generated is better than vendor in this case

[gofetch.git] / test / expected / SLASHDOT / 0102641672

    ICELANDERS SEEK TO KEEP REMOTE NORDIC PENINSULA DIGITAL-FREE   
                            (APNEWS.COM)                           

  Thursday September 06, 2018 @11:30PM (BeauHD)
  from the no-cellphones-allowed dept.

  o Reference: 0102641672
  o News link: https://mobile.slashdot.org/story/18/09/06/235254/icelanders-seek-to-keep-remote-nordic-peninsula-digital-free
  o Source link: https://www.apnews.com/71cdfb7b1c2245069a6f681f8b8f906f/Wired-Icelanders-seek-to-keep-remote-peninsula-digital-free


    Hikers,   park  rangers,  and  summer  residents  of  Iceland's
    northernmost  peninsula  are  [1]seeking  to keep the area free
    from  internet  service  , worrying that all that comes with it
    "will  destroy  a  way  of  life that depends on the absence of
    [email,  news,  and  social  media],"  reports  the  Associated
    Press.  "The area has long resisted cell towers, but commercial
    initiatives  could  take  the decision out of Icelanders' hands
    and  push  Hornstrandir  across  the  digital divide." From the
    report:
    
    >  Despite or because of its remoteness, Iceland ranks first on
    a  U.N.  index comparing nations by information technology use,
    with  roughly  98 percent of the population using the internet.
    Among  adults,  93  percent report having Facebook accounts and
    two-thirds  are Snapchat users, according to pollster MMR. Many
    people  who  live  in  northwestern Iceland or visit as outdoor
    enthusiasts  want  Hornstrandir's  570  square  kilometers (220
    square  miles),  which  accounts  for  0.6 percent of Iceland's
    land  mass,  to  be  declared  a  "digital-free zone." The idea
    hasn't  coalesced  into  a petition or formal campaign, so what
    it  would require or prohibit hasn't been fleshed out. The last
    full-time  resident of the rugged area moved away in 1952 -- it
    never  was  an  easy place to farm -- but many descendants have
    turned family farmsteads into summer getaways.
    
    Northwest     Iceland's     representative,     Halla     Signy
    Kristjansdottir,  is  in  favor  of  adding cell towers for the
    safety  of  sailors  and  travelers  in  the area. "I don't see
    anything  romantic  about  lying  on  the  ground with a broken
    thigh  bone  and  no cellphone signal," Kristjansdottir said in
    an interview.
    
    
    
    [1] https://www.apnews.com/71cdfb7b1c2245069a6f681f8b8f906f/Wi-
    red-Icelanders-seek-to-keep-remote-peninsula-digital-free


  ** Yeah it's real annoying (Score:3, Insightful)
     (by Crashmarik ( 635988 ))

     
     You're out in the wilderness and somebody's WiFi is screwing up
     the colors of the forest and making everything look strange,
     while the cell towers are driving the wildlife nuts. / sarcasm
     I'd love to hear these people justify how this in anyway
     diminishes them.

     ** Because people no longer have self discipline? (Score:3)
        (by thesupraman ( 179040 ))

        
        Because they CAN get Farcebook, I guess they Must get
        Farcebook.
        I mean, you would think they could just choose to turn off
        their devices, not bring a charger, whatever.
        Although knowing people from such areas, I suspect it is more
        about giving one big finger to 'thems city folks' (even if
        most of these people live in the cit\y most of the time).
        Anyway, good on them for caring, but good luck in keeping
        such things out. The safety point is also quite valid.

        ** Re: (Score:3, Interesting)
           (by ShanghaiBill ( 739463 ))

           
           > I mean, you would think they could just choose to turn off
           > their devices
           They don't want to just stop using Facebook, they want
           their NEIGHBORS to stop using it too.
           This isn't about self-control. It is about controlling
           others, which is a near universal human desire.


        ** Re: (Score:3)
           (by e3m4n ( 947977 ))

           
           exactly. I just posted a more descriptive explanation of
           that very thing a thread above this one. Sometimes it's
           easier to buy a vacation that makes the choice for you,
           than having to, repeatedly, make the same choice
           throughout the entire vacation. Picking a destination that
           has no access means you can re-focus on other forms of
           entertainment. Its easy to fall back into habits. By
           picking a spot with no access, you are not fighting
           temptation, and i dare say withdrawal, the entire time.
           The price of vacati



