A friend asked recently how I check email while I travel. When she is home, she downloads emails to her desktop computer. When she travels, she takes a laptop computer and downloads new email files to her laptop. When she returns to her office at the end of the trip, she has trouble keeping her email files in order between her laptop and her desktop.

Several years ago, I consolidated my files into one computer instead of switching back and forth between a desktop and laptop. When I’m in my home town, I plug the computer to a full size screen, keyboard and speakers. When I travel, I take my laptop. Consolidating all my files into one computer minimizes travel related departure and arrival synching and eliminates email issues. And it’s cheaper than having two fully outfitted computers!

Connected to Intenet with mobile phone at Charles de Gaulle airport near Paris

My new Motorola RZR (v3) mobile phone has many features I like. By far my favorite is the ability to connect to the Internet when traveling. It comes in particularly handy at airports that don’t offer free Internet access. I have successfully connected to the Internet using this feature at several U.S. airports including Atlanta, Dulles and West Palm Beach. West Palm Beach offers free Internet access but I wanted to see if I could connect with my mobile phone.

To take advantage of this nifty feature we signed up for the T-Mobile GPRS “World” program which allows unlimited access to the Internet with the cell phone for a flat monthly fee. I tried to connect in South Africa but was unsuccessful. Despite repeated calls for assistance to T-Mobile and more than 4 hours on the phone with them we were never able to figure out why I couldn’t connect.

In between flights at Charles de Gaulle Airport near Paris recently I connected to the Internet using my RZR. I followed the same steps to connect from my laptop computer that I follow in the U.S., using the software that came with the phone. It worked like a charm, easily and quickly. The only down side was that the “World” program only covers the U.S.  Additional fees apply outside the U.S. My short cyber excursion in Paris cost $127!

Hopefully they will come up with a more affordable plan for international access in the future. In the meantime, it’s still great to get online easily to deal with work issues with my mobile phone within the U.S.

Access to the Internet has become a top priority for vacationers

Photo: Intel

Santa Clara, California – Laptops join swimsuits and sunblock at the top of this summer’s packing list for vacationers, according to the “Intel Unwired Travel” survey(1) released recently by Intel Corporation, the well known computer chip maker.

The survey of U.S. adult computer users commissioned by Intel and conducted by Harris Interactive® reveals that approximately four out of 10 (38 percent) respondents or their families have taken their laptops on vacation and more than half (53 percent) are likely to take a laptop on a future vacation(2).

The top three uses of laptops for vacationers aren’t clearly work-related. The most popular uses were checking or sending personal email (79 percent), entertainment (60 percent) and finding information for vacation planning and activities (48 percent).

Consumers have come to rely on the benefits of an on-the-go, unwired lifestyle on a daily basis. When they travel on vacation they seem to desire the same convenience and freedom.

(1) “A Study about Laptops on Vacations,” an Intel-sponsored online omnibus survey conducted by Harris Interactive® in June 2006.

This survey was conducted online by Harris Interactive on behalf of Intel among 2,689 adult computer users (aged 18 and over) within the United States between June 9 and June 13, 2006. Figures for region, age within gender, education, household income and race/ethnicity were weighted where necessary to bring them into line with their actual proportions in the population. The data were also weighted on the basis of amount of time spent using a computer (in hours per week).

With pure probability samples, with 100 percent response rates, it is possible to calculate the probability that the sampling error (but not other sources of error) is not greater than some number. With a pure probability sample of 2,689 adults one could say with a ninety-five percent probability that the overall results have a sampling error of +/- 3 percentage points. Sampling error for the sub-sample of those who have taken a laptop on vacation (n= 1,252) is +/- 4 percentage points. However that does not take other sources of error into account. This online survey is not based on a probability sample and therefore no theoretical sampling error can be calculated.

(2) Fifty-three percent of U.S. adult computer users indicated they are “very likely,” “likely” or “somewhat likely” to take a laptop computer with them on a future vacation.

When selecting office computers for daily use, there is a dilemma between cost and functionality. Non-portable desktops and towers are much less expensive than most laptops. Data capacity on laptop disk systems comes at a pretty price and with today’s data hungry applications, especially audio and video, it can be difficult to configure a laptop that can handle day to day office needs and still be portable enough to take the office with you on the road.

We have used Sony Vaio laptops for years with overall good results. Sony has excellent service that will repair and reload the laptop if it experiences disk problems, which seem to be the real weakness of most laptop systems. Combined with a docking station and some good USB externals, the VAIO premium line combines lightweight functionality with adequate compute power for most of our needs. Especially when traveling to remote areas of Africa in small planes, every ounce was important, but we had to have a laptop to help us process digital photographs and create backups of the huge quantities of images we were collecting.

Later in this series, we will discuss the peripherals that make a laptop really useful as a desktop computer, but the one mandatory item that should be purchased with the laptop is a docking station. Without the ability to use a full size monitor and keyboard while in the office, trying to use a laptop for an office computer can be frustrating.

West Palm Beach

West Palm Beach International and Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International airports offer travelers complimentary WiFi connectivity within the airport. We began writting this note using the Fort Lauderdale- Hollywood International Airport wireless connection.

Although the first attempt failed due to a dropped connection in the departure area, we logged on a second time at the gate to find a stronger connection. Information on the Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport wireless services in Broward County can be found on the Airport’s website at http://www.broward.org/airport/airport_services.htm#seven

West Palm Beach International Airport also offers wireless access to travelers 24 hours a days, seven days a week. Information on the airport and wireless service can be found at the Airport website at http://www.pbia.org/airport/news.aspx?ID=5dc43e68-1d73-4511-8617-06e222a087ba