Everyone's software selection is their own, tailored to what they do, but there are some absolutely esential utilities that will keep your Mac healthy and productive while away from your home base, or help you recover if problems arise
Cocktail
Your first line of defense against a problem Mac is Cocktail. Yes, Disk Utility (included in the Mac OS) is an excellent hard drive utility, but Cocktail does much more, allowing you to repair permissions, empty caches, run routine MacOS X maintenance routines and more. Giving your Mac a Coctail once a week is almost as important as backing up your data on a regular basis.
Alsoft Disk Warrior
When something goes wrong with your Mac on the road, you can rely on Disk Warrior to have the best chance of fixing it and keeping you up and running. If you don't carry any other utility, carry this one. Period.
MacOS X Panther
Yes, you already have Panther installed, you run Cocktail religiously, and have Disk Warrior in case something goes wrong. You're pretty well protected. In those rare cases where all the precautions have failed, where something goes terribly wrong and where you can't afford to be without your Mac, a system reinstall may be your only option. Keep your system CDs with you, in case major system surgery is required to keep you working.
Apple Remote Desktop
Wouldn't it be handy to have access to your home or office computer from the road. With Apple Remote Desktop, you can do just that. You never have to worry about leaving that critical file at home, and being able to save files straight to your desktop provides yet another backup option for those who live on the road.
