Sometimes, in those brief, rare moments in between working very hard at my job and visiting needy children with gift baskets full of toys, I pause for a moment to reflect on how our ancestors struggled their entire adult lives without the many conveniences afforded us by modern technology.

 

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My heart weeps for them when I think, “Where would I be without a computer?  Without a microwave & toaster oven?  Mobile phone & mp3 player?”  

 

I don’t want you to suffer as those before us have done, living life without knowledge of cool things that could only serve to brighten your days. So in a completely characteristic outpouring of empathy, charity, and good will, I’ve listed for your pleasure a few wonderfully geeky technology-driven things that I’ve found make my life more enjoyable, more satisfying—really, a life more worth living.  Oh, yeah, and more productive and efficient and stuff like that.

 

Because these items (call them “resources” if you’re asking your company to buy them) will soothe the worries of everyday existence, and because they are easily available, affordable, and may possibly impress your colleagues, I highly recommend you get the following things.

 

1. Portable Wireless Pointer Mouse and Keyboard: Pointer mouses are just plain cool.  They are a little tricky to navigate at first, but then—watch out! You are controlling your computer from across the room, gesturing widely like a madman. What fun!  And because these are “portable” they are teeny! Wee! Practical application? What about a multi-person presentation? So there!

 

2. Flash Drive/Pen Drive: When I first got my little baby USB-flash drive about 5 years ago, they were expensive and somewhat rare.  Now, they are everywhere, available in many capacities and styles, and you can easily get them “on the cheap.”  Why everyone doesn’t carry a flash drive, I have no idea.  CD’s and DVD’s, in comparison, are delicate and awkward to carry—and therefore annoying.  My boyfriend keeps a flash drive on his keychain.  You don’t have to go that far.

3. Mac Mini: If you need more computing wherewithal, but lack space—Mac Mini is for you. If you’re not a huge fan of Apple (I’m not), but need a Mac for testing, Mac Mini is for you (pretend it’s not there).  If you are a huge fan of Apple and you don’t have one these—why not? At the very least, you could use it as a backup drive. This cute and almost cuddly box is completely unassuming, does what it’s told, and doesn’t take up much space.  And it’s reasonably priced.  Nice.

4. Portable Retractable Ethernet Cable: When I mentioned I wanted to get one of these, my geek boyfriend claimed they didn’t exist.  “O Ho!” I exclaimed, “A Cha-llange?!”  And it seems at least one company got with the program, and now I am the happy owner of a 10-foot cable that releases and snaps back with the touch of a button. Ahh.  Hot-desking and hotelling will never be the same again.

5. Portable Folding Laptop Stand: Honestly, this I don’t yet own. But I saw it recently at a store and… I have to have it.  My laptop gets so hot!  I can’t set my baby down on some foreign surface and just ignore the constant whirring of the fan.  What kind of mother would I be. Better to be safe, and travel with one of those folding stands.

6. Crossover Cable: This little cable joins two unrelated computers and makes them family (a mini-network).  If you need to move lots of files from one place to another, it’s faster than transferring them online or using flash drives, DVD’s or other quick storage devices.

7. MaxiVista: This is software, and this I just discovered. Take 2 to 4 networked laptops/computers with monitors, line them up, and spread your open application windows across their screens.  Couldn’t be simpler; no additional hardware required.  A monitor devoted to chat and email! How did I live before?

8. Laptop Dock with USB Hub: I really like my laptop docking station.  It can be adjusted to tilt my laptop almost vertically, and plenty of degrees in between—one which raises it to just the right height for me to use the laptop as the main computer at my desk without straining my neck.  It also swivels 360 degrees, perfect for showing cool pictures around the room. Finally, the additional 4 USB ports it adds to my laptop means I could keep the video and regular camera cables, as well as iPod, plugged-in at all times (I could, but I don’t—you think I’m crazy?).  No more disconnecting the wireless mouse/keyboard remote so I can connect my flash drive and use the printer at the same time!  

9. Portable Projector: You never know when you’ll need to project a ginourmous image on the wall.  Maybe for a movie, or a meeting?  Invite the crew over, it’s projectin’ time!  And at under 5 pounds, have the kid carry it—it don’t hurt.

10.  Portable Wi-Fi Detector: Why do you continue to pull out the laptop if there’s no network?  An inexpensive gadget can alert you the moment you step into a Wi-Fi hotspot.  Don’t let the ignorant/evil café worker who tells you the local “Java Hut” doesn’t have Wi-Fi (O yes it does!) make a mockery of you again.