1. Potential Loss of Your Laptop or Mobile Device
Never bring a laptop along that you aren’t willing to lose, or
have damaged or confiscated. While customs and TSA officials do
not randomly confiscate laptops, the hard truth is that if they
see something about your laptop they don’t like, they can
prevent you from taking it onto the plane. This is more of a
danger on international flights than on domestic ones, but even
so you should pack a tablet or a laptop that you won’t be sorry
to let go of if the situation demands it.
There is a very minute chance that this will even happen
according to both the TSA and customs. The TSA is primarily
interested in scanning your laptop for explosive devices, and
won’t even turn it on. Customs only refers a very small
percentage of travelers to secondary inspection of electronics,
and of those only a very few are subject to laptop searches.
Even so, in the course of traveling, anything could happen to
your devices, and bringing your prize MacBook Pro along for the
ride may not be advisable unless you can readily afford to
replace it.
An iPad or other tablet with a Bluetooth or USB keyboard is a
great option for casual traveling, while a lower-end laptop is
good for a more business-oriented trip. The iPad has a number of
productivity apps that you can use, as do some Android tablets.
Storing important documents and files in the cloud while you are
traveling is advisable just in case your devices are damaged or
stolen. While it would be a disaster to lose your prized tech,
it would be worse to lose the presentation that you’ve traveled
at great expense to deliver. Microsoft has some great tips to
help you prevent theft of your laptop, and how to use Microsoft
Office to protect valuable data. Visit
http://www.microsoft.com/atwork/security/laptopsecurity.aspx
for details.
2. Not Having the Right Bag for the Checkpoint
Make sure your laptop bag is “checkpoint-friendly” according to
the
TSA guidelines. A company
called
Aerovation manufactures bags
specifically to these guidelines that you may want to consider
if you are a frequent traveler.
If you don’t want to spring for a custom bag, make sure you are
buying a bag that has a laptop-only section, keep extra items
like cables out of that laptop-only area, and don’t allow any
metal or pockets there to make it easier to screen the laptop
with an X-ray scanner. The TSA doesn’t endorse any particular
bags or manufacturers, so double-check any bags marketed as
“checkpoint friendly” against the TSA guidelines to make sure
they stack up.
3. Expensive or Nonexistent Airport Wi-Fi
PCWorld recently did extensive, months-long work to rank the
top 20 airports for tech-savvy
travelers. You can find out up-to-the-minute information on your
airport’s Wi-Fi system anywhere in the world through this
interactive map at
Jaunted.com. The catch: you
need to be online to view the map.
If you have an Android phone, this is where setting up a hotspot
comes in handy. Just make sure your hotspot is
password-protected with a robust password and that you are on a
plan with your carrier that allows it. If you find yourself
zooming through airports with expensive Wi-Fi on a regular
basis, the extra charge from your carrier for hotspot use may
just pay for itself.
4. Expensive In-Flight Wi-Fi
You can avoid overpaying for Wi-Fi this holiday season with
bundles from Gogo that range from $14.95 to $19.95, depending on
how many day passes you want to purchase. Gogo covers a number
of airlines, including American Airlines and United. But if you
just purchase a one-shot pass from your airline, it can cost up
to $12 a flight.
If you are looking for free in-flight Wi-Fi access, call your
airline or rental car company in advance to see what promotions
are available. You may qualify for a free in-flight Wi-Fi pass
based on your travel purchases, including parking at the
airport.
5. Having to Turn off Your Laptop or Notebook for Takeoff and
Landing
There’s not much that we can say that this blog post from the
New York Times hasn’t already said about the fact that
regulations that require that you turn off your mobile devices
are based on virtually no actual scientific data. Even so, we
still dutifully turn off our devices when told to for both
takeoff and landing.
There is the fact that you only have to power down for takeoff
and landing, which gives you a break from work and puts those
flying the plane at ease. There is also a 2006 study that shows
there's not enough evidence on either side of the equation to
justify getting rid of the rule; they can’t prove that a cell
phone will take down airplane avionics just as they can’t prove
that it won’t. It’s time for a more current study that can prove
conclusively if mobile devices can interfere with avionics. If
they can, more stringent measures should be taken to isolate
avionics from the ill effects of a device accidentally left
on--and if they do not interfere, the regulations should be
scrapped.
6. Lack of Decent Charging Options
Charging options are limited at best at some airports and
well-hidden under seats that have old chewing gum stuck to the
bottom of them. Charging stations that are offered through
airports could theoretically be used to hack into your
smartphone, so turn it off before plugging it in.
Check out the
iDapt charger, which will let
you charge two separate devices using one plug. You can use it
in your car or at home, eliminating the need for separate
charging accessories. If you need more outlets, check out the
Targus Travel Power Outlets
with surge suppression, which helps protect your tech from dirty
power while offering four separate outlets for your various
devices, one of which could be for your charger.
7. Overpriced Tech Essentials at Airport Stores
Have you ever forgotten a charger or other important accessory
and been forced to buy something at an airport store? If you
have, you’ll already know the importance of checking your bags
twice before you leave to make sure you’ve got everything.
Prices at these shops are not likely to go down since they are
playing to a captive audience.
8. Not Having the Right Power Source for Your Device
You’ll want to pay attention to power adapters and the voltage
of your destination country if you are traveling
internationally. Many European and other nations outside of
North America are on 220 or 240 volt power, which will instantly
fry your device if you try to plug into it. To prevent harming
your precious mobile devices and yourself, research the voltage
of your destination country in advance and ensure that you have
the appropriate adapter for it. If you buy it in your
destination country of choice, you may get a substandard adapter
for an exorbitant price.
9. Hotel Wi-Fi Issues
Make sure you ask when checking in about everything you need to
know about Wi-Fi. Many hotels do not leave this information in
an easy-to-find spot in the room, and calls to the front desk
are much less productive than asking a clerk face-to-face. While
the hotel that doesn’t offer free Wi-Fi is rare, they are still
out there and you should double-check before you book,
especially if your hotel is out of the way or not part of one of
the major chains.
10. Late and Backed Up Public Transit
While many travelers take taxis, a great majority of people will
use local transit and train services in densely populated urban
areas. When public transportation snafus hit, the website
fixmytransport.com allows
European transit users to report issues. It even keeps you
up-to-date on the cleanliness factor of station bathrooms. How
awesome would it be to have a North American version?
11. Charging from your airplane seat
SeatGuru by TripAdvisor offers
travelers a free guide to the kind of power available on your
aircraft. It breaks down the available power ports and
locations, so you can look up the seats you should be booking
for any trip you’re taking that is over a couple of hours in
length. They also recommend power adapters to ensure that your
110-volt device works on the airplane in question.
