As a I begin to pack for an upcoming trip I began to ponder, “What’s going to make the list as far as tech items?” Being a techy and a gear head I have a ton of stuff, plus it’s a ski trip so the gear is seemingly endless…boots, skis, poles, long underwear, gloves, helmet…and that’s just the skiing stuff. For tech, I’ll still need a computer: Mac mini or 13 inch Retina? iPhone, of course, is coming with, but do I need to bring my iPad Air 2? I also need an iON Air Pro 3 action camera to record the runs, a backup hard drive to keep it all safe, and I can’t forget the cables to charge and connect all these devices.
First comes travel: iPad Air 2 and iPhone have that covered. iPhone keeps me up-to-date around the airport, then I’ll bust out the iPad once I get to my seat for some entertainment. As we all know, there is always something that comes up that threatens to leave your devices without a charge: a delay on the tarmac, or getting stuck in a terminal with no outlet in-sight. Hello Just Mobile Gum++ Backup Battery! I just had my charger on the last trip and no outlet so I am not forgetting the battery again. Headphones are a must and my Beats Wireless Studios keep me cable free and the noise cancelation keeps it quiet.
Once I arrive, it is time to geek out the room. We are in a hotel this time around so I will be bringing my Outdoor Tech Turtle Shell for tunes. Syncing that to my iPad that will keep Spotify going and work as an alarm clock so we don’t miss first chair. Then comes the most important tech component: the computer. Most rooms come equipped with flat screens so, as silly as it may sound, the Mac mini will be making the venture. It is smaller than my laptop, is equipped with a Fusion drive that has plenty of space for media and our daily footage, and simply puts out a display signal via HDMI so we are up and running fast. I use an iOS app called Rowmote Pro for mouse and keyboard, so no need to pack those.
I realize this is totally nuts a bit much, but it all fits in my carry-on so I know it is safe, and it is great to have a cold one while we sit back and watch the day’s footage.
