Cell phone number portability will start functioning as of 30 November 2011, according to Edwin Castillo, National Director of Telecommunications of the Authority of Public Services (ASEP). Castillo explained that although the change of operator will be free initially, it is necessary for cell phone users to be prudent in the use of this benefit, because otherwise it could create a cost. According to the official, the user can "change" as often as they want for free, without restrictions, provided they are not comfortable with the phone operator that provides the service. Number portability is an important tool for the development of competition and a considerable investment has been made in this issue so that we Panamanians have this benefit, but with order, said Castillo. (Panama America)

Editor's Comment: So, as of Wednesday you can change from one cell phone carrier to another, and take your cell phone number with you. This has never been available here in Panama before. I've had the same cell phone number for eleven years and now, if I want to, I can change from Movistar to a different carrier (there are about four or five now) and I can take my old number with me. Good news. Let me know how it works out, on the ground, in the real world once someone tries to do this.

#Panama - By DON WINNER for Panama-Guide.com - All of you social media butterflies out there using Twitter should surf to my profile - http://twitter.com/#!/Panama_Guide then click on "Follow." I'm paying more attention to Twitter lately, and I can quickly and easily send tweets from anywhere, via my cell phone. So, if there's something hot or interesting going on in Panama and I'm not in the office, many times you'll see it first on Twitter, and then later on the regular website once I get back in the office. If you're already following me on twitter then please "retweet" this article via your account to your friends and the people who are following you, if you think they might be interested. Thanks.

Copyright 2011 by Don Winner for Panama-Guide.com. Go ahead and use whatever you like as long as you credit the source. Salud.

By DON WINNER for Panama-Guide.com - After my most recent success with the dash cam in my car, this afternoon I received a plethora of email, all asking basically the same question: What kind of a camera are you using, and where can I get one. Now that PanaGuard is no longer selling these cameras, I did a very quick Internet search and came up with this - http://dash-camera.com/shop/product_info.php?cPath=30&products_id=155. That looks to be about the exact same make and model that I'm using right now. If it's not an identical product, then it's a very close cousin. The only problem I've had with this thing is the quirky line of code that has to reside on the SD disk, and the fact that over the past year or so, once or twice it's locked up, and I just had to hit the reset button to get it running again. Other than that, it's been flawless. Oh, here's another neat trick. When you get pulled over by that traffic cop who wants to suck a quick and easy bribe out of you, simply reach up, spin the camera his way, and say "Smile, you're on candid camera..." I've done something similar in other situations. With the camera running you can spin it around to point in any direction. It also records audio so it gets the conversations in your car. Like, if someone accuses you of talking on your cell phone while driving or whatever, you can prove that you were not. Anyway, for $200 bucks, it's the cheapest piece of insurance you'll ever buy. Insurance. Oh yeah, don't forget to call my good friend Kevin Bradley for all your insurance needs. He came through for me again recently. He can become the most important person in your life in the blink of an eye, when something bad happens. Be safe out there, guys... Or at the very least, get it on tape.

Copyright 2011 by Don Winner for Panama-Guide.com. Go ahead and use whatever you like as long as you credit the source. Salud.

Since yesterday, customers who use Blackberry devices nationwide are having problems of inconsistencies in the transmission and reception of data. Abdiel Antonio Gutierrez, Vice President of Corporate Affairs for Cable & Wireless Panama told Panama America that the problems originate with the RIM platform, which provides service to Blackberry, and not on company networks that are functioning normally. He said they have already contacted the providers, and were told the service would be reestablished gradually. He added this is a problem not only in Panama but also in Venezuela, Chile, Argentina, and Colombia, among other countries in Latin America. (Panama America)

By DON WINNER for Panama-Guide.com - We're putting more of an effort into providing real-time updates via Twitter whenever possible. All of the articles published on this website are already broadcast as "tweets." While out of the office I also will update the Twitter account as often via mobile, and you can see those on the website down on the right hand side of the page in the Twitter block. You can follow up via Twitter by clicking on this link: http://twitter.com/#!/Panama_Guide and then click on the green "Follow" button. Think of it as subscribing. Thanks.

Copyright 2011 by Don Winner for Panama-Guide.com. Go ahead and use whatever you like as long as you credit the source. Salud.

