Amsterdam - The Netherland

xs4all ONLY... my Expirience!

Camaleonte — Wed, 28 Feb 2007 21:04:00 GMT

It Starts with:

XS4ALL ONLY

How many of you using BASIC XS4ALL ONLY have connection and speed isues?
And how many of you using XS4ALL BASIC connection have connection and speed issues?

Please post your feedback, it is important!

Since no less than 6 months I experiment serious connection and speed issue!
When I was NOT on XS4ALL ONLY, I called XS4ALL and they told me that it was a KPN issue.
So I called KPN, and you can only imagine how difficult it was to bypass the 1st line support!!
Finally they assumed a problem and sent a technician to check my end point!
They figure out that the issue was that there are too many people on the same KPN end point and when my modem request the connection, I overloaded their 'box'!!
So I asked:"what can you do about it?" they simply answered me "NOTHING" and suggested me to slow down my connection!!

When I go to the XS4ALL web site at the DSL post code check page (http://www.XS4ALL.nl/uk/allediensten/toegang/adsl/) I have a great smily face and says I can have ANY connection I want!! COOOOOL... NOT :-(
The people fem KPN and XS4ALL told me that I will not be able to get more than I asked for!!
So, let me get it... I am a customer for MANY years.
Never had an issue.
Suddenly I have a big issue and NO ONE wants to fix it (I dont really care how as is not my issue!!).
Than I double check the XS4ALL web site and I keep seeing that I CAN GET ALL THE SPEED I WANT!!!
So where is the issue here???
I suppose that someone is not telling me the truth!!

I sent emails to the support... no answer up to today (few days so far)
I called them, waited exactly 59 minutes. Got someone on the phone that agreed with my issue and told me that the day after a technician would call me to fix an appointment or to fix the issue!!
I still got no calls.
As I am writing, I am waiting on the support phone line for precisely 47m and 50 seconds.

All they have to do is to put me in a different CARD in their end point (this is what KPN told me).
If it is the physical line issue... well... I guess they have to dig and fix!! But of course..

My modem gives me a speed acquired from XS4ALL of 1mbps-up and 6.5mbps-down (it should have been 8 but they told me that my line can only support 6!! fear enough if I would get it).

I made a speedtest on a site suggested by XS4ALL (http://www.speedtest.net/) I am lucky to get 2 mbps/down and 320 Kb/up on an Amsterdam server less than 50Km from my location!!

So PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE, post me messages about your experiences.
Maybe someone will read this posts and ... well... lets hope for the best!

02 MARCH 2007 at 16:13; My Speed :-(

03 March 2007 at 15:05 (after endless disconnections); My Speed :-(

05 March 2007 at 00:05; My Speed :-(

05 March 2007 at 09:25; My Speed :-(

07 March 2007 at 16:08; My Speed I FEEL LUCKY TODAY!!

08 March 2007 at 16:08; My Speed; Looks better but far from 8/1mbps down/up
Down: 1542 kbps, Up 148 kbps

10 March 2007 at 18:45; My Speed; is going up but far from reality!

12 March 2007 at 01:36; Not even in the night I get some good results!

12 March 2007,

Since I did not have any sort of communication with xs4all for my problem as they ensured me, I called them again to find out how far was the fix of my internet connection.
I found out that they closed my ticket for the second time without letting me know about it AND without solving my connection and speed issue!!

Now,a technician on their second line, have created me a new issue and beatstream is supposed working on it and give me a feedback within 2 days.

I actually was told the same all other times too and never happened. Lets see whats happening this time!

As for now, I still see my modem nor being able to connect to the ATM.
So far, Voip, and all other services running on my PC are basically useless!

13 March 2007, my speed at 10:21 :-(

a week as passed and no one (as expected by me) called me to update me on the situation! Look at the speed Test results I have today:
19 March 2007 WOW... I have more than expected but a little more than 1/4 of what I am supposed to have!!

