Being away from home there is some kit that has proved to be essential while travelling, which you can see on the left here. What is also interesting is the software that I have come to rely on over the last couple of weeks while away.
The most useful item by far has been my Netbook which has performed admirably allowing me to stay in touch with those at home (via Skype, Messenger and blogging via Windows Live Writer), provided entertainment (Spotify and Hulu) and also dealing with all the picture and videos that we have created (Flickr, Windows Movie Maker and a very old version of Paint Shop Pro).
For personal entertainment I have my iPod Touch. For output I can choose either from my Bose QuietComfort 3 headphones or the x-mini speaker. For capturing the moment there is the Panasonic DMC-TZ5 for stills and a Flip for video.
Of course all this lot needs charging. The Netbook has a compact universal charger which works pretty much anywhere worldwide. Most other devices can be charged by the universal USB plug adaptor. This includes the Energizer USBCharger for dealing with the rechargeable AA batteries in the Flip.
Thankfully this all takes up only a small amount of space in the hand luggage and the only negative effect it has had is on the amount I have read this trip. On a two week trip away I would get through four or five books. With two days to go this time I have read about one chapter.