DesignAday - Latest Comments in Lap Happy

Re: Lap Happy

Jaladhi — Wed, 14 Oct 2009 11:32:36 -0000

Jack, I like my powered usb hub with six usb ports. When I use the laptop at home, I just have to plug in one cable into my laptop and my all of my peripherals - printer, card reader, two hard drives, full size keyboard, and wacom tablet are connected. I wish they would make a usb hub with a built in display port though. You might also like this cable management solution. http://ikeahacker.blogspot....

Re: Lap Happy

Jack L. Moffett — Wed, 14 Oct 2009 08:09:14 -0000

I have a Time Capsule at home, but it is already stuffed with backups from my Mac Pro, my wife's Powerbook, and the girls' iMac.

Re: Lap Happy

Jack L. Moffett — Wed, 14 Oct 2009 08:08:08 -0000

1. Yeah, I'll probably go for another power supply soon. Climbing under the desk to plug in just doesn't cut it.
2. MobileMe: Got it. Love it.
3. Waiting for iPhone tethering.
5. I'm going for a messenger bag that will replace the satchel I carry everywhere now.

Thanks for the suggestions!

Re: Lap Happy

Name — Wed, 14 Oct 2009 05:06:52 -0000

Time Capsule for wireless backups. Sure you can attach a USB/firewire drive, but it's easy to forget. TC does all that in the background,

Re: Lap Happy

D Stephen Haynes — Wed, 14 Oct 2009 02:19:33 -0000

Some additional ideas for accessories:

1. Multiple power adaptors. One for travel that you can plug into an airplane power jack or a car cigarette lighter is great. Just having an extra block around the house, one for your desk area and one for travel, makes life simple when taking the laptop with you.

2. A MobileMe account is great for syncing contacts, calendar, bookmarks, and keychain data between the desktop and laptop. You can also sync widgets, dock items, mail accounts and rules, notes, and preferences using MobileMe.

3. A Mobile Broadband card is great for when you need Internet access in a strange city. The drawback is the $60/mo subscription charge for 5GB/mo. Or, just wait for tethering on the iPhone.

4. I would say always have a spare battery on hand, but the new laptops have the battery built-in. There are third-party battery packs to charge your laptop while you're away from a power source, but they can be pricey.

5. I know this sounds like overkill, but two laptop cases. One larger one for carrying your Macbook and all essentials along with meeting supplies and notes or whatever. The other, smaller one, is basically for the laptop and the power adaptor and maybe a note folio or something. One is mean and slim for meetings and the other is big and bulky for long-range traveling or bigger meetings/conferences. Better yet are bigger cases that have a compartment that slips out for just the laptop. You can take the "laptop sleeve" as your smaller case and put the sleeve back into the big case when you're done.

While I can't claim your 18 years, I can go back 15 years to my first Mac (IIsi, Performa 6100CD, PB3400, Dual G4 867, 1st Gen 12" PB, and my current MacPro/Unibody MacBook). I've been doing the dual desktop/laptop setup for almost 7 years. The laptop helps me to be more productive when I'm sitting in front of the TV or on the road.

Plus, I get a kick out of clients wondering how I'm going to run their Windows environment with my Mac. I flip the laptop around and show them Windows running on VMware Fusion. Why buy two computers when I just need one that runs everything?

And I DO remember your first Mac. :-) Seems like a lifetime ago.