Reasons to take and security for a laptop computer

"it does not fit into the concept of 'traveling light' ". I wouldn't call 4.5 lbs traveling light. However, my NETBOOK weigh less than 2.5 lbs. I carry it in a case no bigger, probably, than your purse. It's with me always. It contains all of my planning materials (maps, rail schedules, accommodation information) plus I write my blog, send email, download and label my pictures, keep and expense report speadsheet, etc.

So, Lee, can you tell me more about you NETBOOK? What brand is it? Can it charge my iPod? It sounds like what I may need. Thanks!

I carry my "baby" - Acer Computer...most adequate to keep up with the news, etc., back home, and travel plans that I keep on it. About the size of a book, and light weight as well. I did carry, one time only, a full sized portable, but wanted to throw it under the next bus after a couple of days. One thing to note, if you do not carry yours with you, the internet cafes are available, BUT their keyboards are not configured the same as stateside. I have had no trouble with security and have made two trips a year for the past several years.

We have made several trips from three to ten weeks long, stayed at many hotels throughout Europe, including London and Paris, and NA, as well as seven cruises. I travelled with a laptop till last year when I got an HP Mini 2140 Netbook. It will charge your iPod. I use it to keep my travel info as others have said, plus I store all my wife's phptos on it every night and udate our travel journal. It is uually easy to get WiFi, but if not, I copy the photos I need and my narrative for the blog to a thumb drive and take it to an Internet cafe. I also copy the photos to a thumb drive as back up. I carry it in a soft sided briefcase styly carry on and usually leave it in that in the hotel. Never had a problem. If the safe is big enough - it usuallt isn't - I put it in there. Not sure what question you are going to ask hotel personnel that they will not answer honestly, but I have never had a problem getting straight answers to my questions. As to what costitutes "Travelling light", I guess it depends what else you are going to take!

Edwina, I happen to have an Acer Aspire One, but I think any of the "netbooks" will work. Mine has three USB ports and I think any of them will be sufficient for charging your Ipod.

I am netbook shopping right now and found out that at least one of them (one of the Toshibas) has one USB port that will charge when the netbook is off. I will use mine for communicating (email, Facebook, and maybe Skype- not sure yet), backing up photos, and doing up-to-date travel research. I'm taking a cable lock with me. I've been ok taking laptops (not to Europe, but crime is crime) on other trips and securing to something solid with a cable-lock.

Edwina, I also travel with a Netbook and will have it with me from now on. It's a Toshiba NB-305 and as Cate mentioned I think one of the USB ports is designed to charge USB devices even when the computer is "off". I've been very happy with it so far. ¶ If you're planning on using if for photo storage, I'd suggest looking for a model that has at least a 250 MB hard drive (some of the earlier models were supplied with a 160 GB HD). Most come with 1 GB of RAM, but had an extra 1 GB added at the time of purchase. ¶ I also have a full sized MacBook Pro (15.4") but it's too large, too heavy and too expensive to travel with. The Netbook is a MUCH better solution! Cheers!

I do the same. The lock referred to is something like a bicycle lock that is designed to attach to a laptop. About $30 or so...

Back up your data on the computer onto a backup drive before you leave for your trip. Many hotels in London and Paris have small safes a 10'-13" laptop can fit into.

I agree that a netbook is a better answer than a laptop (mine is an Asus Eee). But I disagree with the OP's statement that "there is a good possibility it could be stolen". With reasonable precautions there is no reason to think there is any more risk of theft than you have leaving it at home.

I have LoJack on my laptop and notebook. The Dell Mini 10 is lightweight and small. So fits perfect in my day back pack. The Inspiron is heavier but also fits perfect in the pack. When traveling around the states I always take the Inspiron. I like to stay connected, such as news, email, travel information and referencing my itinerary, etc.

Thanks for the replies. After reading Nancy's reply, I reread my question and found a typo. I meant to say "...IF there is a possibility it could be stolen...". The places we are staying do look secure and I saw the cable locks at the store. I went to look at netbooks, but my computer weighs only 4.5 pounds, while the netbooks are around 2.5. I would not be carrying it around, so It doesn't seem cost effective to buy something I would not use much after returning home. Another factor is the cost of internet access, which is 20 GBP a day where we are staying in London. So I would look for an internet cafe there. Still thinking.... time will run out soon!

Edwin, I guess I go completely against the grain...While at home I live on my computer so when I'm on vacation I don't mind being away from it! Yes, I realize it could be extremely handy but if I really need one, I find an internet café, although it seems there aren't as many these days. Some hotels even have one available for guests. To me taking a computer is just one more thing for me to worry about and to carry and doesn't meet my criteria of "how often will I use/wear this"! Just my 2 centimes!

I made a similar, lengthy, analysis last year when trying to decide whether to buy a netbook. I did, in the end, buy one, for a variety of reasons. - While ALL of our trip information was on the computer, I found even the 2.5 lb netbook too heavy to want to carry around all the time. I had printouts of everything that I printed out on previous trips (when we didn't have a netbook). When we didn't take it with us, I buried it our suitcase (obviously, not a secure option, but not like leaving it in plain sight). - I decided that we would use the netbook at home, and not only for travel. We do use it at home. - I intentionally spent only about $300 for it, and the only extra feature I got was an extra battery, so the value and weight would stay low. So IF it was stolen, we wouldn't feel too bad. - Our daughter used the netbook to watch her favorite movies on the plane and occasionally other times while travelling. - We didn't lock it with a cable or leave it in the hotel safe. See above for not spending a huge amount of money, so the cost of a loss wouldn't be horrid. - It was nice to get internet access in our hotel room at the end of the day, though none of us used it to access the internet every day. We weren't wedded to the internet! - It was nice to keep my trip notes on it.

I am in Italy right now typing from my netbook. This is the first time I have brought one to Europe. Our first trip we used computers at hotels we stayed at. Depending on what country we were in, the keyboards could be confusing. Our next two trips we had our Ipod Touch's with us. It is hard for me to see well with those, so we bought the netbook to use. We are a week into our 4 week trip and the computer has been very helpful for planning purposes, and to keep in touch during our downtime...hubby is still sleeping right now and I have been up for 2 hours...If you just want to charge your Ipod, you can buy a wall charger and use an adapter. If you do bring a netbook you can charge it from that too. We brought a full sized computer on a domestic trip once. What a pain!!

I would say only bring a laptop/netbook if you are really going to use it. No point it bringing it if your only going to use the internet once or twice. Unless you're going to do some heavy duty computer use, just get something like a ipod touch. Fits in a purse or pocket and you don't have to worry about it as much.

What I like best about the Acer is that it's so light I carry it everywhere (So I don't have to worry about security in the hotel, and I carry it in a bag with a steel-cable-reinforced strap). Plus you can save to a jump drive or e-mail home as a backup. I am a compulsive journal-ler, and I loved being able to whip out the Acer and type about my surroundings wherever I went. Get so much more detail than I used to.... I stayed "caught up" on my journal because every time I had to wait for something, I'd take it out and type away. Seems like Internet Cafe's are getting less ubiquitous than they used to be. And I hate to wait in line for the one hotel computer...