My wife and I, contributing editor Nolan, are just 4 weeks away from moving to a developing country for at least a year of humanitarian work. So what about moving with technology? First off what is not making the move?
- Desktop computers and second monitors. Nope not going to make the suitcase. To much weight too much space.
- Television & Players. Our 22 inch Samsung and dvd player are being given to a friend. Will certainly miss the screen and its vivid movies.
- Bose audio system. This was a tough one. Its is a small 2 speaker/1 woofer system that sounds wonderful. I really debated taking it. The end decision came down to trying to clear customs in entering the country. It would probably “get lost” in transit.
- Cell phones. No CDMA where we are going so the 6 year run with Verizon is over. Going to try to beg out of my contract to avoid the fee since I have 5 months left on my contract.
- Printer. Once again to much space. Will look for one in country.
What is going to make the trip? Small in size items.
- My wife and I each have a mac. They will both make the trip. Mine, newer, will be covered by international travel insurance against theft and accidental damage. My wife’s is 3.5 years old so we will pray over it!
- Four portable hard drives in our carry-on luggage. All Seagate Free Agent drives. 1 drive for each computer that will be our daily back-up drive. 1 drive that serves as our clone and will be backed up once a month at the second office location. 1 drive that contains all of our home media (interpret that how you will, but no DVD’s or CD’s are going with us).
- One desktop drive packed in a suitcase. Belongs to the organization and contains video footage (Reverse backed up to one of the portable drives).
- Two still cameras. One point and shoot and one DSLR. DSLR will be insured.
- One HD SSD video camera and cordless mic system. Getting decent video and audio will be important in this trip, but needed a small size without a huge (and thereby dangerous) investment.
- Two iPods. One Nano and One Touch.
- Power converters. These are heavy and will cost some extra money, but having dependable converters for stateside stuff is important. Those easily available in country are not dependable (learned that the hard way last trip).
- Google Voice, Magic Jack, Local Phone. Another article later on how we are able to use these for easy stateside calling later.
- Prayer and a rabbits foot. Somehow we need all of this to not be stolen, confiscated, or taxed up the wazoo.
What is the condition of the internet over there? First off, I have left off the exact location for personal and safety reasons. Let’s just say it is a developing country. The internet is present but slow. I expect upload speeds of somewhere between 56-128kb. It seemed like a solid connection most of the time since our VOIP calls to them work well. The pricing is either by the MB or unlimited at about $20/month. Everything works well as long as there is power and/or the back-up power supply lasts.
So here we go. A technology geek, hobby web-developer, going over to help people. 5 years ago there would have been zero internet. Going now I am blessed. Looking forward to corresponding and writing in the future from yet another technology perspective.