This is in my opinion probably the best strategic document available in higher education and research today!
"The commission encourages the creation of incentives to promote the development of information technology-based collaborative tools and capabilities at universities and colleges across the United States, enabling access, interaction, and sharing of educational materials from a variety of institutions, disciplines, and educational perspectives. Both commercial development and new collaborative paradigms such as open source, open content, and open learning will be important in building the next generation learning environments for the knowledge economy."
Spellings commission report
See also the interesting discussion about this part of the report here:
Changing the Report, after the Vote
Thursday, November 02, 2006
Tuesday, October 31, 2006
Sun to plug OpenDocument to global summit
"Software patents and proprietary APIs "are now being used to manipulate the direction of the network effect and to thwart widespread interoperability of computer programs" and this, the paper says, "will be particularly harmful to developing countries.""
Read more here
Read more here
Tuesday, October 10, 2006
Ebook format coming spring 2007?
The new .obe format should be introduced in spring 2007. It looks interesting.
Read more in the article: "Will the eBook Finally Supersede Paper?"
Read more in the article: "Will the eBook Finally Supersede Paper?"
Ny bok av Carl August Fleischer: Korrupsjonskultur, kameraderi og tillitssvikt i Norge
Her er ei fantastisk spanande bok som visar korleis vitskaplege prinsipper som rettskjeldelæra kan formast slik at det tener oljeindustrien og andre pengeinteresser:
Korrupsjonskultur, kameraderi og tillitssvikt i Norge
ISBN 82-92395-29-6
Carl August Fleischer
Les meir på Kolofon
Korrupsjonskultur, kameraderi og tillitssvikt i Norge
ISBN 82-92395-29-6
Carl August Fleischer
Les meir på Kolofon
Sunday, October 08, 2006
Open standards 'essential to Europe's IT future'
A French official has prepared a report to the prime minister and suggested the adoption of the OpenDocument Format ODF. Think about how efficient the information society could be with open standards that is easy to implement in solutions that always changing?
"Open standards ensure flexibility for government information technology solutions and infrastructure, increasing technology options for citizens and users," said Harbison. "Implementers can easily configure information systems and procure technology from a wide variety of vendors at best value price points, helping [IT professionals] to adapt to ever-changing requirements and procedures."
Read more here
"Open standards ensure flexibility for government information technology solutions and infrastructure, increasing technology options for citizens and users," said Harbison. "Implementers can easily configure information systems and procure technology from a wide variety of vendors at best value price points, helping [IT professionals] to adapt to ever-changing requirements and procedures."
Read more here
British library calls for copyright action
Here is a very GOOD and WELLPLACED comment on current copyright laws:
"Unless there is a serious updating of copyright law to recognize the changing technological environment, the law becomes an ass."
--Lynne Brindley, CEO, British Library
Read more at CNET News
One of my favourite websites for legal information is Groklaw.net, and I found this happy comment on the IP Manifesto to British Library there:
" I am so thrilled, I can't even express myself. And you know how rare that is! You may recall that I wrote a lengthy article detailing exactly what DRM was like and what it was doing to their collection and accessibility of the world's knowledge, The British Library - The world's knowledge DRM'd and for a price," and if I contributed to today's result in any small part at all, I can die happy. Of course, it is Larry Lessig who first noticed the problem and made it an issue for us all to consider.
You know how I always tell you that the law often moves to a better place as people get to understand new issues? It's happening. I see it. And I am glad. "
Read the rest here: The British Library Gets It!
"Unless there is a serious updating of copyright law to recognize the changing technological environment, the law becomes an ass."
--Lynne Brindley, CEO, British Library
Read more at CNET News
One of my favourite websites for legal information is Groklaw.net, and I found this happy comment on the IP Manifesto to British Library there:
" I am so thrilled, I can't even express myself. And you know how rare that is! You may recall that I wrote a lengthy article detailing exactly what DRM was like and what it was doing to their collection and accessibility of the world's knowledge, The British Library - The world's knowledge DRM'd and for a price," and if I contributed to today's result in any small part at all, I can die happy. Of course, it is Larry Lessig who first noticed the problem and made it an issue for us all to consider.
You know how I always tell you that the law often moves to a better place as people get to understand new issues? It's happening. I see it. And I am glad. "
Read the rest here: The British Library Gets It!
