Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
The amount of money allocated in the Stimulus Bill was a rain drop in the bucket compared to what this country needs to fix and upgrade it's infrastructure. And it's not just roadways and bridges, people, it's everything. Everything! Sewers, water lines, dams, electrical(Which recently got a big boost, I might add), internet, natural gas lines, etc., etc. I just recently watched a show on the History Channel about America's infrastructure, which was very factually based and not one of their what if programs, and it's scary, very scary. Not only is our infrastructure crumbling, but we're quickly falling behind many other nations in upgrades and innovations.
As a person who has lived outside of the U.S. for close to ten years...I often find it quite shocking to see how behind we are in the technology.
Just something as simple as cellphones...most everywhere in the world, they are dirt cheap and plentiful. In the U.S., they are a bit barbaric, still somewhat expensive, and generally large. Then on top of that, there is a resistance to cellphones in the U.S. Tons of people who are afraid of them or just against them in some kind of principle or whatnot.
Internet cafes. Almost every country in the world, they are dirt cheap and plentiful - like dozens in sight of almost wherever a person might want to go almost anywhere in the world. But on the rare occassion I see one in the U.S., it is $5/hour and combined with some highend coffee or whatnot. (Whereas in Korea, it was around $1/hour, or Philippines 30cents/hour, Vietnam 40cents/hour, etc.)
The U.S. does is a world leader in technology, but it is generally very military-oriented and military focused, and very little for if any for just the general populace doing their daily needs.
Even simple things like trains or public transportation. Train travel in the U.S. is more or less non-existant. Most cities have very little of it. If I want to visit my parents in Michigan, it is required to rent a car. Highway infrastructure is plentiful, but little if anything else exists.
The good news is that I think the same attitude that has led to arguably overspending on defense/military categories may finally be turning its attention toward infrastructure, on the theory that we really are starting to fall behind our peer countries at this point, and some emerging countries (like China) are rapidly closing.
As a person who has lived outside of the U.S. for close to ten years...I often find it quite shocking to see how behind we are in the technology.
Just something as simple as cellphones...most everywhere in the world, they are dirt cheap and plentiful. In the U.S., they are a bit barbaric, still somewhat expensive, and generally large. Then on top of that, there is a resistance to cellphones in the U.S. Tons of people who are afraid of them or just against them in some kind of principle or whatnot.
Internet cafes. Almost every country in the world, they are dirt cheap and plentiful - like dozens in sight of almost wherever a person might want to go almost anywhere in the world. But on the rare occassion I see one in the U.S., it is $5/hour and combined with some highend coffee or whatnot. (Whereas in Korea, it was around $1/hour, or Philippines 30cents/hour, Vietnam 40cents/hour, etc.)
The U.S. does is a world leader in technology, but it is generally very military-oriented and military focused, and very little for if any for just the general populace doing their daily needs.
Even simple things like trains or public transportation. Train travel in the U.S. is more or less non-existant. Most cities have very little of it. If I want to visit my parents in Michigan, it is required to rent a car. Highway infrastructure is plentiful, but little if anything else exists.
Alright, couple things to point out here.
Cell phones: Japan has a completely different cell system than the rest of the world. Yes, much smaller phones in some cases. Cell phones are embraced in a different way there. But in that case it's Japan that is the unusual case study IMO. In some other places in the world, the original phone network was never as developed, so cell phones kind of leapfrogged that. Thus, people there are more attached. Finally, the cost thing, that is perhaps a legitimate gripe. One big difference in the cost in the US vs most other places in the world: here, people using the cell pay both sides of the extra cost. Elsewhere, the person making the call typically pays extra to call a cell number vs a land number. So, if you have a cell in Europe, nobody's going to call you on it because it costs extra to call you. ;-) That's also part of why text messaging got bigger more quickly elsewhere. I could go on. But all that said, cell phones are quite plentiful in the US, they can be had cheaply if you want and I don't know anyone who is afraid of or against them. 5 years ago? Maybe some resistance. Now, everyone has one. My 75-year-old dad, everyone.
