[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":237},["ShallowReactive",2],{"blog:2008:whats-in-your-laptop-bag":3,"blogMore-Technology":223,"comments-whats-in-your-laptop-bag":236},{"id":4,"title":5,"body":6,"category":203,"commentCount":204,"date":205,"description":206,"excerpt":207,"extension":208,"filenames":209,"hidden":210,"image":209,"meta":211,"minutes":212,"navigation":213,"path":214,"seo":215,"showCategory":209,"stem":216,"tags":217,"updated":209,"url":220,"wordCount":221,"__hash__":222},"content\u002Fblog\u002F2008\u002Fwhats-in-your-laptop-bag.md","What’s in your laptop bag?",{"type":7,"value":8,"toc":189},"minimark",[9,19,24,34,37,41,56,60,69,73,81,85,94,98,107,111,120,123,127,130,134,155,159,180,183],[10,11,12,13,18],"p",{},"Since my ",[14,15,17],"a",{"href":16},"\u002Fblog\u002F2007\u002Fone-week-with-a-macbook-pro-17\u002F","new laptop arrived"," I’ve been fine tuning my accessories in search of the developer-on-the-move setup. Here is my current contents complete with shameless Amazon Affiliate product links where applicable ;-)",[20,21,23],"h2",{"id":22},"brenthaven-pro-backpack","Brenthaven Pro BackPack",[10,25,26,27,33],{},"My parents bought me the ",[14,28,32],{"href":29,"rel":30},"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.amazon.com\u002Fgp\u002Fproduct\u002FB000BYGFYU?ie=UTF8&tag=dam-20&linkCode=as2&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=B000BYGFYU",[31],"nofollow","Brenthaven Pro 15-17 Backpack"," for Christmas. It has a great number of sections and compartments yet can still be thinly packed with the padding contributing to a comfortable wear. The only negatives are that the finish seems a little rough in places and that the rigid laptop protection area seems to be designed to hold a laptop almost twice as thick as a MacBook Pro despite claims of being ‘Designed for a 15.4″ MacBook and 17″ MacBook Pro’.",[10,35,36],{},"The dream laptop bag would have an external USB port that would power and charge various devices within ;-)",[20,38,40],{"id":39},"radtech-sleeve-protector","RadTech sleeve & protector",[10,42,43,44,49,50,55],{},"I’ve owned ",[14,45,48],{"href":46,"rel":47},"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.radtech.us\u002FProducts\u002FSleevzNotebooks.aspx",[31],"RadTech sleeves"," for all three of my Apple laptop’s to date and they’ve all been excellent. Snug fitting, soft but hard-wearing and well-made they keep the machines clean and scratch-free. Now available in a multitude of colors but call me a traditionalist I’ve stuck with aluminum-grey. I also recommend grabbing ",[14,51,54],{"href":52,"rel":53},"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.radtech.us\u002FProducts\u002FNotebookScreensavRz.aspx",[31],"a screen protector"," that sits between the keyboard and screen that doubles up as a cleaning cloth.",[20,57,59],{"id":58},"ocz-rally-2-4gb-usb-stick","OCZ Rally 2 4GB USB stick",[10,61,62,63,68],{},"Another gift I received is the ever-useful USB memory stick for those odd file transfer tasks. The ",[14,64,67],{"href":65,"rel":66},"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.amazon.com\u002Fgp\u002Fproduct\u002FB000JBXLV0?ie=UTF8&tag=dam-20&linkCode=as2&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=B000JBXLV0",[31],"OCZ 4GB Rally 2 USB 2.0 Flash Drive"," can double up as a Vista ReadyBoost cache (providing you are booted natively, neither Parallels or VMware Fusion emulate it fast enough) and is housed in a small black metal enclosure the size of my little finger. Minor downsides are the easily-lost cap and the green led that casts an eerie glow over the geek at the keyboard.",[20,70,72],{"id":71},"microsoft-wireless-notebook-laser-mouse-600","Microsoft Wireless Notebook Laser Mouse 600",[10,74,75,76,80],{},"I’ve been using mice with laptops less over the years as my comfort with track-pads has grown and i have found myself without desk space for a mouse. The ",[14,77,72],{"href":78,"rel":79},"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.amazon.com\u002Fgp\u002Fproduct\u002FB000A6NUVA?ie=UTF8&tag=dam-20&linkCode=as2&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=B000A6NUVA",[31]," works well however and the battery seems to last for ages. It is light and possibly a bit too small to be comfortable and if I was to replace it I’d go with something Bluetooth to avoid the dongle (which clips into the mouse when not in use).",[20,82,84],{"id":83},"ipod-nano","iPod Nano",[10,86,87,88,93],{},"I purchased a ",[14,89,92],{"href":90,"rel":91},"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.amazon.com\u002Fgp\u002Fproduct\u002FB000JO1MU4?ie=UTF8&tag=dam-20&linkCode=as2&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=B000JO1MU4",[31],"iPod Nano 8GB 3G"," late last year after my 60GB iPod died. The device is incredibly small with a good battery life and fantastic display. Not convinced that the screen or control is suited for video or games but it makes a great little music player, and I’m just hoping the flash models have a longer lifespan.",[20,95,97],{"id":96},"philips-earbuds","Philips Earbuds",[10,99,100,101,106],{},"These ",[14,102,105],{"href":103,"rel":104},"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.amazon.com\u002Fgp\u002Fproduct\u002FB00061IYJC?ie=UTF8&tag=dam-20&linkCode=as2&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=B00061IYJC",[31],"Philips HN060\u002F37 ‘Noise-Canceling’ Earbuds"," are good considering the price, size and battery life. While