To Laptop or not to Laptop, that is the question....

[bucknaway]

This trip I am bringing a smart-phone with me to use in Thailand. The last few times I took a
laptop along with me when I wen to Thailand. It came in very handy since most of my friends there all stay in touch with me through the internet. It is also easier for me to remember who I am talking to when I can look at our history through a click of the mouse.

Last trip I was not able to use my laptop in places that advertised their internet connectivity.

If the place I stay at has a hard wire access, I plug it into my mini - wireless router and I am able to connect to their internet wirelessly. This was most helpful to me in Pattaya. I loved being able to log onto gayromeo, gay.com, gaydar. fridae, yahoo, MSN, Hotmail and Gmail all from my own laptop in the privacy of my own room without having to walk all the way up to the internet cafe. I liked that I could come to my room. Log on, jump in the shower, come back to my PC and make a date for a movie, dinner, sex or fun on the fly. It was well worth the trouble to bring it along.

Two places it did not work was at PJ's place. For some reason I was not able to connect to their wired internet. We tried everything and nothing worked... So during my time in Chiang Mai I had very limited access to the internet.

The other place that I had trouble connecting with was Babylon. They called a PC guy and he was able to get me connected but they disabled Java and my ability to chat... It sucked... So I would go to their PC's in the cafe area and log onto the internet to chat with my friends.

This time I am wondering if I should leave my laptop at home and depend on my smart-phone? Last year was my first time to use a phone in Thailand and it came in so handy. Once the guys were able to call and text me... I used it all the time and my holiday was kicked into high gear. Now the new phone I have has a keyboard to make texting very easy. I am wondering if this will be enough for me or if I should bring the laptop along?

Are there any of you that depend on your laptop and gave it up for use of a smart-phone?

No smart phone I know can take the place of a laptop.

I agree with BG.

I take and use both my laptop and smartphone when traveling. Nothing beat using a laptop keyboard to write long notes and handle the pictures from my digital camera. The smartphone is good for quick, on-the-go activities. Just don't show the BF the games.

[bucknaway]

Well it looks like I will be traveling with a laptop again... I have a USB phone charger for my smart-phone that I can plug into my laptop to charge my phone and transfer information.

One thing I found valuable was having the guys photo... I am bad with names and when I can see a photo it makes it all so much easier for me to remember them and know who I am talking to.

[catawampuscat]

So many of the guys have similiar nicknames and most of the Thai guys, I know sound very similar on the mobile.

In the West, we are used to identifying ourselves and only the childish, play the guess who games but many Thais
don't tell you who they are and expect you to know. If you have a problem with that then you have forgotten them.

I recently made a date with two boys, thinking I was talking to only one and it was all very confusing.
I tried Ton 1, Ton 2 but it didn't help but photos would do the job.

Be careful if a boy/man tells you his name is Ton Kup(Kop) or Nop Kup(Kop) .
The second syllable Kup or Kop or even Krup(formal) is just a polite word and not part of the name.
If you tell the boy/man your name is John Kup, he will understand that the Kup is not part of your name.

[billyhouston]

Cannot be bothered to haul a laptop but carry a Dell PDA with Bluetooth and Wireless. Have a plug in ethernet card for it and a portable bluetooth keyboard. This setup isn't great for browsing but e-mail is fine. Never had problems connecting at PJ's Place; stayed there six times since last November. Great place.

[bucknaway]

Yeah, I loved PJ's Place too. I think I will stay there again when I come. I hope my PC is able to connect to their internet system this time.

Would anyone drag so many pieces of equipment and chargers to Thailand for a short holiday. Not until they get much lighter in weight for me. I just had this joke sent which is not relevant but amusing.

