In article <klknineteen-9A91D2.23322722072008@news.isp.giganews.com>, KLK <klknineteen@interfold.com> wrote:
> WHAT? most laptops I know of travel!
Very interesting read. :)
Just wish there were a NG or somewhere that tips etc could be exchanged.
> If I need more power than I carry - I use a cluster.
If I need more power than I can carry, I cry a lot.
Been thinking of supplementing my MacBooks with a long-life PDA for such occassions.
Now iPhones are too limited on battery life to serve that purpose. iPhones are great for another purpose however, great for a Mac user who wants to be super-organized as regards appointments, and synching every Mac in sight so no matter which of your Macs that you grab, all your files, photos, etc. would be there, except movie clips, they take too much space.
> Maybe you don't hear discussions of 'Book travels is that > they work AS WELL on the road as they do at home. I use my > 'Book in the office, meetings or any room of the house. > I used them for work in hospitals, universities, hotels, > airports and libraries all over the country, and England > and Africa. My son and his wife have their MacBook Pro > and an iBook with them in the UAE and Baghdad, both > apparently working fine.
Wow, you and your family have to be the ultimate road warriors!
What I really miss is the ability to have Internet connectivity from a commercial aircraft from mid-ocean. Few years ago that was available from several oriental airlines and one German airline for an added $25 fee. No US airlines had it however.
Boeing Aircraft controlled the entire system, chopped off support for it a few years ago because not enough people were using the service. grrr
> The worst problems are hardware problems in nowhere like > a broken hinge in Africa or a bad MacBook Pro display > in the UAE. In both cases the machines were still > serviceable but you have to be REAL careful not to make > things worse!
Hmm, one would think those rich a-a-rabs would have supplied a loaner Mac to you ;-)
Guess if the display went out altogether, you might have been able to operate that Mac "headless" via Timbuktu. (remote control software, version 8.7)
I use TB2 quite a bit, when I take an 8-year old "Lombard" powerbook to crime ridden countries, where I can remotely control all my expensive "home" Macs.
Hinge is semi-broken on this old Mac, but I can't kill it much as I try, using it 24/7, even writting these posts with it. This old powerbook has a blazing fast 400MHz CPU in it ;-)
With the following utility, I can turn on any of my home Macs easily, even if those home Macs are battery operated models. (not merely wake them from sleep but turn them on/off)
Use a UK utility named "DssW Power Manager"
http://www.dssw.co.uk/powermanager/
You have to be careful though, because they push it for its energy saving features which I am not interested in.
Awkward GUI interface designed to turn Macs on in schools, laboratories, etc. which I do not use at all.
Instead, I use the "+" symbol to "cut my own" minute-by-minute, day-by-day schedule, which I can remotely change at any time with regular TB2 sessions.
Lets me control my home MacBooks in this fashion:
10:00AM - - - power on (Monday, July 24, 2008) 10:03AM - - - sleep 10:04AM - - - wake up 10:05AM - - - sleep 10:06AM - - - wake up 10:07AM - - - log off 10:08AM - - - shut down completely 11:17AM - - - power on etc., etc.
Adding to PowerManagers capabilities, I also have a hardware/software device named "PowerKey 650", the administrative version from Sophisticated Circuits.
1) Remotely holding down the "Power" button of a badly frozen Intel Mac Mini for 5 seconds by placing an ordinary touch-tone phone call to my house.
...don't ask, if I told you how, I would have to kill you. (just kidding, ask if you want)
2) Turning on/off sprinklers, home security systems, etc.
Security of PowerKey itself is adequate.
I phone my house, then when PowerKey "answers the phone" after a specified number of rings, say two for example, it then "listens" for me to type in a coded string of digits which tell it what to do.
STILL wish there was a NG or forum expressly devoted to operating computers on-the-road, or even a community service type of blog.
