What (programming related things) to pack for travelling?

Question

Well, it has been a few years since I last travelled to a programmers conference. Back then, the power brick for my laptop was as heavy as the whole laptop is nowadays. So, the laptop was about the only thing I took with me into the conference.

That means, I have no idea, if it makes sense to fill the space available in my bag with some other tools that might come in handy during a conference.

Are materials still handed out on CDs, so that I should bring the external drive for viewing stuff from other talks?

What tools are out there that might help during a presentation? (so far I have a bluetooth mouse for controlling powerpoint)

Answer 1

• a backup on a USB drive
• a spare mouse
• a spare laptop battery
• pen and paper
• lots of business cards
• small bills for tips
• comfortable walking shoes
• at least one suit/formal attire Just In Case

and pack an empty soft-sided suitcase to take home the swag ;-)

Answer 2

Well here's what I'm packing for RubyConf 2008 in a few weeks.

• Acer Aspire One Netbook (~2 lbs, tiny footprint, customized Ubuntu distro with every development tool I need installed, practically silent with the fan being the only moving part, great portability, note taking, quick pick up and go, hacking, following live code demo's along side the person presenting
• iPhone 3G, I may jailbreak so I can tether it to my netbook for 3G access if I need it. Otherwise, this will give me e-mail, Internet and phone contact with my wife.
• Moleskine notebook and a few good pens (this is very important, especially for a left hander like myself, tricky finding a pen that doesn't smudge and flows nicely) for the times I don't feel like pulling out the netbook or if I run out of battery
• Amazon Kindle to catch up on reading during downtime after the sessions when I'm back in my hotel room
• Business cards
• Jump drive

That should be just right, the Aspire One, Moleskine and the Kindle are almost the same size so they will fit in a small shoulder or messenger bag with room left over for shirts and other gear I pick up at the conference. And of course clothes and other general travel necessities.

Answer 3

Some of the best ideas that I get about my work come when I am travelling. It is probably that I am out of my normal routine and office and home and the change in environment stimulates a different line of thinking. Trying to remember such ideas is like trying to hold water in your palms. So make sure you have something handy (small notebook, palmtop, PDA anything) to immediately write down your thoughts!

Also, despite advancement in technology, I dont want to bank my life on them. I take printouts of my contact details, important emails, reservations and any other important information that I may need immediately.

Answer 4

Printouts of your flight/hotel reservation (beats waiting for you laptop to fire up to checkin)
Spare shirt in your laptop bag - for when you spill coffee down it 5mins before your talk.
First aid kit- or at least some pain killers

Answer 5

Instead of the OEM charger for my laptop, I take a Targus model that has a bunch of changeable tips to fit many laptop models. This way if someone else forgot a charger, I can let someone borrow it. I also keep my Nokia 770 and Nintendo DS charged and handy. The 770 will run for hours with wifi turned off, so I can grab it and jot notes easily as needed, and it fits in the pocket of my cargo pants.

Answer 6

I'm very into quick reference cards. I know too many computer languages to keep them all straight. So I own a bunch of 8.5x11 laminated ones from Visibone and Barcharts.

I also always bring a long multi-head extension cord, as already suggested, and some small snack packs for those long sessions.

Answer 7

Depends on what conference your travelling to. If Defcon, I'd suggest not packing anything that runs on electricity.