This article provides a guide to just a few of the options. You need a modem, of course, to link your computer through the telephone line in your hotel room or elsewhere to the Internet, and you need communications software to link to an Internet service provider. So far, I have found six different types of telephone jacks on my travels. While a Macintosh will switch itself automatically from one to the other, most PCs do not, and so you may need a power adapter. The electrical sockets vary from country to country.
Some plugs have round pins, some flat and some a mixture.
In addition, the three-pin types come in a number of different configurations. You may need to travel with electrical plugs to plug your computer and modem into an electricity socket. So far, I have found 11 different types of electrical plugs in my travels. In some hotel rooms, the only flat surface that will support a computer is a long way from the telephone jack or power source or both. An alternative is to use a mobile phone to link your computer to the Internet.