15th May 2001

Headed to the airport? Keep a few things in mind when preparing for security checkpoints. First, make sure your laptop's battery is fully charged. Airport staff will often ask you to start the system. As if Windows weren't threatening enough, this to prove that you haven't turned the innards of you notebook into an explosive or otherwise harmful device. To speed things along, put your laptop in suspend (or sleep) mode before you leave, which allows the computer to start almost instantly. Battery consumption is minimal, and you'll be off and running if you want to use the notebook during your flight. If you use a PC, you might set the computer to boot to DOS from a floppy (booting to DOS lets you avoid waiting for Windows to load). Format a new disk (just make sure to copy system files to the disk when formatting so the computer can boot from the disk). When you finish formatting, pop the disk into the floppy drive, and you're set for a quick, no- frills boot. Your time spent waiting for it too boot up for a quick check should be shortened -- and Windows won't have to load.