..............................................................

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

..................................................................
October 12, 1998 Issue # 030
..................................................................


.....IN THIS DIGEST.....


// -- NEW -- //

Searching for an ISP with worldwide connections
~ Tito Rosemberg

Connections for RVers in Mexico
~ Joe Lacey

Hard drive data recover by telephone
~ Ben Allen

Travelling by boat with laptop
~ Joe Piper and Jen Dildine

Connecting in Germany, Croatia and Italy
~ EditorAndy@aol.com

Laptop wet suit?
~ nomad

Info needed on RV camping and online access
~ J. Bonnette


// -- CONTINUING -- //

If nothing else works…
~ Kireau Kendrick

International wireless phone rentals
~ Chris Hallam


============ Sponsor's Message ============

iCallSignal software eliminates long distance
phone charges for remote control, mobile users

Why pay your ISP by the month while you continue to
run up long distance bills by the minute? Why waste
time prearranging e-conferences, data transfers, and
telecommutes? Now there's iCallSignal, the software
that lets you CONNECT a distant, offline computer to
the Net, EXCHANGE info, then DISCONNECT it.

It's that simple. No advance plans. No long distance
costs.

Visit http://www.icall.com/road and see why LAN
Times says, "It takes the tools with which you're
already comfortable and makes them work more cost-
effectively."

========= Please Support Our Sponsor =========

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

From: Tito Rosemberg <titorosemberg@pobox.com>
Subject: Searching for an ISP with worldwide connections

As a journalist based in the USA I have been traveling with my
laptop for the last 18 months. To have access to my email, send
features and photos and check my web site, I used IBM.net for
dialup
Internet connections.

Nevertheless IBM has just unilaterally changed the international
access it offered without expensive surcharges. This is the same
as
IBM has been doing for the last year with just about every benefit
a
client had in the past. Now USA clients, while abroad, will have to
pay an additional nine dollars an hour for access to the Internet.

IBM has been changing the original contract about once a month,
always by their initiative, and not respecting existing clients
rights, which I find unfriendly and inelegant, if not bad business
practice. They have never given me another option except canceling
the contract with them.

So, I am looking for another American ISP provider that will allow
me to have access in the USA, where I live, and in France and
Brazil, where I go frequently - and do it for the same one-time fee.

I have checked scores of ISPs web sites and can not find one that
offers international access in many countries.

Does anyone know an ISP that offers a service like IBM used to have
(one monthly fee for 100 hours of access anywhere in the world)?

Was IBM the only company in the USA offering this one-price
international service? If so, I can understand why they are so
bluntly curtailing existing clients agreed rights. It's called "if
I
am the only one in town I can charge whatever I feel."

Thanks for any suggestions anyone may have.

Sincerely
Tito Rosemberg
http://www.titorosemberg.com
titorosemberg@pobox.com


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

From: Joe Lacey <Joe_Lacey@compuserve.com
Subject: Connections for RVers in Mexico

Many of the Escapees RV Club members journey south to Mexico to
spend the winter. Communication has always been 'scarce' but now
we
have a lot of folks with computers who have become 'addicted' to
Email<g>

They have already been hearing that it is practically impossible to
access Email when in Mexico. I find that hard to believe....

Does anyone have some suggestions on how these RVers can find a
place or use a specific phone number or whatever it takes to access
their Email while in Mexico?

Warm Regards
-joe-
Live Your Dream, *Life* Is Not A Dress Rehearsal
Joe_Lacey@compuserve.com
http://www.escapees.com


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

From: Ben Allen <BAllen@ontrack.com>
Subject: Hard drive data recover by telephone

My name is Ben Allen and I'm the Internet Marketing Manager for a
company called Ontrack Data International. Ontrack is the world
leader in the data recovery industry. I wanted to take a second to
introduce our company to the subscribers to the I-Laptop Warrior
list.

In January of this year, Ontrack developed a product/service
called
Remote Data Recovery (RDR) which we believe is truly a
technological
achievement.

RDR allows remote users to recover data via a telephone connection.
This is data that was lost due to software, some hardware, and
virus
related hard drive failure.

More information is available from our web site at:

http://www.ontrack.com

Regards,
Benjamin Allen
Ontrack Data International
ballen@ontrack.com
http://www.ontrack.com
(612) 949-4124


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

From: Joe Piper and Jen Dildine <joenjen@rockisland.com>
Subject: Travelling by boat with laptop

Hi! First I'd like to say that the Roadnews.com web site
(http://www.roadnews.com) is very helpful and I have bookmarked it.

