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Best Laptop for Going Around the World?
mitbeaver writes "I'm planning a round-the-world trip. 6+ months in developing countries, including Everest base camps 1 & 2, the deserts of Namibia and lots of places in between. I want to bring something to write (blogs or the Great American Novel) and burn DVD photo backups to mail home. I don't really need much in the way of power, but I do need it to survive the altitude, dust, moisture of tropical locations, and being hauled around non-stop for the better part of a year. I will be carrying my life in my backpack, so every pound counts. It looks like some 'semi-rugged' ultraportables exist, but the truly 'rugged' are all pretty heavy. These are pricey, and the risk of theft is non trivial. A smaller laptop is easier to keep on my person more often, which is safer (in most countries) than leaving it in the hostel/hotel. Still, the rugged guys are 2x the price — almost worth buying a cheap one and planning an on the road replacement purchase. I know we've talked about gadgets to carry around the world before, but any advice would be greatly appreciated." We also discussed laptop travel cases a little more than a year ago.
Have you looked at Panasonic's line of "business" class tough books?
Instead of sending DVDs home, why not just send memory cards? They are smaller and you don't need a CD/DVD write drive. Just a memory card reader to write your data to.
Is it true that more people vote for the winner of American Idol, than vote for the president? -Ali G.
I was about to suggest a MacBook Air, but then I noticed the bit about burning DVD backups.
Aside from that, I have no idea.
If you had not mentioned a need for DVD burning, I would have suggested the XO. Maybe you could get an external burner?
Thinkpad X-series, maybe one of the T-series if you really need to burn stuff, but I wouldn't hesitate for a moment about taking my X40 anywhere. It's as rugged as you can get for that weight.
c++;
One thing you must consider in Plan B (replacing the laptop) is the difficulty of getting an English version of the OS and keyboard
While OSes are internationalized and have English versions in the same package as other Latin-alphabet languages (Spanish, French, etc.) I'm not sure it would be true for non-Latin alphabets as would be the case in Asia.
In another topic, considering that postal systems in many underdeveloped countries is not very efficient you might want a plan B for your DVDs; a nice padded package might get stolen just out of curiosity and it will certainly can be opened by postal authorities in many countries to verify its contents.
Good luck and have fun!
Be very, very careful what you put into that head, because you will never, ever get it out. - Cardinal Wolsey
Rugged, light, cheap: pick any two.
Oh, say does that Star-Spangled Banner entwine / The myrtle of Venus with Bacchus's vine?
I travelled for 20 months with an el cheapo Acer in my backpack. It's still going (although not in great condition), but I figured that if it was stolen then the loss wasn't too huge and if it broke, then likewise.
Carry one of those laptop locks, as well as a few other padlocks, and lock everything up any time you go anywhere and you'll be fine.
Oh, and install TOR before you go. Lots of those countries have daft internet filtering, but I didn't come across a country where TOR didn't work for me.
You will want to use a solid state disk when you are at Everest base camp.
If you read about computers used there, the hard drives fail very quickly due to low air pressure.
Hard drives are not rated to work at 18,000 feet.
Used ThinkPad X31, if you can find one in good shape. Tiny and rugged as hell. Replace the hard drive with a new one (just to make sure it will last through your trip) and you should be good to go.
Bring a small external DVD burner to burn your DVDs. You can leave that behind with less fear than the whole laptop.
Don't buy a ThinkPad X4x -- they use the cheesy iPod-style 1.8" hard drives.
* Exceedingly portable 42 pounds * 2MB Hard Drive * Several-color Monitor * Five Minute Battery Life * 512K RAM * Every time the "enter" key is pressed, everyone else in town will temporarily lose electricity * The battery burns 45 acres of rainforest as it is used as the Lappy's main energy source http://www.hrwiki.org/index.php/Lappy_486#Features
Don't be penny wise and pound foolish. If you are spending the money to go around the world, then spend the dough for the rugged, small laptop. The last thing you want to do is find your laptop breaking down 1/3 of the way through your trip. Have as small a laptop as possible, so that it's easiest to carry. Since this seems to be a large part of your trip, you shouldn't be trying to skimp on this, you pay for what you get.
In 2006 I bought a Thinkpad X60s when they were new. Last year I spent nine months doing field work in Central Asia with it, going round the various countries, between deserts and mountains, between +45 and -20 degrees Centrigrade, and all the while lugging it around on buses, in shared taxis and in ex-Soviet trains.
Once it fell out of my bag off my back in Tashkent, five feet on solid concrete and landed on a corner. I thought "that was my laptop", opened it and it booted just fine. These are solid little devices. No optical drive, but I found I hardly ever have the need for one of those on the road.
So that would be my recommendation. It's light, yet solid, and not underpowered. I've got the extended battery, which gives me 7 to 9 hours of battery life, and I also bought a worldwide on-site warranty option which would probably be useful in your situation as well.
As a state gets corrupt, its laws multiply; the most corrupt states have the most numerous laws. (Tacitus, Annales 3:27)
Why not consider paper and a standalone DVD photo burner? I could also see mailing the memory cards home as you fill them. Personally, I wouldn't want to drag a computer around the world with me if I could accomplish the same thing with a lot less weight.
I've dragged 2 different 17" Apple PowerBook G4s around the world a few times - maybe 100 flights, nearly a dozen countries in nearly every continent - and never had any glitch whatsoever. Both are still running perfectly, and both have been my every-day work machines in offices, hotels, wherever I am. The Apple universal power adapters are also very reliable (I've used them in every country I've been to). The current range of MacBooks should be equally dependable (but with much better battery life than the G4 :) ... and they run the most stable, secure and sexy desktop O/S.
you had me at #!
took mine with a motu traveler for recording in venice, berlin and kolobzeg. rock solid, even when recording a large rocksteady ska band. the aluminum case helps "ruggedfy" it, and the powersupply autosenses 220v. very small and light, and you should be able to pick one up fairly cheap now.
i still can't understand why apple dropped the 12" laptop form.
mr c
"Physics is like sex. Sure, it may give some practical results, but that's not why we do it." - R. Feynman
In Soviet Russia, laptop carries you around the world!
I'd go for something very light and cheap. If it breaks and you need a replacement well you're still way ahead than if you'd bought a Toughbook.
Also, instead of burning CDs, use SD cards or something small and light. They are far more likely to get through 3rd world post without getting stolen/broken than DVDs and you don't need a DVD drive. Sure they are more expensive, but EeePC or XO + bunch of SD cards is still way cheaper than a toughbook.
Engineering is the art of compromise.
Skip the DVD backups and carry some larger memory keys, they're nearly indestructible and light. You can purchase them in most airports. DVD burners are prone to dust, dirt, breakage etc. Also, you have to carry media, then try to mail it without damage. I'd suggest for thin and light a EEE PC, 7" screen, solid state hard drive, cheap to replace. Get a light aluminum hard shell and you're good to go. I've traveled with a 14", 13" and 10" laptop. By far, the smallest laptop was the best for weight and ease of use. Just check to see if you are able type on such a small keyboard. Upgrade the ram to a couple gigs and load XP, if that's what your familiar with. The base operating system is a type of Linux and is pretty good. http://eeepc.asus.com/global/product.htm
You should get an EeePC instead. Instead of backing up using a DVD burner, just juggle 3-4 8gb SD cards. The laptop is very light, small and has almost no moving parts (flash for hard drive), so it should be relatively rugged... that, and it's cheap enough that you could replace it without too financial worry.
It's not just what laptop to bring, but what to carry it in so that you don't look like a rich guy carrying a laptop. I suggest something extremely light, and underpowered, and small. OLPC jumps to mind immediately. But the key is nobody knowing you have it, so that it doesn't a. get you jumped, and b. walk off in the night or when you leave it in your apartment/hotel room/tent, or what have you.
Don't get a laptop bag. Wrap it in a shirt or something and put it in a canvas backpack. If the machine doesn't look like it'll take that abuse, you're asking for trouble on one front or another.
Whatever you get, immediately try to make it look like crap.
I chose the wrong bag when I was in Madagascar, and KNEW it after about a day or so, there. I did pick the right laptop, though -- a cheapo dell. I put stuff on usb memory sticks, so that my data was always both on the laptop and in my room.
They're small enough to fit in a the pocket of a pair of cargo pants, and cheap enough not to worry about breaking. You can probably just burn dvds at netcafes, but you could also pick up a usb dvd burner if you really want.
Its under $400, solid state, keep all your data on digital cards and buy an external dvd burner for backups
At under 1 kg you can carry it around with you daily, and if it gets stolen buy another and still save compared to other options
A: it's less likely to get injured in an impact
B: as weird as this sounds, mechanical hard drives with spinning discs don't work well at high altitudes, like Everest Base Camp. Apparently many hard drives fail at over roughly 3500 meters altitude. With that said, none of my computers or apple ipod/creative zen have had troubles with extended operation -- several days at a time -- at 11,000' elevation, and it's not a problem if they're not running. (I didn't previously know the hard drive cases were vented to atmosphere, although I guess it makes sense.)
Nostalgia's not what it used to be.
useless advice, of course, since they're not selling them, but that plus a usb-connectable dvd drive would be what you're looking for, if you can deal with a small, funky keyboard. Maybe you can get one off ebay? Install Xubuntu on a 16GB SD card, and you'd have the light, cheap, indestructible computer of your dreams. Sunlight readable screen, too. I use mine on the beach on Southern California, and blowing sand doesn't get into it either.
Other than that, you are very out of luck. I *carefully* transported a Toshiba and, later, a Sony Vaio to and from work on a bicycle. It was in a padded case, the roads were all smooth blacktop, and the rest of the time it was having a quiet life on a desk or at home. The Sony needed the hard disk replaced in about four months. The Toshiba developed screen problems because of a loose connection after about three months. These were newish laptops. The problems were due to shaking, not old age.
If you can't get an olpc, maybe get two Eee's and make arrangements to have the second one sent to you when the first one craps out.
The question is whether he wants ultimate reliability and quality (film, paper & pen), or to offer friends (or the world?!) immediate access to his thoughts and images (blogging via laptop, digital camera, etc).
Sidenote: the captcha for this post is 'archival'
Was one of those $2 notebooks made out of paper. They are lightweight, easy to use, and replaceable just about anywhere. They accept a variety of input devices, can survive being dropped from a large distance, and work reasonably well even after getting dunked in a river, although the fit and finish may suffer. They can exchange data with just about anything, by the simple expedient of tearing out pages. They have amazing translation and cross-cultural communication capabilities - just hand the notebook and your pen to the guy you are trying to get directions from, and he'll whip up a great little vector drawing in the local language to show you which turns to take. It has a crude but useful backup system, which consists of ripping out important pages and mailing them home. There is a very cool built-in security feature, which is that nobody wants your goddam notebook, so it will still be there in that café tomorrow when you remember where you left it. You can attach nearly anything to your files, even actual physical objects, if you bring some scotch tape with you.
And when you get home, take some of the thousands of dollars you saved, and hire a typist to transcribe it all for you. Or save even more money and take a week to do it yourself.
6hr battery life, water resistant, dropped several times, still runs like a champ. (used in a car environment). A bit to type though.
The Toughbook C30s are about as good as you are going to find in a fully rugged portable, but expend to spend about $4000 for a loaded unit.
That said, this guy: http://www.strikingviking.net/ went around the world with a Toshiba Tecra. He apparently had serious problems with a mac and did OK with a vaio.
Most can easily convert CF or SD cards to DVD. Its easier then carrying around a DVD burner (which will break or freeze at 18,000').
I'm in a similar position however not doing nearly as many countries, and I'm thinking the Nokia N810 is right for me. (looking at the n800 also)
It has GPS, wifi, bluetooth and all that, so you may want to pair it with a full size folding bluetooth keyboard.
As for cheap media to send photos home?, how about a bank of SD cards - you can get them as cheap as for 128MB. You can of course get 1GB for $5 from Newegg also.
I'm interested in your final decision.
I did this kind of trip in 2001.
Trust me, bring some Moleskine notebooks, and a USB adaptor for whatever memory cards your camera uses. Then, just upload the pix at cybercafes as you go. These days, if you can find a place to mail something, you can find a cybercafe.
A laptop is not worth the PITA factor.
involves the sort of torture that would have lesser laptops admitting to witchcraft. It's trained to withstand 4 inches of rain in an hour pounding down on the keyboard and screen, be frozen at minus 29 degrees centigrade and baked at plus 60. And to gain the name of Toughbook, any design must pass all these tests - twice!"
Pretty reliable laptop, huh. On a side note, how did you get the money to do this adventure?
... the media itself is fragile and you'd be surprised at the number of places you still can't buy them (I don't know about Nepal and Namibia though, but I'd wager places in between will have a hard time with them). I'd go for mailing memory cards home, or the good ol' internerweb.
Also, the DVD drive itself is fragile and will pack up way before you get back.
