In two columns several weeks ago, I discussed the ins and outs of using laptops for genealogical research on the road. (See “Laptop Travel for the Road Warrior” and “Laptop Accessories for the Road Warrior.”) This week I want to discuss using your laptop when traveling internationally (specifically from the United States to another country).
I travel each year to Ireland for genealogical research and have been quite successful both in using my laptop in the repositories there and in accessing my e-mail from Ireland. I’m leaving again Monday and am updating everything I did last year so I’ll have the same success this year. So here are my suggestions on how to prepare your laptop for an international trip like mine.
The first item to consider is your equipment and its adaptability to the local power supply. Most laptops built today come equipped as dual voltage machines, so the computer will be able to switch currents automatically. If you’re not familiar with this capability on your computer, there’s an informativearticle about dual voltage on the Laptoptravel.com Web site.
The second item to consider when traveling overseas is the adaptor plugs you will need to plug in to the local power. There are a variety of different plug types, so you’ll need to research which one(s) you’ll need for your trip.Magellan’s Travelers’ Catalog lists the adaptor and voltage requirements country by country, along with other useful tips.
The third item to consider is the telephone outlets used in the country. For instance, the Republic of Ireland uses the same type of telephone jacks as the United States, so I don’t need an adaptor for my modem there. However, Northern Ireland (as part of Great Britain) uses a different jack for which I need a modular telephone adaptor. Knowing this ahead of time will save me from a lot of hassles when I need to check my e-mail overseas. Magellan’s site also lists telephone jack requirements.
Once you’ve ensured that you’ll be able to use your equipment at your destination, how do you access your e-mail? There are several methods you can use. The method I used last year, and that worked very well, was AT&T’s Laptop Access Software. The software is free to download at AT&T's Web siteand allows you to access the AT&T international dialing codes for calling the United States. This can save you a lot of money—over using the local operator—when accessing your e-mail. With Laptop Access, you program in the dialing code for the country you are in, enter the number you are calling, and enter your AT&T credit card number. Then you let the software do the rest, linking you to your e-mail and the Internet.
You can also visit Mailstart to check your e-mail from any POP3 account. Beware that this Web site cannot check some e-mail types, such as Juno, but any that are on POP3 servers can be accessed. Using Mailstart, you can simply dial a local number for Internet access in the country you are in and check your mail there without calling back to the United States. The easiest way to do this is to visit a cyber cafe where you are staying and pay an hourly rate to check your e-mail. An alternative would be to check into free Internet accounts that give you access to the Web from the country you are visiting.
If you’re going abroad to relax and enjoy the scenery, don’t worry about your e-mail. But if you’re like me and you have to stay in touch with a business back home, it’s nice to know there are multiple options for accessing your e-mail while you’re gone. Now, sit back, relax, and enjoy the ride!
Elizabeth Kelley Kerstens, CGRS, is the managing editor of Genealogical Computing, editor of the Board for Certification of Genealogists’ newsletterOnBoard, the creator of Clooz—the electronic filing cabinet for genealogical records, and a frequent contributor to Ancestry Magazine
ليست هناك تعليقات:
إرسال تعليق