gps wireless internet linkup

How far off the beaten track ? Much of Oz isn't covered by mobile phones. Sat phones can be good but are expensive to hire/buy. HF radio isn't great for internet access. If you want to go seriously off the beaten track think safety comms. If you're just travelling around the tar, perhaps CDMA and some form of net access will do.

Theres a number of options for the laptop. The one I'd recommend is an airmax CDMA modem- Rock up to a telstra shop with your laptop to get kitted out. The modem slides into your laptop (provided you have the right port) and will give you fast internet anywhere there is CDMA coverage. If you want wider coverage than CDMA, then you will need a satellite modem and contract, which are way too expensive at the moment, and you pay big bucks for each email you download.
Check out Telstra's website for CDMA coverage maps.

For the GPS, if you will be plugging it into the laptop for mapping you can get any kind and maybe save a few bucks if you get one without a screen. I have an old Magellan Map 330 which is very reliable and rugged (I havent broken it yet, surprisingly). You can also send maps to it so your GPS even shows dodgy gravel tracks that map books dont which can save hours of trekking thru bush looking for things.

If you are happy with Vodafone coverage, use GPRS. May be slow (dialup speeds) but at $50 a month for 500MB+ is the cheapest data around for on the road. We use a mobile connected via cable to the laptop. If we are out of Vodafone coverage, we use internet cafes or forget the emails, etc until we get back to civilisation which is probably the best idea yet.

We have a Garmin Etrek Vista GPS, great little unit with mapping as well. We use it with the Mapsource program and Australia Metroguide as well as Tracks4Australia - new free maps of tracks but have not used them in anger yet as I have a busted leg and the Troopy is still in storage 2000km away. Need the leg to get better so I can drive it home

Stevesub

Ran
There is a fairly steep learning curve for a lot of this techo stuff. For simplicity I would get a hand held mapping GPS (I can sell you a brand new Magellan Sportrak Color with maps for $550 :-), and a Satphone. If you have the time and aptitude you could get a USB mouse style GPS (advertised on this Site) and Oziexplorer. You would then need maps. Total cost: $160+$120+$99, plus a lot of your own time. You still need communications. You can do email from some Satphones but I wouldn't rely on that for rescue, nor would I download the latest MS Service Pack.