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Is This How to Carry Your Gadgets?
mightypie writes "What's the best way of carrying a Visor Prism, mobile phone, cybertool, digital camera, wallet & keys? I just don't like the vest solution Somebody here must have the solution" That is the most disturbing ad I've seen. Someday my phone/camera/pda/mp3 player will be one tiny happy box. As it stands my solution is baggy pants w/ big pockets.
Weapons
a blessed +1 butterfly knife (alternate weapon; not wielded)
an uncursed +0 mini-axe
an uncursed +0 laser pointer
Armor
an uncursed waterproof +0 Goretex jacket
Comestibles
an uncursed candybar
Tools
an uncursed very expensive digital camera [0:340]
4 uncursed rechargeable AA batteries
an uncursed mini tripod
an uncursed +3 rechargeable flashlight
an uncursed Palm IIIxe PDA
an uncursed Palm III keyboard
2 uncursed AAA batteries
an uncursed cellphone
an uncursed wallet
an uncursed 0.3mm pencil
an uncursed 0.5mm pencil
an uncursed mini-magnifying glass
(Yeah, I really carry all that stuff every day in my backpack. Well, ok, not usually the axe.)
I can't believe I am the only one mentioning and OtterBox
Follow the lead of the mobile telecoms industry: take a crud phone and add an awful PIM.
May not do the job, but it sure helps keep the trousers up.
Yup. And if you want to be an ultra carpenter, or auto mechanic, or plumber, don't carry any tools. Use whatever is knocking around in your client's garage.
This is ridiculous. Go into any situation prepared for all likely eventualities. The tools you carry make you more flexible, and therefore more valuable. I feel naked without my Leatherman...I don't use it every day, but when I need it, I NEED IT. Same thing with my Palm Pilot. I use it as a swap file for my brain. Man's major evolutionary accomplishment is that s/he has figured out how to use tools to make his environment more suitable. Turning your back on this fundamental advantage for an aesthetic consideration is absolutely laughable.
Why yes, I AM a rocket scientist!
So they finally agreed to put in the Mountain Dew Camelbak? Excellent news! Now I can finally get a look at this "outside" that everyone keeps talking about.
---- El diablo esta en mis pantalones! Mire, mire!
I just couldn't help misreading their ad slogan :^)
My solution is a nice-looking yet deceptively large purse. ...'course, I suppose this is one of those times when it helps to be female.
"The Crystal Wind is the Storm, and the Storm is Data, and the Data is Life"
Is it me, or did someone just find a great way to get free advertising on /. ?
(i.e., say you don't like a product (yours), and provide a link - someone out there will like it!)
I mean, it's obvious.
Even if you only need room for a sonic screwdriver, a bag of jelly babies, and a key to the TARDIS.
--Blair
You know that strap across the chest with all the shotgun shells? Wouldn't that be perfect?
You could have loops of various sizes (or preferably with velcro to size them yourself). They loops should have some kind of elastic strap that is rubber-coated to keep things in place. Or a series of pockets.
Or, something like the shoulder holsters that law enforcement uses. You could wear it beneath a jacket and no one would be able to peg you for a geek. Just be sure not to reach for your pager when the cops pull you over.
- JoeShmoe
-- I wonder which will go down in history as the bigger failure: the War on Drugs or the War on Filesharing
By the way, I can't imagine that wearing one of these would be better than the vest solution you mention... but at least it exists.
Please buy one, so we can all laugh at you.
All pockets are comfortable and fairly large. The side cargo pockets can accomodate a few small items like a PDA to large items such as your favorite beverage (each pocket can easily hold 12oz 3 cans). The pockets are sewen in a way that allows you to leave the forward buttons unbuttoned to easily slip items in and out without fear of them slipping out on their own.
