| Heading off for vacation? Here are my top 10 | | | | exposure may not be destructive, if your |
| tips for a trouble-free high tech vacation - | | | | camera gets even a tiny amount of salt water |
| things to do before you leave and what to do | | | | inside, it's a goner. |
| while on vacation to protect and enjoy your | | | | |
| gizmos and gadgets: | | | | 6. Hold onto your cameras. Use the straps. I |
| | | | just lost a brand new digital camera. I was |
| 1. Unplug. Yeah, I know. That's what you hope | | | | taking pictures of the grandkids and one of |
| to do on your getaway. But give your gadgets | | | | them ran by and bumped my arm. The camera |
| a break, too. Unplug your computers and | | | | fell to the cement, shattering the lens and |
| printers. This protects them against power | | | | the case. Use the strap that comes with the |
| surges or nearby lightning strikes while | | | | cameras. Wrap them around your hand or neck. |
| you're away. Same with your cable modem, | | | | |
| router and wireless hub. | | | | 7. Think storage. Make sure you have a big |
| | | | enough memory card to store all the pictures |
| 2. Auto-respond your work e-mail and phone. | | | | you take. I'd suggest a minimum of 512 MB to |
| If you use Microsoft Outlook through an | | | | hold around 125 good-quality pictures. A 1GB |
| exchange server at work, go into options and | | | | card holds around 250 images. |
| compose an auto response that tells people | | | | |
| you will be out of the office for a while and | | | | The only thing worse than forgetting the |
| won't be answering them. Give them someone at | | | | charger and running out of juice is not being |
| work they can contact in your absence. Do the | | | | able to take more pictures because the memory |
| same with your voice mail at work. | | | | is full. With camcorders, bring along extra |
| | | | miniDV tapes. |
| 3. Don't advertise that nobody's home. Work | | | | |
| is one thing. But don't put a "we're not | | | | 8. Bring a laptop For one thing, you can |
| here" message on your home phone. Just like | | | | transfer some of those photos to your laptop |
| piles of mail in the mailbox tell thieves | | | | and free up more memory. But for another, the |
| nobody's home, so can a home answering | | | | laptop is great for reviewing the pictures at |
| machine that tells anyone who calls that | | | | the end of each day. Create a slide show of |
| you're on vacation. Instead, keep the same | | | | the day's highlights. Looking over the |
| recorded message but make sure you have the | | | | pictures is a great way to pass time on a |
| playback code so you can check for messages | | | | rainy day. Besides, most resorts and hotels |
| from another phone. | | | | now offer free Internet hookups. If not, a |
| | | | library or Starbucks offers wireless access |
| 4. Pack your chargers. For your cell phone, | | | | so you can send family and friends a picture |
| your camcorder, your digital camera and your | | | | or check e-mail. |
| iPod. Some people even bring along an extra | | | | |
| power strip so you don't hog all the outlets | | | | 9. Bring Ziploc bags for the beach. Sand can |
| at your vacation getaway. | | | | cause almost as many problems as water. When |
| | | | you take your iPod and mobile phone and other |
| 5. Stay away from the water. Not you, but | | | | gizmos to the beach, keep them in those clear |
| your gadgets. I have a friend who bought a | | | | bags that can be sealed to protect the |
| camcorder for a Florida vacation. At Sea | | | | outside from getting in. And don't keep them |
| World, Shamu jumped and he thought he got a | | | | in the sun for long periods of time. |
| great shot of his kid getting splashed. The | | | | |
| problem was, so did the camera. It was | | | | 10. Create a vacation blog. Remember when we |
| ruined. | | | | used to go over to friend's homes to see |
| | | | vacation pictures projected on a screen? Now |
| Salt water is the worst for electronic | | | | we blog it. |
| devices. And while a mild fresh water or rain | | | | |