So I'm doing a lot of flying this semester and have finally entered the age of netbooks and Kindles. And here's what I've discovered. While I absolutely adore both my netbook and my Kindle, I've run into a few glitches here and there. I'm sure I'll work out solutions at some point.
1. When you have to fly airlines in which you don't hold membership to the airline lounge, you take your chances that the rest of the airport has: (a) wireless Internet access at all; or, (b) wireless Internet access for a reasonable fee.
2. When you stop off in Canada, you can't access any of your U.S. licensed Internet media (at least things like movies on Netflix) because of regional restrictions on the license.
3. Sometimes even in airline lounges, the Internet capacity isn't good enough to stream audio or vidio files effectively.
4. Gotta love Charlotte Airport with exceptionally strong free Wi-Fi throughout!
5. While Kindles are terrific and I can read all the trashy novels I want whenever and wherever I travel, they are an electronic device and must be switched off during takeoff and landing. Not a limitation with a real book - for all those people who say reading from a Kindle is as close as you can get to reading from a book.
Anyone else want to share electronic travel glitches?
I've run into similar regional problems purchasing DVD's abroad. There have been a few times where I've wanted to get a UK or bi-lingual French DVD, they are clearly marked that they will not play outside the EU.
Posted by: Amy | January 25, 2010 at 09:34 AM
Amy, there are ways to play foreigh DVDs in the US (we lived in Spain for six years and acquired quite a few DVDs we wanted to keep). First, you can buy a DVD player that has been modified to play DVDs from anywhere around the world. They aren't available in most stores, but they are easy to find if you Google a bit. Second, if you have a computer that you aren't using to play US zone DVDs, you can set the regional preference on the computer's DVD player to the European zone so you can play European (but not US zone) DVDs on that player. Finally, I'm pretty sure there's software to bypass the zone limitation on your computer DVD player.
What's interesting is that there is no technical reason DVDs can't play worldwide. In the video era, there were different technical formats in Europe and the US that required different players; this arose more or less organically. In the DVD era, the zones were imposed by fiat as a way to prevent the flow of DVDs from one zone to another. I've always found it an interesting exercise in the prevention of a worldwide market.
Posted by: Ray Campbell | January 25, 2010 at 10:11 AM
Most new DVD players will play all DVDs.
Posted by: JD | January 25, 2010 at 10:42 AM
the "turn it off during take-off and landing" thing reallly threw me.
this winter, i graded all my exams via kindle. i loved not having to lug all the paper with me. (the trees liked it too . . .)
Posted by: rebecca bratspies | January 25, 2010 at 09:26 PM
To avoid the need for hotspots, if traveling a lot I highly recommend mobile broadband. I have a Sprint device that can plug into any computer via the USB port, so I can switch it between computers (as long as I download the Sprint software). It's not cheap, but I probably save money since I no longer have to pay for hotel internet access or for hotspot fees. And I can blog from just about anywhere.
Since I am doing a more serious commute this year (coast to coast), I finally got a smart phone, which means that for some trips I can completely avoid dragging a laptop along. Cutting down on weight is an important concern if you have back problems -- but anyone can benefit from this if you're lugging around a huge casebook. (I like the Palm Pre b/c it has a keyboard, and I don't care that much about apps.)
Natalie Zemon Davis famously had rules for commuting academics (have a real home in both cities, make a travel schedule and keep it, don't treat travel and phone as luxuries but necessities). I would add to that: investing in getting teched up makes commuting more seamless, and time on the road more productive. The most useful equipment: a computer in both cities, a smart phone, and a lightweight netbook for those times you need a laptop while on the road. Add to that a converter that you can plug into an outlet on the plane, at least when you have an upgrade.
Posted by: Mary Dudziak | January 26, 2010 at 09:18 AM
This demonstrates my utter lack of familiarity with airline lounges and membership clubs, but can't you use them at the airport even if your flight is with another carrier? And can you use them with certain credit card programs (or was that Tina Fey commercial lying to me?)?
Also, as an aside. If you don't want to carry the laptop around, then you can use www.gotomypc.com or similar Mac program to access your home computer. Of course this doesnt handle the expense factor Mary brings up. Another (less optimal but cheaper) way to handle this problem is to simply get a starbucks coffee card - they're essentially free (just a prepay debit card) and you get AT&T wifi access in starbucks - of course, many non-chains just have free wifi without the card.
Posted by: Jeff Yates | January 26, 2010 at 01:06 PM
Yes, you can use your own airport lounge even if your flight is with another carrier. Problems I have run into with this are: (a) sometimes the airline you have a membership with doesn't have a lounge in the terminal you need to be in or even in the airport at all if they don't fly out of there; and, (b) sometimes there is a lounge, but its operating hours don't match with those of the airline you are using ie the Continental lounge may be closed at a time when Continental isn't running any flights while other airlines are running flights - although in this scenario sometimes they'll have agreements with other lounges for members to use the other lounges while they're closed. Also, sometimes the lounge I'm signed up with is just too darn far away in a large airport from the gate I'm flying out of to make it worthwhile going there, particularly if I only have an hour or so between flights.
You can get airport lounge membership with certain credit cards, but how many credit cards do you want to sign up for?
Posted by: Jacqueline Lipton | January 26, 2010 at 02:03 PM
Jacqueline,
Thanks for the explanation on lounges - I was genuinely curious. Can these be purchased or how many miles do they usually go for? I ask this, b/c like you, I seem to find myself too often on very long layovers with nowhere quite to sit and no wifi. Sometimes I can use wine bars (i.e. quiet & nice tables), but then I have to keep ordering or they get angry.
Posted by: Jeff Yates | January 26, 2010 at 02:09 PM
As I understand it, most airlines enter into arrangements with a particular credit card company so you sign up for the credit card, pay an annual fee, and part of what you get is membership in the frequent flyer program and airport lounge of the relevant airline. You see people hawking these credit card applications outside the service desks of most airlines at various airports. The Continental version - I use Continental because Cleveland is a Continental hub - is an OK deal and I've been happy with it so far. The only problem is that the trips I'm doing this semester mostly can't be done on Continental. Hence, my dilemma. I have seen people using the mobile broadband devices that Mary mentioned. More and more people seem to have them these days. But I've never investigated the cost. Having the device doesn't automatically get you a comfortable, quiet place to sit at an airport, but at least it gets you wireless access. Then again, one could always get an iPhone or a Blackberry!
Posted by: Jacqueline Lipton | January 26, 2010 at 02:22 PM
I have an iphone and it works well for many purposes - I'm not sure how much real work you could really get done on it though - not with my feeble eyes. It's very handy though.
Posted by: Jeff Yates | January 26, 2010 at 02:26 PM
I fly through Charlotte a lot and I appreciate the free wifi, but fyi it is filtered/censored.
Posted by: Ann Bartow | February 05, 2010 at 11:27 AM