Acid Zebra
The Ultimate Geek Travel Kit
Normally I stay well away from hyperbole but in this case I feel it's somewhat justified. This backpack carries a notebook and features its own hifi system, wireless access point, contains a PDA with navigation software and bluetooth GPS, 2x40 Gb USB2 HD, all the little tools (screwdrivers, cable testers, stuff like that) an admin needs, and powers everything using one cable with a universal power adapter at the end; when fully docked it currently powers/charges 8 devices, and has two spare power outlets for 'guests'.
I don't know exactly how much the whole kit weighs, but I can carry it for hours without it really bothering me. Of course, I don't lug around all the tools all the time; but when going to a foreign office to do some admin/support work this is pretty much what I have with me.
The only thing that is missing is an UMTS/3G phone; for now I am stuck with GPRS. But at least GPRS is available pretty much everywhere in Europe; UMTS is still expensive and generally only accessible in the bigger cities. Eventually faster mobile networking will become the norm and I will probably construct a small, fanless embedded linux server booting off of compactflash which will act as router/firewall. For size reference think about the same size as the airport express.
The backpack has seen continuous use for close to a year now, it has been through several configuration changes (none of them major, just finetuning) and traveled most european countries from the sweltering heat of Spain in summer to the mindnumbing cold of Finland in winter.
It's been through numerous airport security checks without much trouble. Because all the adapters are in a plastic case all you see on the x-ray machines is... a bunch of adapters :P, so no customs official ever opens it (if they would I think it would make for a more awkward scene what with all the protruding wires and ducktape :P).
When flying the little bag with the screwdrivers and the exactoknives and pliers (and other such needful items that customs officials might frown upon) goes in the checkin luggage to avoid confiscation.
The exterior looks ratty enough by now due to extended travel abuse so that nobody will spare it a second glance; but it is a very sturdy bag and has enough padding so that even a 1 meter drop on a hard surface won't damage its contents (much). Maybe it can take even more; send me your spare gadgets and I'll start testing ;)
The typical deployment time from travelmode to full-on geek mode and back is under 3 minutes. I am still looking for a way to fit all the cabling with some autoretracting/locking rig, if you have any ideas on that please let me know.
The Ultimate Geek Travel Kit
Normally I stay well away from hyperbole but in this case I feel it's somewhat justified. This backpack carries a notebook and features its own hifi system, wireless access point, contains a PDA with navigation software and bluetooth GPS, 2x40 Gb USB2 HD, all the little tools (screwdrivers, cable testers, stuff like that) an admin needs, and powers everything using one cable with a universal power adapter at the end; when fully docked it currently powers/charges 8 devices, and has two spare power outlets for 'guests'.
I don't know exactly how much the whole kit weighs, but I can carry it for hours without it really bothering me. Of course, I don't lug around all the tools all the time; but when going to a foreign office to do some admin/support work this is pretty much what I have with me.
The only thing that is missing is an UMTS/3G phone; for now I am stuck with GPRS. But at least GPRS is available pretty much everywhere in Europe; UMTS is still expensive and generally only accessible in the bigger cities. Eventually faster mobile networking will become the norm and I will probably construct a small, fanless embedded linux server booting off of compactflash which will act as router/firewall. For size reference think about the same size as the airport express.
The backpack has seen continuous use for close to a year now, it has been through several configuration changes (none of them major, just finetuning) and traveled most european countries from the sweltering heat of Spain in summer to the mindnumbing cold of Finland in winter.
It's been through numerous airport security checks without much trouble. Because all the adapters are in a plastic case all you see on the x-ray machines is... a bunch of adapters :P, so no customs official ever opens it (if they would I think it would make for a more awkward scene what with all the protruding wires and ducktape :P).
When flying the little bag with the screwdrivers and the exactoknives and pliers (and other such needful items that customs officials might frown upon) goes in the checkin luggage to avoid confiscation.
The exterior looks ratty enough by now due to extended travel abuse so that nobody will spare it a second glance; but it is a very sturdy bag and has enough padding so that even a 1 meter drop on a hard surface won't damage its contents (much). Maybe it can take even more; send me your spare gadgets and I'll start testing ;)
The typical deployment time from travelmode to full-on geek mode and back is under 3 minutes. I am still looking for a way to fit all the cabling with some autoretracting/locking rig, if you have any ideas on that please let me know.