What's in my Gadget Bag

[ninjarat]

Not quite the "box of 12 things that define you", this is what I keep in my gadget bag.

The Bag: an Eddie Bauer Guide Series teardrop pack.  The particular bag does not appear to be available any more.  Pity.  It is a decent, small teardrop pack.  It has some minor design flaws, but every other similar bag I've seen has worse.

Newton MP2100: I've tried them all in some fashion. I own a Palm III, a Visor (original, basic version), an iPaq 3800, a Psion Series 5, a Zaurus SL-5500, even an HP-48GX calculator. It is simple. The small devices are convenient to carry, sure enough. They are small and light, and the MP2100 is big and bulky. But, when I get right down to it, the MP2100 is easier to use.  The bigger screen -- roughly four times the area of the palmtoys -- is just so much easier to read.  Nobody has an OS that matches Newton's ease of use or consistency between applications.  I own or owned an MP110 (which I broke), and MP120 (which I keep in storage), and three MP2100s (one which fried itself a week after I got it, one to replace it, and David MacNeill's upgraded MP2000, which he sold several years ago and is now my main unit.

Eye glasses and clamshell case.  Being able to see is good.

Samsung S105 flip-phone.  Is small, it works.  See, I don't use my phone much, so carrying convenience takes precedence over usability.

Tube of Excedrin tablets.  The headache medicine.

Tube of Dramamine tablets.  Just in case.

Current Old Colony Line rail schedule.

Swiss Army pocket watch.  Durable timepiece.

Valet key for my car.  Spare keys are always good to have around, especially outside of the car.

A pen/stylus.  I have no idea who made it or even if it is still being made.  The nib is still one of the best PDA styluses I own, and I own a bunch.

A Pocket Medic(tm) first aid kit.  I've never had to use it, which I think is a good thing.

Leatherman Squirt P4.  The little one with the pliers.  Why?  Because I can never have too many knives/multitools on me.  I usually have between three and six knives or multitools on or about my person at any given time.

Edit: if I do get a 12" G4 iBook, which I likely will tomorow, then the bag will be swapped for a black Timbuk2 PeeWee bag, if the iBook fits.

Comments

[solipsistnation.livejournal.com]

I have a weird brightly-colored replacement stylus for the MP2100 kicking around still. It's got an orange plastic tip, and will fit into the MP's stylus hole and lock in like the original one, but it's made of solid aluminum and feels much better than the original. Want it?

I kind of want some kind of nominal cash for it (5 or 10 bucks-- I think it was originally something like 25, but that was a million zillion years ago, when Newtons were still cool in a non-retro way)...

[ninjarat.livejournal.com]

It's from PDA Panache.

I already have two of them, but thanks anyway for the offer.