I decided to write a quick piece about what I’m bringing to #dhsi2014, both because I love the community and because I’ve decided to become as portable as I can when traveling to conferences. I also wanted to crib together Brian Croxall’s amazing post on his conference tech-stack with some things I learned from Lifehacker and my own experiences. AND, it’s fun to write a post that isn’t arguing about some controversy in my discipline once in a while. Here’s a pic of what I take on conferences.
- Brian recommends: GoogleDocs, Keynote, Flickr, iPad, Logitech R400 clicker, a laptop, and a VGA adapter. I agree with most of these recommendations. Keynote comes equipped with an app that works as a clicker and allows you to add notes. But I’m more than happy with the laser and the clicking noise on the Logitech R400.
- Organizer: The Grid-it has totally changed my packing life. You can see it on the top-right corner. Grid-it has all of these rubber bands that expand to accommodate a number of different objects. I used to just toss all of my peripherals into my bag, which lead to clutter and a lot of annoyed sighs when I couldn’t find what I want.
- Headphones: I like portable headphones for those moments when you have to work in a coffee shop and you’d rather listen to the new Rogue Wave album than the hipster drama happening at the table next to you. I mostly use the Skullcandy Ink’d 2, because they are cheap and I lose headphones quite often. I also use earbuds when exercising. My favorite earbuds of all time are the Sony MDR-J10s. But these are harder to find in stores.
- Surge-Protecting Travel Outlet: My big find of this year is the Belkin SurgePlus Travel Surge Protector. In addition to the extra outlets that make it easier for Leeann and I to charge our computers together, it has two USB-ports to charge peripherals. The charger also swivels, meaning that you can make it fit in any of a number of tight spaces.
- Pens and Dry-Erase Markers: You never know when you’ll need these relics from print culture. In all seriousness, white-boards are often in places you’ll present and people just can’t seem to keep working markers on the boards. I also keep my favorite pen, the Uni-Ball Vision Elite, in case I need to write notes in books or sign things and I don’t have access to my gadgets. Pen Addict calls the Uni-Ball “[b]eautifully-designed and well balanced.” I’d only add that the flow of the pen makes it a pleasure to write with.
- Magic Mouse: I only really use the Magic Mouse for down time with Skyrim or Mass Effect. But I do sometimes enjoy using a separate mouse when writing.
- Cord Wrap: The PowerCurl Macbook Cord Wrap is the only real solution I’ve found for the massive design-fail of Apple power-cords. I used to just wrap the entire cord (with the extension) around the power-adapter, but I found that this practice eventually frays the plastic around the cords. The PowerCurl keeps the whole cord wrapped-up. It includes a clip for the extension-cord so that part doesn’t become unwound.
- iPad case: I use the Portenzo iPad case. They can be a little expensive, and as a vegetarian I’m less than pleased that I wasn’t aware that the cover is made from leather. But the Portenzo case gives a nice literary feel to your iPad. It is also much sturdier than the DODOCase I bought, which cracked less than a year after I started using it.
I’m still looking for a solution for charging my iPad without using the 30-Pin USB cord. If anyone has suggestions, I’d love to hear them!