.bitcoin.org/">BitCoin</a>. I got +some help from my friend to get it all running, and he even handed me +some bitcoins to get started. I even donated a few bitcoins to Simon +for helping me remember BitCoin.</p> -<li>available in multiple complete implementations by competing -vendors, or as a complete implementation equally available to all -parties.</li> +<p>So, what is bitcoins, you probably wonder? It is a digital +crypto-currency, decentralised and handled using peer-to-peer +networks. It allows anonymous transactions and prohibits central +control over the transactions, making it impossible for governments +and companies alike to block donations and other transactions. The +source is free software, and while the key dependency wxWidgets 2.9 +for the graphical user interface is missing in Debian, the command +line client builds just fine. Hopefully Jonas +<a href="http://bugs.debian.org/578157">will get the package into +Debian</a> soon.</p> -</ol> +<p>Bitcoins can be converted to other currencies, like USD and EUR. +There are <a href="http://www.bitcoin.org/trade">companies accepting +bitcoins</a> when selling services and goods, and there are even +currency "stock" markets where the exchange rate is decided. There +are not many users so far, but the concept seems promising. If you +want to get started and lack a friend with any bitcoins to spare, +you can even get +<a href="https://freebitcoins.appspot.com/">some for free</a> (0.05 +bitcoin at the time of writing). Use +<a href="http://www.bitcoinwatch.com/">BitcoinWatch</a> to keep an eye +on the current exchange rates.</p> -</blockquote> +<p>As an experiment, I have decided to set up bitcoind on one of my +machines. If you want to support my activity, please send Bitcoin +donations to the address +<b>15oWEoG9dUPovwmUL9KWAnYRtNJEkP1u1b</b>. Thank you!</p> + + + + + Martin Bekkelund: En stille bønn om Datalagringsdirektivet + http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/Martin_Bekkelund__En_stille_b_nn_om_Datalagringsdirektivet.html + http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/Martin_Bekkelund__En_stille_b_nn_om_Datalagringsdirektivet.html + Thu, 9 Dec 2010 21:25:00 +0100 + <p><a href="http://www.bekkelund.net/">Martin Bekkelund</a> ved +<a href="http://www.friprog.no/">friprog-senteret</a> har skrevet +følgende +<a href="http://www.bekkelund.net/2010/12/09/en-stille-bonn/">korte +oppsummering</a> rundt datalagringsdirektivet, som jeg videreformidler +her.</p> -<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> +<p><blockquote><strong>Det pågår i disse dager en intens diskusjon om +innføring av Datalagringsdirektivet (<acronym +title="Datalagringsdirektivet">DLD</acronym>) i norsk rett. Kanskje +har du gjort deg opp en mening, kanskje er du usikker. I begge +tilfeller ber jeg deg lese videre.</strong></p> -<blockquote> -<p>Creation and Management of an Open Standard +<p>Samtlige fagmiljøer, både i Norge og EU, har konkludert med at +<acronym title="Datalagringsdirektivet">DLD</acronym> ikke bør +innføres på nåværende tidspunkt. Den tekniske kvaliteten på direktivet +er dårlig, det griper uforholdsmessig inn i personvernet, det har +store mangler og viktige spørsmål som hvem som skal ha tilgang og +hvordan data skal lagres er fortsatt uavklart.</p> <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> - +<li><a href="http://ikt-norge.no/norge-kan-slippe-datalagringsdirektivet/">EU-ekspertene sier</a> at konsekvensene av å benytte vetoretten er minimale</li> +<li><a href="http://www.regjeringen.no/pages/2281080/Deninternasjonalejuristkommisjon.pdf">Juristene påpeker</a> at direktivet er i strid med EMK</li> +<li><a href="http://www.dagbladet.no/2010/12/06/kultur/debatt/kronikk/dld/personvern/14594699/">Datatilsynet sier</a> direktivet får store konsekvenser for personvernet og at direktivet er irreversibelt</li> +<li><a href="http://www.bekkelund.net/?s=dld">Teknologene sier</a> at sikker lagring ikke er mulig, at det er svært enkelt å omgå og mulig å manipulere data og produsere falske beviser</li> +<li><a