Think again:

KLM: Starting 1 August 2006: Credit card surcharge

Camaleonte — Fri, 28 Jul 2006 11:09:00 GMT

KLM

Can you believe this?
in a world where Low Cost airlines are giving us cheap flights...
and when since the joint de-aventure with Air France happen..

Once again, those with less money will pay the highest price!
If you want to book an economy ticket with KLM and you want to pay with Credit Card, than you pay extra money for the use of the Credit card!!
WHY??
Well... just because too many people use Credit Card!

But I think to remember that we have been pushed by all public and private entities to use plastic money Vs real money.. now that we do, we pay extra for doing it!
This world is going in a funny direction!

Here is part of the mail that KLM is writing to (I guess) everyone:
"Starting 1 August 2006: Credit card surcharge to compensate for rising costs

More and more air travellers are using a credit card to pay for their tickets. This increasing credit card usage has resulted in rising costs for KLM. To compensate for these costs, we are forced to charge a surcharge of EUR 7.50 per person (with the exception of infants) for tickets booked by credit card, starting 1 August 2006. This surcharge only applies to lower priced Economy Class tickets, such as the Take Off Fares, that are booked directly from KLM (through the KLM website, for example). Of course, you can continue to use other - free - payment methods as well, such as the new payment option iDEAL, a once-only authorisation or bank transfer."

No idea if this is a Air France or KLM decision, however, I noticed that since KLM became AIRFRANCE (see shares), all got really complicated and restrictive in KLM as a customer.

Hard to Upgrade; you canot simply upgrade if you have an economy ticket.. you MUST have an economy ticket that cost almost as a first class to move to first class...
you cannot do that in the last minute (or same day) anymore as it was possible.

I am sure that readers of this articl will be able to add their own experiences.

Frequent Flyer points are reduced per flight (used to be more points per flight)
I am looking for the best alternative to KLM and Airfrance for a fidelity card that does give you something extra.

Any comment?

Amsterdam Police joy of the Itaian Victory as well

Camaleonte — Wed, 12 Jul 2006 12:11:00 GMT

Right after the Italian Victory of the Soccer World Cup, a straordinary number of Italians have gathered in many squares of Amsterdam and one of them was Leidseplein.
The police that was controlling the order was as happy as the Italians and also carried the Italian Flag on their motorbike.
Maybe under request of some of the fans?
This shows the good spirit of the Dutch Police after a peaceful event.

Pictures gently given to me from a good friend.

80 Km/h on the Dutch Highway

Camaleonte — Wed, 02 Nov 2005 01:30:00 GMT

Would you believe it?
As for the 1st of November 2005, The Netherlands is going backwards on Speed limit! The Highway rules on certain parts of the Netherlands have changed by a cut of about 40 Km/h.
In a number of area as A10 West between Nieuwe Meer and the Coentunnel (Amsterdam), the A20 between Kleinpolderplein and Terbregseplein (Rotterdam), the 'parallelbanen' (...don't know how to translate that) of A12 between Oudenrijn and Lunetten (Utrecht) and the A12 between prince Clausplein and Den Haag-centrum.
(see http://www.anwb.nl/published/anwbcms/content/pagina/nieuws/nieuwsartikelen/verkeer/051031-80km_uurrondwegen.nl.html)

Most of us are now asking the famous question: WHY?
Well... what could be a better answer than: For the quality of Air!!!!!

Quote from Ministerie van Verkeer en Waterstraat:
"As from 1 November 2005 a lower maximum speed applies to improve air quality to omwonenden on five pieces motorway. Moreover the speed lowering contributes to the accessibility (better flow) and road safety.

It concerns the following snelwegen:
A10 West between button point new more and Coentunnel in both directions (between km 21.2 and km 27,2), A20 between button point polder square and connection Crooswijk in both directions (between km 29.0 and km 31,4), A12 button point Oudenrijn between button point Lunetten, parallelrijbanen between 63.5 and 58.3 – button point Oudenrijn, A12 between Utrechtsebaan and Voorburg in both directions (between km 3.3 and km 5,8), A13 Overschie (the speed lowering has applied here has applied since May 2002 and has remained maintained).

