WX Man,
Most Laptop Power supplies are auto sensing now days. Ask this salesman you mentioned to show you the power supply, and check the label, if it say's something like this:
INPUT 100V-240V ~ ( then what ever the current rating is for that Laptop) 50-60Hz.
then your OK:
As for the modem I am not familiar with the "PICO" but you mention it's a PCMCIA type which actually plugs in the PCMCIA slot in you Laptop, these are generaly faster as they communicate directly into the PC main board rather than through the serial port.
There are so many manufactures on the market, but there are only two what they call "Chipsets" in all these modem's, that's the Brains of the Modem, so you can't go too wrong if it's new one.
As for Altavista, well, one of the best ……… !
Best of luck