At 07:25 AM 7/19/00 , Dr. Ashley T. Howes PhD wrote:
I'm planning a trip to the USA and will be taking my laptop. Do you more experienced laptop travellers know of any problems in transporting laptops through airports, e.g. can they be placed through xray machines? Can I use my laptop on the plane?, etc.
As I walk down the aisle of the typical commercial plane in the US. I see laptop computers in use on about every 10th seat. Most people are using them for business related purposes, a few are watching DVD's or playing Free Cell.
IOW, they are commonplace on US aircraft.
Sometimes, the cabin attendant will ask people to turn them off during take-off and landing. They will also ask people to turn off their cell-phones at that time. Cell phones seem to have penetrated nearly all of the travelling public in the US.
Many aircraft - probably most of the commercial aircraft - have Air-phones available at every seat. These phones can be used for dial-up access whilst in flight. I have sat as a captive and read the little advertising blurb over and over again, but I've never tried it out since the cost is on the order of £1+ per minute.
Most hotels provide you with some form of dial-up access at no added charge. Additionally, most ISP's in the US provide their customers with an 800 (toll-free) phone number for use when they are traveling. There may or may not be a charge by the ISP for using that service.
If you need it, reliable 56K access can be had for under $10.00 a month with no added fees nor extended contracts.
HTH.
-- George.