1000 reasons why the US rule

1. The number of the house you are looking for is painted on the wall of the sidewalk and is visible from your car
2. The traffic light hangs AFTER the intersection so you can see it when you are first in line at the intersection
3. The name of the street you are crossing hangs down just in front of you so you can see it
4. When I returned to France in 2003, I thought about creating a WiFi hotspot service. I was deterred by France Telecom announcing that they would quickly deploy a hotspot network. Well, 9 years later, such a thing still does not exist. There are obscure ways to access a wifi service operated by FR or SFR from, say a railway station, but it is very hard to use. The promised service, as we know it in the US-located Strabucks is still in the future.
5. I tried to buy a movie ticket today on the UGC website. The site is very slow. It displays in a very bizarre way, on both IE and Chrome. After 15 minutes, I managed to go through and got my card charged. The problem is I never got the confirmation email and the tickets were not available at the theater. 10 years ago, it took 30 seconds to do that in LA. Over here, it is still no working
6. I forgot one thing. UGC charges 1€ more !!!!! When you buy on the Internet. This is Amazon and all the Internet commerce in reverse. Only in France, I am telling you.
7. Unlimited stupidity - Unlimited is the new slogan adopted by Montpellier for its international communication. Meanwhile, here's what's happening in the streets. I was waiting for the tram this afternoon. 2 American tourists were trying to figure out which pass they should pick. When they have to pay, change is not accepted on the distributor, nor is a US credit card, for it does not have the smart circuit. So, if you are an American tourist in Montpellier, you either walk or ride the tram for free!!
8. According to the local newspaper (le Midi Libre), the regional small businesses are the most innovative in France ! Once you read the report, you find 2 interesting points. First, nobody says they are the most innovative according to an undisputable benchmark, what is reported is that they "declare" that they are the most innovative: 57% of the regional businesses have declared they innovate, against 55% in France. So either they do innovate more or they simply lie or brag more effectively. Second, innovation in this report is not what would come to mind, i.e; Apple-like innovation. It is first management innovation, such as focusing on quality: wow!!! Second, it is marketing innovation, such as, are you ready, creating a web site: amazing. Third comes product innovation. how do you say bullshit in occitan (the local patois)?
9. We are in 2013. The web has been around for over 20 years and sophisticated websites have been around since at least 2000. Yet the Accor hotels website does not recognize you and forces you to re-enter your email address time and time again. Nor does it store your credit card. Amazon, where are you?