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It was just a little over a month ago now that the Cuban Government decided to begin easing up on restrictions with electronics, namely computers, and as we have already seen Cuba citizens lining up for cell phones, the same is happening with computers.

Reports of “more than a dozen prospective buyers” began to line up when they first went on sale. While “just” a dozen people may not sound like a lot, you also must consider that these computers are not coming cheap. Havana’s Carlos III shopping center began to sell the Qtech PC along with a CRT monitor for $780. Sounds expensive enough already, but consider further that these PC’s are not exactly high powered either, they are featuring Intel Celeron processors with 80GB hard drives, 512MB of RAM and running Windows XP.

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The Internet access while tightly controlled does not seem to be stopping Cuban bloggers from telling their story. Computers have just recently became legal for Cuban citizens to own and even with the hard to come by Internet access many are turning towards the web to share their story.

Some of the blogs, have been going on for longer than the two-months that computers have been legal to access. A site we have mentioned before, “Generacion Y” which is written by Yoani Sanchez receives more than one-million hits a month. But for Sanchez and other Cuban bloggers, most of whom choose to do so anonymously getting their stories posted is not as simple as sitting in front of a computer and typing away.

For example Sanchez has to pretend to be a tourist in order to obtain her web access, which costs about $6 an hour from local Havana hotels. Others are willing to pay upwards of $40 a month to get black-market dial-up access. Regular or authorized service includes access to an island-wide network that allows for sending or receiving emails, this is available at youth clubs, post offices and a handful of cafes however the rest of the web is blocked.

While its still illegal and potentially dangerous for bloggers such as Sanchez to write as she does, especially under her real name, she is quick to note that “with each step we take in that direction, it’s harder for the government to push us back.“ Hopefully, as we have seen the recent relaxing of what Cuban citizens can legally purchase electronics wise, we will soon see the same to happen with other services such as unfiltered or unblocked Internet access.

Read [USA Today]

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Sections: Web, Websites

Since cell phones were first made available, and legal, Cuban citizens have been furiously purchasing new cell phones. Its been just about ten days now and Cuba’s telephone company is reporting that they have sold 7,400 new cell phones, about 740 per day.

While I can expect a lot of people to be wanting to run out and make the purchase, its does surprise me that it was such a high number considering the phone contract costs around $120, which adds up to about a six-months salary for the average Cuban citizen.

Via [Cellular-News]

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After the recent end of the cell phone ban in Cuba, locals have been lining up to get their very first mobile phones. Monday morning, Cuban locals were eager to get their mobile phones from state-owned phone offices after many decades of being deprived of hi-tech gadgets.

Reforms in Cuba brought about by its new President Raul Castro have allowed Cubans to get cell phones as well as DVD players and computers with Internet access even if restricted. All these electronic goods come with a high price tag though.

For years, a number of Cubans have been fortunate to own their cellphones, however, illegally, through foreigners who were the only ones authorized to own phones in the country. With this newfound freedom, more people can freely make calls and buy their own units. At the Havana colonial district office, more than 100 Cubans waited in line to buy their cellphones to use their new prepaid service. The cheapest cell phone costs $65 which is a lot considering that the average stage wage is only $18 per month.

This is good news for most Cubans because now, they no longer have to ask foreigners to help them. This lifting of ban is among the many changes Cuba has experienced ever since Raul Castro took over his ailing brother Fidel Castro. So after the cell phones, I wonder what’s next to become available?

Read [Reuters]

• Cuban citizens snapping up cell phones
• Tightly controlled Internet access does not stop Cuban bloggers
• Despite high price tags Cubans line-up to purchase first legal computers

Its always nice to see a happy outcome, a Cuban blogger, who recently had her own site blocked by the Cuban government has won an award for that very site. Yoani Sanchez who writes the Generacion Y blog as a journal of her daily life in Cuba was given the Ortega and Gasset prize for digital journalism. This prize comes as an annual event that is presented by the Spanish newspaper El Pais. According to the paper, Sanchez was awarded the prize for “shrewdness in overcoming hurdles to freedom of expression in Cuba, her vivacious style and her drive to join the global space of citizen journalism.“

According to reports she hosts her blog on servers in Germany and was able to attract 1.2 million hits this past February. But perhaps more important than the award, Sanchez who spoke with Reuters via telephone was quoted as saying that “this is great encouragement for Cuban bloggers who are still at an embryonic stage.“

Thankfully the Cuban government has been getting a little looser lately when it comes to ‘modern’ freedoms such as cell phones, computers, DVD players and toasters. Hopefully some of this new found ‘freedom’ will find its way to the Internet access, which is currently still controlled by the government and we can only hope that Yoani Sanchez does not receive any unwanted attention courtesy of her blog, award and new found attention.

Read [Reuters]

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Following up on the recent announcement to lift the ban on computer and DVD player sales, the Cuban Government has decided to lift the ban on cell phones. While Cuba has not been a cell-phone free country, the available phones have been primarily used by government officials, foreigners and those who were able to get their hand on one from a third-party, which meant very few had access. The good new is that beginning soon, according to ETECSA the phones and service will be available “within days,“ can actually be used by anyone (assuming its affordable) and without worry or fear of getting in trouble.

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It was just a few short weeks ago that the good news came about how the Cuban government was beginning to ease up a little by allowing their people sales of computers and video players. While they may be allowed to purchase (assuming they can afford one) a computer, it may not be that perfect setup considering the Internet access will be limited and remain in control of the government. Recently a popular Cuban blogger’s website was blocked, just like YouTube was inaccessible for almost a week in China.

Yoani Sanchez, a 32 year old graduate of philology blogs for “Generacion Y“, journaling her daily life in Cuba, as well as the political constraints and economic hardships in her country. In an interview with Reuters, Sanchez divulged that she could not access her website as of Monday. Last February, Sanchez’s blog received 1.2 million hits from all over the world and just this week, website has become inaccessible from her connection in Cuba. However, she found a way to access her blog via an indirect route, most likely an Internet proxy.

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Sections: Web, Websites

While most of us take the latest and greatest computer for granted, or at least the fact that we are easily able to purchase a computer. Not to mention we seem to be very worried about the next-generation movie players and have all gotten caught up in the recent format war (where Blu-ray came out victorious). But what if those options had not been available to us?

Being very into tech it’s easy to forget that some people may not be able to purchase such devices, not because of a financial reason but because their government did not allow it. While I will not dive to far into Communism here, it is with very good news that there are some signs of change in Cuba, even if it is just a little at a time.

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