Ah, the joys of the open road. Or the open tracks. Or the open skies. You’ve traded in the shackles of a desktop computer for the footloose and fancy-free laptop lifestyle. Whether for business or pleasure, traveling with a laptop opens up new possibilities. But “the road” can be fraught with peril. Here’s some stuff I’ve learned over the almost ten years I’ve been traveling with my laptop.

A good trip begins with preparation at home. My laptop is an extension of my home computer – I can do pretty much the same work on either machine. I work on a project at home, then transfer it to the laptop to work on it on the road. There’s nothing worse than discovering some important file that never got transferred from the desktop the laptop. Have a plan for file synchronization, either through software or “the old fashioned way”. On my Mac, I label with colors the files and folders that I routinely transfer between the desktop and laptop. Whatever works for you.

Protect that expensive laptop. I wince when I see many travelers pull their laptops out of knapsacks and duffel bags at security checkpoints. The poor laptop has been tossed in there with power adaptors, books, cell phones, ski boots, you name it. Get a bag with a protective sleeve.

NEVER check a bag with a laptop in it. NEVER. I fly for a living, and I know what the “bag-smashers” down on the ramp do with luggage.

If you want to use your laptop on a plane, there are only a handful of seats in which to do so comfortably. Any seat in First Class. Bulkhead seats (aft of the partitions between sections). Exit row seats. Think ahead and request these seats when you book the flight. If you end up in any other seat, you may think there is just enough room to compute. That is, until the person in front of you decides to fully recline their seat (in a frightening half-second lurch) for a little siesta. I actually once had my laptop screen sheared off at the hinges by an aggressive snoozer.

Now, this may be more of a pet-peeve, but consider those around you when selecting a DVD to watch on the plane. More than once I’ve seen a small child, eyes and mouth wide open, watching a laptop screen a couple of rows ahead, on which was playing a DVD that, well, wasn’t exactly family fare. Maybe you can save that one for the hotel.

Watching DVDs on your laptop takes quite a toll on your battery, so at your intermediate stop you look for a place to plug in and recharge before the next flight. Where should you look? Look for other laptop users (or cell phone addicts) who have already found an outlet. It’s a great way to meet new people. I have found that most airport power outlets are either invisible behind rows of seats, or great distances from seats, requiring potential chargers to sit on the floor. The outlets are there for one reason, anyway – for the nighttime cleaning crews to plug buffers and vacuums into. Thankfully, some larger airports have dedicated areas where you can sit down, recharge, and even hook up your modem for a quick email check.

Finally, you get to your destination. Remember that laptops don’t like sand. And, despite what you see in commercials, you can’t see a thing on even the best laptop screens in direct sunlight. Plus, your travel partner will take great umbrage in you staring at the screen, when you should be gazing intently at them.

© 2004 Peter F. Zimowski