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.
Air? :) (Score:2)
Aside from that, I have no idea.
Re:Air? :) (Score:4, Funny)
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? :) (Score:5, Funny)
Re: (Score:3, Funny)
Re: (Score:2, Insightful)
Stupid DVD requirement (Score:2, Interesting)
Re: (Score:3, Insightful)
Re: (Score:2, Insightful)
Thinkpad (Score:5, Insightful)
Re: (Score:3, Interesting)
As for backups/mailing, I agree with the other posts. SD cards are the way to go, not optical.
One other cool option would be an OLPC if you can get your hands on one.. although the keyboard is sub-optimal for a lot of writing. Same thing with the Eee PC, just not enough quality in the
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:Pick Two (Score:4, Funny)
Re: (Score:2)
Buy a Cheap One (Score:2, Interesting)
I travelled for 20 months [ontheroad.net.nz] 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.
Re: (Score:2)
Also, don't skimp on the RAM.
hard drives die at high altitude (Score:5, Informative)
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.
Re: (Score:2, Insightful)
Re:hard drives die at high altitude (Score:5, Interesting)
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.
Re: (Score:2)
Also: LCD displays freeze and break. (Score:3, Informative)
Re: (Score:2)
Re:hard drives die at high altitude (Score:4, Interesting)
I'd say a SD Card in the little plastic boxes they come in should be good enough protection, maybe with a padded liner too.
IBM (Score:2)
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.
Solution: The Lappy 486 (Score:2, Funny)
Thinkpad X-series (Score:5, Interesting)
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.
Re:Thinkpad X-series (Score:4, Interesting)
In my experience with my X60 (and my T60 for that matter) I've been able to carry them around without a case.
I'd also second the comments that some have been making about backing up your most important documents onto flash drives. It might be useful even for data you want to share with people back home, since internet connections may not always be available and reliable. To paraphrase the quote, never underestimate the bandwidth of a flash drive on a FedEx plane.
Re: (Score:2)
And yes - mine also survived a fall when one of our TSA folks fumbled it during a screening.
Another option... (Score:2)
PowerBooks and MacBooks are very solid (Score:3, Informative)
Re: (Score:3, Informative)
12" powerbook g4 (Score:5, Interesting)
i still can't understand why apple dropped the 12" laptop form.
mr c
Re: (Score:2)
Re: (Score:3, Informative)
Why else do you think the MBP looks more or less like a 700mhz powerbook, ditto the Mac Pro, but t
Re: (Score:3, Informative)
I do know that Apple had many more problems with easily-dented aluminum causing motherboard problems on 15" Powerbooks. This repair survey [macintouch.com] does show both of the 12" models as among the most reliable.
You're asking (partially) the wrong question (Score:5, Informative)
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.
Re: (Score:3, Interesting)
Asus Eee (Score:2)
Re: (Score:2)
If you're paranoid you can even encrypt
Re: (Score:2)
olpc, like the tag says... (Score:2)
Other than that, you are very out of luck. I *carefully* tra
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
Re: (Score:3)
Re: (Score:3, Funny)
Re: (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: (Score:3, Funny)
Step 1: photocopy.
Step 2: stuff envelope, post
Step 3: retrieve from relative upon return.
Nokia N810 and cheap Flash (Score:2)
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. [vendio.com]
I'm interested in your final decision.
Re: (Score:2)
Re: (Score:2)
I purchased an n810 recently. The device generally lives up to its promise, I find it very useable around town, but there are a few points that disappoint me when I consider relying on it for a long trip.
The internal GPS is nearly worthless. If you plan to rely on it at all buy an external bluetooth module.
Though the device uses a standard Nokia plug, it can only be charged that way, not through USB.
The included cable only runs the n810 as a USB client. The n810 can run as a host but no one (in the U
Panasonic (Score:5, Interesting)
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!" [gadgetshow.five.tv]
Pretty reliable laptop, huh. On a side note, how did you get the money to do this adventure?
Take a Toughbook, but forget DVDs... (Score:2)
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
Harddrive... (Score:2)
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 used to travel a lot ... (Score:2, Interesting)
A cell phone will do most of what you want. If you can, forget the laptop.
