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International Connectivity
Steve Suppe writes "As an American who is going to be living overseas for a few years (Germany, to be more exact), I'm curious as to what advice/information Slashdot could provide people like me. How much can I expect to pay for dial-up/broadband, and from who? I'd be interested to hear how it differs around the world. Any good reference sites? Thanks!"
Same question - different country:
- Does anyone know about the connectivity in Jamaica?
I understand you can get ADSL - but is it available everywhere or just in a few areas. Any alternatives to ADSL (I hate using modems)..?
The scoop on Paris is that the local cableco monopolist is your best source for high speed. I pay about $44/month (about euros40). The company is called Noos -- www.noos.fr Crazy thing is that the transatlantic connection is fast enough for my Vonage voice-over-IP phone to work perfectly -- that is, the phone dials over IP back to the New Jersey servers, where it gives me a local US phone line. I'd look into that if you want to save on calling chums back in the states.
Best places to live in the world (according to the UN):
1. Norway
2. Australia
3. Canada
4. Sweden
5. Belgium
6. United States
7. Iceland
8. Netherlands
9. Japan
10. Finland
11. Switzerland
12. Luxembourg
13. France
14. UK
15. Denmark
16. Austria
17. Germany
18. Ireland
19. New Zealand
20. Italy
The world will end in 5 minutes. Please log out.
Comparing German Web Mail Services to Hotmail would be considered an insult almost.
web.de and gmx.de both offer pop3 (web.de even IMAP in the free version), at least 10MB, filtering, and and and...
They are a LOT better than hotmail, but my favorite email service is an Australian one (fastmail.fm)
I got the hell out as soon as I could after the Chimp was installed and I haven't looked back. Well, sometimes I miss Oreos and Reese's Peanut Buttercups. Mmmm.
It sounds like Steve Suppe already has some sort of stable plan waiting for him when he gets there. But in the case of $$$exy's friend, it doesn't sound like it. Somebody with a wife and kid shouldn't even make the move without either having a job lined up, or enough money in the bank to take intense (4 hours a day, 5 days a week) German lessons for the first 4 months. You have to first learn German to such the extent that you can communicate and even schedule a job interview. What also helps is a German friend who understands the bureaucracy and knows how to deal with it. I had to apply in order to apply for a drivers license. How whack is that?
The job market is bad (where is it not?) but if you have skills in IT and are good at what you do, and speak English, you should be alright. At the job your gonna have to speak German but if you can read the online manuals in English before the German ones are published, you will have an advantage. It might sound somewhat elitist to say that but in IT a fluent grasp of English goes a long way.
The average salary is less than in the states and about 40% percent of my check is taxed, but I have 35 paid vacation days every year, and better health benefits than I will ever have in the US. Plus a 38 hour work week. That's just with public health insurance.
Its a big change in your life to make but if you prepare ahead and do your research, the transition can be much smoother.
Oh yeah and when you get there and need DSL, I recommend looking up Telkom or Arcor.
--Residential Interior Design
I spent several years in Italy. The internet access there was 33.6 dialup when I arrived. The worst part about it was the fact that there is no "local call" there. Every call is charged by the minute.
Around '96, the ISP upgraded to 56k modems. In late '97 Telecom Italia offered ISDN. the line to the house was 2B+D (128kbps), but in traditional Italian fassion, they fucked it all up. You still had to pay connections per minute, and each channel was charged seperately. A 128k connection to my local ISP was about 2 or 3 cents per minute.
Telecom Italia upgraded, once agian, to ADSL in 2000. And, once agian, they fucked it up. They implemented ADSL using PPPoE. If you have not used PPPoE, your modem establishes a connection using a username/password. ISPs do this so they can monitor how much bandwidth you use. I paid $50 per month for the line, and another $50 per gigabyte of traffic.
I figured all my problems were over when I moved to Japan. Unfortunately, I live in an area (in Tokyo) that is not covered by DSL. I pay $30/month for 90 hours of 56k dialup. My only other real option is to use a cell phone to get wireless service at a cost of $100/month for 128k access. I have tried this, but the actual bandwidth is about 70kbps and the packet loss and delay is way too high to make it useful.
A new ISP is talking about wiring our neghborhood for 128kbps SDSL. They have mentioned a 1GB per month cap with no way to go over that ammount. They also want $50 per month with a $150 install cost. What really makes it hurt is that they guy down the street from me (150 feet away, but no LOS for a 2.4ghz link) pays $35/month for 100mbps fiber. Yep, he actually has fiber running into a modem sitting on his desk.
Sometimes, I wonder who I pissed off to get so screwed on internet access...
I'd rather you do it wrong, than for me to have to do it at all.
I spend each summer in Slovenia doing fieldwork for my graduate degree. Luckily, I have hooked up with a faculty at Univerza v Ljubljani. So I just go to an office and use my laptop. But if you don't have it good like that, my advice is to be careful according to your locale. The American model for dial-up is different from much of the rest of the world. I was shocked to get a phone bill with several hundred minutes of dialup charges for using the phone line AS WELL AS the minutes for connection to the internet. I only know dial-up but my advice in Slovenija is: pazi!.