Panama's Tourism Minister Solomon Shamah said this morning on the channel 2 news broadcast his Blackberry is vulnerable and he does not know if he might have fallen victim to hackers, as did other ministers. Shamah considered it as extremely serious that the email account of the Minister of the Presidency Demetrio Papadimitriu had been violated, and he would support a bill to increase penalties for these kinds of crimes. On the other hand, when asked about his possible dismissal and that he would be replaced by a woman, he said it was because there was much pressure from the media and the president rightly believed it could affect his administration, but he was never accused of anything. (TVN)

Editor's Comment: In this interview Shamah said the "hackers" had access to Papadimitriu's email account "for months" - and they were able to read every message passing through the account.

Cable & Wireless Panama reported that due to a cut in the fiber link between La Chorrera and Capira, districts in the province of Panama, the fixed network which provides service of digital television, Internet, as well as fixed and mobile telephone services was affected on Thursday July 28. The disruption extends the 4.7 kilometers from the village of El Coco in La Chorrera towards Capira, affecting the fixed and mobile communications in Coronado, Capira, Chame, Sajalices, Lídice, Campana, Cermeño, Bejuco, Sorá, and Río Mar. Ernesto Lopez, a coordinator for Cable & Wireless Communications, told TVN the damage occurred at 6:00 am and it had still not been repaired by 12:00 noon on 28 July. He said the company has sent staff to the site, an overgrown lot where the accident occurred, to restore services. Lopez said they have not yet determined the cause of the accident, so they will investigate to find out what happened. He said they expect telecommunications services will gradually be restored in the next 4 to 6 hours. (TVN)

By DON WINNER for Panama-Guide.com - Did you know every article posted to this website is instantly broadcast as a "tweet" on Twitter? You can use Twitter to monitor the news throughout the day as updates are posted by following us at http://twitter.com/#!/Panama_Guide. Please make sure to click on "follow" to have the updates delivered to your device in real time. That way if there's something going on, breaking news, road closures, protests or what have you, the information you need will be delivered quickly. You can just scan the headlines and click on any link to open the full article if you want the details.

Copyright 2011 by Don Winner for Panama-Guide.com. Go ahead and use whatever you like as long as you credit the source. Salud.

Rogelio Fraitz, the Secretary of the Authority for Consumer Protection and Competition (ACODECO), was taken Wednesday to the office of Panama's Attorney General Jose Ayú Prado. Fraitz is another person suspected of having hacked the email account of the Minister of the Presidency, Demetrio Papadimitriu. Apparently, the current secretary of ACODECO had ties to Demetrio Clua, another suspect in the "hacking" case of the account of Papadimitriu. According to reports, this person worked in the past administration of government (under Martin Torrijos). (TVN)

Panama's Attorney General Jose Ayú Prado took a sworn statement yesterday from a lawyer with whom Pedro Prados Villar, who was arrested after allegedly hacking the e-mail account of the Minister of the Presidency, Demetrio Papadimitriu, had registered a company in the Public Registry. Sources within the Public Ministry reported said with this diligence Ayú Prado seeks to determine whether or not the company in question is related to the violation of the email account of Minister Papadimitriu. However, the company, which was created and recorded four years ago, has already ceased to function according to Victor Orobio, the lawyer defending the attorney, whose name was not disclosed. For his part, Lorgio Bonilla, the lawyer for the other defendant in the case, Demetrio Clúa, presented a "procedural impetus" for the prosecution practice a series of steps as soon as possible, such as the confrontation between the accused and the statement of former presidents Ernesto Perez Balladares and Martin Torrijos, and other former officials.

What's more, he also requested that his client should be released from prison where he is currently being held awaiting trial, and that preventative measure should be replaced with a requirement to periodically report to a Superior Prosecutor or a restriction from leaving the country. Bonilla asked again yesterday for access to the classified documents that have been identified as "state secrets", which were used as the basis to arrest his client.

Last week Panama's Attorney General Ayú Prado said it was the Security Council that recommended the information should be classified as "secret" or "confidential information" - the data extracted from the computers of the alleged hackers, and clarified that the law gives him 30 days to decide whether or not to grant the request of defense lawyers to have full access to the data. Clúa's defense lawyer hopes the Public Ministry will decide whether or not to extend his statement, and whether or not the Eighth Criminal Court will grant bail for the accused. The two suspects are being detained in the transient prison system of the Directorate of Judicial Investigation in Ancon, while continuing the investigation. (La Prensa)