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Taran's Update on Panama.
My apologies for the cross posting.
I've spent about a month here in Panama City, Panama, and haven't had much
of a chance to do much as I have been tied very closely to the internet.
However, through my friend Willy Smith and others, I've gotten a good feel
for Panama and when I return next month I'll be better prepared to check
out the telecenters in the outlying regions, outside of the city. I see a
rental vehicle in my future. I do enjoy driving. :-)
But some things worth mentioning about the city itself - telecenters, or
cybercafes, are everywhere - just as are calling centers. A short walk from
where I am, I can buy computers without monitors for about $300 - $500.
Talking with the people there, I found out that they were indeed using
Biostar motherboards, and they do have Ubuntu Linux available. This cost
seems low, but when you realize that an income of over $500 US/month in
Panama (the currency in Panama is the U.S. dollar), you begin to see that
while the costs are considerably lower than that of the U.S., they are
pretty well balanced to monthly income. I know this to have been true in
Trinidad and Tobago as well, and it's worth noting because of one main
thing: The parts for computers are available, and there's a market that
supports them.
Telecenters and calling centers are packed to capacity every time I walk
by. People step outside and smoke cigarettes, then go back inside to
continue what they are doing. Low calling rates throughout the Latin
American region are very cheap, and I have a card that I bought for $10
U.S. which allows me to call anywhere in the world for as low as 5 cents
per minute. Clearly, the hub of the Americas is also a hub for
telecommunications - at least within Panama City itself. I am quick to
point this out, because Panama City is a city - the pictures here (
http://www.knowprose.com/node/1379 ) demonstrate that.
Spanish, of course, is the dominant language. I have found a lot of people
who speak English as well, though - one little Chinese store
where I have been buying the important supplies of coffee, milk, sugar,
bread and chocolate cereal (!!) has suffered me learning more Spanish, and
after 2 weeks of progress, they completely reversed on me - they started
speaking English with me. When I asked why they were speaking English they
said that they were satisfied that I was trying to learn, and they were
trying to learn better English themselves. That should say something to
English speakers who visit Latin American countries: Try. And while I can't
communicate like Borges yet, I can at least have conversations.
Hotels have internet access. The first hotel I stayed in, the first night,
only had a small telecenter (5 computers) available, but at $20 a
night that's a deal. Through Willy Smith, former editor of Linux Gazette
and a close friend, I found a hotel for $25 a night with decent wireless
access and better rooms. Which leads me to something else...
American expats, like in Costa Rica, abound in Panama. From apartments
available to publishing, Panama has a growing culture of expats who are
accepted in Panama and also use the geographic separation to publish books
that would not normally be published in the United States, either because
of marketing issues or legal issues. Banking in the region for Americans
poses problems because of the Patriot Act, as this adds overhead to local
banks that they just don't want to have to deal with - so they don't. I
went to one of the socials, and met the American ambassador who appeared to
be rather ambivalent about the whole thing.
The Panama Library recently made 185 titles available electronically -
http://www.knowprose.com/node/1401 - and it looks like there will be more
made available as well.
I'm rather excited about my return to Panama next month - there are plenty
of leads to follow on all sorts of interesting things related to
the Digital Divide.
Taran Rampersad
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