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Google, Cuba Sign Deal Allowing Faster Access To Company's Data (go.com)
Google has signed a deal with the Cuban government on Monday that will grant internet users in the Communist-run country quicker access to its branded content. Google plans to install servers on the island that will store a majority of its most popular content. ABC News reports: Storing Google data in Cuba eliminates the long distances that signals must travel from the island through Venezuela to the nearest Google server. More than a half century after cutting virtually all economic ties with Cuba, the U.S. has no direct data link to the island. The deal announced Monday removes one of the many obstacles to a normal internet in Cuba, which suffers from some of the world's most limited and expensive access. Home connections remain illegal for most Cubans and the government charges the equivalent of a month's average salary for 10 hours of access to public WiFi spots with speeds frequently too slow to download files or watch streaming video. The deal does not affect Cuba's antiquated communications infrastructure or broaden public access to the internet, but it could make Google websites like YouTube or Gmail up to 10 times faster for users inside Cuba. Content hosted by other companies will not be affected.
Was it that hard?
What happened to "do no evil"?
I'm pretty sure that it was reported upon and in fact even re-posted here on Slashdot when it was noticed publicly that they had removed it from their company charter. It's worth noting though that it was never any sort of official, legally-binding commitment. More just an idea about a statement of purpose that they have since apparently changed their minds about.
is to run a cable from Miami to Havana.
Yes! I agree with this.
Bringing faster Internet to more people in Cuba is not evil, even if only a limited number of government insiders benefits for it. They will be exposed to more freely available information that is not directly controlled by the government, which is good.
Bringing faster Internet to more people in Cuba is not evil, even if only a limited number of government insiders benefits for it. They will be exposed to more freely available information that is not directly controlled by the government, which is good.
The naivety hurts. The whole point of the deal is for the information to be directly controlled by the government, which is bad. It's only for government insiders, anyway. If Google (or anyone else) wants to set up free, uncensored internet cafes there I'd love to see it.
Do you have ESP?
"will grant internet users in the Communist-run country"
So...all three of them?
Coder's Stone: The programming language quick ref for iPad
Been to Cuba about 10 times.
The Cuban immigration officials stamp a paper that they hand you upon arrival (tourist visa), and take it back upon departure. If you lose that paper, you cannot leave the country (but you simply pay a fine IIRC and you leave).
Cuba is not what american propaganda TV has led you to believe it is.
There is definitely poverty, just like pretty much every country in the Caribbean, democratic, capitalist or communist, but generally speaking Cubans seem as content as any other citizen of any other Caribbean county. Overall nice people.
Also, IMHO, the US embargo has created this weird "stuck in the 50`s" atmosphere in the country that I find quite charming and unique.
What happened to "do no evil"?
I'm pretty sure that it was reported upon and in fact even re-posted here on Slashdot when it was noticed publicly that they had removed it from their company charter. It's worth noting though that it was never any sort of official, legally-binding commitment. More just an idea about a statement of purpose that they have since apparently changed their minds about.
Sigh.
1. The motto is "Don't be evil", not "Do no evil". The latter is impossible for anyone to accomplish, the law of unintended consequences -- among other issues -- guarantees that. The former makes clear that the goal is to avoid systematically doing evil, which is achievable.
2. It was never part of any company charter. It was an important internal guideline.
3. Google has never "changed their minds" about the motto. It remains an important internal guideline. I can vouch for the fact that it still gets employed in internal decisionmaking meetings to shoot down ideas that mistreat users or have big potential social/cultural negative implications.
4. I don't really see how providing anyone with better Internet service could be evil. In particular in this case it sounds like the plan is to deploy Google's content distribution network (CDN) to Cuba. That mostly means caching YouTube videos on local servers so they load faster. Oh noes! Rich/powerful Cubans (and tourists at fancy hotels) will have quick-loading cat videos!
5. Google is clearly hoping that the many changes going on in Cuba and in its relations with the United States will begin to make Internet service more broadly available to the Cuban populace, which will make this CDN infrastructure more valuable over time.
Disclaimer: In case it's not obvious, I work for Google but I am not speaking for Google. The above represents my personal opinions and observations, not official company policy. Oh, and I don't know anything about this Cuban deployment except what I read in the public news.
Note to ACs: I usually delete AC replies without reading them. If you want to talk to me, log in.