Comments on La France online: <em>bilan pas terrible</em>*TypePad2013-03-09T16:27:14ZSeduliahttps://www.ruerude.com/tag:typepad.com,2003:https://www.ruerude.com/2013/03/la-france-online-bilan-pas-terrible/comments/atom.xml/Sedulia commented on 'La France online: <em>bilan pas terrible</em>*'tag:typepad.com,2003:6a00d8341c82d353ef017c37aacf63970b2013-03-14T13:43:36Z2013-03-14T13:43:39ZSeduliahttp://www.ruerude.comI never thought of that! That may be true. I remember one of my uncles coming to visit in Paris...<p>I never thought of that! That may be true. I remember one of my uncles coming to visit in Paris when the Minitel was in its heyday. He worked for Southern Bell and was quite impressed with the technology. I used to brag about it to Americans! Then I remember an American who moved to Paris in 1996 and couldn't believe no one had email.</p>Nan commented on 'La France online: <em>bilan pas terrible</em>*'tag:typepad.com,2003:6a00d8341c82d353ef017ee945c869970d2013-03-13T17:44:16Z2013-03-13T22:48:08ZNanOur theory has been that their attachment to and refusal to give up the minitel caused the French to be...<p>Our theory has been that their attachment to and refusal to give up the minitel caused the French to be late in embracing the internet and handicapped the development of the kind of sites we see elsewhere.<br />
</p>Lisa, a.k.a. The Bold Soul commented on 'La France online: <em>bilan pas terrible</em>*'tag:typepad.com,2003:6a00d8341c82d353ef017d41bd30d8970c2013-03-11T18:57:25Z2013-03-11T23:02:24ZLisa, a.k.a. The Bold Soulhttp://theboldsoul.comYes, it is so annoying that Internet service in France is so behind the times. And slow. I'm told that...<p>Yes, it is so annoying that Internet service in France is so behind the times. And slow. I'm told that Free.fr (which we use for our home service and phones) deliberately slows down access to video services like YouTube at peak viewing hours in the evening. It's such a pain!</p>
<p>I did want to drop some Internet (or internet) trivia though. The Internet has normally capitalized as a global standard when it refers to the world-wide network overall. We then say "internet" (lower case) when referring to smaller local networks that do roughly the same thing as the world-wide 'Net. So it's not just a French thing to capitalize it, but it is also true that more organizations are blurring the lines of this naming convention so you will certainly see exception to this original "rule". </p>Sedulia commented on 'La France online: <em>bilan pas terrible</em>*'tag:typepad.com,2003:6a00d8341c82d353ef017c3789db2e970b2013-03-11T10:20:34Z2013-03-11T10:20:44ZSeduliahttp://www.ruerude.comI am dealing with a university whose website is back in the Stone Age, so I'm prejudiced. The wifi in...<p>I am dealing with a university whose website is back in the Stone Age, so I'm prejudiced. The wifi in Paris is pretty good, though! I love being able to use my smartphone in the metro. I didn't really mean wifi connectivity; that isn't the problem. It's more that the tech mentality is still a bit oldfashioned.</p>DaleyBrennan commented on 'La France online: <em>bilan pas terrible</em>*'tag:typepad.com,2003:6a00d8341c82d353ef017d41b90739970c2013-03-11T09:59:52Z2013-03-11T09:59:59ZDaleyBrennanhttp://profile.typepad.com/daleybrennanI must say that I've never been disappointed with Paris's internet connection. I have a 200mbps fibre optic connection that...<p>I must say that I've never been disappointed with Paris's internet connection. I have a 200mbps fibre optic connection that costs me relatively little compared to what I would have had to pay in the UK. I'm not sure what it's like in the rest of France but never have I had a problem with mobile telephony, particularly 3G service, either. Furthermore, not only can you access data networks on the metro, many of the stations are WiFi equipped too.</p>
<p>Admittedly, many websites are indeed poorly designed. But they've come along way since 2005 when I first started trying to understand how the university system worked and what it was that we actually had to do to apply. Even university websites have come a long way in that timeframe. </p>
<p>Annoying as it may be, having to answer security questions when paying for something online is, I believe, a cultural point. France still won't relinquish cheques and, despite trying to introduce it, Moneo hardly took off. The French don't like debt; they like security with their finances.</p>