Should You Take Your Laptop On Vacation?

I always take my notebook on vacation (I take my MacBook pretty much everywhere with me). I do not take it primarily to work however, I use it to keep up to date on events back home, instant messaging, social networking, booking/searching for excursions, blogging, dumping photos & buying new songs for my iPod. I don’t trust the public computers that most hotel have, they are restrictive and security can not be verified.

I think it’s always a good idea to take your notebook with you.

I bring my machine with me but not to work on stuff from my 9-5er. I like to keep in touch with family and work on my website, possibly post a little on the blog. That’s a bit of personal time for me after the kids are in bed and my wife is doing the same thing

Hello,

As the two previous commentators noted, not everyone uses a notebook computer for work-related activities, a point which the uncredited author of the news article failed to mention.

I was just in Las Vegas for DEFCON and did not particularly care for it (the location, that is, not the conference—DEFCON is awesome).

There is a nice Italian restaurant at Caesars Palace. I don’t recall the name of it, though.

I would recommend not staying at the Hilton or the Flamingo. I have stayed at both previously, and found the rooms to be of poor quality (old, run-down) with loud air conditioning and poor noise shielding from the outside. If you are a Star Trek fan, it is worth going to the Hilton to see the exhibit, though.

One can see shows in Las Vegas. They are generally of excellent quality and if there is something which sounds of interest, you should go.

If you are interested in the desert ecology and/or wish to see petroglyphs, I would suggest taking a trip out to the Valley of Fire, about an hour’s drive outside of Las Vegas. Keep in mind, though, it will be hot and there is no air conditioning when walking around. I am not sure if there is a tour bus available.

There are other things to do besides gambling in Las Vegas, however, it depends largely on what you want to do.

Regards,

Aryeh Goretsky

Hello Aryeh,
Thank you for stopping by. I’ll give the restaurant at Caesars a try.

I already have some excursions planned that my wife and I want to see around town. I’ve heard of the Valley of Fire and may do that as well. We haven’t booked any shows as of yet. I was going to wait until we got there to see what discount tickets are available.

We are staying at the Stratosphere hotel.

All the best, Ron

Ron I don’t know what price range you’re looking at, but there’s a restaurant called STRINGS that is truly amazing. You won’t need a tie but jeans and a t-shirt aren’t going to get you in either. I’ve paid between 30-50 dollars a person for meals, not including wine(not my thing). I’ve been all over the states and had the pleasure of dining in some great places, but STRINGS has always been the top of my list.
I’m in a different life now, so I haven’t been out there in about 6-7 years but I’ve made about a dozen trips to Vegas over the years. If you’re an art lover, they’ve got some great small studios and galleries. There was a place called Skin Art or Skin Canvas, something like that, that my girlfriend of the time and I visited. It showcases some amazing artwork from tattoo artists around the world. Not just tattoos though, there are a ton of paintings and drawings.
Lastly, in regards to taking your laptop with you? There’s one other concern to be aware of. Customs if you’re traveling outside the country (I thought you mentioned being in the UK at one point), has the right to inspect and intrude into your laptop. At the extreme end, they can take a copy of your hard drive for further review, or they may just run a small spider program looking for unlawful content (terrorism stuff, obvious copywrite infringement (a lime wire icon is a big sign:) and other stuff like that.).
I hope you have a great time and enjoy your stay!

Hello Failtelorn,
I’ve eaten at Strings in Modesto, CA. Good food. Thanks for the other suggestions as well.

PS I live in the US I am a transplant from CA to MO for family reasons.