Yatta! Even if you can’t manipulate time and space like Hiro Nakamura, the holidays present an excellent opportunity for you to travel and visit with relatives. During this festive time of the year, you may be inundated with cranberry sauce and awkward hugs from your old aunt Ruth, but this does not mean that you have to leave your love for technology behind. Come on. You know that it’s simply not possible for you to disconnect from the Internet for the entire holiday season.
In order to keep up with your techie gadget obsession, some serious planning may be needed. The airports are going to be pretty crowded, the roads might be a little slick, and you don’t want to be left without access to all your favorite electronic goodies. With this in mind, allow me to present you with my humble holiday travel guide for techie types. You can bring your laptop with you to grandma’s house, but you need to be prepared.
Surge Protection on the Go
If you plan on packing your notebook PC, you’ll want to remember to bring your power brick. That much is obvious. An area that some people may sometimes forget, however, is to bring a proper surge protecting power bar. This is especially true if you’re going to be bringing a few different items, like your cell phone, digital camera, portable GPS navigation device, and so on. Just because you’re at the bus station doesn’t mean that their wall outlets are immune to inexplicable surges and power outages.
You probably don’t want to bring along a giant Monster Cable power strip, so that’s why you should consider a more portable solution like the appropriately named Targus Travel Power Outlets with Surge Protection.
I wrote about this back in the summer, but it’s just as useful in the winter. You get four surge protection power outlets, so you can feel pretty safe on the road. I really like how the power cord can be plugged into the other end of the power strip and then there’s a Velcro strap to tie it all together. This makes it really easy to toss into your backpack. Seriously convenient.
Better still, you can consider something like the Belkin Power Surge Protector with USB Charger. It functions in a similar way, but instead of four power outlets, it has three power outlets and a pair of USB ports. This makes it really easy to charge things like your iPhone and iPod, as well as regular stuff like your laptop. It’s only $25, so you’re not breaking the bank on something like this either.
Packing the Portable Power
While the surge protecting power bars described above are a must for any technologically-inclined traveler, you may not always have access to a power outlet. What can you do when your BlackBerry or iPod runs out of juice? Perish the thought of being stuck without mobile email and portable music enjoyment, because you can easily invest in some quality battery-topping solutions like the Ecosol Powerstick shown above.
The eco-friendly Ecosol Powerstick can get loaded up from any available USB port, giving you enough power to top up a cell phone, BlackBerry, or iPod in need of some extra juice. The second generation version is a little more aesthetically pleasing, so you may want to go with that one.
Airport Security Made Easier
Oh, airport security. It’s never all that pleasant of an experience having to take off your shoes, dump your half-consumed bottle of Diet Coke, and forgetting about the handful of pocket change you have in your pocket. I understand that the guys and gals working the security checkpoint are just doing their job, but it’s not exactly fun for anyone involved.
While it won’t save you from the risk of being called into the back room for questioning, TSA-approved laptop bags can at least ease the process of getting your notebook safe and sound through the X-ray scanner.
With other bags, you need to physically remove your notebook from your bag and place it through the scanner on its own. Along the way, it might get scratched or damaged, not to mention the extra hassle of having to take your laptop out, only to stuff it back in a few seconds later. With a TSA-approved laptop bag, your notebook can stay put and stay safe.
In short, TSA-approved bags, like the Tom Bihn Checkpoint Flyer shoulder bag shown above, have a separate compartment specifically for laptops. The TSA regulations state that a notebook must go through the X-ray scanner completely unobstructed by pouches, zippers, and other items. This separate compartment complies with TSA standards, so you just need to unbuckle out that portion and lay it flat on the conveyor belt.
Tom Bihn isn’t the only company that sells these laptop bags. You can find TSA-approved bags from a number of other manufacturers as well. Just make sure that they are in fact TSA-approved and you’ll have a much easier time getting through airport security checkpoints.
A Green Option to Portable Power
What if you don’t have a USB port available? Perhaps an even more versatile solution would be something like the Solio Hybrid Charger, shown above in its Magnesium Edition (or below in its more economical plastic configuation). It’s got a trio of solar panels that soak up the sun’s rays, transferring that power via a mini-USB connection when you need it. If you don’t have the patience for solar power, it can also be precharged using a wall outlet.
In either case, you’ll have handy access to some extra power when you find that your portable device is running a little low. There are many solutions that are similar to the Ecosol PowerStick and the Solio Hybrid Charger, so shop around and be green about it.
Go Smaller If Possible
Assuming that you won’t be doing any heavy photo or video editing during your Christmas feast, you may not need to bring along your full-powered laptop. Sure, the regular MacBook Pro and a Dell XPS m1330 might be fun, but they’re not all that necessary if all you’re doing is some basic web surfing. This is where netbooks come into play.
The MSI Wind U100 is a 10-inch netbook with all the standard doo-dahs, including an Intel Atom processor, 80GB hard drive, integrated webcam, and a 10-inch display. You can surf the Internet over a regular 802.11g Wi-Fi connection or, if you prefer, you can nab the new MSI Wind U120 for some crazy HSDPA action. Naturally, you’ll need a 3G SIM card for that.
Personally, I prefer the overall build quality and design of the Asus Eee PC 1000HA netbook. It’s also got a 10-inch display and Intel Atom, but the version I reviewed was rocking a larger 160GB hard drive to boot. It might take a little while to get used to the smaller keyboard, especially with the right shift key so oddly placed, but you’ll thank me for the bigger hard drive and the better battery life.
Plenty of Cheap Memory for Digital Memories
The holidays are about spending time with loved ones and this means that you may want to capture some of those memories with your digital camera or digital camcorder. It also means that you may not always have your notebook or portable photo bank handy to offload your otherwise overflowing memory card. Flash memory is so cheap these days, so it really costs you very little to pack along a few extra memory cards.
The A-DATA Turbo 266X Compact Flash card shown above is a great value for people shooting with CF-using digital SLRs. The speed is a good thing and it’s available in a number of capacities to suit your needs.
People on the SD and SDHC side of things can easily find a wide range of memory cards as well, some offering as much as 16GB or 32GB of capacity. Nab a couple of these cards and pair it with a consumer-ready point-and-shoot and you’ll never forget that moment where little Timmy decided to bury his face in the mincemeat pie.
Memory cards take up very little room in your bag, so pack along a couple extra cards in case you need the extra space you have your memory card go corrupt on you. That would not be good.
More Last Minute Travel Tips
The holiday season can be a pretty stressful time. You have to put up with increased traffic on the roads, in the malls, and at the airport. You may lose some sleep trying to decide on the perfect gifts for your best friend and your significant other. The last thing you want to happen is to have your travel plans all messed up because you didn’t plan the technological side of things adequately.
While this is certainly not an exhaustive list and it’s not all related to gadgets and technology, here are a few more pointers that come to mind when it comes to holiday travel (or just travel in general).
- Always pack a spare set of clothes in your carry-on
- Never leave your laptop in the checked luggage
- Don’t give airport security any reason to be suspicious
- Keep your important documents (passport, tickets, etc.) on your person
- Digital cameras are safe for the X-ray scanner
- Bring a small laptop mouse for ease of use
- Make sure your rechargeable batteries are actually charged
- Don’t forget your card reader (if your laptop doesn’t have one built-in)
- Double-check that you have all the necessary cables
- Relax! It’s the holidays
Do you have a special holiday travel pointer that you’d like to share? I’m sure the rest of the FutureLooks community would love to hear it. Feel free to share your thoughts through the FutureLooks forum link below.
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