Random Notes from Switzerland
by Anand Lal Shimpi on March 7, 2008 12:00 AM EST- Posted in
- CeBIT 2008
Despite a late start, we're in Switzerland.
1) Being able to drive to Switzerland is ridiculously cool.
2) Speedlimit-less Autobahnen (I probably didn't make that plural properly, more of my incredible German at work) are amazing.
3) German lane manners are incredible, it's the only way you can get away with not having any speed limit. Drivers pay attention to how fast you're approaching from behind and carefully move out of the way when necessary. It just works. Incredible.
4) Speed limits in Switzerland are not as amazing.
5) The MacBook Air continues to be the highlight of wherever I go. The minute I unfold it everyone around looks and points. I'm assuming it's not available in Germany?
6) For some reason, Christoph's driving at 200km/h+ rocks me to sleep like a little baby.
7) My AT&T bill is going to be huge. Data roaming on a non-hacked iPhone will be the death of me.
8) On the plus side, despite the expense, I am impressed that we're finally at a place where I can have email/phone/internet access wherever I go.
9) There's hardly any free wi-fi anywhere I've been on this trip. It makes me appreciate Panera so much more.
10) Years ago Matrox took a bunch of us to an indoor karting track. Uwe, a German editor from Tom's Hardware, was there and got flagged for driving too aggressively. He told me about it and said "I'm German, this is how I drive every day!" I thought he was being funny until yesterday when I was in the back seat while Christoph was driving. The driving is aggressive by US standards, but unlike the Fast and the Furious crap you see people pulling on US roads there are some basic rules in place (no passing on the right, left lane is only for overtaking, move over for faster traffic, etc...) that are adhered to religiously.
11) I totally get the German approach to automobile design now. You don't really encounter things like brake fade in normal driving around the US, but when braking from 200km/h down to 110km/h over and over again you start to run into these types of problems. Road feel is also incredibly important. I've always appreciated the way German cars drive, but now I understand the motivation behind designing them that way so much more.
Facebook
Twitter
RSS
5 Comments
View All Comments
perzy - Wednesday, March 12, 2008 - link
While on the subject of cars i recomend you take a trip in a Citroen (preferably a C6) while you are in europe (they are not sold in the USA) They have a fantastic hydraulic suspension with a 'flying carpet ride'...kaskode - Sunday, March 9, 2008 - link
If one needs to brake from 200 to 110 often it is time to rethink one's driving style.There is another rule for German Autobahnen, and that is to keep a distance of at least half the speed in m, i.e. at 200 km/h, one should keep at least 100 m distance, preferably more. Unfortunately, this rule is not adhered to as much as the others.
I do, and it makes for fast AND relaxed driving. With my current car (a diesel family station wagon), I hit 200 often and still even on very long stretches of Autobahn driving average below 7 l / 100 km (34 mpg).
The only thing not so relaxing is that when traffic slows and I take my foot off the accelerator early or break gently to keep the safety distance, this sometimes prompts other drivers to tailgate or even pass on the right, both of which are big nonos.
kaskode - Sunday, March 9, 2008 - link
Forgot one thing, brake fade is usually never a problem on the Autobahn, but with inexperienced (lowlands) drivers going down a mountain pass. One can kill even the brakes of a Porsche by sitting on the pedal all the way down.BrianGriffin - Friday, March 7, 2008 - link
And yes, "Autobahnen" ist proper german.Well, the MacBook Air ist avaiable in Europe, but german nerds just don't care about style ,) And they don't like to pay "more for less".* The new and loaded Lenovo X300 could get big over here, as the old X-Series Thinkpads still are.
So, if you see a guy with a MacBook Air, you can bet he's somebody who works for an advertising agency. Or maybe some kind of spin doctor. Or just gay ,)
*If things gets even worse, they might think YOU are a poser. Strange thing to learn: Success/Money isn't a positive value in general over here. Just google "Neid" and "Missgunst" ,)
teko - Friday, March 7, 2008 - link
Looking forward to see your AT&T bill.