Laptop?

Bumpy Jonas

I'm considering bringing a laptop with me on my trip to india this summer. It would be very helpful, as I'll be much more likely to keep a journal when I'm typing it than writing it, from personal experience. It will also be nice for my digital camera, since I won't have to always be hunting down internet cafes that can burn to CD, and trying to conserve space on the camera's memory card. I can also put the audio portion on my computer of a book I bought to learn hindi from (Colloquial Hindi by Taj Bhatia -- working well so far, according to my Indian friends)

I'll be there during the monsoon, but I should be able to keep it dry without too much of a problem, because I'm going to be getting two waterproof stuff sacks the size of the two compartments of my backpack to put inside it and keep everything inside dry.

These are my main concerns:
- weight/bulk
- electrical supply. I can use a surge protector to protect against damage from outages. Is just about anywhere I may end up likely to have electricity? Not too big of a deal because I can always go without using it for a period
- Backpack being stolen, with it in it. I guess I'm screwed in that case anyway though
- damage from bag being thrown around. Is surrounding it with soft stuff enough? (I don't have much laptop experience)
- cultural barrier. Will frequently crawling back into this bit of the West cause me to assimilate and immerse myself less?

Has anyone brought a laptop with them on other journeys, and were you glad you did? Or did you wish you didn't have that weight?

Tomi

Bumpy, I hope you have thought of the different voltage and the shape of the prongs that go in the plug. You can find an outlet in just about every hotel room; I used them occasionally to plug in a mosquito repelling gadget (and poison myself). There will be power outages everywhere, almost daily, in both small towns and cities of a million, whether touristy or not.

About the pack being thrown around, you will do most of the handling yourself: in buses and trains you will have to take it inside with you, there seldom being luggage space. I never had my stuff placed on top of the bus, but, if you had to, you could also climb up and put it there and tie it down yourself (with your nylon rope). Packs will often go inside, in the front of the bus next to the engine, which heats up, if that matters to you. On trains there are solid overhead racks in both sleeper and second class unreserved, but less space in chair cars.

As for the cultural aspect, Indians love gadgets, will stare at your camera, watch, or laptop with interest and admiration; I don't think you have to worry about being shunned. Quite the contrary, it could open up conversation. If you choose to retire to your laptop all the time and be shielded from immersing yourself in local culture, that's another thing, but that could happen just as easily with a book, a CD, or a travel partner.

I know what you mean about writing with a laptop; I myself have unfortunately lost all ability to write longhand, and am limited to taking shorthand notes and hope to do the writing when I get back home. An alternative could be writing at Internet cafés and storing your writing in Yahoo briefcase or something like it. That still leaves transferring your camera data to CD, and that's a little harder. I took four 128 M cards with me, and that was enough for about a month, so I had to stop once, in Trivandrum, to burn CDs at a photographer's (there's another thread about that).

-m2-

Picklepack has a really good report of his notebook experience last year towards the end of this old thread on notebooks:

Notebooks

I think this subject is of interest to many of us and more reports would be nice. I have been particularly looking forward to an update from Cedar who planned to take a notebook this past winter and had access to an ISP 'through any phone with a dial-tone' and learn how this worked out.

Since commenting in the old thread I have noticed a couple of new developments: 1. higher speed access is now available in some places -- until recently, sharing 56k modems over bad phone lines with 3 or 4 other users has been the norm in small cybershops -- and expect more will be coming as cable systems spread their tentacles across the country. 2. As I mentioned in another thread, I have seen signs in Mumbai (Colaba district) advertising laptop hookups. As this kind of service becomes more wide-spread it will make dealing with photos and big files a lot easier.

To follow Tomi's point, raggged electrical power is really a problem as one travel's around. Basically, it is 220v -- a report in Goa this winter claimed that it actually varied between 170-250 depending on the changing load during the day (the lights always dim at sun-down when everyone turns their lights on). Most lap-tops power runs through a brick that deals with 120-240v and I think it handles surges etc -- check yours out. A friend at my guesthouse in Goa kept his Toshiba plugged in all winter with no problem (he's a grad student from Slovenia and basically does all his work from India) You may need an adapter if you have NA blade-type plug as the standard in India is a two pin (3 if it is grounded) but a simple adapter available locally. I think Picklepack mentions an adapter with surge protection he brought from home. this would be a worthwhile preventative measure.

A laptop with a 'combo' drive that enabled you to burn CD's (and watch DVD's) would be nice for burning backup disks for your important files and photos -- as well, giving you a source of entertainment as inexpensive VCD"S and DVD's are becomming widely available to buy, rent, and even borrow and swap like books as more travellers bring their hardware.

