Cutoff by e-mail disconnection

As one without electric power, I am writing this column from the warmth of the local library. And while Internet access is less essential for survival than heat, electricity or water, there is no getting around the fact that having a constant e-mail connection is one thing that can make a house a home.

The need for connection during a crisis is unchanged since I first addressed the topic shortly after Sept. 11. At that time, New Yorkers could let others know they were safe through dial-up connections that were operational while standard phone lines were not. Every storm, power failure or crisis has emphasized the importance of such a connection.

The prevalence of Web mail makes a disconnected situation safer and easier. You can check messages from any machine so a power failure at home won't shut you down. At the same time, checking e-mail away from home can be a frantic process, like trying to complete a conversation before the cellphone battery gives up. A fast network connection is essential to use the Internet efficiently and it has become standard behavior to leave the connection open, checking e-mail every time you walk by the PC. Some of us even connect notifiers, so the arrival of an e-mail message is signaled by a tone.

Accordingly, the popularity of broadband and wireless has added another item to the standard safety kit. A startup CD from a dial-up Internet service is necessary to stay connected. You can open an account when the power fails and cancel when the lights come back on. Those with a conscience or the willingness to pay a few dollars a month to make sure everything runs smoothly will maintain a dial-up account as a safety net.

The latest storm victims have learned about a new twist here, as Internet phone systems tear a hole in this safety net.

If you subscribe to a system such as Vonage service disappears along with the power. You may save a few dollars by dumping standard phone service when the electricity is on, but a failure throws you into a communications black hole.

And you are at the mercy of battery capacity from two directions. If you have standard phone service you can plug in an analog phone or a laptop, as long as the computer's batteries last. If you have chosen an Internet system, the laptop is useless even with a battery such as Dell 6Y270 Battery. And you only can talk to the world until your cellphone fails.

Car chargers can keep you talking for a while. But it becomes clear that any emergency strategy is tailored to specific components. And if you have changed anything since the last outage, you will need to revise this strategy. Since most of us don't spend much time preparing for a crisis until the lights start flickering, surprises are inevitable.

For instance, I thought I had outsmarted the power problem by taking a ride on the ferry and recharging the laptop on the trip. My machine, as it happened, took this opportunity to refuse the charge. Who said machines can't be as cranky and unpredictable as humans?

So my laptop fails and I can't watch TV or plug in my guitar. There weren't enough candles to read. After calling everyone I knew, there was nothing to do but listen to talk radio. The theme for the evening was to help your neighbor through the crisis and ask for help when you need it.

So here's the etiquette question of the week: If my neighbor has a generator, can I go over to his house and ask to check my e-mail?