Paulo Rebêlo Wired News July 2001 Efforts to connect Brazil to the 21st century continue in earnest as governments and non-governmental organizations endeavor to provide Internet access to poor and rural areas. According to Brazilian Planning Minister Martus Tavares, the government is about to invest $400 million this year to expand Internet use in Brazil…. Continue reading →

Paulo Rebêlo Wired News May 2001 The Brazilian health system is a model to the world when it comes to fighting AIDS. But it faces the wrath of labs in the United States, which want to regain control of their patents on generic medicines used to fight the disease. Brazil is the only Latin American… Continue reading →

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… Continue reading →

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… Continue reading →

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… Continue reading →

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… Continue reading →

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… Continue reading →

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… Continue reading →

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… Continue reading →

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,… Continue reading →