How to stay connected on the road

Hello, from San Diego, CA! I just spent the weekend helping out with a conference at the beautiful US Grant Hotel, and today I’ll be spending the day checking out the city. But I’m being a good girl and writing a blog post before I go!
I did a lot of out of town shows last year and met loads of artists who practically live on the road for 9 months out of the year. If you have email or a blog or a web site that you need to check on or update on a regular basis you’ll need to have some reliable ways to connect to the Internet while on the road. Fortunately, these days, it’s easier to stay connected to the Internet if you’re prepared.

Your laptop- The easiest way to stay connected on the road is to have a laptop that has wireless Internet capabilities. Most new laptops on sale now or ones that were for sale a couple years a go already come with wireless capacity already built in. If you have an old dinosaur though, you’ll still be able to connect to wired services using your Ethernet connection (that hole in the back of your computer that looks like a slightly bigger telephone plug).

WiFi Hotspots- Go to your local Starbucks or public library, and you’ll usually find that they have a wireless connection available. If you’re flying, a lot of airports have wireless access available as well. Some even have business centers where you can connect using your wired ethernet connection. I spent part of a three-hour layover at the Douglas International Airport in Charlotte, NC at the great little business center that had both wireless and Ethernet access. It sure made the time go faster sitting in a nice comfy chair catching up on email and reading posts from my favorite blogs. I just wish our airport in Norfolk had wireless! If you’re staying in a hotel, most large chains also have either wireless or Ethernet capabilities available in every room or in their business centers.

WiFi Finders- If you’re passing through parts unknown where there isn’t a local Starbucks (yeah it’s possible) or large hotel chain, it can also be useful to have a WiFi finder which is a little gadget that indicates when you enter a location that has a WiFi signal. Most laptops will automatically find wireless signals, but you don’t want to walk around with an open laptop trying to find a signal and you sure don’t want look for a signal while you’re driving. Most of these devices are about the size of a keychain and cost between $19 and $30. You can find them at your local electronics store.

WiFi for Free- It’s important to remember that not all WiFi spots are free. If you’re staying in a hotel that has Internet access, you’ll need to check beforehand to see if there’s an extra charge for the service. Usually they’ll have this information on their web sites before you book your room or you can check at the front desk when you arrive. Be sure to check on charges beforehand you log on, or you’ll end up with a unpleasant surprise on your hotel bill. I found this out the hard way, it’s not always apparent to you when you log on that you’re being charged. Some chains offer free Internet access to most or all of their hotel properties. I stayed at a lot of Choice Hotel properties last year because of the free access. (Interestingly enough, I’ve found that you usually have to pay for Internet access at your more expensive hotels…it was about $12 per day at the US Grant. At $200 per night seems like they’d spot you $12 for WiFi). You can also check the web sites of whatever airport you have a layover at to see what they have available.

You can also check out WiFi Free Spot which is a web site that lists airports, hotels, and RV parks and campgrounds that have free wireless access.

Mobile Broadband- If you’re at a spot where you can make a cell phone call, you can also access the Internet by using a Broadband PC card. You can purchase these cards from companies like Verizon and Sprint and then you pay a monthly fee for the Internet access. You can also use this option at home if you don’t have cable Internet or DSL access in your area. Cards usually cost around $50 and your monthly fee ranges from $50 to $70 per month.

Dial-Up- Dial-up may be slow but it is an old standby, especially if you’re not sure about the availability of WiFi at your location or if cell phone signal strength is spotty. As long as you can find a landline phone, you can log on to the Internet. And all you need on your laptop is a regular old modem. Some dial-up companies have a variety of local access numbers so when you’re logging on it costs no more than a local call. Some companies even have 800 numbers, so that logging on is just like making a toll-free call. Dial-up access usually costs around $10 per month and you can get an account from companies like NetZero and PeoplePC.

If You Don’t Have a Laptop- You can always check out the local library to see if they have public computers with Internet access. That will do to check your email in a pinch. Again, hotels also have business centers where they’ll have computers available (most often for a fee). And don’t forget about cybercafés. These are places where you can use a computer with Internet access for a fee. They usually charge by the hour, but you can also buy a day pass if you need the computer for longer. There’s usually at least one in most cities. You can find a running database of cybercafés in cities and countries all over the world at the Cybercafe Search Engine.

Be Prepared- Before your trip, you need to make sure that you have all of the cards, cords, cables, and access numbers you need to log on. Check out your location for availability of Internet access so you can avoid any surprises. You should also make sure that your laptop battery is fully charged before you go. You might not be able to find easy access to an electrical outlet and some places are really stingy with the number of outlets they have. And of course, don’t forget your power cord!

Ok…post done…I’m going out to check out the sights!