The world of internet access

Well I'm back after a wonderful trip with Mr Dodo through Ireland, Scotland, England, France, Austria and Hungary, and a quick stop in Singapore.

As I decided against taking a laptop, I had to access the internet via various services along the way. It was an interesting exercise.

Some hotels provided free internet for guests, some charged a fee, the highest being £3 (AUD$7.20) for half an hour in Slough, UK. Public libraries were another great source, thought again charges for access varied from free for a maximum of half and hour per day (Paisley, UK), 100 huft (AUD .65c) for an hour in Visegrad, Hungary, to £1 (AUD$2.39) for half an hour in Londonderry, Northern Ireland. Many airports also offered internet access from free (Changi, Singapore) to £1 for 10 minutes (Heathrow, London). I only used an internet cafe once - in Biarritz, in the south of France. It was 1€ (AUD$1.63) for half an hour.

Not only did prices vary greatly, but so did the conditions of use. Some places required you to sign declarations that you would not use the service to do anything illegal etc. Some just wanted proof if identity, while others didn't even ask for your name before you were allowed to log on. This variation did not seem to be governed by country laws as different locations in the same country would have different access rules.

All systems I accessed were high speed, and just as well, because not only did I need to work out the French, German and Hungarian text within browsers, but also the varying keyboards - something I hadn't thought about at all!

Australian Keyboard (QWERTY):


Austrian Keyboard (QWERTZ):


French Keyboard (AZERTY):


Hungarian Keyboard (QWERTZ):


UK/Irish Keyboard (QWERTY):


[More information on keyboard layouts around the world at the Wikipedia site]

The differences may appear minor, but when you are used to a particular keyboard type, and you are trying to maximise your online time, the differences can be hugely frustrating. I had to ask for help in faltering German because I had never accessed a keyboard that had keys with three options. But having discovered the "Alt Gr" key wasn't the end of my woes. Finding the "y" key, the ever moving "?" key, and various other symbols were also a challenge when you are trying to rush through a few emails. You don't realise how many times you use certain keys until you can't find them.

WiFi access is practically everywhere. I think next time I'll take the lap top!