If you have a veritable electronics store worth of gadgets in your computer bag when you travel, you've already learned the hard way that having a mini-USB, micro-USB and iPod cable can save your life. The problem is, all of these cables are too darn long and it ends up being a crazy tangle in your computer bag or a rats nest of tangled wires that end up getting damaged.
That's why I'm such a big fan of CableJive. A little company out of Malden, Mass, they focus on making useful cables and adapters and offer terrific mini-cables that are worth their weight in saffron (which is kind of like being worth their weight in gold, but saffron's actually considerably more valuable by weight).
A picture speaks a thousand words, so here are the three CableJive cables I always have in my computer bag:
Even better, they're about the same price as those typical long cables. Just shorter. These "iStubz" cables run about $8.00 each, but I strongly encourage you to just get all three cable ends, mini, micro and iPod. They're a no brainer.
Which leads to the question: what cables and gadgets do I carry in my computer bag?
My generic cable allotment are the three CableJive cables, a power cable for my MacBook Pro and some additional connectivity gadgets, as I'll show in a minute.
The bag of choice right now? It's still the PowerBag I reviewed a few weeks ago post-CES, and it's still amazingly well designed for holding all my stuff. Read up on that, then come back: Review: PowerBag Instant Messenger.
When I travel I toss a small bag into the computer bag that adds a 6' HDMI cable and adapters that let me hook up either my computer or my iPad 2 directly to an HDTV device, usually the plasma TV in my hotel room. Add Netflix on either device and I'm in movie-watching and TV-episode-catching-up heaven. It's all good.
But back to the basic cables and connectors.
Here's what I have in my bag:
In addition to the VGA adapter for working with projectors and secondary monitors, you can see I also tote along an Apple remote control, though frankly it's not used very often. I also have an audio splitter for those times when I want to share music or a movie soundtrack with a friend or loved one. $5 at Radio Shack. No brainer.
So it's my turn to ask you: What's in your computer bag?
Disclaimer: CableJive sent me the cables show in the photograph. But I have since purchased additional cables and adapters from the company. I dig 'em.
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