Personally, I'd go for something small, light, and with a solid state drive like the eeePC or OLPC if you were on a budget. If money is no option and you want an all-singing, all-dancing laptop that's going to survive, I'd look at the fantastic Panasonic Toughbooks, specifically the CF-W7 model, which weighs in at a sweet 2.4 pounds.
I have an XO laptop from the One Laptop per Child program. I haven't travelled the world with it yet, but I can tell you it is perfectly capable of being a lightweight machine for internet browsing and writing. Its specs allow for toleration of extreme environments and voltages for charging. I can charge mine in the car. The battery lasts me about 3 hours, or more if I dial down the backlight and turn off the wifi. The screen really is sunlight-readable. Another comment talked about storing photos on an SD card. That could work since the laptop has an SD slot and three USB ports. Of course you would have to see if the OS would work with your camera. The machine itself weighs about three pounds and is smaller than an 8.5x11 inch piece of paper and just a little thicker than a US quarter is in diameter. Caveat: the keyboard is small for adult-size fingers. Some custom installation is needed to get things like Flash websites to work. Oh, and you'll have to get one off Ebay unless you have some helpful contact since they are not being sold singly at present.
As noted above, needs stating again...
Harddisks are specified to work upto 10000 feet or 3000m. Above that, you're on thin ice. Solid state drives are becoming available. Sounds like a good plan to go with one of those.
I've seen a lot of Toughbooks take a very serious beating. From a construction worker who frequently drops his in the field to a electrician who doesn't even flinch when he hears his bent and scratched Toughbook dinging from side to side in his truck, they're good at surviving.
They're a far cry from from elegant and stylish but honestly, they sound right up your alley.
73! -KB3MGR
Less is better. Nothing is a good ideal. As Ryszard Kapuscinski pointed out, to have things is to die. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ryszard_Kapuscinski Kapuscinski traveled the world as a reporter. He got into places that no other reporter could and got out alive. If you're truly going to rough places, the less you have, the less likely you are to be murdered for your worldly goods.
A cell phone will do most of what you want. If you can, forget the laptop.
...so why bother? If you must take an old P2 laptop that you can treat as disposable.
Buy a bunch of Compact Flash cards and mail your pics home. Assuming they dont get your camera too.
I am very small, utmostly microscopic.
Macbook (not pro). tough plastic shell - reasonably rugged framework. Ours has survived our 2yr old trying to torque on the screen and mashing the keys for over a year now. As a backup the Lenovo thinkpads - nice construction.
I thought it was a good idea
http://www.panasonic.com/business/toughbook/laptop-computers.asp used in EMS and Military.
Your choice is a small form factor or a DVD R/W media bay.
MR-1
4.5"x6.1"x 1.4", weighs 2 lbs
There isn't even form factor space for a media bay, but it does come with a 40 GB hard drive; 80 GB HD or 32 GB SSD optional.
XR-1
Media Bay: DVD-RW/CD-RW
Cost?
MR-1: starting at $4,295
XR-1: starting at $3,908
A laptop of any variety will be a non-trivial theft risk in the situation you're describing. It's your choice to get a cheap, throw-away item that you have to try to replace mid-way through the trip, at questionable cost, or an expensive, reliable item that might actually survive the trip intact.
Hopefully, you aren't taking the same "replace it in the field" mindset with the rest of your gear.
Be warned that while the menace of DVD region locking can be defeated for many drives, Matshita have gone out of their way to enforce it. These are unfortunately pretty common (e.g. in Sony SZs) so help reeducate this brand by avoiding.
US household current is 120 Volts AC with a period of 60Hz. Voltages worldwide vary and can be as high as 240V AC varying at 50hz. Most laptop power supplies these days have a 2-part cord. The transformer box (the heavy box in your laptop cord) connects to the laptop itself with some connector specific to the manufacturer. The transformer connect to the wall with the same kind of power connector a desktop pc uses. I'm not certain, but I think you can just swap out the cord that connects to the wall and many transformers should handle the varying voltages and frequencies you might encounter (look for AC 100-240V 50/60hz on the transformer box's label).
The trick then would be to get a cord for the many different wall outlets you might run into.
As for weight/ruggedness, I don't really know. My guess is that solid-state storage is lighter and more rugged than hard drives, but quite a bit more expensive.
Also, I'm not entirely certain, but I've heard stories about laptops you can power with a hand crank - although i doubt they can burn DVDs.
All you need is a couple of bootable pen drives with Kubuntu on them and any cheap laptop that will boot off of a pen drive will work. Get more pen drives to send your stuff home and you are golden.
No worries about an English language OS, you are carrying it with you.
No worries about DVD, they would probably be broken before they made it home anyway (Netflix anyone?).
No worries about backups, if you have a couple of the pen drives with the OS on them in separate locations.
If you lose the laptop along the way, you can probably boot your OS in any coffee shop.
Look at the Everex laptops. Not rugged, but pretty cheap. Guess that goes hand-in-hand.
One more thing...can I go?
Setting his threshold to 5, Sparky eliminated most of the trolls on /.
If this is simply to offload pictures/video to media and send it home (presumably for safe(r) keeping), have you considered getting several data cards for your camera and mailing them back as they fill up? Even a cheap laptop is going to be expensive, heavy, require power for charging and in general be a major liability. I don't know what media your camera uses, but I saw on Pricewatch that someone was selling $11 2Gb SD cards. Buy about 100 of those and you'll have a lot less to carry. Think of what a laptop weighs and then think of what a spindle of DVDs weighs - then consider the cost.
Having said that, I would recommend getting the smaller cards and mailing more often to reduce the chance that your Pulitzer Prize winning picture is on the card that will inevitably get lost in the mail (despite our complaints about our mail system, there are many worse ones out there).
If you're wanting some kind of device to tap into some wifi, there are many devices that can do that and not have the footprint of a full laptop.
DISCLAIMER: This post was not checked for speling and grammar- if you complain- you're a whiner
Instead of going for ruged just go small and light. The Dell m1330 or the sony tz150n, then get a small rugidized case for it to fit into. Theft will be a serious issue and with its small size and light weight you will be able to keep it with you at all times. They are not very rugged but with a nice tough aluminum case to fit them in you wont have to worry about that much. They have great battery life and the sony has a built in sd card reader (I liked the idea of sending home sd cards, buy a dozen 1gig cards on ebay for $5 each and reuse them next time.) Keeping it in a case will keep most of the dust off it, keep it from getting broken. If it was me I would go this route just for the weight savings. Finding a good case to keep it in will be a pain. Keeping it powered up will probably be hard, but the longer lasting battery should make up for some of that.
For the computer, I'm going to recommend something different...;) Go for a PDA with a bluetooth roll-up keyboard. You'll get a LOT better battery life, something infinitely more portable (and concealable), and exceptionally rugged - they're built to take a lot more abuse.
Additionally, if you get one of the HTC units (or other Windows SmartPhones) you can write your journal entries in Word, and with the addition of a local SIM card have a cell phone as well. Plus never be without a really handy albeit low resolution video camera.
just a different option to consider!
Browsing at +1 - no ACs, I ignore their posts. So refreshing!
The real WTF (tm) is that you can afford to take that much time away from work!
Sounds like you want to try to get your hands on the One Laptop Per Child XO. It is extremely rugged (drop able) sealed against dust and dirt, waterproof (but not submersible), light, low power, solid state drive and memory card slot (for those saved pictures). Also mesh wireless, camera, stereo speakers.
There are some on eBay for way more than they sold for, but...
Most robust machine I have ever owned apart from the ancient Toshiba with a P75 CPU is my iBook. I've lugged it around the world (to NZ twice now from the UK) and it has held up very nicely. Would hope the current MacBook would survive to the same degree as the materials are similar. Polycarb case gets scratched but otherwise very tough, keyboard takes a pounding and overall it has done me proud now for over four years. Compare that to less than a year for any of the PC laptops I bought before their cases had chunks missing, keys falling off and backlight, battery and power supply failure.
Sure, you could buy a toughbook or something for big money but for a regular off-the-shelf laptop, the MacBook should do you fine. Get a decent semi-hard case for it and slap it in your backpack.
"I have the attention span of a strobe lit goldfish, please get to the point quickly!"
I own a LG LW25, core 2 duo machine. Works great with Ubuntu. New models are the E200. Pink, if you're man enough for that. Nice keyboard. Not the fastest machine around, but pretty tough. I've carried mine back and forth to work every day in my backpack for over a year, just with a neoprene soft shell around. No damages. I use it about 10 hours a day. They weigh in at 1.9 kilos, a wee bit over 4 pounds.
Moleskin ? I won't kill any helpless little mole for a notebook!
P.I.T.A = Pound In The Ass? For a notebook?!? Dude, where did you travel?!?
I prefer Flambe as apposed flamebait.
pen + paper and internet cafes....
however if you insist on a laptop then I'd suggest you get a used Apple iBook... sadly not so light but pretty damn tough with their Lucite shell. If it's not already scratched up then tat it up some with some stickers and/or spray paint... make it less appealing to thieves.
get something Sealine Urban bag or get a sealine or equivalent roll top water proof bag that will either fit as a sleeve for the laptop (and just allow the laptop bag getting wet) or one that will fit the whole laptop gag in (though makes it harder to tote.
Bantam Dominique roosters crow a four-note song. Once you've heard it as "Happy BIRTHday" you can't NOT hear it that way
I'd say the chance of at least an attempted theft is 100%.
The higher the technology, the sharper that two-edged sword.
Instead of mailing home DVD's, mail home CF or other flash cards - a lot more portable, often roomier, and less fragile. A little more costly, perhaps, but worth it. Not having a DVD burner will save you a lot of space - and even if the laptop doesn't have a builtin reader, a USB reader is light and robust.
I suggest to take an older and therefore cheaper ThinkPad from the X series, e.g. X31 or X41 models. They are build very strongly. Though in case they get broken, the manufacturer itself provides free hardware maintenance manuals online, there are many other free repair and upgrade guides for ThinkPad laptops as well. The manufacturer Lenovo/IBM has offices all around the world. If you can effort a newer model you can even get a three years warranty for many parts of the world. Instead of replacing the internal hard disk drive with a solid state disk I recommend to put all the data on an external USB thumbdrive. This way the data can be savely stored away from the laptop. You should consider to encrypt the data on the USB drive as well as on the hard drive. ThinkPads even offer a BIOS option to achieve encryption. If you can't live without a DVD drive you need an additional external DVD drive, because the X series doesn't feature an internal DVD drive.
Why not give an AlphaSmart a try for your writing? Runs PalmOS (though the wide-screen aspect ratio will royally confuse apps that make poor assumptions about resolution) and lasts darn near forever on 3x AAA alkalines. I don't work for the makers, but I do know several professional writers who love the little machines.
Sadly, this won't help you with your photo conundrum, but you might consider one of those hard-drive based photo wallets (perhaps something like this) and visit an internet cafe periodically to replicate to a server.
James
...you bring a pad of paper and a polaroid camera?
In a survival situation you may well need a quick camp-fire, so a Dell Laptop would make perfect sense :)
I would get a plain MacBook. They're small, have a really durable casing, good battery life, dvd burner (unlike the macbook air), built-in camera and microphone so you can post videos (if you're into video blogging), or call home via skype.
WiFi, Solid state, liquid crystal
The Everest base camps have WiFi; 802.11b, to be specific, so anything that can do 802.11b should be OK.
At that altitude, or anywhere else about 3000m (10,000 ft), you will want something that has solid state storage.
But that's probably not worth worrying about, since cheap liquid crystal typically freezes at about -10C (14F), and the best at about-40C (-40F). It also stops phase-changing at about 80C (176F), so you probably don't have to worry about the deserts.
-- Terry
I've travelled around the world and back again (http://360togo.com, http://swooshcompound.com/ and the Sony TR3AP is the best option. Make sure you have:
1) Small physical dimensions. Something like a 10" screen. (I really miss my C1MV). It's big enough to get real work done, but no so big that you stand out like a sore thumb. This seems silly, but if you're going the places you say you're going, you'll feel very self conscious about flashing something worth more than their annual salary around.
2) Awesome battery life. I carry two extra-size TR3AP batteries at all time, so I have 10-12 hours of battery life. I hear the new TZ series is even better.
3) Ethernet port. Wifi is rare, and more often than not you'll end up going to an internet cafe, unplugging one of their computers, and plugging the wire into yours. Bring your own ethernet cable.
4) Connectors for your camera. I have a Sony camera so the memory stick reader is built right in. Otherwise USB works in a bind.
The TR3AP has all these. They're available on eBay for $600-800. Extra batteries are like $100. It has a built-in webcam for Skype. It's a fantastic computer for anything you need to do, up to and including software development. (Not games, sorry.) I bought mine new years and years ago, and it only now just broke. I just bought a new one off of eBay; the only complaint I have is Ubuntu 7.10 doesn't support hibernate/suspend out of the box on it. But between breaking my old one and buying this new (used) one I was using a MacBook, and I can't wait to get back to the smaller form factor.
