We got crazy with the self-reflection last week, letting each Lifehacker editor show and tell what's in our laptop bags. If you didn't have the time to dig through all that navel-gazery, we've compiled the most unique items and travel tactics for your consideration.
If you're interested in the items or techniques listed below, you can get a closer look at how Kevin, Adam, Jason, the How-To Geek, and Gina put together their laptop bags.
For the deeper look at how you can improve your own mobile computing preparedness, check out our previous series, where we turned the lens on our readers and asked them what was in their "go bags," split into Part I, Part II, and Part III.
Now, for a final, compressed look at how a few blog-minding geeks get their work done on the go.
The Gear
No-Battery-Left iPod: Gina's second-generation, 20 GB iPod can't even play a Ramones song all the way through. Connected via FireWire with Disk Mode enabled, though, it's basically a portable hard drive that's still pretty small for its size. Back up your really important stuff to it, and when your laptop takes a tough hit during the Rock n' Roll Ruby Conference, you're still good to go.
Dropbox: The How-To Geek's essential laptop item isn't really an item at all, but a $10/month subscription to file syncing service Dropbox. With 50 GB of constantly updated web storage and the ability to grab files as needed from Dropbox's web site, the Geek no longer worries about having, losing, or requesting thumb drives, or worrying about last-minute transfers before he heads out.
Flashlights, ear plugs, Altoids Survival Kit: The first two flashlights, both a mini LED torch and a keychain spot light, are apparently for all those 3 a.m. posts Jason writes from inside a shipping container. The ear plugs are a nice pick, for either really loud coffee shops or office remodeling. Fitzpatrick's also carrying the basics of the Altoids Survival Kit, primarily the first aid and tool aspects.
Belkin Mini Surge Protector and AirPort Express: Adam never lets a hotel room tell him what he can or can't get done. The Belkin unit turns a single outlet into three and adds two USB power slots for good measure, while the AirPort Express turns single "complimentary" hotel room ethernet cables into group Wi-Fi hotspots. Add in a three-prong adapter, ethernet cable and even nail clippers, and there's not a lot Mr. Pash can't tackle in even the least amenable of rented crash pads.
LaCie imaKey and reporter's pad: The first one fits oh-so-nicely on my keychain and won't snap off, because it's made from stainless steel. I use it to hold 8GB of whatever I need, minus the space for some PortableApps and a KeePass password vault. The latter item is combined with a comfortable pen and slipped in a front bag pocket for easy to-do/note access.
The Tactics
Airplane rides for two: "When you're on a long plane ride with your significant other, this headphone jack splitter lets you enjoy some in-flight laptop entertainment without needing to share earbuds. It's very handy." (Adam)
The power of paper: "Rather than bother with a notebook, moleskin, or anything else that ties me down to the analog world, I simply carry a bunch of pieces of copy paper and some plain old BIC pens. When I need to take some notes during a meeting, I fold the piece of paper over and start writing-then later on I copy my notes and ideas into ActionOutline, which is essentially Notepad with a treeview, keyboard shortcuts, and extremely low resource usage. Every idea I've ever come up or piece of information that needs to be kept is stored in a hierarchical, organized database of geekery, accessible from anywhere that I can access my Dropbox account." (How-To Geek)
Giveaway flash drives: "If (a lost-and-found) flash drive has no identifying information on it-the contact information on resumes is the most likely to reunite them with their owners-then I reformat it and turn it into one of my giveaway drives. Every giveaway drive is packed with free and open-source portable software ... to give away to people I meet." (Jason)
Extended life batteries: "I killed the stock battery by keeping it plugged into the system at all times. .... As Battery University explains, "The worst condition is keeping a fully charged battery at elevated temperatures, which is the case with running laptop batteries." So I hit up (third-party sites), found a 12-cell battery for my ThinkPad, and keep it in the bag, charged at about 80%." (Kevin)
That's it for our little experiment in (hopefully) helpful show and tell. Thanks for reading, and more thanks if you share how you've upgraded your own laptop bag in the comments.