COIN OPERATED COMPUTER

In the Philippines, internet cafés are found on every street in major cities and there is at least one in most municipalities or towns. There are also internet cafés in coffee shops and malls. High-end restaurants and fast food chains also provide free broadband to diners. Rates range from P10 ($0.20) on streets, up to P100 ($2) in malls.

If you got five 0ne-Peso coins in your pocket, you can either buy five candies or go online!

Your five coins are enough to check few emails, post status on Facebook or play online games. And read your daily horoscopes perhaps or watch YouTube video.

Internet access is getting cheaper and easier. Thanks to coin-operated PC's that are connected to internet.

How it looks like?

What's its name?

Locally, it is called, Peso-peso internet although we hear others naming it as hulog-hulog internet. I heard someone mentioned internetan. (internet + suffix an, meaning: internet cafe). In Istorya.net forum, it is described as Desktop Computer with coinslot and digital timer piso (Peso).

Name it whatever you like. People are more interested on its functions than standardizing its name.

Can you describe it?

A good friend describes it as portable internet cafe but most likely a vending machine selling internet minutes. He would add: Peso-peso internet also make use of old PC's and of course the CRT monitors. We slowly migrate from CRT to LCD.

Where to find peso-peso internet machines?

Anywhere. But Peso-peso internet machines are common sight to low-income group communities. Obviously, class A and B of our society don't like it but the masses need it.

It is where it's target users (market) are.

Peso-peso internet machine stands are also spotted among middle-income communities and even in traditional internet cafe setup like the sample image below. This saves internet cafe attendant's time.

How it works?

Very simple, he told me. And added, doesn't need a user's manual.

I observed a school age boy. He dropped some peso coins on the slot, grabbed the mouse, pull the keyboard and started to click. He played an online game. After a while, we hear the beep sound. The boy dropped more coins and continued playing.

Easy to operate, indeed!

Beside the boy was a frail-looking middle-aged man watching porn video. Aside from my friend and I, there are many heads (most are children) peering at the boy's game and the man's videos. Just just looking at computer screens but some onlookers are talking and shouting, and cheering.
With Peso-peso internet or hulog-hulog internet you can browse, stream videos and sounds, play online games. You cannot insert a flash disk because the computer's CPU is inside its - we call it as shell. You can enjoy Yahoo chat. Some machines got webcam. I saw many girls chatting.

The Peso-peso internet or hulog-hulog internet, whatever it should be called, works well and serves well. Does it earns well? The next time we visit the place, I should look for the owner and ask about the business angle of it.