There was a discussion on Solosez today about adapters for AC power in your car to power your laptop.

I certainly hope no one would try to drive and use a laptop. But as more people start using the wireless Internet cards, it won’t be long before more lawyers facing long car trips figure that they can recruit a driver and then work all during the trip on their laptop. It sometimes is hard to see a laptop screen in daylight when operating only on battery power. We know that the monitor is much brighter if the laptop is plugged in. Amanda F. Benedict, a lawyer from Del Mar, CA, caught my attention with her recent purchase from Staples.com, it is a Targus inverter plug with a surge protector built in that fits into the cup holder so it doesn’t pull out accidentially. Maybe it is just me, but those plugs seem to pop out of the car’s power adapter (f/k/a cigarette lighter) easily and often. I have no idea if you actually NEED a surge protector when plugging into your car, but if you are buying one primarily to use with your laptop, you might as well get one, I’d think.

Tulsa lawyer Jody Nathan showed me something that looked like one of these at our recent OBA Solo and Small Firm Conference. But it turned to be an auto adapter that had two USB plugs. Check it out. It is compact and very inexpensive and you can charge two USB devices at once.

I understand some of the hybrid cars come with AC power plugs. So you’d better get your adapter quick if you want to be on the cutting edge. Soon everyone may have one.