Sure, you’ve dreamed about it. Strolling along a secluded Caribbean (or Maine) beach. Casting (with perfect form, I might add) into a mountain (or Maine) trout stream. Or just sitting still, letting the warm sun and the quiet wash over you. No phones. No email. No deadlines. No laptop…

DOROTHY, WAKE UP!

Our reliance on tech tools and toys extends into our leisure time as well, and not solely for staying in touch with our businesses and livelihoods. Despite your best intentions, you may find that you need your laptop along after all. Maybe not with you all the time, but at least accessible at the end of the day.

Let’s talk photos. You got that five-megapixel digital camera for Christmas, and you can’t wait to Ansel Adams your way across the “fruited plain”. You’ve followed my advice and purchased larger-capacity memory cards and are happily clicking away at your camera’s highest-quality setting. Unfortunately, you discover that you’ve filled up your memory cards with photos before getting west of Bethel.

Now, you could spend valuable vacation time (and precious battery life) staring at the tiny screen on your camera, trying to discern which photos you can delete to free up space on the memory card. Or, you could download the photos onto your laptop, erase the card, and start afresh.

Remember, when packing for your trip, that you’ll need some way to transfer from the camera/card to your laptop. One way is to use the USB transfer cable that came with your camera. This method is relatively slow. And, since it requires the camera to be on, it uses some more of that precious battery life. A faster way would be to use a memory card reader, connected to the laptop via USB. You can find multi-format readers at your local consumer electronics superstore for as low as $20 - roughly the equivalent of eight gallons of summertime gas. But, I digress.

The fastest (and more expensive) method is a card reader that connects to the laptop via the PCMCIA slot. However, you do it, the ability to quickly discharge the contents of your card(s) and move on to the next “Kodak moment” will make at least the picture-taking part of your vacation more enjoyable.

Finally, before turning in at the end of the day, get in the habit of plugging in all your battery chargers.

© 2005 Peter F. Zimowski