Is Access to Buying Computers a Sign of Change in Raul's Cuba?

In the United States, freedom is just another name for being able to buy more stuff. So, I'm a bit wary of the claims that Raul Castro's decision to allow the Cuban people to buy electronic equipment : computers, video and DVD players, 19-inch and 24-inch television sets, electric pressure cookers and rice cookers, electric bicycles, car alarms and microwaves, as a sign of a Cuba that is more free.

While access to these items certainly can make Cuban life easier (what would I do without my computer, microwave, and rice cooker?), does the average Cuban have the means to access these items?

"The country's priority will be to meet the basic needs of the population, both material and spiritual," Raul Castro said as he replaced his brother, a staunch critic of capitalist consumer society.

Readers should note that I am no Cuba hater but I wonder about a more open press, for example, not about the ability to make a tv dinner.

Source : MSNBC