In My Bag
Current: MacBook Pro
Yes, I’m one of those people. I have a Mac, am a die hard Mac fan, and really enjoy using my operating system. OS X on Intel opens the door to run other operating systems when I have to, which I frequently do for demonstration purposes. It’s fast, sleek, light, bright and connected. I also keep a spare a battery with me as well as an airline adapter for when I’m on international trips. The main improvement I’d like to see is for it to not be so darned hot at times. It’d also be great if the built-in web cam had some focusing ability for objects close up.
Current: Apple iPhone 3G
We use a Mac at home, and I use one at work. As a gift from work, I got an Apple iPhone a while back. Without corporate email, and since my wife had been pining for a real calendar on her mobile phone, I gave her the iPhone. Sadly, I seem to be constantly saying “let me see your phone” to look up something on the web, buy movie tickets, make reservations, whatever. Simple and elegant, now that the iPhone 3G supports corporate integration, I’m all over it.
Previous: Samsung Blackjack
This is my corporate issued phone, and I generally loathe it. My main gripes are that it is slow and that the OS is convoluted. To take a picture and then send it over MMS takes a million steps. This is even worse if the image is too large for MMS in which case I have to resize it using the provided software. There’s no GPS, and the browser is horribly slow. The upsides are that it has been exceptionally durable - probably the longest lasting phone I’ve had.
Previous: Apple iPod Touch
I’ve had numerous generations of the iPod, almost since their very introduction. It’s a device for which a have a distinct passion. I was into MP3 files well before the iPod, but all the other devices I tried were just horrible in many ways ranging from user interface to battery life. The iPod changed my life. It serves two main purposes for me. The first is that since I’ve 6′ 7″, if you’re the butt-head in front of me, leaning all the way back, I now have no space to even read a book. I can however listen to tunes and prop this the iPod Touch on the back of your seat to watch a movie. The second use is for when I’m out jogging or exercising in general.
Current: Verizon V740 ExpressCard
I present a lot. Many times I’m the keynote speaker. Over the years I’ve learned to never rely entirely on the venue to provide internet access. Wires get disconnected. Wireless gets overused by general attendees. The conference room doesn’t allow Internet access by non-staff. There’s no connection at all. When you’re the go-to person for the day, it is unacceptable to bail out with an excuse like “I’d show you, but I can’t seem to get connected to the Internet.” This little guy had saved the say countless times. It’s also really useful on those frequent train trips between San Jose, CA and San Francisco, CA.
Current: Amazon Kindle
After more than a decade of sitting in front of a computer, writing code, the inevitable happened - I started to feel the impact of repetitive strain. Unlike most people who get problems with their wrists, my tall frame had bent down over the years and I had started to develop arthritis in the cervical area of my spine. In the interest of spending less time in front of the computer, I invested in an Amazon Kindle. Now I can take a variety of books with me when I travel. I wasn’t sure that the device would rekindle (har, har) my interest in reading, but I enjoyed it so much, that within a few weeks I had read more than I’d read in the past ten years.
Occasionally: Bose Quiet Comfort 2
For as long as Bose has had the Quiet Comfort series, I’ve been a customer. Oh, yeah, they can be pretty bulky at times. Oh, yeah, they cost a lot. Oh, yeah, they’re totally worth it! I usually take these guys with me on long trips such as San Francisco, CA to New York, NY or anywhere international. While it may sound strange, I feel that my energy levels are much higher when the noise of the aircraft has been blocked out. I also get a lot more work done on a plane when there are no distractions. They’re good for trains too!
Also: Sony Sports Headphones
I’ve tried countless in-the-ear headphones and have always had some fashion of problem with them. Generally speaking they were either painful, or didn’t stay in when I was active. When working out, many headphones are also very prone to being damaged by sweat. I wouldn’t, for example, wear my Bose headphones when jogging. I also find the on-the-ear variation to be uncomfortable, while not staying in place on my head. These Sony sports-style headphonse are a classic. They get updated every couple of years, but the basic design goes back to the days of the cassette Walkman. Durable, compact, great sound, and comfortable enough for shorter trips. They stay in place during even vigorous workouts, and are virtually impervious to sweat or other types of workout damage (i.e. pulled cord).
