Cuba USA
The opening of the Google+Kcho technology center was covered in an article in CubaDebate, which includes 14 photos and two videos.
Google has equipped the center with 20 Acer Chromebooks and a number of Nexus 5 phones and Cardboard viewers. Each Chromebook comes with 100 GB of cloud storage.
I have to admit that I find this disappointing for a couple of reasons.
First, it was widely reported that this center would provide connectivity for 40 simultaneous users at 70 times the speed of ETECSA's current public hotspots, but the article just says ETECSA has provisioned one of their access points at the studio. If that is the case and they limit access to 40 simultaneous users -- 20 using Chromebooks inside and 20 more using their own devices outside -- performance should be better than the other ETECSA hotspots, but the speed per user will be more like twice as fast than 70 times as fast.
The studio will be open to the public five days a week, from 7 a.m. to midnight. I guess Kcho will have the whole link to himself on weekends.
Still, even if it is no faster than a public hotspot, it will be free. That sounds good, but the lines waiting to get in will run the length of the Malecón. How will they ration access -- who will get in and for how long? Perhaps access will be reserved for professionals.
The article asks us to imagine how great it will be for the robotics faculty at CUJAE, a Cuban university, to hold a video conference call with researchers at the Alphabet-owned robotics company Boston Dynamics. Two problems -- that sounds a little patronizing and it has been reported that Boston Dynamics is up for sale.
I'm also disappointed in Google. They have developed and deployed amazing technology and are a huge company that has invested a lot in well-publicized trips to Cuba. Couldn't they have afforded to contribute their own high-end Pixel Chromebooks and Nexus 6 phones instead of Acer Chromebooks and Nexus 5 phones? And, how about a terabyte instead of 100 gig? It's not a big deal, but it feels cheesy given the hype surrounding the opening of the center.
There is too much kowtowing and hyperbole -- "Kcho's magic, Etecsa's megas and Google's technology have converted this place into the first connection point on the island, completely free for all Cubans." The article makes a Google Hangout on Air and Cardboard VR sound like cutting edge technology.
Another disappointment was Kcho and Leysi Rubio, head of the communications (press relations?) department, looking a gift horse in the mouth by taking pot shots at the US government and the "blockade." There is no suggestion that Cuban government fear or mistrust might impose any limitations.
Regardless, the valiant Kcho vowed to persevere -- he doesn't know how -- but, somehow, he will keep doing things. Good grief.
The press coverage of this project was also disappointing. A Google search for "Google Kcho" news turns up hundreds of articles on the project during the last few days. The story was covered in many nations and languages -- from Turkey's Daily Sabah (in English, Turkish or German) to the New York Times. The Internet tech press all jumped on the story.
I've only read a fraction of these stories, but they all have one thing in common -- they are either direct copies or paraphrases of the story published by the Associated Press after an exclusive tour of the facility on March 21, 2016. They even repeat a symmetric connection speed of 70 megabytes per second, which I suspect should be 70 megabits per second.
I would not be so disappointed if this were an isolated case, but I am afraid that click-supported Internet news may inevitably be superficial, redundant and concentrated.
I may have gotten some of this wrong -- let me know if you get online at the Google-Kcho center and your experience is different. I'd also be curious to know which, if any, of the Google Drive services are blocked in Cuba.
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Update 4/4/2015
Kcho is well connected. My friend Sam Lanfranco pointed me to this photo of Kcho (left) waiting with Foreign Trade and Investment Minister Rodrigo Malmierca and member of the Cuban Parliament Esteban Lazo Hernandez for the arrival of U.S. President Barack Obama at the Gran Teatro de la Habana Alicia Alonso.
- Internet-related Announcements Around President Obama's Trip To Cuba
There were important financial and university-related announcements. Last month, I speculated on possible Internet-related announcements that might be made in conjunction with the visit of President Obama. Nothing I mentioned came up, but let's look...
- A Universiy Of Havana Hot Zone?
A Cuban WiFi zone on and around the University of Havana? Alejandro Ramos Encinosa, from the University of Havana, has written a short description of a campus WiFi project that would bring connectivity to the UH campus and nearby neighborhoods. Ramos...
- Ny Times Editorial On The Internet In Cuba
The New York Times has published an editorial call to "bring Cuba online." they say "millions of Cuban citizens could have affordable access to the Internet in a matter of months" if only the government were willing to allow Google to go forward with...
- In A Nation With Nearly No Internet Access, A Little Bit Gets A Lot Of Hype.
In mid June, Cuba announced a plan to provide public access at 35 WiFi hotspots. As we noted, 35 WiFi hotspots is a drop in the bucket for a nation with over 11 million people, yet they have received a lot of press coverage. A Google search found 651...
- A Drop In The Internet Bucket -- Big News Or Not?
Adonis Ortiz chats with his father, who lives in the U.S., using a free Wi-Fi network at a center run by famed artist Kcho, in Havana, (Desmond Boylan/Associated Press) The Cuban artist Kcho received permission from the Cuban telecommunication monopoly...
Cuba USA
Opening of the Google+Kcho tech center -- much ado about not much (again)
The opening of the Google+Kcho technology center was covered in an article in CubaDebate, which includes 14 photos and two videos.
