This month we interview Craig and Linda Martin, long term travellers and founders of the Indie Travel Podcast.

So, guys … what’s in your bags?

First off, tell us a little about yourself and your travels.

We’re Kiwis with a love of new experiences, good coffee, and wine. We’ve been travelling full-time since February 2006; to 50 countries and counting, while running projects like the Indie Travel Podcast, Seriously Board, the new Indie Travel Blogs and client work. Oh, and if we stop for a few months, Linda still likes to go and teach English to help her meet new people and pay the rent.

What tech gear do you carry with you, and why?

Our workhorses are a 13″ MacBook Pro, an 11″ Macbook Air, an iPhone 4 and an iPod touch and a Airport Express (Yep, that’s a lot of Apple). We also have a Sony HX5 camera (love the big-for-a-point-and-shoot sensor and GPS tagging), a Zoom H2 microphone for podcasting, four hard drives, three power adapters, two Kindle e-readers, and a partridge in a pear tree.

Of those, what is the one thing you couldn’t live without…

Well, without the laptops, there wouldn’t be much ongoing income… So I’d like to keep one of those.

… and the one thing you would / have happily gotten rid of while travelling?

We’ve pared things down a lot, so we’re only carrying things we actually use a lot. I’d love to be able to replace our big, heavy hard drives with SD cards, but they’re not making 500gig SD cards at a price range I can afford just yet.

Any travel tech tips you’d like to share?

Take as little as you possibly can, make sure it’s got a good physical build as well as the capabilities you need, and — if you take photos or do creative work — backup like a madman. A madman obsessed with backing up; not the foaming-at-the-mouth, I-like-mushrooms-and-frogs type.

What’s in your bag, Craig and Linda? is a post from Too Many Adapters

(Where the internet sees you are from…)

What is a VPN

A VPN (virtual private network) is like your own secure, private tunnel to the internet.  That means that all of the information you send and receive over the internet is scrambled and encrypted before it heads along the information superhighway, keeping it safe from prying eyes.  As an added benefit, many VPN providers have servers all over the world that you can connect to, which we’ll get to below.

Here are 5 reasons you should be using a VPN when you travel.

Prevent Online Banking Lockouts

When you travel abroad, most of us know that it’s a good practice to call your credit card company beforehand and let them know.  That way, when you pay for your hotel on the beaches of Brazil, they don’t freak out and block your card thinking it may have been stolen.

When you log into your bank online, they already know where you are by your IP address.  If it happens to be that you’re somewhere new, you might be flagged, and may be asked some security questions to verify that your account hasn’t been hijacked.  At worst though, you might be locked out, requiring a phone call to the bank and some hoops to jump through before regaining access to your money.

Paypal has it’s share of horror stories.  Travel to a new country (without their special security key), log in, account frozen.  Fight with Paypal.  Rinse, Repeat.  Unlike your bank at home, Paypal isn’t a phone call away, and has been known to keep thousands of dollars locked away until they see fit.

With a VPN, you can connect to any number of servers and countries around the world, and the site you are visiting will see you from there.  For example, you can be traveling inside Burma (where banking sanctions are still in place) and be denied access to your account by your bank.  If you connect your VPN through your home country instead, they see you as being in there and not Burma, and it’s smooth sailing.

Surf Securely Over Open Wifi

Free wifi is everywhere, from hotels to airports to little cafes.  However, free & open wifi often comes with a hidden cost: your security and privacy.  More specifically, if there is no password to access the wireless network, only WEP encryption, or a login/password combination required that you often see at hotels and airports on their hotspots, you are especially at risk.

Your data can often be snooped at these unsecured hotspots, and the information you send and receive is ripe for the taking.  This could be e-mail you send and receive, websites you visit, files you send, and even passwords you log in with.

A VPN encrypts your data, keeping it safe and away from prying eyes.  If someone were to snoop it, it would just be a bunch of gibberish.  It’s an easy way to stay safe on suspected networks.

Access Media Across Borders

If you’re a media junkie, especially with TV, you’ll often find your access blocked when you’re outside your country.  Complicated rights agreements mean that someone else might own the rights to broadcast in the country you are in, so they can’t show it to you while you are there.  This is yet another way that the consumer gets screwed online.

