Internet withdrawal by the lake in Austria 0
The International Federation for Systems Research hosts about 25 people in Fuschl am See, Austria, every other year. I was invited to the meeting two years ago, when the venue had been set as the Seehotel Schlick. Over the two years, I’ve noticed two improvements at the hotel. Firstly, they seemed to have done some sprucing up, with a small but noticeable maintenance (which is probably more than just cleaning). Secondly, the Seehotel Schlick has gotten a fancy web site, done by a professional designer. The photos aren’t misleading, but that’s not to say that every day in Austria has blue skies. (About half our days did).
In 2004, the best that we could do in Fuschl was dial-up access. On one afternoon, arrangements had been made for attendees to get a bus ride into Salzburg, presumably for the opportunity to see sights. DLH and I spent much of the afternoon in an Internet cafe, catching up on e-mail. Going offline for extended periods of time just feels bad.  Unfortunately for the Seehotel Schlick, their Internet access hasn’t improved over the two years.
