Airline passengers are still being allowed to take carry-on laptops, iPods, cellphones and other electronic gizmos aboard planes.
But in the face of heightened security measures and long lines at airport security checkpoints around the country, some airline people are urging passengers to either leave their laptops at home or pack them in their regular baggage.
Here are some suggestions:
1. Do you really have to take your laptop? If it’s just certain files you need, think about loading them on a small flash drive and taking that with you. When you get to your destination, plug the drive into the USB port of a coworker’s computer or at the hotel business center and do your work there. Alternately, you could e-mail the files to yourself and open them on a borrowed computer at your destination.
2. If you are going to check your laptop as luggage, make sure it is carefully packed. Office supply stores and mailing centers sell sheets of bubble wrap. That will help you’re packing them in a suitcase with your other items. Wedge soft clothing around them to further cushion any shocks and keep them from bouncing around. From a security viewpoint, carrying them with clothes in a regular suitcase is probably the best idea.
3. Consider investing in a new, hard-shelled computer case. Expect to pay $100-$150 from a company like Pelican Case (www.pelican-case.com). If you have a soft computer bag that you will ship with your regular baggage, make sure there’s lots of shock-absorbing foam around the computer. The bubble wrap idea wouldn’t hurt here, either. You should know, some travelers don’t like the idea of checking your computer in any sort of bag because… well, just seeing one of these tells thieves there’s a computer inside.
4. Before shipping your computer, activate the password protection feature so that to even boot up, you need a password. Check your computer’s Help and Support service to learn how to add or change your system password.
5. Pack your chargers in the same bag with your computer and cellphone. Make sure computers and phones are completely off. IPods are not allowed on flights to England. While airplanes say they can be carried on and used on domestic flights, it might be best to stow in in the regular luggage, too, until the security procedures are better defined.