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Worldwide Mac: the dos and don'ts of international electricity

Whether you're moving to another country or just visiting, chances are pretty good you're going to be bringing a lot of electronics with you. Chances are also pretty good that whatever country you're going to is going to have an electrical system with a different voltage or frequency than your home country, and probably differently-shaped outlets, too.

When traveling abroad, this vast array of voltages, frequencies, and plug types can be confusing, and whether you're packing a $200 iPod nano or a $2000 MacBook Pro, it can lead to a great deal of trepidation as well. The traveling geek's worst nightmare goes like this: you plug your very expensive, potentially irreplaceable electronics into some weird Romanian outlet, and suddenly sparks start flying. You try to unplug your precious device as quickly as you can, but the damage is done -- with a whiff of ozone, hundreds or thousands of dollars worth of equipment has just become a glorified brick.

Happily, most modern electronics shouldn't experience this issue, and that includes all recent Macs and iPod/iPhone power adapters. Here are a few dos and don'ts when it comes to international electricity.

Continue readingWorldwide Mac: the dos and don'ts of international electricity

Filed under: Hardware, Peripherals, Hacks, Tips and tricks, Odds and ends, Mods

Use your Apple power adapter duck with other adapters



macosxhints brings us another juicy tid-bit of information, this time pertaining to a sneaky way to save space when packing all your electronics for a trip. When I travel for more than a few days, I pack 3 power-bricks that all use the same standard two pronged power interface that is so common with consumer electronics. Rogue Monk figured out that the Apple power duck (no, I'm not sure if thats the technical term, but it works for me), that little adapter head with the flip out metal tabs that you find on your iPod adapter, 'Book adapter, and Airport Express will fit in this standard plug. Now, I'm not sure what one does if they want to use more than one of the adapters they packed at a time, but it's a cool idea none-the-less.

Tip of the Day

To get an instant map to any address, just go to your Address Book and right click on the address field of any one of your contacts and select "Map Of." The address will then be revealed in Google Maps on Safari. You can do the same if a data detector determines there is an address in an e-mail in Mail.


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