A few examples of this are Hulu, which is available in the USA (and Japan) only, popular music service Spotify, and many country-specific TV networks (for me, I often use CBC.ca, svtPlay.se, and Showcase.ca) .  If you try to connect outside of where they are available, you’ll often find yourself faced with an error. 

Instead of buying a plane ticket back, connect with your VPN to another country.  For example, if there is something I want to watch on Hulu or Comedy Central, I connect to a server in the USA.  Since I have a Spotify account from Sweden, I connect through a server in Scandinavia for access.  Finally, if I want to watch documentaries from the CBC in Canada, I connect through there and I’m set.

Bypass Censorship

Some governments around the world are doing their best to dictate what their citizens should and shouldn’t see on the internet. The most famous among the group is China and the “Great Firewall of China.”  Blogs and bloggers can disappear right off the map.  “News” is only what it allowed to be shown to the public.

I ran into this problem during my recent trip to Burma.  Searching for something a little too political would often bring to a screen saying that access was being denied by the ISP.  Some countries are worse offenders than others, with countries in Asia & the Middle East being the worst offenders.  Even Australia is battling with an internet filter.

We wrote a few months ago about the SOPA and PIPA bills that we up for vote in the USA, and Canada has tabled its version for a future vote as well.  No where is immune it seems.

Fortunately, a VPN will let you access the internet from another server in another country, bypassing any censorship that the country you are currently in.  It was the only way to check CNN.com from inside Burma when I was traveling there during the election in April.

Access Restricted Websites & Services

Prominent websites such as Facebook, Twitter, and even entire networks of Google’s services may be blocked in a country you visit.  Not only that, but Skype and other VOIP services are blocked in many countries by telecom providers afraid of losing revenue, or governments who wish to monitor calls.

P2P (or peer-to-peer) traffic is also being cut, often times at the more local level.  This technology is now most famous for BitTorrent, but started with the likes of Napster and Kazaa.  Though those are often associated with pirated music and movies, P2P is used by a host of legitimate technologies these days. 

The apartment building I’m living in has begun blocking P2P traffic, preventing me from using a new file sharing feature app for Facebook called “Pipe”

Once again, VPN to the rescue.  By encrypting the internet traffic, the local blocks on my P2P traffic no longer work and I can access the internet like I would without them in my way.  I can also review Pipe for you in an upcoming post!

So where do I get a VPN?

Although there are some free alternatives out there, they are often slow, and wrought with performance issues.  I recommend Witopia which I’ve used in 20+ countries over the last 2+ years.  Their service (or one similar) will set you back about $5.99 / month or $49.99 / year.  A small price to pay for piece of mind, and access to all that is the internet when I’m traveling.

Do you use a VPN when you travel?

5 Reasons You Should Be Using a VPN While Traveling is a post from Too Many Adapters

May’s selection includes a fast and handy itinerary tracker, an augmented reality browser, and a new way to view the night sky.

TripIt

Especially handy for the frequent flyer, TripIt makes it easy to keep track of your flight plans.  After signing up for an account, you start by e-mailing a copy of your itinerary to plans@TripIt.com or setting up an auto-import direct from your e-mail account so it will do the heavy lifting for you.  With the auto-import turned on, whenever you book a flight, hotel, or ticket for an event, it will automatically be scanned right from your e-mail for you.  Then TripIt uses its magic to make sense of your itinerary and display it in an easy to read format.

From there, you can add notes, make changes, check flight status and share your itinerary with friends and family.

The app and service is free, while an ad-free version of the app will set you back $3.99.  Finally, TripIt Pro offers you a travel reward tracker, instant flight change alerts, and more for the business traveler for $49.99 / year.

Free (ad supported) or $3.99

Wikitude World Browser

Taking us one step closer to science fiction, Wikitude World Browser takes all the handy information from the internet and puts it right in front of you.  Literally.

By opening the app and pointing the camera in any direction in the “Around Me” view, Wikitude begins to place handy & relevant data as an overlay right on the screen.  Point it at a landmark, and its Wikipedia entry will pop up.  At a restaurant, and its website and reviews are a click away.

By using location data from Youtube, Twitter, Foursquare, Flickr, Google, Instagram, and a host of other services, Wikitude helps bring the power of the internet and the real world together.  Requires a data connection.

Free

Google Sky Map

Like Wikitude above, Google Sky Map is another slick augmented reality app.  This one though is especially for the nerds.

