C O N T E N T S
  Welcome Page
  Itinerary
  Paul's Postcards
  Jill's Journey
  Leala's Letterbox
  Ben's Bits
  Family Photo's
  Family Finances
  Incidental Info

  ___________   [ CONTACT US ]
 		  Technology used for our web site

The computing equipment we packed was based on the assumption that USB technology and capability would be widely available in Internet cafes throughout the countries we’d travel. Thus enabling swift and easy file transfer between laptop and Internet PC.

I have to conclude that generally this was a failed assumption. USB hasn't always been available, for reasons such as, no USB port, inaccessible USB port, and many Internet cafe's have PC's running Windows 98 (some Windows 95!) on which USB drivers need to be installed. This installation has not always been possible or permitted, and has not always worked. (Frustrating!)

The most ubiquitous technology available for file transfer during our travels has been the floppy disk, still! A CD burning capability would've been useful, for both file transfer and file backups. However, CD-ROM drives haven't always been available on Internet PC's.

Hardware
  • IBM Thinkpad 560X + power supply
      • Chosen for 2 main reasons:
      1) SIZE and WEIGHT,
      2) COST - purchased second hand for GBP180.

      Note: The downsides are that it’s limited specification, no built-in floppy drive or CD-ROM drive.
  • External USB v1.1 hard disk enclosure with 3GB 2.5" hard drive
      • Chosen for 3 main reasons:
      1) FILE TRANSFER - to transfer files between laptop and internet café PC,
      2) FILE BACKUP - to backup files and photo’s, e.g. in case laptop is stolen, file corruption, and/or hard disk crash,
      3) DISASTER RECOVERY - (with operating system pre-installed) to act as a replacement hard disk for the laptop’s primary hard disk, e.g. in case of total hard disk failure.

      Note: USB v1.1 chosen to cater for older machines. Also, power for the unit is obtained from the PC’s USB port and/or keyboard port to avoid needing external mains power.
  • 1 miniature USB/Serial mouse
      • Personally, I find a mouse easier to use than the IBM laptop button-stick, given the room.
  • 1 digital camera and USB cable
      • Initially had a FujiFilm FinePix 1400z 1.3 megapixel. However, this was lost in Australia. So we now have a FujiFilm FinePix A205s 2.0 megapixel.
  • 1 Sony Memory Stick (16Mb) and card reader
      • A cheap immediate file transfer option purchased as a result of the laptop hard disk failing, which left no external hard disk available for file transfer.
    Software
  • TextPad v4.7.2 32-bit Edition
      • A general Windows text editor to create and edit the HTML-coded web pages.
  • at32 Batch JPEG Branding Resizer v1.00b
      • A digital photograph resizing utility to make our digital camera's photo's visibly smaller so they fit on the screen better. Also to reduce the file size of the photo's so they download quicker.

      Note: this utility is a standalone executable application which requires no specific installation. It can be run on any Windows PC, e.g. Internet cafe PC, useful in the event our laptop broke (which it did!).
  • 1-4a Rename v1.56
      • A file renaming utility to rename several digital photo's at once, to keep them organised and catalogued. Our digital camera stores each photograph with a filename of the form "DSCFnnnn.JPG" (not very useful!). This utility can rename the files to something more meaningful as well as keep them unique.

      Note: this utility is a standalone executable application which requires no specific installation. It can be run on any Windows PC, e.g. Internet cafe PC, useful in the event our laptop broke (which it did!).
    Jill Paul Leala Ben