[thelist] International Roaming - Reccomendations?

[John]

Hi TIA

In Thailand, you can purchase a few hours relatively cheaply
(20 x 16 baht?)  from most Internet-related stores that carry
services from the company Loxinfo ? http://loxinfo.co.th ?

The product you require is called something like Web Cafe?
or Webnet? It's the cheapest product they sell. It consists of
a dial up number, password and username (no installation
software to screw up your machine).  You just dial up, connect,
then sign up.  It expires after one year(?).

When you buy, double check that you are getting the right
product.  I think it's labelled in English. Unfortunately, Thai people
have a nasty habit of nodding and saying "Yes, mmm, yes..."
when in fact they don't have a clue what you're talking about!

It is cheaper than the other dial up products because they don't
offer you a mail address or webpage space, just dial up access
time.

Then you'll be able to log into your own local ISPs mail server to 
receive/send
your email. Of course, you *do* know the address of your SMTP and POP
servers don't you?

One solution I have used for roaming access is to use a free web-based
(mail.com , iname.com) address (or any that allows auto-forwarding ie
NOT hotmail!).

While I'm home-based, this account is configured to forward my
e-mail to my local ISP's mail server.

Before I go roaming I log into the account and configure it to
keep the e-mail on site (instead of auto-forwarding). Then, while I'm
remote, I can then read/send  email by logging into the web-based
e-mail at any cyber cafe (many in Thailand).  Then, switch the
configuration back when you get back home to receive mail from
your local ISP's mail server again.

Note that by using a single free forwarding address, you are able to swap
ISPs if you are not happy with their service, without having to email
all your previous correspondents with a change of email address. Just be
sure you can live with your address and use it consistently.

I managed to pick up a few good addresses from iname several months ago 
including:
(The no-spam is not part of the address but is included for anti-spam 
reasons.)
To_Me at Myself-no-spam.com, WorldWideWeb at Consultant-no-spam.com and 
The_Very_Best at Lawyer-no-spam.com
(used as a cheap scare to my non-paying clients).

In Thailand it is especially useful to use a forwarding address as the
performance of an individual ISP can vary considerably over time.
Therefore, I am not deterred  from shopping around by the thought
of having to send everyone change of address notifications every
few months!

However, if you have a hosted domain then (assuming you also have
a mail server) you can use that to send and receive email from anywhere
assuming you have a dial-up connection and a PC/Mac with mail client.

I'm frequently surprised by the number of people who tell me
that they can't receive their email whilst they're on holiday.
Hello!  Mailservers are on the Internet - all you need is dial up access
to get on from wherever you are!

Hope this helps
Regards
John

PS. Doesn't your current ISP have a web-based front end to their
mail server that you can log into remotely?

At 13-12-00 05:07 AM, you wrote:
>Hi all,
>
>Lucky me is off for a three week holiday at xmas (Singapore,
>Australia and Bangkok). I'm going to be bringing my powerbook with me
>as I have some work to do while I'm away (and I'll also be writing a
>travelog, but that's another story), but I'm not having any luck
>sorting out a connection to the 'net.
>
>Unfortunately my current ISP (http://www.madasafish.com/) isn't a
>member of GRIC (http://www.gric.net) or iPass (http://www.ipass.com/)
>at the moment. I've put a request in that it's something they might
>want to look into offering, but that doesn't help me in the short
>term.
>
>I'm trying to avoid signing up with another ISP as I'm extremely
>happy with what I have, but so far, everything I've seen involves
>paying for a fixed minimum term.
>
>Does anyone have any recommendations or tips where I could start
>looking?
>
>This is the sort of thing that I'm looking for:
>
>1: No fixed term - It's only for three weeks, I don't want to be
>stuck with a 1 year contract for a service I'm not going to use.
>
>2: Cheap (ish) - Cost doesn't really matter, but it would be nice if
>it didn't cost the earth.
>
>3: Mac friendly - Or at least someone that supplies all the relevant
>info without having to install any software.
>
>
>TIA.
>
>G.
>
>
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