Modern Buddy

My laptop is just a bit too long to fit in the pet carrier and I don't feel like jumping up and down on the seat to get it to fit.

I also am a little wary about tossing it in a backpack.

Anyone come up with a good way to carry their computer on the Buddy?

I don't have a top case and bungee cords seem a little too dangerous.

Thanks!

Laptop backpack?

A well-padded backpack or messenger bag is probably the best and safest place for a computer. If in or attached to the scooter, you're subjecting it to a lot of vibration and jarring every day. when it's hanging from or attached to your body, a lot of things protect it from those forces.

Also, if you crash, it's actually better protected attached to you. (I suppose this is debatable and depends on how you crash...) I was carrying a laptop in a padded backpack when I crashed and though it was damaged, it would have been destroyed if it had been bungeed to the scooter or in a saddle bag.

ericalm wrote:A well-padded backpack or messenger bag is probably the best and safest place for a computer. If in or attached to the scooter, you're subjecting it to a lot of vibration and jarring every day. when it's hanging from or attached to your body, a lot of things protect it from those forces.

Also, if you crash, it's actually better protected attached to you. (I suppose this is debatable and depends on how you crash...) I was carrying a laptop in a padded backpack when I crashed and though it was damaged, it would have been destroyed if it had been bungeed to the scooter or in a saddle bag.

Does the scoot ride differently with that weight so high up over the rear wheel?

And does it pull you around in turns?

Thanks,

Jeff

viewtopic.php?t=4892&highlight=laptop

viewtopic.php?t=4596&highlight=laptop

viewtopic.php?t=4366&highlight=laptop

viewtopic.php?t=878&highlight=laptop


the term "laptop" yields copious results! unlike, say, sylvania silverstar.

madtolive wrote:viewtopic.php?t=4892&highlight=laptop

viewtopic.php?t=4596&highlight=laptop

viewtopic.php?t=4366&highlight=laptop

viewtopic.php?t=878&highlight=laptop


the term "laptop" yields copious results! unlike, say, sylvania silverstar.

Thanks. Had a fever earlier and it must have burned off the search function from my brain. Will check those threads.

My laptop is a 13.3 inch MacBook, by the way. Too long for the pet carrier.

sotied wrote:Does the scoot ride differently with that weight so high up over the rear wheel?

And does it pull you around in turns?

Not in my experience... Not at all with a good backpack, especially. Messenger bags can be a bit more annoying because they move around a little. Some have an extra strap that connects around your midsection and helps keep it still. With either, the best thing to do is pull the straps tight against you. You'll hardly notice it after a while.

sotied wrote:Does the scoot ride differently with that weight so high up over the rear wheel?

And does it pull you around in turns?

Thanks,

Jeff

You're talking about a 5 pound laptop, not a 50 pound bag of dog food. If you have a messenger bag/backpack straped close to your body it shouldn't make much of a difference. I have a 17 inch powerbook, and a 3 ring notebook I have to tote around and its a PITA.

Just wear the backpack like a backpacker would... shoulders strapped down tight, sternum strap clipped.

Don't wear it like a High School student wears a book bag (ie, hanging looselybelow your butt).

Should work fine, be comfortable, and as safe as you're going to manage.

I just got this in the mail:

http://www.banjobrothers.com/products/01150.php

The laptop sleeve from my briefcase fits in it very nicely (or you could just use any laptop sleeve). This bag is very light and has an adjustable sternum strap and removable waist strap. I have yet to ride with it, but it is waterproof, light, comfortable, and fits closely over my Corazzo 5.0 (and the racing stripes match).

i just toss my laptop into my backpack and straddle up the straps so it sits high up my back [not touching the seat] and im good to go!

ScootingInTheRain wrote:I just got this in the mail:

http://www.banjobrothers.com/products/01150.php

The laptop sleeve from my briefcase fits in it very nicely (or you could just use any laptop sleeve). This bag is very light and has an adjustable sternum strap and removable waist strap. I have yet to ride with it, but it is waterproof, light, comfortable, and fits closely over my Corazzo 5.0 (and the racing stripes match).

I too have purchased, received, and driven to work (15-18 miles one way) with this backpack.

I have to say that I am extremely impressed with it so far. I carry large facilitator guides around and the backpack will easily weigh in about 25-30 pounds after I load it all up.

There is alot of space in the pack to store all that I need to carry and the weight distribution makes carrying and riding with the pack a breeze. Additionally, the way that the backpack is designed, I don't have any issues with seeing over my shoulder if need be to lane change.

The reflective stripes on the back of it are an added bonus for night driving!

I haven't driven in the rain with it on yet, so I can't comment on how well it repels water, however other reviews that I read before I purchased this one came out great.

I do want to thank scootingintherain for bringing this backpack up in another thread which prompted me to research and ultimately buy it!

ScootingInTheRain wrote: I do want to thank scootingintherain for bringing this backpack up in another thread which prompted me to research and ultimately buy it!

No Problem!

I can't wait to try it. I have never found myself wishing for rain like this...

~SITR

A laptop bag that keeps the system closest to your back, with a dedicated pocket (preferably that cinches, or binds it in place, is ideal). As one who works on laptops everyday, the most expensive part is the LCD; the most rigid is the systemboard/component housing (the keyboard part). Ideally, if you were to take a tumble, you want the LCD closest to your body (extra cushion). So a simple rule of thumb, face the top of the laptop toward the body.