From Bloglines to Google Reader
I first started up with using the Sage RSS reader, and then I jumped on to the Google Reader so that I could use the same RSS reader wherever I go, independent of my laptop. With the last upgrade on Google Reader it has become really fast and efficient. I found this review that compared it to the earlier state of the art RSS reader, the Bloglines from Ask.com. I agree in the conclusion about Google.
"But overall, Google Reader takes the cake for this daily RSS consumer, in the very short time it's been in Google Labs. Like that kid in class who always wins every spelling bee, dontcha just wanna kick Google for being so damn good all the time?" Read more here
"But overall, Google Reader takes the cake for this daily RSS consumer, in the very short time it's been in Google Labs. Like that kid in class who always wins every spelling bee, dontcha just wanna kick Google for being so damn good all the time?" Read more here
Welcome to Wikiversity!
This is another interesting site from the Wikimedia Foundation:
"Wikiversity is a community for the creation and use of free learning materials and activities. Wikiversity is a multidimensional social organization dedicated to learning, teaching, research and service. Its primary goals are to:
* Create and host free content, multimedia learning materials, resources, and curricula for all age groups in all languages
* Develop collaborative learning projects and communities around these materials
Learners and teachers are invited to join the Wikiversity community as editors of this wiki website where anyone can edit the pages. The community portal lists information about many aspects of Wikiversity." Read more about this exciting project at http://en.wikiversity.org
"Wikiversity is a community for the creation and use of free learning materials and activities. Wikiversity is a multidimensional social organization dedicated to learning, teaching, research and service. Its primary goals are to:
* Create and host free content, multimedia learning materials, resources, and curricula for all age groups in all languages
* Develop collaborative learning projects and communities around these materials
Learners and teachers are invited to join the Wikiversity community as editors of this wiki website where anyone can edit the pages. The community portal lists information about many aspects of Wikiversity." Read more about this exciting project at http://en.wikiversity.org
Thursday, October 05, 2006
Zotero in public beta in a few hours...
and on the top of that they have received an "incredibly generous grant". The American university has already granted 250 000 dollar to reach this public beta of Zotero and a grant on top of that shows that the money is ready for such free software products.
"The big news is that the Center for History and New Media has received an incredibly generous grant from the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation to help build major new features into the 2.0 release of Zotero (coming in 2007)." Read more at Dan Cohen's blog.
"The big news is that the Center for History and New Media has received an incredibly generous grant from the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation to help build major new features into the 2.0 release of Zotero (coming in 2007)." Read more at Dan Cohen's blog.
Sony Reader launched in USA.
Now the Sony Reader is launched in US. It is a little smaller than the Irex Iliad Linux e-book reader so it is perhaps not so ideal for reading A4 sized documents.
Mitt Romney the next president of United States?
Mitt Romney (republican) has backed the OpenDocument Format in Massachussets, and that is why I have sympathy for this guy. Now there is a lot of blogs that already has started to campaign him as the next president of US. It is interesting to see the importance of blogs in the political life today:
""The Internet's such a powerful force in politics now that I think we could do some good things to get his name out," says Nathan Burd, who runs AmericansforMitt.com and is one of the founders of the movement to host sites in every state."
Salt Lake Tribune
""The Internet's such a powerful force in politics now that I think we could do some good things to get his name out," says Nathan Burd, who runs AmericansforMitt.com and is one of the founders of the movement to host sites in every state."
Salt Lake Tribune
Thursday, September 28, 2006
University of California on Google Video
University of California has started to distribute video lectures on Google Video.
Tuesday, September 26, 2006
Openoffice bundlar Mozilla
To gode nyhende her:
1) Thunderbird og Lightening vert bundla med OpenOffice
2) OpenOffice får same geniale systemet som Firefox har hatt med extensions og plugins.
Med www.zotero.org så vert dette skikkeleg bra.
1) Thunderbird og Lightening vert bundla med OpenOffice
2) OpenOffice får same geniale systemet som Firefox har hatt med extensions og plugins.
Med www.zotero.org så vert dette skikkeleg bra.
Why is open source so fast?
Interesting research project from University of California, Davis.
"Premkumar Devanbu is heading up the team, and told reporters that while most projects move at the pace of the slowest team member, open source projects proceed at the pace of the fastest one and that, when more people are added, things move even faster."
"Premkumar Devanbu is heading up the team, and told reporters that while most projects move at the pace of the slowest team member, open source projects proceed at the pace of the fastest one and that, when more people are added, things move even faster."
