Best Laptop for Going Around the World? 479
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.
Thinkpad (Score:5, Insightful)
Things to consider too! (Score:5, Insightful)
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!
Pick Two (Score:4, Insightful)
Re:Stupid DVD requirement (Score:3, Insightful)
Small, cheap and light: EeePC or XO. (Score:5, Insightful)
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.
Re:hard drives die at high altitude (Score:2, Insightful)
what worked for me (Score:2, Insightful)
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.
Re:Stupid DVD requirement (Score:2, Insightful)
Re:Small, cheap and light: EeePC or XO. (Score:5, Insightful)
While I didn't have six months I did just return from one month in thailand. Since I was lugging my SLR along with me already I opted to do without the laptop and just upload from internet cafes.
That didn't last long, it's too much of a PITA, I ended up buying an eeepc in chiang mai. Here's my recommendation:
- eeePC (light small does everything you need with great battery life)
- ditch the optical drive, you really don't need it and it'll be nothing but a liability while on the road. Instead take the money you're saving by buying a cheap laptop and just buy a bunch of memory cards for your camera (as the parent recommends, I really should read more than the subject before starting my own reply =\ ). Buy high capacity, and budget for buying more on the road. Mail complete ones home if you want, but honestly they're light and small and mail from developing world can be unreliable sometimes so I'd recommend hanging on to them until you're in the most developed centres and then UPS/fedex/etc them.
Other than that, non tech tips I'm sure you've heard a thousand times already but here goes.
-bring antibiotics for the inevitable case of dehli belly.
-remember that you will bring as much stuff as you can possibly fit in your pack. buy a pack smaller than you think you need.
-a headlamp will save you so much pain in the ass
-you can buy flip-flops when you get there (you will want to hit a beach eventually) and ditch them when you leave. In fact the same goes for just about everything you think you might need for some portion of your trip. Only pack things you'll need for the whole trip, it's worth spending money on the road to save a few kgs.
ok I'll stop... damn I'm jealous
l4h
Maybe a better solution... (Score:5, Insightful)
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!
You probably don't need a laptop (Score:5, Insightful)
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.
Re:Air? :) (Score:2, Insightful)
No No No. Serously (Score:2, Insightful)
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.
Buy a used subnotebook, use a bit of padding (Score:3, Insightful)
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.
Well... (Score:5, Insightful)
Re:Small, cheap and light: EeePC or XO. (Score:5, Insightful)
Don't try to cram too much in. Stop places a while and watch the other tourists come and go. Learn a few words of the language.
Sony vaio Tx series (Score:2, Insightful)
Re:Air? :) (Score:2, Insightful)
Re:what worked for me (Score:3, Insightful)
It might be a vector graphic in his head, but I think that the device is only capable of raster graphics...
Re:Instead of sending DVDs home (Score:3, Insightful)
Cafes and Smoke. (Score:3, Insightful)