Google Global Cache Is Coming to Cuba (ap.org)

"The Associated Press reports that on Monday Eric Schmidt will be in Havana to sign a deal bringing Google Global Cache to Cuba," writes lpress. Here's some details from the AP's report on the deal. Cuba suffers from some of the world's slowest internet speeds due to a range of problems that include the convoluted, and thus slower, paths that data must travel between Cuban users and servers that are often in the U.S... home internet connections remain illegal for virtually all Cubans, forcing them to use public WiFi spots that are often shared by dozens of people at a time and run at achingly slow speeds... Both pro-detente forces and those arguing for a hard line on President Raul Castro's single-party government have been pushing for Cubans to have better access to information.
The article cites Slashdot reader Larry Press as "a California-based expert on the Cuban internet," who also shares some more thoughts on his blog. "I'd love to see a country -- even a small one -- in which Google Plus was more popular than Facebook."

Comments

Poor cubans

[Rosco P. Coltrane]

Before they had information filtered and warped by the Castro regime, now they'll have information filtered and warped by Google...

Re:Poor cubans

[93 Escort Wagon]

And, before that, the information was filtered and warped by the Batista regime.

Let's not pretend that, before Castro, Cuba was some wonderful place for most of its citizens.

Re:Poor cubans

[guestapoo]

Unlike N.Korea, which is a black hole of informations, so everyone can say everything about this country.
But, for the case of Cuba, there are tons of tourists here, so one want to say somethings must be 'careful'. Even the 'Reporters without border', despite painted Cuba in black color, but could not deny that:
http://web.archive.org/web/201...

At the Correos de Cuba and the hotels, you have access to practically all news websites such as lemonde.fr, bbc.com, El Nuevo Herald (a Miami-based Spanish-language daily) and even to dissident sites. This is also the case for government employees with a computer and Internet access.

“I haven’t opened Granma for years,” says Luis, who works for the culture ministry. “I get my news from Google and the BBC website and I have never had any problem getting to websites operated by government opponents.
In fact, of all the news stories I wanted to read on the Internet, only one has been blocked.

I do not say that Cuba has freedom of informations, when it's a totalitarian regime. But, saying that Cubans have limited access Internet because of Chinese-style informations filter is not correct:
* they don't have this kind of technology. Also, in fact, the Great Firewall does not works perfectly, I used Internet inside this curtain, and it's extreme annoying. That's why Chinese have been paying much money for VPN, proxy for accessing Internet outside.
* The main reason for this (limited access Internet in Cuba) is the price, the bandwidth.

Left-wing bias alert!

[Nutria]

Who does lpress first blame on Cuban internet slowness?

Not the fact that internet connections are illegal for the vast majority of Cubans.
Not the fact that they can only get it through a small number of overburdened public WiFi hot spots who's connections are slow to begin with.

No. As usual, The Liberal Blames America First.

Who needs fake news when distortion is soooo much more effective, and has the benefit of being... true?