It is just going to be stolen... (Score:3, Informative)
Buy a bunch of Compact Flash cards and mail your pics home. Assuming they dont get your camera too.
casting my vote (Score:2, Interesting)
Itronix (Score:2)
MR-1 [gd-itronix.com]
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 [gd-itronix.com]
Media Bay: DVD-RW/CD-RW
Cost?
MR-1: starting at $4,295 [groupmobile.com]
XR-1: starting at $3,908 [l-trondirect.com]
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
Any cheap laptop will do. (Score:2)
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 w
Have you considered... (Score:2)
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!
MacBook (Score:2)
LG has nice small laptops (Score:2)
Chance of being stolen? (Score:2)
An older ThinkPad from the X Series (Score:2)
AlphaSmart for writing ... (Score:2)
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 [coolest-gadgets.com]) and visit an internet cafe periodicall
how about... (Score:2)
Camp Fires (Score:2)
macbook (Score:2)
WiFi, Solid state, liquid crystal (Score:2)
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
Dust = death (Score:2)
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 possibilit
Try Dell's ATG models (Score:2)
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 [dell.com].
Namibia is very harsh (Score:2)
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.
Cafes and Smoke. (Score:3, Insightful)
You may not need a laptop (Score:2, Informative)
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 fl
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)
Dont worry too much about Everest (Score:3, Informative)
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.
Fujitsu Lifebook u810 (Score:3, Interesting)
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.
Moleskines and Internet cafes (Score:4, Interesting)
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.
Re: (Score:2)
Having said that, I wouldn't want to trust a variety of postal systems for my backups.
Why not get 2 Asus EEEs and a USB drive? Redundancy and storage all the way round, for low weight.
Re: (Score:2)
Re:Instead of sending DVDs home (Score:5, Informative)
I agree the EEEpc is by far the cheapest and most portable solution. You can buy a bigger SSD drive to stick in an EEEPC to survive riding in a jeep in Africa/Mt Everest etc., buy a bunch of 4-8-16 GB SDHC cards for additional storage/redundancy, and do offline backups when you have internet access (which you'll have if you're blogging).
Personally, I have a pimped out toshiba subnotebook that I upgraded to an SSD. I can get 10 hours of battery life.
Re: (Score:3, Informative)
Not if you include the price of postage, the dvd burner (moving part, probably will have to replace it, and the size of a spindle in your backpack. IF you want to send large amounts of HD video back, dvd-R might be the right way, but for the occasional video+ docs small (256 MB) SD cards are just a few euro, (5 euro for a 1 GB now) and are very hard to damage in post. You can have carry many around, they are light and they are rugged. And they ar
Re: (Score:2)
Re: (Score:3, Interesting)
Those devices probably aren't particularly rugged, but they are so small you could put them in a p
Re: (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:Small, cheap and light: EeePC or XO. (Score:5, Funny)
Re:Small, cheap and light: EeePC or XO. (Score:5, Funny)
Re:Small, cheap and light: EeePC or XO. (Score:4, Interesting)
I also have an eee pc. neat toy.
get the cheapest dell or HP they have on sale. it will do what you want and when it get's stolen you wont cry too bad.
also everything important goes on a thumbdrive or uploaded to carbonite or other storage.
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
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.
Re: (Score:2)
Re: (Score:3, Informative)
Would be a fine recommendation -- if one could actually GET any OLPC hardware!
The "Give One, Get One" promotion ended more than a month ago, and there's something like 5,000 of us who paid for our laptops in late 2007 and still won't be receiving them until perhaps March or April, due to the OLPC Foundation's disastrous mishandling of our orders.
So unless you're willing to pay 80% markup on eBay, are an Australian Linux Users' Group member, or are a child in a third-
Re: (Score:3, Interesting)
For $2-400 it might be worth taking a look at. Also, the software on those things isn't too bad. I've had the opportunity to mess around with one, if only for a few minutes.
Re: (Score:2)
I'm a happy user of 7 years old CF-M34 toughbook, and i must say this is a wonderful solution (except worn out battery and low processing power, but this is understandable). My laptop took a lot of abuse and is running almost 24/24 for the last 3 years without problems. Those things have amazing build quality.
Probably also XO could be an answer, because it
Re: (Score:3, Informative)
Re: (Score:2)
Desperation. The mother of many hacks.
Re: (Score:2)
DVD region locking only matters with CSS [wikipedia.org], which is only found on DVD movies, and has nothing to do with a DVD-r, or any kind of burned disc.