On A12 between button point the Oudenrijn and button point Lunetten applies on the head file job in both directions (between km 63.5 and km 54.5 – connection the Meern) a permanent speed lowering of 120 kilometres per hour to 100 kilometres per hour.
Furthermore the maximum speed on A13 (Berkel and Rodenrijs – digs North) in both directions is reduced of 120 kilometres per hour to 100 kilometres per hour. With that the large speed differences between prince Clausplein (100 kilometres per hour) and Overschie (80 kilometres per hour) are raised."

Please, excuse the possible wrong spelling/form.Its a direct translations from the web: http://world.altavista.com/babelfish/

Many of us also thinking: Why are the cars penalized?
Is it possible that The Netherlands has more cars than the neighbour countries? How comes that neighbour have even higher speed limit than before the 80 Km/h reduction?

Italy has just raised its speed limit to 150 Km/h

Country	Motorway	Open Road	Town		Alcohol mg/litre
Austria	130 km/h	100 km/h	50	km/h	0.25
Belgium	120 km/h	90 km/h	50	km/h	0.25
Denmark	130 km/h	80 km/h	50	km/h	0.25
France	130 km/h (110 when wet)	90 km/h	50	km/h	0.25
Germany	none unless shown	100 km/h	50	km/h	0.25
Italy	130 km/h	90 km/h	50	km/h	0.4
Luxembourg	120 km/h	90 km/h	60	km/h	0.4
Netherlands	120/110 km/h	80 km/h	50	km/h	0.25
Norway	90 km/h	80 km/h	50	km/h	0.1
Spain	120 km/h	100 km/h	50	km/h	0.25 (0.1 for new drivers)
Switzerland	120 km/h	80 km/h	50	km/h	0.4

I hope that this speed limit will not be extended in all of the highways of The Netherlands.

Amsterdam Sail 2005

Camaleonte — Thu, 18 Aug 2005 01:21:00 GMT

a wonderful parade of sailing boats....

Click on the picture to see more of the Amsterdam Sail 2005

Amsterdam Gay Parade

Camaleonte — Sat, 06 Aug 2005 21:00:00 GMT

I love the freedom I see!

Want to Fax For Free??

Camaleonte — Mon, 23 May 2005 20:15:00 GMT

Did you ever wanted to send a fax for free???
I remember the old time when the Internet was really for free. It was possible to do almost anything and for free.
Today it gets more and more difficult.
But hey, I finally found a fax service that seems to be really for free.
This service covers The Netherlands 100% (so they claim) and my only test worked very fine.
Its quite simple layout. No fancy things and no attachments...
But if you have a fax to send, you should use it.
The place is called: TCP FAX
You should also check the World Wide Coverage
The system will also send you a mail upon succesful fax sent. Don't try to fool the system.. if the mail address is not valid, the fax will not be sent.
CREDITS!!
Quickly after you sent a fax in The Netherlands, you will realized that the free fax syetem is powered by

Well... Thanks Demon for your great service.

World... enjoy your faxes!

The Netherlands is NOT the only country is covered!!

Foreigner Drive License in HOLLAND The Netherlands! END OF STORY!

Camaleonte — Wed, 11 May 2005 17:42:00 GMT

From the thread Foreigner Drive License in HOLLAND The Netherlands!