The LearningOnline Network with CAPA
Interesting free software online learning from the University of Michegan. Read more about this teaching innovation here.
British Library launches IP manifesto
Biblioteksreform 2014: tafatt og lettvindt
Biblioteksreform 2014 er skumma gjennom, og her er nokre kritiske (surmaga:-) merknadar:
Ting går for tregt. Den strategiske kunnskapen for å lage ein slik rapport har vore tilstades i fleire år.
Til dømes er det ein grunnleggjande motsetjing i å understrekje humankapitalens rolle for samfunnet, kor viktig kunnskap er for utdanningssystemet bla bla bla.. når det går så usansynleg tregt i å avgjere hovudsstrategien. Dette minnar for mykje om at Stortinget skal drive flatskjermproduksjon på Fornebu. Når dei endeleg har krangla ifrå seg så har det gått ti år, og då er det rett og slett for seint.
Men verst av alt, denne treheita er faktisk lagt inn i tidshorisonten for gjennomføringa av tiltak!
Det er greit at offentleg sektor ikkje kan oppføre seg som Ericsson og sparke alle som er over 35 år, men no er det snart vel på tide at også offentleg sektor girar om til kunnskapssamfunnet?
Så litt om innhaldet: Sjølv om det var mykje positive tiltak og erkjenningar, så var det mykje lettvint også.
"Bærebjelkane" som skal til for å "sprikre opp" alt det som listast opp av ynskjemål. Så lenge "Trusted computing" og "Digital rights management" kan overstyre alle dei fine tankane om tilgjenge blandt dei ulike gruppene i samfunnet samt for ettertida så meinar eg at dette burde ha hatt ein sjølvsagt plass i ei biblioteksutgreiing. Ikkje berre at dette skal Nasjonalbiblioteket syssle med, og ferdig med saka.
Til dømes: teknologi går ikkje ut av copyright slik som bøker, og med lisenssystemet og DRM så risikerar ein at innhaldet aldri vil koma inn i det offentlege domenet.
Når det gjeld tekniske, juridiske og økonomiske problemstillingar for bibliotekvesenet, så er nok biblioteksektoren i Noreg (med visse unntak), synd å seie det, ein lågkompetent bransje sjølv om mange har lyst til å framstille den som det motsatte.
Det verkar som at rapporten speglar at ein ikkje har kompetanse til å greie ut korleis patentar på programvare til dømes kan påverke framgangen i biblioteksektoren, men brukarvanar og slikt som er langt lettare å seie noko om får stor plass.
"Knowledge management" med overordna strategiske tiltak såg eg lite av, derimot mange lause framlegg til tiltak.
På feltet "open access" så er det nok eit døme på at norsk biblioteksektor gløymer at tida er ein sjølvstendig faktor:
"All norsk offentlig forskning skal
være tilgjengelig i åpne institusjonsarkiv innen 2010."
Dette skulle vore på plass i dag, kvifor måtte bruke over 3 år på dette? Denne tregheita er ikkje i samfunnets interesse i alle fall.
Når det gjeld lagringsformater, kvifor har ikkje norsk bibliotekssektor gått inn for OpenDocument Format slik som dei amerikanske forskningsbiblioteka og andre nasjonale biblioteksorganisasjonar i USA? Er det ein naiv og gammaldags holdning om at ein ikkje skal bry seg med det private næringslivet som gjeld?
Ok, litt feilslått næringslivskritikk er komen med, slik som kritikken mot Google og engelskdominansen. Men kvifor kan ikkje Google få lov til å skanne norske samlingar slik at me kunne unngå denne "engelskdominansen"? Dette gjer dei jo gratis, og me får behalde originalen. Nei, istaden så skal dette gjerast for skattebetalarane sine pengar. Det kostar Google mellom 1-2 dollar per bok å få den skanna, medan OpenContent Alliance har utgifter på over 30 dollar. Trur nok Nasjonalbiblioteket kjem opp i noko liknande ettersom rekninga kjem på bordet. Tippar forlaga og forfattarforeininga har hatt mange ord med i laget, på bekostning av skattebetalarane.
Ein ting eg ikkje har skjønt, og det er kvifor venstresida i norsk politikk vert oppfatta som biblioteka sin redning. Dei viktige "bærebjelkane" som open access, fri programvare og opne standardar er jo apolitisk, og når Magnus Marsdal snakkar om nasjonal digitalisering så lurer eg på om han tenkjer på prislappen. La Google gjere jobben gratis.
