artsfan

I have read some threads on whether to bring a laptop. D would like to do so in order to upload pix to hers. What does she need to buy in order to plug it in? Yes, I am sure this is a silly question, but it is one to which I don't know the answer.

Robespierre

Take a look at the AC power supply that came with the computer. If it says something like &quot;120v-240v AC&quot; all you need is a <b>plug adapter</b> to mate it to the outlets where you're going.

There are different adapters for UK, EU, and certain other individual countries.

Mary_Fran

The only thing you have to bring is an inexpensive plug adapter, so you can plug into European outlets. You don't need a converter.

artsfan

Great! Thank you so much.

ira

Hi Art,

Schlepping a laptop just to be able to upload pix is contraindicated.

You can buy 512 Mb CF cards for under $40, 1 Gb for under $70, at www.amazon.com.

jmw44

I can't resist, because I'm in the market for a laptop. What kind do you have, do you like it, and how long a battery life do you get? Thanks, J.

Robespierre

I have owned about 10 laptops over the past fifteen years or so, and I've had the best results with an Insight (Samsung), a Fujitsu Lifebook, an H-P, and a Compaq. Sony and Toshiba had the worst battery life, running a little less than two hours lightly loaded.

Take a good look at the new Fujitsu sub-notebooks (small screen, but less than 2 lbs.)

Also, don't overlook the Pocket PC (iPAQ, Dell, Casio) that can take a 4gb CF hard drive for storage. There are hundreds of applications that run on these. I keep all my travel data on one - in my pants pocket.

AnselmAdorne

jmw44, just to add another dimension to your deliberations, we carry a 14-inch Apple iBook on our travels. We have found it rugged, reliable, and easy to use. As for battery life, it seemed to last forever when we first bought it. After 14 months of use, we are now getting about three hours between charges.

As ira points out, there has been spirited debate here on the pros and cons of schlepping laptops on vacation. All I can say is that it works for us--we store information on it before we leave, we keep a journal along the way, we do use it back up our digital photos to CDs, and we hop onto wireless networks whenever we can for e-mail. I suppose we could have moved to a pocket PC, but we're a Mac household (there are two other Macs at home).

Mac make a slightly smaller and lighter version, the 12-inch iBook, which would be even easier to carry about.

One last comment: the June '05 issue of Consumer Reports has a section on laptops. There is an interesting set of charts that show the results of their reader surveys. Toshiba laptops had the fewest number of repairs on laptops purchased between 2000 and 2004, followed by Apple. On tech support, Apple stood head and shoulders above all the others on customer satisfaction.

Anselm

artsfan

Ira, believe me, I have told my d that she would be better off buying a card on Ebay. For whatever reason she doesn't want to do it.

Another question: I just went and bought a plug adapter. Unfortunately, it is for a two-pronged U.S. plug. Do they make them for the three-pronged plug a computer has? If not, will it be bad for the laptop to just plug in the two prongs?

As you can see, I am no electronic genius. ;-)

jbee

artsfan-
I believe I got my plug adapter at Best Buy and it had the 3-plug needed for a laptop. You might also want to check Radio Shack, if that's a possibility.

jbee

Okay... I just thought about this. My laptop plug was only 2-pronged, so I guess my response is useless.

What kind of laptop do you have that has a 3-pronged plug?

artsfan

It's a Dell. Actually, what I've done is use a multi-plug adapter I use here in my kitchen -- it converts a three-plug to a two-plug -- and stick that into the European adapter.

Wasn't that a beautiful piece of prose?

Thanks for all your help, folks.

Wayne

From an old electrical engineer -- your kitchen plug adapter doesn't really &quot;convert&quot; the 3 pin to a 2 pin configuration. What it does, unless you use the customary ground wire that comes with these 3 to 2 plug adapters, is it allows your accesory (PC, camera, whatever) to &quot;float&quot; without grounding and it could possibly result in harm to a device that comes equipped with a 3 prong plug. It (in the extreme) can even result in a shock to the user. My sincere advice is to go to a Radio Shack or similar place where the people should know what you need. Good luck.

DiAblo

Wayne, your advice was good up till...&quot; My sincere advice is to go to a Radio Shack or similar place where the people should know what you need. Good luck.&quot;

Good luck, indeed. Years ago I bought my first computer from Radio Shack because they assured me they could offer me a &quot;certain level of support.&quot;

When we couldn't connect to the internet the folks at IMB said our modum was defective. I called the local Radio Shack and told them, I was passed from person to person to person and, finally, to the manager. A nearly verbatum quote, when I told him what the tech said, was, &quot;All right. Now, can you tell me what a 'modum' is?&quot;

Since then we have our own take on the RS slogan, which should read, &quot;RADIO SHACK,;You've got questions? Hey, good luck with that!&quot;

Even with my limited knowledge, I'd put what I know up against a pimple-faced high schooler behind the Radio Shack counter any time.

Wayne

Well, you will notice that I said Radio Shack is a place where the employees SHOULD be able to help you. I chose that word purposely. Beyond that, it's caveat emptor. But since the question was about electrical connections and DiAblo didn't seem to offer any solutions, I'd still urge you to find someone who understands your problem, hopefully someone who can personally inspect what you have and give sage advice. Good luck.

artsfan

Wayne, thanks for your suggestions. Unfortunately, it was the guy at Radio Shack who advised me to use the kitchen plug adaptor! rotflmao

ahotpoet

You guys are killin me!
Robes will come to the rescue!

Robespierre

<b>Radio Shack: you've got questions -

- we've got blank stares.&quot;</b>

cybertraveler

Hi, I need to weigh in on this one, as I am a woman who loves to take digital pictures, and hates to carry a lot of luggage! When I went on my last trip to Italy with my sister, we both bought the CF cards, which stored about 500 pictures and are about an ounce if that.
I love my laptop, but wouldn't want to lug it around Europe. Have you thought about a Palm? I use the T5, and it's just like a computer. I have all my life information in it, it's compact and I do bring it on all my trips. It's a great reference for all my files, it has an Italian/English dictionary, it stores everyone's addresses and phone numbers, etc. Highly recommended!

mat003

jmw-

(warning: shouting to follow)

Do NOT NOT NOT NOT NOT NOT NOT UNDER NO CIRCUMSTANCES get a GATEWAY computer. They blow.

My college gave us free laptops (not really, because we ended up paying about $5,000 for it as part of tuition, plus computer services which also sucked) and we got Gateway because the founder was an alumna (ae? i? No, i is plural. I think a. ae is female. so confused!)

Okay, anyway, they gave us Gateways. The battery life was decent at first, about three hours; towards the end I was lucky for a full hour. But I had to get it repaired and fixed so many times, it was ridiculous. And, of course, when I lost all my files again and again and again since it kept messing up before I could back things up, I would get very angry and or cry (but only in the privacy of my dorm room).

Lesson of the day: No Gateways. Thanks.

Mat