Tips for Bogota-bound geeks

I've noticed quite a few of us IT types hanging around here, so I thought I'd mention some technology-related things I've discovered in my first week living in Bogota. Sorry if this is boring for everyone else:

First, you need to know where to go to buy the stuff you need. Bogota has a good-sized mall full of tiny stores that sell nothing but computer gear. It's called Unilago, on carrera 15 near calle 79. At first Unilago seems pretty impressive, but pretty soon you'll notice that most of the stores pretty much carry, more or less, the same stuff. Everyone seems to use a motherboard brand here called Asrock, although you can find Asus, Abit, MSI and a few others. It's fortunate that Samsung makes an excellent monitor, for instance, because that's mostly what you'll see here.

Speaking of monitors, 17" CRTs are standard here. I had to ask for a 19" (Samsung 955DF, fortunately one of my favorites), and it was definitely on the rare side. At least around Unilago, 20"+ are totally unheard of. And the 19" cost me something like $350 (including tax... although apparently it can be had for less if you're willing to wait a day or two). While most computer gear seems to be roughly the same price or a little less than in the US, monitors seem to be an exception. I figure it's because of shipping costs. There are plenty of LCDs available, and they're not so much more money. I could've picked up a Dell 17" LCD for something like $450, but personally I still prefer CRTs.

There is another, smaller computer mall one block up from Unilago on cr 15. It's in the middle of the block, and it's similarly packed full of tiny stores, but this is a little more downscale. You'll find plenty of older and used parts here.

I'd suggest bringing anything particularly esoteric with you. No doubt you'll find something to get you by at Unilago, but if there's some particular gadget or brand you're especially fond of, don't count on it being available here. Unilago doesn't quite match Newegg. Like, I thought about buying an external hard drive enclosure before I left, but then I figured I'd just pick it up at Unilago... but now I realize I probably can't find exactly the enclosure I want there.

I thought I had a bad power supply last week, so I went to Unilago to shop. Most stores carried generic-looking 400-450w power supplies (fuentes, by the way, in spanish) for about $13. There's only one guy in the whole mall who appears to stock anything better, and that's a guy off in the corner of the first floor named David. He had a fancy Antec PS with l33t blue LEDs, but he wanted about $125 for it. I ended up going to the same store where I bought my monitor, space 181, and the guy there had a bunch of cases with decent, quiet power supplies, and he gladly pulled out a good 400w for about $20.

Of course, it turned out my problem wasn't the power supply or the electricity here... I had an issue with my computer turning off because my CPU cooler (a Zalman radial - one of those things that aren't available here) had somehow gotten damaged during shipping and wasn't making good contact with the CPU. Good tip - if you bring a PC here, pull the cooler off before packing it! I had put my hard drives in my carryon bag, but I didn't think about the cooler.

I haven't gone out looking, but wireless seems to be reasonably popular for home use. I can pick up two 802.11b and one g signal from my apartment. But I haven't seen a single public space, like a coffee shop, offering it yet.

My DSL service from ETB just got installed, and the guy who installed it was happy to try to set up my wireless router as well. It's 256k DSL and it feels pretty snappy, much better than some of the internet cafes I've been to here. ETB does give you a GreatSpeed GS-525G modem with a single ethernet port, but their service is PPPoE. The 256k costs about $50/month, and you have to sign a one-year contract. I'm not feeling so good about this decision at the moment - I wish I'd shopped around more. But I think I like this GreatSpeed modem... good interface with tons of options and information.

Anyway, there you have it... you guys who've been here for awhile have any tips to share?

By goosekirk on Sep 7, 2004, 16:02 in Friendly Talkzone.

poulet says on Sep 7, 2004, 18:33:

hmm yeah, wireless isn't very hmm yeah, public wireless isn't very popular here. The only public place i've seen it is at my university, but quite a few regular people do use it at home.
I think ETB gives you the best service, I have cable with cablenet and it's pure shit.

