Home Office Power Brokers on the Open Road

Are you a power broker? You have your laptop and broadband wireless card that provide access to the connected world. You may even have a back-up laptop battery in case your first does during the middle of a major project or especially thoughtful missive.

But what about the power that empowers you? Whether you’re in an RV or a hotel room, the stuff we use — our laptops, portable printers, iPods and cell phones — invariably require more power than some measly little two-plug wall outlet will provide.

So, power up.

I’m using a variety of tools that bring power to peak performance. My Targus Travel Power Outlets with Surge Protection ($19.99) turns one outlet into four, and includes a reset button should a power surge knock it out. What’s really cool is spacing between outlets and the butt-end outlet ensure my oversized power bricks won’t block one another from finding a home. Plus, it’s small (5.5 inches with an 8-inch cable) and light enough (5.6 oz) to fit in your laptop back. Also pretty cool, its plug fits into one of its outlets — making for a tidy, secure device. It even has its own Velcro cable tie (and we all know how I feel about Velcro).

Another simple power tool is my Ikea power strip. The Koppla five-inch, three-plug power strip (two per pack) is wicked in its austerity – and el cheapo in its $3.99 price tag.

No big find, you say? My home office is starved for convenient power. With PCs, accessories and the like, the outlets never seem to be enough – and they’re never where you need them. The same is true in an RV. Sure, I have an APCC eight-plug electrical and cable/DSL surge suppressor on my desktop, and another six-plug suppressor underneath.

But convenient power’s key. Even when I travel, that measly plug in the desklamp is woefully insufficient. So something like MonsterPower’s three- or six-plug Outlets To Go travel power strips ($14.95 and $29.95, respectively) are light, compact and convenient. Widely spaced outlets promise room for space-hogging transformers for camera, phones and other accessories. Be sure to look for cord management solutions so accessories in your laptop bag won’t become a tangled mess. This way, whether you’re at home or in an RV somewhere along I-26, you’ll have ample convenient power.

Since the '80s, Jeff Zbar has been a writer, speaker and spokesman on all facets of working from home and entrepreneurship. His columns and blogs have appeared via Entrepreneur, Success Magazine, Home Office Computing and the South Florida Sun-Sentinel, and he has been a small business expert on national television and radio.

Jeff Zbar recently went on a three-week voyage with three kids, two adults, one teched-out, Internet-connected RV-turned-home-office – with almost 3,000 miles of America to be explored and a new way to work to be chronicled. Driven by Jeff Zbar, the Chief Home Officer, Home Office Highway shines headlights on a whole new "remote" office. Learn more at www.homeofficehighway.com.

Home Office Highway | BusinessPro

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