Slashdot Mirror

In the 80s they found their oil (...)

Actually oil was found in Norway in 1969, and production started in 1971.

"For years, decades even, people have been saying that you can't run an economy on renewable* sources of electricity but Costa Rica is showing that it can be done. Some countries in Europe have a high percentage of the electrical generation from renewable sources at times but nothing close to 100% for 76 days."

Norway generates almost all its power from hydro/renewables, year in and year out. (It rains a lot here too.)

source: https://www.regjeringen.no/no/... (in Norwegian)

There are certainly problems with the F-35 program - you've pointed out quite a few (although other pilots have different opinions on it). However, none of what you say actually refutes this story directly - that is, there's nothing that says the stealth on the plane is actually worse than the article makes it out to be.

The ejection risk is to lightweight pilots ( < 136 lbs / 62 kg). The temporary solution thusfar has just been to ban lightweight pilots from flying it. Ejection is an inherently very stressful act on the body. For lightweight pilots on the F35, it's too stressful.

Only the F-35A has a 25mm cannon at all; obviously systems common to all aircraft have priority. The cannon is new - a lighter and more accurate version of the GAU-12/U. The schedule is for the gun to go online in 2017. It was on schedule last I checked.

As for the GP, I'll let actual pilots of the aircraft respond. And note that that is about dogfighting, an increasingly less relevant portion of an aircraft's activity. The whole philosophy behind the F-35 is to detect and engage targets from further away than they can detect and engage the F-35. Aka, if the F-35 is in a dogfight, it's already done something wrong to begin with.

Okay, here you go. Want another? ;)

Whatever it is, I think it will be inside a mountain. Maybe there should be an digital computer version of the 10,000 year clock (mechanical not electrical) or something like the Svalbard Global Seed Vault.

Pretty much that. Even Norway tossed it after trials

fyi, that bbc article was utter nonsense, just plain wrong in almost every aspect:
http://www.regjeringen.no/en/d...

They might be surprised if they expect their costs to be significantly reduced. The top graph here shows the average contribution in taxes/expenses for people of a certain age. What can you say from that graph? Mostly that the very healthy and long-lived are very expensive to the government, in fact if you've worked a few decades and die at 50 you're not actually a net expense. Note that the graph doesn't add to zero since this is per person and obviously there's rather few 100 year olds, but if you multiply by population at that age it ought to be roughly balanced.

Here's the thing, everybody dies the only question is how. A long, protracted decline with failing health is far more expensive than the people that, sorry to be blunt, drop dead. Middle-aged people, even if they've attracted something serious like lung cancer from smoking or heart attacks from obesity tend to either die or recover, either way it's not that expensive. Meanwhile your 90 year old that's been in and out of hospital and made his slow recoveries has been a big expense, never mind the pensions, retirement homes, nursing homes and various other forms of aid. At least on average.

We've been able to have a retirement age because the cost of carrying people to the end of their lives haven't been all that big. But now more and more people are having sunset decades instead of sunset years and they don't want to work longer just because they live longer. And with longer education, work life is possibly even getting shorter. Study until you're 25, work until you're 65, live until you're 85 - that's more than half your life not working. Top that off with people that are unfit to work - or perhaps more relevant today, out of work - and society is struggling.

At the current predictions, I'd have to work until I'm 70. It's great that maybe we've added five years to the average lifespan so I'll be 90 instead of 85. But to make up for it you will have to take three year from 67 to 70 and turn retirement years into working years. Like so many countries in Europe are finding out now, the government can't make that money for nothing. The cost to keep me alive is coming out of my own hide, one way or the other. If I were to stuff myself full of things to I choke at 70 instead of 90, I should be rewarded not punished.

If cities and districts shall have equal broadband access then everyone should be able to get high-speed broadband with a minimum capacity if 50/10 Mbit/s and mobil broadband with minimum 8/1 Mbit/s.

-A well-developed broadband nett is a precondition for the development of welfare services, economical development in the districts, and to ensure all citizens equal access to information. Broadband is a fundamental infrastructure of society, equal with roads, water and electricity.

These statements followed the release of a report "Mål og virkemidler for bredere bredbånd" (only in Norwegian so far). "Goals and means for broader broadband."
A rapport from 07.07.2009 (also only in Norwegian); estimated that the coverage of broadband in Norway (defined as minimum 640 kbit/s capacity) was now at 99,9%. A few years back it was decided that full internet coverage, or as close as it was possible to get (Norway have some mountainous areas that are devilishly hard to cover), should be official policy of the Norwegian Government.

