git://git.nikiroo.be / gofetch.git / blame
| Commit | Line | Data |
|---|---|---|
| 299a08f3 NR |
1 | ICELANDERS SEEK TO KEEP REMOTE NORDIC PENINSULA DIGITAL-FREE \r |
| 2 | (APNEWS.COM) \r | |
| 3 | \r | |
| 4 | Thursday September 06, 2018 @11:30PM (BeauHD)\r | |
| 5 | from the no-cellphones-allowed dept.\r | |
| 6 | \r | |
| c715ea02 | 7 | o Reference: 0102641672\r |
| 299a08f3 NR |
8 | o News link: https://mobile.slashdot.org/story/18/09/06/235254/icelanders-seek-to-keep-remote-nordic-peninsula-digital-free\r |
| 9 | o Source link: https://www.apnews.com/71cdfb7b1c2245069a6f681f8b8f906f/Wired-Icelanders-seek-to-keep-remote-peninsula-digital-free\r | |
| 10 | \r | |
| 11 | \r | |
| 12 | Hikers, park rangers, and summer residents of Iceland's\r | |
| e818d449 NR |
13 | northernmost peninsula are [1]seeking to keep the area free\r |
| 14 | from internet service , worrying that all that comes with it\r | |
| 15 | "will destroy a way of life that depends on the absence of\r | |
| 16 | [email, news, and social media]," reports the Associated\r | |
| 17 | Press. "The area has long resisted cell towers, but commercial\r | |
| 18 | initiatives could take the decision out of Icelanders' hands\r | |
| 19 | and push Hornstrandir across the digital divide." From the\r | |
| 20 | report:\r | |
| 21 | \r | |
| 22 | > Despite or because of its remoteness, Iceland ranks first on\r | |
| 23 | a U.N. index comparing nations by information technology use,\r | |
| 299a08f3 NR |
24 | with roughly 98 percent of the population using the internet.\r |
| 25 | Among adults, 93 percent report having Facebook accounts and\r | |
| 26 | two-thirds are Snapchat users, according to pollster MMR. Many\r | |
| 27 | people who live in northwestern Iceland or visit as outdoor\r | |
| 28 | enthusiasts want Hornstrandir's 570 square kilometers (220\r | |
| 29 | square miles), which accounts for 0.6 percent of Iceland's\r | |
| 30 | land mass, to be declared a "digital-free zone." The idea\r | |
| 31 | hasn't coalesced into a petition or formal campaign, so what\r | |
| 32 | it would require or prohibit hasn't been fleshed out. The last\r | |
| 33 | full-time resident of the rugged area moved away in 1952 -- it\r | |
| 34 | never was an easy place to farm -- but many descendants have\r | |
| e818d449 NR |
35 | turned family farmsteads into summer getaways.\r |
| 36 | \r | |
| 37 | Northwest Iceland's representative, Halla Signy\r | |
| 38 | Kristjansdottir, is in favor of adding cell towers for the\r | |
| 39 | safety of sailors and travelers in the area. "I don't see\r | |
| 40 | anything romantic about lying on the ground with a broken\r | |
| 41 | thigh bone and no cellphone signal," Kristjansdottir said in\r | |
| 42 | an interview.\r | |
| 43 | \r | |
| 44 | \r | |
| 45 | \r | |
| 46 | [1] https://www.apnews.com/71cdfb7b1c2245069a6f681f8b8f906f/Wi-\r | |
| 47 | red-Icelanders-seek-to-keep-remote-peninsula-digital-free\r | |
| 299a08f3 NR |
48 | \r |
| 49 | \r | |
| 50 | ** Yeah it's real annoying (Score:3, Insightful)\r | |
| 51 | (by Crashmarik ( 635988 ))\r | |
| 52 | \r | |
| 53 | \r | |
| 54 | You're out in the wilderness and somebody's WiFi is screwing up\r | |
| 55 | the colors of the forest and making everything look strange,\r | |
| 56 | while the cell towers are driving the wildlife nuts. / sarcasm\r | |
| 57 | I'd love to hear these people justify how this in anyway\r | |
| 58 | diminishes them.\r | |
| 59 | \r | |
| 60 | ** Because people no longer have self discipline? (Score:3)\r | |
