rushme

The ideal solution will be to have access on the laptop on a continuing basis for about 19 days. Any clue what this may cost and how to go about it. What will be the next option?

Bushranger

There could be some places that you'll pick up free wireless and a google on that ought to find you a guide.
Otherwise, google Telstra/Big Pond or Optus re Pay as you Go subscriptions for alternatives.

Alternately leave the laptop at home and in Sydney and Melbourne at least you can rock into the libraries for free internet use and quite possibly some places in Tasmania as well.

Bokhara2

Should not be a problem,rushme. I travel with my laptop and the vast majority of metropolitan hotels have broadband & wireless access. Some charge (av $10-15/24 hrs) and some are complimentary for in-room secure access. Many have free 'hot spots' in their common areas. I've also noticed "free wifi access" signs in some cafes, and there are myriad internet cafes.

Access in some regional areas of Tasmania may not be quite as good.

It's a great way to keep in touch, download photos etc. I need to take mine for business uses, but even if I didn't I'd still take the little Acer Aspire. It's light, very small & is just so handy for all sorts of things - searching & booking restaurants; accommodation; maps & driving distances.

rushme

thank you all for the info.

Libretto

"Alternately leave the laptop at home and in Sydney and Melbourne at least you can rock into the libraries for free internet use and quite possibly some places in Tasmania as well."

Just to alert you rushme, not many libraries have "free" internet access anymore for casual users (i.e. non library members).In Victoria, at least, most will charge you a small amount - a few dollars per hour for email, or may still require you to register so have some ID with you (passport is fine).

Bushranger

" Just to alert you rushme, not many libraries have "free" internet access anymore for casual users (i.e. non library members).In Victoria, at least, most will charge you a small amount - a few dollars per hour for email, or may still require you to register so have some ID with you (passport is fine)."

Unless that has been changed in last month or so Libretto, definitely not the case with the Melbourne public library.
They have a mix of computers, some for researching datbases and about twenty or so on which you have full internet access including emails.
There's supposedly a 15 minutes at a time limit but if you are cognisance of whether people are waiting, that can be exceeded.

There was no registering, showing ID or booking in last time I used the internet there a bit over a month ago.

I've also found similar in other Victorian locations and even interstate I've found library people to be very accommodating to visitors.

btw rushme you'll find the Melbourne public library on corner of Swanston and Latrobe, that's four blocks up from Flinders St., can't be missed and the free CC Tram runs along Latrobe Street, there being a side entrance there, main off Swanston.

Libretto

Bushranger you are correct only in part. The library you are referring to is in fact not the Melbourne library at all, but the State Library of Victoria, which is not strictly a public library but rather the Central library for the State with a mandated collection,research and archival function.It does not have a mandate to operate as a public library although it does offer research and reference services to Victorians.

(There are other pure Public Library branches run by the City of Yarra etc in the broader Melbourne city area).

As someone who was on the original committee formulating Public Library Internet Access Policy for the Public Library network throughout Victoria you will just have to trust that I might actually know something about this first hand....

Again, I repeat not all Public libraries in Victoria will allow free internet access for email which is what I thought the original poster might be mostly needing. Access to material on the internet should be "free", but generally requires booking, or registration, and will certainly have time limits imposed. For an example of a PUBLIC library policy see www.wev.vic.gov.au under Internet and Computer Access.

Although public libraries will be accomodating and will never refuse access to internet terminals they are not always "free" with regards to time (and may strictly enforce this policy), most will charge for email access and many will often request ID.

Bushranger

Well lets call it the State Library then Libretto but it is quite possibly the nearest one to the CBD of Melbourne, in fact within the CBD and so for practicality sake for any visitors to Melbourne it might as well be referred to as Melbourne Library.

Whilst it may not have a mandate it certainly has high useage by the public, some who may be doing research work, many students and others, be they visitors or not.

Whilst rushme is in Melbourne and about the CBD area it will be the easiest one to be accessed and the politics and hoopla about whether there is a charge or not is a bit irrelevant if anyone can walk in there and use computers/internet for free.

Libretto

rushme , for an even more central library close to the middle of Melbourne you can also try the City Library - a public library run by the City of Melbourne and the Council Of Adult Education located right in the heart of the CBD at 253 Flinders Lane. The library is located in the CAE building on the corner of Degraves Street and Flinders Lane, between Swanston and Elizabeth Streets and is a really funky building/space in its own right.

There are free wireless connections available there - yes, really free, but no free walk - in internet access. You need to be a registered library borrower to use the library computers, but I highly recommend a visit as it's such a great space right in the very heart of Melbourne's famous laneways.

There's also a great cafe downstairs with sensational coffee and just around the corner heading towards the Degraves St. underpass walkway to the Flinder's Street Railway station are some fascinating little shops and a public art space.(And the best fresh baked baguettes in Melbourne are sold at the top of the subway stairs!)

Skiergirl

There are many, many internet cafes in Sydney and Melbourne. Internet is hard to find in Tasmania. My friend who I traveled with is from Sydney (I'm American) and his phone barely worked in Tassie. It's just so remote. If you need a phone go to the hotel front desk but otherwise it's a very quiet place with not many people let alone internet service. The one time I used a computer it was at a kiosk at Freycinet and it was terribly slow.

All 3 places are magnificent. Sydney is my favorite place in the entire world. Tasmania was fantastic as well-just so open land-wise with the friendliest people. BUT..things close really early (we got kicked out of a bar at 8:30 PM!) but it's definitely worth the visit. I'd go back in a heartbeat. Hobart is very cosmopolitan but Launceston is not worth more than half a day if that.

oliverandharry

Recently returned from Tasmania where we deliberately travelled without computer or phone. I think we accessed the internet twice - both from local coffee shops and yes, we paid a small fee, but it was no big deal. Since none of our self-contained accommodations or our flat in Hobart had telephone service it wouldn't have had wi-fi either. That was a bit of a problem at the end of our trip in trying to reach our friends, and we learned that public phone boxes are being removed as well. But you can always find one or more in heavily tourist areas. I am thinking that I will buy a netbook before the next major trip as long as there is one that weighs under two pounds. The BS you go through with computers and airport security, particularly in the US, would not make it a consideration otherwise.

Bushranger

" I am thinking that I will buy a netbook before the next major trip as long as there is one that weighs under two pounds. The BS you go through with computers and airport security, particularly in the US, would not make it a consideration otherwise. "

So o&h, how will the netbook get you around airport BS?

But seriously, when I think of how we have always travelled and without the convenience of even mobile phones my approach has usually been to have sufficient planning done, and that may even include an ABC approach.

On especially shorter trips where you usually know pretty much where you'll be and what you might want to do, the back of an envelope can carry a heap of phone numbers/addresses if need be and in my case on road trips I've usually jotted down something on distances too.

The lighter you can travel, the better in my book.

And generally speaking, with travel in off peak times or off the beaten track and changing plans a bit or a lot, there's usually more than sufficient accommodation options to be able to get a bed in just about any town you may decide on for the evening.