Open Door Networks
The Macintosh AFN Specialists

Reading Your E-Mail while Traveling

 

Being without e-mail while you are traveling isn't fun and also isn't necessary. If you are an Open Door customer, you can still read your e-mail while you are on the road. The method for doing this depends on whether you have a computer with you or are using somebody else's computer, for example at a relative's house or in a public library.

Reading E-Mail from Your Own Computer

If you travel with a laptop, then reading e-mail is quite easy, although exactly how you do this will depend on how you connect to the Internet.

Once connected to the Internet, you can read e-mail the same way you normally do, whether that's with Outlook Express, Netscape Messenger, Mac OS X Mail, or some other e-mail application.

Dialing into the Internet with an old-fashioned analog modem and phone line is slow. If you can use a different method, then you should. If you are at a location that has a high-speed (sometimes called "broadband") connection to the Internet -- this could be a relative's house, a college, a library, an Internet cafe, or a number of other places -- then you should try to use that connection.

To use a high-speed connection, simply connect the Ethernet port on your laptop to the network (be sure to pack an Ethernet cable when you're getting ready for your trip) and reboot the laptop. Better yet, if your computer has wireless (AirPort), and you're in one of the ever-growing number of businesses that provides wireless Internet access, simply join their wireless network. You should then be able to surf the Web and read e-mail in the same manner that you normally do. In some cases, you may need to also reboot other network devices, such as a cable modem. If the administrator for the network (for example, at a college) has placed restrictions on outside users, then this method may not work, but in many cases it will work and is the easiest and fastest way to go.

If you haven't yet configured your laptop to get your Open Door email, you should do so before you leave on your trip. There are many e-mail applications, including Outlook Express (which Internet Explorer uses), Netscape Messenger, the Mail application under Mac OS X, and many others. The e-mail applications are all slightly different.

In general, you should find a menu item that lets you configure e-mail information. The menu item may be in the File, Edit, Tools or some other menu, and may be called Preferences, Accounts, Options or something similar.

You should configure the following information:

Reading E-Mail from Someone Else's Computer

If you don't have a laptop, you can still read your Open Door email using Yahoo mail, .Mac, or other web-based mail services. Because these services are Web-based, you only need a Web browser to read your email, which you can do from any machine that's on the Internet, without having to configure that machine in any way.

Open Door Networks has a limited Web-based email system available at http://www.opendoor.com/webmail/. Please contact us if you would like details.

Another option, before you leave on your trip, is to sign up for a free Yahoo (or other Web-based) e-mail account. Just go to www.yahoo.com and click on the Email icon at the top of the page and follow instructions to sign up for an account. As an alternative to Yahoo, a .Mac account is a great way to read your e-mail if you're already a .Mac member.

If you don't travel often and/or will be away for a long time, you can ask Open Door Networks to automatically forward your e-mail to your Yahoo account. When you get a home, ask us to stop forwarding your mail. Give us a call at 201-0606 to request forwarding and unforwarding.

If you travel often, forwarding and unforwarding your mail can be a hassle. Instead, you can configure Yahoo to read your Open Door mail. You can configure this at any time, although you should configure and test it before your trip. To read Open Door e-mail from Yahoo, follow these steps:

  1. Enter the Yahoo mail Web site and look for the Mail Options text near the top of the page.
  2. Click on Mail Options.
  3. Click on Mail Accounts
  4. Click on Add
  5. Enter opendoor.com for the mail server
  6. Enter your Open Door account name and password
  7. Click on Setup Mail Server
Note: Yahoo may change this feature or instructions for using it without warning.

Summary

Reading e-mail while on the road is very doable, but it may take a bit of preparation. Plan ahead -- choose a method for getting email from the road, set it up, and test it before you leave. If you have any problems, give Open Door Networks Technical Support a call at 201-0606.


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