Mobile Computing Tips: Air Travel and Notebooks

Feature: Flying Safely With a Notebook

With heightened security at the nation's airports and in the skies, business travelers are dealing with many new rules and restrictions. The changes begin at the curb--don't leave your car unattended for even a millisecond--and extend all the way to powdered coffee creamers, which some airlines have banned.

How do the new restrictions affect travelers with notebook computers? What can you do to be prepared? For practical advice, we turned to Margaret Ragsdale, senior product manager for Dell Computer's Latitude notebooks and herself a frequent flyer.

Q: If you travel with a computer now, you may be asked to turn it on, even if you put it through the X-ray. Because of this, some travelers might put their computers in Standby or Hibernate modes before leaving for the airport so the machine can be turned on and off quickly at check points. But is a computer more vulnerable to damage in those modes?

A: In theory, if you drop your computer when it's in Standby or Hibernate modes, the risks are about the same as if you dropped the computer when it was completely off. How vulnerable your computer and hard drive are when traveling depends more on the notebook's design. A notebook with a plastic casing, for instance, is more vulnerable to damage than one in a metal casing. The data on your hard drive is usually recoverable, regardless--though you might not like the expense of recovering it.

One advantage of the new Windows XP operating system is the rapid resume from Standby mode. With XP, a computer comes out of Standby almost as quickly as a PDA. That's a great advantage for business travelers.

[Windows XP promises faster resume times from both Standby and Hibernate modes. For business travelers carrying notebooks, though, Standby is the better choice. Standby mode saves open documents and applications in RAM, while Hibernate stores them to the hard drive. As a result, newer computers running Windows XP can resume from Standby mode in 2 or 3 seconds, while the same computer could take 20 to 30 seconds to come out of Hibernation, according to Microsoft. Standby mode draws more battery power than Hibernate, however. Regardless of the mode you choose, remember that airlines request electronics devices be turned off completely before take-off. --Editor]

Q: X-ray machines at airports around the country have been more finely tuned to detect metal objects. Is it safe to put your notebook through the X-ray machines now?

A: I've asked a number of our engineers this question, and they all say the same thing: Not one bit of damage can occur by running your computer through the X-ray, even in international airports.

Q: Airlines are limiting carry-on items to one bag, plus one personal item (which could be a laptop or a purse). The flight attendants' union is calling for passengers to be allowed only one carry-on item, period. Given this, some travelers might be tempted to pack their notebooks into suitcases they check at the gate. Are there risks in that?

A: Absolutely. You never know what happens to your bags after they're checked. They can be lost or stolen, and if you're someone like me who uses their notebook as their desktop computer too, you don't want to be without your data. If you must check your computer, make sure it is in a large, well-padded, hard-shell case designed for computers.

The bottom line: Think of your computer as you would a passport on an international trip--it's best to keep it with you at all times and make sure it is well protected. Use password schemes to prevent others from accessing your data in case the computer is stolen. And by all means, back up the hard drive before you leave. For more on airport security, read "Airport Security Targets Tech Gadgets" from PCWorld.com Senior Writer Tom Spring.

--James A. Martin