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kernow62 says on Sep 8, 2004, 20:11:

Bogota bound geek Thanks for the good info.

Question, what type of phone jack is used in Colombia and are the lines primarily analog or digital? I want to bring my PDA to check my E-mails and while it has built in WiFi I think my CF modem might get more use. Speaking of WiFi, I live in Orlando, Florida and can hardly even find public WiFi here, we do have it in one downtown park, but lots of coffee shops such as Panera still don't have it in my area.

I prefer LCD for everyday computing as it lessens eyestrain, I used to get terrible headaches which went away while on holiday using my laptop. I promptly purchased a couple of LCDs for my desktop when I got home and haven't looked back, not only that they take upo less room, weigh less, give off less heat, radiation and consume less power. Can't beat a CRT for image processing though, so my scanning setup uses strictly a CRT.

Looking forward to my trip to Colombia later this month, if the hurricanes don't wipe me out first!

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goosekirk says on Sep 8, 2004, 20:37:

Phones are standard RJ11 - like most things, the same as in the US. I haven't used a dialup modem in a very long time, not even here, but I assume it's mostly analog. Someone else might better advise on using a modem here. Although, if you're just coming for a trip and only using the PDA for email, you may want to consider ditching it. Net cafes are ubiquitous and very cheap (typically less than a buck an hour, sometimes something like .50) and you may find it less of a hassle than trying to dial up. At least here in Bogota, it seems like you can't walk a block without seeing a net cafe!

I wish I could pick up a few LCD monitors... but yeah, I'm doing image processing. If I could deal with an LCD, then at least I might be able to pack it out of here when I move on. This CRT is a bit of an albatross in that regard, but I bet I can find a good home for it when I move away.

Good luck with that hurricane thing. Quite a run of bad luck you folks have had... if you get the urge to move to somewhere more hospitable, well, you're on the right track, my friend...

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Lionheart says on Sep 9, 2004, 19:44:

Geek Moving to Bogota I will be moving to Bogota in a few months. The place I am moving to has cable modem and works well, very fast file transfers from and to where I live in the US and also use cable-modem. I am loking for some recommendations and I have a few questions:

1. I have a tower PC with 17" monitor. I will probably leave the monitor here and buy a new one there ... shipping costs ... but what about the tower? Should I ship it or is it better to buy/build an new one there? Just pull cards, memory, and drives and take them along with my assortment of CDs.

2. I run an internet radio station here. My ISP is ok with my upload streaming, I know other ISPs in the US are touchy about that. Does anybody have experience on upload bandwidth for private access and how the ISPs react to upstreaming?

3. Does anybody know of computer/software related companies in Bogota who might be interested in an international software engineer with 25 years experience, but is just leaning Spanish? I am fluent in English and German.

4. Which common computer/peripheral brands from the USA are also common in Colombia? I can imagine Gateway can be a problem.

5. I am considering to work as native language teacher in German and English to bridge my time until I get settled in for opening my own business = learn Spanish. Does an interest in international business and technological Language-Training exist? And would it work?

Thanks for any hints, answers, and recommendations in advance,

Dave alias Lionheart

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goosekirk says on Sep 10, 2004, 09:42:

A few answers 1. Definitely leave your monitor at home. From what I've been told, it would be very difficult and expensive to try to ship it here. I priced shipping a 44lb box to Bogota from Seattle, and through the post it was something like $140 and would take 1-2 months to get here, and that's if it got here at all. I was told a monitor probably wouldn't make it. FedEx would be reliable, but they priced 44lb at something like $430. You could try checking a box for your monitor on your flight, but if you're moving for a year you have better things to bring, and I can't imagine a monitor surviving that trip. I checked three bags on my flight and it cost $100 for the extra bag. I can't recall offhand what 17" monitors were going for here, but probably something like $200 or so.

