Recently, I had to spend an entire five days on the road (doing my “real job” as a Captain for a major airline) without my PowerBook laptop. Why? It was broken. Now, as much as I praise Macintoshes in this space, I have never once claimed that they never break or require repair. So, those of you who were about to gloat – don’t.

Here’s what happened. The “backlight” behind the display, which bounces light around behind the screen to create the bright, sharp picture we PowerBook users have come to enjoy and expect, up and quit. The LCD display still functioned, it was just very dim. Bummer, dude.

An unwritten (well, at least, till now, right here) law of computing is that the level of catastrophic failure is directly proportional to the urgent need for the computing device. Of course, this unwelcome event occurred on the road, just a few days before my big presentation at our monthly MMOOS user group meeting, and on the eve of my many Friday web design and maintenance tasks. Fortunately, my article and column had already been submitted, leaving you, Dear Reader, unaware of my predicament.

Alas, all was not lost. Despite the dim screen, the PowerBook was able to run an external display perfectly. So, I ducked into a nearby Apple Retail Store and they fixed me up with a sweet Apple monitor, and I used the store’s free wireless internet connection to check mail and upload my web work.

So, why pay money at an “Internet Café” when you’re on the road, sans laptop? Just find an Apple Store and use your ISP’s browser-based email access to stay in touch. As an added bonus, especially if you’re a PC person, you can try out a shiny new Mac that hasn’t been emasculated by the blue-shirted Orcs that work at the computer superstore. Double-good!

Another good source of laptop-less internet access is the “Business Center” at your hotel. Many hotels offer free use. Some hotels, however, “give you the business” by charging you exorbitant rates just to sit for a few minutes on their slimy Dell and wade through your spam. Bitter? Me? Come on.

The best thing to do on the road without your PowerBook? Take a walk. Take a nap. Take a shower (please). Or, communicate person-to-person with actual human beings - or Orcs, if that’s all you can find.

© 2006 Peter F. Zimowski