With the app installed, point your phone toward the night sky, and the stars, constellations, planets, and other celestial objects and events appear right before you.  Pinch to zoom for more detail, or zoom out for a huge view of the sky.

My two favourite features include the beautiful gallery of prominent objects in the night sky, which with a click, show you right where they are.  Handy for those with a telescope or binoculars to find those hidden gems in the sky.

My other favourite feature is the night mode.  Staring at a glowing screen is about the worst thing you can do when scanning the night sky, and the red and black of the night mode gives you a clear view of the screen, without taking away your night vision.

Though not strictly a travel app, most of us need to travel outside the big cities to get a good view of the night skies.  Also good to remember that even if we’ve been around the globe, there is an entire universe out there to explore.

Free

Click here to check out more of our “Apps of the Month”

Have you come across a Android app handy for travel lately?  Let us know in the comments and we might just review it next month!

Android Travel Apps of the Month: May 2012 is a post from Too Many Adapters

On my most recent trip, I came back and put my usual SIM in, only to find out that my local telco had helpfully misplaced some text messages that were sent to me while I was away. Yet another reason why you may want to keep you ‘home’ number active but also use a local number in the country you happen to be in.

So without carrying around multiple phones like a modern day Don Juan hoping to avoid detection by the missus, what other options does one have? In this post I’ll look at one possible solution, the Dual SIM phone

Dual SIM phones essentially do what they say on the tin, and allow you to incorporate two SIM cards into one handset unit. This means you can insert two GSM SIM Cards and have both active at the same time, effectively eliminating the need to carry two phones in your pocket. Some phones allow you to make and receive two calls at the same time. You can also set them up so your ‘home’ SIM can switch off data roaming while you’re away, eliminating those horrendous bills that you didn’t even know you were racking up!

Initially, dual-SIM adapters were made available to use in regular mobile phones to allow them to contain two SIMs, and to switch from one to the other as required. This combination is called a standby dual-SIM phone.

More recently, some phones have been produced that can work with two simultaneously active SIMs. These are called active dual-SIM phones.

These days you can get dual SIM phones from the well-known manufacturers as well as some lesser-known manufacturers, primarily from China. I’ve listed a few examples of Dual SIM phones below, but there are literally dozens of other models available on Amazon:

• Nokia (110, 112)
• Samsung (C3782, C6712, Chat 3222)
• DualSIM (Mini)
• Zeus (A3)
• Karbonn (KT-21)
• Xage (M738)
• H888

And…if you’re one of those people who always has to go one step further, and two SIM cards is just not enough – You can now find triple SIM phones! Examples include the Akai Trio, LG A290, Cect V678, and the G’FIVE G303.

So, time to get rid of Too Many Mobiles. Happy dialing!

The Dual SIM Solution is a post from Too Many Adapters

Reading in the dark with the next Kindle?  Maybe so…

The rumours are already flying about the next range of Kindles from Amazon, due out in a couple of months.  One of the most persistent ones is that all (except the Kindle Fire, obviously) will come with a built-in front light for reading at night.

Until now Kindle users have had to buy a separate light in some form, but the latest Barnes and Noble Nook showed that – unsurprisingly – people preferred it to be built in.  One less thing to carry, one less thing to run out of batteries when you need it.

It seems like a no-brainer, and hopefully shouldn’t add much – if anything – to the price.  I could certainly have done with one when I didn’t want to wake up my seatmates on yet another sleepless overnight flight recently…

Emergency warnings by cellphone in the US

Wireless emergency alerts (WEA) are set to go live across the USA this month, allowing mobile phone operators to receive location-specific text messages when an emergency situation occurs in their area.

Cellphone customers will be automatically subscribed to alerts for localised events such as tornados, floods, earthquakes and other emergencies, as well as those for missing children and national emergencies declared by the president.

All except the presidential messages can be opted out from if desired, but personally we think anything that helps get the message out quickly and easily about impending disasters is probably a good thing, no?  The new alert service is in addition to existing communication methods, and should work regardless of carrier or whether you are roaming or not.

Do you get lost at the mall?  There’s an app for that.

Here at Too Many Adapters HQ (ie, the nearest cafe with wi-fi), we’re big fans of Google Maps for helping even directionally-challenged travellers like us reach their destinations.  Up until now, though, the help stops once you walk in the front door.  Fine if you’re looking for a hostel, not so fine if you’re in a massive shopping mall or business centre.