Her er forresten nokre interessante lenkar: http://www.brunei-online.com/bb/wed/sep20h39.htm
http://www.ed.gov/about/bdscomm/list/hiedfuture/index.html
Ting går for tregt. Den strategiske kunnskapen for å lage ein slik rapport har vore tilstades i fleire år.
Til dømes er det ein grunnleggjande motsetjing i å understrekje humankapitalens rolle for samfunnet, kor viktig kunnskap er for utdanningssystemet bla bla bla.. når det går så usansynleg tregt i å avgjere hovudsstrategien. Dette minnar for mykje om at Stortinget skal drive flatskjermproduksjon på Fornebu. Når dei endeleg har krangla ifrå seg så har det gått ti år, og då er det rett og slett for seint.
Men verst av alt, denne treheita er faktisk lagt inn i tidshorisonten for gjennomføringa av tiltak!
Det er greit at offentleg sektor ikkje kan oppføre seg som Ericsson og sparke alle som er over 35 år, men no er det snart vel på tide at også offentleg sektor girar om til kunnskapssamfunnet?
Så litt om innhaldet: Sjølv om det var mykje positive tiltak og erkjenningar, så var det mykje lettvint også.
"Bærebjelkane" som skal til for å "sprikre opp" alt det som listast opp av ynskjemål. Så lenge "Trusted computing" og "Digital rights management" kan overstyre alle dei fine tankane om tilgjenge blandt dei ulike gruppene i samfunnet samt for ettertida så meinar eg at dette burde ha hatt ein sjølvsagt plass i ei biblioteksutgreiing. Ikkje berre at dette skal Nasjonalbiblioteket syssle med, og ferdig med saka.
Til dømes: teknologi går ikkje ut av copyright slik som bøker, og med lisenssystemet og DRM så risikerar ein at innhaldet aldri vil koma inn i det offentlege domenet.
Når det gjeld tekniske, juridiske og økonomiske problemstillingar for bibliotekvesenet, så er nok biblioteksektoren i Noreg (med visse unntak), synd å seie det, ein lågkompetent bransje sjølv om mange har lyst til å framstille den som det motsatte.
Det verkar som at rapporten speglar at ein ikkje har kompetanse til å greie ut korleis patentar på programvare til dømes kan påverke framgangen i biblioteksektoren, men brukarvanar og slikt som er langt lettare å seie noko om får stor plass.
"Knowledge management" med overordna strategiske tiltak såg eg lite av, derimot mange lause framlegg til tiltak.
På feltet "open access" så er det nok eit døme på at norsk biblioteksektor gløymer at tida er ein sjølvstendig faktor:
"All norsk offentlig forskning skal
være tilgjengelig i åpne institusjonsarkiv innen 2010."
Dette skulle vore på plass i dag, kvifor måtte bruke over 3 år på dette? Denne tregheita er ikkje i samfunnets interesse i alle fall.
Når det gjeld lagringsformater, kvifor har ikkje norsk bibliotekssektor gått inn for OpenDocument Format slik som dei amerikanske forskningsbiblioteka og andre nasjonale biblioteksorganisasjonar i USA? Er det ein naiv og gammaldags holdning om at ein ikkje skal bry seg med det private næringslivet som gjeld?
Ok, litt feilslått næringslivskritikk er komen med, slik som kritikken mot Google og engelskdominansen. Men kvifor kan ikkje Google få lov til å skanne norske samlingar slik at me kunne unngå denne "engelskdominansen"? Dette gjer dei jo gratis, og me får behalde originalen. Nei, istaden så skal dette gjerast for skattebetalarane sine pengar. Det kostar Google mellom 1-2 dollar per bok å få den skanna, medan OpenContent Alliance har utgifter på over 30 dollar. Trur nok Nasjonalbiblioteket kjem opp i noko liknande ettersom rekninga kjem på bordet. Tippar forlaga og forfattarforeininga har hatt mange ord med i laget, på bekostning av skattebetalarane.
Ein ting eg ikkje har skjønt, og det er kvifor venstresida i norsk politikk vert oppfatta som biblioteka sin redning. Dei viktige "bærebjelkane" som open access, fri programvare og opne standardar er jo apolitisk, og når Magnus Marsdal snakkar om nasjonal digitalisering så lurer eg på om han tenkjer på prislappen. La Google gjere jobben gratis.
