Carrying Your IT Equipment With You?

dada21 asks: "As an on-the-go journalist, IT consultant, entrepreneur and blogger, I find myself with way too much stuff. About 5 years ago I started to downsize and cut back to just 2 PCs total (small laptop and PVR desktop), 1 PDA, and 2 cell phones (main and backup). The laptop goes everywhere (doubling as a great GPS center in the vehicle for those long road trips), the PDA does, too. Traveling with all 4 electronic devices is a mess of cables: power/charger, USB, and the like. Everything is light and small but the bulk of all of it adds up. I currently use a Toy Machine messenger bag but it just doesn't work when you're trying to shove a file folder, pen/appointment selection and a day-timer in it. I'll spend the cash, even if it is really expensive, for the convenience, speed and quality for a jack-of-all-bags that can handle the jack-of-all-trades. What bag is the best solution?"

Comments

already covered?

[SecureTheNet]

Granted it wasn't an Ask Slashdot, but this seems to have been discussed here already:

http://slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=06/04/05/1428 256&from=rss

Re:already covered?

[daddymac]

What, no towel?

Why, yes, I do.

[trs9000]

I don't have no purse or nothin in my pockets and I still carry all my IT equipment with me, if you know what I mean.

Twisty Ties

[42Penguins]

As most of the comments so far are of the "how big is YOUR equipment" variety, I'll shoot.

You may be out of luck as far as a jack-of-all-bags. It all depends on how much mobility you want from your mobiles. Can you leave the phone/PDA and its charger close to the wall? Twisty tie the cord on the charger, plugs out for a nice, tight package. Maybe you could invest in retractable cords.
If you have the cash, you could set up "modules" of wires. Need a portable wireless point for the laptop/PDA? Strap the router/power cord/cat5 cable together.

My solution has typically been a compartmentalized cardboard box in the back seat of the car. 1/3 of it for network stuff, 1/3 for power, 1/3 for random widgets. Subdivide into network(PDA,laptop) and different power sources, mix, repeat. YMMV.

Redundant

[lucm]

The laptop goes everywhere [...], the PDA does, too

Why do you need a PDA if you have your laptop with you all the time? If you really, really want a small and clunky GUI for your address book or calendar, I'm sure you can find a PDA emulator somewhere.

Re:Redundant

[Planesdragon]

1: Speed. From walking down the street with everything put away, one can get out a PDA and look up (whatever) faster than stopping, opening the laptop, probably brining it out of hybernation, and launching the application you need.

2: Utility. A modern PDA doubles as either an iPod, a camera, a GPS, or all of the three.

3: Safety. The most expensive PDA on the market is about $400. A geek's laptop is probably anywhere from twice to five times that expensive, and a fair bit harder to fix if broken, to boot. (A replacement PDA screen runs about $50, and Palm at least sells a "one-screen" replacement plan.)

Re:Redundant

[LWATCDR]

A better question is why a PDA when you have a cell phone or in your case two? I use my cell for my appointments, surfing the web, watching tv, and maps, and making calls.
Some of the Sanyo phones even have a good GPS built in. Or you could get a Treo and drop the PDA.

STM

[Achromatic1978]

I'm a big fan of STM bags. I use the Large Loop backpack for my 17" laptop, with enough room to easily store (and organise) pens, wallets, ipod (with headphone hole, cellphone, camcorder, you name it. Plenty of pockets and such, and not just for the sake of them, but with specific purposes, and well built. I've also used their shoulder bags too, with good results.

Mini-Laptop

[rlp]

Have you looked at a mini-laptop - 1/2 way between a laptop and a PDA. For instance, the Toshiba Libretto is about 2 lbs.

Crumpler

[fean]

Well, considering that most people have been recommending everything EXCEPT for bags, here's my $.02...

I have a wonderful backpack that holds my widescreen 15" laptop, my D70 SLR camera, two extra lenses, power adapters, my PSP (even bigger than a PDA), and all the cables I need to hook up any of my electronics to anything else I might find (so many adapters and cables!!!)

