Laptop Computer

[JBugg]

I have no idea if this has been covered, is it a wise idea to bring a small laptop with a wifi connection to Europe?

[WillTravel]

A lot depends on what sort of travel you are expecting to do.

If you are roaming and just stopping at hostels without advance planning, these might not have lockers. Personally I wouldn't feel it was very convenient or safe to bring a laptop along if you have no locker. If staying at hostels with lockers, it's probably fairly safe. Not that other travelers are all thieves, but there'll always be a few.

If you are staying at hotels that have safes, then I'd say it's more reasonable. But still, you'll have extra weight to manage, and public transport and so forth will be a bit more trouble to manage safely, particularly in theft-prone cities.

[dougj]

I'd say no. just something else to worry about and the extra weight isn't worth it. plus there's plenty of internet cafe's in europe.

[Eagle]

JBugg, this topic has been covered fairly well in other threads on this message board (I can't recall for sure, but probably in the Pre-Travel planning section).

I believe the overall opinion was that it's not advisable to pack a Laptop around while travelling, unless you need it for a specific purpose (University, Work, etc.). It has a high "worry factor" in terms of theft or damage, and based on the experiences of one of our Moderators who is travelling now, there aren't as many Wi-Fi connections as one would think, and usually there's a charge for these.

A lot of Hostels provide Internet service (often coin operated and a bit on the pricey side), and there are Net Cafes in many cities. Libraries are also a good bet for Net access. I agree with DougJ, it's just one more piece of kit to pack around and worry about. You also have to consider whether the Charger can operate on 240 V. electrical systems, etc. However, the final decision is yours as you'll be the one that has to deal with it.

Good luck and happy travels!!!

[commie]

hi, and sorry for re-animating this 4 week old topic

i would take the notebook with me, because internet cafes are not so common, maybe because everyone has a computer. there are ~100.000 people living in my city, but i dont think that we have a internet cafe here. there was one, but they closed 1 year ago or so. maybe you have more luck in larger citys, normaly you find them in worst places, next to train stations or in redlight-district (like in frankfurt...)

you can set a harddisk-password in most notebooks, this means even if someone steals your notebook and puts your harddisk into another computer he needs the password.

a wifi-connection shouldnt be a big problem, there is this software at www.boingo.com/ which scans the area for wifi networks, and it has a offline database to find (paid) access points in your city and gives you the address. 1st class train travellers get free wifi internet access in waiting rooms, at least in germany and sweden afaik.
dont panic if everything fails: every second private wifi-router in germany is open for everyone, a computer magazine tryed this out 1 year ago...

[MuvverRussia]

Yeah, but a password isn't much good once you've had your notebook stolen.

Internet cafes are pretty common, certainly common enough for regular usage. The only time I'd ever even consider taking my laptop with me is if I had to keep in touch with the office, do assignments etc. That's pretty much never.

Maybe if you're staying in a hotel in one place then a laptop could be an asset. Otherwise it's just a liability. It's something else to carry (even light laptops weigh a considerable amount when you're carrying it around everywhere) and is a definite theft risk.

[commie]

sure its bad if you loose your notebook, but its even worse if they can start it and use your stored passwords for your favorite webpages, ftp-sites or read your email.