I tend to like the stereotypical black BDU, but you can get them in a number of other solid colors which don't stand out as much as the numerous cammo varients. You can get different "weights" - usually summer and winter. I prefer the lighter summer weights as they breath well and are even comfortable in the humid southern US. A cotton and polyester blend avoids fading as much as 100% cotton (which fades and wears fairly quickly). Otherwise, BDU pants are very well constructed and will take a good beating (although you have to take some scissors and de-string all the loose sewing threads).
There are two problems with BDU pants. First, your items don't have much protection. You have to keep that in mind as you sit in a tight chair, lie down, or otherwise squeeze between things.
The second issue is fashion. BDU pants won't be acceptable in more strict environments. However, they do look fine with both T-Shirts and polo shirts.
I sewed a huge segment of velcro onto the left sleeve of my jacket and a couple of informal shirts. I originally tried the self-adhesive velcro, but that stuff tends not to handle the washing machine very well. Anyway, the velcro is all along my forearm, and I used the self-adhesive stuff on the back of my Mako, Palm3C, and Jornada, as well as a few remote controls and my walkman. It looks a little odd, but I can do one-handed tasks very easily on my arm, and I always have whatever's on my velcro shirt scrolling weather, reminders, whatever. I'm planning to get a blackberry so I can have constant stock updates on my arm. I could just get a watch with text-messaging, but I hate the tiny screens.
I'm the stranger...posting to
If you want the ultimate computer geekware, let me clue you in. NOTHING. No phone, no PDA, no other crap. A real geek doesn't need toys. Wherever he goes, people hand him THEIR toys, all he needs is his mind. And besides, a real pro wants to be SHIELDED from all the annoying calls, pages, etc.
I have often tested this principle when I do consulting gigs. I call it the "Naked Consultant Game." Whenever possible, I go in to the site carrying nothing but a pencil. Occasionally a client will be puzzled, asking where's my phone, laptop, etc. I ask them if they want me to fix their stuff, or if they'd rather look at a bunch of cheap plastic toys. I tell them I'd gladly carry a bunch of crap to gawk at, but it will cost them extra, and take me longer to get onsite carrying all that crap.
See the new Dockers "mobile pant". According to the company, "The Mobile Pant is keeping in step with the needs of men and their high-tech, mobile lifestyle by providing them with a stylish way of carrying the tools of their trade." I'm not sure you can fit a textbook in them though. And apparently they are only for men. I guess women do not have a "high-tech mobile lifestyle."
...Now these are vests!
Yup. Pouches for everything you could ever need and then some. Palm? Check. Phone? Check. Nerf-dart gun? Check. Junk food? Check.
Best of all, you're ready to go in case you have an issue with the accounting department regading your IRS withholding taxes and such! Err, that is, out the door, not to switch with a Glock and scads of clips....
Greetings!
During my last trip to Europe I resolved that I wouldn't take my Compaq notebook (it's a light machine but it requires carrying an extra bag). As an experiment, I tried taking with me only the following:
This was a 2-week trip. During this time, I scheduled things so that I didn't have to look at e-mail every single day. Added a vacation e-mail auto-reply just in case. Any notes that I might've needed for the duration of the trip were downloaded to the Palm as Memo documents (no extraneous formatting).
I carried all these things in the external zippered pockets of my traveling leather jacket:
I had excellent results. During the trip I had the option of connecting with the Palm and sending quick replies, or heading to an Internet café, install a copy of SSH, check my e-mail and optionally review documents on my server(s), etc. Not carrying a lot of stuff, and having a device with only limited capabilities allowed me to be more productive about what I was doing during the trip. I only had my carry-on bag with 2 weeks worth of clothes, so I was in-and-out of every airport I visited (SFO, DeGaulle, Frankfort, Sheremetyevo, Cheboksari, and Toronto [I can't remember its name]) in less than 20 minutes, including customs.
I've been traveling for business for 12 years doing consulting and installing the software we produce worldwide. This trip taught me that it's not the quantity of what you carry but the quality and the planning what count. It was the first trip without my laptop/notebook since 1992.
