> Getting acquainted with the zero-pound computer
> (Des Moines Register; 05/11/98)
>
> By PHILLIP ROBINSON
>
> San Jose Mercury News
>
> I've carried around "portable" computers ranging from 30-pound behemoths in
> the 1980s to the latest credit-card-sized data-display devices.
>
> All of them are too heavy, too bulky and too expensive. Plus, because
> they're expensive, I worry about them being stolen, an extra "weight" on my
> mind.
>
> So I'm experimenting with a breakthrough device I call the "zero-pound
> computer."
>
> In other words, I don't carry a computer at all. Well, other than the gray
> mushy one built into my skull.
>
> Instead, I look to the computers and Internet connections I can find on the
> road. Like those portables and pocket gizmos, the zero-pound computer can be
> inconvenient, expensive, and under-powered, but at least it doesn't weigh me
> down.
>
> Where can you find the zero-pounder?
>
> Start with the local public library. Many now have Windows personal
> computers or Macintoshes, often with some basic word-processing software,
> nearly always with a pretty speedy Internet connection.
>
> And they're free! All you have to do, in most libraries, is sign in for
> your half-hour or hour of use, so others can know when their turn will come.
>
> To learn if a particular library is equipped, you can call the library
> directly or look on its World Wide Web site. Try your favorite search engine to
> find the library's page. For example, looking up "libraries" and then clicking
> on "Public Libraries" in Yahoo (www.yahoo.com) shows a long list of public
> library Web addresses. Or you can search on the actual place name, remembering
> as you do that governmental sites end not in ".com" but in ".gov."
>
> How do you get your electronic mail when connecting with someone else's
> computer and Internet service provider? The easiest way is to sign up for a
> free e-mail service such as Hotmail, Juno, RocketMail, Yahoo Mail, LycosEmail,
> MailExcite, AmExMail or hundreds of others.
>
> Most let you check your e-mail from any Web browser. Some also let you
> check for e-mail from your account with an Internet service provider, or ISP,
> if the ISP follows the industry-standard "POP3" format.
>
> Some include mail-forwarding abilities and a few will forward your e-mail
> to a fax or pager address.
>
> There's no space here to compare the many services, but you can poke around
> yourself by looking for "free e-mail" with your favorite search engine or by
> going to a list such as "Free E-mail Address Directory"
> (www.emailaddresses.com).
>
> Many are entirely free, though some charge a monthly fee for services such
> as forwarding, and most cover part of your working screen with ads.
>
> By the way, there are two other advantages of such services.
>
> * They can provide a permanent e-mail address, assuming they don't go out
> of business, one that doesn't change when you switch Internet service providers
> chasing the lowest fees and best service.
>
> * They can provide anonymity, blocking a recipient from knowing who you are
> when you send a message.
>
> If you just want to check e-mail from your ISP account without opening a
> free e-mail account, there are two Web-based services that will retrieve and
> display your messages: "MailStart" (www.mailstart.com) and "ReadMail"
> (www.readmail.com).
>
> Back to the question of finding a computer: You can also check in many of
> today's hotels. A few have rooms with Internet access, such as through a WebTV
> or other Internet terminal attached to the television.
>
> Many larger hotels have a "business center" that can send and receive faxes
> and rent you various equipment, from pagers and cell phones to PCs or Macs.
>
> These might cost $20 per hour in the business center itself or $150 to $250
> per day for you to take away to your room or around town. The charges can be
> steep because the centers expect you're putting it all on expense account. Even
> faxes can cost $5 for the first page and $3 for each additional page.
>
> Expect the minimum computer charge to grab only a bare-bones system. Each
> item you add -printer, modem, software -will quickly boost the price. And don't
> assume the business center computers are attached to the Net. Often they're
> not. These places can be so behind that they're still renting out typewriters
> for $10 an hour.
>
> Unfortunately, there's no single registry of which hotel has what. Even the
> computerized reservation systems that let you search for hotels with swimming
> pools, wheelchair accessibility and an exercise room don't know about computer
> rooms.
>
> You'll just have to call ahead, ask around, maybe join some travel
> newsgroups on the Net to learn where to stay with your zero-pound computer.
>
> The same is true of airports and even planes. Some airports now have
> computers sealed in kiosks. QuickAID (quickaid.com) has set up its QuickATM
> kiosks at San Francisco International and plans to be in five more airports by
> the end of 1998.
>
> You plug in a credit-card as though buying self-serve gas, and set to work
> on the Web or e-mail. Again, you may want one of the free e-mail services to
> take full advantage of this. You pay around $2.50 for every 10 minutes, or $15
> an hour.
>
> A few airplanes are building screens into the back of the seats. Initially,
> these are for watching movies or playing video games, but they could soon be
> put to use for computing and the Internet.
>
> Don't count on finding such a flight going where you're headed, however.
> They're too rare. Maybe as rental car companies, already dallying with
> satellite-based navigation system in their cars, will also someday add back-of-
> the-seat computing screens for fun and business.
>
> Not for the driver, naturally, though I've already seen drivers with one
> eye on the road and another on a portable computer on the passenger-seat.
>
> Cybercafes are another reliable choice. Also known as "Internet cafes,"
> these are coffee-shops or even restaurants that have added a few computers.
> Some are computer centers dressed up with a few pastries and coffee machines.
>
> The fewest computers I've seen in one has been two machines. The most
> equipment has been a dozen powerful PCs and Macs with graphics boards for high-
> speed games and a fast T1 Internet hookup for Web, e-mail and even video
> conferencing. I've heard of others with 50 computers and 3-D Virtual Reality
> arcade sets.
>
> Rentals run from free -if you're buying some food and drink -to $5 or $12
> an hour. Many cybercafes are small operations in college towns. Some are parts
> of chains with names like Cybersmith and Cyberia, cropping up in big towns on
> several continents.
>
> You can look to the newsgroup "alt.cybercafes" for opinions on which are
> best or search the Web for the online pages and details of the hundreds of
> cybercafes around the world. I couldn't find any good central listing of
> cybercafes on the Web, although you can often locate them through search
> engines such as Yahoo.
>
> One last place to put your zero-pounder to work is in a copy shop. Some of
> these have computers you can rent by the hour. The best example I know of is
> Kinko's, the 24-hour shops found in many U.S. cities and some sites outside the
> United States.
>
> At the company's Web site (www.kinkos.com) you can get the details on their
> computers for rent -$12 per hour for the basics, $24 per hour for graphic
> design powerhouses -as well as their options -Zip and **Jaz** drives to store
> your information for takeaway, 50-cent per page laser printing and $2 per page
> color laser printing. |