Current: Olympus LS-10 Recorder
I attend so many great conferences, and meet so many wonderful developers, that it’s hard not to want to record everything. So where possible, I do exactly that. I use this guy to record audio interviews and sessions I attend at conferences (usually including my own). It’s highly sensitive, runs off of AA batteries (easy to recharge), and has a great capacity. It’s also compact and is capable of recording in stereo. It comes with wind screens for the dual microphones as well, and even have external jacks.
Previous: iRiver U10
I got this as a corporate gift one year, and wasn’t originally sure what to do with it. Then I got a book on podcasting from my sister one year for Christmas that actually called out the U10 as being a great little interview recording device. I dropped it in my bag, and was suddenly recording all fashion of content. The entire user interface is also built on Flash Lite, which made it a great little demo device. The battery life and capacity was also outstanding. The reason I upgraded was that (a) this device is no longer supported and (b) it doesn’t support Mac.
Current: Flip Ultra
I got this as a corporate gift when we started out on the European leg of what’s called the on AIR Tour. The sleek little design makes it incredibly easy to tote around and grab candid videos. It has a built-in memory, which implies a limit of about thirty (30) minutes. The device has a built in USB adapter, and plugs right into your Mac as a drive. Videos are recorded as AVI, and have good enough quality for general purpose interviews. The main downside to this device is the limited memory and the proprietary codec they use on the AVI which makes it nearly impossible to edit.
Considering: Canon PowerShot SD990 IS
When you get into photography, you generally pick a vendor and stick with them for … well, a long time. The Internet has made it easier to change by way of auctioning off the most expensive part of that investment, the lenses, but I haven’t switched. I like Canon gear. It’s that simple. So when I’m looking for a point and shoot for the road and vacations, the SD990 IS is the latest top of the line. It probably wouldn’t make my gear list except that it captures H.264 video. I prefer stills, but need HD video in my device as well. This looks great, if not a little pricey.
Considering: Flip Video Mino HD
The Flip Ultra that I currently carry really revolutionized how I look at video. In fact, I was able to capture and share a good deal of video from our last family vacation. Previously, I was photographs only. The problem is that the resolution leaves a lot to be desired outside of the most basic sharing. Sure, it looks good on Flickr or YouTube, but not for larger format. The new Mino HD support 720p which meets my needs perfectly. It also has increased capacity over the Ultra at sixty (60) minutes. I’ve heard that 720p can make for good stills too, which is why I’m torn between the Flip Mino HD and the Canon SD990 IS.
Considering: Casio EX-Z200
One of the guys on my team picked this up and started traveling with it. As a ten (10) megapixel camera, it includes a decent zoom and image stabilization features. The real kicker is that it also doubles as a video camera with 16:9 capture at 848 x 480 resolution. The video it captures goes straight to H.264 and is directly compatible with Flash Player. The other consideration is that the video format is easily editable. Finally, having expanded memory is really important.
Current: Trackstick II
I’m a bit of a geo-location geek. In 2008 I decided that it’d be fun to track all my travels as I go out and visit customers around the globe. In order to accomplish this, I picked up this little receiver that I turn on when traveling. I dump the data out via USB onto my Mac, and then manage it separately. I’ve built an application to share my journeys as well. The downsides are that it has no other functionality other than tracking your coordinates, and that the management software is Windows only (yes, even though it’s uses USB) and I use a Mac.
Considering: AMOD AGL3080
While I’m perfect capable of opening a VMWare instance of Windows on my Mac, and using specialized Windows software, to get at the data on my Trackstick, it’s not the most pleasant experience. After recently upgrading my Garmin Vista (circa 2000) to a Garmin Colorado, it became clear to me just how easy accessing your geographic data should be. I was originally inclined to go for the iBlue 747, but after monitoring the GPS/tech blogs, it appears that the AMOD device is really kicking butt. It even has a number of reviews from Mac-oriented geotaggers. It runs off 3 AAA batteries, connects via USB as a drive, and includes a carabiner. I literally carry my Trackstick in my hand because even the lightest obstruction kills reception. The AMOD device by contrast has been reported to carry the latest chipset and be receptive even in your house.