It might be better to build a new tower here. I brought mine because it's a short tower, fit in my bag perfectly and it's an Antec that I really like. But there's certainly a variety of generic towers, some of them pretty decent, at Unilago. That's probably a smarter way to go. Prices average out to about the same as in the US. I'd pack any valuable cards, memory and definitely your hard drives in your carryon.

2-3. No clue. I'm curious about #2 myself. We'll see if I get a nastygram from my ISP.

4. I've never noticed a Gateway product here. Many, but not all, of the usual brands of peripherals are here, while most PCs seem to be generic clones - most of these small stores build their own. You'll find what you need here, but not necessarily what you want. Again, if there's something specific you're really in love with, I suggest bringing it.

I'll be going back to Unilago sometime this weekend. If you (or anyone else) want me to check for something, I'll be glad to do a survey. Let me know at chris at kirk dot net.

5. Wish I knew the answer to that one!

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2retirensa says on Sep 10, 2004, 10:24:

I'm not a geek, but I still have a Q. How available are compter repairs for other brands not sold there? I have a Dell desk top and a Toshiba lap top I'll be bringing. Do you think I'll have problems if I need tech help?
Thanks

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goosekirk says on Sep 10, 2004, 11:01:

I'd expect no problems. There are so many of these little stores offering service at Unilago, I'd bet money you'll find someone who can help you no matter what the problem is. Dells and Toshiba laptops seem to be common enough here. I'd be glad to help out as well - see my email address above.

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2retirensa says on Sep 10, 2004, 12:01:

Thanks goosekirk I'll be in Cali and as long as these aren't to "foreign" I'll be fine. I don't make a living on the net, just play. I Enjoy your posts.
Maureen

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kernow62 says on Sep 12, 2004, 11:58:

Bogota bound geek Thanks goosekirk, I think I will leave the PDA at home, I was going to bring it because I run an external hard drive with it to store digital photos. However I have determined I have enough memory cards for 800 or so photos if I only take my 2 megapixel camera, so why bother with a hard drive. My other camera is more bulky and files are up to 17 mb each, so I would need the hard drive, but I think my little P&S camera would draw less unwelcome attention.

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alejandro says on Sep 26, 2004, 02:22:

goosekirk can you contact me?
Hi, i'm Alejandro and i read about your ADSL service and modem Greatspeed. Now i have the same service and modem and have problems configuring this router, can you help me?, a messenger chat

thanks

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goosekirk says on Sep 26, 2004, 20:01:

I could maybe help... But I don't know how to contact you. You should just send me an email at chris at kirk dot net.

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goosekirk says on Sep 26, 2004, 20:11:

A further tip I've spent many hours now wandering the halls of Unilago. I'm beginning to appreciate NewEgg more and more and more. Unilago's fun at first, but my eyes start to glaze over pretty quick. If you're looking for something, I've learned this the hard way: TAKE NOTES. I was looking for a Netgear wireless card, noticed a Linksys that might be my second choice, then spent an hour wandering further in search of the Netgear. Didn't find the Netgear, but then had a bitch of a time trying to find the Linksys again (oh, sure, D-Links were widely available... argh!).

BUT! Here's a big "duh" that I only recently realized. The Unilago mall is only like 2/3 of the block. The other 1/3 is a totally separate, newer, computer mall called the center for high technology or something. There are still many empty stores as of this writing, but it looks like a slightly more upscale Unilago. The building is bright and airy and has a cool fabric-covered eating patio in the back. I noticed some things in there that I didn't see in Unilago - the big one being an Apple store. I can't recall seeing any Mac hardware at Unilago, this is an important note for Mac users - go next door, on the second floor! I like the energy of Unilago, but I may go to this other mall first from now on.

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alejandro says on Sep 30, 2004, 21:26:

ok goosekirk, i send you an email.

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aztec says on Mar 31, 2007, 05:00:

Does anyone know where vfvxth ... ...and his/her posts come from?

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