It’s a pain hauling around a huge notebook computer in a gigantic bag with a ton of accessories, but I feel like I’m crippled if I don’t have everything that I usually have when I’m at my desktop computer. I usually end up carrying a lot more stuff than I really need, and regretting it. But I’ve narrowed down my on-the-go work bag to a few essential items, and make continued refinements to it.
I have several notebooks, all with different aims, but the one that I use primarily these days is my Acer Aspire Timeline 1810, which is a great netbook - 8GB of RAM, HD screen, fast (Core2 Duo, not Atom) processor, and rated for 8 hours of battery life. It’s just the right size, too, being slightly bigger than the $200-300 netbooks like the Aspire One and the HP variety, but not so big that it qualifies as something to “lug around”. Of course, that’s the most important part of the office kit, but there are a bunch of other essential components.
I’m a bag freak. I love bags. I love searching for the perfect bag to hold things for a particular purpose. I have to restrain myself from buying and trying new bags. It’s freakish, really. So I did a lot of looking before I found and settled on the Tom Binh Ristretto. This bag is virtually flawless. There is room inside for what I want to carry, and compartments that make it convenient enough to get at all of it.
My only complaint about the Ristretto is that I got the Absolute strap - a wonderful stretching material that makes the bag actually feel lighter to carry - but the strap itself doesn’t have rotating clips, so you need to untangle the strap before you wear the bag, which always seems like a nuisance to me. But it’s really a minor complaint for an overall great bag.
I recently replaced my Timeline’s stock charger with the Targus APA6911 Travel Charger, for two reasons. First, the stock charger’s transformer has one of its wires permanently affixed, which makes it difficult to store in the bag, whereas the Targus charger has just the thin, light transformer brick. Second, the Targus charger not only has interchangeable adapter tips for charging different devices, but will charge two devices at the same time. With the right adapter tips (also packed in the bag), I can charge my notebook and my phone or iPad at the same time. (I don’t sync my iPhone or iPad with my notebook, so I’m reluctant to even plug it into one of the USB ports there.)
Speaking of my iPad, I usually back that with me in the back side magazine pocket of the Ristretto. Right now (and I’m still not sure if I want to do anything about this) I’m still using the original iPad, with a Belkin Grip Vue case and a Zagg Invisible Shield, which have save my iPad on more than one occasion. (I sat the iPad accidentally under the leg of my chair, and sat on it, which damaged the shield barely, but would certainly have wrecked the screen without it.) If I upgrade to an iPad 2, I’ll definitely be re-installing an Invisible Shield.
Because the standard stands don’t work well with iPads that are already in cases, and I’m not a fan of the flimsy, if flexible, cases that turn into stands, I have a separate metal iPad stand from Twelve South that folds up and fits into one of my bag’s pen slots. It can prop up the screen easel-like or can lift it slightly to elevate it for the keyboard. This was a total win purchase, as I use the stand all the time. (I am using right now, in fact, to write this post.)
I’ve gone completely bluetooth since I got my iPhone, since I want everything to interoperate and before iOS4.3 it was the only way to tether my notebook. There’s probably another post idea in what I’d like Bluetooth to do that it doesn’t yet, but I’ll save that. Suffice to say that I have an official Apple Bluetooth keyboard that I shove in my bag, so that I can use my iPad to do things like write blog posts, where using the on-screen keyboard is impractical.
The other bluetooth device in my kit is my Microsoft Bluetooth notebook mouse, which I connect to the Timeline with a bluetooth dongle (the notebook’s only real oversight at the price I bought it – no integrated bluetooth). The dongle is just a generic Rocketfish adapter from Best Buy, but it’s one of the low-profile micro-sized ones that you leave plugged in all the time. It’s been doing a great job for both the mouse and tethering with my phone.
Another thing that I find important for my mobile work productivity is having more monitor space. My desktop has five monitors connected, so switching to the notebook leaves me feeling a bit crippled. To offset this, I use software called Maxi Vista to turn my iPad into a second monitor. It does this by connecting to the iPad over the wireless network, so the downside is that if you’re someplace working offline where there’s no wifi, there’s also no second monitor. Also it won’t work if there’s some kind of firewall that prevents devices on the same network from talking to each other. This is the best solution I’ve found so far (since many other better solutions only seem to work on Mac, which doesn’t help me at all), but I’m looking for something that’ll do it over Bluetooth, which would be ideal.
I’ve got a few miscellaneous things in my bag, too. I usually carry my 3M MPro110 projector, which is a pocket-sized projector. I could use this as a second monitor, but really, this thing is a pain to set up, the resolution is low, you need a wall to project onto, the light isn’t very bright, etc. etc. Probably the most troubling thing about the projector is that the wires to connect it are really heavy. That’s probably the best takeaway from this whole post: I’ve done away with as many wires as I can, so that all of the tech I carry has a high tech per pound ratio, rather than having pound and pounds of wires in the bag. So yeah, the projector is mostly for show. As a matter of fact, I’ve never had a practical use for it, although I think that some of the newer models might make a good case for photo projection, or even second monitor via bluetooth or VNC over wifi like the iPad.
I also don’t leave home without my Belkin travel surge protector. The nice thing about this is that it’s got two USB ports that’ll charge my phone and other miscellaneous devices I might be carrying. It’s great for hotel stays or crowded cafes that only have one plug available.
I also carry an AirStash. The AirStash is a rechargeable wifi network router/server that will serve files from an SD card. It creates a wireless hotspot that you can connect to, and lets you share files from its server. It’s useful if you have a camera that uses SD cards and you want to get them into your iPad or netbook. The Timeline has an SD card slot, so it’s not really useful for that, but if the kids want to stream different movies off of an SD card to their iPods when we visit their grandparents’ house where there is no wifi, this is a good solution. I just plug it into the Belkin surge suppressor’s USB ports, and it runs for the whole evening. I haven’t tried it yet, but this also might overcome the problem I was talking about before with needing wireless access to use MaxiVista. Have to try that soon.
My Livescribe Pulse pen is very often in my bag with either the reporter’s notebook or the black ruled journal. This thing is a great way to take meeting notes, recording audio and what I write, and indexing them on the PC later for searching and review. I just picked up a pack of dot-paper sticky notes, which look to be useful in different ways. In all, this pen is very, very handy. Love this gadget.
Not often in my bag, but usually around my neck if not on my head, are my Jaybird bluetooth headphones. These things are great. I can connect to my iPhone with them and listen to any of the music there, with full headset-based controls. It can also take calls with a built-in microphone, so I don’t need one of those ridiculous-looking earpieces. (Although I have one of those, and it has a video camera on it, but I’ll write about that some other time.)
Of course, there are miscellaneous wires and such, but I try to reduce the need for those as much as I can. I’ve got a cable with an iPod adapter on the end for charging those devices, for example. I try to get the ones that reel in so they stay organized.
I usually toss in a pack of gum or mints, a case with my business cards (and to put received business cards into), and a box of my new meet-meme cards.
And finally, I usually carry a tabletop game with me in the bag. Currently, the game is Looney Labs’ Treehouse, using Icehouse Pyramids. It’s fun enough and unique and quick. I’ll keep this one in the bag until I play it a couple of times, then I’ll switch it out for something else. Often this’ll be one of the Fluxx games, like Zombie Fluxx or Martian Fluxx. I’m looking forward to buying my copy of the newly released Pirate Fluxx. Maybe that’ll be the next game I stock.
