Road ready - computing tips for business travel - includes related articles on travel tales from hell and the wired traveler's toolkit - Industry Trend or Event - Cover Story

Home Office Computing, May, 1996 by Mark Binder

--Dennis Eskow, editor-in-chief

The Boy Scouts Were Right My travel tale from hell? How about the many times I've left home on an early flight after allegedly installing vital new software on the ThinkPad, only to find when I tried it out that I needed the disks that were still back home in Manhattan? (Some people--believe me--never learn.)

Solution: Pack the silly things--it's not like they weigh a trillion pounds. Always test applications before leaving home. Keep a list of tech support numbers handy. And always keep your office in such a state that your assistant/friendly neighbor/cat sitter can find both the components you need and the pread-dressed FedEx slips that will get them to you. I'm embarrassed to admit how often this has happened to me, and how recently.

--Angela Gunn, contributing editor

Laptop Frittata a la Italiana I'll never forget the time I took my laptop to Italy to write a freelance travel story. I was washing my clothes in the apartment I'd rented in Verona, so I figured I'd recharge my laptop battery while I was waiting for the rinse cycle to come on. No sooner did I plug my AC adapter into the wall than the power went poof!, blacking out the tights and frying my computer's voltage converter and surge protector beyond repair.

The moral of the story: When in Italy, do as the Italians do. Turn off the lights, TV, and other appliances before plugging in your computer. And bring lots of extra batteries.

--Rosalind Resnick, contributing editor

Are You Sure You're Insured?

When I rented a car in Washington, D.C., I declined the auto insurance coverage. "I'm paying with a credit card. I'll automatically be insured," I reasoned. I now stand corrected. When I returned the car, the Avis service rep found a dent. Although I never got into an accident (it must have occurred while the car was parked), I was held responsible. What's worse, my credit card carrier wouldn't cover the damages, which totaled $900. Not all plastic protects check to make sure yours does.

--Gail Gabriel, managing editor

MORE TRAVEL TALES FORM HELL

Stranded at the Airport, Feel-in' Like a Fool With only minutes to catch my plane from Montreal back home to New York, I hustled to the gate. As I'd learned from a business trip years before--in which my body went to Boise but my bags stopped in Salt Lake City--I had only carry-on luggage. But when I attempted to board, I was told I'd have to part with my parcel.

Unbeknowust to me, the New York airports had received a bomb threat that day and all bags were being detained. It wasn't until I got to the empty carousel that I learned it would be 24 hours before I saw my luggage again. No clothes, no meeting notes, no toothbrush--OK, I could deal with that for a day. Then I remembered that I had also placed my apartment keys in the bag I'd intended to carry on. So that's why they tell you to "keep essentials on your person!"

--Susan Rich, senior editor

The Case of the Cracked Computer I have two travel experiences I recall most unpleasantly. The more recent was in November when the case I carry my notebook in came loose and fell to the floor, cracking the active-matrix screen on my year-old Toshiba. I was told it would cost $2,600 to replace the 8.5-inch screen. It was more economical for me to buy a new Texas Instruments Pentium notebook with a larger screen, larger hard drive, and higher ratings. The other travel tale was several yeas ago when I went to London and Paris on vacation, figuring I'd be able to get online so I could continue to manage CompuServe's Working From Home forum. The telephone systems in both hotels were unable to support my modem. I now pack an acoustic modem if there's any doubt of my being able to get online while traveling.