Computers: Taking It on the Road

Portables turn up on bikes, bleachers and battlefields

Rock-'n'-Roll Drummer Mickey Hart of the Grateful Dead takes one along on road trips, tapping out messages between performances. Space Shuttle Trainee Loren Acton has his along when he leaves Sunnyvale, Calif, for the Kennedy Space Center, using it to draft memos and read mail. New York Photographer Rick Smolan carries one on photo assignments, putting him in contact with cameramen all around the world. Physician Andrew Bern relies on his to get patient information in medical emergencies. Says Bern: "I don't go anywhere without it....

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