Notebook computers have been going in two directions: more power/desktop replacement full sized notebooks; and smaller, more portable notebooks favored by road warriors. For the true road warrior, your notebook can't be small enough or light enough.
Of course, some road warriors have figured out you can always find a PC in the hotel business center, or at a local Internet café, so why even carry a 3-4 pound notebook? They use a web mail interface to their email. They carry the files they need on a tiny USB flash disk. The problem with that approach is you have to keep track of what files have changed (so you can put them back on your PC). And you don't keep the emails you've sent (unless you cc yourself). Finally you don't have all those settings (like your IE favorites) that make your PC your PC.
Powerhouse Technologies has the perfect solution, the Migo. My Migo looks like a standard issue USB flash disk. But it isn't. It has special firmware that keeps your data secure and lets the Migo perform its magic. Just stick your Migo into your desktop PC and click on a few options to tell Migo what you want to keep track of. I thought my 512KB Migo wouldn't be nearly large enough to keep track of my files, which total 10 gigabytes on my desktop. Setting most of my settings to keep track of the last 30 days, and including the PowerPoint files I use for talks, resulted in a 250 MB synchronization file. More restrictive settings for my notebook set up a less than 100 MB synchronization file.
When you put your Migo into a USB port of another computer, it is detected as a removable drive just like any other USB flash disk. If it doesn't autorun the Migo software, you'll notice there is just one file, MIGO.EXE. Double clicking on the Migo program icon runs Migo and puts a small pull down menu at the top of your screen. When you pick the mini picture of your PC desktop (Migo can actually store more than one PC like your work PC and your home PC), Migo starts the magic. It stashes a whole bunch of information that defines the host computer and replaces it with information that Migo stored the last time you synchronized your Migo and your desktop.
After about a minute you'd swear you were at your own PC. You desktop appears with the same icons. Open Outlook and it has your folders, your accounts and your contacts. Using the connectivity of the host PC you can send and receive emails just like you were sitting in front of your PC. Open Internet Explorer and it has your favorites (even your cookies so web sites "know" you). Launch Word and open files from "My Documents" just as if you were on your PC.
When you are done, just "logout" of your Migo and the original computer reappears. Even better, there is no trace of you using the computer (not even temporary files), so no one can go back and find out anything personal.
There is also a version of Migo that is packaged as a watch. You can wear your PC on your wrist. If you are a iPod devotee, there is a special version that can run on your iPod when it is plugged into a USB port. Any one of the three offers an ideal alternative to lugging your notebook on your next trip. I know I'm hooked.