If cities and districts shall have equal broadband access then everyone should be able to get high-speed broadband with a minimum capacity if 50/10 Mbit/s and mobil broadband with minimum 8/1 Mbit/s.

-A well-developed broadband nett is a precondition for the development of welfare services, economical development in the districts, and to ensure all citizens equal access to information. Broadband is a fundamental infrastructure of society, equal with roads, water and electricity.

These statements followed the release of a report "Mål og virkemidler for bredere bredbånd" (only in Norwegian so far). "Goals and means for broader broadband."
A rapport from 07.07.2009 (also only in Norwegian); estimated that the coverage of broadband in Norway (defined as minimum 640 kbit/s capacity) was now at 99,9%. A few years back it was decided that full internet coverage, or as close as it was possible to get (Norway have some mountainous areas that are devilishly hard to cover), should be official policy of the Norwegian Government.

If cities and districts shall have equal broadband access then everyone should be able to get high-speed broadband with a minimum capacity if 50/10 Mbit/s and mobil broadband with minimum 8/1 Mbit/s.

-A well-developed broadband nett is a precondition for the development of welfare services, economical development in the districts, and to ensure all citizens equal access to information. Broadband is a fundamental infrastructure of society, equal with roads, water and electricity.

These statements followed the release of a report "Mål og virkemidler for bredere bredbånd" (only in Norwegian so far). "Goals and means for broader broadband."
A rapport from 07.07.2009 (also only in Norwegian); estimated that the coverage of broadband in Norway (defined as minimum 640 kbit/s capacity) was now at 99,9%. A few years back it was decided that full internet coverage, or as close as it was possible to get (Norway have some mountainous areas that are devilishly hard to cover), should be official policy of the Norwegian Government.

If cities and districts shall have equal broadband access then everyone should be able to get high-speed broadband with a minimum capacity if 50/10 Mbit/s and mobil broadband with minimum 8/1 Mbit/s.

-A well-developed broadband nett is a precondition for the development of welfare services, economical development in the districts, and to ensure all citizens equal access to information. Broadband is a fundamental infrastructure of society, equal with roads, water and electricity.

These statements followed the release of a report "Mål og virkemidler for bredere bredbånd" (only in Norwegian so far). "Goals and means for broader broadband."
A rapport from 07.07.2009 (also only in Norwegian); estimated that the coverage of broadband in Norway (defined as minimum 640 kbit/s capacity) was now at 99,9%. A few years back it was decided that full internet coverage, or as close as it was possible to get (Norway have some mountainous areas that are devilishly hard to cover), should be official policy of the Norwegian Government.

If cities and districts shall have equal broadband access then everyone should be able to get high-speed broadband with a minimum capacity if 50/10 Mbit/s and mobil broadband with minimum 8/1 Mbit/s.

-A well-developed broadband nett is a precondition for the development of welfare services, economical development in the districts, and to ensure all citizens equal access to information. Broadband is a fundamental infrastructure of society, equal with roads, water and electricity.

These statements followed the release of a report "Mål og virkemidler for bredere bredbånd" (only in Norwegian so far). "Goals and means for broader broadband."
A rapport from 07.07.2009 (also only in Norwegian); estimated that the coverage of broadband in Norway (defined as minimum 640 kbit/s capacity) was now at 99,9%. A few years back it was decided that full internet coverage, or as close as it was possible to get (Norway have some mountainous areas that are devilishly hard to cover), should be official policy of the Norwegian Government.

Norway is stuffing their oil money into a "sovereign wealth fund" for when the oil runs out

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sovereign_wealth_fund#Size_of_SWFs

http://www.regjeringen.no/en/dep/fin/Selected-topics/The-Government-Pension-Fund.html?id=1441

New report: The government must use the culture of sharing on the Internet

Web users wish to spread information from public sources through internet communities. However, there is a risk that the government is slowing down this process, according to the report eCitizen 2.0, received by Minister of Government administration and reform, Ms. Heidi Grande RÃys, recently.

- There are enormous possibilities for dialogue and distribution of information, if the government and the users of web communities are cooperating. This report will provide us with better knowledge of how the government can meet the citizens where they are, Ms Grande RÃys says.