Never fear, intrepid wanderers.  The latest version of Google Maps for Android includes indoor instructions in walking directions for ‘participating venues’ in the US and Japan, as well as indoor business photographs in all countries.

Now there’s no excuse for not being able to join the line of people at the Apple store waiting for the latest uber-gadget…

The last thing we need…

I’m as pro-technology as the next guy (hey, I help run this site, right?), but this news just about makes me weep.  Virgin Atlantic recently announced a move to offer in-flight usage of mobile phones, including calls, text and (slow) data.

Initially it’s only on a limited number of planes and routes, six people at a time, not during take-off or landing and well outside US airspace, but that’s undoubtedly just the beginning.

I don’t know about you, but the absolute last thing I need is somebody having a shouted conversation on their mobile in the seat beside me while I’m trying to sleep on a long-haul flight.  Listening to the blaring tones of an incoming SMS notification every couple of minutes is also unlikely to do much to reduce the stress of a dozen hours cooped up in metal tube.

My prediction?  An increase in punch-ups between highly irate passengers.

[Images via Amazon, NASA, Google, Kai Hendry]

Travel tech news: May 23, 2012 is a post from Too Many Adapters

Over the past 4 years, I’ve traveled with four smartphones, three using different operating systems, and two of which were lost along the way (oh Africa…).  I’m now nearing 6 months using the Galaxy Nexus after retiring my elderly iPhone 3G, and I’ll be using that as a comparison through the review

With the iPhone on the tip of many people’s tongues, is the Galaxy Nexus really the best value smartphone for travelers?

Hardware

Size, Weight & Durability

There is no question.  When compared to my old iPhone 3G, the Galaxy Nexus is a beast.  Thanks to a screen that is 4.65in compared to the iPhone 3G’s 3.5in, it’s big for my little girlie hands.  Where I felt comfortable surfing, calling, or texting with one hand on the iPhone 3G, the Galaxy Nexus is too big for me to reach all corners of the screen comfortably with my thumb.  This means that if I’m on the move, I’ll usually just be scrolling pages with one hand as it can be too tricky to click links.

It’s not all bad though, as the huge increase in screen real estate comes in a thinner package.  The Galaxy Nexus comes in at a svelte 0.35in deep compared to 0.48in for the iPhone 3G.  The weight is virtually identical, and it still fits nicely in my pocket.

I know the iPhone can take some punishment though.  Mine has been soaked in monsoon rains, splashed by mud, dropped repeatedly, and yet it has still been working OK through 2.5 years of traveling around the planet.  I’ve replaced the battery once, and the plastic backing & side buttons once as well.  The headphone jack also required soldering and replacement. 

The Galaxy Nexus is doing well so far, with only a small tumble here are there.  It doesn’t slip out of my hand easily thanks to the textured back.  I don’t use a case.

Screen

The screen on the Galaxy Nexus is gigantic and beautiful.  With a resolution as high as some 10”-12” laptop computers (720x1280px) it is crystal clear.  The display is very bright, and with rich colors and deep blacks.  Reading and surfing are both a joy, and watching videos or playing games is fantastic in comparison to the much smaller display on the iPhone options.

Unlike most smartphones, there are no physical buttons at the bottom of the screen.  In their place are “soft buttons” on the screen itself.  At first, I missed the physical button at the bottom (the “home” button), but after a few weeks it was no problem.  Also with the buttons just being on the screen, they can disappear when playing videos to make use of the entire screen, or change depending on your screen orientation or application you are using.

World Phone

The Galaxy Nexus is a 6-band, 3G/HSPA+ GSM handset.  It uses regular SIM cards, and will work with virtually every GSM carrier around the world.  It is unlocked by default, so you can easily slip in a new SIM card when you arrive in a new country. It’s about as much of a “world phone” as you can get.

Battery

Like all smartphones, you’re not going to get a week of regular usage.  With regular usage, I can get a day out of it no problem, and I bought a second battery for $20 that I’ve used once on a long and boring travel day.

Storage

The Galaxy Nexus (in unlocked varieties) has 16GB of storage which is reasonable for most people’s usage.  I find that as a traveler with a big music collection, 16GB is not as much as I would like.  Phones like the Samsung Galaxy S2 we reviewed a few months back and the upcoming Samsung Galaxy S3 both have microSD storage to add 32GB or even 64GB.