Check your 'homeowners' policy if you have one. Laptops are considered personal property with the rest of your stuff and loss should be covered, subject to a deductible. Perhaps some other type of travellers insurance might apply if you don't have a homeowner policy. Probably some sort of insurance a good idea for a high value, and somewhat fragile, item like a laptop and gear.

neoncarrot

I've travelled with a laptop for 4 of the 5 years I've spent in India, and never regretted the minor inconveniences that are far outwieghed by advantages. A little bit of care and forethought goes a long way, and I can honestly say I've had few problems that couldnt be solved.

A good choice of laptop would be one of the older Apple iBooks (you'd have to buy secondhand), which are really rugged and designed for fairly rough usage.

The power is always up and down in India, but in most places these days it is fairly rare these days to be without electricity for too long. As to surges; bring one surge protector for sure and maybe two as many of them are effectively throw away if they encounter a surge; I think the voltage clamping is chemically based rather than mechanical. A small light extension cable would be a good idea, as Indian sockets are never in the right place.

I would absolutely NOT consign a laptop to my main (big) rucksack; carry it in a robust seperate case which can always be carried onto buses and trains with you, even if the backpack is put on the bus roof. Theft is pretty rare, but there might well be more chance if your bag is unattended on top of a bus for example. In the backpack damage would be likely; as someone else said, you will end up throwing it around and the guys who load the bags ontop buses frequently climb over them.

Try to get the case as close to the size of the laptop as possible; enough to provide protection, but enough that the final package is small and easy to carry. The power supply and accessories can travel in another soft bag or even backpack as they are usually a lot more robust than the unit itself. I have 2 cases; one is made by a chinese company called Chameleon and is an aluminium case that provides excellent solid protection all round. We cut the foam inner ourselves to fit. It is rather flashy and would attract attention, so I gave it a rough spray job with car exhaust paint and then scuffed it up. It doesnt attract attention any more! The other case I use sometimes is a ballistic nylon case from Emac with a very solid Kevlar rim and thickly padded sides. The laptop has been dropped and sustained no damage in this well padded case.

Mobile computing is not as 'mobile' as the hype suggests. Bulk can be a problem, but as m2 says getting a machine with a combo CD burner DVD reader saves weight and it is really nice to have a dozen fave movies with you. The inconvenience of bulk is easily offset by the convenience of having the machine; especially for digital cameras. It is very, very often difficult to unload these and burn a disk in an average cybercafe in India. Today, a friend who is travelling on a round the world hitchhiking trip has spent the day trawling Manali's cyber cafes trying to find one with a USB port, and a CD burner. Having finally found one, he discovered that they didnt have the software drivers for the burner. End of story.

On a security note in India. while theft is very rare in Indian guest houses, I think the best thing is to just keep a low key. I almost never use the machine outside my room, and avoid mentioning I even have one unless I really trust someone. I would actually be far more nervous of other travellers pinching it than I would the Indians. If no one knows you have it, its less likely to get nicked. This said, you have far more chance of losing it to a thief on the Underground in London than a bus in Delhi.

A note about climate. The humidity can kill laptops, especially during monsoon. I keep mine inside the case and additonally in a large 'ziplock' resealable bag which keeps moisture out. Inside I put a couple of bags of Silica gel (a dessicant) usually sold in Chemists or photographic shops. Any moisture in the air inside the bag is dried out by the silica gel.

If you need computer realted 'stuff' such as CDs, software or hardware while in North India, the best spot would be Nehru Place in South Delhi, about 30 minutes by rickshaw from Connaught place. You can buy almost anything you might need here, although prices are higher than in the west.

A last tip about extrs. An invaluable extra to overcome the vagaries of Indian telephone plugs is a small device with a standard phone socket in one end and two 'crocodile clips' on the other. I cant recall the product name, but it is sold by Teleadapt at www. teleadapt.com. This enables you to simply clip onto a piece of bare phone wire if you are somewhere where the phone is 'hardwired'; just remove the cover where the wire connects to the wall and you will find enough bare wire. The second item , also by Teleadapt, is called the teletester pro. This goes between the modem and the phone socket. It can test for excess current to prevent the laptop being fried, and 'reverse' the polarity of the phone wires if needed - apparently there is a right way round and a wrong way. A small 'reel' type modem cable is a good idea too.

For an ISP, probably the best bet is a BSNL connection (sold under the brand of Sancharnet ) which works almost everywhere in India via a localised Dialup connection and a roaming facility. Although it will work in the remotest of towns and villages, ironically it doesnt work in either Delhi or Bombay. Cost is 1000 rupees for 200 hours use, which is valid for 2 years. I've used BSNL for the last 2 years and found it generally reliable by Indian ISP standards, and the dial up connection can be quickeron a good day than my account was in London.