they don’t cancel noise out the combination of the in-ear mechanism, volume booster and the active circuity does help suppress noise levels somewhat and I have found them particularly useful on flights. Some people find the high-pitched white noise the circuitry generates annoying and others find in-ear plugs irritating however. Personally the only problem I have with them is that the rubber pieces tend to come off and get lost easily but you can buy generic replacement packs from many airport\u002Fmusic stores.",[20,108,110],{"id":109},"my-book-pro-500gb-external-drive","My Book Pro 500GB External Drive",[10,112,113,114,119],{},"Leopard’s Time Machine combined with a ",[14,115,118],{"href":116,"rel":117},"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.amazon.com\u002Fgp\u002Fproduct\u002FB000WGJZ44?ie=UTF8&tag=dam-20&linkCode=as2&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=B000WGJZ44",[31],"Western Digital My Book Studio 500GB External Hard Drive"," provides me with a simple backup strategy that is lightning fast via FireWire 800 (800 Mbps) and still speedy over USB 2 (480 Mbps).",[10,121,122],{},"The Studio drive I linked to also provides eSATA support (couldn’t find mine on Amazon). It isn’t always in my backpack but does make a regular appearance.",[20,124,126],{"id":125},"cables-etc","Cables etc.",[10,128,129],{},"The bane of every techie’s life. Currently includes 1m USB extender, a USB to mini-USB cable that connects my TyTN, PSP, BlackBerry and Canon EOS 400D to my MacBook Pro and the Apple DVI to VGA adapter for presentations. The Apple-supplied remote also sits in there for exactly that purpose.",[20,131,133],{"id":132},"stationary","Stationary",[10,135,136,137,142,143,148,149,154],{},"I like to keep a ",[14,138,141],{"href":139,"rel":140},"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.moleskine.com\u002Feng\u002F_interni\u002Fcatalogo\u002FCat_int\u002Fcatalogo_notebooks.htm",[31],"Moleskine pocket notepad"," tucked away, ruled by preference until they make a ",[14,144,147],{"href":145,"rel":146},"https:\u002F\u002Fen.wikipedia.org\u002Fwiki\u002FGraph_paper",[31],"graph-paper"," version. This is normally coupled with a Pilot G2 at the moment which is comfy and smooth but takes too long to dry and is still too thick in the 0.38mm ’05’ version. Without sounding like a pen obsessive I’m going to try a ",[14,150,153],{"href":151,"rel":152},"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.cultpens.com\u002Facatalog\u002FUni-Ball_Signo_Bit_0.18.html#a3316",[31],"Uni-Ball Signo Bit 0.18"," next! There is also a nondescript mechanical pencil and large eraser.",[20,156,158],{"id":157},"reading","Reading",[10,160,161,162,167,168,173,174,179],{},"Yes, there is still room in this TARDIS of a laptop bag for reading material. At the moment it is alternating between ",[14,163,166],{"href":164,"rel":165},"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.amazon.com\u002Fgp\u002Fproduct\u002F0300111509?ie=UTF8&tag=dam-20&linkCode=as2&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=0300111509",[31],"Designing Type",", ",[14,169,172],{"href":170,"rel":171},"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.amazon.com\u002Fgp\u002Fproduct\u002F159059844X?ie=UTF8&tag=dam-20&linkCode=as2&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=159059844X",[31],"Managing Humans: Biting and Humorous Tales of a Software Engineering Manager"," and ",[14,175,178],{"href":176,"rel":177},"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.amazon.com\u002Fgp\u002Fproduct\u002F0471782661?ie=UTF8&tag=dam-20&linkCode=as2&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=0471782661",[31],"The Art of Intrusion"," all of which were Christmas gifts :)",[10,181,182],{},"That’s it! would love to find out what other people keep in their laptop bags and hear suggestions on some of my weak spots. I wish I could fit a full-size tactile keyboard in it but I guess I’ll live!",[10,184,185],{},[186,187,188],"em",{},"[)amien",{"title":190,"searchDepth":191,"depth":191,"links":192},"",2,[193,194,195,196,197,198,199,200,201,202],{"id":22,"depth":191,"text":23},{"id":39,"depth":191,"text":40},{"id":58,"depth":191,"text":59},{"id":71,"depth":191,"text":72},{"id":83,"depth":191,"text":84},{"id":96,"depth":191,"text":97},{"id":109,"depth":191,"text":110},{"id":125,"depth":191,"text":126},{"id":132,"depth":191,"text":133},{"id":157,"depth":191,"text":158},"Technology",5,"2008-01-04T00:40:45+00:00","Since my new laptop arrived I’ve been fine tuning my accessories in search of the developer-on-the-move setup. Here is my current contents complete with shameless Amazon Affiliate product links where applicable ;-)","[object Object]","md",null,false,{},4,true,"\u002Fblog\u002F2008\u002Fwhats-in-your-laptop-bag",{"title":5,"description":206},"blog\u002F2008\u002Fwhats-in-your-laptop-bag",[218,219],"Apple","MacBook","\u002Fblog\u002F2008\u002Fwhats-in-your-laptop-bag\u002F",841,"T7YYGZagwCgru5MjK5YJCvHLwp91g5sdBy7Mta2eqYk",[224,228,232],{"title":225,"date":226,"url":227},"VTX5000: Part 4 - Communications","2026-05-06T10:19:24.727Z","\u002Fblog\u002F2026\u002Fvtx5000-part-4-comms-routines\u002F",{"title":229,"date":230,"url":231},"VTX5000: Part 3 - Software ROM","2026-04-15T23:00:00.000Z","\u002Fblog\u002F2026\u002Fvtx5000-part-3-software-rom\u002F",{"title":233,"date":234,"url":235},"VTX5000: Part 2 - Hardware","2026-03-30T23:00:00.000Z","\u002Fblog\u002F2026\u002Fprism-vtx5000-part-2\u002F",[],1780900517550]