clevelandbrown

I got a laptop recently and have been trying to learn to use it (damned touchpad). I took it around town and the library, universities, museums, and many restaurants offer wifi service, so I thought I had learned to use it.

We fled the snow last week to visit my wife's sister in Florida. She has dial up service, but said there was a Macdonalds nearby that had wifi. I took my laptop and enjoyed having my own entertainment on the plane. There was wifi at the Orlando airport. But after a few daus at their home, I needed an internet fix, so I walked over to Macdonalds, under the wifi sign. I was able to connect to their network, so I told my wife to go ahead and buy a couple of coffees, since I think it is good form to patronize a place that provides you a service.

Alas, when I tried to open my browser on their network, they started bombarding me with ads to work at Macdonalds, and demands that I give them a coupon, a credit card, money, or a password to some roaming service.

So my question is whether, when we go to Europe (the Netherlands is our next trip), do I need something other than my laptop to use wifi service? I had been assuming that the free access so widely available in greater Cleveland is the norm, but I'm starting to worry after running into Macdonalds.

hetismij

I'll get back to you on this - My OH knows more about these things than me, but generally I believe you have to pay for your wi-fi connection in the Netherlands by buying a voucher. As I said I'll check. Someone else may answer before I can.
Do not assume that you are legally accessing the net if you find an unprotected wifi connection - just because someone has not protected their connection doesn't mean it is public - it is illegal to access a private wifi connection without permission.

Cowboy1968

If you should visit the Eastern border regions of the Netherlands, just hop across the border to Germany where using an open WiFi access is not illegal. Probably still cheaper to buy a voucher for a Dutch McD, though ;-)

Travelnut

You can do some pre-trip research and locate a number of "free wifi" locations. The actuality may differ from the internet research but at least you'll have 'options'.

Amsterdam -
- all Bagels and Beans locations
- ABC (American Book Ctr) on Kalverstraat
- several "coffeeshops" (Dolphin, Abraxas, Pink Floyd - might need to buy a drink or something)

http://www.wififreespot.com/europe.html
http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2024629,00.asp

Many hotels will sell wifi in blocks of time.

avalon

"(damned touchpad)"

Get yourself a wireless mouse!

Mambo_

You will get used to the touchpad, and eventually prefer it.
>-

hetismij

Some hotels offer free wifi - but you may still need a code to access it. Others will sell you time - pay attention to the price - it soon mounts up. The same with shops and cafes, some are free - most you need a voucher for.
Some providers will allow "free" wifi on their own or partnered networks, some won't. You will find you have to pay quite often in Holland however.

My OH has even paid more for a hotel room to get free or cheap wifi when he is on a business trip as it works out cheaper that way for him.

clevelandbrown

I think I'll just have to forgo my habit of reading a few newspapers a day on the internet, and use the laptop to store information (including this thread) and pictures, and keep our journal.

I'm older than I was, and my hands are less steady, and that touchpad is just too sensitive. It's almost unworkable on a plane because of our (my and the plane's)vibration. Perhaps I am using the wrong finger, but the one I'm using does, in one sense, seem appropriate.

I may get a mouse, but with the spare batteries (I'm always closely examined now because my spare battery apparently looks like a gun) and all the parapheralia needed to get power from various sources and load pictures, I am approaching overload.

tomboy

ooh, you touched my hot button.

took laptop to France in September, expecting free wifi all over.

met with same as you: WE HAVE WIFI (only €30/month) ; WIFI HERE (pay thru the nose at the desk) etc.

too bad you can't see me waving the s.s banner. at least our advertising isn't as deceptive, at least in this respect

starfish1

We took our laptop on an extended trip last spring and found wifi access to be pretty hit and miss. It seemed to be more available in larger cities but even then not always a good connection. We did end up several times connecting to someone's unsecured site which was fine for shorter periods. What we also ended up doing a few times was taking our laptop into internet cafes and paying for the connection. It was great to have it as many of the keyboards in Europe varied from country to country which made for very interesting emails! Other than that, even if you can't always connect it was great to have the ability to download our photos and keep a journal. We never did encounter any problems like you had with Macdonald's - too bad you had already bought the coffees!