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Best Technology For Long-Distance Travel?
An anonymous reader writes "Over the past year I have traveled across the globe for work but I can't seem to find the right balance of technology to take with me. After reading a CNET article about tech for traveling, I'm still slightly undecided about what hardware suits me best. On the work side of things I need a laptop, nothing fancy but it can't be too heavy or slow. I also need a smart phone that can receive emails across the world and if possible a satellite navigation device, as I need to get to less-traveled locations on a regular basis. From a personal perspective I need my music but I don't care about video, so I'm looking for something with high-quality audio and great battery life. A compact camera wouldn't go amiss but dSLRs are too heavy for my needs and carrying strength, so something I can tuck in a pocket would be perfect. Any suggestions greatly appreciated."
A towel and a copy of your HHGTTG,
And maybe a hammer to whack Marvin with. If he's going to be so depressed all the time, might as well give him a reason to be.
In any case, we already know the Best Laptop for Going Around the World.
Thus you want a camera with digital image stabilization, as good wideangle as possible and at least 5 megapixels. Last time I did the round up (a few months ago) there were surprisingly few cameras that met these conditions - mostly because most of what is on the shelves in "Best Buy" (not best for at least several years) does not have any wideangle whatsoever.
My purchase was Panasonic Lumix LX-2 which, at the time, was not available in any store in Boston so I had to order it from Vahns. I was not disappointed and even found the movie mode to be useful - it has a higher resolution than my camcorder (which is NTSC like) and, best of all, the movie files are mpeg4 encoded and play readily on my Kubuntu systems.
I think you meant Symbian not Sybian.
Mod the parent up.
:)
Everything you have when you travel can and will be lost (one day or another). I have had laptops, external hard-drives (including ipod), flash drives, cds seized without cause by customs official in some countries. Probably because they wanted to have it for themselves and there is NOTHING you can do about it unless you want to risk spending a couple of weeks in jail for a $100 HD. They might just be able to find some marijuana or cocaine on you if you won't let go and try to make a fuss.
I have a synchronization software that run on my laptop and send every updated file back "Home" (over ssl) as soon as it detects an internet connection. So if my laptop gets "borrowed" I'll only lose the value of the hardware and not the actual work.
Encrypted drive can be fun but might also get you into more trouble than they are worth. Last time a custom official asked for my windows account password I was in a locked room, he had stored my passport in his drawer and was carrying a gun. Again, not worth it. Just make sure that there is as little sensitive information on your laptop as possible.
I travel in some rough countries, some of them under embargo by the US (I am not a US citizen), some of them on the "axis of evil", some of them just plainly plagued by corruption. (And some of them quite nice and relaxing but they aren't funny to talk about)
If you do the same, keep some spare change for bribes (at least fifty $1 bill), convert part of your cash to traveler's check, keep you credit card separate from your wallet. Do not trust safe in hotel, even if you can "choose" the code, management has the master key anyway.
Oh and don't go to the local brothel even if the taxi driver tells you his nice brother run the place.
About taxi driver when you find a "good" one, always give him a large tip and keep his number that will create an strong incentive for him to come pick you up very quickly and to "protect" you during your stay (otherwise he'll lose his good tipper). But we're not talking about technology here so I guess I'm out of scope.
To be fair and tip my hat to this century, on my last trip to China, aside from the above, I also brought an aging iBook, one of the first white ones I think, a G3, a laptop that I didn't care in the least if I lost.
First, I wiped it clean. Next I set up two accounts, on that I would use, the other set to be the default, no password login, in case customs wanted to see what I was up to. Browsing was done through an SSH tunnel to my home proxy server (mainly because my own blog was on China's great firewall) and any files I wanted to keep were SCP'd back home.
Web mail is better than a POP app, as long as you avoid Nigerian net cafés and use your own laptop. Skype seems fine everywhere.
Take a pocket digital too. The one you have from a few years ago. Use that for all of the crap photos you will inevitably take and save your film for the good stuff. Upload all of the digital junk to Flickr or whatever from your hotel every day, so you won't worry about losing it.
For the real pictures, use film and take your time to enjoy it. Slow down and write down your impressions of the place and give it some real thought.
Enjoy your trip.
-- My Weblog.