Jorge Arango

I’m very excited about the new Google Chart API. Calling a very simple URI-based API returns a wide variety of elegant and very effective graphs for all sorts of uses. We can now include charts in blog posts, Basecamp messages, etc.—essentially, anywhere we can post HTML. Anyone who’s ever had to muck around with GD, Flash, or any other server-side graphing technology will appreciate how simple and powerful this is.

The Charts API is a prime example of the power of the Unix philosophy of using discreet, limited-function apps that can be chained together to create much more complex and compelling applications, only in this case having the internet itself as the operating system glue that binds the components together. In essence, Google is building out a layer of functionality on top of the web that we can then deploy into our own applications, thereby insinuating themselves into the fabric of the web itself. Very neat stuff!

Continue Reading

This weekend I bought a Sony Reader (PRS-505) as an early Christmas present for myself; it should arrive within the next couple of weeks. When I moved back to Panama, one of the things I missed most about living in the developed world was having easy access to quality, relevant books. Panama doesn’t have any large bookstores like Borders or Barnes & Noble, and the less is said about our public libraries, the better. I’m hoping the Reader will help me fill this hole in my life.

Currently, I get most of my books from Amazon. This gives me a broad selection, but it’s expensive and time-consuming to have large blocks of paper shipped here. I also end up with a lot of books, most of which I read only once; I’d much rather check them out from a library than having to purchase them. There’s also an ethical problem: with the rising environmental, social, and economic costs of oil, transporting information in book form is becoming a moral dilemma for me.

Ebooks have been around for a while; I read quite a few them on my Palm during my commutes in the early 2000s. So why do I need another gadget to do this? I already do most of my reading on computer screens, and at the end of the day my eyes need a break. Reading long ebooks on a LCD is neither comfortable or practical. From what I’ve seen, the Reader’s Vizplex screen solves this problem in an elegant way.

I knew before ordering that Amazon was coming out with an ebook reader today; I’ve been researching the e-reader market for the last couple of weeks, and considered devices from other companies as well. I went for the Sony because I suspect that Amazon’s device is going to be closed to non-proprietary ebook formats. Also, due to its reliance on Amazon’s wireless network it’s probably practical only for folks living in the US. While the Sony Reader also uses a proprietary format (it’s a Sony, right?), it can also read plain pdf, txt and rtf files. There are also many freely available third-party tools that allow for the conversion between formats into Sony’s BBeB format. The Sony also seems like a simpler device. My hope is that the Amazon device will help spur interest?and competition?in the ebook market, increasing the amount of books available in ebook form.

I don’t have expectations that the Sony Reader will be the “end-all-be-all” ebook reader. It reminds me of the Creative NOMAD Jukebox I bought back in the day; at the time I just wanted something portable?and with large storage?to play MP3 files on. I knew that the devices would be getting smaller and better; the Jukebox was a sort of prototype of what the iPod would be in later years. I had no illusions then that the NOMAD Jukebox would be my last MP3 player, and I have no illusions now that the Reader will be my last ebook reader. I just hope these devices gain enough mainstream acceptance to eventually reduce my reliance on wood pulp for reading.

Continue Reading

It’s sad that I’m excited about this, especially since it’s so far behind the US and other countries, but Google Maps is finally showing a street-level map view of my hometown. Yay!

(Doesn’t seem to have driving directions yet, though.)

Technorati Tags: panama

Continue Reading

I’ve been arguing against the use of spam as a marketing tool, in one way or another, for more than ten years. To my chagrin, there has been little progress in my home country in this regard; while spamming has fallen out of fashion (and into illegallity) elsewhere, in Panama it is still alive and thriving. I receive dozens of unsolicited emails every week from otherwise reputable businesses.

-more->

It’s understandable that in 1997 businesses were willing to experiment with bulk emails; the medium was new, and netiquette hadn’t yet gelled. There were no rules?implicit or otherwise. In 2007 it’s a completely different story. I don’t think there is a single email user on the entire planet who isn’t hugely annoyed by the deluge of crap flooding our inboxes. Companies have spent many millions of dollars to build spam filters and other techniques to shield productive people from having to deal with this stuff. People have even gone to prison for sending unsolicited emails, for heaven’s sake!

But not here. In Panama, spamming is considered a legitimate business practice. I’m still shocked by the frequency with which I’m shown PowerPoint presentations that include “mass emailing” as a marketing channel. The perpetrators are not freaks either: they are otherwise well-meaning, law-abiding marketing folks looking for what they perceive to be a “cheap and easy” way to get the word out about their business, no matter what. (Many of these people, it’s worth noting, are protected from spam by corporate mail filters.)