Her er forresten nokre interessante lenkar: http://www.brunei-online.com/bb/wed/sep20h39.htm
http://www.ed.gov/about/bdscomm/list/hiedfuture/index.html
Monday, September 25, 2006
Internasjonalisering vs den nasjonale interesse
No er det vel kanskje snart på tide å kaste vrak på å bruke utdanningssystemet for å fremje nasjonens interesse eller drive sosialpolitikk. Alt tydar på at å byggje opp utdanningsinstitusjonar som held verkeleg høg internasjonal standard er det som også gir pengar i kassa til sjuande og sist. Del heller ut pengane til unge norskingar på andre måtar enn å vergje dei mot "utlandet".
Her er eit døme på korleis forlagsindustrien brukar nasjonens interesse i sin bransjekamp:
"Allan Adler, vice president for legal and government affairs of the Association of American Publishers.." sa fylgjande: “Remember — you’re talking about free online access to the world,” he said. “You are talking about making our competitive research available to foreign governments and corporations.”
"And Dye of Oberlin scoffed at the idea that preserving the system was somehow linked to the national interest, noting that any journal available for a fee in the United States is hardly limited to American readership, and that such an approach is antithetical to science. “My goodness, publishers are international,” she said. “This whole business is international and the scientific research is international. I just don’t see any national interest that would be violated.”
http://www.insidehighered.com/news/2006/09/06/access
Rektor Arild Underdal var inne på internasjonaliseringa i november 2004 og stilte spørsmåla: "1) Hvor bredt og offensivt skal vi rekruttere utenlands når vi årlig må avvise flere tusen kvalifiserte norske søkere? (2) I hvor stor utstrekning, og i hvilke tilfelle, skal den norske stat betale for utdanning av utenlandske studenter (som i mange tilfelle ikke tar arbeid i Norge etterpå)? (3) Hvordan skal vi avstemme vår forpliktelse til å holde i hevd og videreutvikle norsk (fag)språk mot behovet for å legge om til engelsk for å kunne undervise internasjonale studentgrupper?"
http://www.admin.uio.no/kollegiet/rektor/underdal2002-2004/uniforum_spalte/uniforum111104.html
Fokuset må vere å skape utdanningsinstitusjonar i toppklasse, og ikkje subsidiere forlag eller drive sosialpolitikk. Kva meinar du?
Her er eit døme på korleis forlagsindustrien brukar nasjonens interesse i sin bransjekamp:
"Allan Adler, vice president for legal and government affairs of the Association of American Publishers.." sa fylgjande: “Remember — you’re talking about free online access to the world,” he said. “You are talking about making our competitive research available to foreign governments and corporations.”
"And Dye of Oberlin scoffed at the idea that preserving the system was somehow linked to the national interest, noting that any journal available for a fee in the United States is hardly limited to American readership, and that such an approach is antithetical to science. “My goodness, publishers are international,” she said. “This whole business is international and the scientific research is international. I just don’t see any national interest that would be violated.”
http://www.insidehighered.com/news/2006/09/06/access
Rektor Arild Underdal var inne på internasjonaliseringa i november 2004 og stilte spørsmåla: "1) Hvor bredt og offensivt skal vi rekruttere utenlands når vi årlig må avvise flere tusen kvalifiserte norske søkere? (2) I hvor stor utstrekning, og i hvilke tilfelle, skal den norske stat betale for utdanning av utenlandske studenter (som i mange tilfelle ikke tar arbeid i Norge etterpå)? (3) Hvordan skal vi avstemme vår forpliktelse til å holde i hevd og videreutvikle norsk (fag)språk mot behovet for å legge om til engelsk for å kunne undervise internasjonale studentgrupper?"
http://www.admin.uio.no/kollegiet/rektor/underdal2002-2004/uniforum_spalte/uniforum111104.html
Fokuset må vere å skape utdanningsinstitusjonar i toppklasse, og ikkje subsidiere forlag eller drive sosialpolitikk. Kva meinar du?
Sunday, September 24, 2006
GPL Energy technology?
The success of the free software development process may become useful for environmental technology.
"Non-patentable shared "open energy technology" has the potential to have a profound impact on the reduction of greenhouse gases that causing global warming, in the same way that open source software has changed computers and the Internet."
