| Next
List
top of page
Return to Home page
|
|
Email and Travel
For many of us, daily access to Email is akin to our morning cup of
coffee - we simply have trouble getting through the day without it. Whether
it's a business trip or a vacation, there's a need for access to our Email.
No other medium of communication can match Email's speed, convenience,
and economy. But how can you stay on top of your Email when you're in
Madrid or Osaka, thousands of miles from your office or home computer?
Plan ahead
The secret to getting your Email on the road is to arrange everything
before leaving home. You basically have three options: remote access to
your work Inbox (often located behind a corporate firewall), a POP3 account,
or a Free Web-Based Email provider. In most cases, you'll bring along
your own laptop. If so, be sure to read our article How to Stay in Love
with Your Laptop.
1. Free Web Based Email Providers
Even with the Internet's evolution toward fee-based services there are
still countless web sites offering free Email (Hotmail
and Yahoo Mail are
popular examples). If you wish to avoid these big providers (which are
high profile targets for computer hackers), visit FEPG.NET,
which lists hundreds of free Email Providers all over the world and details
which features are available from each. How can such a useful service
be offered free? That's easy: You're forced to look at the ads. But this
seems like a small price to pay for getting your Email worldwide
Web based Email is often a terrific choice for all your personal Email
and may be used in place of the service offered by your home Internet
Service Provider (ISP) (a POP3 account). Web based Email can be accessed
from virtually any computer with Internet access (so you can leave the
laptop at home and simply use Internet Cafes or your hotel business center),
and you don't have to change your Email address if you switch ISPs or
careers.
2. POP3 Access
If you wish to directly connect to either your office Email or the Email
box provided by your personal ISP, you need to connect via POP3 (POP means
Post Office Protocol). Connecting via POP3 is sometimes problematic. You
must know your Email account information, which consists of three parts:
your ISP's host name (i.e. mail.ispname.net), your username, and your
password. You also need an Email client. Email client is just a fancy
name for the software used to read and write Email (such as Eudora or
Outlook Express) and often comes free with your computer. You also need
to know if your ISP or company restricts POP3 access from the general
Internet to their mail server for security reasons. Often, POP3 access
is limited. It may work fine when connected from home but disallow access
when using a different Internet connection. Contact your ISP or corporate
IT Department for POP3 setup procedures.
3. Connecting to Your Company Email System
While you cannot beat the price of the free Email services, many business
travelers prefer accessing their Email via full-featured Email software
such as Microsoft Outlook. Depending on the size of your company, you
may have the ability to connect directly to your company's Email system.
Contact your company's IT department to see if they have any of the following:
- Virtual Private Network (VPN)
A VPN allows you to connect to your company's network via the Internet.
This requires you to bring your own laptop configured ahead of time
with the correct VPN software. You simply logon to the Internet, start
the VPN software and enter your password, creating a secure connection
to your company's computer system. Once connected you have Email access
and perhaps even access to documents stored on the corporate network.
- Web-Based Email Client
If your company does not offer full VPN access, they may offer a slimmed
down web-based Email access. This is similar to Free Web-based Email
service but connects you directly with your own company's Email server
using a Web browser software such as Internet Explorer. While you do
not get full access to your corporate network, you often have complete
access to your Inbox, Calendar, Contacts and such in your company's
Email System. Typically, this does not require any special software,
so it can be accessed from any Internet-connected computer. You connect
your browser to a website such as http://webmail.yourcompanyname.com,
enter your account name and password and you have a browser version
of your Email. Like the VPN, any activity (Emails sent, appointments
entered, contact information modified, etc.) is synchronized with your
desktop system upon your return.
- Inbox Forwarding
For smaller and less-sophisticated companies without a VPN or Web-Based
Email Client, you may be able to automatically forward your Email to
a Free Web-Based Email service. Then simply logon to your Free Web-Based
Email to read. Depending on your system, you may have to leave your
desktop computer turned on with the Email software running to forward
the Email--a distinct security risk if someone has physical access to
your computer. With other systems, the message forwarding is handled
by the Email server so you need not leave your computer turned on.
Accessing The Internet to Get Your Email
No matter where you are, you will require access to the Internet to get
your Email.
- Local Access Number
Connecting is easy if you have a laptop computer and your ISP offers
a large network of local connection numbers, as do AOL, MSN and Earthlink
in the United States. If you travel often you may wish to set up an
account with one of these providers simply for use while traveling.
AOL does not publicize it, but they have a $4.95 monthly plan that limits
you to 5 hours of access plus a per hour fee for additional usage (unlike
the unlimited access for $20+ per month)-- a great deal for occasional
use. Or, consider setting up an account for a short period of time and
then close it once your trip is done. Finally, you may choose an alliance
of Internet Service Providers, such as IPass
(www.ipass.com), which has local access numbers in some 150 countries.
- Hotel Connections
Many hotels are adding high-speed Internet access. The prices may run
$10-$15 per day (perhaps you can add it to your expense account?). Call
ahead to see if your hotel has this access. To use high-speed access,
your laptop must be equipped with a Network Interface Card (often called
a NIC), as it is not compatible with a standard Modem connection. If
your laptop is not equipped with a NIC, they are fairly inexpensive,
readily available and easily installable. If your hotel does not offer
high-speed access, ask if their phones have a data port for your modem.
Traveling internationally? Be sure you have the correct phone and plug
adaptors. Europe alone has about 30 different telephone jack connections.
Before connecting via modem, check out your hotel's telephone access
fees--often a hidden profit center. An hour local call may be as little
as fifty cents or hundreds of dollars.
No computer?
Even if you're on the road without a laptop, you're not up a creek without
a paddle. There are many places to log on.
Most public libraries have free web access although the hours of operation
are often limited. Cybercafes are popping up all over the world. Along
with food and coffee, these java joints serve up computers with Internet
connections at an hourly rate. To locate cybercafes, use the Cybercafe
Search Engine (www.cybercafe.com), which lists more than 4,000 cafes
in 140 countries. Before you leave home, look at the Web sites of cybercafes
at your destination for directions, hours, and prices. After you arrive,
you can also ask at your hotel or local computer store about nearby cybercafes.
Many hotels offer a Business Center for faxing, copies, and document printing.
They often have computers available at an hourly rate. If yours does not
offer a Business Center, check out the hotel across the street. You don't
have to let on that you are not a guest.
There are also Internet kiosks at most major airports, from New York to
Singapore. Other possible access points include public libraries, Kinkos,
and Mail Boxes Etc. For a list of available public kiosks, visit Laptoplane
(www.laptoplane.com).
top of page
(source: our affiliate partner, Magellan's)
|