www.CostaRicaTicas.com

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If I'm visiting for more than a few days I bring my laptop. I also bring a cable lock to secure it to some furnitue or something sturdy in the room if it won't fit in the safe. I have never heard of any problems with the staff in any of the popular hotels in the gulch but I don't want to provide any temptation either. Most hotels stipulate that guests are responsible for securing their valubles. All of the hotels that I have stayed at have one or more PCs available for use by the guests so, for many, a laptop is not a necessity.

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Women are like beers. I've never had one that I didn't like. Just some that I like more than others! --Western

I too travel with the laptop as well as a portable, exterior antenna given the WiFi signals can be low at the Castillo. I don't know about the other places.

But the larger reason for the laptop is it's DvD capability. It's nice to have for down time in the room. If you don't have a DvD collection, you can still rent from a shop. I have not purchased any DvD's from the street vendors, though have been tempted. Reason: My money says that DvD's of movies currently in the theatre are from some duffus sitting in the theatre with a hand held super 8. *shrug*

I'm hoping that the Amistad has an "S-video" input on their flat screen lcd televisions and I'll transfer the laptop video to the larger screen. What's one more cable?

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"Actual happiness always looks pretty squalid in comparison with the over-compensations for misery. And, of course, stability isn't nearly so spectacular as instability. And being contented has none of the glamour of a good fight against misfortune, none of the picturesqueness of a struggle with temptation, or a fatal overthrow by passion or doubt. Happiness is never grand."
- Aldous Huxley, Brave New World, Ch. 16

S-video, avi and HD connections. You might be a good candidate for a SlingCatcher. Just got one and it works great. You also gonna love the wired connection in every room at La amistad.

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Hit them fast, Hit them hard and NEXT!
A good chica is like a good carpenter - No wood gets wasted!!!

My two cents:

on my last trip to the DelRey my laptop set fully connected on the table in my room for two straight weeks. With one exception untouched unmolested. The exception was an earthquake that shook it way over to one side but not off the table.

My life is not so interesting that I care if the government looks at my computer.


Lee

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PS: DO NOT SEND MONEY!

AMEN, JOsie:

I've sent my letter to Santa already about having both units as I understand one needs both the SlingBox and SlingCatcher in order to do what I need. Appreciate the input! Thanks......

PS: I travel with my own CAT5 cable ...... just in case.....

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"Actual happiness always looks pretty squalid in comparison with the over-compensations for misery. And, of course, stability isn't nearly so spectacular as instability. And being contented has none of the glamour of a good fight against misfortune, none of the picturesqueness of a struggle with temptation, or a fatal overthrow by passion or doubt. Happiness is never grand."
- Aldous Huxley, Brave New World, Ch. 16

Do you need anything besides an "S-video" cable to transfer laptop video to television?

Test, test, test. I have never been able to transfer my T61 Thinkpad video just using the S-video connection. Sound, yes, video, No. Might work for your laptop, but testing it will be the best approach. I normally use another in between piece of hardware connection for presentations at work. Right now, like I mention before, I use the SlingCatcher. I think if you want to transfer video you going to have to test your laptop vs. TV connection until you find the right approach that might work. There are a thousand solutions at your nearest computer store. I use SlingCatcher because of the extra features that come with it.

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Hit them fast, Hit them hard and NEXT!
A good chica is like a good carpenter - No wood gets wasted!!!

The "S-Video" connection is supposed to work for the video, but not the audio. If you want to also transfer the audio, you'll need a seperate cable for that: 1/8" male one end (to plug into the headphone jack of the laptop) and terminating, typically, with two male RCA plugs for connection to the tv. However, anything is possible as it depends on the input side of the TV.

Compound that with the tests that JOsie has run....best to check it out before you leave.

I do not need to connect audio to the tv because I will either use headphones or some outboard speakers I lug around inside the checked bag.

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"Actual happiness always looks pretty squalid in comparison with the over-compensations for misery. And, of course, stability isn't nearly so spectacular as instability. And being contented has none of the glamour of a good fight against misfortune, none of the picturesqueness of a struggle with temptation, or a fatal overthrow by passion or doubt. Happiness is never grand."
- Aldous Huxley, Brave New World, Ch. 16

JOsie.....I just ran the test on my own Dell Inspiron and it wasn't as easy as I thought! It IS doable though: On the desk top, right click and bring up Propeties (providing you're using Windows XP or Vista); select SETTINGS tab; then hit the ADVANCED button; and now it's going to be a bit different for every machine because they all have different video cards, BUT...look around for something that says something like DISPLAYS and there SHOULD be options for the laptop's attached monitor; an outboard computer monitor AND A TELEVISION. You have to fiddle with that TELEVISION setting a bit....but it works....or does on the DELL anyway....(ummm....be sure the S-Video is plugged into both the computer and the television you're trying to make work.....).

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"Actual happiness always looks pretty squalid in comparison with the over-compensations for misery. And, of course, stability isn't nearly so spectacular as instability. And being contented has none of the glamour of a good fight against misfortune, none of the picturesqueness of a struggle with temptation, or a fatal overthrow by passion or doubt. Happiness is never grand."
- Aldous Huxley, Brave New World, Ch. 16

Thanks boys...I'll run some tests and see what I can figure out.

I started using FileVault on my macbook after reading about this a while back. It works great.

Hey Dickslapp, I do the same thing but configure my phone to work through my wireless laptop. No internet jack needed for either.

I take my laptop whenever I travel. Ensure that you take a laptop lock with you as well. In this manner, among other things, I can download my pictures at the end of the day, and free the memory on the card.

That is the primary reason that I do not take nudes. My friends can use their imaginations. I know a guy who was questioned about a girl in a picture. The photo cost him time and money. He prevailed, but the trial was not worth it.