The hardest part was synchronizing all the materials I produced while I was gone with the rest of the work at the company. It took a lot of cutting and pasting and a couple of revisions.
This experiment was an extension to my habit of not carrying a mobile phone. I own one but I don't even know the number, and I only carry it when I think I may have to call someone that I couldn't reach at any other time. I used to carry my phone at all times and spend lots of time using it. I realized then that my time is very precious and so is my customers's. No phone calls at all times means no interruptions while I'm taking care of business, dining out with my friends, at the movies or theatre, etc. I've never lost a deal because I couldn't take a call right that minute. If I'm expecting something critical, then I stay at my office where the phone and all other resources (including people in my staff) are available to take care of business.
Cheers!
Ehttp://eugeneciurana.com | http://ciurana.eu
Here, try this. Go on, I date you.
www.lucernesys.comHorizon: Calendar-based personal finance
Heave to and prepare to be scanned! We've come for your silicon baubles and yer wimmen!
All Troll + "offtopic" mods are meta moderated as "Unfair", because you abused the system.
My preference for a wearable is the good old shoulder holster design. Not very roomy, but wearables should be small and lightweight. Wireless networking, CF Microdrive, Twiddler keyboard, and finally this amazing thing for display (this guy fits a HMD into normal sunglasses, and it looks 100% cool!!)
There is absolutely no reason to panic.
Well, if the Batman utility belt isn't an acceptable option, you'll just have to rely on a faithful sidekick who can also provide comic relief and draw minority viewers.
I see even classic Slashdot is now pretty much unusable on dial up anymore.
The eHolster is disturbingly similar a weapons harness. Don't be suprised if somebody addresses you as "officer".
Damn right. I'm no tailor, however, I am big into costuming (Rocky Horror, the SCA, Cosplay, etc). My "trenchcoat of holding" is legendary - an Adolpho trench modified to carry even very heavy objects with loops, buttons, huge internal pockets, etc. At Anime Festival Orlando, in addition to the usual con equipment - first aid kit, toolkit, Palm, journal, two sandwiches, several Three Musketeers bars etc, I carried a large bottle of Skyy Vodka, a decent sized bottle of Tullimore Dew, Cuervo Gold, and a canister containing the five Thinkgeek shot glasses. Nobody guessed I had anything in the trench as I walked around the con. I walked around with no weight or "sag" problem, thanks to a nice over the shoulder, around the neck webbing system that displaces weight.
I want to add a laptop, but the "flat and wide" dimensions creates a problem with making it hideable under the fabric - and the Picturebook, etc, seem to lack enough usefulness to justify buying one. When HMDs become decent (I have a Glasstron right now), I will probably use it, but attached to a laptop in my trench - I want a usable keyboard, dammit.
--
Evan
"$30 for the One True Ring. $10 each additional ring!" -- JRR "Bob" Tolkien
Shit man! Post plans! That would be perfect, and I could probably get my room mate to modify a leather trehcn coat to those specifications. It'd have the additional benefit of pissing off my boss, which is more than enough reason to wear a leather trench coat in the middle of summer...
I'm trying to teach myself to set people on fire with my mind... Is it hot in here?
Well, this female says that the right size purse/shoulder bag is fine. I mean, my teeny wallet/purse will only hold my swiss army knife, palm and tiny cell phone, but it doesn't hold my camera, bottle of excederin, first aid supplies, spare dog cookies, checkbook, book that I'm reading right now, hand lotion, charecter sheet and spell list, waterless hand sanitizer, palm folding heyboard, flashlight, interview tape recorder, small sewing kit, luna bars, bottle of water, pack of tissues or CDs I'm going to listen to at work. So unless I'm just going out for a specific time and goals, I carry my larger purse, big black bag or backpack.
If you've got a bunch of stuff you need to carry, get a satchel, fanny pack, shoulder bag, backpack, sporanz or whatever you can wear without feeling that your masculinity is threatened. Or that vest could be cool when it isn't super hot out and you don't have to wear business wear.
