According to Targus, their Mobile 70 Universal Auto/Air Adapter (Model APD10US $79.99 MSRP) is compatible with the AAL aircraft listed here: http://www.targus.com/us/downloads/A...patibility.pdf

I have used a similar Targus product, and have found its performance satisfactory.

AA Frequent Flyer, as always, offers excellent advice. I have a laptop but when I travel for leisure, I do not take it with me. I have a 5" screen Mintek portable DVD player that costs less than $100. This size of DVD player is just a little larger than a CD player. It came with a battery, battery charger, and with an adapter (that plugs into a cigarette lighter or powerport. The battery only lasts for 2 or 2 1/2 hours so I try my best to get a seat with a powerport on transatlantic flights. I have watched DVDs for over eight hours straight on many AA flights and have not experienced any problems using AA's powerport and my cheap adapter.

Instead of buying a $100 dedicated-purpose DVD player that duplicates one function of her laptop, she could:

Rip the movies onto the hard drive of the laptop and charge the battery completely before boarding. With any decent battery life at all, she can watch movies all the way over.

No expensive battery. No more expensive adapter. No still more expensive DVD player.

I use this software for ripping: http://www.mrbass.org/dvdrip/

Thank you everyone. I really appreciate your help. I'm going to send this thread to my daughter to give her an idea what she needs to think about.

Yeah, Maire - welcome to our board - ask what time it is and get a dissertation defense on the the subtle aspects of the space time continuum. Just one of the reasons we are so much fun! ;-)

It is fun :)

Ask one poster what time it is, and you get a history of timekeeping.

Ask me, and you get a description of how to build a watch.

For some reason, power ports on planes scare me...

Do we <i> really need </i> to be using any of the energy on a plane for our laptops?

Yes, I know that the electricity is all probably one in different energy cells and such....but the post just made me question someone trying to plug in a 1994 20-lb laptop and shorting out the plane! :O

People with 20-pound 1994 laptops scare me!

For about $50 you can get a 75W APC (brand) inverter from Comp USA.

Thanks ahotpoet. Ilovetotravel--this laptop is only 2 years old, so hopefully it won't be too much for the plane to handle ;)

. . . but it does make me wonder what would have if one tried to plug in the wrong kind of adaptor/inverter/plug that had the wrong kind of volts/watts/batteries, etc.

What would have is that the converter or inverter could fry. The likelihood of your laptop being cooked is somewhat lower. Think of the adapter as a very expensive fuse.

Thanks, Robes.

As I said in my earlier reply, the power will shut down, that's it. Nothing will burn, nothing will fry.

It will just not work. The system is designed to prevent any damage to any &quot;gadget&quot; :-)

Thanks, AA. This is all so confusing for non-tech minded people, like me.

Actually, a blanket statement like that can't be valid in all cases. Unless one has inspected the circuitry in a <i>particular</i> device, it is impossible to tell whether its overvoltage or overcurrent protection is adequate, whether it handles surges and spikes gracefully, and whether it limits its output voltage over a wide variety of conditions.

I have told you what CAN happen. Only a seer or a fool will tell you what WILL happen. Good luck.

<i>p.s.</i> A simple cord connecting your $1500 electronics to a half-assed aircraft power system is no protection at all. Your safest course is to charge up the battery and watch movies from the hard drive, as above.

You are welcome. One of the other uses for this is in the car when I am using my PDA as a GPS,I can keep it powered up the whole trip

An automotive electrical system is the LAST place I'd plug in my iPAQ. Besides, the battery is field-swappable, so with a hot spare, I can run for a day without having to plug it in.