Laptop Travel Tips

Image: Phillip Jarrell

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After 25 years of traveling with portable computers, I have come to a somewhat racy conclusion: Laptops are like lovers. No matter the initial attraction, passions are fleeting. The gorgeous ones always break your heart. You constantly lust for the next great thing. And you remember every one you leave behind.

My first, a Kaypro, was chunky and ugly, but willing. My first true love, a Hyperion, was beautiful, slender, and sexy. But it didn't work out. Actually, it never worked at all. Then brief affairs with dowdy first-generation Compaqs and Tandys; a Datavue, my first notebook; and faster, younger Toshibas, NECs, Sonys, Hewlett-Packards, Zeniths, and Dells. There were ill-fated liaisons with portable Macs and ThinkPads and a doomed affair with a Sharp Actius. It moved like a runway model and sacrificed everything to make the weight. Lately, it's been meaningless hookups with nameless clones that always leave you wanting more.

The good news? Unlike Eliot Spitzer's dalliances, portable computing has consistently gotten cheaper. That Hyperion cost five grand in 1983; today you can get an entry-level laptop for a tenth of the price, and it'll do things you didn't even fantasize about a quarter-century ago.

What else can I tell you about my star-crossed love affair with laptops? Consider these hard-won insights, which will help you make your life with a laptop more productive, less frustrating, more fun, and less painful.

Go for the Gusto
Unlike with desktops, upgrades for laptops are pricey and often require installation by a pro. So buy a new machine with as much memory and hard-drive space as you can afford. And, all things being equal, choose the one with the most USB ports.

Work the Keyboard
I don't understand folks who buy laptops without ever having tested the keyboards. Too many otherwise great portables are ruined by inferior input devices. Keyboards are intensely personal, of course, and no two travelers will like the same one. Before you buy, pay attention to the layout; the size of the board and the keys; and the overall "feel" of the response when you type.

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