Kahuna Burger
...will work for Chick tracts...
Okay... This seems to have struck enough of a chord to make it worth it to make a web page about it. I don't have my digital camera right now, but in the next few weeks, I'll take pictures and put together a site.
I'll submit it to /. when done - hopefully it will at least show up as a quickie.
As a quick and simple description, big, oversized buttons and gadget loops are your friends; every internal pocket should have horizontal elastic straps above it so oversized (long) items can be snapped into place (displacing weight), and the best bit was figuring out that nylon webbing (about an inch and a half, two inches wide) reinforcing across the interior keeps it looking like there are heavy items "sagging" pockets. Attach the nylon straps to a loop going around the back of the neck and to the armpits (of the trench, not *your* armpits, dummy). Both those locations can take weight without (and I'm no tailor, so don't flame me for misusing this phrase) disturbing the cut of the trench.
Also, leave the waist down alone, and when you walk at a decent clip, the top stays closed (as it has weight), and the bottom flares open.
Thinking about it, it's sorta like a backpack, only you're on the inside. Oh - and I tried using spring clips like the kind that some laptop bags have sewn in to keep you keys on... and they always dropped stuff.
The biggest downside is you can't just toss your trench into the corner, and you wind up learning to pick it up by searching for the collar and lifting from there, rather than grabbing any part and picking it up.
--
Evan
"$30 for the One True Ring. $10 each additional ring!" -- JRR "Bob" Tolkien
Hey, if I'm out sailing, the last thing I want to be thinking about is work.
Long ago, before laptops and even cellular phones were available, I recall going out to the beach in Malibu with my girlfriend. I described to her how in only a few short years, I'd be able to do all my work from the beach with a laptop and a cel phone, and I'd rarely have to go into the office again. She totally stunned me with her response. She said, "you're always talking about how stressed out you are from work, and now here you are at the beach sitting next to a woman in a bikini and you're talking about bringing your work with you! Shut UP and let's go swimming!" So we did. And I've never forgotten what she said. She changed my attitude about work permanently.
I thought that they were issuing all those things in a Casio watch. Oh wait.. this is not James Bond...
The problem is walking around in public giving the appearance that yer totin' ammunition...
Given today's climate and recent events, if I wuz getting a Big Mac or mailin' a letter and you walked in wearing one, I might jest hit the deck and return fire.
Now, I'd feel bad about killin' yer Palm Pilot when I filled you full o'lead. But me feelin' bad wouldn't matter. The durn thing still wouldn't boot after havin' it's BIOS flashed with a .45 slug.
He put his boots up on the table and made a face. "The sig," he smirked. "You can waste your life in search of the sig."
As it stands my solution is baggy pants w/ big pockets.
Well, Rob, I can see precisely one flaw in your solution:
Best Buy Security Guard: Excuse me, sir. I'd like a word with you.
Rob Malda: Me?
Best Buy Security Guard: Yes, you. Please empty out your pockets onto this table.
Rob Malda: Okay. [empties them out]
Best Buy Security Guard: Uh-huh. A Visor Prism, an iPaq, two cell phones, a pager, a 256MB CompactFlash card, and a package of AA batteries.
Rob Malda: But they're mine!
Best Buy Security Guard: You were hoping they'd be yours.
Rob Malda: No, they're really mine! I bought them! Well, in actual fact, I didn't buy them--
Best Buy Security Guard: Now we're getting somewhere.
Rob Malda No, no! My employer, Andover.Net -- uhh, make that VA Linux -- bought them for me!
Best Buy Security Guard: Can't even keep your story straight, eh, sonny?
Rob Malda: Don't you know who I am? I'm Commander Taco! Haven't you ever heard of Dave Barry?!
Best Buy Security Guard: Uh-huh. Sit here until the real police arrive...
http://www.scottevest.com/