Very handy, but perhaps not handiest.
Though in many, perhaps even most, cases checking my mail may have been a luxury, having internet access was most definitely useful and worthwhile. Admittedly, part of this usefulness was from before we even got on a plane, while still in Israel. Quite a bit of our planning was done with the aid of web sites we visited: tourist information, schedules for ferries, types of rental cars available. We also mapped out parts of our trip with the aid of online maps, and even ordered the airline tickets for one flight via the web (and were definitely relieved when the computer at the check-in counter recognized my code number without any difficulty and we checked-in for our flight with almost incredible ease).
On the other hand, while trying to book a motel room via the web it became clear that one important question wasn't being answered. Dialing the 1-800 number that appeared on the motel chain web site gave me access to what was more or less a real person (I was in San Diego, ordering a room in San Francisco, and she was sitting in Texas). Chances were good than had I ordered the room via the web everything would have worked out well, but because this particular order had some question marks attached, it was nice to have the name of someone we could blame if something went wrong when we got to the motel.
Go to: Anybody got a computer handy?, or
Go to: It's no joke, but still not the greatest problem, or
Go to: Still around for the using, or
Go to: The Boidem takes a vacation.