Dear readers,
after all, we get to a conclusion!
So far you read many things. And followed many sites.
You got a believe and then an other...
I found an other article of the EU where it explains in details what you should do with the driver license.
Here is the situation:
Your drive license, as long as it is from a EU member state, will be valid for as long as the expiration date is written on the license with a MAX of 10 years (sorry French people).
After that date or 10 years after the date of the residence in the host country, you have to renew your Driving License.
And you must do so in the country of normal residence (in this case, The Netherlands).
You are not allowed to renew it in the country of origine!!
This is it.
It took me quite a bit of research but I finally got the complete answer.
I have to admit that the EU site was quite missleading when I read the first article!!
Here is the link where you can read what I just mentioned.
http://europa.eu.int/comm/transport/home/drivinglicence/faq/005_en.htm

Foreigner Drive License in HOLLAND The Netherlands! PART 2

Camaleonte — Wed, 11 May 2005 16:12:00 GMT

... do you remember my old article?? ( Foreigner Drive License in HOLLAND The Netherlands PART 1)
I found a report of the press, reported on Expatica.nl (http://www.expatica.com/source/site_article.asp?channel_id=1&story_id=4366)
And so I got to the Dutch RDW. In theory, RDW rules the country when it gets to the Car industry! If you wonder what you can or cannot do all around having, importing or changing a car or drive license.
They do have English pages and you can read a lot of info.
Here is a link that mention the following:
"...ou can usually continue to drive with this licence for 10 years from the date of issue of this foreign driving licence."
http://www.rdw.nl/eng/02_diensten/03_particulieren/index_asp.htm
WHAT THAT MEANS???
Well, I see it this way:
Since in those countries, a drive license is valid for 10 years, you can drive for 10 years in NL as well.
If you have only (example) 5 years left validity, you might drive only 5 years!!!
Well... fair enough and I think we all know this. If you have an expiring date in your drive license... you certainly know about it cause you know what happen if you do not renew in time!!!
But the question is... WHAT THE DUTCH GOV. WANTS US TO DO AFTER THE EXPIRATION OF THE DRIVE LICENSE???
I have an idea!!
Just go back to your country and renew it and comeback. It takes no more than a week!
So you good for 10 more years!
In other words, this article is not really useful since it does not say much about what we can do... unless you are not from EU!!!

People, if you have more links about it or feedback, please send it to me.
I want to help others that have or had my issues with the Dutch burocrazy!

SEE END OF STORY

Dutch scrap EU expat driving licence registration

Camaleonte — Wed, 11 May 2005 15:46:00 GMT

From Expatica NL web site

Dutch scrap EU expat driving licence registration

4 February 2004

AMSTERDAM — Ruled to be in breach of European Union communal law, the Netherlands has recently adjusted regulations to ensure that EU expats no longer have to register their driving licence with Dutch municipalities.

The change comes after the European Court ruled in July 2003 that Dutch regulations concerning the driving licences of EU expats living in the Netherlands were too strict.

Dutch authorities previously required EU citizens to register their driving licences when they moved to the Netherlands, but the European Commission submitted a complaint to the court, stating that EU legislation obligates member states to recognise the licences of EU residents.

The EU founding charter, the Treaty of Rome, allows for the freedom of movement of EU citizens, but Dutch regulations prevented expats from automatically using their foreign licence if they are a Dutch resident.

Expats are considered a resident if they spend at least 185 days per calendar year in the Netherlands, but if they wished to use their driving licence for longer than a year, they previously had to have it registered at municipal offices.

But in announcing the change to licence regulations, a spokeswoman for the Transport Ministry told Expatica on Wednesday that the Netherlands is no longer in breach of EU communal law. The change of regulations also applies to nationals from incoming EU member states.

The spokeswoman said all relevant institutions have been informed of the change, but admitted that some public communications have not yet been updated and the government is working to rectify this.

She was referring to the English-language information on the website of the Dutch vehicle registration and diving licence authority RDW (http://www.rdw.nl), which still states that EU nationals must register their licences with Dutch municipal authorities.

But expats are still only allowed to use their foreign licence in the Netherlands for a period of 10 years after the original issuance of the licence.

The Transport Ministry spokeswoman explained that all driving licences in the Netherlands are valid for 10 years, including foreign licences. "A German who lives in the Netherlands for 10 years, must exchange his German driving licence for a Dutch version," she said.

The spokeswoman said this was in line with a proposal from the European Commission to harmonise the validity duration of EU licences. Some EU nations issue driving licence's with a life-time validity.