DONT confuse BSNL / Sancharnet with VSNL; it is a different service with less overall coverage, but DOES work in Delhi or Bombay. To get a BSNL account, you need to go to an Indian department of Telecoms office where bills are paid, and be prepared for an afternoon of Indian Bureaucracy. You will need 2 passport photos and a phone number where they can call you when the connection is activated; about 3 days. A friendly guest house owner will probably let you use his phone. The details of Sancharnet are at www.sancharnet.in. Dont even waste the bandwidth emailing them with a query; I have never had a reply once in 2 years. And the same goes for tech support, dont call them unless you speak Hindi and want to waste your time. But when the service is set up, it usually works well.

The other ISP option for all india is Maglobe (www.maglobe.net) who offer a fairly expensive global roaming service that is about the only one to work well in India. Its pricey, but OK if all you are doing is collecting emails and dont spend too much time online. It can be purchased online with a credit card and a minimum of fuss, with the advantage that access to the outgoing ( SMTP) email account that comes with it does not depend on where you dial in from - it works globally.

If you have any specific questions, email me.

Wish you the best of luck!

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Neoncarrot India travelog

vistet

If Oqo became a real product it it might be a neat solution for all of us suffering from digital withdrawal during travel.

I have no experience of laptop-toting (although I met a guy using an iBook in Dharamsala during the monsoon without any apparent problems) .

My camera became a vivid illustration of how sensitive electronics can be in the monsoon - it really freaked out , started shooting at four frames per second inside the pack etc. I can`t support enough neoncarrots advice : bring ample supply of silica gel and a good packing solution.

Next trip I will probably try Eagle Creek`s compression bags - will give them a test spin this summmer in my home mountains (hopefully it will rain a lot )

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-m2-

excellent report, neoncarrot! I'll make a note of those ISP alternatives. I talked with my landlord in Goa about this before leaving in March as the other laptop user will probably be back next winter also and we could share an ISP -- the only one I knew about was Satyam, and I don't think it's all that great.

Apart from tying up the gh phone line, the other problem for me will be that Arambol to Panjim phone connections involve per-minute charges, so not sure how this works. I do think that my own 200hr account would be the best deal though.

I like the idea of a close-fitting cushioned sleeve for the book, then keeping it in a non-descript day pack -- in my case, one that can be zipped off my regular pack when it has to be stored, or put in a luggage compartment. I probably won't do too much moving around with it (if I do bring one along this winter). I'm still eyeing the current iBooks as my home mac is getting on and I would like to run all the newest OSX software -- also the 12" one is quite light and compact and hopefully somewhat rugged.

neoncarrot

With regard to the phone costs m2; it shouldne t be too expensive as all Indias phone rates have plummetted in the last 6 months, and the sancharnet connection is a single number for All India (172233) with no STD code needed and is treated as a local call at 25 Rs for an hour during the day, and 12 Rs per hour after 10.30PM. Even STD calls now are peanuts compared to a year ago.

I dint actually use my BSNL account in Goa, instead using my Maglobe account. I cant remember exactly why, but it may have been that BSNL was not yet working in Goa a year ago. The only trouble I had with Maglobe in Goa (from benaulim) was the really, really awful crackly phone lines which made sustaining the connection almost impossible.

If you do bring one of the newer ibooks and it uses OSX, make sure it uses Jaguar. There is some issue with modem connections on newer Macs with USB modems to Asian ISPs; although the Apple site only specifically mentions Telestra in Australia. My own problem was solved by downloading the patch for OS9 (an extension), and I know this patch comes with OSX 10.2, but cannot be applied to earlier versions of OSX. If you use OS9, Search under downloads at Apple for "Internal USB modem" , and if the page says the patch is only valid for Telestra, you've found the right bit.

neoncarrot

As a small amendment to my last post, Sancharnet IS available in Goa, but on their site at www.sancharnet.in it is listed under the Maharastra "Telecom Circle" and not Goa. I'm unsure as to whether this means you would have to go to a Maharastra town to make an account or not. This page gives all the tarrif details. http://www.bsnl.co.in/service/internet_tariff.htm

-m2-

thanks again, getting to Sawantwadi in southern Maharashtra no problem from Arambol -- just a scenic scooter ride away.

cheers

picklepak

Wow, lots of information in this thread. Great posts everyone, especially from -m2- and neon! I'll share my experiences a bit further here too.


If you're going to be traveling around quite a bit, the difference between six pounds or two pounds (or, worse, 8 pounds?) plus all the accessories hanging off your shoulder is dramatic. Personally I picked the absolute smallest sub-notebook I could find and was extremely glad I did -- I took it everywhere with me and it wasn't too much of a pain. You makes compromises when you travel. Take a subnotebook!

My personal favorite is the Sony Picturebook series, 2.2 pounds and just slightly larger than a VHS cassette tape. There are many used ones on eBay for between $500-$1000. The drawback to this model is the small screen, so if you can find another model under 2.5 pounds with a 12" screen, go for that! You could easily spend $4000. Or if you take an Apple PowerBook G4, the massive screen could more than overcome the fact that it's double+ the weight. If stayed put somewhere for a few months, I'd take a PowerBook G4.

