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General
Travel Tips
Software
and Accessories
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We've
learned most of these tips the hard way; setting up in
a hotel room, ready to check email, and the 32-bit application
we just loaded before departing won't run over the 16-bit
operating system. We've had computer crashes at important
meetings. We've had batteries bail out just minutes into
the second leg of a long flight when we could have charged
batteries during a boring layover. We've seen portables
bring home nasty viruses to the home and office. We've
forgotten passwords that were so unmemorable and unhackable
that we ourselves couldn't figure them out. We offer the
following tips that others might learn from our trials
and tribulations.
1. Create and bring setup and boot disks
A member of the IT staff learned this the hard way recently;
bring setup and boot disks, as well as any necessary registration
numbers for re-installs and downloads. Boot disks, or
startup disks, is a floppy disk which contains all of
the system files necessary to get your computer started.
2. Load your virus protection
Many people load their virus protection on their home
computer, but forget to do so on their portable computer.
A virus is a virus is a virus, no matter where you get
it.
3. Review your work habits, and make sure you have all
the software and frequently-used files you use while working
at the office.
This will keep you from getting caught on the road without
a rarely-used, but essential, piece of software or file.
For tasks or files you use often, creating template files
can save you tedious reconstruction of document structures,
for example, and maintain consistency in the look and
feel of documents created or modified on the road.
4. Use the same software, even the same versions, at the
office and on the road.
While on the road, comfortable work habits are already
difficult to maintain; you don't need the added frustration
of changing your routines for a different version, or,
worse, different brand, of software, especially for high-volume
tasks like word-processing and email.
5. Test any new software before you leave.
The intro says it all; make sure there are no conflicts
in your software and operating systems; check that that
easy install actually results in easy use.
6. Bring contact numbers for technical support.
Bring phone numbers, and bookmark Web sites, for companies
from which you may need technical support or downloads
during your trip. As with passwords, it might be best
to write these down in an appointment book, or somewhere
else that will always be with you, so you don't have to
travel with countless slips of paper.
7. Check ahead for any unusual connector requirements.
Ask when making your reservations if you can plug into
their phone system with a modem.
8. Write down any necessary passwords.
If you tend to save passwords instead of retyping them
every time you log on to an online service, Web site,
or software package, you'll need to either to load them
or your computer or write them down somewhere.
9. Load up the carry-on bag.
Pack your phone cord and extra battery, in your carry-on
computer case. Airports, and even airplane seats, now
have phone jacks, and, in some cases, direct Internet
connections, on pay phones. To have the connection, when
the connectors are in the cargo area of the plane, can
be a very frustrating experience.
10. Work, and/or recharge your battery, during layovers.
Most airport gates have an outlet nearby, if for nothing
else than vacuuming the area. You can often plug in your
computer to do work without running batteries down, or
recharge your batteries for work during the next flight.
11. When you return, copy any important or changed files
to your desktop computer.
When you make small changes to documents on the road,
you can easily use an older version when you return without
noticing it. If you immediately copy all of the new or
altered files back onto your desktop, and perhaps even
delete the files from your portable after the transfer,
you can eliminate confusion and version conflicts later
on. |
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**Companies or websites listed above are for reference
only.
We do not endorse them or make any promises about their services.**
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