Don't worry about ruggadized components; laptops are really sturdy. Just keep it on you at *all times*. like, literally. In showers. In clubs. In the bathroom. At all times. If your laptop is too big you will get lax, and then it'll get stolen.
Also don't worry about a modem port. You'll never use it. International phone jacks are even less standardized than electricity.
Don't worry about voltage converters. Don't get the stupid "world traveller plug adapter kit". Just pick up a plug adapter at 7-11 when you land in a new country and you'll be fine. Pretty much any laptop's AC adapter supports all relevant voltages.
Don't get a laptop case. It's just bulk you don't need.
That's my advice, good luck and have fun!
-david
Old deserts like Namibia are evil, very evil. At that point, it's not sand, it's dust. If you ever tried to take a picture with a camera there, you probably know the evilness of these places. A small jolt of sand in these, and you can kiss your precious camera goodbye. Same for laptops, times 10.
Personally, I would go with semi ruggerized / fully ruggerized, like some old ToughBook. Look them up in EBay, you can get them for maybe $500. They look so bulky no one will want to steal that. The other possibility is to keep any laptop in some airtight compartment, and only open that compartment behind closed doors, which is not a bad idea anyways.
Simply put, a laptop bag, two garbage bags and some loose tape works wonders, and will allow you to keep your precious laptop safe. For high altitude, look up for a fully ruggerized ToughBook, or switch your hard drive.
Dell's All Terrain Grade models are MILSPECed against harsh environments. Personally I've never used the ATG stuff, but I do own a non-hardened Dell D630 as my main machine and couldn't be happier. It's light, portable, powerful and runs Ubuntu fine.
I would imagine the ATGs would be slightly heavier, but if I were looking for a tough laptop with all the trimmings (including DVD burner), I'd check out the D630ATG.
"And then I visited Wikipedia
If you must bring the laptop, phone your home insurance company and get a rider for your electronics. I have $3000 of gear I usually carry or have in my car. Its all insured for $150 a year (including accidental damage)
Don't take electronics like a laptop into the Namibian desert. The sand there is some of the finest in the world since it is so old. So far I've lost two film cameras and one digital one to Namibian dust. Some people are having better luck keeping their equipment in a sealed, dust proof case and only removing it at night in a calm setting. The dust there is so fine it is almost invisible. It gets into everything. Have some fun, go up to the Kunene River and sneak into Angola for a day. Or stalk the desert rhino on foot if you can find one.
Better yet, subscribe to online server space and upload your photos/Great American Novel notes while you're in places with good internet service. You can get several GB of storage for a few bucks a month, and there's almost no risk of damage short of a freak fire at the datacenter. There's even services specializing just in online storage and backup, as opposed to webhosting. You also won't be as tempted to delay sending off your photos/files to maximize the utilization of each DVD or an expensive memory card. You can backup any time you have a connection.
And the only way I keep it alive is that I put it in a Pelican Case 1495. The hummer of laptop cases if you will. Its super heavy and will one day fall out of a overhead bin and crush some grandma's skull. I work offshore so the idea that its waterproof appeals to me. However for lightness Pelican also sells a smaller waterproof case. I dont have the model number but its new. It doesn't have the large latches on the sides so its not as rugged as a normal pelican case. I would just get a small laptop (macbook) and put it in there. Just try to protect as much as possible when moving- a pelican case will do exactly that.
Get an OLPC, they are cheap, rugged, and can be powered by a large variety of power sources. As a plus no one is likely to steal it. Get a USB card reader and send memory cards home. Matt
I have many friends that have done extensive traveling in third world countries and have done some myself and neither I, nor no one that I know, has taken a laptop with them. It sounds great in theory but the reality is that it's simply more trouble than it's worth. I realize that this is slashdot and it's a unique demographic so if you HAVE to take one I would look for a very rugged ultraportable or umpc. Also a solid state drive would be a requirement for the high altitudes at everest.
But again, take some time to see if you can really justify the need for a laptop. If you are going to be sending daily blog updates maybe then you need one, if you are going to be taking LOTS of pictures, then maybe you could justify it. But for probably 99% of travelers, even slashdoters, you don't need one. You just have to get over that first hump of accepting life without a computer at your fingertips 24/7.
Take a notebook to write in, they're better than computers anyway. You don't need any power, plus you you can draw pictures and diagrams. When you can get to an internet cafe transcribe it. If you're worried about losing it make photocopies when you can and mail them home. 4 gb memory cards are going for 17 bucks on newegg. Assuming 2 mb per picture 2 of those cards could hold 4000 pictures, which would come out to an average of 22 pictures a day. Buy some storage space on picasa and upload pictures from there when you have a chance. If there are any documents you need access too just carry a memory stick, or email them to yourself so you can get to them from any internet cafe, or upload them to google web apps.
If you're carrying a laptop you're going to have to constantly baby it, especially if you're living out of a backpack. What happens when you drop your pack? What happens when your pack gets wet. What happens when you're on a bus with a bunch of locals, are you going to want to pull it out and risk it getting stolen? My advice is to simply cut the cord. When you're traveling like that it's much better to enjoy the experience than to be hunched over a keyboard half the day every day.
DELL's new vostro or latitude or inspiron lines are the best hands down best semi-rugged laptops around. http://www.dell.com/html/us/products/latitude/test.html shows how good they are.
I have actually spent the past year backpacking across Asia : China, Burma, Thailand, Laos, Cambodia, Malaysia, India, Pakistan, Iran, Turkey, Syria, Lebanon.
Prior to this, I did a "test trip" and went to Bolivia and Peru. While I did initially consider bringing a laptop with me, my test trip told me that a notepad, internet cafes to burn DVDs and the local post office were more than enough. In particular, the notepad has an extra advantage, which is that you can stick things in it, from bus tickets to flowers, next to your impressions of the day. Believe me, it's those little details that you're going to remember.
As to the picture problem, I had one of these 2.5" portable hard drive with a memory card slot, and it let me store as many pictures as I wanted until I could find an internet cafe (which can be very difficult to find, say, when you're in the middle of a week-long trek). It did work quite well in the salt desert in Bolivia, which happens to be rather high (4000m), and can be very cold (-10C or below). If in doubt, just bring a bunch of memory cards.
Don't forget that there are internet cafes everywhere (the less developped the country, the more internet cafes, except in case of special political difficulties, like Burma), and yes, I did blog.
Get an old SLR and take plenty of film with you. Mail back the rolls of film as you go. You'll still be able to get 35mm film no trouble all over the world.
Buy yourself a nice little fat black hardback notebook with good quality paper and buy yourself a nice pen. Write in it at night around the camp fire and by candle light. Make sketches and stick things into it while you travel. Enjoy it as an artifact of your travel. Thumb through it and show it to the kids in 20 years time.
On my travels I usually bring an old Fujitsu Biblo B2160 where I've replaced the internal drive with a 120gb disk, and a couple of backup hard drives (2.5" externals which run of usb power), one which I always keep in a "secret" compartment in my shoulder bag. The thinking behind this is that it doesn't really matter if I lose the notebook as long as I keep the pictures. Of course, if I was really worried I would probably bring a 20 pack of 9gb DVDs and burn copies of the pictures on those, then email them back. (You can pay to have your pictures written to DVD, or use an internet cafe somewhere)
I've used that computer in 5000m+ altitudes (16000 feet and more) - not at any of the basecamps to Everest, but then you'll probably be so dead tired from the altitude that you won't think of it, besides, I wouldn't trust the generators in the tent villages you stay in. (Going Lhasa -> Kathmandu is a great trip btw)
You should also look into having a zip lock bag of some kind for your notebook, that will keep the moisture out and might even keep the ants out if you go the rain forest.. I would also use a bit of padding around it, it doesn't have to be anything fancy, heavy bubble wrap and gaffer tape is good enough.
A suitable notebook shouldn't cost more than a couple of hundred usd used, buy two or three extra hard drives, and stock up on memory cards for places without power - it should be a lot less expensive than a more high-tech solution. (Some hostels in remote Tibetan villages might lack easily accessible power, but power is more common than running water in such places)
The only problem with cheap used computers is that they might not have usb2.0. That means emptying a 8gb memory card might take 2+ hours, even more if you take backups as you copy (you should do that). This has not been a problem for me, I just let it run overnight if necessary, but you might want to pay the extra money for usb2.0.
The keyboard is not likely to be a problem. All the asian language keyboards I've ever seen still have western characters on them in the common qwerty layout.
See:
http://www.casemouse.com/kb/mini/japanese-keyboard.jpg
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/6/6d/Thai_Keyboard_closeup.jpg/800px-Thai_Keyboard_closeup.jpg
http://sternerson.com/images/new/china/day9/keyboard.jpg
The worst case would be that a few keys might be in different places.
And yes, it might be hard to find an English language OS in computer shops, but even that is common for normal use because in poorer countries, it is pretty easy to find english copies of windows in markets where they sell bootleg software and music.
...having carried a laptop around the world (literally) for 16 months, I can tell you that a Panasonic Toughbook is worth every penny. Granted, mine was for expeditionary military purposes, but it (along with numerous other laptops we had ranging from Mac Books, Think Pads, Dells, etc.) was probably no more or less abusive than what yours will see. Toughbook's are very expensive, but they're purpose built (get one with a touch screen...you'll thank yourself). If your purpose is met by that, then cough up the bucks. Also, for the record, the Dell's are junk (including the ruggedized version they've started producing). My two cents, but two cents based on experience.
Look for one of the older W line business toughbooks (W2 or W4). They ain't cheap, but Toughbooks aren't. There's an optical drive if you're bound and determined to use it, and an integrated SD slot if you want to save postage getting the back ups home. Alternately, have you considered a TRG Pro? It's a Palm III equivalent with a CF slot. Takes AAA batteries and there's a mini keyboard available for when you can sit down (screen keyboard when you can't). It won't do color or pictures, but you can enter text to your heart's content and save and ship backups easily. I wouldn't recommend playing volleyball with one, but I've found it to be very dependable and sturdy over the years.
I was travelling around the world 2005-2006 and originally left the uk without a laptop thinking I'd use Internet caffe's to stay in touch with family etc. I quickly realised I spent too long time getting my camera connected, photo editing software installed, cd's burned etc so the time I arrived in Thailand I bought a lovely Sony vaio tx laptop at a bargain prize. It was a great travel campanion and lasted all the way around the planet. In it's sleeve it fitted in a small daypack so I could always bring it with me (when I didn't feet comfortable leaving it in the hostels). I was doing glacier climbing, liveaboard diving, 5 days inca trail walk/climb, downhill cycling in Bolivia etc... Always carying the laptop with me...and avoiding letting too many people see it when in transit.. I did treat it with care but i'm still amazed how well it lasted. I'd buy the same again today - highly reccomended! Enjoy your trip!
I wouldn't worry too much about using the laptop on Base camp or above.
I designed a wireless network and configured a number of HP rugged laptops and tablet PCs as part of the Egan/University research expedition a few years back. The idea was for the laptops to be used by the researchers and to relay data back to the universities. By the end of a couple days at base camp, everyone was mostly too oxygen-starved to use the machines to a degree that would have justified all the extra stuff. I think up there a simple digital camera with large capacity and simple controls is a good idea. And a pad of paper.
For the record, we had HP rugged notebooks - and the heated hard disk units survived. I also had a backup USB drive loaded with PuppyLinux, but they never needed it, the drives survived the trip. Actually, the only major faults were cables being destroyed by Yaks or windstorms. Bring extra cables. A thuraya phone works well there too.
I'll scribe!
Is no laptop.
Seriously. Its probably about 10 lbs of extra crap you really, really don't need. Everywhere in the world, you can:
- do email at an internet cafe
- burn DVDs of photos at an internet cafe
- watch movies / listen to music on an iPod
- take notes on a pad of paper
Every pound of extra crap you're carrying is another pound of stuff which:
- you have to lug around
- you will worry about being stolen
- displaces the incredible souvenirs you'll find
If you still think you absolutely need a PC: get a cheap PDA and portable keyboard. You can at least fit them in a pocket and won't be out as much cash when they get drowned / smashed / stolen. In all honesty though: even my PDA gets the short shift when I'm traveling, so I typically don't bother. Given where you're going, you might be best off with a GPS.
Final words: spend the money on the trip. See or do ten things you otherwise wouldn't have done. You'll be way better off.
~ A fellow traveler
Everything I've heard is that Macbooks are fairly well-built and more damage-resistant than MBPs, because they're made with plastic instead of dent-prone plastic.
+++ATH0
And they aren't really big or heavy.
I had to return a Fujitsu laptop because it would not work in my natural climate workshop in Georgia. On days over 96 degrees and 70% humdity, it would overheat and shut down. Replaced it with the P2120 transmeta based which is small and light and it was OK to 100 degrees with high humidity. In summer my workshop gets up to 108 some afternoons.
Let us know what you end up with and how it works. Spouse and I are doing a 12 month trip, Pacific, Asia, India, trans siberian, ??? in 2010 and info will help us choose notebook.
You'd be amazed at the number of internet cafes in the world.