ubject: The shepherd
> >
> >A shepherd was herding his flock in a remote pasture when suddenly a
> >brand-new BMW advanced out of a dust cloud towards him.
> >The driver, a young man in a Prada suit, Gucci shoes, Dior sunglasses
> >and
> >D+G tie, leans out the window and asks the shepherd:
> >"If I tell you exactly how many sheep you have in your flock, will you
> >give me one?"
> >The shepherd looks at the man,obviously a yuppie, then looks at his
> >peacefully grazing flock and calmly answers:
> >"Sure. Why not?"
> >The yuppie parks his car, whips out his Dell notebook computer,connects
> >it to his AT&T cell phone, surfs to a NASA page on the internet, where
> >he calls up a GPS satellite navigation system to get an exact fix on
> >his location which he then feeds to another NASA satellite that scans
> >the area in an ultra-high-resolution photo. The young man then opens
> >the digital photo in Adobe Photoshop and exports it to an image
> >processing facility in Hamburg, Germany. Within seconds, he receives an
> >email on his Palm Pilot that the image has been processed and the data
> stored.
> >He then accesses MS-SQL database through an ODBC connected Excel
> >spreadsheet with hundreds of complex formulae.
> >He uploads all of this data via an email on his blackberry and, after a
> >few minutes, receives a response.
> >Finally, he prints out a full-colour, 150-page report on his hi-tech,
> >miniaturised HP LaserJet printer, turns to the shepherd and says:
> >"You have exactly 1,586 sheep".
> >"That's right. Well, I guess you can take one of my sheep," says the
> >shepherd.
> >He watches the young man select one of the animals and looks on amused
> >as the young man stuffs it into the boot of his car.
> >Then the shepherd says to the young man: "Hey, if I can tell you
> >exactly what your business is, will you give me back my sheep?"
> >The young man thinks bout it for a second and then says: "Okay, why
> >not?".
> >"You're a consultant," says the shepherd.
> >"Wow! That's correct," says the yuppie. "But how did you guess that?"
> >"No guessing required," answers the shepherd. "You showed up here even
> >though nobody called you, you want to get paid for an answer I already
> >knew to a question I never asked, and you know fc*k-all about my
> >business.
> >"Now, give me back my dog."

I was going to change it all to Thailand with goats but too much work.

[bucknaway]

Weight is not an issue for me. When I come, I pack only one bag that is on wheels So I have a wheeled bag and one carry bag. I keep all my important documents in my laptop bag and it has saved my butt a few times being able to open my laptop and showing e-mails where my room was confirmed but they claim it was not now that I was standing at the desk....

And I decided I am going to bring it :) It was no hassle last time and I was glad I had it with me.

If I bump into you, I will let you use to to send an e-mail WowPow :)

You better make sure he wipes that fake brown posing oil off his fingers first.

[Aunty]

You better make sure he wipes that fake brown posing oil off his fingers first.

I have a really horrible feeling that ain't posing oil.

:puke:

[Sen Yai]

....it has saved my butt a few times being able to open my laptop and showing e-mails where my room was confirmed but they claim it was not now that I was standing at the desk....

Some people choose to print their hotel reservations onto a single sheet of paper to carry with them. :cyclopsani:

[Smiles]

" ... Some people choose to print their hotel reservations onto a single sheet of paper to carry with them ... "
Yes, there does seem to be something quite twee (good ol' Homitern!) about wipping out the old laptop onto the check-in desk, opening up that sexy bluey-pearly cover with a grand and " ... I've got sumptin' I wanna show ya baby ... " flourish (at 11:30PM), swiveling it around so everyone at the desk can hover over the nasty little confirmation message sitting right there (undeniably true!!) on the sparkling Toshiba 260GIG HD BigSound Windows Vista Business Ed. IntelInside BriteScreen. Oooooo lala!! This dude's SERIOUS STUFF!

Yes, a piece of paper might seem ~ shall we say ~ somewhat less ostentatious.

Cheers ...

[bucknaway]

It is a tablet PC, so everything that smiles said but picture it when you flip the screen around, fold it flat into tablet mode, pull out the touch pin and bring up the confirmation... :cheers:

Why not using an USB stick with LiveDistro or similar software on? All you need is a computer or Internet connection anywhere around the globe and it works fine.
You can use all your own data, which are stored on your USB only and don't leave any remains on foreign machines (i.e. eBanking).
The USB stick is protected, just in case of loosing.
It's cheap, very handy and you can also store pictures etc from digicams or so. This is what students and managers are using today.
You don't need to worry at customs. You don't need to carry any haevy laptop or notebook around.
If your mobile phone is linked to Internet and are able to plug in an USB stick, you're having the perfect base of informations.

Why not using an USB stick with LiveDistro or similar software on? All you need is a computer or Internet connection anywhere around the globe and it works fine.
You can use all your own data, which are stored on your USB only and don't leave any remains on foreign machines (i.e. eBanking).
The USB stick is protected, just in case of loosing.
It's cheap, very handy and you can also store pictures etc from digicams or so. This is what students and managers are using today.
You don't need to worry at customs. You don't need to carry any haevy laptop or notebook around.
If your mobile phone is linked to Internet and are able to plug in an USB stick, you're having the perfect base of informations.


How did you learn all that in Udon Thani??

Why not using an USB stick with LiveDistro or similar software on? All you need is a computer or Internet connection anywhere around the globe and it works fine.
You can use all your own data, which are stored on your USB only and don't leave any remains on foreign machines (i.e. eBanking).
The USB stick is protected, just in case of loosing.
It's cheap, very handy and you can also store pictures etc from digicams or so. This is what students and managers are using today.
You don't need to worry at customs. You don't need to carry any haevy laptop or notebook around.
If your mobile phone is linked to Internet and are able to plug in an USB stick, you're having the perfect base of informations.


