living in a science fiction world

Last December I did about the uber-geekiest thing I’ve ever done:  I bought a Bluetooth keyboard to use with my iPod touch.  That’s right, I was sitting there with my four inch screen, typing away on a full size keyboard.  The thing is, it worked.  I was traveling, and writing, more than just notes in my journal or revisions on existing manuscripts.  I have a laptop, but I avoid traveling with it because it’s a pain in the ass — it’s heavy, it’s a full-size carry-on all by itself, it’s a hassle taking it out of the bag at security, putting it back in, etc., and I pretty much always need to be near an outlet with it.  After last summer’s traveling shenanigans during which I didn’t write nearly as much as I wanted to, I needed to find an efficient way to write on the road.  The Bluetooth keyboard was it.  I don’t have to take it out of my bag, it and the iPod fit in my small backpack, it’s light, it’s awesome.  (I have the Docs to Go app, which I can use to synch files between the device and my desktop.)

Then I immediately upgraded to an iPad so I could read e-comic books more easily.  (I’m not making this up.)

About the size of a magazine, the iPad also fits, along with the keyboard, into my small backpack.  It isn’t heavy.  I don’t have to take it out at airport security.  And I’m writing on the road now.  Brilliant.

But what’s really gotten to me is what the tablet replaces.  Functionally, it’s my laptop now.  But it’s also my music library, my current comic book collection, my cookbook, a bunch of books, a bunch of movies, my birdwatching guide, and a deck of cards.  All in a device the size and space of a magazine.

Who needs a jetpack?

(A selection of things that I can now bring with me everywhere I go.  Now all I need is that tent from Harry Potter.)

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