Internet access abroad - help!

loulou1971_3

Hi - just bought a new laptop and planning to take it abroad to surf internet while on holiday for a week in Cyprus.

I'm totally untechnological but do know that the villa we are renting has wifi (we've paid an extra £30 to have this plus their version of sky tv for the week we're there).

And here's where I'm clueless - keep reading these horror stories about people returning from holidays with bills running into the thousands as they downloaded films from the internet.....and Martin's advice to turn off your data roaming (??) while abroad.

By using the wifi at the villa will I be ok - can I surf/open attachments on emails/download a film etc all as part of this wifi?

There's no small print etc on the villa contract/details about this - just the option to pay the £30 for this service.

I haven't received the laptop yet (ordered last night) but will be using it at home via a plusnet wifi router - do I need to turn off any settings on the computer when abroad to make sure I'm using the villa's wifi and it's not trying to connect to a Plusnet version in Cyprus??

Sorry - many of you will probably be shocked by my utter lack of knowledge but I'm a total newbie to the world of laptops/wifi - I was still using dial-up 6 months after everyone else was on broadband!!

Thanks in advance for much-needed advice!

Loulou

scottishblondie

loulou1971 wrote: »

And here's where I'm clueless - keep reading these horror stories about people returning from holidays with bills running into the thousands as they downloaded films from the internet.....and Martin's advice to turn off your data roaming (??) while abroad.

This refers to using mobile broadband or using the internet on your phone whilst you are abroad. If you are only using a laptop to connect to wifi then you have nothing to worry about, as long as the wifi has no usage limits or hidden charges (which would be unusual in my experience - just check any small print).

Hope that puts your mind at ease

Donnie

As to Wifi usage when you are there...Turn on laptop, double click on the name of the network supplied to you by the Villa representatives and enter the password given to you by the same.

loulou1971_3

Scottishblondie and Donnie you're both stars thanks very much - puts my mind at ease!

It'll probably be another 10 years until I think about internet on my phone - around the same time I exchange my Sony Walkman for a new-fangled Ipod!!!

Cheers!

fenlander_uk

You're sure to be OK for browsing and email. Films are more of a problem. You will probably be unable to access TV services like iPlayer because these are only available in the UK (you will be able to get BBC radio stations, though). You don't know the speed of the broadband connection you will be using and anyway it's not unusual for access to the usual sources of movies/tv etc to be blocked on the connections available in hotels and rented properties. If you want to be sure of some entertainment while you are away, download the files to your laptop before you leave.

loulou1971_3

Thanks Fenlander - again apologies for ignorance but is there a usual website people go to to download films? Have heard of iplayer for catching up on tv but wondered about finding a couple of films to maybe download and watch on the plane?

Thanks!

JasX

well iTunes is one offering but for things like rentals you need an active internet connection before you start to watch them and purchases aren't particularly cheap or all that convenient. For watching on a plane you might find you're just as well off taking a pack of DVDs in a DVD case and watching them from disk. (and from experience are lucky if the battery lasts much longer than watching one film on the plane unless you're lucky enough to have a laptop socket in your seat (I think singapore airlines are just about the only people who offer you one in economy, and only then on their newer planes)

loulou1971_3

Thanks all - think you're right I'll take a few films on dvd with me for plane and holiday. I have an Amicus horror box-set I haven't got round to watching - nice and tacky for a bit of light viewing!

Should only need one film for the plane as it's only about 4 hours.....

Cheers all!