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Contents 1 On The Road - A guide to using technology while traveling 1.1 Before you leave… 1.2 Powering your laptop 1.3 Hotel Internet Connections 1.4 Wireless access at airports, etc. 1.4.1 Finding a Wireless Access Point 1.5 E-mail Issues 1.6 International Travel 1.6.1 Power adapters 1.7 Security 1.8 Miscellaneous

On The Road - A guide to using technology while traveling

If you still have questions regarding your laptop, feel free to contact SAS.
We can check over your laptop before you leave to make sure there aren’t any visible problems.

Before you leave…

Before you head out on the road, you should double check the following:

• Do I have all my documents/presentations on my laptop or some other media?
  

Generally, you will not be able to access your network drives from the road. This means that you will want to have any documents you will need to work on stored either on your laptops c:\ drive or some other removable media such as a USB key or floppy disk.

• Is my battery fully charged?
  

It is a good idea to have a fully charged battery before leaving in order to avoid problems later on such as not being able to find a power outlet, or needing to use the computer in a car or airplane.

• Do I have all the necessary cables and equipment?
  

• Power cable - wall outlet, car adapter, etc
• Ethernet cable – high speed internet connection
• Telephone cord – slows internet connection via modem/phone lines
• External hardware – external hard drives, CDROM, DVD, mouse, etc.
• Audio cables – optional

• Am I familiar with the capabilities of my laptop?
  

We recommend you become familiar with your laptop’s features. This means you should know if your computer has wireless internet support or not. You should also know where the ethernet/modem ports are located.

If you will be using your laptop with a projector, you should become familiar with how to hook it up and use it. Or at least become familiar with the process.

• Can I use remote desktop to connect to my computer back at Michigan Tech?
  

If you have never used remote desktop before, you will need to have SAS help you begin. Otherwise, make sure and write down the IP address (141.219.xxx.xxx) or computer name (compname.admin.mtu.edu) of your desktop computer. If you are unable to find these, call SAS.

• Have I backed up my important data?
  

You should back up your important data that you have on your laptop before going out. Accidents happen. Your laptop may be damaged at the airport or even stolen.

Powering your laptop

Battery life on a laptop computer is limited. Many batteries only run for 1-2 hours or less. You should try to use external power when you can. You might even consider purchasing another battery.

To maximize the battery life on your laptop, you should use most of the power from the battery before recharging. It is nothing to fret about if you need to plug the machine in before it’s fully discharged.

The power cables that come with your laptop do not work in cars. A special “car adapter” or AC/DC power inverter is needed. SAS can help purchase one but they can also be bought at Walmart, OfficeMax, and most places that sell computers.

If you will be traveling international, you may need another special adapter in order to use foreign electrical outlets.
See International Travel.

Hotel Internet Connections

Depending on where you are staying, there may be high speed internet connection available. You can ask the front desk about the availability and cost.

There are 3 types of internet connections:

1. Wireless –fast
   
2. Ethernet -fast
   
3. Dial-up -slow
   

Wireless internet access can only be used by those computers that support it. Many new laptops have this built in. If you are unsure, feel free to ask SAS.

Ethernet is wired form of high speed internet access. Most laptops have a built-in port on either the side or the back of the computer. With this form of access, all you should need to do is plug the cable into your computer.

Dial-up access is achieved via the phone lines. You will need to connect your modem to the telephone jack. Many hotel telephones have a special data port for doing this. You should avoid plugging your computer directly into the wall jack because it might be a digital rather than analog phone line. There are differences in electrical voltage that may fry your computers modem, rendering it seless.

You should have shortcuts for the dial-up numbers. They should either be on the desktop or in the shortcuts folder. If you can’t find them, you will need to create them. Click Start/Accessories/Communications. Then click on “Create a New Connection.” You need to select “Connect to the network at my workplace.” Select “Dial-up Connection.” When asked for a company name, you should type “Merit Long Distance” or “Merit Local”.

Merit Dial-up Phone Numbers:

Local Houghton #: 483-3120

Long Distance #: 1-800-232-3379

This national dial-in service provides access from all 50 states, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands

For more information please visit: http://www.merit.edu/mn/support/remote.html

Wireless access at airports, etc.

Wireless internet access is becoming commonplace throughout the United States. Often places such as airports, hotels, coffee shops,
libraries, etc have wireless networks which can be easily accessed.

