Paulo Rebêlo Wired News May 2001 Brazil has launched an all-out war against software piracy, creating a zero-tolerance policy to be implemented May 18 by the newly created Interministerial Committee for Piracy Combat. The idea of the program is not going over well with many in the technology field, who say it will set back the country's IT progress, rather than help it. According to a report by ABES -- the Brazilian Association of Software Companies -- Brazil's economy lost about $1.4 billion because of software piracy in 2000. The report also claims that 56 percent of all software currently...

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Paulo Rebêlo Wired News May 2001 Despite the recording industry's well-publicized efforts to stop online music trading, it doesn't appear the practice will end anytime soon. Now, with the appearance of a software program known as Comuna, Brazilians have a leg up on their foreign music-trading counterparts. Comuna, taken from "communism," is supported by Central MP3, one of the most popular music and MP3 related sites in Brazil. Although Marxist ideology hasn't enjoyed much of a vogue in Brazil since the '70s, Comuna's author said it was an appropriate name. "For a program which intends to share...

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Paulo Rebêlo Wired News April 2001 If you have a relative living abroad, you probably pay a higher phone bill every month. How about calling for free, and at the time you want? That's happening in many Latin American countries, especially Brazil. "The most difficult issue (in talking with relatives abroad) is the bill; everyone knows that," said André Ribeiro, a 27-year-old commercial representative in Rio de Janeiro. "No one talks for only a minute or two." VoIP -- voice over Internet protocol -- offers the ability to call anyone using a PC with an Internet connection. The call can arrive...

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Paulo Rebêlo Wired News April 2001 A few months ago, Brazilians were astonished to read about the electricity crisis in California. They couldn't quite understand how the richest and most developed nation in the world could face that kind of basic –- almost absurd –- problem. That feeling has changed. A Brazilian power crisis is on its way and blackouts appear imminent. It's now an in-country issue which may affect the entire population, with blackouts possibly beginning before the end of April. The problem is water, or rather, lack of water. Brazil has two nuclear and 16 thermoelectric...

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Paulo Rebêlo Wired News February 2001 The government's desire to democratize the Internet moved into high gear this month when it announced a project for producing a computer that would cost as little as $15 a month. So what's in a $300 computer? Or better yet, what's not? Enough to get on the Internet, but not much more. Researchers from the Federal University of Minas Gerais created a prototype of what's being called the Popular PC. It features a 500 MHz-equivalent processor, 64MB of RAM, an Ethernet network card, a 56K modem, 14-inch monitor, sound and video cards, serial and USB ports,...

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Paulo Rebêlo Wired News February 2001 Thanks to last year's boom of Internet service providers that offered free access, Brazil became the South American country with the highest number of users, analysts say. But the free ISP honeymoon, which was responsible for making the Internet accessible to Brazilians, is over. These ISPs have failed to turn a profit and are either changing their business plans or closing their doors -- just as many U.S. ISPs have done in the dot-com shakeout. This comes despite the fact that the number of Brazilian Internet users –- considered to be the fastest growing...

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Paulo Rebêlo Wired News January 2001 On the surface, Universo Online appears to be just another Internet service provider failing to turn up a profit. Bad news on the bottom line led to a sober business decision. It followed the steps of many other prominent companies and in November scrapped free Internet access offerings in order to cut losses. But UOL isn't just any Internet company. It's actually the "800-pound gorilla" in Brazil, as one analyst called it, that probably can't be put down. So even though it began charging for access -- and even though there are still free ISPs holding on to dear...

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Paulo Rebêlo Wired News January 2001 In an attempt to bridge the country's digital divide, the Brazilian Congress last week approved a bill that would ease the tax burden of technology companies so they could sell their products at a lower cost. Backers of the bill say more people could afford to buy the technology, thus accelerating the drive to modernize the country. In addition, technology companies must donate 5 percent of their profits to public universities. President Fernando Henrique Cardoso has until Jan. 20 to sign into law "A Lei Informatica" -- the "Computer Law" -- which gives...

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Paulo Rebêlo Wired News January 2001 Considering Brazil has the world's sixth largest television audience, it wasn't surprising the Brazilian government mentioned the medium's 50th anniversary on its homepage. "Remove TV from Brazil and Brazil disappears," journalist Eugenio Bucci says on Brazil's official website. But what kind of TV they're getting has been a sore spot for those hoping the digital revolution would have conquered Brazil by now. While DTVs are slowly but surely making their way into living rooms in the United States, Europe and Japan, it will take years before Brazilians can even...

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Paulo Rebêlo Wired News January 2001 When the Spanish bank Santander bought the debt-ridden, state-owned Banespa Bank in São Paulo, it was another indicator the Spaniards were re-conquering the New World. Only this time, they're buying it. In the last few years the Brazilian economy has fattened up with investments –- and renewed interest –- from Spanish companies. Spain is now the second-largest foreign investor in Brazil after the United States. Though Spanish companies invest almost $4 billion less than U.S. companies, their investments are 20 times more than they were in 1995. Spanish...

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