My surge protector was very cool, it was a small cube with universal plug adapters built all around it. You can find one at Wal-Mart for not a lot of money (they're hard to find otherwise).

My experience with the voltage is much the same as -m2-'s... it fluctuates widely and constantly everywhere in India, big or small city, rich or poor state. The only reason you often don't notice is because they use florescent lights everywhere. Watch a normal incandescent bulb one day and you'll be shocked at how variable the power is. When I see stuff like that happening, I unplug the power supply and run off battery for a while. It's safer. If you blow a power supply in your travels, you're hooped.

Battery power is important. I carry the regular + and extended batteries, despite the extra weight. That way, I can still sit under a tree near the beach and write my book.

One last thing -- take a very small extension cord! I made one during my travels and then used it almost every day. Six feet is probably enough. The plug-ins in your room (if there's one at all) are always far away from wherever you'll be sitting, and too many times I nearly tripped over the cord (and destroyed my computer) before I had an extension.

Hard to say. I had no problems and I stayed in 100-/Rs hotels and 35-/Rs beach shacks. I used a pac-safe but stuffed it *inside* my rucksack, which was chained to the wall so that nobody could see the wire mesh. Make sure you BACK UP YOUR DATA with memory cards or a CD burner, otherwise don't even bother taking a computer.

I didn't often pull out my Picturebook on the train. When I did I slept with the bag near my head, the strap wrapped around my arm. A laptop is worth roughly the same as a year of pay for the average Indian. I wouldn't blame anyone but myself if it got stolen.

Incidently, I bought a neoprene hard case (molded foam on the inside) for my Picturebook recently, and with that I can pack it in my rucksack no problem! It is very cool and was only $25 on eBay. Even with the hard case around it and all that foam, the Picturebook is still smaller than almost every other laptop out there.

Before the hard case, I traveled with my homemade cotton sleeve and a couple of foam sponges, and had no problems. Often I would even hang my computer off the back of my motorbike on bumpy potholed roads and still had no problems. But I was religious about backing up my critical data, after having destroyed a harddrive already once (up north).

From the number of people who came up to me (Indians and foreigners alike) to check out my Picturebook, I'd say no.

I am very happy that I took a computer. But then, I'm a writer and when I near the end of my book I pretty much always need to carry a computer. It's also a great way to write emails offline, and if you're staying in one spot for a while you can get a local phone line and an Internet connection.

-m2-

Hey, thanks for the update Kelly, good to see you back. Apologies for not getting around to reading the chapter of your book yet -- I was still in Arambol when you mentioned it, and couldn't see reading it at the cybershop. After I get my taxes done this weekend, i promise....

maree

There are two types of plugs in India and I generally had the wrong type of adaptor plug to charge up my camera.... I had one of the thick round 2 pronged ones - too big for most of the room sockets. Sometimes, I got lucky though. Get both types if you can.

oldhippie

Guys
Heres another place that sells sleeves for laptops. These are great heavy duty sleeves ideal for travel http://www.sfbags.com

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Too Many Gandus, Too Few Bullets.

havana19

One alternative I've done in the past is to bring my Palm Pilot. I have a fold-out keyboard that attaches to it, and kit that contains converters for every electric outlet in the world. The keyboard folds up to about the same size as the Palm, so it really saves space, and comes in a neopryne case. The only thing is of course that there is no internet access from the Palm.

-m2-

as mentioned in another thread, I did bring a laptop this year - a 12" G4 iBook which weighs in at a bit under 5lbs (2.2kg ?), but the weight isn't a problem as I'm not really carrying it around much. So far I've been content with using it at my regular cyber-shop with a retractable ethernet cable that I brought along and this is fine except that sending pictures still a bit of problem because of the slow connection -- a 50k pic for a thread went ok, but it choked when trying to send a couple of 200k ones for the gallery. It has been useful to have aloing as I learn to use the new digital camera -- I can shoot at will and then see the result when I get back home. glad I brought the manual (camera), I never would have figured things out on my own, the laptop however, is a piece of cake and I haven't shut it down or have to reboot since I installed some software the day I got it (just use sleep mode).

I brought a regular 5meter extension cord with me and just replaced the male end with an appropriate Indian plug when I got here and it works fine. The power brick that came with the iBook can handle 110-240v and 50-60 cycles -- as a precaution, I unplug before sundown when the lights regularly dim-out and everything seems fine. I get 5+ hours per charge which is plenty for a trip to the cybershop and for the period that I don't trust the power. It is nice to be able to compose long messages at leisure the then just fire them off when I get to the shop. Hopefully, I'll figure out a good time of day to send larger files like pictures so I can add a few shots to the gallery.