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12.3 Use Your Own Laptop?
In most instances, you are either mandated to use your own laptop or use the computer system provided by the audio-visual team onsite. But if you have the choice,
what should you do?
Advantages of using your own laptop:
• Your presentation format will not be altered in any way
• The videos will run well
• You can use specialized software installed only on your laptop
• You can use your own remote tool if you have one
• You can touch up your presentation until the very last minute
On the other hand:
• You might face connection issues with the audio-visual system (especially if you
use a Mac!) – time will be lost
• More time is lost switching to and from your system (under pressure from
the crowd)
• You cannot use the remote tool provided by the conference
• You have to walk around with your laptop
• You must ensure to have enough battery, or a power cable
You should never underestimate the potential connection issues between your laptop and the audio-visual system. For this reason alone, I always prefer only bringing
a USB stick (plus a backup, physical or “in the cloud”) and use the system provided.
12 Planning