Software

Ice Cream Sandwich

Not what I’m having for lunch, but the newest operating system for Android.  The Galaxy Nexus is the show runner for ICS, and gives a true “Google experience” as they see it, without a lot of the fluff and add-ons that many other Android phones come with.

There are some big changes to ICS that would especially suit the travel crowd. 

1) First is a built in are a built in data usage graph which shows a summary of the 3G internet usage by application.  It also give you the ability to block certain apps from using data in the background, and warn you when you’re nearing your quota.

2) The battery graph is also quite handy.  It also breaks down usage by app, and a good way to see if something is eating away your battery behind the scenes.  One interesting thing to be found with this is seeing just how much battery that beautiful screen uses (a lot).

3) Sharing is very well integrated and nearly anything you see be it a link, a picture, or file can be shared with any number of services with a click.  Take a photo and upload it to Twitter and Google+, save an article from Google Reader to read later using Pocket or Spool, or send a map via Facebook message or to your Evernote notebook.

4) Multitasking is a snap, and clearing out old apps from the “open” list is as easy as a swipe.

5) I find that connecting to wifi hotspots, and generally accessing phone settings to be much easier than it was on the iPhone, though it took me a few days to get acclimatized to the new system.

Android Apps

The move to Android from iOS meant browsing some new apps.  Fortunately, all of the staples that I used on the iPhone are all available on Android, some with more features and better integration.  What I am missing is some of the quirky indie games that I was enjoying on the iPhone that haven’t quite made it to Android yet.

In my opinion, the Google Play Store is much easier to browse than Apple’s App Store.  I can use any browser to log in, and by clicking download on the computer browser, it will automatically install on my device.

Multimedia

The Galaxy Nexus is a multimedia machine, and it’s perfect for browsing videos, looking at photos, and playing your music library.

Music

Listening to music on the Galaxy Nexus is fine.  Just fine.

See, like the iPhone, it just has built in storage, with no ability to expand.  With the iPhone however, you can sync your music with iTunes and have it transcode to a lower quality file for use on your iPhone.  Confused?  This just means that you can fit more music on your phone.

Not only does the Galaxy Nexus not sync with iTunes natively (you’ll have to buy a 3rd party app), there is no program I’ve found to transcode your music files automatically for you as you sync.  This means that I can only fit about 1/2 of the music I normally would on my phone.  This is by far my biggest pet peeve on the Galaxy Nexus and Android.

What it does have is Google Music.  Google Music is a free service available in the USA (or anywhere with a small hack) that lets you store up to 20000 songs up in the cloud, all for free.  When you upload your collection to Google Music via your computer, all of that music is available on your Galaxy Nexus (or other Android device) to stream, and you can choose to mark any of it for offline use.  Not a perfect solution, but pretty good.

Video

Watching video on the Galaxy Nexus is a dream.  The huge, high resolution screen makes viewing a pleasure.  YouTube is built in, but the device can also play any of dozens of different file types.  It’s much easier to play videos on this than the iPhone thanks to its much broader compatibility.

Camera

The 5MP camera in the Galaxy Nexus has been a bit of a let down to me.  Maybe I was expecting too much (I like my DSLR), but unless the light is good, the pictures are not as good as I had hoped.  Good enough for Twitter and Facebook, but that’s about it.  Basic photo editing can be done on the device, or on a plethora of 3rd party apps.

The Galaxy Nexus also captures good looking HD video, and has basic video editing built in.

One great thing the camera has going for it is zero-shutter lag.  There is no wait between hitting the button and taking a photo.

I also liked the built in panorama mode and the added exposure options that you have access to.

Conclusion

I wouldn’t want to go back to an iPhone (at least one that it available currently) after using the Galaxy Nexus.  The ease of sharing, the big and beautiful screen, and the openness of Android have won me over.

Not without it’s faults, the lack of a good iTunes integration (that will transcode my music) was my number one letdown, followed by the camera and storage space.

Value

One thing the Galaxy Nexus represents currently is tremendous value.  If you live in the USA, you can buy an unlocked Galaxy Nexus for just $399 direct from the Google Play store.  Put in any SIM card from wherever your travels take you and you’re ready to go.  No contracts, no locks.

If you’re not in the USA, you can still find a deal on Amazon.com (check prices) where they are currently about $435.

