Vacationers bringing sunscreen...and laptops

Businesses are increasingly catering to laptop-carrying travelers, with those numbers on a huge upswing, according to a recent survey. A recent survey commissioned by Harris Interactive showed 34% of vacationing respondents or their families brought along laptops. And more than half said they would bring their laptop PC on their next vacation. Wireless hotspots popping up all over include: • Nearly 1,000 Holiday Inn hotels in North America; • More than 100 US KOA campgrounds and 85 California state parks; • Eleven commercial airlines that offer or plan to offer Connexion by Boeing(b) in-flight Internet access service, which is currently available on more than 100 routes daily to and from US and international destinations; • Cruise lines such as Carnival, Holland America, Norwegian and Princess; • Grand Canyon and Yellowstone national parks; • Tourist attractions such as Universal CityWalk Hollywood; • More than 6,000 McDonald’s restaurants around the world. Analyst firm IDC estimates that there are likely to be more than 130,000 wireless hotspots worldwide by the end of 2005. Report by David Wilkening