...which are somewhat more rugged than the aluminum Powerbooks, being built on a magnesium frame encased in carbonate. They also cost less. When I pressed some Apple store staff about iBook vs Powerbook durability, they said it was
I've taken my 1.2GHz model everywhere: plane trips, car trips, on the train over the past 4 years and nothing has gone wrong with it.
A laptop is probably not necessary - have you considered using a PDA or smartphone for your travels? Recently, I carried a T-Mobile Dash with me to New Zealand and went backpacking across the South Island. I use a blog capable of posting entries upon receipt of an email, so I setup a gmail account through the phone and updated my blog via email whenever I hopped on Wifi. That happened surprisingly little over the course of the excursion, so several days worth of emails would get sent out as soon as I found a hotspot to connect to. If you aren't keen on smartphones, a modern PDA will likely do the same with Wifi. The Dash, in particular, has a MicroSD slot that can be used to store large amounts of data (2GB is the most I've put in mine). In addition to taking photos with the Dash, MicroSD's usually come with an adapter to turn them into normal SD cards that can be used in many cameras and card readers. Take pictures with your Dash with the MicroSD, or using a camera with the MicroSD + Adapter. As others have said, it's probably a lot easier (and cheaper, and safer!) to mail SD cards back home than CD's; certainly MicroSD's are excellent in that regard. I used my Dash every day to write emails, take pictures, and communicate over SMS (and occasionally voice, which I tended to avoid at $2/minute). It handled it fine, provided I charged it nightly. The Dash's battery life sucks though, so you might have better luck with a comparable device. You might also consider using Internet cafes wherever possible to use the Internet - save the text on your phone/PDA to MicroSD, then copy it into your blog from the card once you connect to the cafe internet. It's a great way to avoid lengthy connection charges when you're sending in bursts anyway.
Definitely NOT the ASUS-F3J
Bad....bad...memories.
I just did five months in China and brought my Dell Latitude D620. It survived all my travels, the dust, and cold, the heat. One thing i made sure of, however, was before i left to have insurance. If i got it stolen, i'm screwed. My Latitude worked great (4.6 lbs), but regardless of what you do, get travelers insurance. I never had to use it, but that's the idea.
Xhentil Do'ana
What PITA factor? Honestly, where is this meme that laptops are "AN INCREDIBLE PAIN OMG" come from? You put them in a backpack and use them when you need them.
I was fine with my 7 lb beast back in '01 and would be even more fine with something like an EeePC today.
+++ATH0
avoid the hassel and go lowtech -- no laptop. net cafes are everywhere. you'll save weight and volume and you'll save the worry of it breaking or getting stolen.
second that! the Eeepc is da dope. get yourself a 4g modle and upgrade. it gets stolen you'r out 299. also concider the fact that sending photos home as back up is overkill bring a few dirt cheep usb sticks or sd cards.
been happy with mine and am posting this from a train station some where in lapland. oh most important buy the power adapter before you leave!!!! they are spendy out here.
heheh... was thinking exactly the same thing. Bugatti Veyron or Koenigsegg CCR... I can't decide. Cash aint a problem - I just want something that'll do the job. Which is more value for money ? Should I bite the bullet and just get BOTH ??
Both the 5mx and Netbook have been used successfully by mountaineers; the Netbook in particular was used by a Hungarian team while climbing Mount Everest. They have been out of production for years but it shouldn't be difficult to pick them up (probably used) for a small fraction of what a normal laptop would cost.
http://www.psionteklogix.com/public.aspx?s=us&p=News&POid=367
http://www.project-himalaya.com/news-00-shishapangma.html
I have never used a Netbook, but was pleased with the 5mx that I used years ago (though not for world travel or mountain climbing or anything like that). It fit in my pocket, had a VERY comfortable keyboard for its size (I could type at roughly 2/3 of the speed that I type on a full-sized keyboard) and ran for a good 30 hours or so on a pair of AA batteries. It survived a number of short falls--about 3 feet onto hard surfaces--without any problems.
Both use CompactFlash for removable storage, and can be used with a cell phone or modem for Internet access. The Netbook has a PCMCIA slot as well, which (with appropriate cards) adds Ethernet or wireless capabilities.
http://www.pdastreet.com/forums/showthread.php?p=321802
The 5mx probably won't be of much help when it comes to creating backup copies of photos, but the Netbook might with appropriate accessories (either sending them over the Internet or mailing home CompactFlash cards).
And yes, both will run Linux if you choose, though there are some limitiations.
http://linux-7110.sourceforge.net/howtos/netbook_new/index.htm
http://staff.washington.edu/dushaw/psion/openpsion/
http://linux-7110.sourceforge.net/howtos/series5mx_new/index.htm
Gameboy
peli (pelican) case + pretty much any laptop. Get an eee and a peli 1200, and it isnt going anywhere. Those cases can take some serious damage, plus you can also fit in a couple of external hard drives / cases of sd cards.
:)
oh, and grab a microcase or two for your camera
In the dominican republic I actually lost my camera with my memory card still in it and lost all my photos. I had found an internet cafe the day before and was going to back up my photos but they did not have an SD reader, only USB. If I had a laptop, the extra 5lbs in my backpack would have made my trip much less enjoyable and I would have taken less risks carrying $1500 in gear instead of $300. If you do get a laptop, try to find one that will fit in a 1 gallon ziplock.
I've got an older nc4010 that has treated me well for world travel. It's 3.5 pounds and has stood up to serious abuse without developing any problems. I've hopped freight trains with it (think serious vibration, lots of banging around, and scorching hot metal in the Utah salt flats), sailed near-derelict boats across the Caribbean with it (think incredible humidity and constant moisture), run from the cops with it (I once fell off the back of a chain-link fence and landed square on my backpack with this laptop inside), and slept outside with it.
Once, all my stuff got drenched in a rainstorm. The nc4010 didn't get the brunt of it, but still got pretty wet. I tried starting it, but it wouldn't power on. I waited 45 minutes until it had dried out, and it started fine.
I'd be tempted to look into cheap pocket-sized solutions. Maybe a Palm handheld, plus charger that can use AA cells; might not even need the folding keyboard, depending on how well you can use pen input (someone wrote a whole book this way). Bring two small card USB readers to use for duplicating SD cards at internet cafe's. No big, hard, laptop-sized bulge in your pack. And cheap enough that you can have a complete spare/duplicate set at home, pre-packaged to ship to you if your pack gets stolen.
An e-ink based ebook reader (e.g., Hanlin Jinke, Sony PRS-505, Irex Illiad, Cybook Gen3) will let you read for days on a battery charge that's the equivalent of a cell phone battery. (Add in a USB charger.)
Drop the laptop in favor of a UMPC. 2lbs with 12 hours of battery life with one of the 6, 8, or 9 cell extended life batteries. Kohjinsha makes some incredible packages under 2 lbs. with DVD burners. Samsung's Q1 is available under $600, but has less power & storage. Add in a universal charger, or two, or three for it.
For virtually unlimited storage, add in 2.5" 500GB HDDs, if customs doesn't object to your personal library of files. Rechargable Li-Ion or Li-Poly batteries are available to cut the drain on your UMPC for $35 each. They plug in in-line between the USB port and the HDD.
Andy
In my experience thinkpads are some of the toughest laptops without paying lots extra for ones advertised as "rugged". The lenovo website has some interesting information on what they put their test machines through (though obviously this is not third party testing and must be taken with a grain of salt). Another thing to keep in mind is what kind of international warranty a company provides. If a company offers an international warranty and has a presence and/or good support setup in the countries you will be traveling through that would be one of the strongest pluses in my book.
I just returned from Uganda with mine and it was pretty good. The keyboard is a little on the small side and the processor isn't the most powerful but it worked well for me and the touchscreen was quite nice. It had an SD and CF slot which made importing pictures onto it for viewing quite nice. The biggest limitation was the lack of USB ports, it only has one. Overall I was quite impressed with the battery and the size/weight. I purchased the padded case from Fujitsu and it was a life saver, dropped it in a mud puddle, fortunately the puddle wasn't too deep, but the case now has a fresh layer of Ugandan mud. I've also dropped it from about 3' without the padded case onto concrete and it did ok, just a few new character marks. I lost the right arrow key, but I can still press it and it still works. I have no idea now what other two functions are on that key, but they weren't important as I didn't seem to miss them.
The touchscreen was very nice to have. It made going through pictures easier and overall I found the Vista basic that came with it usable if you don't mind working a little slower. I would suggest getting a surge suppressor that works world wide. I found one at the airport that worked quite well and it provided USB power. Had I know about this device I would have brought my Plextor external DVD-RW.
---- Fight to protect your right to keep and arm bears! ummmm... ya I think that's right....
I'd go with an asus eee. Cheap, disposable, uses solid state. Instead of DVDs, mail back 512MB/1GB usb thumb drives or SD or CF....whatever you want.
Fujitsu makes a series of ultra-portable notebooks with 6" screens, but they are full-featured laptops. They can get pricy, but the quality is top-notch, and service is available globally.
Conformity is the jailer of freedom and enemy of growth. -JFK
Take a notebook. no no...not a computer....a notebook. I have hiked over 2000 miles in the last year...if the total weight of what you're taking with you doesn't let you run...then you're doing something wrong.
for your photos/videos
anything else is geekyness.
The Cloud - because you don't care if your apps and data are up in the air.
I've been traveling for more than a year, and I bought a Vaio G1 because it uber-light (2lbs), long batt life (11hrs) and has dual layer DVD burner -- and it's made of carbon fiber so it's a tough cookie. It wasn't cheap though, cost me $2k in Kuala Lumpur.
... prob for your Everest plans). The new ones have cameras and wifi, so they're even better than my old and creaky 8700. But being able to lookup something on wikipedia on the beach on a remote island in the Philippines is just too cool :)
I found that I didn't need it most places though, since the rest of the world (non US) has internet cafes everywhere, and they usually have cd/dvd burners if you need them.
I found the most useful toy was my Blackberry, esp. with the unlimited intl. data plan -- I could browse the web, send/recv emails and even IM everywhere I went (except Nepal and Cambodia though
I've been using a T60p for about 8 months now, and the thing's a tank. I'm pretty sure it's available with a solid state hard drive now too. A bit overpowered for the traveler, but the perfect thing if you want to edit video or photos on the go, while equipped with a tank of a laptop with astounding battery time.
I faced a similar problem when choosing a gadget for my walk across japan. In my case I would literally be carrying it the whole way. It needs to be easily powered and deal with camping for 6 months and very light.
I chose Nokia's N810 which reads mini-SD cards and a case from OtterBox. I'll be taking all Mini-SDs for my camera and using the N810 to organise the images and email a few before sending cards home. For power I'm taking a Solio with a USB adapter, and a wall-socket to USB adapter so I can charge it indoors or outdoors as I may not get to a building for more than a week at a time. The Wifi in the N810 should be enough to keep in contact with the outside world, now I just need to find a scanner that'll let me know when I'm in a hotspot as I wander through residential zones.
In Soviet Russia, guys pick all three.
The people who REALLY MUST have their laptop work, like the US Special Forces, use these.
You'll also want a travel charger/solar backpack like this.
One Laptop Per Child's XO Laptop (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/OLPC_XO-1) is quite ideally suited for travel. I've played around with one and it's very tough, with a thick case, excellent wifi antennas, a closed sealed keyboard and a screen that can be used in bright sunlight. The thing was designed for rugged use by children and long battery life. An upcoming battery software update is promised to make the battery life even better as well.
The default Sugar GUI is designed explicity for learning, and the built in software is as well, but folks have installed XFCE on it and Ubuntu as well, and that process should get easier in the future, seeing as the XO Laptop has only been available for a short time.
The only problem is that the XO Laptop isn't for general sale. To have one at this point you'd either have to be a child in the 3rd world or you would have had to donate during the "Give 1 Get 1" sale earlier in November.
It's a great compact notebook with a solid titanium body. It's a few years old now - but it's perfectly good for the things one does when traveling: web browsing, ftp, blog maintenance, picture editing, etc. Why buy a new laptop when this one isn't even a huge loss if it's stolen.
The flag just makes more sense than the constitution. - Judas Gutenberg
I'll agree with stable and secure, but sexy it is not.
As the island of our knowledge grows, so does the shore of our ignorance.
They're sturdy and might help you better than a laptop.
Motorola PDAs
Or bring some thin foam large enough to cover your laptop screen. This can greatly help keep it from getting scratched up by placing the foam between the screen and keyboard when you stuff it in your bag. I know from personal experience that a single backpack trip with an unprotected laptop can leave nasty scratch marks that could have easily been prevented.
Besides, as anyone knows, you can't go travelling around without a towel.
I spent three weeks in Russia this past summer. I didn't bring a laptop. However I didn't need to write / blog.
I used a self-contained memory card backup device with a small LCD to verify success. Because it was 3 weeks, I brought enough memory cards that I could both back them and not re-use them which gave me two copies of every thing.
