Internet Connectivity Outside of the United States

Ant writes "A Yahoo! news story says that nearly 60 publications in countries bear the PC World name, or are associated with it in some way. The editors at several of them were asked to report how their readers get online. Not surprisingly, the report indicates that many countries are substantially ahead of the United States in online access." From the article: "For example, in the United Kingdom, you can buy DSL service with a download speed of up to 24 megabits per second. In Denmark, some people have fiber-optic connections as fast as 100 mbps. And in Italy and Spain, broadband service is cheap, and dial-up service is free (except for the cost of the local call). Still, many countries have their own connection quirks ..."

Comments

Re:Superiority of the Free Market.

[Distinguished Hero]

It's for this reason that the United States, with fewer government controls has a superior and cheaper broadband, telecoms network...oh what? Crap.

I very much doubt that the US has far fewer government controls. In accordance with the wishes of people like you, that hasn't been true in a very long time. You've also failed to isolate every other factor that may play a role, e.g. the size of the respective countries, and the demand for higher speed broadband in the US vs. in other countries. Therefore, you've proven nothing.

Turns out for some things regulation is better - look at how a poor country like Cuba has better healthcare (with lower infant mortality rates) than the wealthy US.

And why exactly is Cuba a "poor country"? Couldn't have anything to do with it's economic system could it? After all, just look at all those rich non-market countries like...

As for better healthcare, while I have never been to Cuba, I doubt it, for the simple reason that people like you said the same thing about the Eastern Bloc (remember us?), and that was blatantly wrong. Furthermore, many Eastern Bloc countries were richer than Cuba, and as they were unable to succeed, I doubt an island in the Caribbean ruled by a Spaniard dictator (Spain is the poorest Western European country) is able to succeed where so many others who were more likely to succeed failed.

But look, don't take my word for it. Every year, hundreds of thousands of Cubans who are convinced that you are wrong risk life and limb to escape Castro's fun land. You don't have to risk life or limb to live in your utopia; it's far easier for you to relocate. Frankly, I wish citizenship was transferable to people like you, who possess US citizenship, but do not vaue it in the least, could transfer it to people like me, who do not possess US citizenship, but would value it far more than an ingrate like you.

P.S. I notice that your handle is "Whiney Mac Fanboy." Interesting that you are not a "Whiney Fanboy" of a computer designed in many of the worker's paradises you keep having (fluid) dreams about e.g. former Eastern Bloc Countries, former USSR, PRC, DPRK, SRC, etc.
P.P.S. Funny how most of the people who constantly whine about Bush being a dictator idolize Cuba, which is run in a far more dictatorial fashion than Bush's tiny mind could even begin to fantasize about.

Re:Superiority of the Free Market.

[Whiney Mac Fanboy]

As I don't have time to refute every point in your stupid little rant, I'm just going to choose one.

Spain is the poorest Western European country

Incorrect - and not even close to being correct (hasn't been the case for over 20 years).

Dumb, dumb, dumb.

He doesn't have time to lose an argument

[paladinwannabe2]

He is correct that Spain is not the poorest western European country. However, I do find it amusing that the only thing he complains about in your comment is the one thing that has no relevance to your argument.

Re:He doesn't have time to lose an argument

[Whiney Mac Fanboy]

Well, the OP's comment was more of an OT rant, which rambled too wide to really disupte (I mean wtf does bush have to do with anything? and whats with the implication that I think Cuba is a 'workers paradise'?)

*shrug* I thought I'd just pluck out the most obviously incorrect point in the OP's rant to show that they're pulling facts out of their ass.

Re:He doesn't have time to lose an argument

[Distinguished Hero]

Well, the OP's comment was more of an OT rant

All I did was address the points that you raised in your "5, Insightful" post. It's not my fault you replied to a story about "Internet Connectivity" with a post about how great Cuba and its public healthcare are supposed to be. If my reply (which did nothing more than address the random assertions that you made) is an OT rant, than surely your original post was one as well.

which rambled too wide to really disupte

Funny, because I seem to recall you implying in your original reply that it was extremely easy for you to rebut my stupid, little points, but you simply lacked the time. Since then, you went on and made 5 more posts over the course of an hour, and yet still have not rebutted my "stupid, little" points. Why is that?
I hope your claim that you did not have enough time to refute my argument (which was then factually disproved by the fact than you then went on to make (not 1, not 2, not 3, not 4, but 5!) 5 more posts on slashdot over the course of an hour) was not a lie concocted so that you would not have to admit that you could not actually refute my points. That would truly be a shame.

I mean wtf does bush have to do with anything?

What does Cuban healthcare have to do with Internet Connectivity? The sentence you are referring to was in a P.S. at the end of my post. I'll tell you what: you don't have to address the P.S. of my post. Simply rebut the main body thereof.

and whats with the implication that I think Cuba is a 'workers paradise'?)

I thought that you were the one who was implying that. Again, simply rebut the main body of my post. You can ignore the P.S. (where all the peripheral content that you seem to be namedropping now is found) if you want.

*shrug* I thought I'd just pluck out the most obviously incorrect point in the OP's rant to show that they're pulling facts out of their ass.

If I am simply "pulling facts out of [my] ass," (to the extent that making observation based upon personal experiences can be construed as such) as you so eloquently put it, then surely you can find one more fact that I "pulled out of [my] ass." After you do that (which should be easy according to you), and rebut my points (which again should be easy according to you), perhaps you could pick up a book on logic, a book on debate, and a book on civilized discourse.

I await your list of the many facts that "I pulled out of [my] ass" and your rebuttal to my original arguments, both which I am sure you will do shortly, as you claim they are both very easy tasks that you only need some free time (of which you seem to have plenty) to complete.