Five Devices I Can’t Live Without

My life has become so centered around devices, I don’t know what I’d do if I lost them. Here are my top 5 favorite devices:

Slim Storage

This 40 gig external hard drive by CompuCable is a life-saver. It doesn’t require external power, so it easily moves from computer to computer, and it’s only about as big as an iPod.

It connects via Firewire, so the data transfer is fast, especially for those huge video files that I lug around with me. I also use it to back up my most important files and carry it with me at all times so they are separated from the originals.

My only complaint is that the capacity isn’t bigger. 40 gig doesn’t get you very far anymore.

I paid about $350 for this drive five years ago, so I’m sure you can find one cheaper now.

Wacom Tablet

I started using a Wacom tablet about ten years ago in my graphic design days and now I’ll never use a mouse again if I can avoid it. Once you get adjusted to the feel of a tablet, the control that you gain is amazing.

Once you make mental map of the tablet in your head, you can pop to any point on the screen in an instant, instead of having to pick up and drag a mouse. Even nicer is the fact that the surface is pressure sensitive, giving you even more control.

I don’t use it for art very often any more, but it comes in handy for sketching graphs like those in A Roadmap from Debt to Living Your Passion.

If you are into art, you will absolutely love this tool in conjunction with a program called Painter. Since the pad is pressure-sensitive, you can replicate natural media almost perfectly. In fact, it’s better than perfect, because you can undo your strokes, and use colors that wouldn’t be possible in real life.

I got this particular tablet last year, used on eBay for less than $100.

Wireless Headphones

My girlfriend and I live in a tiny little apartment in Los Angeles and therefore we have to make multiple uses for the space we have. Our living room is also our office and dining room.

Until we bought these RCA wireless headphones, It was frustrating when one of us wanted to work and the other wanted to watch TV. Now, the person who wants to watch TV just puts on the headphones and the other can enjoy the quiet to work. This little device saves me all kinds of stress.

I bought the RCA because it was about $20 cheaper than the Sony. It works great exept for two things: 1) Instead of automatically charging when I put it in the holster, I have to plug it in each time, and 2) It cuts out from time to time if I am moving around the house. If the Sony solved these problems, I would be willing to pay the extra money.

It’s also great when you are washing dishes, or folding clothes in another room because you can take the TV with you and hear it over the running water. Stacey even likes to put them on when she’s in the bathtub!

XM Radio

My XM radio subscription is the best value of any subscription that I have. For less than $20 a month, I listen to hundreds of hours of music, news, and talk radio.

I’m an information junkie, so I love having instant access to news, sports, stocks, entertainment, and anything I want to know wherever I go. It’s also nice to know that I can take my channels with me no matter where I am in the world.

The only thing that would make my XM radio better is if I had an adapter for my home stereo. Then I could actually listen to it every hour of the day. (wow, that would be lame.)

CrackBerry

My CrackBerry is named not for it’s highly hipnotizing and addictive qualities, but for the huge three inch crack across it’s face.

I dropped it on it’s head within one week of owning it. The only thing keeping me from replacing it is the iPhone, which will finally make my life complete.

Ever since I started to use my CrackBerry, I can’t believe how I lived without it. Since most of the businesses I run are somehow computer related, I can run them from just about anywhere.

It’s concievable that I could run this blog from my CrackBerry alone. It would wear out my knuckles, but it’s possible! For now, I love the fact that I can approve comments and see my blog action from anywhere.

My only problem with it is that the internet is pretty slow and incompatible with most sites. I hope that the iPhone solves this problem!