IT DRILLDOWN
 
NEWSLETTERS
 

CIO.com updates, insights and advice on technology, management and your career.

 
 
 
LEADERSHIP
 
CIO Executive Programs
The Leader in Face-to-Face Education for Senior Executives

Offering regional and national programs, CIO (and CSO) events bring together some of the most respected names and thought leaders in information technology and security. Presented by CIOs and other senior level executives, these invitation-only programs offer timely topics and strong networking. Learn More »

 
CIO Executive Council
A Peer-Advisory Service and Professional Association for CIOs

Social Responsibility's Strategic Benefits

December 15, 11:30 AM - 12:30 PM US/Eastern (GMT-5)

Join Ed Granger-Happ, CIO of Save the Children, for a discussion of how creating an organization that is socially responsible improves staffing, retention, leadership development and overall corporate health.

Working With and Communicating to Your Board of Directors

January 13, 2009, 4:00 PM - 5:00 PM US/Eastern (GMT-5)

CIO panelists who will share tips and experiences working with their boards: Twila Day of SYSCO; Jeff O'Hare, West Corp.; Marc West, formerly with H&R Block.

IT's Role in Growing Mid-Market Companies

January 14, 4:00 PM - 5:00 PM ET (GMT-5)

Mid-market Council members will share their companies' stories and challenges in driving or coping with growth. Panelists represent Veterinary Pet Insurance, Medicis Pharmaceutical, and Intrax Cultural Exchange.

More / Register »

Learn more about the CIO Executive Council »



 
 
RESOURCE CENTER
 
 
 
SUBSCRIBE TO CIO
 
Are you involved in setting the direction for your company's IT budget or strategy?

Apply today for a FREE subscription to CIO Magazine!

 
 
 

Seeking the Perfect Laptop Bag

Finding the best case for toting a notebook (and sundry other necessities) wasn't easy—but it was worth it, thanks to the eBags Firewall.

 

June 15, 2007CIO — Needs change. For years my laptop carrier of choice was a now-unavailable Briggs & Riley backpack that had survived a decade of abuse and still didn't look much worse for the wear. Unfortunately, such durability has a downside. It left me stuck with a perfectly good computer bag in an unfortunate shade of bright blue that made me look like a balding third-grader on his way to grammar school.

The bag had other problems, too. While it was great for carrying a laptop and a sheaf of paperwork, it had precious few other pockets—just a pair of unpadded narrow slots on the sides and a back zippered section with spots for pens, business cards and maybe some spare change.

It was time for something new. Something with a more professional aura. Something with more space to hold the cables, cell phone, PDA, camera and other paraphernalia that have come to define my working life. Yet it still needed to hold paperwork. (The paperless office is nothing more than a 20-year-old cruel lie, after all.) And a shoulder strap; a nicely padded shoulder strap.

I started hunting at the local electronics, computer and luggage stores as well as online, but what I encountered was a mix of depressingly shoddy and unimaginative or outrageously expensive laptop bags.

While poking around the eBags.com website, however, I discovered their top-selling Firewall laptop brief. It seemed to have everything I was looking for, and users were raving about the thing. $69.95 and a few days later, I had my bag. And I (almost) couldn't be happier.

First, the downside: The interior is orange. Bright, blaze orange. Turn the bag inside out, put it on your head, and you' d be legally compliant for deer hunting in most states. If orange isn't your color, you'll be unhappy. That said, the orange makes it very easy to find things. Nothing gets lost against this bright hue the way it could against a darker background.

Another negative: The bag is a touch tippy. Based on comments on the eBags site, the amount of tippiness seems to depend on the size and shape of laptop you carry, but with my ThinkPad T42, the Firewall has a tendency to keel over slowly unless I lean it against something. A flip-down floor stiffener in the bag' s bottom apparently makes it less of a slouch than previous versions, but it' s still a bag that would rather be on its side. A problem? Not really, but it might annoy some people.

Loading...
 
 
ABCs
 

Just the basics, please. Sometimes we all need a refresher or we need to make sure our team and our colleagues are all on the same page.

Over 25 tutorials on everything from business intelligence to virtualization.

 
 
FEATURED SPONSORS
 
 
 
SPONSORED LINKS
 

Conquering Information Management Challenges

Learning from BPM Leaders

Webcast: Mitigate Operational Risk- Real Answers for Tough Times

Fulfill Your Remote Access Strategy for Mobile Users

State of the Market: Application Performance Management

Proactively Identify and Resolve Performance Issues

Union Bank of California Improves its Online Banking Services

The Link Between APM and Customer Satisfaction

Providing Around-the-Clock Customer Satisfaction

Enabling the Global Enterprise Webcast: Learn why businesses are turning to wide-area data services

High-performance computing is no longer just for Big Business

The Nokia and Cisco mobility solution that has created true business transformation.

The ECM Paradox: Extending Local Flexibility to Strengthen Central Control

Customer Insight Yields Sales, Marketing Gains

Best Practices in Choosing and Consuming Managed Security Services

A Guide to Messaging Archiving

2008 Google Communications Intelligence Report

The Impact of Messaging and Web Threats

Comparing Google and Other Leading Messaging Security Solutions

Put Enterprise Communications on Autopilot

Portfolio Management for Effective IT Governance

Making Enterprise Architecture Work within the Organization

Telepresence - A Realistic Solution Connecting a Global Workforce

Enabling Enterprise 2.0

Customer Hubs Deliver on the Failed Promises of CRM

Operational Excellence Is Key to Maximizing IT Investments

The Right and Wrong Master Data Management Strategies to Start Small and Grow Big

Paving the Way for Trusted Collaboration

First-hand look at this never before seen research

Effectively Managing High-Performing, Business-Critical Web Applications

Managing Service Level Agreements to Achieve Business Goals

APM Solutions: A Window into Complex Web Applications

APM Solutions Offer Insight into Complex Web Applications

Five Best Practices for Enterprise Collaboration Success

Expand High-Performance Computing (HPC) Capabilities

Power the Platform of Choice for Virtualization in the Enterprise

Deliver Social Computing Business Value

Make Hidden Trends, Inter-Relationships and Influences Visible.

7 Requirements of Data Loss Prevention

A Guide to Understanding Hosted and Managed Messaging

Google Apps Premier Edition Helps Indoff Manage E-mail More Effectively

CapGemini Cut Call Center Costs with Google Apps Premier Edition

Comprehensive Review of Security and Vulnerability Protections for Google Apps

Web 2.0 The New Face of the Web

Mission Impossible: Building the Right Project Metrics

Project Portfolio Management - Boost the Value of IT

Embedding Architecture into the Organization

Data Center Asset Planning - Regaining Control of the Data Center

Develop new insights that deliver better business results

"Enterprise-Proven" is the Prerequisite for Enterprise SaaS Portal Solutions