Last week I wrote about the tech I use at home to make Multicore happen. I got a lot of good feedback from that post, so I figured I'd follow up with what I use outside the house.
I will say upfront that this stuff tends to fluctuate a lot more than my desk-bound setup; things that are portable are inherently easier to switch out. But I am intentional about the things that I use every day, so this should hopefully be a useful snapshot of where I'm at right now.
I’m sure it goes without saying, but no ads or affiliate links here — this is really just the stuff I use and like.
My travel computer is the 12.9" M1 iPad Pro from 2021. I wrote about my journey with the iPad recently, and this paragraph serves as a reasonable summary of why I’m still on board:
If I’m going to take one computer on a trip, it’s almost always going to be an iPad Pro. No laptop can match the ability to detach the screen to read Substack or The New Yorker or my Kindle backlog when curled up on a beanbag. The Mini LED screen is MacBook Pro-level at a sub-MacBook Air price. It’s far more convenient to use on a plane than a laptop. It’s more convenient when I get off the plane, too, thanks to eSIM cellular connectivity. I love how its tall 4:3 screen reminds me of my first iBook. When paired with a chunky Brydge keyboard and its massive trackpad, it feels like a retro-futurist miracle. I find it so much easier to focus on a system that undeniably works best when you’re only doing a couple of things at once. It’s the perfect way to check in on the photos I’ve been taking on the trip. I can work on it if I need to, but I can use it without feeling like I’m working.
This isn't to say that I never need a laptop; in fact, I have some travel coming up where I definitely will. iPadOS is also clearly not fit for purpose for a lot of people’s work. But generally, I prefer to use a Mac at home and the iPad Pro as my primary machine when I'm on the move.
I have exactly three iPad Pro cases in rotation and they all serve different purposes:
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