Dispatch From the Next Generation: Frustrations In Germany

From our college correspondent Kelly Sutton:

I am once again studying in Germany, but for a semester. This time around, German technology has not been treating me as kindly. Before taking the hop across the pond for 4 months, my entire life was in the cloud: Google Docs, del.icio.us, GMail, Google Reader, Facebook, Google Calendar, and writing for a few other blogs. Because of the German (and generally European) expectations of the Internet, it's been borderline impossible to maintain any kind of life on the Internet. The stereotype of excellent German engineering and technology seems completely absent in the tech realm. Should I change back to the pen-and-paper methods or should I wait for Germany and Europe to catch up?

Internet connectivity in Germany is spotty at best. I usually draft blog posts in Google Docs, but this time I'm working offline. The price of a connection and the subsequent low quality of most connections drove me back to my hard drive. At the hotels we have stayed at, the average going rate for a day's connectivity has been 17 euros. After the exchange rate, that's about 24 U.S. dollars. Compare that to the usual 10 dollar gouge in the States. Even the times I have shelled out the 3 euros for 10 minutes, I've been disappointed with the speeds and quality. And the concept of "free WiFi" is surprisingly absent. The two times I have found free WiFi in Europe, at Woyton cafes and the Future of Web Apps conference, the speeds have been unbearably slow. I'm talking 14.4 kbps slow. I was hardly born when that speed was "blazingly fast."

On the premiere German ICE trains, the mobile phone signal repeaters and the T-Mobile Hotspots -- although the coolest piece of technology in concept--don't work as advertised. Granted nothing like this exists in the States, but the German push to one-up American mobility has fallen short throughout my personal experiences.

My month and half in Europe so far as made me question the personal "life in the cloud" mantra. My friends, albeit leading less connected lives, voice their same frustrations. Maybe we're spoiled because Loyola Marymount is WiFi'd to the teeth. I'm reluctant to simply abandon my indexed and easily search-able existence. I may have no choice. In the future however, Germany and Europe needs to get their act together and reevaluate the importance of Internet connectivity. In the meantime, I hope the United States reevaluates its beer brewing processes...

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