NotebookForums.com › Forums › Notebook Manufacturers › Dell Forums › Dell Home (Inspiron, XPS, Studio) › Opinion: Taking a laptop on vacation
New Posts  All Forums:Forum Nav:

Opinion: Taking a laptop on vacation

post #1 of 21
3/31/06 at 11:33am
Thread Starter 
So... going out of town on vacation these next 4 days.....

I'm having trouble thinking of taking my new m170 on vacation with us. My wife doesn't mind, but I'm not sure how secure it would be. I'd be either leaving it in the hotel room, or in the car in the Disney parking lot.

1. Hotel room -- it's offsite (not disney), and I'm fearful of someone stealing it (housekeeping or something).

2. Car -- again fearful of stealing, although disney does have pretty good parking lot security, but mainly concerned about in-the-car heat issues.

Should I just leave the thing at home?
Reply
Reply
post #2 of 21
3/31/06 at 11:38am
Ya, it's vacation...family time. Unless you need to monitor and close positions on the stock market, go no laptop. I just spent 7 days in Cabo no TV or laptop and it was the most relaxing experience!
Reply
Reply
post #3 of 21
3/31/06 at 11:51am
I'd have to agree with Snesley. It's vacation! You'll be at Disney! Unless it's vocational, leave the beast at home.

As far as cleaning staff - I wouldn't be worried. I'm sure the hotel keeps track of who cleans which rooms. It would be foolish for a cleaning staff to steal your laptop, and even if they do I'm sure the hotel would replace it for you.

Heat issues? I've never really heard of any - I doubt the inside of your car gets as hot as the inside of your laptop when you're playing FEAR or Oblivion :P.

If you're really upset, put the laptop in it's bag, then in the trunk. The trunk wouldn't get nearly as hot as the rest of the car - and the only way you're lappy will get stolen is if they theif takes your car! (and if you're worried about THAT, see a Doctor for Paranoia )
Reply
Reply
post #4 of 21
3/31/06 at 12:03pm
I vote for hotel room. Put your notebook in one of your suitcases under a pile of (clean!) clothes.

BTW, I take my 9300 on vacation all the time. It gives the kids a nice screen to watch DVDs on in the car, or the room if the TV show lineup is crap. I use if for GPS navigation with my Delorme Earthmate GPS unit. We all use it to surf the net / check emails BRIEFLY in our motel room, as most places now have free wireless internet (or if not, it's pretty easy to find nearby )

Noody
Reply
Reply
post #5 of 21
3/31/06 at 12:30pm
I took my laptop to Nicaragua and Detroit, in Nicaragua i left it in my grandmother's house or took it to places, and in Detroit I had to take it everywhere with me!
That was good exercise...
Reply
Reply
post #6 of 21
3/31/06 at 12:34pm
I always take mine on vacation. I enable to hard drive password and system password when away from home. At least if someone takes it they can't easily get the data off the hard drive. System password is easy enough to bypass but at least it would slow them down. Hotel should be fine, leave mine in there all the time...and if you're really paranoid leave with front desk. I've done that before too.
Reply
Reply
post #7 of 21
3/31/06 at 2:53pm
The reason we have these laptops is so we can take them wherever we want.

I'm sure it would be fine at the hotel room as long as you don't leave it out in an obvious place. Maybe you can get theft inurance on it...
Reply
Reply
post #8 of 21
3/31/06 at 2:58pm
heh 4 days....i've been travelling all around canada with my xps since this time last year...been through many many hotels with work and i've always just left it setup on the desk in the room...never had a problem...i would recommend you do not leave it in the car in any car park...leave it at the hotel room for sure and leave your machine running password protected to *utilise* the free high speed

enjoy your holiday man
Reply
Reply
post #9 of 21
3/31/06 at 3:31pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by msduncan
So... going out of town on vacation these next 4 days.....

I'm having trouble thinking of taking my new m170 on vacation with us. My wife doesn't mind, but I'm not sure how secure it would be. I'd be either leaving it in the hotel room, or in the car in the Disney parking lot.

1. Hotel room -- it's offsite (not disney), and I'm fearful of someone stealing it (housekeeping or something).

2. Car -- again fearful of stealing, although disney does have pretty good parking lot security, but mainly concerned about in-the-car heat issues.

Should I just leave the thing at home?
everytime i go on vacation i never bring my laptop, since i'm computer consultant i have use it in a lot of hotel and it was always safe but dont bring on vacation even if the wife says yes, it is a bad idea.
Reply
Reply
post #10 of 21
3/31/06 at 3:36pm
some hotels have a safe you can use, however the last one I was at was good size but still wouldn't fit my 17" work laptop. I to would vote hotel room rather than car for multiple reasons.
Reply
Reply
post #11 of 21
3/31/06 at 5:50pm
Well, best thing I can say is make sure your insurance policy covers full cost replacement of you laptop under any circumstances....I have this as an addon policy to my renters insurance....not really expensive (about 3.00 more a month) but it totally covers ANY damage/theft etc, and it also applies while traveling...other than that, enjoy your vacation!
Reply
Reply
post #12 of 21
3/31/06 at 7:04pm
I travel with my notebook all the time, and just leave it in the room. Ask if they have a safe if you're worried about it, or leave it with the front desk as suggested in previous posts.

- Ed
Reply
Reply
post #13 of 21
3/31/06 at 7:15pm
I took mine with me a couple weeks back on vacation. It was nice to have, although the hotel was charging $10 per day for internet access, so I went without. The nearby hotel that offered free WIFI was booked unfortunately.
Reply
Reply
post #14 of 21
3/31/06 at 7:21pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Angry Nude
I vote for hotel room. Put your notebook in one of your suitcases under a pile of (clean!) clothes.

BTW, I take my 9300 on vacation all the time. It gives the kids a nice screen to watch DVDs on in the car, or the room if the TV show lineup is crap. I use if for GPS navigation with my Delorme Earthmate GPS unit. We all use it to surf the net / check emails BRIEFLY in our motel room, as most places now have free wireless internet (or if not, it's pretty easy to find nearby )

Noody

Can using the laptop in the car break the LCD because of the bumps in the road? because mine flickered everytime we went over the bumps in the road.
Reply
Reply
post #15 of 21
3/31/06 at 10:49pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by suddste223
Can using the laptop in the car break the LCD because of the bumps in the road? because mine flickered everytime we went over the bumps in the road.

it's can't be good for it...but if bumps in the road are causing the screen to flicker, i'd be more worried about the hard drive!
Reply
Reply
post #16 of 21
3/31/06 at 11:42pm
I took my 700m with me to jamaica last year. Great for watching movies on the flight. I also used it to jump on someone's wireless network
Reply
Reply
post #17 of 21
4/1/06 at 3:34am
I took mine to a Virginia Beach, great fun that was, webcam from the oceanfront room, tis was sweet. Just hide it very well, and enjoy!
Reply
Reply
post #18 of 21
4/1/06 at 4:14am
I take mine to the hotel while I am working away from home. I always leave the "Do Not Disturb Sign" on the door. I have Never had a problem.
Reply
Reply
post #19 of 21
4/1/06 at 4:50am
Haven't had a problem when I kept mine in a hotel room.

(Then again, I DID leave it in the XPS2 bag, so maybe that helped).
Reply
Reply
post #20 of 21
4/2/06 at 5:01pm
im taking mine to savannah, charleston, and possibly dc next week
Reply
Reply
New Posts  All Forums:Forum Nav:
  Return Home
NotebookForums.com › Forums › Notebook Manufacturers › Dell Forums › Dell Home (Inspiron, XPS, Studio) › Opinion: Taking a laptop on vacation