Computer Support Travel Kit
I do travel a lot… and like to get as much work done as possible, whether it be in the airport, hotel, or just about anywhere. After all these years of traveling – over 2 million miles and 1500 flights… let me share with you what I’ve finally coalesced on the near perfect travel kit for computers.
All of this fits in the front pocket of my backpack – is easy to use, easy to pack up, and makes for a consistently successful work environment for me.
Of course I have other stuff for in-flight entertainment, like my Amazon Kindle2 for reading, my iPhone 3GS for music and watching movies, and my wonderful Dr. Dre Noise Canceling Headphones. Those all go in the larger section of my backpack with my MacBookPro 13″ Unibody laptop.
The below travel kit is the ’supporting stuff’ that makes working away from home and office ‘work’. After many attempts at finding the ‘just right’ bag for hauling stuff around I finally have ended up with a neoprene bag made for carrying charger bricks… I use it as a place to house most of this kit in one place. Easy to pickup – use – and put back.
Enclosed in that kit are the following items – tucked into one of the six soft pockets of the bag.
AT&T USB Connect 881 – this 3G device lets me get Internet connection even when there is no WiFi available. As long as there is Digital Cell service – I can get on the ‘net’. 
Syncharger Dual cable – allows for me to charge USB powered devices, my iPhone and also sync my iPhone when needed. 
Spare Cat5 Cable to connect either wired Ethernet, or the Apple Extreme to be able to share wired Internet wirelessly.
DisplayPort to VGA adapter so I can project my Mac to a TV or LCD projector when needed.
APC 4-port USB port – so I can have multiple USB devices all sharing a single USB port – Small and compact. 
Two Zio Shorty USB cables – one to ‘mini’ port and one extension. 
Apple 45w Power supply for MacBookPro – with ’stub’ power so I don’t need another power cord.
Apple AirPort Extreme N - supports 802.11n and allows me to ’share’ wirelessly wired connection. Great for running Skype or a SIP phone on the iPhone when overseas – and have multiple computers share a single hotel Internet connection. Invaluable! 
Kindle2 Power Charger – Not just for the Kindle2, but I use the USB power base to charge other USB items with differnet cables. 
Monster Power2Go – a 4-port power strip – small and the power cable folds back on itself for compact storage.
In the bottom of the front backpack pocket I aslo put the following items:
- Two Western Digital ‘Passport’ 500GB drives – one that contains a full backup of my MacBookPro, and the other with ‘working’ documents, all my MP3 files, and hundreds of movies – both with Zio Shorty USB cables placed in a Case Logic portable hard drive case.
- A Stanley 12′ extension cord – very useful in hotel rooms without power by the desk, or to get power while waiting in an airport.
- My latest addition is the amazing Kbex portable speaker systems from a previous post. This thing really works!
So that’s what I carry with me. It helps a lot to the the right items with you when working on the road.
Computer Hardware Chart
Sometimes, you just need to look up a connector… here’s a great resource. Go ahead and double-click on it to see the full size version.
Truly Amazing Portable Speaker
A while back I saw a little ‘bit’ on the Internet about this speaker that worked on any surface. I’m a ‘gadget’ kind of guy – so I purchased one.
This thing is AWESOME! – I’ve had lots of little speakers I take with me on the road to listen to music from my iPhone or laptop, or even sometimes watch a movie in the hotel room. I’ve reverted to using my ‘Beats’ noise-canceling headphones to get sound I liked to listen to.
Then came along the K-Box from – this thing is amazing. It has over a 20-hour internal rechargeable battery – that charges off a USB port (like all my other portable devices) – and turns on/off by simply plugging in a headphone cable into the device. (simple elegant solution) And it is smaller than a blackboard eraser.
When you hold the little speaker thing in your hand it sounds very ‘tinny’ and weak. But place it on a flat surface and the internal ‘guts’ work with a gel pad on the bottom to produce astonishing bass. So much I had to change my iPhone equalizer settings because it was too ‘bassy’.
This thing can rumble a room! I was watching the last couple of episodes of ‘Winds of War‘ – and the Pearl Harbor scene made me turn down the volume. That *never* happens with other small portable speakers – they just don’t have anything at the bottom end. This little guy, however, ROCKS!
I can wholeheartedly recommend this speaker for anyone who travels (it comes with it’s own little travel case) it doesn’t weigh much, is easy to use and recharge and best of all – sounds great!
Specs below:
| Plug it into your laptop, phone, mp3 or portable gaming device and experience it turn surfaces into sound! Using patented ‘gel-audio’ technology when placed upon any solid flat surface, a wall, table or even windows, the K-box turns the surface into sound with a truly incredible bass response! |
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