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Sunday, October 16, 2016

How Not to Carry a Laptop

When I went to Austin for the Texas Bar Association, I carried my laptop in a messenger style bag intended for a 14" laptop.  I also carried a set of Bose noise cancelling headphones, and a travel pillow, plus my carry-on suitcase.  It was too many things, since I was not blessed with the five hands that real business travelers have.

For this trip I tried to simplify.  I used a small backpack into which I placed my laptop (in a CaseLogic sleeve).  I also put in it, the power supply, a couple of cables for connecting my cameras to the PC, an external mouse, a 7800 mAh power station for my cell phone, and the Bose headphones.  It was only one bag, but surprisingly heavy and awkward--much worse than carrying just a shoulder strap notebook bag, and the straps were a pain to go over my shoulders (they worked fine before the stroke)..  I am returning to that notebook bag for the next trip.  The power supply, a couple of cables for connecting my cameras to the PC, an external mouse, and the CaseLogic sleeve weigh 2 lbs. 6 ozs.  The notebook adds 3 lbs., 15 ozs.  That's under seven pounds.  I have an inflatable travel pillow which is less comfortable than the plush one I was carrying, but slips inside deflated with no problem.  The Bose headphones are bulky.  Does anyone build an app for Androids that takes ambient noise, and white noises it out so that I can just use earbuds to achieve a similar effect?

2 comments:

  1. I tried the Bose noise cancelling earbuds in the Bose store not long ago. Pretty nice. Too expensive I decided and passed.

    I use Skull Candy earbuds that I buy in Walgreens for $10-15. I get a good tight fit and they block out pretty much everything like good earplugs.

    Sometimes when I am trying to work in a noisy place, I put them in without connecting and just use them as earplugs.

    I've used more expensive earbuds but don't see much difference. Since I tend to lose them every few months, I go with cheap.

    John HEnry

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  2. I can't say anything about the headphones, but I *can* say something about the backpack. Consider getting one without wheels. I use a backpack with wheels for my computer, and so long as I'm not walking on a trail (which I had the opportunity to use to walk to work, before I moved to another place where such walks became inconvenient) I could roll my backpack around.

    It's been helpful, particularly since I have a bad back.

    Having said that, I haven't tested my setup in an actual airport (I haven't flown in years), so I don't know how well that would work...and if I wanted an extra carry-on, it might not work well at all...

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