Make sure that the laptop is isolated from other objects (any small metal/conductive material) that gets inside can fuse capacitors etc to things they shouldn't be fused to. Make sure the laptop isn't running (I.E. sleep mode) If a system is in anyway moving the hard drive heads (accessing, reading or writing data) the slightest jar can corrupt sectors of the hard drive (all your data are belong to expensive data recovery companies) **this is doubly important if you work for something like, say, a banking company (where relatively recently) there's a federal regulation that mobile data is encrypted with an "on the fly" encryption application.... Layman's terms, if it's running, it's accessing the HD a lot more than it's using the memory as a buffer (also a bad idea to walk around with it open, pretending you're important or cool... that solitaire game isn't worth loosing a month's worth of reports). (tangent off)

Most companies that make laptop accesories, have some sort of laptop bag available. The one I use is made by Targus. I seriously doubt that it's water-proof, but it's exceptional at protecting the laptop, centering the weight with your body-mass, and holding additional knick-knacks, notes, etc, etc. I'm about ready to just take a can of generic water-proofer from some place like redwing, and just douse my bag in it, and see how i does with weather.

I'm sure that there's got to be some chemical solution that you can apply to a cloth bag, which might turn the heading of this conversation. If you've got the ability to water proof something, the remainder is about functionality and style.

Hope some of the previously mentioned rambling might help a bit.

Lostmycage wrote:I'm sure that there's got to be some chemical solution that you can apply to a cloth bag, which might turn the heading of this conversation. If you've got the ability to water proof something, the remainder is about functionality and style.

I hear Nikwax works well for nylon/cordura riding jackets. Would probably work for backpacks, too.

Well, that just makes it easy, then doesn't it. Narrowing down by two gives a lot more options than narrowing down by three, right?

I'll have to check into this stuff.... once I work up enough nerve/experience to aim for riding in the rain. The local Meteorologists around here are spot-off! Every day's a surprise; though, predictably bad... <sigh>

sotied: I also have a MacBook 13.3" and I either carry it in my Timbuk2 Hacker bag ( http://www.timbuk2.com/tb2/products/laptop/hacker ) which is a very nice bag (both a vertical "messenger" style strap AND backpack straps); OR I put it in my Incase nylon padded sleeve and put it in my topcase (and lock it, so it doesn't pop open).

Lostmycage: I'm so glad you posted to this thread. I won't keep my MacBook in "sleep" mode anymore if I'm going to be carrying it in my topcase--it is also in a padded sleeve in the topcase.

I transport one every working day. Computer bag with shoulder strap. Strap on right shoulder, computer bag on left side.

sargelee71 wrote: Lostmycage: I'm so glad you posted to this thread. I won't keep my MacBook in "sleep" mode anymore if I'm going to be carrying it in my topcase--it is also in a padded sleeve in the topcase.

I don't think that's what he was saying, but in my opinion, your Mac is just fine in sleep mode. The hard drive is parked that way and it's fine to carry it. What I believe he was saying is to make sure it's not actually ON.

jmazza, maybe I did misunderstand---I guess I just want to be more safe than WTF. The use of "sleep" seems more Apple-related and "hibernate" more PC related. Thanks for the clarification, though.

sargelee71 wrote:jmazza, maybe I did misunderstand---I guess I just want to be more safe than WTF. The use of "sleep" seems more Apple-related and "hibernate" more PC related. Thanks for the clarification, though.

As far as what I've always read (and I just double checked), sleep on a Mac puts everything to sleep but keeps some power to the RAM so things can start right back up. Your hard drive remains parked.

One warning would be that if you have the computer set to wake from sleep automatically for any reason (certain applications, a backup, etc), the computer could wake up in your bag which might not be so great. However, most laptop users don't do that since we never know where our computer will be at any given time (and it's not the default behavior). Even if the computer did wake up, the motion sensors that are built into Apple laptops are pretty great and would likely park the hard drive if the ride got too wild.

I have traveled on all sorts of transportation with my Powerbook sleeping and never had a problem.

In this bag discussion, I'll throw out Chrome bags again... http://www.chromebags.com

I got caught in a torrential downpour for about 10 minutes yesterday with my Powerbook in my Chrome Citizen messenger bag. When I got home the outside of the bag was completely soaked and the inside was bone dry.

I travel with my MacBook Pro in sleep mode. No problems at all. I hardly every turn the dang thing off now.

Someday, we'll all have multiple terabyte flash dives in our laptops and it won't even be a consideration.

Yep, there's a HUGE difference in Win vs Mac variations. One thing to note about the Macs.. make sure you inspect the magnetic latch on the lid... make sure it catches (mine rarely just misses.... very rarely) if the lid goes from closed to open, it wakes up and starts spinning the HD. HD damage from minor bumps is rare, as long as the HD isn't doing any heavy read/write (typical of an application loading, saving, etc.). Most apps load to memory and run their instructions from there. the macs do have a good "shock detection" system and it'll catch things well before a Windows system will. but that's from having the OS spec out it's running system.

You'll be fine as long as you just use common sense and take care.... as with most things in life.