Showing headlines posted by beirwin

"Feds (Canada) passing up chance to preserve, share nation's cultural heritage. Europe been particularly aggressive about its digitization efforts." Luckily there are a number of provincial and local initiative across the country to preserve Canadian culture. [I thought this would be of interest to LXer readers, in particular the Canadians and Europeans. - Barbara

"The city of Amsterdam has been involved for several years in building Citynet, a partnership between the city and two private investors to wire 40,000 Amsterdam buildings with fiber. And it's not just fiber, it's open access fiber—any ISP can sign up to use the infrastructure and deliver ultra-fast Internet access."

[This article dates back to 2010-03 and was forwarded to me by one of our readers (Thank you Barbara), I thought it might be of interest - Scott]

"Canadian copyright law promises to dominate discussion in Ottawa over the coming weeks as hearings on Bill C-32, the controversial copyright bill, are set to begin within a few days."

Younger people online are more willing to share info. Must they give up safeguards? Last week hundreds of privacy regulators, corporate officers and activists gathered in Jerusalem, Israel for the annual Data Protection and Privacy Commissioner Conference. The conference theme focused on the perception of a growing privacy divide between generations, with older and younger demographics seemingly adopting sharply different views on the importance of privacy.

[I figure if I can Google myself, why try hiding.. - Scott]

Version 5.9.6 of PLplot has been released. PLplot is a cross-platform, scientific graphics plotting library.

Michael Geist writes: "In the years before the emergence of the Internet, three online service providers battled in the United States for market supremacy. America Online (later AOL), Prodigy and Compuserve each adopted "walled garden" strategies that pinned their hopes on exclusive content to attract large subscriber bases." History has shown that "walled gardens" don't work (except if you're a gardener!).

Michael Geist writes about: "Three key competition concerns driving CRTC [Canadian Radio-television Telecommunications Commission] Internet provider policy."

[This story continues to unfold -- will keep you posted. - Barbara]

The introduction of long-awaited copyright reform legislation has generated considerable discussion among Canadians about whether the latest bill strikes the right balance. While concern over Bill C-32's digital lock rules has garnered the lion share of attention with expressions of concern from all opposition parties and a wide range of stakeholders, the other major issue in the bill is the extension of fair dealing -- Canada's version of fair use -- to cover education, parody, and satire.

"Canada is currently negotiating two major international trade agreements whose success may ultimately depend on the level of protection provided to Parma ham."

[Food might ultimately doom ACTA..excellent. - beirwin]

Apple begins selling the latest version of its iPhone this week in the United States, and while the device will not be sold in Canada until mid-July, Canadians will be among the few that will have the opportunity to purchase it "unlocked" so that it is not tied to any specific wireless carrier.

Version 5.9.6 of PLplot has been released. PLplot is a cross-platform, scientific graphics plotting library.

This afternoon, the government introduced the Copyright Modernization Act (or Bill C-32), the long-awaited copyright reform bill [the bill is not yet online, but I attended the media lockup in Montreal]. It is nearly two years since C-61 was introduced and nearly a year since the national copyright consultation, yet discouragingly some things have not changed. The digital lock provisions are by far the biggest flaw in the bill. There will undoubtedly be attacks on the fair dealing reforms and pressure to repeal them, along with the U.S. and the copyright lobby demanding that their digital lock provisions be left untouched. If Canadians stay quiet, both are distinct possibilities. If they speak out, perhaps the bill can be fixed. [To fellow Canadian LXers: don't stay quiet -- let's rock and roll on this to get things changed, especially the Digital Lock provisions. Barbara].

Media reports last week indicated that the government plans to introduce its long-awaited copyright reform bill within the next few days. The bill is sure to spark widespread debate since all Canadians -- whether consumers, creators, businesses, or educators -- have a significant stake in the outcome.

Last fall, the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) issued its much-anticipated Internet traffic management ruling, better known as the "Net neutrality decision." The case attracted national interest because the CRTC established several key requirements for Canada's Internet providers.

This article shows the differences between KDE 4 and KDE 3, examines the new features, and gives clear instructions on how to get from 3 to 4. For parts 2 and 3 in this series click on Next Hidden Linux --> at the bottom right of the screen.

[I found this article when searching for info. on transitioning from KDE3 to KDE4 - Barbara]

The Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement negotiations continue in a few hours as Seoul, Korea plays host to the latest round of talks. The governments have posted the meeting agenda, which unsurprisingly focuses on the issue of Internet enforcement.

[Michael Geist reveals some of the truly scary and draconian elements of Internet control contained in this proposed draft agreement - Barbara]

The Ubuntu Linux menagerie has birthed a new creature, the Karmic Koala, with the release last week of Ubuntu Linux 9.10. The successor to the release code named Jaunty Jackalope (aka version 9.04) boasts a herd of changes and enhancements that are so far making testers smile. [This review appeared in Canada's National Newspaper - Barbara]

Canada's big Internet carriers have scored a major victory, as the telecommunication regulator ruled it is okay for them to slow down some of the Web traffic travelling to customers' personal computers – as long as the companies explain ahead of time what they are doing.

[In typical Canadian fashion, a middle ground was struck here. Disclosure and privacy rules were imposed on the ISPs, which is good. - Barbara]

Version 5.9.5 of PLplot has been released. PLplot is a cross-platform, scientific graphics plotting library.

Canadian director Ron Mann is testing a new method of movie distribution, releasing his documentary Know Your Mushrooms on a customized USB stick.

[This made my day -- a movie director that encourages sharing -- major coolness. Barbara]