If I was going 6+ months to all the places you mention, I'd plot out where I could stop and find a could enough connection to transfer photos home over the net instead of shipping DVDs. Bring a Asus EEE , Thinkpad X40 or Macbook Air and backup the photos to that along the way if a separate photo backup device (and adapter / charger) is too much to carry. Don't erase the memory card until you've been able to ftp the photos from the laptop to an online service or your ISP account. Then keep the backup on the laptop as the second backup and reformat / re-use the memory card.
The weight of a larger laptop with DVD burner built in is just too much for the trip you described in my opinion.
I'd just go with a ppc, or a palmtop + external keyboard (many have USB). They are cheap, use solid-state storage (a real issue if you are going to be in high altitudes), they are light, and run much longer on battery than many laptops, and actually fairly tolerable to squint at and write for about an hour.
I've done all of the locations you're talking about (though I wonder if you're really going to EBC 2 -- I assume you just mean regular base camp at Everest, since climbing through the icefall isn't the kind of thing you just show up and do, and camp 2 is above the icefall). For all the hyperbole about stuff failing at high altitudes, in several years and dozens of off the shelf computers which have spend months up there, we haven't really had any hard drive or LCD issues on Everest. The big problem is actually dust, which you'll get everywhere in the third world.
That said, I wouldn't go on such a long trip without a Thinkpad or a Toughbook (maybe a Macbook/Pro/Air).
Screw burning DVDs, you'll lose half of them to theft or damage, and the drive increases the size/weight of the computer. Buy flash media -- miniSD is the smallest that isn't crazy expensive -- and store everything on there. You can fit a dozen miniSD cards in the coin pocket of a pair of jeans and have a 100 gigs of storage in a place nobody will look. The big thing there is that if they get wet or dusty it doesn't do anything to the data, nobody will pickpocket them, you can carry them on the plane, etc. It's not cheap, but spending 60 years regretting losing the pictures is even worse. You can also easily buy more in normal stopovers like Singapore if you need, and mail home the older ones from there in a standard fedex envelope.
Recursive: Adj. See Recursive.
I went on a two-month trip across Ireland and Germany. Everything I brought fit into one small Jansport backpack (the kind a grade school or high school student might carry) and a Domke F3x camera bag. I had my Nikon DSLR and two lenses along with some other items in the Domke bag, with all my clothing and towel and bathroom kit in the Jansport. I never had to check my luggage on the airlines this way. I did not bring a laptop, but getting on the 'net was easy cuz there's so many internet cafes all over the place. As for digital image storage, I just brought three compactflash cards with me: two 512MB and one 2gig. I took 2,700 photos on my 4-megapixel DSLR using the cards. Only once or twice did I connect my CF cards into a computer at an internet cafe ... I was concerned I might pick up a virus, and wanted to limit my risk.
The Eee has also got a built-in SD slot. I would suggest getting a bunch of SDHC cards (rather than thumb drives). For example, right now Newegg is selling a 4 GB SD card for $9.49 after a mail-in rebate. So: $400 for the Eee, plus $200 for 80 GB worth of SD cards, should allow you over 3GB of photos per week. And honestly, twenty SD cards are a heck of a lot easier to manage than an optical drive and twenty DVDs.
6 months was barely enough for me to see Eastern and Southern Africa. You might be able to do it if all you're interested in is name-checking but if you really want to see some of the world you'll have to either spend a lot more time or limit your trip a little. If you want to visit Everest base camp and you've got six months, try going from India to Thailand via Nepal. I think you'll have a lot more fun if you take it slower.
As far as carrying a laptop with you, keep in mind that while internet cafes are plentiful, places with Wi-Fi or even an Ethernet connection might not be. For my trip to Africa I used Apple's Camera Connector to download my pictures to my iPod and used internet cafes to update my blog. It worked for me.
I would suggest one that you aren't afraid to lose or have destroyed in transit.
I spent 10 months traveling around the world and another ten driving across the US in a camper van. You can read about my trip at www.thewanderyonder.com (The picture gallery is probably more interesting) We had a pretty "interesting" trip to Everest base camp from the Tibet side.
Anyhow, don't bring a laptop. Seriously, its too much weight, even the macbook air. Take your camera and plenty of memory. There are fantastic internet cafes all over the world that you can burn cds and dvds from. We first burned our memory cards and then uploaded them to our hosting provider and mailed the cds/dvds home.
The important thing is to take notes on what you want to write about when you _do_ get the opportunity. And trust me, you actually _will_ want to spend a lot of time in a pleasant internet cafe uploading pictures and doing the real writing about your trip at the cafe. The note taking system I started using that really helped me caption my pictures and remember the highlights I wanted to write about is to review the pictures you take on your camera during the day and set the viewscreen so that you can see the image file name, then each night, or as close to it as possible, make a note associated with each filename on the camera. Include not only the contents of the picture, but the other things that were happening around the time you took the picture.
My biggest regret about my trip around the world was trying to figure out the ideal gadget kit beforehand, I went with a Palm TX with Bluetooth Stowaway keyboard and had that set up so I could do banking and upload pictures and blog. But it was such a pain compared to just using internet cafes that I wound up sending all of that home. Instead I wish that I had taken the time to research and buy a digital SLR camera and really figure out how to use it.
Make sure you bring an unlocked GSM phone, and if you are taking the train from Beijing to Lhasa Tibet, bring enough air sickness bags for everyone in close proximity to you.
Have a good trip, visit my website and email me from there if you have any specific questions, I'm happy to lend some advice to somebody else doing a trip like this. I'm glad to hear you're going to Namibia its a beautiful highly underrated country.
My suggestion: eschew a laptop. When you are backpacking you will appreciate every pound that you are not carrying. Instead spend the money on a portable camera backup solutions. Internet access is quite easy to find even in remote areas.
I blogged from Timbuktu, sent e-mail from Lukhla and web surfed in Zanzibar. Internet cafes are quite easy to find in developing countries.
If you really *need* a laptop... (nobody really needs a laptop.... 4 billion people live without them), then get yourself an ultralight weight machine. But you have to realize that the machine will probably cost more than the annual salary in a lot of places... and plan accordingly.
Less is more... the journey is the reward. Travel without a laptop and you will be richer for the experience.
-S
If a truly rugged laptop is too heavy or expensive, you might consider using a more ordinary laptop and protecting it. Places that sell laptop accessories will have padded cases, but if water is a concern, you might try the plastic bags used by canoers. They come in a variety of sizes, are very tough, and have special seals that make them truly watertight.
After 50+ countries and 10 years on the road I came to the conclusion that laptops and travel do not mix, unless you are working full time. Cultures, people and situations are much more interesting when you're forced to get away from the computer screen. The only valuable gadgets I bring must fit in my pant pocket (camera, ipod, cards, pp, money). All items in the backpack have no monetary value...solves so many problems and headaches. Internet cafes are everywhere, but if you must bring one my advice is to stick with a pda...it fits in the pockets
New View Media - Custom Website Design
I traveled around the world in many developing countries like Cambodia and China with my Dell Inspiron600m. It's not the lightest out there, but I really had no trouble with its weight. Most of the places you stay will have some type of metal locker that you can put your own lock on. When I did have to carry it around for the day I wouldn't take the power adapter etc. Most of the internet cafe's in SE asia I would just take my laptop in and plug it directly in instead of using their computers. You can contact me ryan@albarelli.com if you want more info.
So I'm planning a similar trip... and I've considered my options. My biggest fear is theft, I'm not too worried about damage. I've traveled with a 12" G4 Powerbook around many places before, including Tibet (didn't get a chance to make it to Everest Base Camp...). I've taken it on backpacking trips, and rock climbing trips to places all over the world, so if you take care of it, damage isn't your biggest concern. Theft is, cause it's one of those things that you can't control easily.... if you travel for 6 months, you are going to lose something...
:)). I plan on having at least 1 WD Passport along for data storage and back-up. Which adds another reason to bring my Macbook, it runs Leopard so it has TimeMachine to back-up my data. But if I lose the Macbook, I'd shed more tears...
So with that in mind, I might actually go dig up my old powerbook and bring that along and should I lose it.. oh well.. My other consideration is my current 13" macbook. The reason I'm even willing to consider my current Macbook is I do a lot of photography and need a computer that can process 1,000 pictures a week on (yes.. I just click away..
As for writing the Great American Novel, I plan on dropping by REI and picking up those waterproof notebooks for the times I'm out in some crazy environment (say sea kayaking in Alaska, climbing Mount Kenya and/or Kilimanjaro, etc...), that way I can leave my laptop safely locked up somewhere...
Another thing to consider is weight. With all the cloth you are bringing.. think about your varied environments.. from desert (100F+) to Everest Base camp (32F-) All the gear you will need for those two very different environments.. where are you going to put it? If you bring an Digital SLR... what about that gear? Lens? etc..
Toughbooks are cool, so are Thinkpads, as are Macbooks... so in the end my suggestion is do the non-geeky thing.. buy small, buy cheap.. and be prepared to lose it..
Drop me a line if you are interested seeing if we have any common destinations...
I have a 17" Macbook Pro that I've taken with me around the world (NY, England, Australia), used it everywhere, and it's been great. of course the size is a hinderance if you want to hoist in on you back. I'd recommend a Macbook (not Air). I have an eee pc and it's so light and useful, I'd recommend that if you want a cheaper/lighter option. I'd bring lots of SD cards, or upload if you have webspace to family and such, or to a blog...keep the pics small (600x480) or so. Or the best laptop that I've had (2 of them) are IBM Thinkpads. NO matter what model, they last forever, are durable, and very reliable.
I've had several prolonged trips comparable to the one described here. No high-altitude mountaineering, but several RTWs with a couple of long kayak trips, some lengthy treks, and some good stretches away from power. These were long trips with some periods when I had to be presentable and give lectures and some periods when I was away from the crowds.
My experiences:
1) I took a simple G3 iBook on the most recent/ most rugged trip and it worked great. Small, simple and it wouldn't have a disaster if it got badly damaged or stolen. It was silly to have an optical drive but that didn't bother me. Those G3/G4 iBooks are quite sturdy in my experience. I've given 30+ of them to research students who do not treat them gently and though there have been some problems, overall they've held up better than anything else I've tried.
2) You can find internet cafes everywhere and burn CDs there, upload photos, backup documents, etc. Carrying an optical drive is totally unneeded.
3) Power supplies are a weak link. On an earlier trip, I was happy to have an easily-replaceable (thanks AppleCare!) power supply instead of something exotic.
4) I was generally never away from power for more than a week, so carrying extra batteries wasn't worth it for me. That may be important to you. When I was away for power for longer stretches, I just didn't bring or use the machine.
5) I met some travelling geeks with odd solutions to the document-their-trip-electronically or get-some-work-done-away-from-the-world problems. Nothing stands out as a universal great solution, though I met someone memorable who was using an old Newton a long way off the beaten path with some well-cobbled-together stuff including solar power rechargers.
It's psychosomatic. You need a lobotomy. I'll get a saw.
A notepad and a good pen. I recommend the Parker Jotter--inexpensive, rugged design, and they write for months at a time. Don't get the stainless steel barrel, though; that type gets "lost" too easily. People like shiny objects.
You can get one for $699 now which is pretty damn cost effective. It's small, not glitzy, and runs a standard OS. Get one of the Velcro camera wraps from Calumet online as well.
I wouldn't buy one normally, but the price has radically dropped, and you could drop in an SSD pretty easily. Dynamism might take care of that for you...
> I would be concerned about taking the N810 into harsh environments. N800 seems to be sealed up better.
You can use it inside a zip-lock bag when needed. (if dust or salt water around)
No cables, touch-screen still works.
Bring your laptop to Namibia. A new laptop or even a used one would be worth something.
Please also bring your visa, a watch, some levi 501's. Also worth bringing to Namibia is plenty of Euro's or USD. Feel free to leave your items in your hotel or bring them with you as you check out the local markets or wander on the streets.
Thanks you and have a good day.
HTC Shift... with GSM unlocked will about cover all your needs, small portable, wireless, usb, bluetooth, GSM small form factor, light weight yet large enough to work on.
I'm a fulltime, professional travel writer and I also write fiction. If you are genuinely living out of your backpack, as I do for the better part of a year sometimes, a subnotebook and required batteries, cases, power adapters, etc., will weigh you down. It just isn't worth it. What I carry, religiously, are USB flash keys, CF cards, CDs (you'll find many countries' internet cafes don't have DVD burners yet) with protective mailer packs, and my own USB 4-way card reader. All my notes, fiction, writings, etc., are done with a Bic pen and good old paper while I'm on the road. When I get home, I sit around for months in my bathrobe, copying and rewriting on the computer, but I am very glad to not have one while I travel. And I keep emails going, blogs up, communicate with my office via FTP and so on all through internet cafes. And the peace of mind that comes from not worrying about a computer getting stolen (or being seen as a target because of it) is well worth the small inconvenience of having to use a pen instead of a keyboard. In many ways, a paper journal facilitates good writing. If you are primarily needing to Skype and email and stay connected to friends, then get whatever gadget you want. If you genuinely want to write you'll be best served with paper and pen, as it will be available, be durable, is unlikely to get stolen, and offers easy and almost instant access -- all of which facilitate writing. The sub-notebook is a nice concept, but for a travel writer or a traveling writer, the old school method is currently far superior to any other option out there. If you're humping your entire life on your back, losing even a pound or two makes a huge difference. Off the thread, but be sure to keep your cash in 3 separate places too. Same goes for photo backups. And if you save chapters of your great American novel to USB disk, be sure to also email them to yourself so if the disk gets stolen you'll have access to them online. Happy trails.