In comparison to an iPhone 4S for $649 unlocked from the Apple Store, the Galaxy Nexus is a fantastic deal.

What do you think?  When is your next smartphone purchase coming up?

Samsung Galaxy Nexus Review is a post from Too Many Adapters

My photos are still numbered in the low hundreds, but in the last few days I have formed a few initial opinions about my new Olympus PEN E-PL3.

Physical

First off, it’s an attractive camera.  Such things shouldn’t matter – but they do.  There was a reason I said no to the red one.  The lens meshes perfectly with the body, a brushed silver that manages to look sleek and stylish without being a magnet for smudged fingerprints.  Unlike the LCD, which definitely is.

With lens attached, it’s compact without being small.  Coming from a tiny Lumix ZR-1 the increase in size and weight is very noticeable.  I was used to just being able to put my camera inside a slim neoprene case, drop it into a pocket or bag and forget about it.  I bought the smallest padded case in the shop that would fit my PL3, but it is still, inevitably, much larger.  It needs to be arranged in my daypack rather than just thrown in.

The included strap does the job nicely, and I’m slowly getting used to having a camera hanging around my neck.  The lack of any real hand grip hasn’t been a problem so far, although I feel that I’m still yet to work out the perfect way of balancing the camera while taking a shot.  I can see how it could become an issue if I was using a larger lens, mind you.

Ease of use and quality

I still feel that I have only just begun to scratch the surface of what it can do – my suspicion that making the most of the camera would require a significant step up from my point and shoot was correct.

Having said that, I have been a little surprised to discover just how easy it is to use in the auto modes.  It differs very little from my old camera when set to iAuto – except it takes better photos.  Colours are more accurate, there is no loss of quality at either end of the lens range and the depth of field is a revelation – even without changing a single setting.

I’ve only really used a couple of the Scene presets, mainly the macro setting for attempts at arty food shots.  Even without knowing what I’m doing, really, the camera makes my ham-fisted attempts look good.  Who knew that depth of field made such a difference?

This shot of bagel tapas yesterday (which was, incidentally, delicious) is exactly as it came from the camera.

Speaking of presets, the Art effects – which I was adamant I wouldn’t use when talking to the sales person – are surprisingly fun to play with, and remarkably good.  The ‘Grainy Film’ effect has become my new go-to setting, and really lent a new perspective to city scenes as I walked around Amsterdam this week.

Random thoughts

A few other thoughts that have popped into my head as I’ve used the camera over the last few days include:

- burst mode shooting is incredibly fast compared to my old point and shoot.

- fiddling with aperture, shutter speed etc is not as intimidating as I thought.  And I still can’t take a decent photo on manual mode.

- battery life seems in line with what I expected – a few hundred shots – but it’s hard to tell since I’m not really using the camera how I typically would yet

- I’m really, really pleased I made the decision to upgrade

So that’s it so far.  I’ll do a final review in a few weeks or months, once I’m totally comfortable with my camera and have taken several thousand shots with it.  For now, though?

It was a great purchase.

Beyond point & shoot: First impressions of the Olympus PL3 is a post from Too Many Adapters

Whether you’re a full time university student, or someone who takes a single night class, you may be able to spring your education into some sweet deals on software.  How about 60% off a copy of Microsoft Office for writing your travel memoir, or a 1/2 price copy of Adobe Lightroom to catalog your trip photos? 

Remember every dollar saved could be another day on a mountain, or another drink on the beach!

What is Academic Discounted Software?

Manufacturers of commercial software will often license copies for educational use at a substantial discount.  Why would they do that you ask?  Well there are a couple of reasons.

1) Students don’t have $1000 to drop on Adobe software for class

2) Whether we’re talking software or drinking Coke vs Pepsi, getting you hooked early likely means you’re a customer for life.

In most cases, the software you purchase will be identical to the regular retail versions, and can be upgraded down the line with regular retail version even when you’re out of school.

To obtain a serial number, you’ll often be required to send a copy of your student / teacher ID card, or sometimes just send them an e-mail from your school .EDU e-mail address.

So What Can I Get?

There is a host of companies offering discounts for students & teachers, but we’re going to focus on a couple that might be of use for the travel crowd.

Adobe

While best known for their Photoshop software, you’ll find many travelers using their Adobe Lightroom 4 software for organizing and editing photos from their epic trips.

