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Helpful Hints; Traveling With Your Mac



Author: Jim Hall
Date: January, 1987
Keywords: Air travel flying flight hotel bbs modem travel hints
Text: Air Travel with the Mac Most airlines insure your luggage up to $1200 on flights within the United States. On international flights, it's $100. If you are taking your computer with you, make sure you have sufficient additional insurance in case it is lost or stolen. This is particularly important if you change flights before reaching your destination, and you are not keeping your computer with you as carry-on luggage. The airlines will accept a Macintosh in a carrying bag as carry-on luggage. It fits into the luggage compartments above the seats on most jetliners. It does not fit all the way under the seat. You'll have to straddle your legs around it if the compartments are full when you get on the plane. Always get on the plane as early as possible. These luggage compartments fill quickly. Take any diskettes you have out of your computer bag before it goes through the x-ray machine. X-rays may scramble magnetic media. You may also have to remove the computer from the bag at security checks, so be prepared for that. Modems and Motel Phones Seldom Connect Easily If you plan on staying in a motel room and expect to connect your modem to their phone line, do some checking first. Find out from the motel manager it they have the right kind of connector. If not, find out what they do have. Also, ask him if they charge for local phone calls. Very few motels have telephone connectors like we have in our homes. It's probably for security reasons. Those little plastic connectors are easy to remove. I take the kind of telephone connector box I need and a screwdriver with me when I know I'm going to have to modify theirs. I connect the red and green wires in it to the red and green wires on their phone line. Telephone companies only use the red and green wires. Check with the motel manager before traveling so that you are prepared when you arrive. It's also a good idea to take an electrical extension cord and a surge suppressor with you. An electrical outlet is rarely close to the telephone. An extension cord allows you to put your computer in the most convenient location. A surge suppressor is almost a necessity. Twice I have seen the flash of a telephone pole transformer and then the lights go out in the motel room. One was caused by a traffic accident; the other was just an apparent short circuit. Locating out of town BBS's A good way to find telephone numbers of local bulletin boards when you're out of town is to go to an Apple Computer Store. One of the salesman will usually know of one for Macintosh owners. Once you get on a local bulletin board, there will probably be a list of additional BBS's in the area. One problem with waiting until you arrive to locate a BBS's is that sometimes it takes 24 hours for the Bulletin Board System Operator to log you on as a member. Normally you must be a member before you can access their download files. The best solution is to find out the phone number ahead of time and get logged on as a member before you arrive. Several of the members in our group have phone numbers for BBS's in California that may be helpful to you. Save long distance charges by traveling with your Mac.

Copyright © january, 1987 by Jim Hall


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