Finding a Wireless Access Point

1. Make sure that your laptop is on before you insert the wireless card.
2. With your laptop turned on, you may need to press the ‘Fn’ + ‘F2’ to turn on the wireless capabilities of your computer.
3. On some Dell laptops, doing this might turn on a blue light.
4. Detection of an access point is automatic. If you are within range of a wireless network, a popup in the lower right side of the screen will inform you. You then can either click on the popup or click on the wireless icon. You will be presented with a list of available networks. Some networks may not be accessible to the public. In this case, they may ask for passwords which you won’t have. You will just have to try another.
5. Once you have connected to the wireless network, open a web browser to make sure that you can get into the internet. If you’re able to get to a couple different pages, then you can open up Eudora or whatever e-mail client you use to check your mail. When you are done using wireless internet, make sure you either hit “Fn” + “F2” again, or remove your wireless card. Leaving the wireless transmitter on can significantly increase the time your computer takes to start up.
   

E-mail Issues

E-mail on the road can be tricky sometimes. Often it either works very well or is painfully slow. To access your Michigan Tech
e-mail, you can use a standalone e-mail client such as Eudora, or the web-based Huskymail. http://huskymail.mtu.edu

If you will be using Eudora on the road with a dial-up internet connection, you can make accessing old e-mail quick by manually
fetching attachments before you leave. On laptops, Eudora attachments are stored in c:\eudora_mail\attach. When you open a message
in Eudora, attachments that are smaller than 400K are downloaded into this directory. The attachment is also stored on the e-mail
server as long as the message exists. If you have large attachments to open, you should manually fetch them while you still have a
fast internet connection. Doing this will prevent Eudora from slowing down because of the need to download a large attachment.
Manually fetching the attachment also helps when you need to access attachments when you don’t have an internet connection.

International Travel

There are a few things that international travelers must know. These include GlobalNet phone numbers, specialized power adapters, etc. GlobalNet is a national and international Internet dial-in service that is provided by Merit Networks, Inc. Internet access is available to MTU staff and faculty and is billed via a university account. GlobalNet Service provides users with the ability to dial-in to the Internet from approximately 1,000 U.S. and international locations. Before you leave, make sure you have talked to Telcom if you wish to have this service.

http://www.tc.mtu.edu/data/dataservices/merit/globalnet.htm

Power adapters

In the United States, 120V is the standard voltage. This is not universal however. Some countries use lower, while others use higher.
Find out this information before you leave. You need a special power adapter to make the foreign power source usable. In addition,
the prongs at the end of the power cords may be different as well.

Security

• You should always know where your laptop is. When you are in public places such as the airport, you should never set the laptop down. Never leave it unattended. Laptop theft is real. Thieves are resourceful and clever. Also, pay attention to the people around you, especially when typing passwords. Some people will try to watch you type. Others may use cell phones with cameras to record your logins.
  
• There are security devices available, though these tend to be very weak in terms of protection. The best security is to leave your laptop at home, but this is obviously impractical. The next best thing is to be vigilant and aware at all times.
• If you need to leave your laptop in your car, leave it in the trunk where it is out of sight.
• If you are leaving it in the hotel, use a luggage lock to secure the laptop bag. Then place it out of plain view.
• Save a copy of your purchase receipt – away from the laptop. Copy the serial number, and describe the system on it. In the event that your laptop is stolen, this will aid police / public safety in locating your system.
• Carry your laptop in an “unassuming”, padded bag. This avoids the unwanted attention that a laptop bag or leather briefcase can generate.
• The MTU insurance will not protect you. If you lose your laptop, it will not be covered by the MTU insurance policy, due to our $5000 deductible. It will be your department’s responsibility to replace stolen systems.

Miscellaneous

• Remote Desktop - This is only recommended on the road if you have high speed internet access. See the Remote Desktop
  instructions for more information on its use.
  

• Passwords - Windows Login Password – This is the password you use when you press CTRL-ALT-DEL to login.
  

• ISO Password – This is your Huskymail, Eudora, RoverNet and Merit Dial-up password. This may be different than your Windows Login Password.
  

• Do not use your laptop in direct sunlight. Direct sunlight on your laptop screen will heat up and burn the plasma in the
  display. Avoid using the laptop in direct sunlight.
  

• If your laptop locks completely and/or is doing uncontrollable, strange things, pull the power and the battery. After the power has been stripped, plug the laptop in and try to boot it. If it boots correctly, shut it down, put the battery back in, and boot it again.
  

• When using your laptop in the admin network, you may see a dialogue box telling you it is synchronizing your files. This means that it is taking copies of your files in certain folders on your network drives (such as the H and P drives) and storing them on the local hard drive. This enables you to access some of your network files and settings on the road, edit them, and upon returning to the admin network, the changes will be uploaded to your network drives. It is recommended, however, that if you are working on specific files, you keep a copy on a CD, floppy, or USB key.
  

System Administration Services: (906) 487-3636