"Non-patentable shared "open energy technology" has the potential to have a profound impact on the reduction of greenhouse gases that causing global warming, in the same way that open source software has changed computers and the Internet."
Saturday, September 23, 2006
Can standards solve global warming?
This one is just wise for solving global problems:
EDITORIAL: THE POWER OF CERTIFICATION
More and more standards of all types (technical, professional, ethical and environmental) are supported by voluntary participation certification programs. These programs not only provide a nimble and cost-effective alternative to government regulation, but offer an increasingly important means to confront global challenges like global warming, environmental degradation, and achieving sustainable use of renewable resources as well.
EDITORIAL: THE POWER OF CERTIFICATION
More and more standards of all types (technical, professional, ethical and environmental) are supported by voluntary participation certification programs. These programs not only provide a nimble and cost-effective alternative to government regulation, but offer an increasingly important means to confront global challenges like global warming, environmental degradation, and achieving sustainable use of renewable resources as well.
Brunei Action Plan
Interesting top meeting in Brunei between the Asean ministers responsible for telecommunications and information technology. From the nine goals, I read at number three:
"3. Achieve broader economic and social benefits through wider access to ICT by: exploring open standards and open source technologies to increase ...." and the rest is like music in my ears. It is really good to read about this.
"3. Achieve broader economic and social benefits through wider access to ICT by: exploring open standards and open source technologies to increase ...." and the rest is like music in my ears. It is really good to read about this.
Monday, September 18, 2006
Google philantropic project
This is a for-profit project from Google.org that I think is a great idea.
Tuesday, September 05, 2006
A National Dialogue: The Secretary of Education's Commission on the Future of Higher Education
I highly recommend to read the draft from this commission:
They recommend 1) more science and math 2) more foreign students 3) more open-source and open access content 4) more meritocracy and less reputation driven universities 5) more citizen participation 6) more quality for less costs.
"In a higher-education system as diverse and complex as ours, it is no surprise that knowledgeable individuals can and do differ over certain matters. Nevertheless, there has been remarkable consensus among our members..."
I recommend this report, and look at page 23: "• The Commission encourages the creation of incentives to promote the
development of open-source and open-content projects at universities and
colleges across the United States, enabling the open sharing of educational
materials from a variety of institutions, disciplines, and educational perspectives.
Such a portal could stimulate innovation, and serve as the leading resource for
teaching and learning. New initiatives such as OpenCourseWare, the Open
Learning Initiative, the Sakai Project, and the Google Book project hold out the
potential of providing universal access both to general knowledge and to higher
education." NICE!
They recommend 1) more science and math 2) more foreign students 3) more open-source and open access content 4) more meritocracy and less reputation driven universities 5) more citizen participation 6) more quality for less costs.
"In a higher-education system as diverse and complex as ours, it is no surprise that knowledgeable individuals can and do differ over certain matters. Nevertheless, there has been remarkable consensus among our members..."
I recommend this report, and look at page 23: "• The Commission encourages the creation of incentives to promote the
development of open-source and open-content projects at universities and
colleges across the United States, enabling the open sharing of educational
materials from a variety of institutions, disciplines, and educational perspectives.
Such a portal could stimulate innovation, and serve as the leading resource for
teaching and learning. New initiatives such as OpenCourseWare, the Open
Learning Initiative, the Sakai Project, and the Google Book project hold out the
potential of providing universal access both to general knowledge and to higher
education." NICE!
Firefox Scolar in private beta
Finally the Endnote-substitute is available in a private beta, a public beta is expected soon.
Monday, September 04, 2006
Top scientists fearing climate change
A leading top scientist tell BBC that the world already has entered serious climate change.
Tuesday, August 29, 2006
Opendocument but still Windows Office in Massachussets
This is good news. The most important is that governments and libraries goes for the Opendocument Format, it is not so important how they create their document. See more at this link.
Interesting e-book reader coming soon with Linux
It can read PDF and HTLM files and would be great for all those that want to read much but dont want to print it up on paper. See this link.
Tuesday, August 22, 2006
Take control over your news!
I didnt know it was possible to use the Google Reader on your mobile phone. I have not tested it because I dont use mobile phones.
Here is a interesting list over taking control over news.
One of the most interesting things with these feeds is that you know that everyone that has your feed will be notified automatically when they use their own RSS reader.
Here is a interesting list over taking control over news.
One of the most interesting things with these feeds is that you know that everyone that has your feed will be notified automatically when they use their own RSS reader.
