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Cuba Lifts Ban on Home Computers
ianare writes "The first legalized home computers have gone on sale in Cuba, the latest in a series of restrictions on daily life which President Raul Castro has lifted in recent weeks. The desktop computers cost almost $800, in a country where the average wage is under $20 a month, but some Cubans do have access to extra income. Internet access remains restricted to certain workplaces, schools and universities on the island which the government claims is due to low bandwidth availability. Venezuela's President Hugo Chavez is laying a new cable under the Caribbean, but it remains unclear whether once the connection is completed, the authorities will allow unrestricted access to the internet."
Just because it costs less than 800 dollars in the rest of the world doesn't mean that it will be that cheap inside the country. Any market for importing old hardware is likely to be a black market, so the prices will be steep. It's the right step to allow personal computers in Cuba, but the majority of the people are a long way from it making any difference at all.
Just an idea, since my US government is all about supporting an open and free Cuba, it might not be bad idea to lead some sort of initiative to proliferate computers to the people. I know the government might frown upon something like this, but it would give America the moral high ground, which is something neither side has been worthy of so far.
I got a catholic block.
The main problem I see is that they are using mostly unlicensed copy of windows, since Windows licenses can't be acquired in Cuba.
Hey, how come Cubans can order PCs and not have to pay for Windows? Heck, they are already once step ahead of us.
If the US was smart, strike and agreement with Cuba, given them decent pipe access via Florida so long as they put 1 million uncensored PCs on it in say 2-3 years. That will reach 1 in 11 Cubans. Free flow of information is a true friend of democracy.
Either share your wealth with us, or we'll share our poverty with you.
It applies to more than just 1st vs 3rd world.
"You're right," Fisheye says. "I should have set it on 'whip' or 'chop.'"
Cuba has multiple satellite uplinks which are capable of internet traffic, though it's *very* expensive, and as anyone whos ever tried to use satellite connections knows, it can be slow as hell. Couple with that the single T-3 (probably still channelized---demuxers are evidently "sensitive" equipment), and yeah, there are some major bandwidth issues. So settle down and lose the McCarthy bullshit, thanks.
You of course are aware that Cuba has way better medical care for its citizens than the US does?
Think they'll like to pass on getting US style medical.
You'd be surprised at how resourceful Cuban people are...I am amazed at how they make some of those old cars still work with no parts available...
When all is said and done, nothing changes...
They don't have better care. Somewhat ironically, they have more democratic care, but that's about average availability, not level of quality.
The US probably even delivers more care per person on average, it just gets concentrated more.
Nerd rage is the funniest rage.
If you sold me a loaf of bread and I sold it to Cuba, would you be culpable?
Why would you think that software would be any different? If Microsoft was involved in setting up intermediaries to deliver software to Cuba and it happened at the board level Balmer might get some heat for it, but he can't do a whole lot to stop a distributor in Mexico from shipping stuff to Cuba.
Nerd rage is the funniest rage.
Morals are relative.
---- Booth was a patriot ----
Uh huh. Calm down and realize it's USofA who's largely responsible for current situation - lift embargo, and _then_ blame Castro.
And yet there isn't a whole lot Microsoft can do to stop a distributor in Mexico from shipping the boxes to Cuba. If Microsoft honored the license they would be in violation of the law, but I don't see how the mere presence of the software in Cuba is automagically their responsibility.
Nerd rage is the funniest rage.
.I am amazed at how they make some of those old cars still work with no parts available...
Do you realize that is a sign of how far your country has fallen? It was when people said that of your people that your country was great. Now, you rely on exploitative economics and war where once you relied on yourselves, and marvel that a people could take care of themselves.
-1 Uncomfortable Truth
There are no American restrictions on Cubans. The American restrictions are on Americans (with a few even more bullshit extensions attempting to extend the embargo to non-American companies who deal with Americans; even Canada won't put up with that shit) . And calling an embargo "imperialist" is pretty rich... what would you call it if the US had normal relations with Cuba and there was a Starbucks and a McDonalds on every corner in Havana? Oh, right... you'd call it "cultural imperialism" or something similar.
Quite an experience to live in fear, isn't it? That's what it is to be a slave.
There was a funny incident in Canada, I think it was related to the Helms/Burton act http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Helms-Burton_Act where the Canadian Wal-Mart stores were found to be selling Cuban made clothing, and the US government ordered them to stop. So they (briefly) stopped. Canadian newspapers found out and it was turned into a big sovereignty flap on this side of the border. The Canadian government then forbade any company operating on Canadian soil from obeying the embargo, and Wal-Mart's Cuban made clothing returned.
Funny how little things get turned into a government p*ssing contest - wars have started over stupid crap like this.
My rights don't need management.
It is dangerous to be right when the government is wrong.
The EU did pretty much the same thing, but it's sure to have frightened away some companies. Saudi Arabia makes Cuba look like a model free society, yet the oppressive regime there is supported by the US. The US stance against Cuba has nothing to do with freedom or democracy. Indeed the history of US policy in the region has been one of deterring democracy, not promoting it.
The US wants cooperative governments that are friendly to US business interests. The current government of Venezuela fails both those tests, so despite being a democracy, the US is trying to undermine it and there was of course the coup attempt in 2002 as well. Such a coup attempt is far easier to organise in an open society like Venezuela than in Cuba, which is probably one of the reasons Cuba has been closed up so tight for so long.
The US is also trying to undermine the current Bolivian government for much the same reason. The US government far preferred the previous business friendly regime, despite the massacres perpetrated against the Bolivian people.
It's not an apology, it's the truth. The world is far more complicated than you want to believe it to be.
This kind of ignorance about Islam really sickens me. Have you even read the Qur'an? Or Islamic history? You can't take the actions of a few ultra-radical fundamentalists as a mark of the religion as a whole.
No, it makes you inferior. It makes you mewling dependents who can't care for yourselves, like babies with nukes. It makes your desperate grasping for dominion understandable, in a pathetic sort of way. Unfortunately, it doesn't make it excusable, or sustainable. There is a lot of hardship and death in your future. Fortunately.
-1 Uncomfortable Truth