Okay so not so free
 

Well I couldn't get my hands on the sold state machine - still not out - so I'll be taking along the Samsung Q1 - it's small and very portable, has padding and shock resistance around the hard drive and comes with a tiny portable USB keyboard too.

It runs XP so connects happily to my GPS / camera etc - all possible with OS X and *nix too of course.

I've borrowed it so no real cost thank goodness - I don't think I'd have been able to afford to buy one of these brand new!

m

Oooooooooops !!!
 

Well i turned to the darkside !

I sold a new Kawasaki GTR1400 in work and made £300 commission :clap:

So, I bought a few beers and ended up picking up a high spec Dell for £300 online.

Its cheap enough that I dont care if its pinched and its warrentied for 12 months too.

I know I dont NEED it but when I thought about things that I would LIKE, it just made sense.

Even if it stays in my panniers for 6 months, it will be used when I get home.

Toughbook
 

Hi, I carry an ancient ToughBook. It survived the recent crash and everything else my incompetence has made it suffer. However it weighs a ton and I need to watch my leg for the rest of the trip so am finally leaving it here at the Hotel Argentino in Rio Grande. Will I replace it? Yes, if I can find something small and light with a good screen that will stand up to the conditions. I enjoy working at sidewalk cafes. I loathe being bottled up for hours in an internet cafe. However this is governed by the amount I have to write and send in each week. But for that, I would return to paper and a good ballpoint. What joy!
:oops2: simon at home

laptop
 

The old story, kiss , keep it simple stupid the more crap you carry the more there is to breakdown and more weight to pick up when you drop it.

And.... more to lose when you're robbed at knife point..... And more heartache over the loss.

We all have so much stuff that costs more than many folks in the 3rd world make in a year. And in some places....life is very cheap.

Simon's point of having the freedom to do write ups in a cafe as opposed to I-Cafe is tempting.....but my hand written notes seem to work OK. I carry a log book that contains travel notes/thoughts, maintenance records/mileages, motel/hostel info, border info, embassy info, road/route tips, Weather notes, traveler's info, and on and on.

When I find a decent I-Cafe (they are not all torture chambers) I up load my notes and pics. I'm not on deadline and don't think I'll be writing the next pulitzer winning book, so I don't need a computer with me.

Patrick:mchappy:

I agree with Mollydog and others who say its unneccessary...

But, I still bought one.

I am taking a small travel guitar with me and now I can carry 1000's of guitar tabulatures (scores) and about 80 gig of music and photos for home sickness.

Thats the only reason really..

Plus i will write a daily dairy and upload it to my site when i get net access.

I think it is so cool your bringing a guitar! Awesome! :thumbup:

Man, this will really open a lot of doors out there. If I could still play worth a crap, I'd take one too. I played in bands as a kid (didn't we all?).

I think it was you who mentioned that Mexican town where they make guitars?

I was there in 1972 on a MC trip. Paracho? or something like that?

Be sure to check out the Tango world and musicans in Buenos Aires, the Samba
clubs in Rio and on and on. The locals will adopt you if you can play well.

One of the Kiwi guys we got launched on the S. America trip took his low budget travel guitar. It got broken in a crash I think. :tongue_smilie:

Patrick:scooter:

mini JVC....
 

sorry - long-term female rider here (4 half years on the road so far) and only just managed to get off the dirt roads to internet access!!
caught this thread.

as we travel we keep a very busy website up and running therefore we need a laptop...go see 2ridetheworld.com

we also write articles, have taken over 10,000 hig res digital photos and have needed to downlaod and upload our GPS track log over the years..

so we have taken with us a JVC mp xv841 mininote Laptop. It has coped with being in a pannier over some of the worst off-road areas you can go to. Truding through mud in the Amazon to fech-fech in the Sahara - to 25 below in Bolivia.....and its still alive! go to the website and have a look.

However, if you are only going on a short-ish trip and can cope with small internet cafes - then do. South America is stuffed full of them but dont expect to be able to log in in the altiplano of Bolivia.
nor in the more remote areas of Africa - actually even the large cities promised connection in Uganda but with 15 pcs all linked to a 56k modem...I email per hour was about as fast as it got!

depends on what you want to do and why....2 hours a day infront of your laptop fiddling with mp3's ....or essential downloading of photos and GPS...etc?.... However, it is really liberating to 'get-away' from 'it' all.
cheers
Lisa

Hi lisa, quite a trip so far.

I'm sure the GPS is handy for you as a professional writer/traveler. I hope your enjoying your new career, I see you've had quite a few, you and Simon.

Bit off topic....

Once you do all the GPS routes and mapping, what will you do with that information? Is it available?

Do you have a book coming soon?

I noticed some long stays in some countries along the way, like Argentina, Brazil and USA, and yet through Cent. America, you spent a day or two in each country.

Have you been able to find work in Argentina, Brazil, US? Any work permit issues? I would like to seek work along the way too.
Cheers,

Patrick