How “cheap and easy” is it? I recently received an email from a gentleman (whose name, email, cell phone number, and affiliation I will not post here, even though they figured prominently in the message) offering “More than 150 thousand prospects for your business in a DVD!!!” for US$150. Where did this guy get this valuable information, you may wonder? The email describes it thusly: “Our database comes from different internet sites, universities, [the Panamanian] Chamber of Commerce, CAPAC, ACOBIR, APEDE, members and users of the [Col?n] Free Zone, the Hebrew Academy, lawyers, doctors, and more…” (A note to my foreign readers: the acronyms are highly respected professional associations.) In other words, the seller is promising the personal details of the “who’s who” of Panama’s managerial class, who most assuredly did not give their permission for their membership information to be used for these purposes. (Given the amount of spam I receive from Panamanian companies, I wouldn’t be surprised if one or more of my email addresses are in there. I certainly haven’t signed up for any of this stuff.)

Again, the person who sent this email didn’t shy away from including his personal information in his message (which itself was unsolicited, obviously). In other words, this sort of gross breach of privacy is not punished (or punishable) in Panama, otherwise this guy would be in deep shit.

The local “professional” spammers know that what they are doing is wrong, and that people are annoyed by their unsolicited messages. They tacitly admit so in the messages themselves. However, they make little effort to allow victims to opt out. Check out the preamble of an unsolicited message I got this morning, for a local upscale, super-high visibility shopping mall:

Translation:

This message has not been requested by you; however, we invite you to register for free on our form in exchange for future incentives.

This is the first thing the user reads in this message. In other words, they know the user will be wondering “Why the hell did I get this?” right off the bat. However, they make no effort to allow the user to opt out; on the contrary, they are encouraging the user to sign up for more crap! Given that this sort of statement usually allows users to “unsubscribe”, this form is extremely misleading and malicious.

But wait, it gets better. Check out the footer:

Translation:

In case you don’t want to receive new messages click here.
This email has been sent by Enlacepc.com by request of the client. [sic] It’s not our motivation [sic] to annoy you. We invite you to register for free on our form in exchange for future incentives.

So, great: they give me a way to opt out. One step forward. Unfortunately, the next three sentences they take about 19 steps back. Let me paraphrase: “We know spam is a royal pain in the ass, but we (Enlacepc.com, whatever that is) are gonna send you this crap anyways because our client made us do it! By the way, sign up for more crap.”

Thanks guys. You (and your client) are really considerate and classy.

After 12 years of working in this medium in Panama, it’s very discouraging to still see this type of highly unprofessional, unethical behavior on behalf of these marketing companies and their clients. They are discrediting the internet as a marketing medium, and poisoning the well for everyone else. I, for one, am glad that I have gmail’s excellent spam filter on my side; very little of this stuff gets through to my actual inbox. But I suffer when I see my friends and family wade through hundreds of unsolicited messages in order to get through to their real email.

When will this stop? I’m sure some of these messages must be going out by accident (or otherwise) to US citizens. If so, I wonder if these spammers are prosecutable in the US legal system?

Technorati Tags: panama, spam

Continue Reading

Plaza Paitilla was one of the first enclosed shopping malls in Panama City. (It opened in the early / mid 80’s.) The mall concept never took off, and the place has always been half-empty. In recent years, some of the stores have been occupied by professional services firms such as lawyers, associations, etc.

Whoever owns the place has allowed it to decay to the point where it is derelict. Check out the escalators… neither side works, and the right side is totally destroyed. Was this caused by a horrific accident? A disgruntled maintenance crew? Who knows… I find it mildly amusing (and disturbing) that wimpy potted plants have been placed on either end, as if attempting to keep people from losing life or limb on this deathtrap while keeping the place "pretty".

-more->

Here’s a closer look at the sorry condition of the escalators, which stand in the middle of a three-story atrium. Because of the crappy Treo camera, you can’t appreciate the horrid, rusty state of the left escalator. Going up this thing is scary!

This used to be the mall’s food court; the restaurants have long been closed. (Un)fortunately the photograph doesn’t convey the overwhelming stench of frying-fat that still permeates this place. I didn’t take pictures of the bathrooms because I didn’t want to spend any more time in them than was absolutely necessary. Suffice it to say that they are not fit for decent human use.

It’s worth noting that this place is in the middle of one of the busiest, most thriving areas of Panama City, a short walk away from the two newest (and most luxurious) malls in the city. The Panamanian government is spending a lot of money to market the country as a “world-class” tourist destination. And yet it allows places like this to remain open, and in one of the main tourist areas to boot!

Plaza Paitilla is dangerous. There are people working in this place. Why haven’t the owners taken steps to either fix up or close this place? (Can you tell that lawsuits are not a very effective deterrent in Panama?)

Technorati Tags: panama

Continue Reading