Internet Access in Paris & London
Mar 11th, 2001, 07:54 AM
#1
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Internet Access in Paris & London
Hi, <BR> <BR>I will be going to Paris & London in 2 weeks (hooray! yes, first time!) I will be bringing my laptop along but I'd like to be able to connect to a dial-up ISP via phone line from my hotel room instead of using cybercafes. I was wondering if I can just use the regular RJ11 phone line we use in U.S. to plug into the phone line outlet in the hotel rooms in Paris & London from my laptop modem? <BR> <BR>christina
Mar 11th, 2001, 08:19 AM
#2
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I travel with a laptop more often than not, but I rarely find it worthwhile to log on from Europe. Cybercafes are so much easier and cheaper, and you can carry a floppy in and out with you, for composing offline. <BR> <BR>You need an adapter from RJ11 to the local equivalents (in France, it's a clunky thing, almost as big as a deck of cards), plus I can never get "international" ISP's to work as well as they should. <BR> <BR>Go to the website www.netcafeguide.com for good cybercafe info. Although it appears that they are intent on selling you their book, you can get all the same info off their website by clicking "Go to the Internet Cafe guide online" and then "Text list of cybercafes". <BR> <BR>Best wishes, <BR> <BR>Rex <BR>
Mar 11th, 2001, 11:26 AM
#3
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Christina: <BR> <BR>I lug my laptop to France at least twice a year because I have to - if I didn't have to, I'd leave it home in a heartbeat. Nothing is less sure than being able to connect from your hotel room, unless you are staying at the George V or equivalent. The 3-star hotels I frequent in Paris have no connections. If you do bring it, you'll need a cord that will fit in the French outlet(which may have two holes or three, depending on how old the outlet is; a modem that will connect to the French "prise," or telephone outlet; and you may need to change your dial-up settings depending on how the hotel has arranged (if it has) for you to bypass the hotel switchboard. Then you'll need to pre-program your computer with the correct French access telephone number. If you can connect,you'll probably pay a surcharge to your ISP for overseas usage, and you'll certainly pay the hotel a tidy sum for the calls, above and beyond the France Télécom charges for local calls. Sound like a drag? Well, some people have lucked out and found it all came together for them and worked like a charm - for me, after 9 years of schlepping the laptop all over France, there is little I dread more than needing to get online in France from a hotel room. Cybercafés are plentiful in Paris. Moreover, Post Offices have computers for use for a nominal fee. Métro stations are being outfitted with computers with internet access. I'd rely on them instead of bringing the computer. Oh....and you'll need completely different cords and adapters in England.
Mar 11th, 2001, 11:47 AM
#4
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St. Cirq and I both negelected to mentio n as well, the growing number of France Telecom pay-as-you-go self-service computer stations in the lobby of a number of hotels (Ibis, for example). These use the same tehecarte as public telephones - - very handy for using up those extra telecarte francs (minutes). You give up the convenience of being able to use a floppy for upload or download - - but for just checking e-mail, very handy. <BR>