Occasionally: Garmin Colorado 300
After more than ten years of use, my Garmin Vista started to have problems with the screen. We were headed out camping with the folks in a few weeks, and I decided it was time for an upgrade. My old Vista had only a serial connection, so imagine my pleasure when I found the Colorado had a USB, and that the device merely mounted itself as a drive on my machine. It was easy to manage tracks and geocaching waypoints. Oh, and as for Geocaching, which is a great pastime when traveling, the device performs amazingly. It’s pretty large, and of course it’s not every trip that I have time to explore, so I don’t always bring it along. I’m looking forward to another ten years of rugged use with this indispensable piece of globetrotting gear.
Current: Presentation Remote Pro
I’m 6′ 7″ so I’ve never really had a problem with walking in front of the screen and pointing out details of slides, code or examples. Then I started getting feedback that it was annoying for me to be walking in front of the projection in the first place. I also started presenting at larger venues where the screen was often not in reach at all (even for me). Then after attending a session on presentation coaching at a conference, I decided that a remote was in order. The built-in RF receiver gives me plenty of room to roam, and the unit controls everything from the presentation to sound levels. It even has a built-in laser pointer.
Current: LaCie Rugged Hard Drive
With the rapidly declining price of hard drives, and the ever growing capacity, decided it was time for an upgrade. This was also prompted by an opportunity to rebuild my laptop and start with a fresh backup. I went for a mobile drive that was large enough to fully duplicate my hard drive so that I could boot from it rather than simply recover files and demos. Then there was even space left over to have a second partition for space hogging content such as photos and my music library. While it’s somewhat bulky, I went with the LaCie Rugged Hard Drive because I wanted to maximize reliability. Now my Time Machine backs up incremental files, and my LaCie handles bootable recovery.
Previous: Western Digital Passport
The inevitable will happen. Your hard drive will crash. In my line of work, your demos will get corrupted. You’ll need to share software or code. Keeping everything handy on an external drive makes complete sense. I’ve also found this handy for taking a large video library with my on long international trips. Drives are so cheap these days, that it just makes sense to have a backup plan. This little portable drive gets the job done. I see that the newer models have Firewire, which would be great, but generally speaking, I don’t use it that often, as it is after all a mostly a backup.
Previous: LaCie Mobile Drive
It’s hard to critique a hard drive. It worked. It was compact. It saved me countless times. That is that. My main problem with this little guy was simply that as I demoed more software, I needed more space. I ran out and needed an upgrade. It’s that simple. Why not stay with LaCie? No reason. Just thought it was time for a change and the Western Digital drive looked hot.
Current: Mont Blanc Meisterstuck Platinum Le Grand
While most of my work is clearly in the digital realm, I find that starting a project on pen and paper is highly inspirational and free-flowing. I like to draw out my initial application screens and then revisit them over and over until the page is filled with black lines and scribbles everywhere. Then I can get down to business. Of course taking notes during meetings with a nice pen, a pen you can trust to write, write smoothly and not blow up on you or your gear, is always a plus. The only thing I don’t like about the one I have now is managing the cap when it is off. Maybe the twist option next time.
Also: Pentel P200 Automatic Drafting Pencil
It’s a little known fact that I almost never got into computers in the first place. My passion in high school was actually architectural engineering - specifically drafting. As part of the many courses I took, I picked up this classic Pentel P200 automatic pencil. It has just the right balance for me, is affordable, and comes in 0.5mm and 0.7mm flavors (I prefer the later). The sleeved tip is actually critical for drafting and drawing long consistent lines across paper. Something I imagine is now a thing of the past, but I still love this pencil even two decades later.
As a side note, one thing you learn in the Army is to always have a writing instrument of various colors (generally black). While ink freezes, the lead in your pencil doesn’t. While ink runs in rain, the lead in your pencil doesn’t. On some level I keep a this pencil around in case I get caught in the middle of a war and have to write my final letter home. That is of course highly unlikely these days. You’ll generally only see me use this pencil when I really want to think “organically” and get well outside the box.
Also: Moleskine
Funny to think that not but a few years ago, these guys were almost out of business. They have of course since made a remarkable recovery. I use mine for meeting notes and presentation outlines, and like it squared because I often draw user interface screens on the pages. The squares also harken back to my passion for drafting. I generally use the pocket in the back to store postcards of all the cities I’ve been to that year. Occasionally I’ll wake up in the middle of the night and sketch something out on the hotel sticky pad. Those too you’ll find in the back pocket. Durable and well bound, these guys are wonderful.