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Ars gear: WWDC 2012 liveblog style

See the hardware we'll be using to cover the WWDC 2012 keynote on Monday.

Ars gear: WWDC 2012 liveblog style

So you have an idea of what life is like as an Apple event liveblogger. "But what kind of gear do you use?" That's the inevitable next question Ars readers often ask me (and probably most of us who have done liveblogs). We write about techie stuff all day, but what do we actually use in real life when it's time to get the job done?

As I fly to San Francisco to cover the WWDC keynote on Monday, I thought I'd detail all the gear I'm bringing with me. Every liveblogger is different, of course—not everyone has the same gear. But as someone who does a handful of these events annually, it's safe to say most livebloggers carry some variation of the same items. Some of the gadgets are nicer, some are cheaper. Some are new and fancy, some are old-but-trusty. As long as they work, they're fair game for liveblogging.

My trusty 11-inch MacBook Air is what I bring with me to cover everything, including liveblogs. It's a 1.6GHz Core 2 Duo model with 4GB of RAM that was released in 2010. The only thing I don't like about using this machine for liveblogging is its limited battery life. An Apple keynote often lasts around two hours (sometimes a little longer). While the Air's battery can barely last that long on its own when I have a wireless card plugged in, I'm actively typing, and photos are being processed and being uploaded in the background. Luckily, Apple has begun putting power strips in some rows in the press area at its keynotes. Ending up in such a row isn't a guarantee, and at bigger keynotes (like WWDC), the best seats are the ones that are often power-strip free.

Still, my MacBook Air performs well during these things, and for some reason, I type the fastest when using the Air's flat chicklet keyboard.

The camera I'm using this time around is a new one for me: the Canon EOS 7D. (In the past, I have used an old, beaten-up Canon Digital Rebel XT.) The 7D is an 18 megapixel digital SLR, but more importantly, its sensor is so much better than what I'm used to with the Digital Rebel. I can't wait to put this one to use in the liveblog on Monday.

The lens I'll be using is a Canon EF 70-200mm f/2.8L USM telephoto lens. It's not my usual lens when I do a liveblog with photography, but we have used this occasionally for liveblogs at Ars in the past. This thing is a monster with the weight to prove it (ow, my shoulder), but it definitely gets the job done when you want to really get a good angle on Scott Forestall's signature look of "excitement."

The handful of accessories that are coming with me include a Belkin mini surge protector/USB charger, a Mophie "Juice Pack" Powerstation, a Sprint Overdrive, and a generic USB wireless dongle running on Millenicom. The Belkin surge protector is priceless—I highly recommend carrying one with you on trips, as it has been infinitely useful to me in airports, hotels, conference centers, and more. The Mophie Powerstation can provide backup battery juice for my iPhone (I plan to write a review of this soon!). The USB dongle is usually my main wireless connection when I cover liveblogs, and the Overdrive comes along for the ride as backup. Not pictured: the millions of cables required for everything in this post to work together, which are in the process of wadding themselves into a giant cable octopus in my carry-on bag as we speak.

Yes, I bring with me an iPad and an iPhone. The iPhone is my main phone, so I need it on me in order to communicate with the Ars team back home in the event of a wireless meltdown in the keynote area (or any other less-frightening emergencies). The iPad tags along to serve as an emergency "everything else blew up" backup LTE hotspot, an item to compare potential new products against in the post-keynote briefing room, and as a testing platform later in the event of a new iOS release. For those curious, those are some Skullcandy 50/50 Earphones that have practically fallen apart in every way since I bought them last August (less than a year ago!).

Last but not least is my trusty messenger bag from Rickshaw Bagworks in San Francisco. I used to bring smaller bags with me to cover liveblogs, but I'm never satisfied with their capacity when I'm on the road. This one is huge—it's the large size messenger bag made for people hauling a herd of livestock on their backs... or in my case, a laptop, an iPad, an iPhone, a DSLR, a zoom lens, a handful of accessories, various personal items, and a cable octopus. (Don't do this at home, kids. Save your backs!) It also has a waterproof liner in the event I get caught out in the rain with all these electronics—don't laugh, it has happened—and as many pockets as I could possibly add. Inside, I'm also using a laptop sleeve from Waterfield Designs for both my MacBook Air and the iPad.

Now that you've seen what I'm using, what hardware do you like to bring with you when you travel? Whether for work or pleasure, we're sure you have plenty of recommendations for items to make your tech life easier when on the road.

(And don't forget to tune in for the liveblog at 10am PDT/1pm EDT on Monday morning, June 11!)

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