| 61 | (by thesupraman ( 179040 ))\r | |
| 62 | \r | |
| 63 | \r | |
| 64 | Because they CAN get Farcebook, I guess they Must get\r | |
| 65 | Farcebook.\r | |
| 66 | I mean, you would think they could just choose to turn off\r | |
| 67 | their devices, not bring a charger, whatever.\r | |
| 68 | Although knowing people from such areas, I suspect it is more\r | |
| 69 | about giving one big finger to 'thems city folks' (even if\r | |
| 70 | most of these people live in the cit\y most of the time).\r | |
| 71 | Anyway, good on them for caring, but good luck in keeping\r | |
| 72 | such things out. The safety point is also quite valid.\r | |
| 73 | \r | |
| 74 | ** Re: (Score:3, Interesting)\r | |
| 75 | (by ShanghaiBill ( 739463 ))\r | |
| 76 | \r | |
| 77 | \r | |
| 78 | > I mean, you would think they could just choose to turn off\r | |
| 79 | > their devices\r | |
| 80 | They don't want to just stop using Facebook, they want\r | |
| 81 | their NEIGHBORS to stop using it too.\r | |
| 82 | This isn't about self-control. It is about controlling\r | |
| 83 | others, which is a near universal human desire.\r | |
| 84 | \r | |
| 85 | \r | |
| 86 | ** Re: (Score:3)\r | |
| 87 | (by e3m4n ( 947977 ))\r | |
| 88 | \r | |
| 89 | \r | |
| 90 | exactly. I just posted a more descriptive explanation of\r | |
| 91 | that very thing a thread above this one. Sometimes it's\r | |
| 92 | easier to buy a vacation that makes the choice for you,\r | |
| 93 | than having to, repeatedly, make the same choice\r | |
| 94 | throughout the entire vacation. Picking a destination that\r | |
| 95 | has no access means you can re-focus on other forms of\r | |
| 96 | entertainment. Its easy to fall back into habits. By\r | |
| 97 | picking a spot with no access, you are not fighting\r | |
| 98 | temptation, and i dare say withdrawal, the entire time.\r | |
| 99 | The price of vacati\r | |
| 100 | \r | |
| 101 | \r | |
| 102 | \r | |
| 103 | ** Re:Yeah it's real annoying (Score:5, Informative)\r | |
| 104 | (by Rei ( 128717 ))\r | |
| 105 | \r | |
| 106 | \r | |
| 107 | Forest? *snicker*. Here's the joke everyone over the age of 8\r | |
| 108 | here knows:\r | |
| 109 | Q: What do you do if you get lost in an Icelandic forest?\r | |
| 110 | A: Stand up.\r | |
| 111 | I've actually not been to Hornstrandir; it's been on my TODO\r | |
| 112 | list for a long, long time, but I've lacked one of the\r | |
| 113 | obligatory "round tuits". So it's actually surprising to hear\r | |
| 114 | that there's not internet access (via cell towers) there,\r | |
| 115 | because in general even the most remote places here have cell\r | |
| 116 | access. When Bárðarbunga erupted, deep in the highlands, the\r | |
| 117 | eruption was livestreamed. And there's a lot more people in\r | |
| 118 | Vestfirðir then in the highlands!\r | |
| 119 | This would of course be more about visitors than residents,\r | |
| 120 | given that there's no permanent residents in Hornstrandir.\r | |
| 121 | And in some ways I can sympathize. For example, there's\r | |
| 122 | always a lot of opposition to improving the highland roads\r | |
| 123 | because we don't want to have more cars driving through and\r | |
| 124 | tons of people flooding in, and driving really fast on some\r | |
| 125 | paved road would totally change the experience of going into\r | |
| 126 | the highlands... it would just turn into a set of "sites to\r | |
| 127 | see" rather than a journey. The effect of the isolation on\r | |
