Laptop

Do you guys think a laptop would be of any use for a working holiday
in the UK? Note that I am not planning on getting home Internet
access. So, in another words, how well is the UK equipped with
wireless Internet cafes and or Internet cafes that would allow one to
hook up their laptops? I was also planning on doing some backpacking
across Europe afterwords. Obviously, a laptop in that case would just
be another thing to carry.

Eddie

eclee@ualberta.ca (Edwin Lee) climbed onto an orange crate and
shouted:

>Do you guys think a laptop would be of any use for a working holiday
>in the UK? Note that I am not planning on getting home Internet
>access. So, in another words, how well is the UK equipped with
>wireless Internet cafes and or Internet cafes that would allow one to
>hook up their laptops?

They're all over the place; in fact they may be more common than in
North America. They also tend to be more expensive (as do most things
in the UK).

>I was also planning on doing some backpacking
>across Europe afterwords. Obviously, a laptop in that case would just
>be another thing to carry.

How heavy is your laptop? I take mine everywhere but it weighs only a
little over 3 pounds (1.5 kg). If you've got a hefty 6 or 8 pound
model you may not want to lug it around.


--
"I am a whole-hearted believer in spreading the arts around. A lot
of people won't want them, but everywhere there will be some people,
all ages, 'naturals' I like to call them, to whom the discovery of
these arts will be like finding water in the desert. And if this
spreading around costs millions, then let it cost millions. It is
public money well spent, which is more than can be said about a great
deal of public money." -- J B Priestley

In article <aef28b1e.0409190114.6b6d8168@com >,
eclee@ualberta.ca (Edwin Lee) wrote:

> Do you guys think a laptop would be of any use for a working holiday
> in the UK? Note that I am not planning on getting home Internet
> access. So, in another words, how well is the UK equipped with
> wireless Internet cafes and or Internet cafes that would allow one to
> hook up their laptops? I was also planning on doing some backpacking
> across Europe afterwords. Obviously, a laptop in that case would just
> be another thing to carry.

I suppose that depends on what kind of work you do. Its a matter of
personal preference. I wouldn't think of traveling without my laptop for
the simple reason that I am an avid digital photographer and I use
my laptop to download and preview photos each night when I travel. For
work purposes, a laptop for me is essential when I travel because I need
to stay in touch with my office remotely. YMMV.

eclee@ualberta.ca (Edwin Lee) wrote in message news:<aef28b1e.0409190114.6b6d8168@ com>...
> Do you guys think a laptop would be of any use for a working holiday
> in the UK? Note that I am not planning on getting home Internet
> access. So, in another words, how well is the UK equipped with
> wireless Internet cafes and or Internet cafes that would allow one to
> hook up their laptops? I was also planning on doing some backpacking
> across Europe afterwords. Obviously, a laptop in that case would just
> be another thing to carry.

And anothing to get damaged or stolen. Don't take it unless you REALLY
think you will get good value out of it from a work point of view.
Internet cafes are everywhere and cheap, so email is no problem, and
this is a far superior option when backpacking.
---
DFM

Edwin Lee wrote:

> Do you guys think a laptop would be of any use for a working holiday
> in the UK? Note that I am not planning on getting home Internet
> access. So, in another words, how well is the UK equipped with
> wireless Internet cafes and or Internet cafes that would allow one to
> hook up their laptops? I was also planning on doing some backpacking
> across Europe afterwords. Obviously, a laptop in that case would just
> be another thing to carry.
>
> Eddie


we took a laptop for a 3 month sojourn in Europe where I needed it for
work. and we set up internet service in our apartments -- cheap in
Italy and expensive [for the phone] in France.

but I would never take one for a shortish trip -- it is fairly cheap to
sign up for internet cafe time for Email and for creating documents if
need be -- and you can also fairly cheaply have CDs of digital photos
made at photo shops

the downside for me is the hassle of worrying about theft. and in our
experience at least, the UK was the place where things most needed to be
nailed down -- we observed and experienced more theft in a week in
London than we have in months on the continent [our apartment was
burgled and a camera stolen shortly after we got there (several other
apartments were hit in the same building, so it had nothing in
particular to do with our timing)] -- I don't want to lug the thing
everywhere -- and leaving it in hotels, or cars invites theft.

> I wouldn't think of traveling without my laptop for
> the simple reason that I am an avid digital photographer and I use
> my laptop to download and preview photos each night when I travel.

If you are using a laptop for downloading digital images, you may want to
consider a small portable hard drive. I use a Flashtrax (also sold as a
Phototainer). I find it invaluable.

I shoot with a Canon 10d in RAW mode. Each shot is in excess of 5MB, and I
only get about 38-39 images to a CompactFlash card. With this device I
simply insert my CF, push one button, and my images are transfer on to an
80GB drive, which easily fits into my camera bag. I chose this drive
because I can review RAW images on it. They are quite a few less expensive
drives, if you only want to review JPGs.

I did the laptop things last year on safari in South Africa. Sitting in the
middle of all that natural beauty, I felt a little goofy reaching for a
laptop in a briefcase.




"Shawn Hearn" <srhi@> wrote in message
news:srhi-0D7976.10212619092004@news-40.giganews.com...
> In article <aef28b1e.0409190114.6b6d8168@com >,
> eclee@ualberta.ca (Edwin Lee) wrote:
>
>> Do you guys think a laptop would be of any use for a working holiday
>> in the UK? Note that I am not planning on getting home Internet
>> access. So, in another words, how well is the UK equipped with
>> wireless Internet cafes and or Internet cafes that would allow one to
>> hook up their laptops? I was also planning on doing some backpacking
>> across Europe afterwords. Obviously, a laptop in that case would just
>> be another thing to carry.
>
> I suppose that depends on what kind of work you do. Its a matter of
> personal preference. I wouldn't think of traveling without my laptop for
> the simple reason that I am an avid digital photographer and I use
> my laptop to download and preview photos each night when I travel. For
> work purposes, a laptop for me is essential when I travel because I need
> to stay in touch with my office remotely. YMMV.