I HIGHLY recommend Crumpler Bags... I have one called (IIRC) Brian's Hot Tub, but sadly it doesn't look like it's for sale on their site (they have an australian site too, it might be there).... This bag is so big that when I load it up with everything, my girlfriend honestly couldn't carry it... I've had it for three years, and it's still in great condition, no broken zippers, no ripped fabric...

I'd take a look at the messenger bags they offer, you can't get a higher quality bag, and they're aimed very squarly at people with digital lifestyles.

They have little mini "digits"... they're like padded pockets you can attach to anything (PERFECT for cellphone/mp3 players, anything you need in access to in less than 10 seconds)

Re:Crumpler

[ScuzzMonkey]

Digital lifestyle or no, that site sucks. What is it that online retailers can't get through their heads about making it easy for people to see their stuff, and to give them money for it? As someone else already suggested, I'll be sticking with Tom Bihn.

Targus

[crossmr]

Is there some reason you can't use this? http://www.targus.com/ca/product_details.asp?sku=T CG650

I use this for college and its incredibly roomie and will carry everything. Yes its not hip and european, but it carries a ton of stuff. I easily carry:
Laptop
antec coolign pad
1/2 dozen CDs or so in the slim CD insert
cell phone in the cell phone pouch
USB mouse in the side pouch
water bottle on the side
2 textbooks
a notebook
several network cables
a binder
my lunch
a stapler
a calculator
several pens and pencils
etc
it should easily hold everything.

Re:Redundant, but necessary

[dada21]

You'd be surprised, actually. For me, my laptop is mostly for keeping track of everything I need, while the PDA just doesn't accomplish as much on the tiny screen. My PDA and laptop are very well sync'd (Bluetooth and WiFi), but they both are unique and separate entities. If someone needs to tell me something, I jot it on my PDA and follow-up on my laptop.

My current phone (Samsung t809) works great but it isn't there yet. I'm awaiting the Nokia N80 to arrive to see if I can replace my PDA and phone in one fell swoop. Until then, the laptop is a necessity for about 40% of my work.

Re:If money is no object

[dada21]

Have you considered a man-servant? As the commercials used to say, just Ask Jeeves.

This might sound foolish, but I have, and am actively looking for someone to be my personal assistant. In the old days, businessmen took on younger entrepreneurs to mentor to in exchange for assistant services (don't read into that). From laundry to note-taking to writing thank-you cards, the assistant did a lot.

I looked into hiring a driver/assistant and realized that the cost (US$30,000 a year) would pay for itself quickly. If you bill at a reasonable rate (let's just throw out US$150 per hour), you'd make up their salary in 200 hours, or 4 hours saved a week! VERY well worth it.

That being said, US$30K sounds cheap until you realize that you're also teaching and mentoring and eventually helping them become what you are.

I know you were joking, but it is a great idea that shouldn't be ignored.

Re:Too much redundant junk.

[dada21]

Why do you have both a PDA and pen planner? Why do you have a PDA and laptop if you carry your laptop everywhere you go? Why do you have a phone and PDA when there are convergent solutions from either end? What are you, stupid?

Very good question, and one that I have battled with for years. I was an original Newton MessagePad user with an old brick cell phone and a Compaq luggable (120V powered only).

Laptop: Perfect for handling my server, major e-mail tasks, long term scheduling, CAD, big spreadsheets and databases, and web design.

PDA: Posting to my blogs, reading e-mails quickly, scheduling tasks, to-do list, and viewing data I've entered on my PC.

Pen: I write down notes for other people. I write thank-you notes that I mail after a discussion or a check is written or I learn something new. I may write a note to put with my business card to give to someone. In meetings, a PDA is attracts too much attention but a Day-Timer doesn't. In court, you can't bring electronics in.