| 128 | you can really be profound. You feel like a person exploring\r | |
| 129 | Mars - so tiny in an endless empty expanse, completely devoid\r | |
| 130 | of any signs of human civilization except the\r | |
| 131 | half-bulldozed-out "road" you take, the endless travel\r | |
| 132 | punctured by rushes of adrenaline as you try to ford a river\r | |
| 133 | or trying to avoid ruining your car crossing a lava field.\r | |
| 134 | And people who know that experience generally don't want to\r | |
| 135 | see it altered. So I imagine it's the same thing for\r | |
| 136 | Hornstrandir. The difference being, as previously mentioned,\r | |
| 137 | in much of the highlands there's cell coverage. At least as\r | |
| 138 | far as I know, when I go out I'm not checking Facebook all\r | |
| 139 | the time. ;) But I don't recall any meaningful loss of\r | |
| 140 | coverage events.\r | |
| 141 | ED: Just checked [1]a map [wp.com] from my cell provider.\r | |
| 142 | Looks like most of Hornstrandir is indeed marked in white (no\r | |
| 143 | coverage), while most of the highlands is light blue (2G) or\r | |
| 144 | in some places blue (3G) - even a good chunk of Vatnajökull\r | |
| 145 | (largest glacier in Europe).\r | |
| 146 | \r | |
| 147 | \r | |
| 148 | \r | |
| 149 | \r | |
| 150 | [1]\r | |
| 151 | https://i2.wp.com/www.icelandnorthernlightshq.com/wp-content/-\r | |
| 152 | uploads/2015/06/Screen-Shot-2015-06-27-at-09.57.16.png?ssl=1\r | |
| 153 | \r | |
| 154 | \r | |
| 155 | ** Re: (Score:3)\r | |
| 156 | (by e3m4n ( 947977 ))\r | |
| 157 | \r | |
| 158 | \r | |
| 159 | Actually this intrigues me. I go on cruises for the same\r | |
| 160 | getaway. Sure one can declare a weekend of no devices or\r | |
| 161 | technology, but theres always something that comes up that\r | |
| 162 | eventually screws that up. I go on cruises with the family\r | |
| 163 | and we do not buy the internet package. The fact that its\r | |
| 164 | ridiculously expensive helps 'cut the cord' when on vacation.\r | |
| 165 | The most online time the kids ever experience is when we pull\r | |
| 166 | into a port and visit a place that has 'free wifi'; giving\r | |
| 167 | them 30-60 min of checking their email\r | |
| 168 | \r | |
| 169 | \r | |
| 170 | ** Re: (Score:3)\r | |
| 171 | (by GumphMaster ( 772693 ))\r | |
| 172 | \r | |
| 173 | \r | |
| 174 | > You're out in the wilderness and somebody's ...\r | |
| 175 | bloody mobile phone is playing something loosely called\r | |
| 176 | "music" over the shittiest, tinny piezoelectric "speaker" you\r | |
| 177 | ever heard. I have personally experienced this scenario while\r | |
| 178 | walking the Milford Track (NZ) and in Torres del Payne\r | |
| 179 | (Chile). I can only imagine how much worse it would be _with_\r | |
| 180 | coverage: Youtube videos turned up to 11, incessant need to\r | |
| 181 | share the latest "news" from home, inattentive walking in\r | |
| 182 | dangerous places etc. If your region's livelihood depends on\r | |
| 183 | people coming to experience wil\r | |
| 184 | \r | |
| 185 | \r | |
| 186 | ** Satellite Internet (Score:2)\r | |
| 187 | (by crow ( 16139 ))\r | |
| 188 | \r | |
| 189 | \r | |
| 190 | We may only be a few years away from Starlink or something\r | |
| 191 | similar providing practical high-bandwidth Internet service\r | |
| 192 | globally. So they may hold back the tide a bit longer, but the\r | |
| 193 | reality is that modern communications will become a fact of life\r | |