Internet cafes: Here's the deal. In the US, a great majority of folks have internet access at home. For those who don't, some get by with access at work. And for the rest, they get by with some access at libraries and such near home. The amount of market for internet cafes for the local population quickly shrank to just about nil because computers became cheap enough and access became cheap enough for people to have in their homes. The tourist trade is not enough for such a business to get by; often hotels or other lodging places offer a way for those not toting a laptop to get access if necessary. In a place like the Philippines, I would gather (I don't know, I haven't been there and don't know directly) that there is a significant local population that would have no other way to get access, thus there is a market for internet cafes still. Sometimes places with significant recent immigrant population (I remember this from London several years ago) are ripe for internet cafes. But in the US, not so much. BTW, the stuff with the high-end coffee, typically free now due to market pressures. But it's just wi-fi for you to bring your own laptop. If you have a laptop, though, free wi-fi is rather plentiful these days.
Rail travel: began to be abandoned around the 1950s and mostly declining ever since. Some uptick in the last several years perhaps (both freight and passenger) but keep in mind what happened to a lot of rail-based public transport like local light rail. Back in the 50s, there was a GM-backed effort that bought up trolley lines and replaced them with (GM) busses. Killed so much local rail in this country. Here we agree; this sucks.
On the other two, I wonder how recently you've been back.
Cell phones (...) I wonder how recently you've been back.
Yeah, to think they're anything but ubiquitous here, one would have to wonder that.
I'm wondering what usage is like for those idiotic Bluetooth things elsewhere in the world. WHY do people insist on walking around with those in their ears? Can't wait to find out they cause brain cancer. Doh!
As a person who has lived outside of the U.S. for close to ten years...I often find it quite shocking to see how behind we are in the technology.
Just something as simple as cellphones...most everywhere in the world, they are dirt cheap and plentiful. In the U.S., they are a bit barbaric, still somewhat expensive, and generally large. Then on top of that, there is a resistance to cellphones in the U.S. Tons of people who are afraid of them or just against them in some kind of principle or whatnot.
Internet cafes. Almost every country in the world, they are dirt cheap and plentiful - like dozens in sight of almost wherever a person might want to go almost anywhere in the world. But on the rare occassion I see one in the U.S., it is $5/hour and combined with some highend coffee or whatnot. (Whereas in Korea, it was around $1/hour, or Philippines 30cents/hour, Vietnam 40cents/hour, etc.)
The U.S. does is a world leader in technology, but it is generally very military-oriented and military focused, and very little for if any for just the general populace doing their daily needs.
Even simple things like trains or public transportation. Train travel in the U.S. is more or less non-existant. Most cities have very little of it. If I want to visit my parents in Michigan, it is required to rent a car. Highway infrastructure is plentiful, but little if anything else exists.
Great perspective Tiger Beer,
If a bit dated in some ways. I, for one, am still a bit of a Luddite. I do not own a cell phone. Am I really that rare? That is partly because my life and schedule are pretty simple and predictable( I am never more than 30 minutes from a landline), and I have one to use when I travel for work. Also, I have simply refused to add a single nonessential expense to our budget for a couple years. I am also in the middle class squeeze, and with the economy on life-support, I keep nonessentials to a minimum. That said, I will most likely get one in a year or so.
More generally, not all Americans are into the latest electronic gadget, or into spending all their waking hours connected to the internet. And that is a good thing. I wonder if the Asians are a bit more trendy? This is a real question, not a slight. We are certainly trendy here, but I am old enough now that nearly every purchase I make has to fill some need.
Your comments about transportation are very apt. We are way behind, and perhaps a consequence of our auto industry collapse will be exploration of alternate transportation options. However, our political system is much more geared toward protecting existing industries than supporting innovation, especially if it threatens market share for the currently powerful (auto, oil, tire industries,etc.).
