Travel computer package

Hi all. We are planning an extended trip come October starting in Sydney, then on to Vanuatu and finally New Zealand, three months in all.

We have our own business. We are going to need to have some way of receiving/sending emails, updating our website plus access to all of our business info, ie: more or less everything we have on our office PC.
I assume a laptop or notebook/netbook (what's the difference?) would be fine for this, but it has to be fairly light and compact.

I will also need some way of getting online. Is this done through a mobile phone network and will I need to subscribe to one? A lot of the notebooks have stuff like Wi-Fi, bluetooth, 3G and what on earth is a 'dongle'.
I have no idea what to look for as there seem to be hundreds of different types available, and a lot of the jargon they use is gobbledygook to me.

I am a complete novice as far as all this goes and our mobile phone is a very old pay as you go from orange, I suppose it won't do for this trip!

Any help or advice would be appreciated.

 

Ok. Im no expert but Im sure someone will advise you correctly.
Im sure theres a way of remotely logging on to your office comp from anywhere that has internet access.
This suggests that a laptop/notebook will do the job for, but Im not to sure about the security issues doing it this way.
robert

 

Thanks Capney, but we will be shutting down the office computer for the duration, so we will have no access to it. We want to be able to run everything from where we are at the time.

 

I don`t know about the computer question i would have thought internet cafes for easiness,

I do know you need a Quad band mobile phone as these will lock onto the network of the country you are in and you can use them anywhere ,Tri band is not as good,

If you are with Vodaphone it is easier to top up etc if its PAYG .if its an account i assume you can sort that yourself,
i am with o2 and i had to top up on the comp when i was away, it was quite easy with my credit card

 

when i go over to thailand i use internet cafes to access my broadband or you can take a laptop with you and maybe call your server and ask them what the best way to access whilst your away

 

My concern is this (I could be not right)

You run a company / business and go away for a few months, you want to do there, what ever you do now, including emails updating your website.

Let me ask you this.

How do you suppose you are going to be able to update your website from say NZ

How do you suppose you will be able to receive your company emails on a lap top you have just brought?

You can't is the answer.

If your email is dedicated to your company such as

info@blackthornindustries.whatever

You will need to set up the laptop you are taking with the password and other account details so it can access them as your main PC does now. UNLESS you have web based email but you will still need a password etc.

If you use a programme such as FrontPage to update your website, you will need to have a copy of FrontPage on your laptop along with the last upload you did to your website, along with all the passwords etc.

Because of the above problems, some one invented a programme that lets you see your office pc from where ever you are in the world, but you have already said you are turning off your office pc.

 

A dongle is a little bit of technology that includes a mobile phone sim and plugs into your computer via a USB port. I've found it rather slow and it may be expensive to use abroad.

Re the other stuff. Anything that is web based you can do from anywhere so long as you have internet access and all the sign in names and passwords***. Anything that is on your own computer you will have to load to your laptop/notebook before you go if you intend to turn off your office computer.

If you email is not a web-based one then you should set yourself up with a googlemail (gmail) address. You can programme this to collect all emails from your current address - and can also answer and send mails via the original address - from settings you choose the address as the default - or choose it each time - whichever is most convenient.

*** and the relevant editing programme

 

As has already been pointed out, you're going to have some problems and a lot of preparation if you're going to switch off the Office Computer. For example, let's say you want to look at the Accounts, perhaps you're using Sage or something similar. All the data is on the Office machine, which is switched off, all the e-mails you have sent and received and your Address Book / Contacts are on the Office machine.... etc etc.

You could take a 'snapshot' of the Office machine, just before you go, and load it into the Laptop - you will also have to load all the Programs you're likely to want to use onto the Laptop. By the way, you will also have to check whether the Software Licenses allow you to install on more than one Computer, so there may be a cost implication if you have to purchase second licenses. Configure your Mail client on the Laptop, if you use one, to send and receive your e-mails and then, importantly, spend a day testing, to make sure you've got everything you need and then shutdown the Office machine. Of course, you'll have to re-load from the Laptop back into the Office machine when you return. Not something I'd like to do (and I've been in the industry since 1973)

Another option is to use some "Remote Access" software on the Laptop and Office machine. There are two packages, VNC and TeamViewer, that I know about, and have used. (My preference is TeamViewer). Basically it's a program that you run on the Laptop and Office machines which connect to each other (securely, via Username and Password) via the Internet. Once connection is established you can operate the Office machine from the Laptop, just as if you were sitting at the keyboard in the office. Of course, you'd have to leave the Office machine running. (you could turn off the screen and printer) I leave all my machines running all the time - they go into energy saving mode after some inactivity so there's not a huge problem in wastage.

There'd be no need to put anything on the Laptop except the Remote Access software. There's a small performance penalty in terms of network latency and a small overhead, but very workable (in my experience).

In terms of connectivity, how 'mobile' do you want to be? If you're in a Camper or something like that, then you'll need a 3GL Mobile connection, available from all the major Mobile 'Phone operators. Which one you select will ultimately depend upon the Network Coverage. (eg T-Mobile doesn't seem to have any network in Oz or New Zealand) The 'problem' might be with costs, most operators want to you sign up to a 18 month / 2 year contract, and outside of the EU you can be paying up to £7.50 per Mb. So, if you're going to be adding pictures to your Web site or someone e-mails you a 2Mb spreadsheet or document, it could get very expensive. There's some information here about Mobile Broadband Providers. If you're going to go this route, it might be more cost effective to wait until you get to Oz and see if you can sign up to one of their Mobile Operators

If you're going to be in Hotels, most of the 'big' names have Internet access available (you can check with them before booking rooms) which are either Wireless or Ethernet connected. When I was in Sydney the Hotel I stayed at had Ethernet connectivity and it was quite cheap, something like £3 per day (that was in the mid 90's though!) If you've already got a wireless connection on the Laptop then there's nothing more you need. (except for an Ethernet cable if the Hotel doesn't support wireless). No doubt there will be some places with WiFi Hot Spots where you can connect to the Internet via your Laptop, but I have no idea of costs.

Hope that helps

 

Just to add to the pot I found this today. I have no idea on costs etc:
Just another avenue for you to explore
robert
https://www.gotomypc.com/en_GB/entry.tmpl?Action=rgoto&_sf=2

 

Thanks for all of your replies. However, I'm a bit worried about leaving my computer on unattended for that length of time. If there is a power cut I will no longer be able to access anything, so I think the safest way is to load everything I need onto a laptop/netbook or whatever and go with that. I just have to trawl through all the various broadband packages available and different types of laptops and hopefully get something that does the job.
Anyone recommend a laptop/netbook, there are an awful lot on the market?

 

I mentioned that last week (not by name, as it would be advertising)

But as I also said last week, blackthorn can't use it because the main PC will be turned off.