Email/Web Acccess During Travel

[Matt Meiser]

I'm actually posting from my phone right now while waiting ti pick my daughter up but its a pain typing on the tiny keys. If you want true mobile access then a wireless broadband card from any of the major providers will probably meet your needs. Since most are USB now you can use pretty much any laptop. The plans run $60 per month. Places like airports, book stores, Starbucks, etc typically charge for service and you can get a variety of plans from them or pay for a day pass as needed. I've used it at airports several times when I've had long waits and work to do that required access and its not too bad for very occasional use.

[Judy Kingery]

Thanks to all who responded with such great suggestions - went with an Acer Aspire, suits me to a T, easy to carry, yet still has a keyboard (I dislike texting on a cell phone) - next will see what kind of plan our current provider has - thanks again everyone!

Jude

[Frank Hagan]

Thanks to all who responded with such great suggestions - went with an Acer Aspire, suits me to a T, easy to carry, yet still has a keyboard (I dislike texting on a cell phone) - next will see what kind of plan our current provider has - thanks again everyone!

People have mentioned two different types of wireless access. One is buying a monthly plan and a wireless card to connect to a network (usually operated by a cell phone company). Verizon's service is called BroadbandAccess and AT&T's is called DataConnect (both are about $60 per month in my area). This is a great solution for those on the road within a defined area where you know there is coverage, but less ideal for occasional travel to places you haven't been before (and where you don't have assurance there will be coverage for your plan). And, you're paying $720 per year for the privilege.

The other type of access is standard WiFi access through your laptop's built-in 802.11 wireless adapter. Access is available "free" at McDonalds, Starbucks, many independent coffee shops and other businesses if you go in and buy something (do NOT sit in the parking lot and "surf for free", as some communities are cracking down on this practice ... the assumption is that you are a hacker, as the companies providing free wifi service often use the same network to transmit credit car info to their servers. Even if you are innocent, your laptop can be seized and held while they check it out.)

Hotels, cruise ships, etc. use this type of standard WiFi access as well, but often will charge for connecting. Hotels I've stayed at range from free to $10 per day. The advantage of this type of access is that there is no monthly fee, and it is available nearly everywhere at fixed locations. But if you are a contractor or woodworker installing something at a customer's house, and want access to the internet from their driveway, this option won't work as well.

I've carried a laptop for on-line access from before the days of the Internet (we used to have to remove the jacks from the hotel walls and use special alligator clips to connect to the phone lines .... now most hotels have either a ethernet jack or wireless). I still take my laptop on most vacations, but when we go on a cruise ship I don't bother ... they charge .25 per minute to access their wireless, and its lousy service. So now I find an Internet cafe in each port (nearly every port has one) and pay $3 to $4 for an hour's access.

Your Acer laptop probably has a wireless adapter already, so head on down to the nearest McDonalds or Starbucks, buy a cup of coffee and see if you can log on!

[RickT Harding]

People have mentioned two different types of wireless access. One is buying a monthly plan and a wireless card to connect to a network (usually operated by a cell phone company).

Just to be complete. The third option is a tethering plan that allows you to tether your 3g cell phone to your laptop. That's a $15 ad on for my current cell phone plan (AT&T). Not nearly so bad if you use it enough. Especially when you hit places that want $7-12 to connect to wireless for a day.