Mon

Oct 17
2005

Marc Hedlund

Marc Hedlund

In Amsterdam...

  • ...my phone doesn't work at all
  • ...even with a GSM phone, my data services wouldn't work at all
  • ...I need a step down transformer and a plug adapter to recharge anything
  • ...the money, of course, is different
  • ...surprisingly many places don't take Visa, or Mastercard, or either of them
  • ...the language, of course, is different (though most people speak English)
  • ...I had to reset all of my clocks
  • ...at some point my sleep schedule will adjust

...and yet -- WiFi works right out of the box. And it's everywhere. Let's hear it for WiFi.

I'd love a WiFi phone right about now.

UPDATE: Several people have written to ask why I hate Amsterdam so. I love Amsterdam! My comments were about differences between countries, and how worldwide WiFi is nice -- it's nice to have one system that just works when all the others need attention.

Nat and I had a fantastic dinner tonight (dispelling even the rumor that food here left something to be desired) at Envy, walking distance from the conference. Check it out. See!? Amsterdam == LOVE!


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Comments: 16

  Nico Lumma [10.17.05 09:15 AM]

thanks for the wifi here :)

  Carsten [10.17.05 09:38 AM]

you should be glad your data service doesn't work with your phone ... especially if you were trying to use it with your US sim card, would be a nice phone bill.

  Sean Tierney [10.17.05 10:23 AM]

i ran a "wifi phone" this past week while working from Cabo, Mexico using the Skype in/out services. read about it here-> http://www.scrollinondubs.com/index.cfm/2005/10/7/Working-remotely-from-Cabo-and-using-Skype-as-a-phone
it worked beautifully and cost only pennies per minute.

cheers
sean

  Patrick Lenz [10.17.05 11:13 AM]

"Dom Plaza" (sorry, no website) is a pretty nice place too. It's just across the place at the front entrance of the conference hotel. We had dinner there tonight.

We'll try Envy tomorrow :)

  Patrick Lenz [10.17.05 11:20 AM]

Oh, and it's "Dam Plaza", obviously.

  Al Lang [10.17.05 02:25 PM]

A week ago, I moved from Wellington in New Zealand to a couple of train stops away from Amsterdam. That's over 18,500 kilometres.

My phone works.

A local SIM works in my phone, which makes it really cheap.

I don't need a transformer. The tiny converter plugs I travel with work just fine.

My credit cards work. My debit cards work in ATMs.

Unlike most currencies, there are a whole lot of nice countries just nearby that use the same money! Cool!

Everyone understands English just fine (even the ones who speak "different").

My alarm clock coped just fine with the new time zone.

Hey, jet lag is great for keeping up with the night life!

(Maybe it's not Amsterdam that has a problem... :-)

PS. 18,500 kilometres is about 11,500 miles. Just so you don't think I'm speaking a different language...

  Jeroen Wenting [10.17.05 11:19 PM]

hmm, I'm from near Amsterdam (30km or so) and everything works just fine there :)

Of course when I was in Seattle last year my phone wouldn't work well (even though it's a triple band GSM phone and I've a roaming contract including the US), the money was different, the language was different (and noone speaks Dutch there), I couldn't use my bankcard anywhere (though my mastercard did work, just as it does in Amsterdam), I had to reset all my clocks and my sleep schedule was messed up.

The reason creditcard acceptance is low in the Netherlands (and in most of Europe), especially for small amounts, is that creditcard companies charge exorbitant fees here.
For amounts smaller than say €50 that fee can well end up to be higher than the margin the store has on the transaction.
As there's other electronic means of payment available (almost every store you will have noticed has a terminal where people can pay using their ATM cards) that are a lot cheaper credit cards aren't often needed (and many people don't even have them).

Some stores do accept creditcard (usually Visa and/or Mastercard) issued outside the country only, but as so many locals speak English (Americans and Brits living here semi-permanently) they might not have noticed your card was not a local one.

  Thijs van der Vossen [10.18.05 02:04 AM]

I highly recommend Vasso for you next dinner, it's the last entry on http://www.amsterdamhotspots.nl/eatitalian.html

  Marc Hedlund [10.18.05 02:16 AM]

Okay, Al and Jeroen, you score points for your respective countries. Yes, the US is to blame! It's true.

My point was more about travelling than Amsterdam or anywhere else in particular. It's nice to have some system that just works no matter where I go these days. Though as Nat points out, free WiFi seems less common here than in the States.

  Anthony [10.18.05 04:32 AM]

Nice Nice Nice.

I live in South Africa where wi-fi has just recently been introduced, along with 3G.

I recently aquired the samsung Z500v (worlds smallest 3G fone blah blah balh) only to find that not only is our network not 3G compatable but there are not even plans for it to be.

Maybe i do not know exactly what mobile network companies are planning to do. But they advertise 3G everywhere. And 3G does not exist here. You cant even get signal in my living room.

You hate amsterdam, come here and try using our 56k phone lines.

  Jeroen Wenting [10.18.05 05:38 AM]

Not out for points, just poking fun at you :)
Yes, WiFi is less common here than in the US. As almost everyone has broadband internet at home and there's several providers for internet access through GSM phones there's not much of a market for it I guess.
If you want it, I believe the American Book Center at Kalverstraat has a free hotpoint on the second floor. They're open most days to 8PM.
Nice store to browse anyway, excellent SciFi/Fantasy department (and they carry only English language books so you'll feel right at home).

Another good place to dine is Insulinde, an Indonesian restaurant on Vijzelstraat. Not all that cheap, but delicious traditional Indonesian food (my former boss, who was Indonesian, loved the place, says enough).

  anonymouscoward [10.18.05 05:32 PM]

Have you visit the coffee shops yet?

  Jeroen Wenting [10.18.05 10:31 PM]

Why should one? I've been coming to Amsterdam several times a week (often daily) for the last decade and I've never been inside one...
The smell alone walking past the open doors turns my stomach.

  Scott Rafer [12.01.05 07:24 AM]

It's Dam Square.

  Eva [07.10.07 06:22 AM]

I thought that the whole center of Amsterdam has free wi-fi. Everything within the Singel gracht, not the Singel.

  Dan [12.02.08 02:31 PM]

"The smell alone walking past the open doors turns my stomach."

Well, how about the bars; do you like to drink?

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