Laptops & PDA'S

Sure.

I have a laptop so I can carry all my maps in digital form. Less room then all the paper maps.

Mine isn't currently connected to my GPS , but will be shortly

I can transfer my Photos asap , that way I can take piccies as big as possible , without the worry of storage. I dont have to pay for a huge Memory Card.

I also use it when travelling so the kids can watch a DVD.

Are we there yet , gets quite sickening on a 14 odd hour trip.

I also use it as a TV when I want to.

For me its convienience NOT reliance.

I use a GPS and a PDA and also carry the paper maps.

I like it as it takes out one more stress out of a trip. If I have a route/track mapped in Oziexplorer I don't need to worry about making a wrong turn or stopping to reference the maps, measure distances between turns on the speedo etc. I casn easily tell where I am and how far I've got to go.

I reckon it just makes life easier if you are in unfamiliar territory.

I use my _Permanent_Painted_Coatings.aspx as my Sat nav, bush maps and city navigation. Also mine when traveling is the phone and a back up camera. Laptop is a back up Sat Nav and a back up dvd player for long trips. I carry papers maps as well.

I like to save my trips and then dowload them from my _Permanent_Painted_Coatings.aspx to my laptop and add them to a trip journal.

crazie

Where I used to work I'm sure some of the service guys used them for wheel chocks as they use to come back every month for a new screen!!

Leroy

Hi Bazza,

I use it particularly for storing photos and dumping them off to CDs. The last three week trip we did a couple of years ago we took almost 2,000 photos. I had two 128mb cards and a 64mb and at times used them all in a day (about 250 photos). When doing things like walking round Kings Canyon I just could not stop taking photos as it was so awesome. It also gives you the chance to relive the day when you look at the photos at the end of it. Sometimes you do so much that the camera is the only record where things don't get forgotten and mixed together with the previous days.

This trip we are about to go on it will also store the maps since I now have a GPS. Though it is a mapping GPS there is more detail available on the Natmap Raster images and I have always loved maps of every form. The recording of the track will make it much easier to put together the story of the trip for the rest of the family at the end of the year. We will also have paper maps but I have not bothered to get highly detailed paper maps.

On the long hauls it will also keep the kids amused with the DVDs though I expect we will not allow it to be used much for that in camp as we prefer to be social.

So for me it's mostly convenience though I do rely on it for the photo side of things.

Tim.

Less time taking wrong turns in unfamiliar country and more time with the feet up, rod in the water and having a coldie.

Hi Bazza

For me it is a bit of reliance and a bit of convenience. I also like to be able to take my photos off my camera or watch some tv. But I also just like having a bit of tech with me in the outdoors...why not have the best of both worlds if they are the things that you love and enjoy eh. Nothing like playing space invaders around the campfire if you ask me!

I use my _Permanent_Painted_Coatings.aspx for mapping and navigation and I use my laptop for storage of photos and occaisional email. I have 512mb of storage for a 5mp camera which does not equate to many photos. I can use that up in less than a day. So I download them to my laptop and then burn a backup to CD. When I have filled a few CDs I post them home.

Using a _Permanent_Painted_Coatings.aspx for navigation means I can spend more time enjoying my trip and less time taking wrong turns and arguing with my Wife. I can navigate using paper maps also and do bring them along. I did have one trip when I was unable to charge anything and had to rely on paper maps. Never mind the numerous trips I took prior to having any electronic aids.

However just because you use a computer for work doesn't mean it doesn't have a million other uses. If I left all my work tools behind that would mean I'd be walking to that camping destination as I use my 4x4 for work too :-)

I also wouldn't be taking my camera as that is also for work.

There is no way we would attempt to go where we do without moving map navigation. Using a GPS and a paper map would be hopelessly slow and inaccurate whereas Oziexplorer gives a continual indication within a few meters of exactly where we are. This was critical to finding our way from Haasts Bluff to Mt Liebig via the direct road to the west on a recent trip.

It has also been critical to the success of several other trips over recent years.

Not to mention that its a great way to take all your music (iTunes), store your photos, identify stars (Starry Night) etc etc

I feel cameras / photos are very much under-rated as "tools" for a healthier,more sociable life-style..Seems to me I can't quite figure out if I go on 4x4 adventures to take pix or I take pix because of the enjoyment of the current adventure..At some point,most of us will have to admit that we actually like using these little tech gadgets we have..If they contribute in any way to us getting out of jail (house) then,we have certainly justified our expendeture..Although,no doubt,a product of a capatilistic society,to which,we ouselves contribute,they have enriched our lives a little.Surely,we can't be selfish,as by default (a term I had never used before I had a computor),we are keeping someone in a job in one of those "developing" countries..The point of this message?..None really!..Seen the latest Dick Smith catalog? :-)!MPG:3!

Our Laptop becomes the amusemant centre when required and lets me download the camera and burn them to disc for posting to the family.
And it runs the moving map when required, IE finding something really interesting that someone has told us about with ngiven co-ordinates.