How my iPad replaced my laptop..

This is for all the techies in the house. LOL!!

Back in November, I had an unfortunate situation happen while on a business trip in Northern California -- my brand new MacBook Pro 13" was stolen out of the trunk of my rental car, along with a lot of other items (including my favorite leather jacket). :-(  As you can image, that was a real nightmare!  For those of you who travel on business regularly, your laptop is your lifeline to everything you need for business and sometimes even personal and you feel totally naked without it. Well, thank God I still had my iPhone!!!

Upon returning to Miami, I had to scramble and figure out first of all, if I had a backup of my data and then how far back it was.  Luckily, I did and that it was from September.  WHEW!!!  I was saved, sort of.  So, I proceeded to restore my backed up data to my desktop computer and then did some reconfigurations on it so that I can use it for work.  See, like any good geek, I kept a desktop computer for my personal stuff and used my laptop solely for business.  BAD!!!!  Ok, at least I'm back up and running with just a couple of months of data missing.  I could deal with that -- I guess.

Now, the big question, do I replace my laptop and if so what do I replace it with??  A bigger, badder MacBook Pro -- $$$??  Do I just use my desktop and not replace it at all?  Or do I do something totally out there and get an iPad???  Well, if you know me, I went "Totally Out There"!!!  (but, not after doing my due diligence by calling my best "Geek" friend and asking his opinion.)

So, after going back-and-forward with the pros-and-cons of replacing my laptop with an iPad, I took the plunge and was glad I did.  I purchased a refurbished iPad 32 Gig, Wifi only from the online Apple store (not eBay).  This way it is under complete warranty like a brand new one and I also was able to purchase the extended Apple Care for it.

Ok, now what gadgets do I need to make this my new iPad a bone-fide laptop replacement and meet my needs when I'm on the road.  There were only two gadgets I needed -- a keyboard and VGA cable to connect to projectors when I'm either doing a presentation or in a meeting with a bunch of people.  The cable was easy, just pick one up from the local Apple Store however, the keyboard --- hmmm.... a lot more choices.  Full-size, half-size, etc and then how's it going to fit in my backpack???  AHHH, the perfect fit from a company called ZAGG!!!  The ZAGGmate all-in-one aluminum case and bluetooth keyboard -- AWESOME!!!  Great conversation piece as well. :-)

Now the even bigger question, what apps do I get and how do I get the data I need on this thing.

To be continued....