Earlier this week storms and tornadoes raged through Tennessee, causing a great deal of damage. Two trees toppled on the road where I live, tearing down electrical, phone and cable lines. I was without power and Internet for over 24 hours, which is very inconvenient for an on-line editor.

For some time now, I've been using a 27-inch iMac as my main work machine (and only Mac) and using my iPad for a minimum amount of work when I'm on the road (which is rare). I love my Apple tablet, but quickly found out it doesn't cut it when I need be running Safari, Pages, Pixelmator and Mail -- and jumping back and forth between the apps.

To keep MacNews.com and MacTech.com updated as best I could, I borrowed my wife's aging MacBook Pro and worked from my church building, which still had electricity and Internet service after the storms passed.

This was very inconvenient, as I had to set up my Mail preferences and move various files over to my wife's MP Pro. It's made me ponder two scenarios when I next upgrade my Mac equipment.

One: I could forego an iMac and get a 15-inch or 17-inch MacBook Pro with external display. That way I would always have all my files, data and needed software available in a portable Mac. If the power/Internet conked out, I could simply take my MacBook Pro on the road. Or ...

Two: I could have an iMac as my main machine and a MacBook, 13-inch MacBook Pro or MacBook Air as my secondary machine. I would need to sync files between the two Macs, of course, but this would allow me to have both a Mac and a back-up Mac.

I haven't decided which path to take, as it will be a while before I do any hardware upgrading. But if you have any suggestions on the matter, email me at dsellers@applecentral.com .

-- Dennis Sellers