netherlands

U.N. summit implodes as U.S., others spurn Internet treaty

In a stunning repudiation of a United Nations summit, an alliance of Western democracies including the United States, the United Kingdom, and Canada today rejected a proposed treaty over concerns it hands repressive governments too much authority over the Internet.

"This conference was never meant to focus on Internet issues," said ambassador Terry Kramer, head of the U.S. delegation to the Dubai summit. "The Internet has given the world unimaginable economic and social benefit during these past 24 years -- all without U.N. regulation."

Delegates from the Netherlands, New Zealand, Denmark, Sweden, the Philippines, … Read more

Apple wins Dutch ban on certain Samsung Galaxy devices

A Dutch court ruled in Apple's favor today, ordering the ban of certain Samsung Galaxy tablets and smartphones due to patent infringement.

The ban applies to older Samsung Android-based products that use an Apple-patented method for scrolling through images in a photo gallery using a touch screen. According to the court, those are Samsung's Galaxy device versions 2.2.1 and higher that don't use Samsung's updated "blue flash" photo gallery technology.

The two companies have been in a constant battle over patents related to the mobile market. So far, neither has emerged as … Read more

Dutch firm linked to many more fraudulent Net certificates

The number of fraudulent security certificates issued by a hacked Dutch firm has ballooned from the 247 reported last week to 531, and the main purpose of the attack appears to have been to spy on Iranian dissidents.

The list of domains for which fraudulent Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) certificates were issued by DigiNotar, a root certificate authority, now includes sites such as the CIA, MI6, Facebook, Microsoft, Skype, Twitter, and WordPress, among others, according to a list released this weekend by the Dutch Ministry of Justice. In the wake of the new revelations, the Dutch government has reportedly expressed … Read more

Apple seeks EU-wide ban on Samsung's Galaxy line

In its latest salvo in its case against Samsung Electronics in The Netherlands, Apple is seeking a European Union ban on the importation and sales of all Galaxy smartphones and tablets.

Apple's injunction, filed in The Hague district court, would affect the Galaxy Ace, Galaxy S, and Galaxy SII smartphones as well as the Galaxy Tab 7 and Galaxy Tab 10.1 tablets, according Dutch publication Webwereld, which has reviewed the complaint (English translation).

The complaint also demands Samsung send a letter to distributors and resellers requesting that all stock be returned to Samsung "within 14 days" … Read more

Heineken's 147 years of making beer in Amsterdam

AMSTERDAM--Its green bottle is instantly recognizable. Its brand name is known throughout the world. It may not be the best beer on Earth, but it certainly is one of the most popular.

It, of course, is Heineken, and for many people a visit to the Dutch capital is not possible without taking a tour of the big brick building with "Heineken Brouwerij" emblazoned on the side: The old Heineken brewery.

Though the building no longer houses the actual brewery, today it is home to what is known as the "Heineken Experience," a self-guided tour through the … Read more

Netherlands tests automated-energy homes

Two new housing developments in Breda, the Netherlands, will serve as a two-year pilot project to see whether a home decked out in smart-energy tech with access to multiple energy sources, not just the electric grid, is the answer to energy savings.

Through a partnership with Netherlands grid operator Enexis, power company Greenchoice, and housing developer Heja, more than 300 homes have been built incorporating the latest energy-saving technologies. The pilot program, called Jouw Energie Moment (Your Energy Moment), could determine how people in the Netherlands choose to handle home energy management and building design going forward.

The Meulenspie development … Read more

The 404 620: Where Wilson got beaten by an octopus (podcast)

Paul the German Octopus is officially more powerful than our own Wilson G. Tang at predicting the future. The mollusk in Oberhausen is 8 for 8 in forecasting the winning teams in this year's World Cup, including yesterday's triumphant victory for Spain over the Netherlands.

In fact, we already planned to invite Paul into the studio this Friday to tell us about the iPhone 5, but recent news tells us that the eight-legged wonder is already planning his retirement from the soccer prediction industry.

If you haven't figured it out by now, The 404 crew is complete … Read more

Sculptor creates Iron Man out of old Lada

Bulgarian artist Nikola Nikolov hates throwing old stuff away. When he worked as a dishwasher, he'd turn broken plates into art. And when it was time to retire his first car, a Lada, he decided to give it new life as a robot warrior.

Nikolov transforms junk into artworks at Studio Re-Creation in the Netherlands. He has turned old wooden furniture into giant rabbits and dogs, and turned broken plates into colorful mural art.

But his most impressive work is The Transformer, a 6-foot, 200-pound robot warrior fashioned from an old Lada Samara Diva.

It took about 100 hours … Read more

Netherlands' open-source policy goes double Dutch

Government policies favoring open-source software adoption should be wildly popular within the open-source crowd. Yet, at an open-source conference in Amsterdam today, I kept hearing the opposite. Despite the Dutch government's best intentions to foster open-source adoption, some people think it may actually be doing the opposite.

By many measures, the Netherlands is a great place for open-source software. In 2007, the government started to phase in a policy that gave preferential treatment to open-source software in IT purchasing decisions. Initially, at least, the policy seems to have been a success, with a July 2009 study highlighting a wide … Read more

Legalized drugs, now open source. Those crazy Dutch!

While some organizations continue to hide their open-source adoption, NOiV (Nederland Open in Verbinding), has published a map of over 200 open-source products currently in use by the Dutch central government as of mid-2009. (Translation here.)

Spoiler alert: there's a whole lot of open source being used by the Dutch government.

NOiV concludes in its study (PDF) that that Dutch central government is on the right track with open source for the operating system (platform) and middleware, but is in a very early phase of looking at business applications.

The main obstacle for moving from closed to open source … Read more