Bryan Strawser

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What’s in my bag 2010

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It’s been three years since I’ve written about What’s in my Bag, so it’s finally time to update this list of what I decide to tote around with me.

The Bag

Four years ago, I switched from my trusty Brenthaven bag of several years over to a Tumi Nylon Briefcase capable of holding my then-17″ Macbook Pro. Four years later, I’m still trekking along with the indestructible Tumi bag. It has nary a tear or a blemish. Hands down the best bag that I’ve ever owned.

Unfortunately, the bag isn’t always suitable for some cross-country trips. In those cases, I switch to a Swiss Army backpack with a laptop padded compartment.

Between the two bags, we’ve been to several states, the UK, Germany, France, and India together over the past four years – and we’ll see some other places together before my time here ends. Both have served me well.

The Technology

  • 15″ Apple MacBook Pro. Earlier this year, my 3.5 year old 17″ MacBook Pro started having some power and logic board issues. Soon after the latest generation of MacBooks were released, I bought a stock lower-end 15″ MacBook Pro and haven’t looked back. The current generation of machines come swimming in hard drive space and RAM – and I haven’t seen a need to upgrade anything with this one. It’s my lead non-work machine.
  • Dell Latitude D630 Laptop. For work, this is my windows based portable machine. It’s a lot heavier than my MacBook Pro and nowhere near as capable, but I live in a Microsoft windows world at work – and when I need to actually do work on the road, this machine comes along. Mine has a privacy screen on it so that folks can’t see what I’m up to as I travel.
  • Apple iPad 3G+Wifi (64GB). I came a bit late to the iPad game, but purchased one, along with the bluetooth wireless keyboard. I’ve taken several trips with nothing but the iPad and my keyboard for computing, email, and communication needs. I’ve found it to be an invaluable tool for reading, entertainment, games, and general productivity. Hopefully I’ll be able to sync my work e-mail on it at some point in the future, then I will be traveling with my laptop far less than I do today.
  • Apple iPhone4 (32GB, Black). I was upgrade eligible and received the new phone on June 23rd. This is been my main personal phone for three years, back to the original iPhone, and my main work phone for well over a year. It has been the single best productivity aid and communications device in my personal and professional career.
  • iPod (60GB). I’m still using my Apple iPod from four years ago – nearly crammed with music and videos at 60GB. I haven’t seen a need to upgrade. Using the new Shure SE420 headphones – expensive, but worth it for the sound. At work, this sits in an iHome dock.
  • Verizon MiFi 2200 portable hotspot. As I have a redundant need to be able to be on-line no matter where I am due to the role I hold at work, the MiFi helps me fulfill that need by providing a portable hotspot for up to four connections at once. I’ve used this extensively throughout the United States to great affect.
  • Levenger Notebook – I use leather three-ring binder from Levenger to hold my daily schedule, executive summaries, tasks, and various notes as I motor throughout my day. My tabs and some forms are custom made based on how I like to organize and plan. I also use several forms from David Seah’s various productivity tools.
  • Amazon Kindle2. Last year, a co-worker talked with me glowingly about his Kindle, I wound up ordering one that very night. It’s been one of the best devices I’ve ever owned, I’ve hardly purchased a paper book since picking up the Kindle last March. I carry it in a simple Amazon Kindle case.
  • Business Cards. I carry between 100-200 business cards for work at all times. I’m constantly running into folks at conferences, etc, that are interested in exchanging cards. Besides, Target business cards are cool!
  • Moleskin notebooks. I use a wide variety of Moleskin products. Some larger notebooks I use for specific projects, the smaller notebooks that are pocket-sized I use for store visits or just for jotting down notes as I wander about town. I’ve never found a better notepad.

What’s in your bag?