I’ve been doing my first business travel in the past year. It’s interesting how experience changes your perspective.
Lap Desk
Several times, I’ve been stuck in an office with no desk but it’s nice to have in the hotel as well. I travel with this one, but I’d love to get one of these for home.
AirPort Express
Every travelling geek for hire needs one of these. Not only are they handy in the hotel, but it also works well if you are in a cube with only one port and you have two laptops to hook up.
Travel Clock
On my last trip to Lake Tahoe I stayed in a little dive hotel/motel that didn’t have clocks in the rooms. The time before that, the alarm didn’t go off in the morning (might have been my fault). Now I understand why people buy travel alarm clocks. I wanted to get an atomic clock and ended up getting this one even though it looks too big in the photos. Turns out, it is actually quite compact. 🙂
USB Charging Cables
I can charge everything I need to (cell phones, iPod, etc.) through the USB on my laptop. This is an area that PowerBooks shine in since they will provide charging power to USB devices while (the PowerBook is) sleeping.
Laptop Backpack
A messenger bag is great for around the town, but for standing in security lines at airports you really need a backpack.
I’m still a rookie in the business travel world – what other goodies should I know about?
UPDATED 2/19/05
Security cables. If only to deter opportunists.
Altho you have wireless. Spare ethernet cables may come in handy.
Phone cable for plugging in the modem. Desparate times call for desparate measures.
An ethernet cable is probably a smart idea – I had to borrow one from the last hotel I was in. I don’t have a dial-up account to use the modem with anyway, I use my bluetooth modem in a pinch.
Those are some quality lap desks, Alex. Thanks for the post.
Don’t forget an AC inverter for the car. You can run that powerbook while flying down the freeway and charge all your USB devices. I have one permanently in my car.
You bring it with you to plug into a rental car? Normally I just charge everything at night.
I just got the inMotion iPod speakers from Altec Lansing. They fold flat, they’re about the size of a paperback book, they can run on 4 AA batteries, have a remote, and can charge the iPod when the speakers are plugged in. The sound is good – not to be confused with “stellar” – but the size, the remote, and the ability to run on AAs totally sold me.
Fred Langa mentioned STOP (Security Tracking of Office Property) for at least laptops, so it’d deter theft. I thought it was kinda cool.
I have taken the AC inverter with me places, fits just fine in a suitcase or carry-on. Probably better suited for in-state travel though.
I don’t travel much but I am often on the move around Montreal. It’s mostly short distances but I’ve found I don’t miss a regular office that much if I have these things in my Contour backpack:
I am planning on adding a WiFi hotspot detector to the list, perhaps someone here has suggestions.