How did you learn all that in Udon Thani??

Kevin, Isaan boys are not just cute but also clever - as you might know ....

Just have a word with any local IT student for assistance if needed.

Actually, have some more detailed information (NOT on Isaan boys) here please: featherlinux.berlios.de

The software is popular, for free (legally), and with integrated BitTorrent you can avoid most (Thai) censorships since you cannot be identified by the www .. I am happy with my clever device. It's saving me a lot of hassle an reduces any risks to an absolute minimum.

Hi ttom,

I've just got a kid in aged 23 to start teaching Tam and I, as again, through lack of interest, and idleness, I never learnt a great deal, only what I needed to.

He's cute, clever and teaches at the local school part time.

He's insisted he wants 100 baht per hour. I CAN LIVE WITH THAT!

I was going to offer 500 baht per time for a two hour session, twice a week.

I'll see how he sticks it out, pay him what he asked for, and do the bonus at the end.

Hi ttom,

I've just got a kid in aged 23 to start teaching Tam and I, as again, through lack of interest, and idleness, I never learnt a great deal, only what I needed to.

He's cute, clever and teaches at the local school part time.

He's insisted he wants 100 baht per hour. I CAN LIVE WITH THAT!

I was going to offer 500 baht per time for a two hour session, twice a week.

I'll see how he sticks it out, pay him what he asked for, and do the bonus at the end.

I don't need to tell you that 100 TBT per hour is a lot of money in Isaan, especially if flowing in on a regular basis.

I need to kick myself somewhere sometimes, even its difficult learning new stuff. But if I find someone I am trying my very best to be a good student even I stretch the patience to it's limits sometimes. Some of the younger once are very good teachers, sometimes I do enjoy the pleasure returning some of my knowledge and we can make great progress together.

Since 1999 I am invited twice annually to lecture special seminars at Vientiane University. It's spectacular. Even with double "shifts", due to the demand, it's very hard work but I love any moment of it.
Even after hours lessons continue for more long hours somewhere in grounds of the temple where I am usually staying. The students are so extremely good and keen, it's just a joy. Some studied in Viet Nam or Thailand (many in Khon Kaen) or China. This is one way I am catching up with new, technologies, and trends.

ttom,

Good on you,


its great to have an interest and a purpose for motivating yourself.

[billyhouston]

USB pen drives are cheap, reliable and easily portable. Paid just over $30 for a 4Gb Toshiba. Rather than run a linux os I prefer to use 'portable' Windows apps. These are specially configured to run without installation and, by using Thinstall, many can be configured in this way. My USB stick holds Office 2007, browser, e-mail client, Photoshop CS2, Nero, Google Earth etc. which will run on any XP (SP2) machine.

USB pen drives are cheap, reliable and easily portable. Paid just over $30 for a 4Gb Toshiba. Rather than run a linux os I prefer to use 'portable' Windows apps. These are specially configured to run without installation and, by using Thinstall, many can be configured in this way. My USB stick holds Office 2007, browser, e-mail client, Photoshop CS2, Nero, Google Earth etc. which will run on any XP (SP2) machine.



Thank you. I'm off to talk to my buffalos!

I have no inkling as to what you are talking about.

[Zyxel-old]

I bought a USB flash drive and loaded it with portable applications including Firefox, Thunderbird (e-mail), OpenOffice, antivirus and most important Skype. You need to download portable applications from internet to install them on the USB drive because if you download normal installation files, copy them on the USB drive and run them, they will install on the host computer and not the USB drive. Sandisk is selling USB drives labeled U3 with some applications already included and with the possibility of adding more applications not portable. Actually you don't need to buy these as they are more expensive.
I had a lot of difficulties to find a portable Skype since it not provided by Skype because they sell ready made USB key with headphones and microphone attached and must have a deal with Sandisk and their U3 drives. It is easy to find a portable Skype on the internet to download but the requirement is to have a U3 drive. I eventually found a good download on a German site and it works fine. I can now travel and go to internet cafe or use a friend computer to call Europe, North America or Australia for 0.017 Euro/mn (0.8 Baht/mn), check my e-mail or surf internet to my favorite sites in total anonymity.
I recommend a minimum of 4GB of memory and the read/write speed of the drive can be important for some so very cheap drives may not be up to the job for them.
Portable Applications: http://portableapps.com/suite
Portable Skype for non U3 drives: http://www.chip.de/downloads/c1_downloads_20733442.html

It could be a good idea when you travel to have a small headset with microphone like the Creative HE-100 (290 Baht at the Paragon).

Sorry for those who know all that already but I wanted to share my little experience about traveling and staying in touch with friends and family at a really low cost.

[billyhouston]

Thank you. I'm off to talk to my buffalos!

I have no inkling as to what you are talking about.

