A road warrior in the past was travelling salesman who needed a cigarette adapter for his laptop. But when the number of global mobile phone users surpassed the number of desktops in 2014, we all became road warriors. No longer is it just about the car or the plane: we experience power and connectivity problems when travelling across town, and this is no longer acceptable. To help, we’ve put together a handy list of the types of problems faced and some useful gadgets to help you while in a new locale. Scotty, We Need More Power! Until Dilithium Chrystals are discovered and power ceases to be an issue for portable devices, we will all face the inevitable frustration of running out of juice in the middle of a call, or forgetting the power cable for your laptop when you have a major presentation. Here are a few tips to help avoid swearing in the office: Buy multiple cables: colour code your cables so that white is at home, yellow is for the kids, and black cables are WORK ONLY and not to be touched or taken out of the car / laptop bag. Always carry backup: If you haven’t already got a portable mobile phone charger, keep your eye out at the next tradeshow, as they’re often given away, and can be extremely useful in a pinch. Think of others: throw this USB charging station on the boardroom table before a meeting and see who’s the office hero. And ensure you carry a dual-port USB charger in your car (for guests, not just kids). Connect & Project In the race to make laptops ever more portable, the first sacrifice is the number of ports. In fact, the new MacBook Air and other ultrabooks may only have ONE port – a USB-C. Here are some tools to augment your device and ensure you stay connected. Add a mini docking station to your tool set, and immediately add the ability to connect (RJ-45 Ethernet) and project (the port most commonly found on projectors is VGA, but HDMI is available as well, if resolution and sound are important). Is the hotel charging you extra for every device? Then add a travel router to your luggage. Now you’ll only have to configure (and pay for) one device on the new network, and not each phone, laptop and tablet. If you plan on leaving the country, ensure you have a handy travel adapter. This one covers NA/UK/EU/AUS and has two USB ports. Check out StarTech.com’s tools and guides to find the adapter, cable and power solution that suits your needs.