Adobe Lightroom 4		Adobe Photoshop CS6	(Extended)
Retail	Academic Discount	Retail	Academic Discount
$149 (Amazon)	$79 USD (Amazon)	$949USD (Amazon)	$241 USD (Amazon)

As you can see, huge savings of 50% to 75% are to be had through Adobe’s program.

Microsoft

You likely run at least one piece of Microsoft software already.  Maybe it’s Windows operating system, or the ubiquitous Microsoft Office package.  Now could be the perfect time to upgrade that old copy you have at a big discount.

Office 2010 Pro	Office 2010 University	Office 2011 (Mac)	Office 2011 University
Retail	Academic Discount	Retail	Academic Discount
$293 USD (Amazon)	$99 USD (Link)	$143 (Amazon)	$99 USD (Link)

Buying your copy of Microsoft Office for Windows or Mac through an academic program can help keep $40 to nearly $200 in your bank account.

The Fine Details

Before you go about dropping your hard earned dollars on something not directly travel related, be sure to read the eligibility guide and submission instructions for the software you are about to buy.

Adobe makes it easy with their eligibility guide marking out all the details of what you need to verify your studies or teaching job.  Microsoft has a similar guide as well, and by checking them out, you’ll find that the definitions are pretty loose.  Even if you’re not a full time student, if there is one in your family you still may be eligible.

Lastly, this article was written with the USA and Canada in mind.  Chances are that these companies will have programs in your country as well, but be sure to check with your institution or the localized website for Adobe / Microsoft for full details.

Have you ever purchased academic discounted software?

Save $$ with Academic Discount Software is a post from Too Many Adapters

For years I have been a staunch advocate of super-small point and shoot cameras.  Spend the money on the best one you can find that fits in your pocket and you’re set.  The best camera is the one you have with you, after all, and if it’s too big you won’t carry it.

My little Panasonic Lumix ZR-1 (long obsoleted on Amazon) has taken an absolute beating over the last 2.5 years, and still survived to take surprisingly good photos.  I’d still recommend something like it for casual photographers who want decent landscape and general-purpose shots with a minimum of bulk.

In recent months though, I’ve become more and more aware of the limitations inherent in any small point and shoot.  Some of the most obvious ones are:

– the lenses are small and the sensors behind them even more so, meaning that image quality suffers and they will struggle when conditions are less than perfect.  This was really bought home to me a few weeks ago as I tried to take photos of a glorious full moon rising out of the sea in the Thai islands.  Even with a tripod, self-timer and night mode, the pictures were terrible compared to those from my girlfriend’s DSLR.

- they have a large depth of field and limited ability to do anything about it, meaning those beautiful shots with a crisp subject in the foreground and warm blurred backgrounds stay forever out of reach.

- the autofocus and shutter speeds are typically quite slow, meaning that action shots end up blurry or missed entirely.

- you’re stuck with the lens it comes with.  By necessity these will be multi-purpose, and of middling quality to keep the price down.  High grade, specialty or large-zoom lenses?  Forget about it.

Over time my ability to compose a half-decent photo has also increased, meaning that for the first time ever I feel like it is my equipment holding me back rather than a total lack of skill.

It was time to upgrade.

I talked to several friends who know what they’re doing with a camera, from professional photographers to enthusiastic amateurs.  I was still quite certain I didn’t want a DSLR – even the more basic models are just too big and heavy for me to carry round all the time.  I live out of a backpack now, and there was no way I could justify the extra weight.

Was there a middle ground?  Something that sat between the point and shoot cameras I had always used and a DSLR in terms of size and cost, without sacrificing too much in the way of quality and features?

As it turns out, there was.

For the last four years Panasonic and Olympus have been marketing their Micro Four Thirds range of cameras.  With interchangeable lenses, a large sensor and the option of fully manual shooting they resemble DSLRs, but at a size and weight that are much more similar to larger point and shoot models.  The prices ranged significantly, from around $400 at the low end to well over $1000 at the high end.

After several hours online and in the camera stores, I settled on the current Olympus range as being the best combination of price, size and features.  All that remained was to pick between the three contenders.

Much and all as I loved the E-P3 for its touchscreen, built-in flash and beefy hand grip, the extra bulk of both camera and pricetag meant that it wasn’t going to be the one for me.

