Dr Mac: Longer trips mean carrying more tech support

In my last column, I talked about travel essentials — my MacBook Pro, iPad, iPhone, cables, chargers, spare batteries and a bag to carry it all in. those are things that I take on every trip, even one-nighters. but if I’m spending more than a couple of days away from home, here’s what I pack to make life just a little bit better.

First, if I’m renting a car, I bring a car USB charger. I like the ones with two USB ports like the Griffin PowerJolt Dual Micro (griffintechnology.com; $19.99), so I can charge two iPhones or an iPhone and a battery in the car.

I always carry a power strip/surge protector or two when I travel, since most hotel rooms don’t have enough wall outlets for all of my devices. Look for power strips with one or more USB ports so you can recharge your iPhone or other devices without having to use their AC power adapters.

Or, to recharge a number of USB devices at once, take a look at powered USB hubs. I bought a generic four-port model for around $20, which uses one AC outlet to recharge up to four iPhones or other devices.

Along the same lines, I like to watch movies when I’m stuck in a hotel room, so I carry a bunch of different cables that let me connect my iPad or MacBook Pro to the TV in the room. more precisely, I carry an Apple Composite AV Cable, Component AV Cable and Digital AV Adapter (apple.com; $39 each) for watching content from my iPad 2. I also carry a Moshi Mini DisplayPort to HDMI Adapter with Audio Support (moshimonde.com; $35) in case I want to watch video from my MacBook Pro.

Bob “Dr. Mac” LeVitus is an authority on Mac OS X, the author of 60 books, including iPad for Dummies,Mac OS X Snow Leopard for Dummies and incredible iPhone Apps for Dummies, and a Mac consultant, troubleshooter and trainer. Visit his website at boblevitus.com; e-mail comments to .

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