1. If you are traveling and need a file that's at the office or on your computer at home, a tool called FileEx lets you access up to 5 computers over the Internet. You never have to be without your important data. 

2. Acoustic couplers allow you to connect a modem to virtually any telephone and let you send and receive faxes, transmit data, check email, or access on-line services with your portable or notebook computer wherever your travels may take you. Utilizing advanced signal processing technology, acoustic couplers can interface with telephone systems when no direct connection is available. Typical examples of these are payphones and hard-wired phones. Acoustic couplers usually attach to the handset of a phone using suction cups and Velcro straps and are plugged into the LINE jack of the modem. A good acoustic coupler will have a signal level switch that allows you adjust signal levels to suit the telephone line condition and type of telephone you are using. 

3. In preparation for airport security checks, use the 'suspend' mode (Windows) as an alternative to making sure your battery has enough power to boot up. Activate the suspend mode the last time you use your laptop before going to the airport. It will restart quickly and consume almost no battery power, leaving the maximum battery charge if you want to work during the flight. (for Mac users, it is the 'sleep' mode). When you go through airport security, you may be asked to turn your laptop on. Make sure your battery has enough power left to avoid delays. The process may also be sped up by booting from a floppy diskette.

4. X-ray machines at airports are not a threat to your laptop's hard-drive or floppy disks. However, the security checkpoint conveyer belt is a target for thieves who watch for unattended equipment passing through the x-ray machines. As a result you may want to have a security guard hand check your machine rather than putting it through the conveyer. 

5. When planning a business trip, find a hotel that has high-speed Internet connections in the guest and conference rooms. STSN provides travelers with an easy to use connection that lets them tap into their office networks with a broadband 'always on' connection. STSN is in over 400 hotels worldwide (locater at www.STSN.com). The daily charge in the USA of $9.95 is actually a real deal for road warriors when you consider hotel phone costs, company 'toll free' line costs and the added productivity while on the road. 

6. Converters and transformers are electric conversion products that enable safe operation of electric devices in foreign countries. Electric devices that are designed for use with 110V systems require foreign 220V current to be 'stepped-down.' Devices that are designed for use with 220V systems require foreign 110V current to be 'stepped-up'. The choice between a converter or a transformer depends on several things. 
First, is your device an electric appliance with a high power heating element or mechanical motor such as a hair dryer or iron? If you are using an electric appliance, you need a converter. Or is your device electronic, using electronic chips or circuits, such as a computer, printer or VCR? If you are using an electronic device, you need a transformer.
When in doubt about the type of device, use a transformer. Both electric appliances and electronic devices work with a transformer, but only electric appliances work with a converter. 
Second, is your use continuous and long-term or is it sporadic and short term?
Transformers are designed for long term, continuous use. Converters are designed to operate for only an hour or two at a time. 

7. If you run Windows 98, Windows ME, or Windows 2000 on your laptop and use a portable drive when traveling, a Windows 98 setting can help speed access to your drives. Right-click your My Computer icon and choose System Properties. Click the Performance Tab, and then click the File System button. Under Removable Disk, check the Enable Write-Behind Caching On All Removable Disk Drives and then click OK twice to exit. This operation tells your laptop to use RAM to speed up access to files on your portable drive. 

8. Pulse Noises/Tax Impulses While Overseas A 'pulse noise' or 'tax impulse' is a pulse - inaudible by the human ear - that is generated by phone companies to meter the length of telephone connections, usually for taxing purposes. Common only in Austria, Belgium, the Czech Republic, Germany, India, Spain and Switzerland, pulse noises can interfere with or interrupt modem communications. The accepted solution for this modem connectivity problem is a tax-impulse or pulse-noise filter, which filters out the offending pulses and preserves the integrity of the modem connection.