Technically, your Laptop was almost certainly main in the far East (they nearly all are).

Chargers are a bit of a problem because the voltage and current has to match the laptop BUT you have the charger, all you need is the power lead. There are only to or three types, so any computer store should have one. Take the charger with you so you can show an assistant. It should be fairly cheap.

whoops, that should obviously be "made in the Far East"

Don't panic! You should be able to find an electronic store and just buy the plug in part of the cord for about $15 with a European plug - this saves you from needing an adapter.

As the first post suggests, take the power brick with you to the store to make sure you get the correct one but it should not be a problem!

Areala:

No major problem indeed. Try any FNAC store. They have pretty comprehensive computer departments. You will find the list of stores (7 in Paris) at:

http://www.fnac.com/localiser-magasin-fnac/w-4

Hope this helps.

Phil.

Sorry, hit the return key too soon. There is a NFAC at forum des Halles, at 1/7 rue Pierre Lescot in the 1st arrondissement.

Phil.

Darty should also have them.

I did the same thing in NYC and just went to Radio Shack to buy a cord.

Of course the stores are closed today, but most of them will be open tomorrow in spite of the holiday.

Take the cord and box that you do have with you. Talking computers in French at FNAC is not necessarily easy, and you can't expect them to know computer English.

Ask me how I know this?

If you're at a hotel check at the front desk. They my have a cord you can borrow. Chargers of all sorts are quite commonly left behind.

Ask me how I know this?

ha ha ha J62 and Ackislander!

Of course there are also a zillion little computer repair shops run by the Indo-Pakistani community. They are open every day at all hours.

Unfortunately, Areala can't read any of our messages because the battery is already dead.

maybe she will go to a cybercafe to read them, that's what I do in Paris as I don't carry computers with me.

I am not really clear where she is (the 1th?) which I think could be the 1st or the 11th. In any case, I like the one on bd Beaumarchais near Chemin Vert metro stop (cyber cafe) -- east side of street.

Sometimes the best travel experience comes out of having to solve a problem like this.

I Thank you all in advance. I don't have much power left so I waited until now to check my messages and it looks like a lot of you guys came thru for me.

I will try the FNAC store tomorrow but you are right. It is a Holiday here tomorrow so I don't have much hope but I will try anyway.

We were out all day and even though this is my 6th trip to Paris I have to say I never so this place as busy and crowded as it has been since we got here. The lines at the Louvre today were over 3 1/2 hours long we were told...so we skipped that for today and it will be closed tomorrow on Monday so we shall try later in the week....

The weather has been absolutely perfect so far but I see on the internet it will be changing over the next day or so but at least we have had some very good weather and just a little bit warm.

Having a lovely time in spite of our bad start !!

Thanks again for all the suggestions. I will post when I have news on the outcome.

Later..
Areala

Also, I am not staying at a hotel. We rented an apartment for 8 nights so no front desk to ask for help.

Also I have gone to a couple of cybercafe's but haven't found one with an american keyboard as well as when I logged in I got everything in French even yahoo...

I not only want my computer for emails but I have booked marked a lot of good ideas for what to see and do or eat in Paris from this board and I want to check some of those places out

also, I use my skype to call home and for home and friends to call me, so the computer is handy in any ways.

I finally figured out how to make my Skype work on my iphone 4 that I took with me...so...that helps

more later

Areala, are you aware that you can purchase tickets down in the underground Carousel mall and food court. I don't know whether this also lets you shortcut around the long line to get in.

OK. You can Skype via your iPhone, so you aren't in too bad a situation. But what is the problem with using a Euro keyboard -- it takes a few minutes to figure it out --even less if you can ask someone a question. I've never had a problem with that...

try Surcouf at 21, blvd Haussmann in the 9th near the department stores
Metro stop Chaussée d'Antin (line 7)
Do take the power brick with you so you can be sure to get the correct configuration.

I don't like using Euro keyboards, either, but I type very fast and am a touch typist. It really slows you down a lot.

That cybercafe I mentioned on Bd Beaumarchais has plenty of English keyboards. So do all the other ones I've known (Cybercube is one chain throughout Paris, and they do, also), so that's too bad. Cybercube is a lot more expensive than the one on bd Beaumarchais, though.

In my neighborhood, the rate is 0.50€ an hour. What are they charging at your places, Christina?

May I just say that I enjoy/admire reading threads like this one?
Although much of our time on this board is spent exchanging ideas about tourist places to visit, eat, etc., I enjoy seeing folks helping fellow travelers/strangers with problems.

I've benefited in the past from advice on this board about technical problems such as credit cards, ATMs, and ticket machines as well as local information about customs or, in this case, specific stores.

Just last week I helped some international visitors in person to find a store to buy a national flag and a specific type of flashlight (we all have odd requests at times). You guys are doing the same for a virtual acquaintance/stranger. Thanks.

THANK YOU...THANK YOU ...THANK YOU ALL.

I did find an open FNAC on the Champs Elysee today and that had exactly what I needed and I now turn on my computer and I have a full charge...

Praise the Lord..,..


You have all been so helpful

By the way...it wasn't the keyboard so much as the sites I went to were all in French and I can't read a work of it.