Thank you Bob for maintaining it.

I'm fairly new to all this and don't yet know all the jargon and
what's available, but this is my situation: I will soon be working
on a sailboat travelling throughout the Caribbean for six months
and
I got this laptop to make communications easier. It seems to be a
logistical nightmare, though.

I would like to have both Email and Internet access onboard, even
away from port, sometimes far away from port. I don't know much
about cellular technology and I have a fairly limited budget.
What's
the deal with cellular modems? What would be the best way to get
access with them? Could I even get the range to make it
appropriate?

I heard a rumor about satellite options? If it makes more sense to
wait till I'm in port to hook up, what's the best way? I'm also
going to Email Joe Lacey (a regular on your list) because RVs seem
to have similar limitations.

If there are any other references anyone could suggest, that would
be great.

Joe Piper and Jen Dildine
joenjen@rockisland.com


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

From: EditorAndy@aol.com
Subject: Connecting in Germany, Croatia and Italy

Just returned from a month to these three countries; used a Sony
Vaio with adapters recommended by this column and obtained through
Traveling Software. Generally speaking, as a first-timer, I had
remarkable success. I did find, however, that the simple act of
inputting the correct number from a Hotel Room can be a
ball-buster.

Andy


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

From: nomad <nomad@ufl.edu>
Subject: Laptop wet suit?

I am new to this list. I hope someone can help me out.

I have been searching for a type of rubber protective cover for my
laptop. Like a second skin. I remember seeing one a few years ago.
A
laptop wet suit.

Does anybody know about a product like this?

I plan on moving to a tropical rain forest in Africa for a year,
and
I thought this might help protect my computer. Does anyone have any
ideas about other products that may come in handy for this type of
environment.

Thanks for your help.

Rodney Stubina
Nomad@ufl.edu
The University of Florida
Department of Anthropology, Center for African Studies
352-372-4057


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

From: "J. Bonnette" <jbean@thenetcat.com>
Subject: Info needed on RV camping and online access

I am a new user of the computer. I also have a travel trailer and
am located at campgrounds all the time. Can you send info on
Internet hookups in such a situation? Any information would be
appreciated.

J. Bonnette
jbean@thenetcat.com>


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

From: Kireau Kendrick <kireau@cybercaptive.com>
Subject: If nothing else works…

Hi Bob and list members,

Regarding the moderator's comments in I-Laptop #29 on what advice
to
give when nothing seems to work:

There's one important thing to keep in the back of your mind when
nothing else works when you are trying a dial-in connection to the
Internet. Try carrying a PCMCIA combo modem/Ethernet adapter
instead
of just a simple PCMCIA modem. That way you can just visit the
closest cybercafe -- close to 4000 worldwide now -- and plug into
the cafŽ's network via an Ethernet connection.

Not only will you get a way faster connection, you'll get your work
done virtually hassle free. The majority of cybercafes are aware of
laptop hardships and welcome the business so don't be afraid to ask
if the Ethernet connection service is not clearly posted.

To find the a cybercafe, you can visit The Cybercafe Search Engine
which I work on at http://cybercaptive.com

Kireau Kendrick
The Cybercafe Search Engine
Cafe Cybercaptive, San Mateo, CA, USA
http://cybercaptive.com


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

From: Chris Hallam <Challam@RentExpress.com>
Subject: International wireless phone rentals

I've noted several recent posts regarding the rental of cellular
phones while abroad. I thought I'd tell the list about Rent Express
since our business is the short-term rentals of international
mobile
phones for use in over 80 countries around the world. We also deal
in the new Iridium Satellite hand-held phone set to launch next
month.

We are in the process of opening offices in the US with our first
in
Dallas now open for business. We can ship directly to the
customer,
by overnight courier, anywhere in the US and have their GSM phone
in
their hands before they leave the country. We can even supply them
with local country service for the UK, Switzerland, France, Hong
Kong and Japan.

Feel free to visit our web site at http://www.rentexpress.com for
additional information about our company and it's products and
services.

Regards,
Chris Hallam
Manager-Prairie Region
Challam@RentExpress.com

------------------------------------------------------------------


Send suggestions and comments to
mailto:editor@roadnews.com

---------- End of I-LapTop Warrior Digest --------------

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

------------------------------------------------------------------


Send suggestions and comments to
mailto:editor@roadnews.com

-------------- End of I- Digest ---------------------