roamer

The apartments we will be staying in - Venice, Vaison-la-Romaine, Bournan, and Paris - are not equipped with wifi. I know that I can take my computer to an Internet Cafe and get connected, but I've heard of using a dongle. Don't know what this is or how it works. Can someone help? (Be patient - I'm a techno dinosaur.)

ParisAmsterdam

Forget the dongle. It looks like an oversized USB stick that plugs into a USB port and uses a cell phone connection to connect to the net.

In general, access this way is likely to be pricey. Since you are a self admitted techno-dino your internet needs will most likely be met using cafes. (not necessarily internet cafes... many regular cafes in France have connections and so do MacDonalds in a pinch) You might also get lucky and just spot an open WIFI network or two from your apartment(s)... ask a friend to show you how to connect if you don't already know.

roamer

Thanks, ParisAmsterdam, for the information. Your suggestion re internet connections in cafes, etc. is probably our best bet.

travelanywhere

http://goparis.about.com/od/gettinga...tspotsfree.htm

Here is a listing of the wifi hotspots in paris.

travelanywhere

http://europeforvisitors.com/venice/...fi-network.htm

And information on wifi venice.

travelanywhere

http://www.wificafespots.com/wifi/ci...son-La-Romaine

kybourbon

You can get something similar at a TIM store which are found all over Italy. I think it's called chiavetta.

http://www.tim.it/consumer/c56088/i5...lo2standard.do

roamer

You are all so helpful! Thank you so much - I think we are good to go!