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Internet Online LapTop Warrior Discussion List
I - L-A-P-T-O-P W-A-R-R-I-O-R D-I-G-E-S-T

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August 27, 1998 Issue # 025
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.....IN THIS DIGEST.....


// -- MODERATOR COMMENT -- //

Calls for help


// -- NEW -- //

Using iPass in Africa
~ ottawan

Best laptop for Road Warriors
~ J Henderson

Connecting in Finland, Italy & France
~ Wendy Chan


// -- CONTINUING -- //

Traveling in Portugal
~ Joao Manuel Oliveira

HotMail web-based Email
~Paul G Rice


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// -- MODERATOR COMMENT -- //

We carry several calls for help in this edition of I-Laptop
Warrior, one for assistance in connecting in several European
countries and another for advice on selecting a new laptop. I
certainly hope list subscribers can offer some good advice and that
you will send a copy here to the list so that everyone can learn
from your words of wisdom.

I might suggest that when people ask for advice like this that they
be as specific as possible. Connecting in Europe: Is it roaming
Internet access that has you baffled or telephone line and
electrical plugs? Purchasing a laptop: What is it that you want
most in a laptop? Weight, battery life, keyboard? The more
specific you are, the better the chances that someone can address
your concerns directly.


// -- N-E-W -- //

From: ottawan <ottawan@istar.ca>
Subject: Using iPass in Africa

I use a Toshiba 410CDT Satellite Pro, with Windows 95 and a US
Robotics Megahertz 56K PC Card Modem.

Recently I signed up for the iPass roaming Internet access service
(http://www.ipass.com) and tried to use it on a trip to Africa. My
test run at home in Ottawa, Canada went fine. While en route to
Africa, I stopped in Brussels, Belgium for a couple of days and had
no trouble connecting there either.

Once I got to Africa, though, I couldn't make a connection. The
calls were all placed from hotels and the countries involved
included Burkina Faso, Mali, Cote d'Ivoire, South Africa, Namibia
and Botswana.

Does anyone have any suggestions as to why this might be happening?
Is my modem too advanced for the analogue lines? (In most hotels
there is still pulse dialing and I did alter my dial-up connector
to reflect this change.)

I should note that I used HomeGate's internet service in Africa
before it went bankrupt last year. I was able to get online with
them, albeit with a different modem at the time.

ottawan <ottawan@istar.ca>

Moderator's note:
I don't know the solution here, but I can add one bit of
information. HomeGate used iPass' network of Internet Service
Providers and local phone numbers. So the numbers you called with
HomeGate would essentially be the same numbers you tried to call
with iPass.


++++ next post - new topic ++++

From: "J HENDERSON" <mgmt01@hotmail.com>
Subject: Best laptop for Road Warriors

Dear Sir,
I enjoy the I-Laptop Warrior discussion list very much.

I am going to have to get another laptop ASAP. Yesterday would be
too late. Can anyone help me on deciding which one is the best for
around US$2,000 less?

Thanks,
Jim
mgmt01@hotmail.com


++++ next post - new topic ++++

From: Wendy Chan <wendychan@bigfoot.com>
Subject: Connecting in Finland, Italy & France

Hi,
Does any one have any tips for connecting in the following
countries: Finland, Italy and France?

Thanks,
Wendy
wendychan@bigfoot.com


// -- C-O-N-T-I-N-U-I-N-G -- //

From: Joao Manuel Oliveira <jmo@esoterica.pt>
Subject: Traveling in Portugal

Regarding Kathleen Buckley's questions about laptop use and
cellular phone service in Portugal (see I-Laptop #24), I would like
to welcome Kathleen to Portugal (Oporto and Douro valley ) and I
hope that she will have a great time here in my country.

Concerning Kathleen's needs:

-- RJ11 adapters are nowadays the standard in communications in
Portugal. Besides the fact that you are going to a "Quinta do
Oporto Wine" festival, you don't have to be anxious about
communications. I have been in many hotels in Portugal and in all I
have been able to connect to a phone line. In one case, they put me
in the directors office, by myself.

- Mobile communications: Portugal is one of the European countries
with the most mobile phones per capita. But you are going to a
tough region. Roaming is ok.

If you need anything else, contact me or visit
http://www.telecel.pt or http://www.tmn.pt

Greetings,
Joao Manuel Oliveira
ICQ n¼ 12377843 Rua do Gravito,
127 3800 Aveiro PORTUGAL 034-28451 ou 0936 75 90
25 <mailto:jmo@esoterica.pt> Jornalista
http://homepage.esoterica.pt/~jmo
Contact me in: http://wwp.mirabilis.com/12377843


++++ next post - new topic ++++

From: Paul G Rice <ricep1@mail.atl.bellsouth.net>
Subject: HotMail web-based Email

Regarding the moderators comments about HotMail (see I-Laptop #22),
I too just signed up with HotMail. We are going to Spain and the
resort has Internet access.

Together with HotMail, I use iname and have my email sent there so
I do not have to have people relay it. It is easy to change
destinations. I also have my own domain, which goes through iname
(http://www.iname.com).

iname is a permanent lifetime email address. It now has a feature
like HotMail, which it did not originally have, in that it has the
ability to get Email from any internet connection.

I like it because I can redirect e-mail anytime. If you give
everyone your iname address, you do not have to contact them should
you ever change ISPs.

It is pretty self explanatory at http://www.iname.com

Paul Rice
paulrice@paulrice.com
http://www.paulrice.com

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Subject: Funny phones in Switzerland and France

Last two times I was in Europe, I came across phones that puzzled
me. One was in Switzerland, the other in France. The phones were
of a modern variety. They were wired in to the wall with Swiss and
French modular phone line plugs, as one would expect. But on the
other end of the phone line that ran from the wall, there was a
US-style RJ11 plug.

Oh, boy, I thought, this should be easy to go online. Since these
were residential lines I wasn't worried about digital service, so I
took the line out of the phone and plugged it directly into my
modem.

Nothing. It didn't work.

So I got out my line tester and checked out what I was dealing
with. In both cases, I found the polarity reversed on the lines.
I was surprised. Has anyone found similar circumstances and can
anyone offer an explanation? It was my understanding that the
general rule that a phone was a phone the world over still applied
(with the exception of digital PBX systems, of course).

My immediate solution was to pull out my alligator clips and put
the polarity back as it should be.

Bob Lawson

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