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From: strange@hercules.acpub.duke.edu (Michael B. Scher)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.laptops
Subject: Re: Travelling with a laptop
Message-ID: <3627@borg.cs.unc.edu>
Date: 2 May 91 14:33:50 GMT
References: <1991May1.224944.13424@wpi.WPI.EDU>
Sender: news@cs.unc.edu
Organization: Duke University
Lines: 60

In article <1991May1.224944.13424@wpi.WPI.EDU> dfinkel@oak.wpi.edu (David Finkel) writes:
>I've just bought a laptop, and I can't quite figure out what to do
>when I want to travel with it.  Any suggestions, experiences very

>1. What do I do about airport security?  Will the security folks be willing
>to hand inspect it?  I presume the X-rays will be real bad for the disk.
>Will there be a security problem bringing the laptop on the plane at all?

   Airport security will almost always hand check with no problems.  Make
VERY SURE you have power in the battery of the computer or that it's ready
to run on AC -- they require you show it works.
   Actually, the disks (and hard drive) are not likely to be injured by
x-ray, which has little effect at all onn electronic media.  The HUGE magnetic
field generated by an x-ray machine, however, could toast some data.  I 
usually worry more about the metal-detector gates which generate a radio
pulse that could screw up magnetic information.  X-ray is actually only a
risk to the chips, and a slight one at that; Still, most manufacturers
recommend hand-checking.

>2. If I bring the laptop as carry-on luggage, can I also bring an 
>additional carry-on bag, or will that use up my carry-on allowance?

   Most airlines allow two bags, so ling as one can get under your seat &
the other overhead.  Call ahead.  One solution is to get a large carry bag
that can hold your laptop and your extras.

>3. What do you do with it in my hotel?  I'm certainly not going to
>carry it with me at all times, but I'm a little nervous about leaving
>something so expensive in my hotel room.

   You can ask the desk clerk to lock it up in most hotels; failing that,
if you don't mind the peculiarity, you can chain-lock the computer bag with
a bicycle chain-lock to the bar in the closet.  If you're very nervous, you
can slap an adhesive-backed desktop-lock-up loop to the laptop (the top of
it) & use that to secure the machine, again with a chain lock.  I generally
go the desk clerk route -- if they can lock up jewels, they should be able
to control themselves around a PC.


>4. It has a built-in modem, but the line for the modem has a modular
>phone plug.  I've never actually checked, but I'd guess that most hotel
>rooms have their phone wired-in.  Suggestions for connecting the
>modem?

   There's a kit out called a "road warrior" kit; it's horribly overpriced,
but includes the basics for hooking up ANYWHERE.  I recommend getting a
"black jack" (can't recall any co. names) -- it's a pair of couplers
designed to fit over a phones mouth and ear pieces, with a modular jack in
back.  It lets you use almost any phone so long as it's not funny-shaped.
One OTHER thing to be aware of is non-standard dialing in a hotel -- you may
have to manually dial the call, and have the computer listen in.  Thus, you
might need to learn the computer's "look for carrier" (NOT ATA) command.
Some modems will do it with just a dial command sans number (e.g., ATD),
while others require another command entirely.

--
Mike Scher                      strange@hercules.acpub.duke.edu
Duke University -- Durham, NC:  Law and Cultural Anthropology 
This post expressly not for use as toilet tissue.
(c) 1991 - All lefts deserved.