Life, liberty and GPS: What technology means in Egypt
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Among international outrages, depriving citizens of personalized maps seems far down on the list.
Still, that was the condition put on the introduction of Apple’s 3G iPhone in Egypt. The government demanded that Apple disable the phone’s global-positioning system, arguing that GPS was a military prerogative. Apple modified its phone without any public acknowledgment.
Ahmed Gabr, who runs a blog in Egypt, gadgetsarabia.com described in his e-mail message what he considered to be the faulty rationale for the policy in Egypt.
“From a technical point of view, this is totally pointless because Google Maps works flawlessly here - you can even get a clear snap (with accurate coordinates) of places you’re not supposed to see.” As an aside, he said that months ago he “bought an American iPhone 3G via eBay” with full functionality. “Cheaper, earlier and without compromise,” he wrote, signing his note with a self-satisfied smiley-face emoticon.
Andrew Bossone, an American in Cairo who writes about technology, says that despite its expense, the iPhone in Egypt is “really popular - everyone knows the iPhone.” In addition to editing a technology magazine, he teaches at the American University in Cairo.
Bossone said he thought the government would relent on issues like GPS because it would side with business even at the expense of security concerns. But thus far, each time technology has promised to help introduce democracy to the country, the young peoples’ hopes have been dashed. A movement for political reform that used Facebook to organize protests over the spring was shut down. The authorities cracked down, jailing many of its organizers. In the last few weeks, a blogger affiliated with the radical group the Muslim Brotherhood was arrested for his writings, according to the Arabic Network for Human Rights. Another blogger is being held in a military camp, the group says.
It is enough to make one wonder if new technologies - the personal computer, the Web, the smartphone - will help set us free or merely give us that illusion.
Excerpted from an article by Noam Cohen for International Herald Tribune
Lower Tourism Revenue Expected for Egypt
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Global financial crisis and its impact on the Egyptian economy may mean lower tourism revenue this year, according to Egypt’s minister of tourism.
Zohair Garanah said in an interview on Oct. 23 that the private sector is panicking because of the economic turmoil and is starting a price war, which will harm the industry in the long- term.
Tourism is the number one source of foreign currency income for Egypt, generating revenue of nearly $10 billion last year. Tourism accounted for 11.3 percent of gross domestic product in the last fiscal year, according to the minister. The country attracted 11 million tourists last year.
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