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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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September 18, 1998 Issue # 028
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.....IN THIS DIGEST.....


// -- CONTINUING -- //

Travel Reports on Portugal, Italy
~ Kathleen Buckley

Email via telephone
~ Mark Harvey

Going through airport security with a laptop
~ Sylvain Perret

Airport laptop thefts
~ Kenneth Ohlsson


// -- MODERATOR'S CORNER -- //

TrackIT laptop alarms
~ Robert Lawson, Moderator


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From: Winenews@aol.com
Subject: Travel Reports on Portugal, Italy

First, I want to thank Moderator Bob, Laptop Travel and subscriber
Jo‹o Manuel Oliveira for help with navigating the Douro Valley,
Portugal online (navigating by car is much more difficult!). During
my recent trip, I found US-style RJ-11 plugs almost everywhere,
except once when I used the curious Dutch/Portuguese adapter
available through Laptop Travel (http://www.laptoptravel.com). I
encountered no connection problems using AOL via Lisbon (the Porto
number didn't work) and later connected seamlessly to Madrid from a
charming paradore in western Spain.

Next I'd like to put in a plug for JFAX (http://jfax.com) which is
similar to SayMail (I-Laptop #27). I forwarded my home fax and
phone
numbers to my JFAX number and didn't miss a call or a fax. In fact,
no one knew I was away.

Re: ship-to-shore online connections...forget it (I-Laptop #27). I
travel Brittany Ferries between France/Spain and the UK and
basically use the 12-to-24 hour "cruise" to relax. Ship pay phones
rarely work and when they do the cost is crazy.

Re: Italy connections. If you have US AOL, they have numbers
through
most of Italy via globalnet ($6/hr). Hotel switchboards are often
incompatible. There are a number of cybercafes throughout Italy. If
you must be in communication daily, I suggest buying or renting a
GSM data compatible mobile phone. I heard Panasonic is coming out
this month with a new dual system mobile (US/GSM) but don't have
details. If anyone knows of similar dual-system mobile phones that
are a good value, please advise.

And, forget MSN (Microsoft Network) for roaming Internet
connections. They have pulled their globalnet numbers from Europe
(without telling anyone, including their staff) so now US MSN
global
travelers can only connect by calling a US number.

Thanks also for the warning on laptop thefts. Jeez.... Does anyone
keep track of thefts by airport or region, so we know where to be
most careful? It would be like a laptop equivalent to epidemic/war
travel advisories.

Kathleen Buckley
http://www.globalwinenews.com
winenews@aol.com

Moderator's note:
I swung by JFAX's web site (http://www.jfax.com) to get a little
more information. When you sign up with them, you are assigned a
phone number, either in the US or in some other countries. Faxes
and voice mailbox messages sent or left at this number are then
Emailed to you. The fax comes as a graphic file and the voice mail
comes as a sound file that you listen to on your laptop's speakers.

JFAX also offers an Email-to-fax service. You can send an Email
message that JFAX converts to a fax for you and delivers it to the
specified fax machine. This can be a convenient and cost-effective
way to fax. The way these services normally work is that the Email
is directed to a location in the US, where it is converted to fax
and sent out from there. So if you are in New Zealand and need to
send a fax to California, your fax is sent out at a cost of just
US$.10 a minute (in my experience, a 1-page fax takes about 45
seconds to send). If you're in the Third World and it's going to
cost you $4 a minute to send out a fax, JFAX will save you big
bucks. Plus, it's more convenient to send out an Email message than
to make a special call to send a fax.

The questions I have concern the size of the graphic and sound
files
that JFAX uses to send you your voice mail and faxes. They come as
attachments to Email messages. If your connections are slow or
unreliable, I wonder how long it takes to download a large group of
messages. However, the service starts at $12.95 a month. It
sounds
like it's worth a try, both for domestic and international travel.


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

From: Mark Harvey <Mentor@pemail.net>
Subject: Email via telephone

I know of another service that allows you to listen to your email
over the telephone, as SayMail does (see I-Laptop #27). It is
called CoolMail, and the URL for their service is
http://www.planetarymotion.com.

CoolMail actually provides you with a number of services. First of
all, it provides you with a free, web-based email service --
similar to HotMail or Rocketmail -- and all of the same features
that are included with either of those two services. In addition
to that, you also get a web-based planner and calendar, to help
you
keep track of your dates and appointments. CoolMail also provides
you with POP3 and SMTP access, so that you can both read and
compose
your mail using your favorite email client software, if you so
choose. As a matter of fact, CoolMail is even IMAP compliant.