Tuesday, August 15, 2006
The Textbook authors
It will always be a conflict between private incentives and public virtues, but sometimes the world development just makes traditional solutions ridiculous. I wrote an email to the Department of research and education one day and asked if they had any plans for funding a free internet course in Norwegian language with a lot of language games, video-cast, podcast and so on, free available for everyone. They had no such plans. This is a bad policy. There must be a lot of youths, women, men and children out there that of many reasons cant go to the Norwegian courses, but have the possibility to study home, especially if it was free. This could work well for integration. I bought a good computer for a while ago for 900 kroner, and pays little more than 200 kroner for broadband. With this, plus www.ubuntu.com software that is 100 percent free, I am able to read, download and learn a lot more than was possible for even an extremely rich person for just a few years ago. And if the Norwegian state could fund a good site for learning the language, then it would be no problem for new Norwegians to learn the language.
In the last years it has been a public focus on the math education too, and why not the national library fund and administrate basic courses in math?
"Math hasn't changed since Isaac Newton," declares Scott McNealy. So why, he asks, is California paying some $400 million annually to "update" grade-school textbooks?
The private market need competition from the state, and the state has to act in business-like manner sometimes, just like Statoil. That benefit the owners (that is the citizens). Just compare the smart way the Norwegian oil industry is organized compared to the Danish one. Because of this, the Norwegian oil companies has expanded to engineering service operating all over the world.
In the last years it has been a public focus on the math education too, and why not the national library fund and administrate basic courses in math?
"Math hasn't changed since Isaac Newton," declares Scott McNealy. So why, he asks, is California paying some $400 million annually to "update" grade-school textbooks?
The private market need competition from the state, and the state has to act in business-like manner sometimes, just like Statoil. That benefit the owners (that is the citizens). Just compare the smart way the Norwegian oil industry is organized compared to the Danish one. Because of this, the Norwegian oil companies has expanded to engineering service operating all over the world.
Shebaa Farms
A few days ago I found an article about the Shebaa Farms in Wikipedia. Here is another good article about this territory that first nobody wanted, and then everybody want it. A strange story that shows that in the Middle-East, territory is sometimes a proxy for other kind of battles: http://www.worldpoliticswatch.com/article.aspx?id=119
Friday, June 23, 2006
Sunday, May 28, 2006
Saturday, May 20, 2006
Sunday, May 14, 2006
Monday, March 06, 2006
Saturday, March 04, 2006
Wednesday, February 15, 2006
Saturday, February 04, 2006
Google picks Shuttleworth's Ubuntu
Google picks Shuttleworth's Ubuntu: "We are extremely proud to have Google as a client, said Canonical chief operating officer Jane Silber."
Palestine Chronicle - What Would Jesus Do?
Palestine Chronicle - What Would Jesus Do?: "
Where are the pictures of the dead soldiers, the dead women and children in the Western media? Some governments won’t allow it and other media outlets just fear the backlash. When I need journalistic honesty, I have to turn to Al Jazeera, why is that? One cannot even deny the Holocaust in Europe, question 9/11 in America (unless you want the Ward Churchill treatment), but the West claims they’re all about free speech. "
Where are the pictures of the dead soldiers, the dead women and children in the Western media? Some governments won’t allow it and other media outlets just fear the backlash. When I need journalistic honesty, I have to turn to Al Jazeera, why is that? One cannot even deny the Holocaust in Europe, question 9/11 in America (unless you want the Ward Churchill treatment), but the West claims they’re all about free speech. "
Parker: Threats against Danish cartoonists no laughing matter | Chron.com - Houston Chronicle
Parker: Threats against Danish cartoonists no laughing matter | Chron.com - Houston Chronicle: "What we have learned over time is that free expression is society's relief valve, without which aggression and hostility go underground. What eventually bubbles back up to the surface is the sort of spirit that drives today's jihadists. Better to air and view our disagreements by the light of day — in the public forum — rather than wait for them to find expression by darker means."
