We Americans like to think of ourselves as the great global innovators. Our New Economy is the envy of the world. We've got the right stuff, the perfect mix of markets and machines, that blend of imagination and technological supremacy that is propelling us ahead of everyone else into the 21st century. Four quick clicks, and he's checking the mini-Web site of Japan's leading business daily.
American technology has a lot going for it.
Of course there's plenty to complain about overseas. Every European country uses a different electrical plug. I never know whether my laptop will work on the hotel phone lines. And despite the technological advances here, old habits are dying slowly. When I give my debit card to the grocery clerk in Berlin, she prints out the receipt, waits for me to sign, then painstakingly writes the amount and the transaction number on another sheet of lined paper.