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"The mayor of Beijing has ordered the immediate closure of all cyber cafes in the Chinese capital, after a fire killed at least 24 and injured 13 others in one of the city's internet parlours."
Read it all HERE
I never really liked cyber cafes anyway, but they're a good way for people without computers to get Internet access. It's terrible that something like this could happen...
AJ
Cyber Cafe?? What's that?
It's a place where you basically pay a per-hour fee (at least at the one in my area) and are given access to an Internet-enabled workstation, so that you can browse the Internet without actually owning your own computer or without subscribing to a personal Internet access. I know there are a few down here (San Diego, CA), but, as far as I know, they're not all that popular here. For a list (I'm not sure how complete it is, go here: http://www.cyberiacafe.net/cyberia/guide/ccafe.htm)
AJ
Thanks! Weird. Such a cool place! Are their any by the east coast section of the U.S? Btw, wouldn't those be over crowded?
Closing down cybercafes because they are unsafe is easier than closing them down because they are sources of free and independent thought beyond the control of the government.
cyber cafes are big all over the world not so much in the states as basically everyone has a pc and access to internet. these are huge in poorer nations where u can basically pay about .50cents for an hour of internet access.
i saw this incident on cnn...interviewed some kids who were there just hours b4 fire and said there were no windows and very poorly ventilated.
On a personal note... when I was taking an oral communications class a few years ago, I was required to give a few presentations upon any subject of my choosing. I ended up choosing Internet security, since it was something I was deeply involved in. For my last presentation, I needed a strong attention-getter and starting by asking the audience whether they had ever worried about their physical safety due to the Internet. I then proceeded to outline an attack where a couple Russian hackers nearly broke a code which would have given them access to Russia's nuclear arsenal. The point is, this is a perfect example of how the Internet can harm you phyiscally (besides chatting with pyschopaths in chat rooms... lol). Anyway, just wanted to mention that because I thought this points out something which many people don't consider when they think of security related to the Internet....
AJ
very interesting, avdven.......me and one of my friends were debating whether or not if it's possible to totally destroy a country through the 'net.....and I think someone could.....
yeah cyber cafes are huge all over the world... 1 year ago i was in Fiji..and they had them there...i was amazed...
but that is terrible what happened..
hmmm the fire was bad but i think closing the cafe's is not a pretty good solution. if they (beijing govn't) want to prevent those kind of accidents, they should impose some rules regarding cyber cafe's like putting a good ventilation to the place, putting fire extinguishers on an easy to find place etc... etc... and if the rules were not followed by the owner of the establishment then a more better reason to close it out.
i think cyber cafe's are really cool establishments because of several reasons one mention by AphexTwin is giving people internet access without really owning a pc and connecting to their own ISP. paying cheap internet access on a cafe is a good alternative to learn without having your own pc.
Cybercafes are usually safe, but not all the time. I go to one here in LA when I can on Fridays and nothing goes wrong not unless something does. Human error seems the right cause, but making drastic uneccessary decisions isnt needed.
quote from http://news.bbc.co.uk/hi/english/wor...00/2048467.stm
"An official hi-tech police - nicknamed "the great firewall of China" - keeps watch over the internet 24 hours a day. Its job is to keep web users from accessing information considered unhealthy by the government - including pornography and political material."
Right , we dont want them thinking for themselves or looking at porn. Just goes to show how different things are outside the USA.