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 Presently in: Panama City, Panama [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://www.knowprose.com http://www.easylum.net http://www.digitaldivide.net/profile/Taran "Criticize by creating." — Michelangelo _______________________________________________ DIGITALDIVIDE mailing list [email protected] http://mailman.edc.org/mailman/listinfo/digitaldivide To unsubscribe, send a message to [EMAIL PROTECTED] with the word UNSUBSCRIBE in the body of the message.