The second title of the report, which has been commissioned by the Ministry from the research institution SINTEF, is âoeThe ordinary citizen as provider of public information?â SINTEF recommends that the public sector to a larger extent must regard the citizens as collaborating partners rather than as passive recipients of information.

- Todayâ(TM)s web users expect to be able to share and edit texts, pictures and videos they find on the internet. The challenge will be to create a culture of sharing, in which public information is distributed by the citizens themselves, without losing important content or trust in the process, Grande RÃys says.

The recommendations from the researchers imply that public information should be made freely available and reusable, and that public institutions to a larger extent must be willing to experiment and take risks. The report mentions examples of innovative services from other countries, like the US and Great Britain.

- There is a lot of useful government reform in an active ICT policy providing possibilities for inclusion, sharing, openness and dialogue. This is all about the ability of the government administration to be innovative in developing public services, and how we can improve our services by utilizing the usersâ(TM) competence, the minister says.

eCitizen2.0 - The ordinary citizen as a supplier of public-sector information (PDF) The report is made by Petter Bae Brandtzæg and Marika Lüders in SINTEF.

SINTEF:

The SINTEF Group is the largest independent research organisation in Scandinavia. Every year, SINTEF supports the development of 2000 or so Norwegian and overseas companies via our research and development activity.

Business concept
SINTEF's goal is to contribute to wealth creation and to the sound and sustainable development of society. We generate new knowledge and solutions for our customers, based on research and development in technology, the natural sciences, medicine and the social sciences. /quote

The Norwegian Government has decided that all information on state-operated web sites should be accessible in the open document formats HTML, PDF or ODF. This means an end to the time when public documents are published in closed formats only.

- Everybody should have equal access to public information. From 2009 on, Norwegian citizens will be able to freely choose which software to use to get access to information from public offices. More competition between suppliers of office programs will be another effect of the government's decision, Minister of Government Administration and Reform Heidi Grande RÃys says.

The Government's decision is as follows:

* HTML will be the primary format for publishing public information on the Internet.
* PDF (PDF 1.4 and later or PDF/A ISO 19005-1) is obligatory when there is a wish to keep a document's original appearance.
* ODF (ISO/IEC 26300) is to be used to publish documents to which the user should be able to make changes after downloading, e.g. public forms to be filled out by the user. This format is also made obligatory.

- For many years, Norway had no specific software policy. This is now changing. Our government has decided that ICT development in the public sector shall be based on open standards. In the future, we won't accept that government bodies are locking users of public information to closed formats, Ms Grande RÃys says.

The new demands will take effect from January 1, 2009 for state bodies. The Ministry of Government Administration and Reform will be working to formulate regulations making this obligatory for municipal organs as well. The Government's aim is that the regulations should take force from January 1, 2009.

The government decision does not prevent state bodies from using other document formats in their communication with the users, provided that the documents also are produced in one of the obligatory formats, ODF or PDF.

Heidi Grande RÃys says that state and municipal organs as well should be able to receive documents in these formats from their users and partners. - This is the first step in standardising document formats. We are also considering formats for document exchange with the public sector and for the exchange of documents within the public sector, Ms Grande RÃys says.

A list of obligatory and recommended standards in the public sector according to the Government's recent decision is to be found in Referansekatalog for IT-standarder i offentlig sektor (Reference catalogue of IT standards in the public sector, Norwegian edition only).

From regjeringen.no

Currently they are considering what standards to use for audio and video; the current policy of Open Standards apply.

The government's web site in English is at http://www.regjeringen.no/en.html?id=4

I didn't dig much, but all I could find was either html or pdf. There's a hearing document out mandating open standard formats for communication between local governments as well. And more on topic: Under a previous, non-Labour government, Microsoft tried to get schools to subscribe to a Windows-only system where MS was going to get paid for every computer in the school - including Macs and Linux machines. The government put its foot down and each school district now negotiates for itself.

Norway have made a start, requiring documents on government web-sites be available in open standards formats.

http://www.regjeringen.no/en/dep/fad/press-centre/press-releases/2007/open-document-standards-to-be-obligatory.html?id=494810

You'd be surprised how many web-sites turn out not to be "state-operated" and thus still have documents only available in proprietary formats though. This also doesn't cover documents made available via other means (such as e-mail).

I have it on good authority that eventually all documents, including other media such as audio and video, will be required to be in open formats.

