Use of internet in Europe & Uk

[penney]

I intend to spend three months travelling around europe later this year. I have a new lap top and would like to know the cheapest way of E-mail & internet access when in Europe and back in the UK. *-)

[Mel E]

We've just done 10 countries (Norway, Finland, the Baltic States, Poland, Germany, Lux, Belg, France) and found the following: 1. Public Libraries have free internet access in most countries. 2. Because of the advent of Broadband and WiFi, Internet Cafes are now disappearing at a fairly rapid rate. 3. Using your laptop, even just for emails, with a mobile phone is extremely costly and not to be recommended. 4. Your best bet is to find WiFi hotspots. With most you will have to pay a fee, but most members of the larger hotel chains now have WiFi and will happily accommodate your needs. 5. Most WiFi free hotspots are in places where it is impossible to park your motorhome near enough. And, personally, I do not choose to walk thru town with my laptop slung from my shoulder - too big a temptation to the lower forms of life! Hope that helps.

[Brian Kirby]

Alternatively, just use the laptop for its other functions (digital pics, spreadsheets, route planning etc) and use a mobile phone (send texts, not chat) for contact.

On the whole, this does seem to be the most economical option presently on offer, and you can do it from almost anywhere without needing to wait for the computer to boot up.  Texts are pretty much e-mails anyway, and no clot can send you a 5Mb attachment down a mobile!

Mobile computing does somehow seem terribly narrow in its scope at present, unless you have a very wide company extranet.  Frustrating isn't it?

Regards