Portable IMac Solution

If you’re looking for a way to transport your iMac on an airplane, I have a solution for you that I’ve used many times since I bought my iMac G5 almost 5 years ago. If you’re heading someplace for more than a week or two you should know that iLugger makes it very easy to take your iMac as a carry-on bag.

I have a second home overseas and while I do take my laptop, I’m there long enough to justify taking the desktop with me as well. The computer is rather heavy, but it’s nice to have the larger screen and my primary computer when I arrive, and this custom bag makes it essentially a portable iMac.

For about $130 for the 21-inch iMac bag, you would expect a pretty high-quality piece of luggage, and that is exactly what you get. It is constructed from heavy-duty canvas and resists scuff marks and minor scratches, and has very generous amounts of padding to protect your screen. There is room for your keyboard and mouse, and some additional space too. The design is well thought out and it only takes a couple of minutes to load your computer into the bag. I have never had a problem from airport security, unless you consider a few “wow what a geek” eye-rolls to be an issue.

IMacs were not conceived as portable computers, but this bag transforms them into computers that are suddenly mobile. I was surprised to see that they now have iLugger bags for the 27 inch iMac, which may have me thinking twice as to which size I get the next time I upgrade!

Entry Level Programming Jobs

One thing that is attractive about computer programming or web development as a career is that you can acquire many of the skills that you need to do it professionally without first convincing someone to hire you so that you can get work experience. Entry level software jobs are something that you can create yourself.

Creating and executing your own projects is a way to display your talents for any future employer. Obviously breaking into the industry still won’t be easy if your work is of poor quality, but having no formal work experience doesn’t have to be a strict barrier to entry, as it would be in many industries.

Lou Franco over at Atalasoft has an excellent list of seven ways to get software work experience without having to actually be hired by anyone.