Everyone has had that detached-from-the-world feeling while traveling.  Whether it’s no cell phone service, no internet access, no smartphone apps, or using a paper roadmap instead of GPS.  It’s almost surreal to think about what life was like before these gadgets existed.  How on earth did people plan something as simple as a dinner date without a cell phone?  I guess people checked their home voicemail machines a lot?  The only thing I remember about those things is the miniature tapes that would always run out of time during important messages.

What can you not live without nowadays?  What has been so ingrained in your daily routine that it would be difficult to go an hour, a day, or a week without?  Here’s my quick list (trying to be specific, not just ‘internet’, ‘iphone’, etc.)

1. Google Maps/iPhone Maps App
I use this religiously.  It’s replaced roadmaps, yellow pages, radio traffic reports.  It’s particularly useful while traveling and looking for the nearest coffee shop.

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OK maybe 6 (7?) is overkill (thanks for the pic – http://www.jdsblog.com/), but a second monitor doubles your workspace and can grant you visual access to multiple applications or windows at once.  Two monitors can streamline many tasks like writing a report based on data calculated and contained in a complex spreadsheet, or creating detailed BOMs from datasheets or websites.

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When I worked as a design and manufacturing engineer, I did a lot of 3D design work in SolidWorks, AutoCAD, and various other packages.  It didn’t take me long to look for an alternative to the traditional mouse to manipulate my designs in the digital 3D environment.  After a little searching, I found the 3D Connexion line of products, and purchased a SpaceBall 5000 (replaced by the SpaceExplorer). Here’s why you should get one immediately.

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