I should add: I have internet telephone (vonage), so I can call anywhere in N. America and parts of Europe for about $30/mo. So, my telephone needs are mostly met without a cell.
Last edited by Fiddlehead; 11-06-2009 at 09:30 AM..
Internet cafes. Almost every country in the world, they are dirt cheap and plentiful - like dozens in sight of almost wherever a person might want to go almost anywhere in the world. But on the rare occassion I see one in the U.S., it is $5/hour and combined with some highend coffee or whatnot. (Whereas in Korea, it was around $1/hour, or Philippines 30cents/hour, Vietnam 40cents/hour, etc.)
Most Americans have their own computers and internet at home and/or have laptops with WiFi; whereas, that's not the case in countries like Korea, Philippines, and Vietnam.
Seirously, why would you expect internet cafes to be plentiful in the US when most Americans don't need to rent access from someone else?
But if we actually had some tongue-in-cheek fun with all of it and converted a lot of the run down parts into mixed-use facilities, that would be about as cool as you could get and probably attract a lot of national attention.
Most Americans have their own computers and internet at home and/or have laptops with WiFi
A lot of people don't have computers at home--more than you'd think. Both the equipment and the monthly internet access charges are expensive, and many people aren't willing to pay. That's why a lot of people are up in arms about the libraries closing, especially those in poorer neighborhoods.
Last edited by fleetiebelle; 11-06-2009 at 09:02 AM..
Actually, with cellphones, I should change my original statement a little bit!
Cellphone ownership is there.
I guess what I was thinking is that I've been a cellphone owner both in the US and abroad - in Japan, Korea, and Spain.
Particularly in Asia, or even visits to other Asian countries where I can cheaply rent a phone. I feel like I can just make unlimited phone calls no problem with a very reasonable monthly bill. In Korea, I think I paid around $35/month or so, and I felt like I was on the phone quite a bit.
But in the States, I've done the Sprint and other cellphone deals. Suddenly I'm conscious of every minute, and in fear when others call me - if just a minute over, suddenly your bill is astronomical. Texting seems to be nearly non-existant when I was in the U.S., where everywhere else, it is preferred and very commonplace.
My first month on a Sprint plan, where I was TRYING to hardly ever use, somehow I went just a little bit over my minutes, and my bill was $300 for the month! I was in shock! Which brings me to another aspect of the U.S., every company seems to try to 'get you' somehow from cellphones to credit card companies - what happened to just straight-up honest business practices in the U.S.?
Another phone thing that cemented my opinions on them. My mother bought a cellphone (in the US of course), and she NEVER uses it. She just carries it in her car in case of emergencies. I saw it once, it looks like it fits into a shoebox, it is so large. She doesn't use it because the price plans are too screwy for her to adequately understand, so she just keeps it for an emergency only.
Also, the smallest cellphone I ever had was in Korea...it was just micro-small. WHen I went to the U.S. for awhile and got my Sprint phone, I searched for the smallest one I could get. My American one was twice as large as my Korean one. I had to laugh when I was setting it up though, as a female customer came in with what appeared to be a shoebox size phone like my mothers, it looked like it would double for clobbing someone over the head.
Maybe things have improved now, but over here in Asia, it just feels so much further ahead than the U.S. on nearly every level. Not just Japan, but everywhere in Asia - Korea, Vietnam, Thailand, Indonesia, etc.
Regarding Asians and such in general. Well bordering on stereotypes for sure, but it does seem to be the case, particularly noticeable with my Asian-American friends, they just seem worlds apart more technological savvy - from finding the most amazing computer stuff to camera stuff, etc.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
), internet, natural gas lines, etc., etc. I just recently watched a show on the History Channel about America's infrastructure, which was very factually based and not one of their what if programs, and it's scary, very scary. Not only is our infrastructure crumbling, but we're quickly falling behind many other nations in upgrades and innovations.
