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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.
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.
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.
The real WTF (tm) is that you can afford to take that much time away from work!