Also, a caveat to travelers in Slovenia. Internet cafes are kinda non-existant in Ljubljana. You can get online at the Mobitel office across from Mladinska Knjigarna and in the Mueller department store just down the street from the Posta bus stop. That's about it for regularly available spots. If anybody knows of any place that isn't closed or half-open or generally flaky, let me know.
Comparing it to Windows will be a moot point, since El Dorado is going to have a 40% larger code base than XP.
I'm in Germany, and was going to write about IDSN and DSL, but given that everybody and their dog has already done that, here's some other advice:
Beaurocracy!
Lots of it. You need the right piece of paper with the right stamp on it, or things don't happen. Probably the worst thing about Germany, this.
Learn German!
Yes, lots of them do speak English, but that's no reason for being lazy. As soon as you have to do anything important, you'll probably find yourself needing to communicate with someone who doesn't speak English. A little German will go a long way, especially in terms of the impression you make.
Get your lane discipline sorted.
Cruise on the right, overtake on the left, and then move back to the right. If there's a BMW behind you flashing his lights, don't worry too much - BMW drivers are like that. If it's some other make of car, you're going to slow - get out of that lane! They make nice cars in Stuttgart, by the way.
Watch out for speed cameras
They take your photo from the front, so there's no "it wasn't me" excuses. There are both stationary cameras on posts and mobile units (hidden in hedges or wherever). More than 30km/h over the limit can result in a 1 month driving ban.
Watch your speed on the Autobahn
Not all of the Autobahn has no speed limit. Where there is one, it's clearly marked. Where there isn't one, enjoy yourself! Be aware that having no speed limit doesn't often help, due to the volume of traffic (and the guy three cars ahead, going way too slow in the overtaking lane).
Most bottles have a deposit on them
So take them back to the supermarket. Germans like to buy drinks by the crate. Look for a "Getränkemarkt" if you're thirsty.
German beer is stronger than US beer
Purity laws and all that. The lack of nasty chemicals means you can get hammered and not have a major hangover next morning. Make sure you get to the world's biggest Fest - the Oktoberfest in München (not called Munich on Germany!), or the second biggest - the Volksfest in Stuttgart. If you want an English-speaking pub, look for an "Irish Pub". It's a chain (I think). There are quite a lot now; they stock Guiness too.
There are no Reeses Pieces
If you find somewhere that sells them, post it on Slashdot :-)
Not as many really fat people
This one will only hit you when you go back to the US...
Having just left Germany (was there for 3 years) the one thing you need to make sure of is that you set up ALL your phone options at the time you become a customer, otherwise they (Telekom) charge you this bullshit 100 Marks (50 euros) every time you make a change to your service.
For example, I paid 50 euros top get my analog line. Then I moved 3 months later (another 50 Euros). Then I upgraded to ISDN (another 50 Euros) because DSL wasn't available at that time and is was faster than analog. Then, finally, another 50 euros to updgrade to DSL. This 50 euro fee is a super scam, especially considering all they have to do is flip a switch.
In related news, get ready to get reamed on any retail-related transaction. In Germany, the customer is always wrong.
All your base are belong to us!
It is also a legal issue. In general, German law doesn't allow for oral contracts. If you stay in Germany for a while you will notice that almost every significant transaction is covered by written contract including all leases and matters of employment.
As a result, entering into or cancelling contracts over the phone are discouraged and you will find that most companies will ask you to either fax or mail a contract or cancellation request. Make sure you sign it too or you just wasted at lesat $.50 in postage or whatever you just paid for faxing it.
"Light is faster than sound." - "Is that why people tend to look bright until you hear them speak?"
I see this type of comment every time something about the Germans get posted. For those who haven't dealt with them before (or often), let's explain the hamburger theory: The hamburger theory is more of a joke and less of an actual theory (so I'm told), and revolves around how a culture lays things out. Americans use a style that's meat wrapped in bread. The Germans, all meat; the Japanese, all bread. All of the Germans I've worked with are simply blunt and upfront. I've had literal screaming matches over the phone with professionals in Germany, where my American business sensibilities and the German quest for quality and completeness have conflicted. In person? Great guys, personable, and nothing like their phone doppleganger. Was really weird, but it was explained to me that it was simply a cultural quirk (just like Americans and our rampant gringo-ism). Remember the BMG comments on copy-protected CDs and customers shoving it if they don't like it? Welcome to Germany. Try and appreciate it for what it is, and you'll pull out less hair. They're not being rude, they're being German. Don't lose sleep, just go and drink great beer (Pinkus makes a wonderful heffewiesse, during the summer). If anyone else has an experience with this, I'd love to hear it. I don't deal with overseas guys much right now, but I personally love to learn the cultural aspects more, just so I can understand what everyone's thinking. Helps us all get along better.