|
Handy Help for Road Warriors
(and Wannabes)
Let's face it. If you don't have a laptop computer now, you very likely will within the near future. It you travel at all, their convenience makes it inevitable that you, too, will be forced to learn the ins and outs of hotel phone systems (and hidden charges!), inadequate airport power outlets and modem lingo. Here are a couple of pointers from someone who has been at it a while and learned lessons the hard way!
Carry a "Sanity Bag"
If you are leaving your own town, it's best to take along everything you may need. Pack a small cosmetic bag or extra shaving kit bag with these essentials: 25-foot standard telephone cord with jack plugs on both ends, a three-prong to two-prong electrical adapter, a telephone cord connector/splicer with a standard RJ-11 hole on each end, model and ID numbers for your computer, your modem and any other pieces of equipment, telephone numbers for reaching your hardware and software companies, local computer access telephone dial-up numbers (or remote dial-in numbers for corporate access) for each city you will visit. Acoustic couplers are available in many stores again, and can be a useful addition for situations, such as traveling in Eastern Europe, or even Miami, where phones in older buildings tend to be "hardwired" (without jacks) and you need to transfer data electronically.
Join an airline club for the airline you travel most often.
They have desks and lots of telephones and modem jacks and comfortable chairs. They are generally quiet and not very crowded. They have ticketing personnel and monitors inside. They have nice people working there. It only takes two emergencies or long delays to make them pay for themselves. It's $200 per year well spent.
Bring your own plug adapters.
If traveling outside the U.S., be sure to take a set of worldwide plug and telephone adapters. Equally importantly, be SURE to take your own connector/splicers with the U.S. standard RJ-11 hole on one end and appropriate international size hole on the other. Take a 3-prong to 2-prong adapter everywhere. You need them in older hotels. If you don't mind carrying a little extra weight, take a small surge protector for those older buildings, too.
Take important phone numbers.
It's common sense, but remember--you cannot dial 800 telephone numbers from outside of the U.S. Before you leave, get your local phone company to give you the number you need to dial *from* the country you will visit in order to make a U.S. telephone credit card call. (Be prepared--it may be a 35-digit number!)
If you get a new computer, don't buy a new bag.
If you must buy or carry a new bag, travel with it inside another older and shabbier bag. And don't set your bag down anywhere except between your ankles or on your lap. Laptop computer thefts are alarmingly common. Be especially alert about distractions around the x-ray belts. Thieves can distract you while your bags go through and a partner walks away with your computer on the other side.
Back up your system before you leave.
Pack a set of backup disks in your luggage. Keep a spare set at home. Carry your most important current working files on diskettes in your computer bag or pocket. If you have temporary storage space available from your Internet Service Provider (ISP), upload your critical files and software to the ISP, so you can download it and install it in case of a disk failure.
Bring plenty of power.
Buy an extra battery and carry both fully charged batteries with you. Airport power outlets are extremely hard to find, and to use one you are likely going to need to sit on the floor in the middle of foot traffic.
Power in flight for the well-prepared.
Some airlines now advertise that they have computer power outlets in first or business class. Don't plan to plug your standard power cord in, though. You will need to buy and bring an adapter plug (similar to a cigarette lighter plug) to fit the special opening.
Verify charges for telephone time before you call.
Before you sit down in your hotel to work, dial an outside operator and verify that the local telephone dial-up number for your computer system is actually local to the hotel. Some cities have per-minute toll charges for calls outside a surprisingly small radius. The hotel will typically charge you a $1.00 surcharge for a local call, but you don't want to be surprised by the addition of a per-minute toll charge at checkout. (Tip: it's usually the larger hotels charging such fees.)
Copyright 1997 by Kaye Vivian (kvivian@cloud9.net). All rights reserved. |