- Norway has so far lacked a policy regarding the area of software. This have now changed. This Cabinet has decided that IT-development in the public sector shall be based upon Open Standards. In the future we will not accept that State activities locks users of public information to Locked Formats. - Heidi Grande Røys (Minister of Government Administration and Reform).

Microsoft might play their games to hinder development as much as they can, but at least in this country the turn towards Open Standards seems inevitable.

Creation of a broadband infrastructure is an important part of our [the party coalition in Government] goals for the districts. We can not accept that anyone in this country becomes losers in the digital evolution. Broadband also gives opportunities for economic development and growth. To ensure full broadband coverage the Government has decided to stimulate faster expansions of the infrastructure; especially in those areas were it isn't commercially profitable to do so.

Think of this as you will; but despite my disagreements with some of the things said and done by various ministers and the government in general; at one point I agree. Full broadband coverage is essential to modern life. It is a means of communication, of gaining information about what is happening, of paying your bills if the nearest bank is a day away, or an important tool for education or self-education. And much much more. Providing full coverage with affordable broadband should be a goal for any country that wish to ensure their citizens grain a high degree of familiarity with technology; and wish to remain competitive in the global market.

Creation of a broadband infrastructure is an important part of our [the party coalition in Government] goals for the districts. We can not accept that anyone in this country becomes losers in the digital evolution. Broadband also gives opportunities for economic development and growth. To ensure full broadband coverage the Government has decided to stimulate faster expansions of the infrastructure; especially in those areas were it isn't commercially profitable to do so.

Think of this as you will; but despite my disagreements with some of the things said and done by various ministers and the government in general; at one point I agree. Full broadband coverage is essential to modern life. It is a means of communication, of gaining information about what is happening, of paying your bills if the nearest bank is a day away, or an important tool for education or self-education. And much much more. Providing full coverage with affordable broadband should be a goal for any country that wish to ensure their citizens grain a high degree of familiarity with technology; and wish to remain competitive in the global market.

The law is like that in Norway: I can give you any and all rights to my works, no problem whatsoever. The only thing I cannot sign-away, is the right to be considered the author of the work.

You also cannot sign away the right to prevent your work from being altered in a way that is prejudicial to yourself, nor the right to demand that your name be removed from such an alteration, nor the right to demand that such an alteration explain that the alterations are not yours. All of this is in para 3 of Norwegian copyright law.

If you agree publishing rights to your work there are some further specially protected and one non-waivable rights in para 39e. The non-waivable part seems to be that 15 years after initial publication you are allowed to include your work in a collection of your own works but you must give the original publisher a chance to publish this new work before offering it to anyone else.

There are also some non-waivable rights to do with the handling of original copies of artwork. That is, if you produce a painting then you retain some non-waivable rights to that original painting regardless of who you sell it to etc. As far as I can tell, you are entitled to a certain percentage of the resale price when the item is traded via certain channels (para 38).

That's what I could find by a quick search for "waiv" in the English version of the law. I am not a lawyer, I just know how to use Acrobat Reader's search function.

For anyone who is interested, this is the (unofficial) English text of the law:
http://www.regjeringen.no/upload/KKD/Medier/Acts%20and%20regulations/Aandsverkloven_engelsk_versjon_nov2008.pdf

According to the Norwegian Government's Reference Catalogue for IT Standards in Government Sector OOXML is currently "under observation". If OOXML is approved as an ISO standard, it could imply that government bodies in Norway will be able to choose between OOXML and ODF for editable documents.

The circular. I think this is missing some details that were recommended (like don't encrypt your postscript) that may appear elsewhere.

As I have tried to indicate in other posts on this topic, Monsanto has no involvement whatsoever. No involvement in the design, planning, funding, or stocking of the seed vault. NONE. Rumors start and soon get out of control. But, if one wishes to check the facts, take a look at the Norwegian government website: http://www.regjeringen.no/en/dep/lmd/campain/svalbard-global-seed-vault.html?id=462220 or, look at: www.croptrust.org

While they are mandating the use of an open, but specific format, the specified formats are not required to be used to the exclusion of any other format

FTFA:
"The information can be published in other formats in addition, as long as they are also published in one of the mandatory formats."

The original press release can be found at the Norwegian Government's website(Norwegian). Following the translated text above, it goes on to say "...one of the mandatory formats, e.g. MicroSoft's DOC format, provided the document is also available as ODF or PDF"