I would also suggest the Eee as a candidate. Not just because it is cheap, but because
no moving parts besides the fan
SSD should prove more resiliant than a harddrive
small, light
seems pretty hardy. not 'rugged' but definatly not flimsy like larger 15" and above laptops
I own one and like it alot. I opened up a reply intending to unbiasedly suggest *features* I think are important, but I realized that the Eee is basically all of them. A few more things; sneakernet seems like a good answer for your situation, but I personally think DVD's are the wrong way to go about it. SD cards are a whole lot lighter, and less prone to breaking in the mail. Also you'll find small laptops make a lot of sacrifices when they decide to have a DVD drive
Lastly, as for durability, I just wanted to comment that the Eee is all 1 piece inside. There is a screen and a fan and a keyboard, but everything else is all on one motherboard. Because of this I think it will stand up to abuse quite well, short of penetrating/splitting/cracking the whole thing.
SSD, small form factor, and hopefully no DVD drive seems to be the way to go (Maybe a slim USB dvd drive?)
The Toughbook CF-19 is a fully rugged laptop which weighs 5 lbs. It's small, with a 10.4 inch screen. The problem with the size lays in the keyboard which is small enough that it takes some time to get used to (its a similar keyboard size to the EEEPC), but its not too bad. I've found with mine its small enough that its comfortable to wear around even on the back of a small person -which if under a coat hides the expensive machine you have.
There are mount points on the laptop, and you can just connect a strap between opposite corners and wear it around with you. This is comfortable and can make it such that you don't leave your laptop anywhere.
They are expensive, but also shiny. And it's already possible to find them used for reasonable prices if you look enough on Craig's List. Mine cost $1000 and I've seen a few postings for $1500.
In 2002-2003 I rode my bicycle trip around the circumference of Australia. I had an IBM Thinkpad 600e. I can't speak for the other models, but this one survived a 13,000 mile ride on the back of a bicycle (including a few hundred miles of washboarded/corrugated dirt roads on the Gulf Track across to top end).
Only take the laptop if you cannot live without it. It is one more thing to worry about and one more thing to cause you headaches.
I took a laptop because I like to take a lot of photos. I was filling up a 128 meg flashcard every other day. (this was the 2.1megapixel days). Plus the http://www.lunky.com/ and http://www.humanclock.com/ websites needed constant coding so I really couldn't do without a laptop. I also needed to keep my 128meg MP3 player stocked with music for biking.
Photos:
I took about 35,000 photos during my trip. (check it out http://www.lunky.com/ I had to have a laptop primarily for this reason, to get the photos off my flashcards and onto CDs to mail home.
First and foremost, do not plan to FTP your photos home! Internet access isn't easy and fast like it is here in the USA. Uploading even several megs worth of original/fullsized photos home is impractical. Connections are dreadfully slow (due to being overloaded) and internet cafe's can be REALLY picky about how you use their machines. Their bandwidth (at least at that time) was metered so they would frown upon you transferring large amounts of files. I was kicked out of a cafe for plugging in my USB drive/mp3 player. I nearly got kicked out of another cafe in Broome because I simply had my laptop turned on and sitting next to one of their computers. A lot of hostels have those god-forsaken kiosks that don't even have a CD drive. This was all in Australia too, a first world country.
Blogs/journals:
If you find that you can get wifi easily and/or get things off of your laptop and onto a computer at a net cafe...compose a lot of your emails on a text editor. This way you can write whether or not you have net access and best of all, you don't have to shell out $5.00/hr for the privilege of typing. My laptop easily paid for itself this way. I could type up 10 hours worth of letters, website updates, etc...copy it to a disk, then load up the files, copy/paste into my webmail program and be done in 10 minutes. There was $50.00 saved right there.
Setup/Backups:
Always plan that your laptop is gonna get stolen next week, so keep stuff backed up and the backups away from the laptop. Set things up on your laptop so it is easy to back things up that can't be replaced. (photos, writings etc). If you have special software you need, stash it somewhere on a webserver or make burn copies that a friend can mail to you should you get your laptop stolen/etc. (I had to once do a new PHP/Apache/Mysql setup and could only get it off the net cafe's computer and onto mine via 1.44meg floppy discs. That sucked.) Since I was in Australia I could bank on a good postal system, but I still would burn two copies of my photo CDs and mail them to different destinations at different times.
On a side note, take a lot of photos of the stuff people don't normally take photos of. Years later you will be glad you did. Sunsets are a dime a dozen, but photos of a grocery store shelf or a power outlet are the little things that take you back to your day to day life traveling.
I traveled Europe a while back, with a well equipped PDA.. loaded it up with a mapping program, my favorite MP3's, all critical phone numbers and itinerary, universal timer and world alarm clock, dictionary (various languages) and select ebooks. Wifi would have been useful in some areas...and a cam would have worked, but mine never had that. Recharged ever so often at the Hostel (adapters are needed) never had me in the position I had to use my back-up on MS and once got a photo sent to me by IR connect link. I was using the Sony Sj33 but I'm sure there is far better units with SD, Wifi, HD cam, voice recording... you'll always find room for it. I would stop at internet cafe's or photostores all over the place and burn a CD disk once I had 3-400 images collected. And don't forget the ear buds. Raining... throw it into a zip baggy. Pick a Palm device... easy to use.
Three words: USB DVD burner.
They are cheap, you could even buy 2 of them if the 1st one is damaged or gets stolen. The OLPC XO-1 laptop + a USB DVD burner really looks like a perfect solution for the OP's needs. FYI there are 3 USB 2.0 ports on the XO-1.
Asus Eee PC. Undestroyable, cheap and light weight.
Excuse me, but please get off my Pennisetum Clandestinum, eh!
I'm a trekking guide and live in Nepal. I'm often traveling with my computer in semi-rugged conditions. Spent a lot of time initially figuring out what works for me... I've taken my Mac PB G4 all over the world with me--Egypt, Mongolia, etc. While I haven't taken it to Everest Base Camp, and yes, it's not made to function at 18K ft, you are not going to be at altitude that long, are you? Most people are up there only a few days. Take photos and notes for 3 days. You can leave your computer locked up with a lodge owner lower down if you want/need to. Don't overgear. I watch people pack all the time. Most people are very worried about whatever is important to them, whether tech stuff or otherwise, and tend to spend a lot of money gearing up unnecessarily. My computer has been through dust storms, heat, and cold, and it's fine. It's small and fairly light, and yes, I carry it all over. I liked booqbags for their excellent indestructible sleeve, and I liked snowboarder bags (like Dakine) for a backpack because they don't look like you have a laptop in them, and they fit close to the body which makes them comfortable to wear under all sorts of conditions. Otherwise, look for a small climbing pack--same benefits. Look for inner pockets, instead of outer pockets that can be easily picked by theives. Regarding a replacement computer, you can definitely buy one in Nepal if need be. I can't speak to the rest of Asia, but you can get one with the right keyboard and language pack here no problem. I'm guessing that's true in other developing countries where pirated software is readily available. What you will most like to have if you have a mac is an Apple 2-pin-round plug adaptor to swap out on the plug adapter INSTEAD of having an adapter that fits over the 2-pin-flat plug. Also, I use my ipod as a backup for docs/calendars/addresses, and try to always keep it in a separate bag from my computer or a jacket pocket--just in case my computer does get bumped, broken, stolen. Good luck!
Nothing puts a downer on your trip-of-a-lifetime quite like getting the shit beaten out of you for the sake of a cheap laptop.
Can you be Even More Awesome?!
With the exception of the discarded bodies by the wayside, Everest's trails look like the road to the local dumping grounds. Why anyone would want to climb to the top of that trash heap is beyond me.
At least in south-east asia I regretted bringing my laptop: Either you have an internet cafe or you have no power and internet connection at all. Knoppix or U3 or something on a well protected USB flash drive should be your best friend that doesn't weight much nor takes a lot of space in your backpack. Get a big one (e.g. 4 GB) and chose a decent resolution for your digital camera and you are ready to take more pictures than your relatives/friends would like you to show them. Consider renting a virtual (or real) server and using NX.
And remember: Once inside the namib deserts, be sure to forget about your tech-oriented life, go outside and enjoy the sun!
I took a precursor with me a few years back. Very light, with builtin webcam and dvd burner. Nothing else is even close at this size.
Honorable mention: Mac air, but no optical drive!
#6495ED - cornflower blue
I took a backpack trip around the world for about 5 months recently, and the number one mistake I did was carrying around my laptop.
Its heavy and almost worthless in lesser developed countries.
If you need to use the internet, there are Cafes in almost every place (Even in Siberia -- one of the places I traveled). Most don't have wifi, but do let you do most things you really want the computer for.
Another big downside is that you miss out on interaction with locals if all you are doing is sitting with your nose in a laptop. Bring a small journal book to keep notes in if thats what you want to do. Its smaller, more convienient to take places that don't allow electronics, and doesn't run the risk of getting stolen or labeling you as a rich foreigner.
burning pictures is a valiant goal, but then you are going to need to bring the media along with you or try buying DVD-Rs in a market somewhere. Most internet cafes offer transfer to CD as a service, and in more developed countries DVDs... but why not just post them online to a sharing service from the Internet cafe as a travelogue for friends back home?
Go without the laptop and enjoy the world... trust me, it will be better that way.
(and if you really decide you need one, buy a disposable one over there... it'll be cheaper that way and as long as you go cheap you can sell it to someone you meet, or even give it away when you don't need it anymore and not feel terrible about the expense.)
http://www.panasonic.com/business/toughbook/laptop-computers.asp
If you can afford one. The military uses these quite a bit. I had no problem with them in Iraq.
I did more or less the same that you are planning to...
with a 2.0gz macbook.
Battery stands for 3 hours of full operation, 8 when saving a lot of juice.
Works wonderfully, but there's no way to clean it up! The only thing who does the job is dental floss, mind you...
A spiral bound notebook and a film camera.
I can second this. A friend of mine is going to go on about an identical trip and I advised him to take a Nokia N810. He is/was thinking an EEE too, but thinks it's too vulnerable and even large. The N810 is extremely powerful for it's size and supports up to 8GB micro-sd cards, which are a better idea than DVD's, regardless of the price. Having access to a hotspot may allow you to "beam" stuff home instead of using snail mail. Taking a device like this, will save you from carrying an mp3 player and a laptop. It comes with skype so if you bring a mobile phone an get yourself a cheap data card, or you go to a hotspot, you can do cheap calls home too. It will just fit into your pocket. If you plug it into a computer via usb it will show up as an external drive, so it's easy to work with stuff on it that way. It also has a keyboard itself though. It runs linux so you may also just ssh to it, or run vnc to control it. The browser is mozilla based with good javascript support so hardly any limits on that. Oh, I almost forgot, it has an gps too, with mapping stuff and all. I'm quite a bit of a gadgeteer. I got my N810 two weeks ago, and I can't remember the last time that a new gadget kept surprising me for such a long time.
You might also want to keep the "50(*) kg(**) Notebook" rule in mind:
(*) Depending on the particular developing country, you'll have to choose a suitably large value for 50.
(**) kg = kilogram, the SI unit for mass. According to the Google converter, 1 kilogram = 2.20462262 pounds.
Free, as in your money being freed from the confines of your account.
Gee, if I were you, I'd just bring two pens and a bit of paper. That'll be lighter, people won't steal it from you, and it's more convenient too. On that kind of trip I'd rather have to type my journal AFTER the trip instead of risking the hassle of losing everything in the middle of nowhere. To be safe, you might take pictures of the pages you've written and then upload them together with all the other pictures you took at your nearest Internet Café. You could even go for your idea of burning DVDs there, most Cafés will probably offer that.
Have a great trip.
I've taken my Toughbook W2 to most of the places you mentioned and a few you haven't; jungle trekking in high humidity, serious rafting trips, desert trekking. It's performed flawlessly and still is. Pricey though. I would also think about the EEE, they weren't available when I got the toughbook 5 yers ago. Only complaint is that the CD writer takes forever. Oh, and get a portable surge protector for it, Belkin used to make one (again pricey, but worthwhile).
Hi there Here's my personal .50 cents
I'd go for a 12 inch Apple laptop. I'm very happy with my iBook, it dual boots Mac OS X and Debian GNU/Linux 4.0.
Of course the PowerBook 12 inch is bulkier than the iBook 12 inch. Better case.
