myiphonemyipodtouch.com

The last week of June, I attended the Tennessee Association for Justice’s annual conference. This year, it was held in Murfreesboro, TN. Although Murfreesboro is not that far from my home in Nashville, I decided to stay at the host hotel. It did not occur to me at first, but this was my first extended trip traveling with technology. This has been a good lesson for me, in terms of knowing my technology needs while traveling.

It was a three-day conference. Here is what I took with me: my 13” MacBook Pro, iPhone 3G, iPod Touch, iPod Classic, wireless keyboard, wireless mouse. The day before I left, the new bag I ordered from SFBags arrived – perfect timing. I bought a laptop sleeve, shoulder strap, piggyback pouch, and a case for my wireless keyboard. It was a great setup for traveling. Perfect for traveling light. Check them out at www.sfbags.com.

My goal was to travel light, yet have the things I need to get my work done and have a little fun. I did not use my laptop to take notes at the CLEs I attended. Technology is fun, but I also enjoy writing with my various assortment of pens. This time, my pen of choice was the Uniball vision micro. No fountain pens this time. I must admit that I did not want to dismantle my laptop setup in my room. There were several others at the conference who did use laptops during the sessions and I noticed that Apples were holding their own during the presentations. Several attendees were using MacBook Pros and an iPad put in an appearance too.

How did things work for me? There was a minor downside – the daily cost of using the hotel’s wireless network. I could have used the Internet for free, if I had used the hotel’s business center. Doing so would have saved me $10 a day, but would have defeated part of the purpose of bringing my tech setup. The advantage of having my setup with me was that there would be no waiting and I was free to work whenever I wanted. I could also watch television while I worked in the comfort of my room. For the record, I did not notice a lot of people using the business center for Internet usage, beyond some people who were obviously on vacation. There was also a fax machine available in the center and a printer. I did not need either of those services, but it was nice to know they were available.

What did I use the most? My laptop and iPhone. What did I use the least? My iPod Touch. Out of fairness to my Touch, I have not consolidated my iTunes library and most of my music is on my iPod Classic. When I do combine everything, I will use my Touch more for listening to music and watching TV shows.

While attending sessions, my iPhone came in very handy. It was useful when I needed to look up information, check email, make calls, or update my calendar. What I would like to try on a future trip is using my iPod Touch in a similar manner. Using my AirDrives™ or another type of headset with a microphone, plus a VOiP account, I should be able to do it.

Now that I have more time available for traveling, I am looking forward to more tech excursions.

PTLaw (@PTLaw)