Internet access via hotel line

"DS" wrote in message
y.com...
great suggestions Doug... and there are Kinko's stores in virtually every
city ---

Also, many hotels (full-service or newer limited service properties) will
have a business center with the computers hooked up and ready to go. The
service is usually free when you are staying at the hotel and you use your
room key to access the area. When you are booking, ask about the
amenities
offered.

That's probably not true. Most hotels charge you an arm and a leg to use
their business centers.


Another hotel tip when coming to the US is 'long-term-stay' properties.
Most of these properties are new and the rooms have full kitchens.
They accept one- night reservations and often for a good price.
(i.e. Detroit MI / new long-term-stay hotel can be as low as $60-80 /
night
where a comparable regular hotel is over $100).

-Dawn


"Doug McClure" wrote in message
...
I think most nationwide ISP's will have local numbers you can call
(like AOL, MSN, Earthlink, etc.).

Some hotels are offering high-speed connections (DSL or cable). For
example, I stayed at a Hilton and you would just plug into their RJ
plug. Furthermore, you would get charged $10 or so for your entire
hotel stay, no matter how much (or how little) you used the
connection.

Many US libraries have free Internet access (for 15-30-60 minutes at a
time), shops like Kinko's have paid short-term access, and there are
more and more wireless connections, some free (isn't Starbucks trying
this?).

DKM


On Wed, 24 Mar 2004 17:17:01 +0100, "Alexander Kluge"
wrote:

Frst, I apologize if this is a FAQ. As the majority of you is american
and you obviously have internet access, you are the experts:
Local calls are free in the US and most hotels pass this through-they
offer free local calls. If you want to access the internet from the
hotel line, how are you doing this?
Do you just dial your provider number (but the provider will charge the
hotel days after you left it)?
Is there a "local call" ISP?
A short-term ISP-contract (netzero uses a proprietary dial-in software
which I detest).

Any other tips?

Thanks
Alexander


To contact me directly, send EMAIL to (single letters all)
DEE_KAY_EMM AT EarthLink.net. [For example .]

Alexander Kluge wrote:

Frst, I apologize if this is a FAQ. As the majority of you is american
and you obviously have internet access, you are the experts:
Local calls are free in the US and most hotels pass this through-they
offer free local calls. If you want to access the internet from the
hotel line, how are you doing this?
Do you just dial your provider number (but the provider will charge the
hotel days after you left it)?
Is there a "local call" ISP?
A short-term ISP-contract (netzero uses a proprietary dial-in software
which I detest).


Most hotels now charge for long local calls, and more expensive hotels even
charge for short local calls. If you have an account with a local provider
(or a national provider) you only pay the hotel for the call. The common
practice in Europe of the ISP charging the calling number doesn't happen in
the US, so you must have an account with the ISP in advance. The best
connectivity worldwide (including the US) is AOL (I know, I know). Yes,
they have a proprietary client, but once you log on you can use any
internet access you want.

Look, however, for hotels with broadband access. I've been in several
recently that offer it free, some that charge $10 a day, and some that
charge $10 a visit (up to 7 days). Many of these offer wireless in addition
to 10baseT.

Also, many airports and Starbuck's and MacDonald's locations offer wireless
internet for $6 an hour, and also offer unlimited plans.

Larry
--
Larry Finch

N 40° 53' 47"
W 74° 03' 56"

Many Marriott properties now offer free hi-speed access. AOL is a good
choice for someone coming from overseas, other choices to check on would be
attglobal.com and earthlink. Earthlink may have more local US access
numbers than any other provider, but if the OP will be in medium to large
populations centers, he will have no problem getting online. It will,
though, take some advance planning.

Will his modem (Germany) connect to a US telco modem?

A wifi card in his laptop would enable him to use a hotspot at a Starbucks
or some other public access spot. Some are kinda pricey...$7.95 a day! but
some are free, too.

User 1.nospam wrote:

I am now using a "free 50d trial" of peoplePC (not the most serious one,
but -maybe- cheap/free), they have local dial-in numbers where I'll
stay. We'll see.

Will his modem (Germany) connect to a US telco modem?
We'll know that tomorrow

Alexander

In article ,
"Alexander Kluge" wrote:

Frst, I apologize if this is a FAQ. As the majority of you is american
and you obviously have internet access, you are the experts:
Local calls are free in the US and most hotels pass this through-they
offer free local calls. If you want to access the internet from the
hotel line, how are you doing this?

Do you just dial your provider number (but the provider will charge the
hotel days after you left it)?

If the call is local, you dial it just as if you were intending to
talk to a human being. The fact that the call is to an ISP is immaterial.

Is there a "local call" ISP?


A short-term ISP-contract (netzero uses a proprietary dial-in software
which I detest).

Any other tips?

Any of the major ISPs will likely have local numbers. Examples are
earthlink, AOL, MCI, AT&T, etc.

Some hotels also offer free broadband ISP service, or they charge a
modest fee such as $10 a day. Check with your hotel to see what options
they offer for Internet access.````````````````

I am now using a "free 50d trial" of peoplePC (not the most serious
one, but -maybe- cheap/free), they have local dial-in numbers where
I'll stay. We'll see.

Will his modem (Germany) connect to a US telco modem?
We'll know that tomorrow

As most of you recommended, AOL works just fine, the peoplePC doesn't

Thanks for all your tips