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.

Solution: The Lappy 486

[Skee09]

* 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 [hrwiki.org]

Re:Air? :)

[thefirelane]

I was about to suggest a MacBook Air, but then I noticed the bit about burning DVD backups.

Yeah, that and the Apple Store Everest won't be opening for another year at least (nothing against the air, but I honestly wouldn't suggest brand-spanking-new tech for something that has to be bullet proof)

Re:Air? :)

[Brian Gordon]

That's actually a good idea, just mail home a manila envelope with the whole computer inside.

Re:Small, cheap and light: EeePC or XO.

[mobby_6kl]

Sure, but Toughbooks, unlike pretty much all other laptops, are monkey-approved [youtube.com]. I'd like to see your puny Eee match that.

Re:Pick Two

[Anonymous Coward]

If I pick both of the commas, what exactly does that get me?

Take Me!

[evilninja]

I'll scribe!

Re:Small, cheap and light: EeePC or XO.

[commodoresloat]

Oh, great, so the toughbook is tested on animals. Bad, bad Panasonic!!!!

Re:what worked for me

[JonathanR]

It's bitch writing a 6 megapix photo to storage tho'.

Re:Air? :)

[zippthorne]

Those are for interoffice communications, you insensitive clod. Where would you put the stamp?

Re:what worked for me

[gobbo]

Yeah but backing it up is a bitch.

Step 1: photocopy.
Step 2: stuff envelope, post
Step 3: retrieve from relative upon return.