News with a Twist

I picked up a newspaper at the book fair to get a sense of what news is like in Cuba. The front page had an article about the launch of the first Cuban search engine. The developers seem to have done their homework as the logo comes complete with a beta tag, a necessity in the world of hot new websites. I was interested in the screenshot, which showed a Google-like search box with tabs along the top for performing a general search, an image search, a multimedia search, or a search of Fidel's speeches. This last unique feature will surely give it any edge that other search engines will find tough to match.

Inside the paper I found another technology article — this one about MIT's One Laptop Per Child project which aims to develop low-cost computers for developing nations. I am by no means sold on the idea — it's admirable but I wonder about the utility of developing nations spending hundreds of millions on computers when there are so many other pressing needs, like a good basic education provided by well-trained teachers.

This newspaper had a different bone to pick however. The problem with the OLPC project is the obvious North American attempt at cultural manipulation. More specifically, the inclusion of Wikipedia as an encyclopaedia is an outrageous idea due to the fact that anyone who wishes to can contribute to it. Who knows what devious lies will be taught to children the world over from a non-state-censored body of knowledge.