
German state parliament bans laptops - Pirate party show up with typewriters - fgribreau
http://www.crackajack.de/2012/09/26/typewriter-protest-der-piraten-gegen-computerverbot/
======
terhechte
While this is an interesting way of disobeying and a nice idea in general, I
have to admit that it also feels a bit overreacted. The reason why laptops are
banned (as outlined in this document: [http://fraktion.piratenpartei-
sh.de/2012-09-19-bericht-aus-d...](http://fraktion.piratenpartei-
sh.de/2012-09-19-bericht-aus-dem-aeltestenrat/)) are that people used them
during the parliament hours for social networking or games and that the
clicking of the keyboard and the fans and harddrives of the laptops created a
distracting noise. Tablets are specifically allowed.

I can understand that the noise that a set of laptops generates can be
distracting. On the other hand does a tablet not really help if you want to
type down thoughts or parts of what's currently being said. So the smart thing
to do would be to only allow very silent fanless laptops (my MacBookAir, for
example, seems to make no noise at all, except when watching YouTube videos).

I sincerely doubt that it makes sense to try to ban the clicking of keyboards.
That's like trying to ban the shuffling of paper. Bringing a typewriter which
makes really loud typing noises doesn't sound like such a good idea in that
context. A foldable bluetooth keyboard + would have been the better idea; that
way they wouldn't show disobedience, but instead they'd display that there're
other ways in which one can be silent and still use a keyboard in there.

~~~
Atropos
The real reason why they are banned: Because the majority of the parliament
wanted it that way and voted for the rule. I don't get the outrage at all, why
shouldn't the parliament get to decide how they run their own sessions?

~~~
debacle
The tyranny of the majority is a major detractor of democracy.

------
sandis
More on why they're banning laptops : [http://fraktion.piratenpartei-
sh.de/2012-09-19-bericht-aus-d...](http://fraktion.piratenpartei-
sh.de/2012-09-19-bericht-aus-dem-aeltestenrat/) (in German),

Google-translated version:
[http://translate.google.com/translate?hl=en&sl=auto&...](http://translate.google.com/translate?hl=en&sl=auto&tl=en&u=http%3A%2F%2Ffraktion.piratenpartei-
sh.de%2F2012-09-19-bericht-aus-dem-aeltestenrat%2F)

~~~
tlrobinson
Maybe it's a bad translation, but banning laptop with noisy fans and clicky
keyboards seems perfectly reasonable to me.

~~~
lnanek2
Seems like a waste of tax payer money to me. Just put up with the fan/keyboard
noise. Done. Maybe crank up the speaker volume for whoever has the mic.. There
are people out there who struggle every day with shitty cars that break down
all the time because they can't afford anything better. I just loaned my jump
start battery to one. Wasting people's money on preventing fan and keyboard
noise seems like a real let them eat cake moment. If they think that's a real
problem, they are too well equipped to actually feel real problems.

~~~
pasbesoin
Different people have different tolerance levels for such noise. I'd suggest
you not presume that all people disturbed by such noise are 'over-sensitive
whiners'.

An example. I can take a football (soccer ball) full in the face from 3
meters, without a complaint. It wasn't intentional. Shake it off.

I cannot concentrate with such noise in my periphery, particularly when the
background is not "busy" with other activity. My nervous system wants,
_demands_ that I pay attention to it. Part of the... "heightened alertness"
that serves me well, in other contexts. Perhaps also somewhat the result of a
childhood in which such noises could proceed very traumatic events.

So... those of you with a "Why can't they just put up with it?" attitude:
There are those of us who have tried -- often pushed too hard to view this as
entirely _our fault_ \-- to do so. For years. Decades. It doesn't work for us.

Why should you then "put up with us"? Well, in my case, I tend to notice 3 or
4 times as much as many of my neighbors, and to relate it ("cross reference",
whatever) to things they've long since forgotten, if they ever knew. In my
case, at least, what you are "disturbing" is a very deep and full and "well-
intentioned" attention. It takes all my concentration to perform this well.

This attention catches and fixes problems before they become "established
policy", or "code", or whatever, depending upon context.

I don't care how you lead your life. Just don't presume that it gives you the
right to infringe upon mine and my well-being. Don't assume that you
understand my experience and motivations.

------
sdoering
The most interesting bit is in my opinion, that the debt of the region is
already really high.

But as laptops are now banned from parliament, every member of said parliament
shall receive a tablet, because he/she has to be able to keep working with
digital files in parliament.

Being a citizen, things like this make me sad.