Too bad there's no MacBookPro 12 inch. There's the MacBook Air though, but it's very very pricy, especially with the solid state disk.
In my opinion, Apple laptops are very bulky, but many people say the IBM Thinkpads are really the bulkiest laptops ever.
I can't help but wonder where you get power supplies on Everest, in the deserts and jungles. The The Eee is great for most of what you want, but its battery lasts 3 hours or so and takes a long time to charge up. Whereas I've had batteries in a Palm M100 last 180 days - and they use easy-to-obtain AAA cells.
Same applies to digital cameras, though use of AA cells is pretty common. It's at least as infuriating to know you can't take that picture as your battery is flat, as losing the backup.
I'd be inclined to treat the photo backup as a separate issue to writing the blog. Look for cameras with enough internal memory and functions to transfer to memory cards, or a separate backup dongle. And see if you can find an older-style replaceable battery PDA for blogging when out the range of an internet connection.
Andrew Yeomans
Hi, i'm just back from a full year of traveling. I picked up a Macbook for similar reasons about 8 months ago and it survived the full experience Australian outback, New Zealand winter, tropical heat and humidity (Asia) - all while I lived out of a tent or the back of a car. Took all the punishment perfectly. NOTE: BATTERY LIFE IS CRITICAL, you might have to go days without power. As for posting DVD's home, it's actually o.k. to do (although having said that, I didn't bother as I had multiple drives to backup to - ipods, etc. - and just uploaded whenever I could the best of the best photos). Whenever I did post, I'd send two copies home, and send them on different days. Reduces odds of them not getting back in the post. Interestingly, the only places I ever lost post were Western countries - Asian countries have never failed me for post services. anyway, Macbook took all the abuse (I sat on it a few times by mistake, and put a tiny crack in the outer screen but can't be seen when the screen is turned on). Battery life is amazing also which was the critical thing for me. Enjoy the trip!!!!!
Take an abacus.
I am anarch of all I survey.
Why not go with an eePC??
It is small and light enough. You wouldn't be able to write DVD's but you could use some of the cheaper SD cards instead to send photos home. Those would be more robust and lighter than DVD R's anyway... Besides, with the money you save on the ee you'd be able to buy a bunch of SD cards...
I assume you want to do all of that online? If that is not such a big deal, the safest thing you can do is simply resort to using pen, paper, and snailmail everything home. Remember, you can even mail something home that you can touch. Like that beautiful empty clam you found on the beach,the curious looking pebble, whatever suits your fancy.
Unless you *must* go online on your *own* computer, why bring a laptop? There are so many computers around the world that you could watch movies and go online at every second corner stone even in third world countries by now. Why bring that much luggage with you.
Leopard cub
I don't think you need a laptop.
There are Internet cafes in the nine corners of the Earth, almost all of whom will burn the contents of your camera's memory cards to DVD, and all of whom will happily let you sit blogging or writing to your heart's content for some princely sum in local currency equivalent to eleven cents the hour. OK, you will be surrounded by local teenagers playing World of Warcraft and smoking like chimneys, but this is not hard to endure.
Bring Moleskine notebooks and a reasonable supply of pens; it's not worth lugging even an Eee up to Everest Base Camp just to take notes that you could take on paper with a pen.
I've done round-the-world, I do copious backpacking in Europe; I've a couple of inches of Moleskines on a shelf, and whilst from time to time I've wished for a flashlight, and occasionally I've had to figure out where to buy a 4GB compact-flash card in Belgrade, I've never felt that what I needed was a laptop.
I write to you from my Dell latitude D400 laptop in my room in Vietnam. I'm on the road for seven months now, all over India and southeast asia, up to 3500m, in the desert, in rain forest, on the beach, ect. Everything as gone good for my laptop, but now for my power supply... I have to buy four different one in this trip. Electricity is so random and inconsistent in third world country that it blow power supply like crazy. This was my main problem. But, even for a Dell, I was able to find replacement part quite easily.
:-(
I wrap my laptop in a very basic leather case when I'm on the road with my laptop in my backpack. So far so good.
I buy it used, for very cheap. The CD player is a remote USB one, and if I knew i wouldn't have carry it around. There is place for burning CD and DVD even in the most remote places. Just bring 1 or 2 usb key of 4 gigs. Transfert your stuff on it and carry your key with you all the time. You can leave your laptop in your room 99.9% of the time without any problems. I can tell you right now that you won't carry it around all the time. Or if you do you'll not be able to do a lot of things and will regret it.
There is cheap laptop to be bought almost everywhere. With Windows in english. Just bring some DVD with the software you need, and be sure not to pile them, the moisture make the aluminium cover stick on the DVD over it and make them unreadable. Experience talking here
If I had to buy another laptop for my trip, and only for that, and I had no problems spending a lot of money, I'll go with the Sony ultraportable. Sony is everywhere and it's really easy to have them repair or get replacement part if you have a problem. They are underpower, but more than enough for photo editing. But I think I made the best choice buying a really cheap laptop that I don't mind that much having it theft. As I say, cheap laptop are available everywhere, and you can buy 3 or 4 of them for the price of a brand new one. It make your mind free when you leave it behind, and they still make the job. Just be sure to have a laptop with huge battery live. A lot of places don't have electricity in the day time...
One with WIFI, querty keyboard , bluetooth, good camera (3MPix) and SD card. Maybe with GPS.
:).
It's lighter than laptop. And it does stuff you need.
Nokia E90 (expensive, yes but worth it) o Sony-Ericcson P1i, or Nokia E61i.
Something like that. Symbian or windows - it's up to you.
And hand-crack and/or solar charger for it
In some countries electricity is still... well not very common.
Good luck!!
I have thought about same problem and came into conclusion that what I need on the road is following things:
* Ability to write diary
* Ability to browse internet (search for next hostel/sight info)
* Ability to upload pictures to gmail or some other site (send to yourself)
* Travel light (this is most important)
I did my travel around the world with 17kg package without computer or mobile phone back in 2001, even then backpack was heavy and troublesome in some occasions. Take 2kg + all the accessories more and it will take space from far more important items. In case you go for N810 it has small keyboard (not for great stories, USB keyboard for stories), GPS, WIFI, Skype (installable), webcam, and browser. Weight is about one fifth of what small laptop will be. The price is around 400 USD and best thing is that it runs Linux. Here is link: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nokia_N810
What you need to make sure is that your camera/video camera has the USB drivers and you are able to transfer pictures to your N810. I bet your pictures will be much safer if you upload them while in some internet bar or hostel, if unsure there are plenty of places where they can burn DVD for you. Most of the cities these days have working internet connections and transferring several hundred megabytes shouldn't be a problem. Meanwhile buy as many memory cards as you think you will need and then empty them (over night if needed) when you get to a good connection.
Suggest you get in contact with some people who have travelled with a laptop for that purpose. http://www.eastofthesun.co.uk/ This is the website of two relatives who travelled from Canada to the south of South Amercia on a motorbike. Their laptop survived the trip, might be worth asking them.
...go for the best 1Kg PC. I'm very happy with my old W5 from Asus and will change any minute for the new series U, never had any problem on the rock n' roll road. You need big screens - I mean 12", not 7"- to sort photos, glue them in panoramas, you need some muscle to make it quick. A firm keyboard is a must to write with gusto. OK, take some paper and pen, some memory cards, universal AC adaptors, one letterman tool, extra power block - you really will use them in air, bus and train waiting hours. Make a light AC extension, using 5 meters of 2x 0,5 wire, against the rules. Wild trips, including horse back and bull wagon, does not harm your notebook, safely tucked, ok? A good paded back pack, light as well, is a must for everyday life. Do backup in a web space, frequently. Best
{100% paranoia is not enough when you are 99.9% right}
Try a Nokia E90. I've had mine for a few weeks and haven't taken my laptop with me since. Camera+WiFi+keyboard. Fits in your pocket easy enough. Very well built. Upload your photos directly from camera to flickr (or wherever) or buy a stash of microSD cards (only $15 for 1GB) and mail them home. Best of all it has GPS built in.
I don't think you want a laptop on a trip like that, I think you want an iPhone. Sure the keyboard isn't really up to the great american novel, (but someone may release an external one after February, when the platform is opened up), but would you really write a novel, or would notes for a novel be good enough? And you could keep your notes backed up over the internet or such.
... people in other countries won't give you so much crap.
It is pitch black. You are likely to be eaten by a grue.
Not the Huge boxy ones with a handle, the W5 with an extra battery. Small, light, pretty fast and you can easily get 5 hours out of a charge. SD slot built in, includes a built in optical drive of your choice, and a built in cellular modem if you desire. Seriously, this is one of the best traveling laptops I've ever deployed. My users are not gentle and for a year now, the only issue I've had is someone closing their pen in the laptop and scratching their screen (that's out of 14 traveling sales guys, and 1 executive that went mushing in Alaska). They are bad ass.
If you have to have a computer, check out the OLPC. It's ruggedized and portable. Plus, it's cheap (relatively). And a portable hard disk drive to store things on.
Santa Claus's!
I see even classic Slashdot is now pretty much unusable on dial up anymore.
I have been to Namibia several times. You don't want a laptop in the Namib desert or in Ethosa. Most likely it will end broken or malfunction due to sand or humidity. I lost 2 laptops (this was some time ago I have to say) due to the rigors that have to be endured during transportation (mostly dirt roads, well serviced, but still is not the same, and this is when you are in a road, elephants and rhinos di not stick to roads, you know?).
And what for anyway? Every day or 2 you will touch base in town, all the major ones (Swakopmund, Walvis Bay, Windhoek, etc) have Internet cafes all around the place (you are not the first person backpacking there, honest). Transcribe your novel there and save your pictures to a more permanent medium than your massive memory cards.
IANAL but write like a drunk one.
Almitra Wilcox, a woman who's trying to walk around the world, might be able to help with your travels. She had crossed Australia through the middle (the desert part, not around the outside edge) before I 'met' her online. She's *walked* through Cambodia, Vietnam, Tibet, India and dozens more...*WALKING BACK* through Pakistan and/or Afghanistan when she lost her hat that chronicled the stops along the way.
Just now, she's off the job- like me she has family to care for, but that should mean she's more available by email and such:
photogypsy.org is the website, she's Almitra@PhotoGypsy.org and a very nice lady- enjoy!
--- For a good time mail uce@ftc.gov
if you have to go with modern technology... maybe consider something that uses a satellite link but is ultra portable... This company has a variety of options with service plans.
Forget about the DVD burning, it's a problem waiting to happen for you... and it sucks up battery power like nothing else. Just email your notes and files to yourself.
If you can stand to not have a keyboard to take your notes with... I suggest a paper based journal product.... a thick artist journal with lined pages on one side and blank pages on the other, Acid free paper and leather binding... put it in a water tight envelope when not in use.
This option gives you the most flexibility of all. What I would take is the Paper Journal, A good digital camera with lots of memory and a Satellite Smartphone that can sync with the camera and has email. this way you get the best of both digital and traditional media... take pictures, draw diagrams, take notes and send yourself emails w/ backup options all around for whatever situation you find yourself in.
A fool throws a stone into a well and a thousand sages can not remove it.
Honestly, the best laptop I've have worked with so far is the Fujitsu Siemens Celsius H250, from FSC line of professional computers.
Very tough, excelent options for costumization, excelent at work, not too heavy, excelent stability
Mine is as follows:
Core 2 Duo T7300 (option can go from T7100 to T7700)
4GB RAM (option from 1G to 8G)
410GB Hard drive (160+250, upgrading to 250+320 in a few weeks) (option from 120G)
3.5G Sierra MC8780 module (7.2Mbps) (option)
Intel Gigabit (series)
Intel Wireless 4965AGN (option)
1680x1050 resolution (option up to 1920x1200)
NVidia Quadro FX570 256MB (series)
Touchpad + Trackpoint (series)
Fingerprint reader (option)
Smartcard reader (option)
Removable air filter (series)
Docking station (option)
56K Modem (option)
TPM chip (option)
Webcam (option)
Firewire (series)
It has some space for improvement like on the keyboard (the Home and End keys are only accessible with the Function key which reduces productivity - I use all the editing keys - which forced me remap the keyboard to something more custom to have those keys accessible)
It's the third laptop I buy, and the 10th different model I use. It was the first that I felt I wasn't wasting my money and the makes me feel it was a good investment. All others were pure disapointments.
It was a bit expensive (2190 - and this was a special price, original price is 3600) but it was worth it.
I used to have a Compaq... that ended up in court of law because after one repair within the warranty, the laptop came back even worse and they refused to replace it for a new one or to give the money back (to which they are obliged to under Portuguese law).
It had a problem with the power system (when on battery, the laptop would, by itself, turn ON randomly). Came back all dirty (the technician that repaired it was eating bread with butter at the time he repaired it, you could tell), the touchpad came back dead, the OS came back with a virus, the battery came back completely dead. When I complained to Compaq, they insisted on a second repair. Under Portuguese law, they have to forcibly give back the money or give me a new machine a machine, if it is my wish. They refused it and when I threatened them with court, they killed my machine as soon as I connected to the internet(completely hardware bricked, it wouldn't turn on in any possible way) using their remote assistance software that runned on port 2301, if I'm not mistaken (I was using a fresh install from the recovery CD, at the time that happened, I was downloading patches).