| 194 | everywhere for anyone that wants it. Yes, that will mean some\r | |
| 195 | significant changes to the lifestyles of the people living\r | |
| 196 | there, and yes, it won't all be for the better, but I don't see\r | |
| 197 | the point of fighting it now.\r | |
| 198 | \r | |
| 199 | ** Re: (Score:2)\r | |
| 200 | (by rossdee ( 243626 ))\r | |
| 201 | \r | |
| 202 | \r | |
| 203 | How far north are we talking about? Satellite coverage is\r | |
| 204 | always going to be a problem at the poles\r | |
| 205 | \r | |
| 206 | ** Re:Satellite Internet (Score:4, Informative)\r | |
| 207 | (by quenda ( 644621 ))\r | |
| 208 | \r | |
| 209 | \r | |
| 210 | > Satellite coverage is always going to be a problem at the\r | |
| 211 | > poles\r | |
| 212 | No, that applies to geosynchronous broadcast satellites,\r | |
| 213 | but not to LEO constellations such as Starlink or\r | |
| 214 | Irridium.\r | |
| 215 | \r | |
| 216 | \r | |
| 217 | ** Re: (Score:3)\r | |
| 218 | (by crow ( 16139 ))\r | |
| 219 | \r | |
| 220 | \r | |
| 221 | Good point. A quick look at Google Maps suggests around 66\r | |
| 222 | degrees north. I'm not the best a geography, and I had\r | |
| 223 | thought Iceland was a bit further south. I didn't realize\r | |
| 224 | it was north of the southern tip of Greenland. That could\r | |
| 225 | well be outside the range of satellite Internet, depending\r | |
| 226 | on the orbits involved. I have no idea what the plans are.\r | |
| 227 | \r | |
| 228 | ** Re: (Score:3)\r | |
| 229 | (by Mashiki ( 184564 ))\r | |
| 230 | \r | |
| 231 | \r | |
| 232 | Seem to remember there was active satellite links in\r | |
| 233 | Resolute, Nvt.(74deg/N), so I don't think that's a\r | |
| 234 | problem. The real problem was the astronomical cost of\r | |
| 235 | those links, short of a stationary polar orbit\r | |
| 236 | satellite there is no real way to keep it cheap. So\r | |
| 237 | they've been building fiber as a replacement since\r | |
| 238 | 2012ish for the far north remote communities at least\r | |
| 239 | here in Canada. I think Resolute was finished in\r | |
| 240 | 2016ish or so.\r | |
| 241 | \r | |
| 242 | \r | |
| 243 | \r | |
| 244 | \r | |
| 245 | ** Fuck yes. (Score:3)\r | |
| 246 | (by DogDude ( 805747 ))\r | |
| 247 | \r | |
| 248 | \r | |
| 249 | Fuck yes, I fucking love Icelanders. I'm so sick of seeing\r | |
| 250 | smartphone zombies everywhere. The addicts and the stupid will\r | |
| 251 | be addicted and stupid anywhere there's an Internet connection.\r | |
| 252 | What a wonderful, thoughtful, human decision to make. Wonderful\r | |
| 253 | idea.\r | |
| 254 | \r | |
| 255 | ** Re: (Score:2)\r | |
| 256 | (by Gojira Shipi-Taro ( 465802 ))\r | |
| 257 | \r | |
| 258 | \r | |
| 259 | I don't see it as thoughtful or "human" at all. Simply\r | |
| 260 | reactionary.\r | |
| 261 | As long as EVERYONE in that area agrees, fine.\r | |
| 262 | \r | |
| 263 | \r | |
| 264 | ** safety, use a friggin' PLB (Score:1)\r | |
| 265 | (by Anonymous Coward)\r | |
| 266 | \r | |
| 267 | \r | |
| 268 | I spend a lot of time in the woods of British Columbia, Canada.\r | |
| 269 | There is no celphone coverage in probably 95% of our\r | |
| 270 | woods/wilderness. I don't ask for cel towers, I carry a Personal\r | |
| 271 | Locator Beacon (PLB) for safety. If it is that important to\r | |
| 272 | someone to be connected, let them use satellite. We don't need\r | |
| 273 | more cel coverage for narcisists.\r | |
| 274 | \r | |
| 275 | \r |