My Personal Technology Stack

I’ve used a variety of personal technologies over the past few years. Everything from Apple, Windows, and Chromebooks for laptops, to Android and iOS for my phone and tablet. Usually, I’ve had multiples of all of these things at once but for the past year or so, I’ve been pretty consistent with what I’ve used to the point that I’ve sold all of my other devices.

Since I will often get questions about what I’m using, here’s what’s currently in my bag as I’m traveling to LRP’s Benefits conference:

• 13″ MacBook Pro with Retina — A great performance machine with the right combination of power, battery life, and, to a slightly lesser extent, size. I love the 13″ size, as I’ve tried both larger and smaller models. It just feels right for every day use. I’m never too stressed about the battery life on it, as I’m able to get about 6–10 hours of usage, depending on my tasks. The keyboard is phenomenal, as is the screen. My gripe is the weight, which I wish was a little closer to the Air but I’ll take the extra pound for the performance.
• iPad Air (9.7″ model) 16gb with cellular — I’ve gone back and forth on the mini and the full size iPad. Eventually, the full size won out as my every day tablet because typing on it is so much better and the weight difference wasn’t as big of a deal. The reason I’ve been writing more is because I’ve been able to do it on my iPad instead of my laptop. It sounds silly, but as a person who works out of his home, the separate screen makes a big difference to keep me out of work tasks. The iPad has multi day power, is what I read every book on, and is my primary movie machine if I’m not at home. I got the cellular model because I found that I used it more when I knew I could connect anytime and it also doubles as a beefy wifi hotspot for my laptop, rather than carrying around a separate device.
• iPhone 6 Plus (5.5″ model) 64gb — Probably the only device I’d trade if I could, if the trade offs weren’t so bad. I would like a smaller device and honestly, I liked the iPhone 6 the best size wise. But the battery is so mediocre compared to the Plus that I’m willing to carry the extra bulk because I’d be carrying a battery case or charge kit all the time, like I did with my iPhone 5. I trade this off by having a card case attached to the phone, which means most days, I’m only carrying keys and a phone in my pocket. I carry most of my music library, as well as my podcasts on it, but I might opt for the 128gb model if it wasn’t an additional $100. I loved my Android for a long time, but I haven’t minded the switch that much. If Android had a flagship that was under 5 inches, it might make a difference but the Moto X is the last one I used and that thing had a terrible camera.
• Other accessories — Two other things I carry with me, nearly always: Skullcandy headphones and a stylus. I’m not a loyalist to Skullcandy, but they make affordable, foldable headphones with inline microphones that are durable. I listen to music a lot, and I’m on FaceTime, Skype, or Hangouts constantly. I also use a stylus for writing in Penultimate. Lately, I’ve been using an active stylus that seems to capture handwriting a little better. To be honest, I prefer to type most of the time and am getting enough speed on the iPad where it’s better and more easily searchable. I’m not super interested in any of the Jot stylus models as my handwriting isn’t that great to begin with (and it’s atrocious on the iPad).

So, yes, today I’m mostly Apple. If you asked me a couple years ago, my primary road machine was a Chromebook and Android phone.

What’s in your go bag?