I even went to Yahoo and it was in French. I did try asking the guy who worked there as well as other clients who were there but no one was of much help to me.

So when I finally got into our apartment they have wi-fi here and I used my own computer to post on Fodors and a few other things then I got off just in case I couldn't find a cord.

But I now am up and running and I have a new cord that plugs directly into their wall so I don't have to use a converter or anything....too cool...I can use this in the future as I do try to come to europe at least once if not twice a year so it won't be a waste besides it was only 7.40 euro and for the convenience...that was cheap in my eyes !!!

Thanks again to all you fodorits you guys are so helpful...

Love and Kisses to You all...you know...French kioses on each cheek...

YAY! I was hoping to see that your problem was solved! I've noticed that the cyber cafe seems to be a business that is dying quickly off due to wifi. I've seen fewer and fewer of them with each recent trip so we're going to travel with an iPad next time. 7.4euro is just over $10 today, and I agree cheap for the solution it provides.

Your right uhoh...I thought the price was nominal in relation to the solution.

I know what you mean by fewer and fewer cyber cafe's I always bring my laptop even though a bit cumbersome so I too wanted to bring the new iPad 2 but I have been unable to find one in Florida. I am with Verizon now, just switched to them a few weeks ago I was with AT&T but service in Florida sucks big time and dropped calls just became to much like every other call...so annoying..I even went to the Apple store to get an iPad but they tell me they only get a few everyday and you have to be there early because they open at 9 and by 9:15 they are gone....I went twice early and the lines in the morning while not too long they are long enough to wipe them out because both times they tell me yes and go in the back room and come back and tell me this guy next to me got the last one...sorry,....so that's me...a day late and a dollar short !!! Best Buy says it will 3 weeks before they get any in...and Wallmart says they get a few everyday but they go within 5 minutes..so timing is important...oh well, it will slow down eventually...I hope...but by then the iPad 3 will be out then I will want that....can't win !!!

Areala, all of the websites -- Yahoo, Google, etc. -- have the option of allowing you to go to the English language version.

Kerouac...your probably right...but at the time I was rther frustrated with my whole situation and probably not functioning at 100% but now I have my own computer with a european cord and all is working well...

However, I will have an opportunity to test your theory today because I need to print up our boarding passes. I have already checked in and had my boarding passes emailed to me so now I need to go to a cyber cafe go to my hahoo email and print up my boarding passes. We shall see how this works out.

Oh and another mis-hap....lost my cell phone in the Louvre on Wednesday and no one has yet to turn it in....buggers...thank GOD for insurance. I shall replace it once we get home.

se la vie

btw...just for future reference to make your life easier (I discovered this by accident)...almost all lap tops and notebooks have an accessory which is a car charger...I got a couple for my acer...no more than about $5 each on ebay....I then have a bunch of these little things that go into the AC (dual voltage of course) on one end and take the car charger on the other end....voila...done...weighs nexgt to nothing and works perfectly. Perhaps you can get them in a computer store.

There are very few cyber cafes now but more and more libraries offer internet service for free or a nominal charge.

I was going to tell you that Yahoo doesn't magically know it is in France, the reason French yahoo was on the screen at the cybercafe is just because that's what people there mostly use. I use it myself a lot because I like to read the French news and have my homepage set up that way. It isn't a theory that there is Yahoo for different languages, it's a fact.

It's just a different URL, maybe you don't know that. For English yahoo, you use www.yahoo.com, for French it is www.yahoo.fr Just change the URL. It's the same for Google, www.google.com vs. www.google.fr

Actually sites like yahoo and google DO know that the computer is in France based on the IP address or maybe it's the ISP.

Even when I use my own computer in other countries and access those sites through hotel wireless I'll often times bring up the local site. Not always, but quite frequently. I don't recall the language being anything other than English, but the computer knows it's general location.

Well I had an issue with CBS radio....about a year and two months ago, for no reason I can figure out, they stopped allowing you to stream their radio stations when outside the USA so evidently there is something in the IP address that tells them you're out of the USA...(it happens at home too. I might want to watch Hockey Night in Canada streaming on the CBC and when I try, they tell me the games are only available in Canada). I am told there is software available, however, that can mask where you are and fool services into thinking you're in a different place than you really are. I will be trying it out when I go to Europe in June as I miss being able to listen to WFAN on my computer while lying in bed in a hotel room in London (as a side issue, I don't understand how all this garbage works...I mean once you put some radio station's streaming on the internet, does it cost more to have somebody listening outside the USA????)

It definitely knows where you are. On my iPhone, I can turn off "location services", but I couldn't figure out how to do that on my laptop in Paris a couple months ago. No matter what I did, google would return all of my search results in French. It wasn't a big deal because I can read French - it just takes me 10 times longer!

When in France, www.google.com changes automatically to French (probably a function of the ISP you are using).

Depending upon your browser, you should be able to manage your search engines and including access to the English search version of Google while in France. I use both the default English Google search engine at home and I use Google France (the URL is www.google.com/search . . . ) which returns information in French and information targeted for France. Depending upon the object of my search, using the appropriate version of Google can result in more precise information.

As I use the Firefox browser, the search window has a drop down panel from which I can choose Google USA, Google France, Yahoo, Wikipedia, or a host of other options. This capability means more accurate and faster searches.