Tuesday, January 31, 2006
Can Bill even give his software away? A hundred dollars says he can't - ZDNet UK Comment
Can Bill even give his software away? A hundred dollars says he can't - ZDNet UK Comment: "The most curious effect of the $100 laptop isn’t how it’s affecting the very poor, more what it’s doing to the very rich"
LinuxElectrons - Red Hat Teams with MIT Media Lab to Bring $100 Student Laptops to Developing Nations, Emerging Markets
LinuxElectrons - Red Hat Teams with MIT Media Lab to Bring $100 Student Laptops to Developing Nations, Emerging Markets: "'At Red Hat, we believe that open source technology can change the world, and is still in its infancy. It's a guiding principle that is embodied in everything we do,' said Matthew Szulik, chairman, president and CEO of Red Hat. "
Google at work on desktop Linux | Channel Register
Google at work on desktop Linux | Channel Register: "Google has confirmed it is working on a desktop linux project called Goobuntu, but declined to supply further details, including what the project is for."
Monday, January 30, 2006
Saturday, January 28, 2006
LXer: Linux Growth in Developing Countries Soaring Past Microsoft
LXer: Linux Growth in Developing Countries Soaring Past Microsoft: "I understand how the people in India and China think. That same thinking also prevails in Latin America. The educated class has all the money and the vast majority of people have no way to rise on the social ladder. Without education, we cannot compete. even with education, it's hard to get a job. But, you can find jobs, it's just difficult."
Thursday, January 26, 2006
Tuesday, January 24, 2006
DO Channel - Homepage / current:news
DO Channel - Homepage / current:news: "India has finally passed an information legislation, and much to the government’s credit, it has kept its promise of making the newly formulated Right to Information (RTI) Act participatory, progressive and meaningful. Now, however, is the time to move as efficiently and effectively as possible from a duty to furnish information regime to a duty to publish one. "
Friday, January 20, 2006
Gmail Filesystem
Gmail Filesystem: "Gmail Filesystem provides a mountable Linux filesystem which uses your Gmail account as its storage medium. Gmail Filesystem is a Python application and uses the FUSE userland filesystem infrastructure to help provide the filesystem, and libgmail to communicate with Gmail.
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About Koha
About Koha: "Koha is the first open-source Integrated Library System (ILS). In use worldwide, its development is steered by a growing community of libraries collaborating to achieve their technology goals. Koha's impressive feature set continues to evolve and expand to meet the needs of its user base."
Wednesday, January 18, 2006
Sunday, January 15, 2006
Linux.com | Building a Linux home media center
Linux.com | Building a Linux home media center: "The LHMC has been rock solid since I set it up. It has handled all of the tasks that I planned to use it for and then some. The wow factor that I get when people visit is nice too."
Saturday, January 14, 2006
Linux News: Business : World's Second Linux Standards Testing Lab Settles in China
Linux News: Business : World's Second Linux Standards Testing Lab Settles in China: "'It will help promote Linux education and awareness among Chinese IT companies and cut the cost of homemade Linux operating systems,' said Mo Wei, director of the China Electronics Standardization Institute, adding that the lab will provide statistical evidence for the forthcoming national Linux standard."
TECTONIC: African FOSS is on a firm footing: Kagai
TECTONIC: African FOSS is on a firm footing: Kagai: "The conference slogan is: 'Achieving millennium development goals through community software'. "
Wednesday, January 11, 2006
IBM eliminates loo patent - ZDNet UK News
IBM eliminates loo patent - ZDNet UK News: "The computing giant decides not to press claims on a system for reserving a place in the toilet queue. The patent probably should not have been granted in the first place, an expert says"
BBC News | ASIA-PACIFIC | Lawyer moves to patent wheel
BBC News | ASIA-PACIFIC | Lawyer moves to patent wheel: "An Australian man has registered a patent for a 'circular transportation facilitation device' - more commonly known as the wheel."
BBC News | ASIA-PACIFIC | Lawyer moves to patent wheel
BBC News | ASIA-PACIFIC | Lawyer moves to patent wheel: "An Australian man has registered a patent for a 'circular transportation facilitation device' - more commonly known as the wheel."
Tuesday, January 10, 2006
Vanguard - Technology : Open source: The future of IT in Nigeria
Vanguard - Technology : Open source: The future of IT in Nigeria: "As a recent UN summit put it, “to get the economy of a developing country going, its government must stamp out corruption, ramp up efficiency and use open-source technology to build a cheap, reliable information infrastructure...” "
Monday, January 09, 2006
Saturday, January 07, 2006
Consortiuminfo.org Consortium Standards Bulletin- January 2006
Consortiuminfo.org Consortium Standards Bulletin- January 2006: "STANDARDS 2005- THE YEAR IN REVIEW"
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