Bringing your laptop to France? Unless you plan ahead, it might be a worthless piece of equipment you end up lugging around. Be sure you have everything you need to make it work.
There are a few aspects you need to consider: the electrical current, having the right plug, plugging your phone in and getting online. Here is a key to being sure you have all those elements in place before you leave.
The electrical current
If you don't address this issue, your laptop could be destroyed by a power surge. Hopefully, you won't need to do a thing. Although the U.S. and Canada's current is 110, Europe (and indeed most of the world) use 220-240 volts. To find out if your laptop can convert to the new current, look at the box on your power cord. If it has small print stating, "110-240v" or something similar showing a range, you are OK.
If it doesn't, you will need to buy a electrical currenct converter (this is NOT the same as the plug adaptor discussed below). I suggest visiting Magellans, which has an extensive selection of adapters, converters and other supplies needed for using your laptop abroad.
Plugging it in
France's plugs look nothing like the prongs you see on your power cord's plugs, so you will need to buy a plug adaptor. Don't waste your money on those international adaptors meant for use around the globe (unless you really need them), as they are large and more expensive. France's plugs are the same as most of Europe.
Phoning home
Again, things are different in France than in North America. Be sure you get a telephone jack adaptor as well so your modem can be plugged in. You may also want to check to see if your hotel has a dedicated modem line in the rooms, since some hotel phone jacks are wired into the wall.
Going online
This, like everything else, can get tricky. You might have everything else in order only to discover your Internet Service Provider (ISP) has no dial-up number in France. This is even the case for some major ISPs (MSN, for instance, has no numbers in France). The last thing you want to do is pay for a call to the U.S. just so you can check your e-mail.
Check with your ISP and find out if there is a way to dial-up from France. If not, AOL has dial-up numbers there. Maybe it's worth loading one of those prolific free CDs for a trial membership. There are also French ISPs, which you could examine using on a short-term basis, such as Wanadoo
Another option is WiFi (wireless fidelity) access, and there is an aggressive France Telecom, Orange Wireless and Accor Hotels project installing wireless access points at 900 Sofitel, Mercure, Libertel, Suitehotel, Ibis, Etap Hotel and Formule 1 economy, midscale and upscale hotels.
Laptop-free options
There are cyber-cafes and Internet access points throughout France, which usually charge a small fee. If you will be in a hurry, however, allow some extra time. The French keyboard's letters are arranged in a different order than American keyboards.
Many hotels have a computer in the lobby available for use. Some also feature in-room Internet access (for a fee, of course), with TV-based Web access. My experience has been that this sounds very cool in theory, but is less useful in practice. Many Web pages have trouble loading on the TV version of the Web.
