Google Global Cache Is Coming to Cuba (ap.org) 46
"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."
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."
Re: (Score:3)
Associated and Larry are first cousins.
Is there a Google Global Cache map? (Score:2, Interesting)
I'm just wondering if we're headed to a future where the third world surf the web on Google's internet, while Google silently monitors their traffic to help calculating their page rankings.
Poor cubans (Score:4)
Before they had information filtered and warped by the Castro regime, now they'll have information filtered and warped by Google...
Re:Poor cubans (Score:5, Insightful)
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 (Score:5, Insightful)
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... [archive.org]
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.
Re: (Score:2)
Close call, but I don't think Bezos has killed that many people yet. Or maybe I mean Brin? Whatever.
I'd love to see a country (Score:1)
were people would just piss on both Google and Facebook.
Left-wing bias alert! (Score:4, Insightful)
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?
Re: (Score:2)
I guess someone has to put a (better?) cable on the sea floor and until then the cache sounds like a good idea.
Re: (Score:2)
What good would a 60Tbps cable straight from Miami to Havana do when only the Privileged Few, Blessed By the Communist Party are allowed to have Internet access, and the public hot spots are all crappy?
Re: (Score:3)
Now if the article was about Google installing wifi balloons or something, then you'd have a point, but it seems like you're just trying to distort the issue to make some sort of misguided point.
Re: (Score:2)
they're fixing the slow connection to the outside.
Which is useless, if private Internet connections are illegal.
The US embargo prevented telecom connections to the US so that seems like a pretty good candidate to blame.
How exactly did the US embargo make the Partido Comunista de Cuba ban all private Internet connections?
Re: (Score:2)
Looking for bias where there is none alert! (Score:2)
If the number of people allowed to access the internet is limited, that would mean that those allowed get a greater fraction of the available bandwidth.
Why do you hate the Pigeonhole Principle?
Re: (Score:2)
Why do you think that the Pigeonhole Principle has anything to do with the Cuban Communist Party's ban on individual Internet access?
Re: (Score:3)
Not the fact that internet connections are illegal for the vast majority of Cubans.
No longer true, though they are subject to monitoring and scrutiny.
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.
That part is still true.
Comment removed (Score:3, Informative)
Re: "Castro's single-party government" (Score:1)
Trump had some criticism about Cuba's government so Cuba is now a 'good' example of governance according to the media.
Re: (Score:1, Troll)
Re: (Score:2)
The word is "dictatorship". Or, if you prefer: "tyranny".
Theses are not synonyms. The dictator handles all powers for the sake of general interest. Many democracies have provisions for such a status if the country is hit by a serious crisis that render normal institutions unable to operate. The Tyran also handle all powers but its power is illegitimate.
Re: (Score:2)
"Convoluted paths"? (Score:2)
Is Cuban internet service routed through Europa or something? Because it's hard to come up with of a terrestrial path which would add a noticeable delay, in and of itself.
Re: (Score:2)
Yes indeed. I live in New Zealand which is probably the second most remote large land mass for internet access behind only Antarctica (and maybe Iceland) and our internet connection to the rest of the world is quite acceptable. I enjoy 80Mb/s to servers in Europe. Cuba's internet issues have very little to do with geography.
Re: (Score:2)
Cuba's internet issues have very little to do with geography.
So, if the embargo-ing United States weren't the closest well-connected place (to which everyone else in the region apparently connects), things would be no different for Cuban connectivity?
Comment removed (Score:3)
Re: (Score:2)
Castro doesn't permit his people to have internet, (...) The Castros can't have the peasants find out the truth about the outside world.
Cuba is not North Korea. Personal Internet access is missing, but offline exchange happens thought el paquete [wikipedia.org], leaving many opportunities to learn about foreign news. Moreover, tourism is strong at Cuba, which is another way though which outside information can enter the country
Re: (Score:1)
El paquete is bootleg USB distribution of pirated media(movies, TV shows, yes some news too). It is the sneaker-net version of file sharing(BitTorrent). It is also illegal according to Cuban law as, yet again, the Castros try to prevent their people from seeing this stuff. That the Castros have not been successful in eliminating the activity does not mean that it is permitted or condoned.
Nothing you've posted invalidates anything at all in my previous post. That the Castros are unsuccessful in totally block
BS (Score:2)
"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"
Yes. That's why it's slow. It couldn't be for any other reason at all. Just convoluted paths....