Contact your host University, study abroad program, or hotel to find out their computing and technology recommendations. Some programs allow you to rent a laptop or provide computer labs on campus while others will recommend that you bring your own computer.
Find out how you will be connecting to the internet: on your laptop or in an internet cafe or computer lab? Via wireless, ethernet, or dialup? How often will you be able to access your email? Will you have access to a telephone? Will you need power adapters or special plugs?
At Barnard, the server is set up so that anyone can connect to the internet using an automatic IP address. In some schools (or even offices) you will connect to the internet with a static IP address. It will make your life a lot simpler if you become familiar with how to change these settings so that you can adjust your connection in different locations. If you take a look at the Internet Connection Solutions page, step 4 (a.ii for Windows Vista, b.ii for Windows XP, c.iii for OS X Tiger, d.i for OS X Leopard) explains how to set up your IP address to configure automatically. Try following these steps before you go to a new place.
If you do decide to travel with your laptop, check out MIT's Traveling With Your Laptop Resource Guide.
Students who go abroad tend to go over their email quota, which means they aren't able to receive new messages and often can't log into their accounts to send emails or to delete old messages and free up space. To stay in touch with friends and family, as well as make sure you don't miss any important messages from the college, we suggest that students studying abroad:
Personalizing your Google or Yahoo homepage can be very useful, especially while you are traveling. If you already have a Google or Yahoo account, you can easily personalize your account with local weather, bookmarks, your calendar, and driving directions. This way, no matter where you use the internet, you can easily get to all of your important information.
To personalize Google, you need a Gmail account. Go to Google to sign up.
PCWorld.com's How to Find Hotspots rates Intel's jiwire Hotspot Directory as the most complete directory of global hotspots online. They also recommend Wi-FiHotSpotList.com, and Wi-Fi-FreeSpot. While doing research for this article, I was impressed by Total Hotspots because they use interactive maps and have an easy-to-use interface.
If you don't want to rely on free wireless, you can also sign up with a Wireless Internet Service Provider (WISP). Before you sign up with a WISP, make sure that they have a number of hotspots where you are going and do some research on the service. Read the Cnet.com review of Boingo, T-Mobile HotSpot, and Wayport: Hot spots heat up.
The The Cybercafe Search Engine is useful if you want to use the internet but don't plan on bringing your laptop.
Also known as Voice over IP (VoIP), Internet telephony technology allows you to use your internet connection like a telephone. Internet telephony is very inexpensive (especially compared to phone cards) and relatively easy to set up (all you need as a computer with an internet connection and a headset or microphone and headphones) but is often less reliable than traditional phone lines or mobile phones and relies on your access to the Internet. Additionally, with a webcam, you can usually use these services to videochat with your loved ones.
It's worth looking into Call Forwarding, as it may work out to be less expensive than using a pay-as-you-go foreign mobile phone. For example, Skype lets you obtain an "online number" with an area code of your choice for a small monthly fee. You can also get unlimited calls to U.S. numbers for a small monthly fee. Your friends and family can call your Skype number without being charged, and the forwarding rate on Skype may be less than the fee for a mobile phone.
Popular VoIP clients include: Skype, Google Talk, and MSN Web Messenger.
The World Electric Guide is a useful guide to some of the questions you should weigh and issues you might face in deciding to use your electronics in another country. Different countries use different voltages as well as different types of plugs and outlets.
The Barnard Office of Career Development has tips on Finding a Job Abroad and a useful factsheet on Netiquette, which is especially important when you're only form of communication with a prospective or future employer, supervisor, or teacher is online.