On top of all that, CoolMail also allows you to listen and reply to
your email over the telephone, just as SayMail does. I don't know
exactly how SayMail works, but CoolMail has local phone numbers
for
dialing up and listening to your mail in most major U.S. cities,
and
in Toronto, Canada. They also have a toll-free number, but you
apparently have to pay them a small charge in return for using the
toll-free number.

All of the services that I have mentioned above, that CoolMail
provides, are free (unlike SayMail, which you have to pay for).
However, they apparently also have a number of premium services as
well, which are available to their members for a charge.

Mark Harvey
"Spread the word - Free Email and Homepages!"
http://www.Pconnections.net
Email - Mentor@pemail.net
Homepage - http://ppage.net/?Mentor
PCard - http://pcard.net/?Mentor


From: Sylvain Perret <sylvain_perret@yahoo.com>
Subject: Going through airport security with a laptop

In response to the search of J.freidell@ieee.org for a laptop
alarm
(See I-Laptop #27):

As far as going through metal detector at airport: NEVER put your
luggage on the X-ray conveyor belt until the person in front of you
has cleared the metal detector gate! (Wait for your turn calmly and
do not be pressured by the people behind you.) You want to get
through the metal detector gate at the same time your luggage make
it through the x-ray machine.

To do this, you need to be prepared: Put all metal (the stuff you
know by experience will trigger the gate) in your carry-on (or in
your jacket which you put on the conveyor belt) ahead of time. You
can regroup later once you made it safely through the gate and you
have gathered your luggage including your precious laptop.

I put my laptop in a padded pouch which I carry in a worn-out
backpack on one shoulder (also easier to walk with through
airports). Your idea of concealing the laptop is a good one to
minimize risks of it being stolen.

As far as the alarm there is an old system sold to parents afraid
of
loosing their kids in a crowd. You attach one unit to your child
and keep the other one. If your kid strays more than x feet from
you the kid's alarm goes off. This concept has been extended to
luggage or laptops. I do not remember where you can get it from.

Hope this helps!
Sylvain Perret

Moderator's Note:
I tracked down some more information about the laptop alarm
mentioned here. See the Moderator's Corner section of this digest,
below.


++++ next post ++++

From: Kenneth Ohlsson <kenneth@momc.o.se>
Subject: Airport laptop thefts

Being a frequent traveller myself -- spending hundreds of days
travelling each year -- I must say I'm alarmed by the way some
people carry their stuff around.

Let's get it straight: What is our most important piece of
equipment
when we travel? Yeah, the laptop. So why do so many of us carry
this
USD 2500 laptop in an easy-to-spot black nylon bag!!?

In Europe alone, where I'm situated, insurance statistics on laptop
thefts are almost unbelievable. But we can hardly say that we make
it especially hard for the thieves to see where the goodies
are....or what do you say?

If you walk through the Amsterdam Schiphol airport on a Thursday
afternoon, you will see hundreds of laptops, nicely packed in nylon
bags...

Stop using these nylon bags is my sincere tip of the day. Get
yourself a discreet combined briefcase/laptop carrying case from
any
of the thousands of manufacturers around the world. They can even
custom-make them for you! Just stop putting your laptops in a black
nylon bag! Any thief around will have a field day...

Best regards
Kenneth Ohlsson,
MŸller & Ohlsson Marketing Consultants
Gothenburg, Sweden


++++ Moderator's Corner ++++

TrackIT laptop alarms

I didn't have to go far to find out about a subscriber's recent
request for information about a laptop alarm that would sound if a
laptop and its owner were separated by theft (see I-Laptop #27).
It
turns out that Laptop Travel (http://www.laptoptravel.com), one of
the sponsors of this list, has just begun carrying such an alarm
system.

The system, called TrackIT, consists of two pieces. One half stays
with you and the other goes on the laptop. If you and your laptop
become separated by more than 40 feet, a 110 decibel siren goes
off.
The company puts it this way:

"Here's how simple and effective it is: If you get separated from
your case, the alarm sounds. Thieves drop it. The last thing a
thief
wants is a sonic alarm blasting next to him."

Personally, I wish someone could devise an alarm that prompted a
thief to gently place my laptop down on the floor before fleeing,
but I guess that's too much to ask.

The alarm system weighs 6 ounces and is FCC approved. It's
available from a number of sources. Laptop Travel
(http://www.laptoptravel.com) sells it on its web site for $49.95.

Bob Lawson
Moderator
editor@roadnews.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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