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Hi all, >Your adapter will work fine on 240/50 current, but you'll need plug >converters because the UK and French wall sockets are shaped differently than >those in the US. (Question for European listers: is there a common >plug/socket specification part of the European Union?) You can buy fairly Sort of. There is a so-called Euro-Socket for two-prong plugs, and a variety of standards for grounded outlets. For ungrounded (2 prong) you should be fine everywhere. Shavers use those and, for instance, portable boom-boxes. For grounded connections, most of continental western Europe has compatible systems. For example the power cables that go into the back of desktop computers should be interchangeable. Except the UK, and you mentioned London. The outlets there require plugs that make most Thinkpad power supplies look small and have a built in fuse. The outlets will not let the plug in unless the ground plug is inserted first. My sister used to stick the handle of a (yes, metal) fork into the ground socket of the outlet to get the german style plugs in, and then take out the fork. Sort of defeats the safety that the UK wants, sticking metal objects into the outlet, doesn't it? Anyway, the hassle of that makes me mad that my 2-prong TP701 supply was replaced by a grounded TP501-supply that's a lot harder to find sockets for. My last summer home had no grounded outlets at all (don't ask...), and some cheap hotels just give you one outlet for the shaver in the bathroom... >universal kits for $10-$20 at drugstores, department stores, radio shacks, >etc here, or you can wait until you're there. be careful with the power converters, though. if your supply takes 220-250V, do it, because most of the cheap converters give out nasty current spikes. I fried my zip-drive's power supply in Germany that way. 5 Megs before the really important data was transferred ;( >BTW, when I misplaced my converter last time I was in England I just used >recharged the machine in the bathroom; UK shaver outlets have US-spec >sockets.