Airport Vampires

[The Madame X]

Are you an Airport Vampire?
Looking for electricity in all the wrong places
By David Wallace

Poet and former Transylvania resident Andrei Codrescu knows a thing or two about vampires. After being stranded without the power he needed to recharge his laptop, he penned a commentary on airport "vampires"—those desperate travelers wandering around in search of an electrical outlet.

Everyone believes their sleek battery-powered electronics will live forever...until a badly-timed dead battery proves as fatal to you as sunlight to Count Dracula.

Most airports were built with few electric outlets—essentially just enough to power the nightly vacuum cleaner or floor polisher—forcing travelers to scramble for those rare and precious spots found under benches or hidden behind agent desks at gates.

Competition can be cut-throat at peak travel times, especially when delays drain both your patience and your batteries.

What you can do to stave off death of laptop:

Independent do-it-yourselfers may pack hand crank rechargers like the Sidewinder or products from Energizer or Black & Decker which can revive your phone, camera or MP3 player using regular AA batteries.

Some travelers pack an extension cord with multiple taps to share the current. And carrying a spare battery for your most critical gear is always a good idea.

Other clues to the mystery of tapping into airport electricity include:

Outlets in airports are farther apart than in homes and offices. So look along interior walls and floors, away from walkways and public spaces.
Ask airline staff if they can locate outlets nearby—they spend more time in gate areas than even you do.
Scout out areas near retail kiosks and stores where refrigerators and lighted signs can lead you to the source.
Consider joining an airline club or the airport hotel lobby if you have a few hours to kill and don't want to sit on the floor.
Go where others are not. When departure lounges are jammed, find other options in the arrival area or baggage claim, if it's not too far away from flight announcements or other services.
So whether you opt for battery or electric power to keep your appliances juiced, you can count on iPass to keep you connected—no need to fight off your neighbors, there's enough Wi-Fi to go around!

Full Article at: http://connect.ipass.com/ms/ms_feat_airportvampire.html