My apologies, I was simply trying to keep it brief. It is possible to make a pen drive into a 'sort of' portable personal computer. You simply plug it into a 'host' computer in the usual way, perhaps in an internet cafe, and then use the programs on the pen drive without installing them on the host computer. Nothing need get stored on the host computer so it's all very private. There is no trace of what you have been looking at, on the host machine, as your browser (Internet Explorer of whatever) is on the pen drive. One technology in use, mentioned by the previous poster, is U3. My Toshiba drive is U3 but I prefer not to use this facility as it severely limits the programs available. The long and short of it is that your pen drive has become a tiny computer when plugged into a host machine. It will even allow you to have your sexy desktop picture which disappears as soon as you unplug the pen drive. :thumbleft:

I have tried to be brief so have missed out the whys, the hows and the caveats.

[goji]

I currently bring a phone and a tablet on holiday.

I used to use netbooks, but these were slow. Linux netbooks were hit & miss for wifi connection. Microsoft netbooks were naturally OK for that.

I then started bringing a tablet, initially as an e-reader, but quickly realised it was a suitable replacement for the laptop. It's also lighter and can be charged from USB, so no laptop charging brick. Total luggage weight saving is over 1kg compared with a netbook and it's faster. I also now have a lightweight bluetooth keyboard for it, but with the predictive keyboard on the tablet, the bluetooth keyboard is rarely needed.

A laptop might have a slight advantage if you want to spend a little time on spreadsheets (e.g. for tracking investments or business). I would like to think anyone taking a short holiday would take a proper holiday and skip all that. However, for those of us who might travel for a few months, perhaps a laptop comes back into it.

My ideal spec laptop doesn't exist. Spec is:
1 Light weight, like the Mac Airbooks
2 Same size as smallest Airbook, or preferably about an inch shorter
3 Light weight charger, preferably by USB, so I don't need a dedicated charger
4 It needs to be a lot cheaper than a Mac Airbook, since I will only use it when travelling and don't want anything too attractive to thieves. ie a Microsoft OS system with probable price point about £3~400. Processor, memory and storage needs to be sufficient to allow fairly quick performance.

Actually, a Linux OS could be OK, but I would need to be damn sure it will reliably hook up to the wifi at every cafe and hotel I go to, which the Linux distros I was using 7~8 years ago did not (maybe OK in 80% of places, but that is not enough).

[ceejay]

Have you considered a convertible tablet/laptop with Windows OS? It comes pretty close to meeting your requirements and gives you the best of both worlds.
Go to Amazon.co.uk
Select computers
Select laptops
and then in select your style - select "convertible laptops"
to see the sort of thing I mean.

[bkkguy]

I just had this joke sent which is not relevant but amusing.

still not relevant but I hope amusing - The Manager and the Engineer:



A man is flying in a hot air balloon and realizes he is lost. He spots a man down below and lowers the balloon and shouted “Excuse me, can you help me? I promised my friend I would meet him half an hour ago, but I don’t know where I am.”

The man below replied “Yes. You are in a hot air balloon, hovering approximately 30 feet above this field. You are between 40 and 42 degrees N. latitude, and between 58 and 60 degrees W. longitude.”

“You must be an engineer” says the balloonist.

“I am” replies the man. “How did you know.”

“Well” says the balloonist, “everything you have told me is technically correct, but I have no idea what to make of your information, and the fact is I am still lost.”

The man below says “You must be a manager.”

“I am” replies the balloonist, “but how did you know?”

“Well”, says the man, “you don’t know where you are or where you are going. You have risen to where you are due to a large quantity of hot air. You made a promise which you have no idea how to keep, and you expect people beneath you to solve your problems. The fact is you are in exactly the same position you were in before we met, but now, somehow, it’s my fault!”

[goji]

Have you considered a convertible tablet/laptop with Windows OS? It comes pretty close to meeting your requirements and gives you the best of both worlds.
Yes. I look at these things every few months when in electrical stores. I don't like the feel of them, with the thing top heavy as the screen is heavier than the base. Some have rubbery keyboards (vaguely reminding me of the Sinclair Spectrum).
I'm also not sure this is a substantial advance on my Android tablet + bluetooth keyboard.

However, thank you for the suggestion. What I really would like is someone doing a slightly smaller clone of the smallest lightest Apple laptop, with a Microsoft OS & a much more competitive price. Essentially, a high spec netbook.

[Manforallseasons]

Your smart phone will do just fine for a short trip.

[christianpfc]

Some years ago, I took my laptop with me on a few small trips (a few days), but found that for such short time I can perfectly manage everything on my smartphone. Now I take my laptop only to Taiwan (1 month stay) and Germany (2 months).

[Oliver2]

I prefer both the keyboard and the screen size of my chromebook.