href="http://www.regjeringen.no/pages/2281080/NJ_247460_1_P.pdf">Pressen sier</a> nei av hensyn til kildevernet</li> +<li>Det er store <a href="http://tetzschner.blogspot.com/2010/03/den-tyske-forfatningsdomstol.html">interne</a> <a href="http://stoppdld.no/2010/03/02/datalagring-stoppet-av-tysk-forfatningsdomstol/">stridigheter</a> i EU. Blant annet har den tyske forfatningsdomstolen funnet at måten <acronym title="Datalagringsdirektivet">DLD</acronym> er innført på er i strid med tysk grunnlov</li> +<li>Alle de store <a href="http://www.bekkelund.net/2010/12/08/lokasjonsdata-og-datalagringsdirektivet/">operatørene og tilbyderne sier nei</a>, av tekniske og personvernmessige årsaker</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> +<p>Jeg liker å tro at jeg er en hyggelig fyr. Jeg har et rent +rulleblad, og med unntak av to fartsbøter har jeg aldri vært en byrde +for samfunnet. Det akter jeg å fortsette med. Det er mange som meg, +lovlydige, pliktoppfyllende borgere som aldri vil utgjøre en trussel +mot noe som helst. Vi synes derfor det er trist og sårende at all vår +atferd skal overvåkes døgnkontinuerlig.</p> -<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> +<p><strong>Understøttet av faglige vurderinger kan du trygt si nei til +<acronym title="Datalagringsdirektivet">DLD</acronym>.</strong></p> -</ul> +<p><a href="http://www.bekkelund.net/kontakt/">Ta kontakt med meg</a> +hvis du har spørsmål om <acronym +title="Datalagringsdirektivet">DLD</acronym>, uansett hva det måtte +gjelde.</p> -</blockquote> +<p class="info">Denne teksten er å anse som <a +href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/publicdomain/"><em>Public +Domain</em></a>. Spre den videre til alle som kan ha nytte av +den!</p> +</blockquote></p> -<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> +<p>Siste <a href="http://www.nettavisen.no/it/article3043918.ece">melding +fra Nettavisen</a> er at regjeringen planlegger å fremme sitt forslag +til implementering av datalagringsdirektivet i morgen, i ly av +fredprisutdelingen for å få minst mulig pressedekning om saken. Vi +får snart se om det stemmer.</p> - What standards are Free and Open as defined by Digistan? - http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/What_standards_are_Free_and_Open_as_defined_by_Digistan_.html - http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/What_standards_are_Free_and_Open_as_defined_by_Digistan_.html - Thu, 30 Dec 2010 23:15:00 +0100 - <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> + Student group continue the work on my Reprap 3D printer + http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/Student_group_continue_the_work_on_my_Reprap_3D_printer.html + http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/Student_group_continue_the_work_on_my_Reprap_3D_printer.html + Thu, 9 Dec 2010 19:30:00 +0100 + <p>A few days ago, I was introduces to some students in the robot +student assosiation <a href="http://www.robotica.no/">Robotica +Osloensis</a> at the University of Oslo where I work, who planned to +get their own 3D printer. They wanted to learn from me based on my +work in the area. After having a short lunch meeting with them, I +offered them to borrow my reprap kit, as I never had time to complete +the build and this seem unlike to change any time soon. I look +forward to see how this goes. This monday their volunteer driver +picked up my kit and drove it to their lab, and tomorrow I am told the +last exam is over so they can start work on getting the 3D printer +operational.</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> +<p>The robotic group have already build several robots on their own, +and seem capable of getting the reprap operational. I really look +forward to being able to print all the cool 3D designs published on +<a href="http://www.thingiverse.com/">Thingiverse</a>. I even got +some 3D scans I got made during Dagen@IFI when one of the groups at +the computer science department at the university demonstrated their +very cool 3D scanner.</p>