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Technology, Ten Tips For A Tech Problem Free Vacation
by Mike Wendland
Heading off for vacation? Here are my top 10 tips for a trouble-free high tech vacation — things to do before you leave and what to do while on vacation to protect and enjoy your gizmos and gadgets: 1. Unplug. Yeah, I know. That’s what you hope to do on your getaway. But give your gadgets a break, too. Unplug your computers and printers. This protects them against power surges or nearby lightning strikes while you’re away. Same with your cable modem, router and wireless hub.
2. Auto-respond your work e-mail and phone. If you use Microsoft Outlook through an exchange server at work, go into options and compose an auto response that tells people you will be out of the office for a while and won’t be answering them. Give them someone at work they can contact in your absence. Do the same with your voice mail at work.
3. Don’t advertise that nobody’s home. Work is one thing. But don’t put a “we’re not here” message on your home phone. Just like piles of mail in the mailbox tell thieves nobody’s home, so can a home answering machine that tells anyone who calls that you’re on vacation. Instead, keep the same recorded message but make sure you have the playback code so you can check for messages from another phone.
4. Pack your chargers. For your cell phone, your camcorder, your digital camera and your iPod. Some people even bring along an extra power strip so you don’t hog all the outlets at your vacation getaway.
5. Stay away from the water. Not you, but your gadgets. I have a friend who bought a camcorder for a Florida vacation. At Sea World, Shamu jumped and he thought he got a great shot of his kid getting splashed. The problem was, so did the camera. It was ruined.
Salt water is the worst for electronic devices. And while a mild fresh water or rain exposure may not be destructive, if your camera gets even a tiny amount of salt water inside, it’s a goner.
6. Hold onto your cameras. Use the straps. I just lost a brand new digital camera. I was taking pictures of the grandkids and one of them ran by and bumped my arm. The camera fell to the cement, shattering the lens and the case. Use the strap that comes with the cameras. Wrap them around your hand or neck.
7. Think storage. Make sure you have a big enough memory card to store all the pictures you take. I’d suggest a minimum of 512 MB to hold around 125 good-quality pictures. A 1GB card holds around 250 images.
The only thing worse than forgetting the charger and running out of juice is not being able to take more pictures because the memory is full. With camcorders, bring along extra miniDV tapes.
8. Bring a laptop For one thing, you can transfer some of those photos to your laptop and free up more memory. But for another, the laptop is great for reviewing the pictures at the end of each day. Create a slide show of the day’s highlights. Looking over the pictures is a great way to pass time on a rainy day. Besides, most resorts and hotels now offer free Internet hookups. If not, a library or Starbucks offers wireless access so you can send family and friends a picture or check e-mail.
9. Bring Ziploc bags for the beach. Sand can cause almost as many problems as water. When you take your iPod and mobile phone and other gizmos to the beach, keep them in those clear bags that can be sealed to protect the outside from getting in. And don’t keep them in the sun for long periods of time.
10. Create a vacation blog. Remember when we used to go over to friend’s homes to see vacation pictures projected on a screen? Now we blog it.
About The Author: Mike Wendland http://www.techtipstoday.com
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The information provided in this article is the express opinion of the author. Exchangenet is not responsible for the content!
Heading off for vacation? Here are my top 10 tips for a trouble-free high tech vacation — things to do before you leave and what to do while on vacation to protect and enjoy your gizmos and gadgets: 1. Unplug. Yeah, I know. That’s what you hope to do on your getaway. But give your gadgets a break, too. Unplug your computers and printers. This protects them against power surges or nearby lightning strikes while you’re away. Same with your cable modem, router and wireless hub.
2. Auto-respond your work e-mail and phone. If you use Microsoft Outlook through an exchange server at work, go into options and compose an auto response that tells people you will be out of the office for a while and won’t be answering them. Give them someone at work they can contact in your absence. Do the same with your voice mail at work.
3. Don’t advertise that nobody’s home. Work is one thing. But don’t put a “we’re not here” message on your home phone. Just like piles of mail in the mailbox tell thieves nobody’s home, so can a home answering machine that tells anyone who calls that you’re on vacation. Instead, keep the same recorded message but make sure you have the playback code so you can check for messages from another phone.
4. Pack your chargers. For your cell phone, your camcorder, your digital camera and your iPod. Some people even bring along an extra power strip so you don’t hog all the outlets at your vacation getaway.
5. Stay away from the water. Not you, but your gadgets. I have a friend who bought a camcorder for a Florida vacation. At Sea World, Shamu jumped and he thought he got a great shot of his kid getting splashed. The problem was, so did the camera. It was ruined.
Salt water is the worst for electronic devices. And while a mild fresh water or rain exposure may not be destructive, if your camera gets even a tiny amount of salt water inside, it’s a goner.
6. Hold onto your cameras. Use the straps. I just lost a brand new digital camera. I was taking pictures of the grandkids and one of them ran by and bumped my arm. The camera fell to the cement, shattering the lens and the case. Use the strap that comes with the cameras. Wrap them around your hand or neck.
7. Think storage. Make sure you have a big enough memory card to store all the pictures you take. I’d suggest a minimum of 512 MB to hold around 125 good-quality pictures. A 1GB card holds around 250 images.
The only thing worse than forgetting the charger and running out of juice is not being able to take more pictures because the memory is full. With camcorders, bring along extra miniDV tapes.
8. Bring a laptop For one thing, you can transfer some of those photos to your laptop and free up more memory. But for another, the laptop is great for reviewing the pictures at the end of each day. Create a slide show of the day’s highlights. Looking over the pictures is a great way to pass time on a rainy day. Besides, most resorts and hotels now offer free Internet hookups. If not, a library or Starbucks offers wireless access so you can send family and friends a picture or check e-mail.
9. Bring Ziploc bags for the beach. Sand can cause almost as many problems as water. When you take your iPod and mobile phone and other gizmos to the beach, keep them in those clear bags that can be sealed to protect the outside from getting in. And don’t keep them in the sun for long periods of time.
10. Create a vacation blog. Remember when we used to go over to friend’s homes to see vacation pictures projected on a screen? Now we blog it.
About The Author: Mike Wendland http://www.techtipstoday.com
These articles on lifestyle and more
Reprint this article free of charge as long as you keep the author's resource box or bio intact and the links active. A copy of the ezine or URL of the page where the article was reprinted emailed to the author would be very much appreciated. technology
Return to the selection of technology
You may want to try these articles on technology
Technology, Japanese Gadgets — Docupen by Tom Takihi Approximately 366 Words
Technology, The Latest Patent Applications: Kernel Of Technological Advancement by Danny Wirken Approximately 1012 Words
Technology, Understanding Support Vector Machines (svms) Classifiers by Danny Wirken Approximately 1008 Words
Technology, A Curious Tale About Solar Panels by Alistair Siddons Approximately 721 Words
Technology, How To Copy Cds by Jeff Clark Approximately 535 Words
Technology, How Do Viruses And Worms Affect Your Computer by Jeff Clark Approximately 471 Words
Technology, A Quick Look At Msn Optimization by Danny Wirken Approximately 1022 Words
You may want to try these websites for additional information
http://www.siliconvalley.com/
http://www.businessweek.com/technology/
http://www.forbes.com/businesstech/
The information provided in this article is the express opinion of the author. Exchangenet is not responsible for the content!
