indisputable , sure , we know : you only practice your laptop computer for work . But on thoserareoccasions when you ’re on the road , you ’re done with the labors of the day , and you want a slight diversion , that PowerBook , MacBook Pro , or iBook makes a dandy fiddling portable entertainment marrow — ifyou had the foresight to bring along the right-hand software and peripheral . Here ’s what I advocate .
Remote Controls
Keyspan Express Remote
Take ControlIf you ’ve catch one of the newfangled MacBook Pros , you ’ve got an Apple Remote Control . If not , you ’ll need a slight spot of help operate your laptop medium center from a hotel - room bed . Griffin Technology ’s diminutiveAirClick USB ( ) is a five - button remote that comes preconfigured for many software . Keyspan ’s $ 60 infraredExpress Remote ( ) is bulky and comes with a USB - tie receiver ; the twist is passing configurable . ( A $ 40 model work with Front Row only , but does more than Apple ’s remote . ) in conclusion , if you ’ve buzz off a Bluetooth - capable mobile phone , Salling Software’s$24 Salling Clicker afford you the power to use your cell telephone to control ( via Bluetooth ) multimedia applications on your Mac , and the freeMediaCentral Remoteenables you to use Salling Clicker with MediaCentral .
Speakers
Tritton Technologies Sound Bite
bring in the NoiseOnce you ’ve reached your destination , you ’ll want to take the earphone off and listen out loudly . If you move around with a set of portable iPod speakers , you may probably connect them to your laptop . But or else of carrying around a bulky battery - power system , I recommend speakers that get both audio recording and magnate from your laptop computer ’s USB interface — one cable television and you ’re ready to go .
Logitech’s$80 V20 Notebook Speakers are the best I ’ve heard , with both comme il faut bass part and surprisingly tacky volume ; a 10 - by-7.5 - by-2.2 - column inch hard case preserve the 1.5 - pound organization secure in your suitcase . If you ’re uncoerced to trade sound quality for a low weightiness , Tritton Technologies ’ $ 30 fold - upSound Bite ( ) is a major improvement over blood laptop speakers , and at only 9.6 ounces , it ’s very carry - on favorable .
Headphones
Sennheiser PX 100 W
Hold the PhonesFor private hearing on an airplane , I particularly like Sennheiser ’s $ 60PX 100 W ( ) , lightweight traditional headphones that not only sound great but also are comfy enough to hold out for hours and indestructible enough to stand firm the rigor of travel . AKG ’s $ 50 KiB 26 Paren’t quite as comfortable , but they do bar some outside racket and put up a bigger rush for bass - heavy medicine and pic effects . If you opt the serenity and quiet you get from in - auricle headphones , Ultimate Ears’super.fi 3 Studio modeloffers impressive bam for the buck , at only $ 100 . For $ 50 more , Xtreme Mac ’s $ 150FS1 in - capitulum headphonesproduce bass the likes of which you do n’t commonly get from in - ear headphone .
Power supplies
Power UpMultimedia play takes mightiness . And while Apple ’s laptops get somewhat upright battery living ( as laptop go ) , watching video and listening to music can sop up up juice at a frightening tread . So it makes sentience to bring some special index supply .
Kensington 70 Watt AC / DC Power Adapter for Apple Notebook
As long as you ’re near some variety of power outlet , eitherKensington’s$120 70 Watt AC / DC Power Adapter for Apple Notebook oriGo’s$120 Juice70 Universal Notebook Power Adapter will keep you up and work . Each aggregate adapters for AC power , car accessory jack ( also known as cigarette lighters ) , and the especial mightiness outlets found in newer aeroplane . With an optional $ 25 adapter , either can charge your laptop and another electronic equipment at the same sentence . ( The iGo works with recent PowerBooks and iBooks ; if you have an older laptop , you ’ll have to buy a special tip for it . The Kensington include tips for recent PowerBooks and iBooks , along with a bakshish for sour grass - connector iPods . Unfortunately , neither adapter function with the MacBook Pro ’s new MagSafe power port wine . )
If your travels will run aground you far from a power jack , you ’ll necessitate supererogatory battery life . Apple sells additional batteries , good for a couplet more hours of fun , for $ 129 each . Other World Computingcarries its own brand of higher - capacitance ( and longer - life ) batteries for everything from the latest Apple laptop computer to 1998 - earned run average Wall Street PowerBooks ; prices range from $ 120 to $ 160 . If you need more gambling time , Lind Electronics’$350 to $ 450 Power Packs put up 8 to 10 hours of additional battery life via a large , fragile barrage “ slab”—half an inch deep and about the sizing of a sheet of paper of 8.5 by 11 newspaper — that pack neatly in your laptop computer bag . A Power Pack tote up 2.4 to 3.4 pound of exercising weight to your bag , but for the extra weight you ’ll belike be able to watch three DVDs ( or , I suppose , eat up a few more hours of work ) on that transatlantic flight .
Software
MediaCentral
Second RowIf you ’ve have a MacBook Pro , you ’ve already got Apple ’s Front Row software package , which lets you browse your Mac ’s multimedia content via an iPod - corresponding interface , using the keyboard or the Apple Remote Control . But if , like most people , you have an older PowerBook or iBook , you ca n’t use Front Row ( yet ) . You do have an alternative to using iTunes , iPhoto , and DVD Player one at a meter . Equinux ’s free MediaCentralmimics Front Row ’s seem - and - find . Pressing shift - escape bring up the on - concealment web internet browser , which lets you get at TV in your Movies folder ( and VIDEO_TS folders ripped from videodisc anywhere on your effort ) ; music in your iTunes library , in a share iTunes depository library , or on a connected iPod ; photos in iPhoto ; and , if you have a broadband Internet connexion , rain buckets Internet video . ( The latter demand the Windows Media and Real Player web internet browser wad - Indiana . ) If you want to play something QuickTime or MediaCentral ca n’t plow , check out theVLC media playeror theopen - source MPlayer .
What to watch?
Although you might call back your on - the - road viewing option are limited to video purchased from the iTunes Music Store and DVDs , there are passel of other means to get video to go .
To start , you’re able to conserve shelling power — and keep your literal DVDs safe — by rip your movies to your hard drive . For the good quality , GeezerButtz Software ’s free MacTheRipper ( ) copies videodisc in all their full - quality ( and full - size — about 4.5 GB per movie ) splendor . If you do n’t demand arrant quality , the free , open - sourceHandBrakewill rive a DVD to a smaller , low - quality file playable by QuickTime Player or MediaCentral .
For boob tube lovers , Elgato’s$330 EyeTV 200 work much like a data processor - based TiVo . Using its construct - in TV tuner , you’re able to memorialize shows at home — in MPEG-2 or MPEG-4 format — for later see on the road .
Sling Media ’s Slingbox($250)—a Mac version of which was just announced — lets you redirect resilient video streams from your overseas telegram or orbiter TV to any computer on the net . You connect the Slingbox hardware at place to your Mac and then use the SlingPlayer software program to stream depicted object over the Net .
Two caveats about carrying all this video : If your laptop computer ’s hard effort is induce full , consider a portable FireWire or USB heavy drive for storing your file . And if you need to watch any of this stuff on your hotel room ’s television , rather than your laptop ’s CRT screen , be sure to lend along an S - Video or composite video cable television service , along with the transcriber that comes gratuitous with the PowerBook . ( It ’s a $ 19 add - on for the MacBook Pro or iBook . )
[ Dan Frakes is aMacworldsenior editor in chief and the reviews editor program atPlaylist . ]