I forgot to mention that I bring my D50 camera with 3 lenses with, everywhere I go. In the first 4 months I had it, it paid for itself (sold news-worthy photos to local papers). I also carry a digital voice recorder (my PDA has a terrible mic).

Two cell phones: easy to figure, a cell phone is best as a phone, everything else it does is lame. I'm awaiting the Nokia N80, though.

Make more sense?

Re:Good question

[squiggleslash]

I'm not sure it's necessary. I thought it was around 20 years ago, but then I bought a Compaq Portable 1, and I've never looked back.

The Compaq Portable actually solved most of my problems. It runs all the software I need, and I also carry around a cellular modem (plugs into any AMPS phone, has connectivity throughout the country thanks to the Federally Mandated AMPS mobile phone system) which enables me to dial into my computer system at home and access my files. I use a program called Kermit to transfer files to and from the home PC - the only problem I've noticed is with binary files, sometimes you have to convert them using something called uuencode first before transmitting them. I've been told a package called UUCP might be better for my needs, though it's less secure.

I run a simple BAT script to keep my files at home up to date while I'm on the road.

The Portable runs pretty much everywhere. The screen is excellent and crisp. I can use it on the train (as long as there's a 110V socket around), and I have an invertor to make it work OK when I'm in a hired car. It's only a problem on planes, so far.

I run a bunch of different programs. Probably the best is Borland's Sidekick, which has calender functions and a clock. This means no need to carry around a large personal organizer or a watch.

Best of all, it's small and light. At 28lbs it's usually lighter than the briefcase I use to store my clothes and papers. When you consider it does pretty much everything such that the only other three gadgets I have to carry around are the modem, mobile phone, and a printer (an Epson LX400), you can imagine how much time and effort it saves me.

I can't recommend it enought.

Re:Good question

[Philip K Dickhead]

I really like these "TSR"s. The flexibility they offer, along with programs using Borland .OVL files is nothing short of amazing. This has prevented many of my "diskette" shuffle routines. How does all of this work?

As you may or may not have noticed, a diskette is roughly the size and shape of a piece of bread. And while you pop bread into a toaster, you insert diskettes into your computer's diskette drive. In fact, you'll find that some software even acts much like the common toaster. These programs feature electronic calculators, address books or other tools that you can ``pop up'' on your screen while working in other programs. (Similar to the way your toast might pop up as you finish frying a ham-and-cheese omelette.)
These pop-up programs are referred to as: memory-resident software or terminate-and-stay-resident programs.

TSRs are programs which stay in your computer's random access memory, or RAM. RAM is the temporary memory inside your computer. You see, most IBM and IBM-compatible PCs can't load two programs into memory at the same time. In other words, DOS won't let users simultaneously load two traditional programs, like Lotus 1-2-3 or Microsoft Word. (Lotus Development Corp.'s Lotus 1-2-3 is a spreadsheet, while Microsoft Corp.'s Microsoft Word is a word processing program. Spreadsheets calculate numbers and word processing programs let users create documents.) But unlike regular programs, TSRs can run while you're working in almost any application.

This way, they provided a form of multitasking, or task switching, for users of DOS programs. DOS programs are designed to be used alone, but many people prefer the convenience and efficiency of using two or more programs simultaneously, without first having to quit out of one to load another. TSRs provide this capability. Windows programs are becoming increasingly popular, but many people still use DOS programs primarily or exclusively. And, for Windows users, there are issues surrounding TSRs you should be aware of.

You generally load a TSR through your Autoexec.bat file, a startup file that runs each time you boot your PC. By placing the command that loads the TSR on a line in this file, the TSR will load automatically and be available in whatever other programs you're using.

You pop up a TSR using its hotkey. A hotkey is a key combination, such as CTRL-ALT, that's defined by the particular TSR. You can often change the default hotkey to another combination if it conflicts with your existing application or another TSR.

I hope this is helpful, to those who are eager to follow the recommendation of the previous post!