~~~
Atropos
The regions debt is 27 billion euros, spending or saving 100.000 euros on
tablets doesnt make any real difference.

Incredible that I'm getting downvoted for this. So if you have 100,000 $
student debt, you should stop sending holiday cards and use email instead, to
save 40 cents?

In large organizations some costs are just to minuscule to warrant any
mindspace. In this case the spending doesn't even seem evidently frivolous,
why shouldn't every parliamentarian have a tablet? In the Netherlands they
replaced paper with tablets and even managed to achieve cost savings.

~~~
tisme
That's exactly the attitude that got them to 27 billion euros deficit in the
first place!

~~~
astrodust
The attitude that got them there was slinging a few billion here for an
infrastructure deal, a few billion there for a bail-out. It takes more than a
handful of iPads to add up to a billion, you know.

They probably spend more money on chairs in a year than they do on computers.

If an iPad allows them to be more effective, then it's probably a good thing
to buy. It's false savings when your thriftiness gets in the way of
productivity.

~~~
tisme
It's not the amounts that matter, it is the care that is spent on deciding
whether or not an expense is warranted.

~~~
astrodust
Given there's only so many hours in a day, I'd rather they focused on ways to
shave energy costs by 10% than fret over which brand of Made in China pencils
would save them a nickel per box.

An iPad would not even make a dent in the expense accounts of most
politicians. Their photocopying bill would _massively_ eclipse this, so
anything that reduces the amount of paper required could save enormous amounts
of money.

------
snips
The German finance minister played Sudoku on his iPad during a heated Greek
bailout debate.

~~~
pjmlp
Tablets and smartphones are allowed, just laptops are not.

~~~
reinhardt
Oh, in that case he's off the hook I guess, there's nothing to see here, move
along.

------
ctdonath
Malicious obedience via retro tech.

~~~
debacle
Is the proper term for this sort of protest "malicious obedience?"

~~~
klodolph
"Malicious obedience" means following orders when you know the result will be
disaster. So, sure.

~~~
innguest
It may also be called "work to rule", I think.

------
dexen
_> only mobile computers that run silently without a fan or no mechanical
keyboard and hinged screen_ (from google translate)

While `run silently and no mechanical keyboard' has at least some merit,
what's the point of mentioning _hinged screen_?

There are some dual-(hinged-)screen tablets [http://blog.laptopmag.com/msis-
dual-screen-tablet-video-hand...](http://blog.laptopmag.com/msis-dual-screen-
tablet-video-hands-on-much-more-than-an-ereader)

------
mtgx
If they aren't using those laptops (or tablets if they have any) to read the
legislation that's being discussed or anything like that, but for any other
stuff, then there's really no reason why they should have those laptops there.
They need to focus on the new laws being passed, not checking Facebook and
Twitter.

~~~
ef4
Yes, but consider how doomed you are if you need to treat your
parliamentarians like irresponsible children to keep them on task.

But I think there's probably a more charitable explanation that everyone is
too polite to say: large chunks of the business being conducted may in fact be
bullshit, and deep down they know it.

------
stephengillie

      This webpage is not available
      The connection to www.crackajack.de was interrupted.

------
ibotty
another image (of pirate party member angelika beer)
<https://pbs.twimg.com/media/A3t_kZLCUAA3i1R.jpg>

------
rlt3
That's quite a misleading title.

I thought Germany had banned laptops nation-wide for some reason.

------
mariuz
Maybe they should come with their portable enigma machines

