North Korea is continuing to slowly embrace modern technology, although not in the ways you might like. The AP's Eric Talmadge has discovered that Pyongyang's airport now has WiFi, with $2 getting you 30 minutes of online time. But just like many airport hotspots, it doesn't appear to be usable -- Talmadge couldn't get a valid login even after enlisting the help of a supervisor, and it had trouble opening a page in the process. It's unclear whether this was a one-time problem or reflective of poor maintenance, but the signal is definitely there.

Not that the airport's WiFi is likely to get a lot of use, or that you'd necessarily want to use it. When just having a device with active WiFi can frequently lead to jail time or fines, most North Koreans can't even consider using it -- if they could afford the necessary devices, of course. And even if you did get online, you'd likely be using a highly censored, tightly monitored and overall very limited connection. In short: while it's a notable gesture, it'd be much nicer if everyday North Koreans could enjoy unrestricted WiFi wherever they happen to be.

Source:
courtesy of ENGADGET

by Jon Fingas

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