It ended up in court. The case ended when they came asking for a settlement.
Onda Technology Institute
Why don't you wait for the 1.6TB SSD to come out and but 2-3 of those and use it as backup. I know it will probably cost you a fortune.
This would be my preference. Same as eePc, just with a slider keyboard. Buy a tough shell for it, one that will provide shock and water protection, and buy a bunch of the mini-sd cards. They come with an adapter to allow full sd capabilities, buy a sd-usb adapter (cheap) and do the USB OTG adapter cable and then copy the mini-sds to a thumbdrive that then you can mail or whatever.
An ethernet cable is a "dongle" I have to carry around anyway. Putting a little adapter on the end doesn't make much of a difference. It's certainly not evil.
Just forget the laptop. You will enjoy your trip a lot and experience the local way of doing things a lot more without it. Otherwise you will just be doing the same things you do at home, but from an unusual location
You might consider buying a new notebook every week wherever you happen to be and mailing the old one back home. Then you'll have a collection of foreign notebooks, each one filled with your thoughts on the trip. Trust me, when you read over them in the years to come they'll mean a lot more than a few computer files ever will. You'll see the handwriting of a younger you and it will take you back like no blog entry could.
And you can always type your notes up when you return home.
Assuming this is a not a business trip, don't bring a laptop. If you do bring a laptop and it actually survives six months of travel in 3rd world countries and wilderness areas, you aren't traveling right and are missing some (much?) of the experience. Bring a notebook to write in. Bring a cheap camera (unless you are a professional photographer which is a whole other style of travel). And if you must have an electronic fix bring a DS or palm type device. If you find yourself looking for internet cafes every other day, you probably should have stayed home...
I read books for two months on a Handspring Visor in South East asia, and even it didn't survive that trip. It ran on 2 AAA batteries which lasted for a long time and which I could get anywhere. When it finally broke toward the end of the trip, I wasn't too sad. It was a Fry's refurb for which I paid $75. The one I replaced it with when I got back has lasted 6 or 7 years and has been around the world once or twice.
Maybe you don't need a full-blown laptop, just a word processor ... i've tried travelling with both, and I much prefer the alphasmart word processor. No flasy computer stuff to distract you, just text on the screen.
Just get a Panasonic Tough Book. It will work anywhere and you have one less thing to worry about.
I think the best Palm device for this application is the TX, along with a Bluetooth keyboard. It just doesn't get any smaller, or more battery-friendly, than that. If you can find an infrared modem (I have a Psion model) you will have both Wi-Fi and dial-up. (I am not aware of an ethernet interface for a TX.) I don't know a way to edit a photo on one of these things, but it has an SD slot to take them in and the mail client can send them out.
But by the time you trick your TX out with all these accessories, it will cost more than an EEE PC. It may, however, be worth carrying a TX instead of a second, backup, EEE PC.
Palm cancelled the Foleo right before the EEE PC took off like a rocket. What a missed opportunity!
Whatever you choose there is one thing you will need if you are going to desert areas and beaches. Ziplock bags.
Sand get in all your clothes and bags. Buy ziploc bags to protect cameras and laptops.
I'd take any old laptop, and if it should get stolen, broken or otherwise rendered useless, you can always get a new cheap ones here to for about $1200. Burn 2 DVD's of backup. Then mail one back home. It will probably arrive safely, but don't count on it. Forget about uploading backups over the internet, at least for your 4Gb memory card. The internet lines from developing countries to abroad is overloaded and slow.
Oh, and when you go to the Namib desert, do the "Livin desert tour" in Swakopmund. Don't go quadbiking, it's killing all the wildlife in the desert.
#find
I work in oil and gas exploration. I have tried them all. While I can give a nod to the Toshibas, I simply could not hope to do this job without a Panasonic Toughbook. While it is heavier than a lot, it is not a huge burden. The bright backlit screen, ultra ruggedness, environmental seal, etc is a must have. And, since it needs no case or carrying bag, the weight is not so different. if you account for the bag and accessories needed for other laptops, the difference disappears. Wireless, G3, integrated DVD-RW, and a good powerhouse to boot. The newest line (CF30) even offers a solid state drive option, IIRC. Even better.
- I like my current 700m the best.
-
Pros: small, light, runs cool, good outdoor screen visibility, 4-5 hour battery life
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Cons: CF slot and external monitor don't work (I run Linux and assume they work fine under Windows, haven't tried very hard to get them working), poor AC adapter design only lasts a few trips (we've gotten half a dozen replaced)
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The older 8200s weren't bad either.
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Pros: extra bays, more ports than the 700m (but no firewire)
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Cons: a bit more bulky, no integrated wireless, venting was too generous (tilt it once a week to pour out sand), poor hinge design resulting in eventual screen failure
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The 5150s suck for this sort of trip.
-
Pros: very powerful
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Cons: very heavy, big, power hogs, one of ours died when plugged in to AC at a mining camp (the others survived fine)
So basically I'm saying get a 700m, they're plenty tough. And I'm not affiliated with Dell, but my University has a contract with them. On a related note, since I wasn't specing I have no clue how much they were or what we got that wasn't part of the 'base' system.I'm writing via the wireless network in a café in Xela, Guatemala on my 15" Macbook Pro. I'm amazed by how many internet "cafés" (really just a place to rent time on the computer) I've seen in this country. Even in the tiny town of Colomba (pop ~ 7000) there's one. And many cafés have wifi.
I'm going to be in Central America and Mexico for some months, and I'm glad I brought the laptop. It's saved me the fees of computer-rental places and I get to use my preferred OS and programs in more comfortable surroundings. (Guatemalan computers are all wintel boxes. Many tourists have Mac laptops with them. But no Guateltecos that I have spoken to have heard of Linux.)
It's good to have something to download my photos to and edit them before I email them to friends or put them on my web site. But I wish I had something smaller. A macbook would have been more practical and they're tougher with their polycarbonate housing.
I brought a small firewire drive for backups just in case. Don't want to lose all those photos! Also bring a USB flashkey for data transfer when you do need to use the rent-a-computers.
Those IBM ThinkPads are nice but the stuff that just shatters one of those will leave a Toughbook without a scratch. I have an Y5 and the abuse this baby can take is astonishing. And it's light, light, light! There are smaller ones: T, R, W series.
The business models, as the grand-parent suggest, are not heavy at all. Kinda expensive, yes, but tougher than most and freakishly light.
The CF-T series has a 12" screen, core 2 duo processor, no optical drive, and clocks in around 1.2kg. The W series is very similar but adds an optical drive, at less than 1.5kg. (that's about 3 lbs).
All of those laptops have water proof keyboards, should be able to survive a drop from 1 meter and take 100kg of pressure. There are videos on Youtube of people testing these claims (seems to be true).
http://www.panasonic.com/business/toughbook/products.asp
,URL:http://www.edgedata.blogspot.com/>I second the comments on ditching the optical drive and loading up on flash memory, and if you plan to mail some home, I'd still hand-carry duplicates too.
For a "laptop", the MOST I'd take is a Nokia N810 with a BlueTooth keyboard.
You traveling around the world and you're worried about not paying too much for the electronics?
Try Durabook:
http://www.durabook.com/jsp/index.jsp
Cheap Option:
Notebook
--josh
I bought the Everex for $600 @ BB. Less than 4 lbs. Has optical DVD-R drive. Kinda made real cheap. But if it breaks not that big of a whoop. Very portable and so far has been durable for my limmited travels.
I purchased a used ThinkPad X30 off eBay before a 3-month backpacking trip through Europe. My criteria was;
* Cheap, so it would not break my heart if it were stolen
* Old, so it's not an attractive theft target
* Rugged, so it wouldn't break easily
* Small and light, because it's on my back
* Runs Linux (obviously)
I've dropped this laptop multiple times from hip- and shoulder-height, even while it has been running. The abuse this thing has put up with is absolutely unbelievable.
The only thing I can say is, put a piece of paper in between the keyboard and the screen (just a 8.5x11 sheet, or a paper towel or something). It will help keep the screen from getting impact damage when it does get dropped or slammed, and it will help keep finger grease off. This applies to any laptop.
If I killed it now, I'd either replace it with another X30, or get an X60. X30s only have USB1, which is a considerable annoyance for me (you can't watch DVDs, external HDs are super slow, etcetera).
Caveat emptor: none of the X series have CD or DVD drives! I got an external drive for mine, and it works fine on the rare occasion that I need it.
Chris cej102937
One thing to be aware of, if you take the 'net cafe route, is that in some countries, you need a high cigarette smoke tolerance. This is improving in many countries, but not everywhere. They don't smoke wussy American cigarettes everywhere, either. A lot of places prefer much harsher stuff. If you have allergies, or other problems with smoke, definitely check out the situation wherever you're going, first.
http://canadacomputers.com/index.php?do=ShowProduct&cmd=pd&pid=016825&cid=896
Asus EEE Notebook. Solid state hard drive (2gb, 4gb, 8gb), linux preloaded. Light. Small. Comes in groovy colours. Prices in Cdn start at $300.
Far more durable than a Macbook Pro and you can run Leopard on it, just like any Intel machine. Apple hardware is overpriced, NOT durable (in comparison to a computer that can withstand tons of shock and being dropped without any problem), and a bad history of having the public do QA (c.f. the first Macbook's having a 20% failure rate; the first iPods fairing even worse) on the first releases of their products. 5% of MB Pro's still ship with major defects (case warping; display failure; etc. within 90 days of purchase) and Apple Care are very persistent in denying the existence of such problems by attributing them to "accidental damage" and silently fixing the problem in the following releases of their product lines. In fact, I was accused of having sat on my computer by a Mac Genius when the case on my MB Pro warped from overheating. In such circumstances, your best best is to file a BBB complaint as you are immediately thrown to the head of the pile for Apple Executive Relations, as opposed to dealing with the Apple Care fucks who are heartless and cold. They claim to have zero files for case warping on MB Pro's, even though tons of users have reported the defect with the product, and will persist in denying your warranty claim. My recommendation would be to buy a MB Pro following the latest product revision, if you decide to go down that route. A Panasonic R-7 is more than 2 pounds lighter, has more battery life and is far more durable. I don't see any point in buying Apple hardware if you can buy a computer that you can throw against a wall without any damage for the same price.
Can you cite a reference?
Otherwise, I'm wondering how on Earth LCDs seem to survive just fine being transported in unheated trucks by parcel carriers all manner of climate, or in the unpressurized hold of a cargo plane at 40k feet.
Please enlighten.
Kid-proof tablet..
When will this myth of the unpressurized cargo hold disappear. It's not like Fed Ex and UPS are flying 141's and 130's. No, almost every aircraft used for commercial cargo is fully pressurized. How the hell do you think they move all that livestock around without it croaking not to mention all the other perishable and freeze intolerant cargo.
This might be a significant matter when entering or leaving certain countries.
Official Pi Ambassador -- inquire for details!
Some other computer junk that you should bring which you will find invaluable if you are ever going to try and get on the Internet.
1. High Gain Wifi Antenna. Hawking is a good brand. Great for borrowing Wifi access.
2. 15' USB Extender Cable. This will let you locate the Hign Gain Wifi Antenna outside while you remain inside. Also work well as rope in some situations. Goto Pricewatch.com to find them.
3. USB to Ethernet adapter. These things are tiny, light and incredibly convenient for those few times when wired Ethernet is available.
4. The best camera: Fujifilm FinePix F50 FD. Just over $200. Takes great pictures, even in the dark.
5. Lots of 2GB SD Cards. They cost $11 each at pricewatch.com to find them. Carrying many avoids pain if you lose a single card. Also about the same price as 4GB or 8GB.
6. SD to USB adapter. Very cheap on pricewatch. Worth its weight in gold when you are in an Internet cafe and want to mail some pictures back home.
7. Laptop cable lock. And then get in the habit of locking your laptop everywhere you go, even in hotels where you think you will be safe.
8. PacSafe wire mesh backpack mesh or wire mesh knapsack.
I would also probably go with the eepc just because it is cheap. If you are worried about not having an English version of the OS with you burn it on an SD card and carry it with you.
Jealous. Have Fun. Smile a lot - its the one language everybody understands.
Get an iPod with a very large hard disk. In fact, maybe get two. Put all your photos on the iPods, and keep at least one on your person at all times.
Apple sell a converter that plugs in to an iPod and lets you save photos from a card. Or, if you can get an XO laptop or something, you could use that to transfer the photos to the iPod.
But for small and light, affordable, durable, and long battery life hard disk storage, one can't beat an iPod.
And you can even use it to listen to music.
For mailing home your best photos, use SD cards. You can get a 2GB SD card for $20 now. But keep every single photo you take, on the hard disk of an iPod.