Google has equipped the center with 20 Acer Chromebooks and a number of Nexus 5 phones and Cardboard viewers. Each Chromebook comes with 100 GB of cloud storage.
 |
| The man is in the wheelchair demonstrating Google Cardboard for the press. Kcho is on the left and Google's head of Cuba operations Brett Perlmutter is to his right. |
I have to admit that I find this disappointing for a couple of reasons.
First, it was widely reported that this center would provide connectivity for 40 simultaneous users at 70 times the speed of ETECSA's current public hotspots, but the article just says ETECSA has provisioned one of their access points at the studio. If that is the case and they limit access to 40 simultaneous users -- 20 using Chromebooks inside and 20 more using their own devices outside -- performance should be better than the other ETECSA hotspots, but the speed per user will be more like twice as fast than 70 times as fast.
The studio will be open to the public five days a week, from 7 a.m. to midnight. I guess Kcho will have the whole link to himself on weekends.
Still, even if it is no faster than a public hotspot, it will be free. That sounds good, but the lines waiting to get in will run the length of the Malecón. How will they ration access -- who will get in and for how long? Perhaps access will be reserved for professionals.
The article asks us to imagine how great it will be for the robotics faculty at CUJAE, a Cuban university, to hold a video conference call with researchers at the Alphabet-owned robotics company Boston Dynamics. Two problems -- that sounds a little patronizing and it has been reported that Boston Dynamics is up for sale.
I'm also disappointed in Google. They have developed and deployed amazing technology and are a huge company that has invested a lot in well-publicized trips to Cuba. Couldn't they have afforded to contribute their own high-end Pixel Chromebooks and Nexus 6 phones instead of Acer Chromebooks and Nexus 5 phones? And, how about a terabyte instead of 100 gig? It's not a big deal, but it feels cheesy given the hype surrounding the opening of the center.
There is too much kowtowing and hyperbole -- "Kcho's magic, Etecsa's megas and Google's technology have converted this place into the first connection point on the island, completely free for all Cubans." The article makes a Google Hangout on Air and Cardboard VR sound like cutting edge technology.
Another disappointment was Kcho and Leysi Rubio, head of the communications (press relations?) department, looking a gift horse in the mouth by taking pot shots at the US government and the "blockade." There is no suggestion that Cuban government fear or mistrust might impose any limitations.
Regardless, the valiant Kcho vowed to persevere -- he doesn't know how -- but, somehow, he will keep doing things. Good grief.
The press coverage of this project was also disappointing. A Google search for "Google Kcho" news turns up hundreds of articles on the project during the last few days. The story was covered in many nations and languages -- from Turkey's Daily Sabah (in English, Turkish or German) to the New York Times. The Internet tech press all jumped on the story.
I've only read a fraction of these stories, but they all have one thing in common -- they are either direct copies or paraphrases of the story published by the Associated Press after an exclusive tour of the facility on March 21, 2016. They even repeat a symmetric connection speed of 70 megabytes per second, which I suspect should be 70 megabits per second.
I would not be so disappointed if this were an isolated case, but I am afraid that click-supported Internet news may inevitably be superficial, redundant and concentrated.
I may have gotten some of this wrong -- let me know if you get online at the Google-Kcho center and your experience is different. I'd also be curious to know which, if any, of the Google Drive services are blocked in Cuba.
-----
Update 4/4/2015
Kcho is well connected. My friend Sam Lanfranco pointed me to this photo of Kcho (left) waiting with Foreign Trade and Investment Minister Rodrigo Malmierca and member of the Cuban Parliament Esteban Lazo Hernandez for the arrival of U.S. President Barack Obama at the Gran Teatro de la Habana Alicia Alonso.
- Internet-related Announcements Around President Obama's Trip To Cuba
There were important financial and university-related announcements. Last month, I speculated on possible Internet-related announcements that might be made in conjunction with the visit of President Obama. Nothing I mentioned came up, but let's look...
- A Universiy Of Havana Hot Zone?
A Cuban WiFi zone on and around the University of Havana? Alejandro Ramos Encinosa, from the University of Havana, has written a short description of a campus WiFi project that would bring connectivity to the UH campus and nearby neighborhoods. Ramos...
- Ny Times Editorial On The Internet In Cuba
The New York Times has published an editorial call to "bring Cuba online." they say "millions of Cuban citizens could have affordable access to the Internet in a matter of months" if only the government were willing to allow Google to go forward with...
- In A Nation With Nearly No Internet Access, A Little Bit Gets A Lot Of Hype.
In mid June, Cuba announced a plan to provide public access at 35 WiFi hotspots. As we noted, 35 WiFi hotspots is a drop in the bucket for a nation with over 11 million people, yet they have received a lot of press coverage. A Google search found 651...
- A Drop In The Internet Bucket -- Big News Or Not?
Adonis Ortiz chats with his father, who lives in the U.S., using a free Wi-Fi network at a center run by famed artist Kcho, in Havana, (Desmond Boylan/Associated Press) The Cuban artist Kcho received permission from the Cuban telecommunication monopoly...