ibook traveling question
In about 2 weeks I will be traveling to Australia, which is about 22 hour trip for me as I live in NY, USA. It's about a 5 hour flight to LAX (LA airport) and then about another 16 hour flight to Sydney. As you can see it is a very very long flight. I have an 1.33 ghz ibook and an ipod, both which I will be bringing on this long flight, but neither would last me the entire flight. On battery when watching a movie the ibook will only last about 3 hrs and my ipod only lasts, I think, 8 hrs at most. That is only 11 hours out of my 22 hour trip and I do not sleep well on planes, so sleeping is out of the question, hehe. A friend told me that they have power jacks now on some planes so you can plug in your laptop, dvd player, ect. So, i looked into purchasing the inverter or whatever it is that would allow me to plug my ibook or ipod in the plane to allow them to charge/be powered. However, I will be traveling in economy class and I called the airline (Qantas) and they only have the power jacks in first class. Are there any other options for me? Keep in mind I do not want to spend a ton of money (ie- $100, or whatever it costs, for a second ibook battery... which still would only really give me another 3 hrs anyway). If not, I'll just use my devices until they die and then attempt to sleep or maybe bring a book or two as well, hah. Thanks in advance for any help!
-Jordan
-Jordan
Comments
Apart from the travel... I really liked Australia (and New Zealand)
If possible get a different airline, I live in japan with the us military and when you travel China airlines they have normal pulgs and unlimted 11mbs ethernet plugs in all of the classes
Honestly though if this is your first trip it is going to be hell, bring Ibprofen, advil, and if you can drink fast a bottle of wisky. after about 7 round trips to the states(hmm... about 175 hours total) they just fly by. Though I must say I always enjoy watchting businesses men with 3 year old IBM thinkpad laptops say to each other, "man those guys are idiots with (new)Apple laptops, Those don't work with windows wireless networking", always a good laugh.
But just stay away from northwest airlines, the flight atendents look and act like they have not gotton sleep in the past 3 days before you even take off.
Originally posted by Joey
Your only option is really extra batteries... or one of those external battery packs. Another possibility would be if you have any friends that might have an extra battery that they would let you borrow for the trip. That flight is horrible... I actually flew it first class... with the nice big seats that recline all the way back... and even with that 16 hours is unbearable. At least on the way there... you fly to LAX in about 5 hours... then you have that long flight to Sydney... coming back... you have that long flight... you're just happy to be on the ground back in LAX... then you have to get on a plane back to NY.
Apart from the travel... I really liked Australia (and New Zealand)
I just checked the apple website and it's $130 for an extra battery, are there cheaper ones anywhere else? Cuz there is no way I am paying that much for an extra 6 hrs (which is really more like 3 hrs if you're actually using the laptop, hah). Also whats this about an external battery pack... what is it and how much do they go for? Thanks!
-Jordan
Other World Computing has long(er) life, aftermarket batteries but they're no cheaper than OEM.
I've seen external battery packs but they've been mucho expensive (2 or 3 times the price of an OEM). Search for "external notebook battery" on Google for many links.
Edit: Electrovaya has the slimline external batteries that are expensive.
If you want to juice up your iPod, you could always make your own Altoids can battery pack.
You might also be able to recharge during your layover.
--B
maybe a battery from ebay?
Oooh... that's a no-no... unless it's an eBay store with some type of warranty. Lithium Ion batteries lose capacity (down to about 80%) after about 500 full charge cycles. If you buy a used one, you have no idea how much it has been used (and you also have to assume there is a reason someone is getting rid of it)... Also... as the batteries age, they lose capacity as well. Sometimes places will try to dump old stock. If the battery is two to three years old, you'll likely have diminished capacity as well... even if it's new and in it's original packaging.
Originally posted by pwp
when i flew to aus at christmas from the uk that was with quantas. they had recently updated the entertainment system so each seat had games, 8 tv channels, a phone and i cant remember how many radio stations. Its not too bad.
were you in coach or first class?
edit: mac users are sexy so you may be able to seduce the flight attendants into bumping you up to first class where you will have power.
Originally posted by JordanEatWorld
were you in coach or first class?
coach (im guessing thats economy)
Put a couple DVDs onto the actual hard drive. It will save battery life compared to having the optical drive spin the entire time. Use MacTheRipper.
It's too bad their LAN internet service is only on select flights (London -> Tokyo) and not from SF to Tokyo. =(
Originally posted by JordanEatWorld
... or maybe bring a book or two as well...
what a novel idea !! (pun intended)
but really, doesn't anyone READ anymore ????
You can't use the AC plug in the bathroom. I've tried several times and it doesn't work. I think they have some sort of limiter that only lets you draw a small amount of power. I've confirmed with a voltmeter that there was 110VAC on the open socket but when I plugged in my PB adapter there was no action. An iPod charger might work.
I think you can get an external battery pack for the iPod that uses regular alkaline batteries. That might not be too expensive.
For the flight I'd suggest taking along a decongestant like Sudafed. Some people (like me) develop congested sinuses that can take days to recover from. Something about the dry air and low air pressure.
Drink plenty of bottled water, take a walk every hour or so. Reading material is good to have. Bring along ear plugs or noise blocking earbuds or headphones. Cutting down the roar really helps lower your stress, especially on a long flight.
Those are my suggestions based on over 1.4 million flight miles, mostly to Asia.
reg