The pretty good but not quite perfect laptop bag

I had already decided on a laptop bag when I purchased my Macbook, but since I could only order the bag I was looking for (a Booq Taipan Shadow S), I opted instead to find a bag locally that I could get my hands on before purchase. I just like to be able to visually inspect any item that I plan to purchase, if only to let me gauge the quality before handing over some money.

On a weekend trip to MEC, I decided to pick up a very nice bag by Onsight, the Saigon Micro.

There are three sizes for this particular bag and I hesitated a bit before the purchase as I wasn't exactly sure that my Macbook would actually fit in the smaller size. The interior includes a padded computer pocket and that was the crux of my dilemna; the pocket looked a little small, but I figured that if it was, I could always use a sleeve to protect the laptop and slip it in front of the laptop pocket. I asked the MEC staff, but no one had tried this size.

After looking over the bag, I decided to make the purchase anyway, as even if the laptop did not fit at all, the bag was still of fantastic quality.

Well, for clarification, when I did get home, I determined that the laptop pocket was in fact too small for my Macbook, but the bag was large enough to fit the laptop in a sleeve. Quality materials, several well designed pockets, strong and easily adjustable strap and excellent stitching really makes for an outstanding product. Even the interior lining has been thoughtfully designed, with a lighter colour fabric to make finding contents easy.

If you are in the market for a new bag, why not take a look at Onsight; they offer several quality products are very reasonable prices. A lot of manufacturers could learn a thing or two from them.

Wacom Intuos 4 tablet

After doing some research, I decided to purchase a Wacom Intuos 4 medium drawing tablet. A while back, I had purchased a small Wacom Bamboo drawing tablet for my wife, but one of the first things I noticed was that it was pretty small and not as responsive as I had expected. It was fine for occasional use, but I had decided that I wanted a larger drawing surface and better responsiveness.

After shopping around, I headed to Henry's in Ottawa as they were offering the best prices I had seen on Wacom products in the region and picked up the tablet. One of the first things to remark is that Wacom has taken care to produce an attractive looking and effective packaging solution.

One of the deciding factors on this specific model was the great software discounts for Adobe Photoshop CS5, almost 50% off the list price! Wacom has also included a very decent software package, which includes the following:

Nik® Color Efex Pro™ WE6
Wacom Brushes 3.0
Adobe Photoshop® Elements 8 for PC and Mac
Autodesk SketchBook Express® 2010
Corel Painter™ Sketch Pad

I got home and unpacked everything. I wasn't exaggerating about the great packaging job that Wacom has done on this line of tablets. The box contains:


The tablet
The drawing stylus (or pen if you prefer)
The mouse
A weighted stand for the stylus
10 extra nibs for the stylus
A nib extractor tool
A USB cable (standard to mini)
A documentation package (which includes a driver CD, a quick start manual and a reference manual)

I don't use a mouse with my Macbook Pro and I don't think this is about to change. Although the mouse is quite nicely shaped, with five fully customizable buttons, excellent resolution and battery-free operation, it's limited to the tablet surface to work and that quickly limits its use, in my opinion. I set the mouse aside and got everything else setup. I have to give some kudos to Wacom for the elegant design of the pen stand, which doubles as a storage container for both the extra nibs and the nib extractor tool.

After installing the software (and let this be a general tip to less experienced computer users, always get the software installed and updated before plugging in the hardware; saves a ton of headaches afterwards) I plugged in the tablet. Another interesting design feature is the inclusion of two USB ports on the tablet, to allow the option of a proper cable orientation when used in right-hand or left hand mode. One of the most common complaints of Wacom's tablets was the general right-handedness of their devices. The new Intuos 4 models have resolved this issue by placing all of the tablets secondary controls on one side of the device. This allows the user to simply flip the tablet to allow both righties and lefties! The settings menu allows the user to switch modes and the tablets customizable OLED displays flip to the correct orientation.

The displays themselves are truly useful, removing the need to memorize yet another set of custom controller parameters. The touch ring, another change to the Intuos line, has four modes, indicated by one of four small lights. This allows the ring to provide access to four linear-type functions, like zoom, brush size, canvas rotation and more.

The tablet is incredibly responsive and a pleasure to use. The increased level of pressure sensitivity, together with very low starting weight (1 gram vs. 10 grams) really set this line apart from previous incarnations.

If you've never tried a tablet, I highly recommend any of the models from the Intuos 4 line. If you already have a tablet, consider any of the models to be a great upgrade to the tablet you might currently be using. Really, a fantastic product!

A new camera bag

Although I originally purchased a camera bag for my wife, I have to admit that it was not the greatest bag ever made. I'm not trying to say I got her a cheap bag (perish the thought!) but I've always thought that bag selection was truly a personal thing. There is no such thing as the perfect bag for everyone and armed with this thought in mind, I decided to shop around for a new bag for her. I headed over to Vistek, in Ottawa to browse through their pretty impressive selection.

One of the options my wife had commented on in a positive manner, at least with regards to my own camera bag, was the correct orientation of the bag's opening when worn as a sling. We both agree that any type of sling bag should be able to rotate from back to front, with the bag's open end facing up. I looked through the various sling bags that were available and eventually settled on a Kata Bags DT-213.

Although not strictly a sling bag in the traditional sense (it's designed as a torso bag to begin with, but that does not prevent it from being worn as a sling), it performs remarkably well in this regard. Very solid construction, from fabric cut and selection, to stitching and fininishing, lend this bag a very professional feel. Some thoughtful details, like the yellow lining material, which lets you see to the bottom of the bag for those lost accessories, really set this manufacturer apart from many others in the same field.

Since I gave it to my wife for Christmas, she hasn't had a chance to use it to its full potential yet, but I have absolutely no doubt that it will make more than a worthy replacement for that first bag!

iPad Accessories: Twelve South's Compass Mobile Stand

There is a secret amongst iPad users; Apple hasn't made a big deal of this secret and the legion of iPad users don't really want to talk about it. But here it is: iPad users are notorious accessory hounds! My wife is no exception (the Apple iPad case, the iPad dock, the wireless keyboard and even a stylus!), but that's just not enough for the diehard.
Well, after browsing some accessories myself, hoping to find some inspiration for a gift for my lovely, I decided to purchase the Twelvesouth Compass stand. 

A lot of manufacturers have discovered that the iPad, although a fantastic device, can be a little heavy in the hand. And furthermore, typing on the device without some kind of stand to place it at a more appropriate angle, can be a little frustrating. All manner of stands exist for it, but few are as elegant as the Compass. A sleek, steel and silicone item, the Compass has two possible positions: vertical as can be seen in the image above and horizontal (a perfect typing angle), seen below:

Being made of steel (and with the potential to damage the iPad, were it stored unprotected with the tablet), Twelvesouth was kind enough to include a fitted case to carry the stand during travel. It is unusually heavy, although it is my belief that without this weight, the stand would not function adequately. A beautiful, well made item, this is an accessory that iPad owners need to look at closely. Head over to Twelvesouth's website and see the Compass and several other great products for Apple hardware.