Also go out of your way to get online one last time online and download everything before you leave. If you are on a per meg package besides turning off Microsoft updates, also remember to turn off any cloud syncing such as Dropbox. Tell your emails not to display graphics and download only headers. If you are on a by the minute plan, composes responses offline.

I wish that Apple and Microsoft had profiles that you could create telling your computer when to do everything and when to be a data-miser. I just blew through 2.5 gigs of my 5 gigs of tethering because of something similar while going online to do some very minor research at a meeting.