     ** Re:Yeah it's real annoying (Score:5, Informative)
        (by Rei ( 128717 ))

        
        Forest? *snicker*. Here's the joke everyone over the age of 8
        here knows:
        Q: What do you do if you get lost in an Icelandic forest?
        A: Stand up.
        I've actually not been to Hornstrandir; it's been on my TODO
        list for a long, long time, but I've lacked one of the
        obligatory "round tuits". So it's actually surprising to hear
        that there's not internet access (via cell towers) there,
        because in general even the most remote places here have cell
        access. When Bárðarbunga erupted, deep in the highlands, the
        eruption was livestreamed. And there's a lot more people in
        Vestfirðir then in the highlands!
        This would of course be more about visitors than residents,
        given that there's no permanent residents in Hornstrandir.
        And in some ways I can sympathize. For example, there's
        always a lot of opposition to improving the highland roads
        because we don't want to have more cars driving through and
        tons of people flooding in, and driving really fast on some
        paved road would totally change the experience of going into
        the highlands... it would just turn into a set of "sites to
        see" rather than a journey. The effect of the isolation on
        you can really be profound. You feel like a person exploring
        Mars - so tiny in an endless empty expanse, completely devoid
        of any signs of human civilization except the
        half-bulldozed-out "road" you take, the endless travel
        punctured by rushes of adrenaline as you try to ford a river
        or trying to avoid ruining your car crossing a lava field.
        And people who know that experience generally don't want to
        see it altered. So I imagine it's the same thing for
        Hornstrandir. The difference being, as previously mentioned,
        in much of the highlands there's cell coverage. At least as
        far as I know, when I go out I'm not checking Facebook all
        the time.  ;) But I don't recall any meaningful loss of
        coverage events.
        ED: Just checked [1]a map [wp.com] from my cell provider.
        Looks like most of Hornstrandir is indeed marked in white (no
        coverage), while most of the highlands is light blue (2G) or
        in some places blue (3G) - even a good chunk of Vatnajökull
        (largest glacier in Europe).
        
        
        
        
        [1]
        https://i2.wp.com/www.icelandnorthernlightshq.com/wp-content/-
        uploads/2015/06/Screen-Shot-2015-06-27-at-09.57.16.png?ssl=1


     ** Re: (Score:3)
        (by e3m4n ( 947977 ))

        
        Actually this intrigues me. I go on cruises for the same
        getaway. Sure one can declare a weekend of no devices or
        technology, but theres always something that comes up that
        eventually screws that up. I go on cruises with the family
        and we do not buy the internet package. The fact that its
        ridiculously expensive helps 'cut the cord' when on vacation.
        The most online time the kids ever experience is when we pull
        into a port and visit a place that has 'free wifi'; giving
        them 30-60 min of checking their email


     ** Re: (Score:3)
        (by GumphMaster ( 772693 ))

        
        > You're out in the wilderness and somebody's  ...
        bloody mobile phone is playing something loosely called
        "music" over the shittiest, tinny piezoelectric "speaker" you
        ever heard. I have personally experienced this scenario while
        walking the Milford Track (NZ) and in Torres del Payne
        (Chile). I can only imagine how much worse it would be _with_
        coverage: Youtube videos turned up to 11, incessant need to
        share the latest "news" from home, inattentive walking in
        dangerous places etc. If your region's livelihood depends on
        people coming to experience wil


  ** Satellite Internet (Score:2)
     (by crow ( 16139 ))

     
     We may only be a few years away from Starlink or something
     similar providing practical high-bandwidth Internet service
     globally. So they may hold back the tide a bit longer, but the
     reality is that modern communications will become a fact of life
     everywhere for anyone that wants it. Yes, that will mean some
     significant changes to the lifestyles of the people living
     there, and yes, it won't all be for the better, but I don't see
     the point of fighting it now.

     ** Re: (Score:2)
        (by rossdee ( 243626 ))

        
        How far north are we talking about? Satellite coverage is
        always going to be a problem at the poles

        ** Re:Satellite Internet (Score:4, Informative)
           (by quenda ( 644621 ))

           
           > Satellite coverage is always going to be a problem at the
           > poles
           No, that applies to geosynchronous broadcast satellites,
           but not to LEO constellations such as Starlink or
           Irridium.


        ** Re: (Score:3)
           (by crow ( 16139 ))

           
           Good point. A quick look at Google Maps suggests around 66
           degrees north. I'm not the best a geography, and I had
           thought Iceland was a bit further south. I didn't realize
           it was north of the southern tip of Greenland. That could
           well be outside the range of satellite Internet, depending
           on the orbits involved. I have no idea what the plans are.

           ** Re: (Score:3)
              (by Mashiki ( 184564 ))

              
              Seem to remember there was active satellite links in
              Resolute, Nvt.(74deg/N), so I don't think that's a
              problem. The real problem was the astronomical cost of
              those links, short of a stationary polar orbit
              satellite there is no real way to keep it cheap. So
              they've been building fiber as a replacement since
              2012ish for the far north remote communities at least
              here in Canada. I think Resolute was finished in
              2016ish or so.




  ** Fuck yes. (Score:3)
     (by DogDude ( 805747 ))

     
     Fuck yes, I fucking love Icelanders. I'm so sick of seeing
     smartphone zombies everywhere. The addicts and the stupid will
     be addicted and stupid anywhere there's an Internet connection.
     What a wonderful, thoughtful, human decision to make. Wonderful
     idea.

     ** Re: (Score:2)
        (by Gojira Shipi-Taro ( 465802 ))

        
        I don't see it as thoughtful or "human" at all. Simply
        reactionary.
        As long as EVERYONE in that area agrees, fine.


  ** safety, use a friggin' PLB (Score:1)
     (by Anonymous Coward)

     
     I spend a lot of time in the woods of British Columbia, Canada.
     There is no celphone coverage in probably 95% of our
     woods/wilderness. I don't ask for cel towers, I carry a Personal
     Locator Beacon (PLB) for safety. If it is that important to
     someone to be connected, let them use satellite. We don't need
     more cel coverage for narcisists.