The E-PM1 was certainly the winner on price and weight, but a few limitations were holding me back.    The main one was the lack of physical buttons on the camera – pretty much everything needed to be selected via the software menu.  There wasn’t even a mode dial to select the shooting mode, and for me that was a big letdown.

After much consideration, several more hours reading reviews and – probably most importantly – two personal recommendations from friends who take exceptional photos, the decision was made.

I went and bought myself a brand new silver Olympus PEN E-PL3.  It came with a 14-44mm kit lens and detachable flash, and I added a high speed 16Gb Sandisk SD card and small padded case to keep it all protected.

As well as being the only model with a flip-up LCD screen (which I think I’ll use a lot more than I first thought), it seemed to be the best compromise in the range between cost, size and weight and features.

First impressions are (a) that the image quality will be a huge step up from anything I’ve had before, and (b) there will be a significant learning curve to make the most out of my new purchase.  It’s still too early to draw any conclusions, of course, but watch out for a preliminary review in the next few days!

What do you think?  Do you own a Micro 4/3 camera of any sort?  Would you consider the E-PL3 for your next purchase, or something else entirely?

Beyond Point & Shoot: The Prologue is a post from Too Many Adapters

Burma / Myanmar Travel Resources

In my first post titled “Ditching The Guidebook, The Burma Challenge,” I talked about the internet challenges I expected to face while traveling in the country, and how realistic it was to use the web resources I typically refer to.

I came away with a new found respect for the guidebook.  The challenges traveling in Burma / Myanmar are many, but two that stick out are time and money.  Since there are no ATMs in the country, and tourist visas are limited to 28 days, it’s hard to justify figuring things out when you get there as your time and money dwindles away.  The web resources such as TripAdvisor & WikiTravel were lacking and near useless, and active internet access was hard to come by anyways.

The $25 paperback Lonely Planet Myanmar guidebook ($16 on Amazon.com) gave a good overview of the places you could travel to, and a little bit about them.  This was a major factor in deciding where to spend our limited time while in the country.  The guide also gave a decent overview of things to do, which when paired with local advice and chance kept us busy.  The PDF digital-download version I had was too inconvenient to refer to.

Recommendation:  Buy the Lonely Planet Myanmar (Burma) Guidebook (and Burmese Phrasebook)

Internet Access in Burma / Myanmar

In “The Unlikely Life of a Digital Nomad,” I wrote about the challenges of internet access in the country.  I knew it was going to be tough to work while I was there, and without a doubt it was.  If not for TMA co-editor Dave Dean, it would have been nearly impossible to get anything posted here (including that article).

As I mentioned in the article, the internet infrastructure in the country is poor.  Places away from the center of the country rely on slow satellite connections that become nearly useless once they are shared by even a couple of other computers, let alone 20.  Even in Burma’s / Myanmar’s largest city Yangon, the DSL connections were slow and painful.  Required proxy servers in many locations made my VPN unable to connect reliably.

Though wifi was fairly sparse where I traveled, it was improving.  Traveling with my own laptop was of little issue, and I was only turned away by one internet cafe who wouldn’t let me plug into their network.  Only about 1/5 of the internet cafes I visited offered wifi as an option so keep that in mind if you have no ethernet port.

Recommendation: Bring your own laptop (or travel with a just a smartphone), and use a VPN when possible for security, accessing your online banking, and to bypass censorship.  Stock up on patience.

Mobile Phone Access in Burma / Myanmar

In “Finding Fun Mobile Phone Fakes in Burma,” I wrote about many of the Chinese knock-offs you can find in the country.  I’ve received quite a few e-mails and tweets about picking up a SIM card in the Burma / Myanmar for your own use.

Firstly, there are currently no roaming agreements with outside providers, so your SIM card from outside the country will not work while traveling inside Burma / Myanmar.  While you can purchase a temporary SIM card for the country for approx $30USD when you arrive, it may or may not work with a phone you bring in, so you may be required to purchase a cheap phone.

Lastly, the coverage isn’t great (especially for their GSM network) and there is currently no EDGE/3G available, though I’m told that could be changing within months.

Recommendation: Skip the SIM card and just use the landline phones at your hotel / guesthouse.

Power in Burma / Myanmar

Keeping your camera and gadgets can be a chore in the best of circumstances, and a nightmare in the worst.

I found that access to power was about what I expected.  Most places will have power available through 1/2 the day or more, and higher end guesthouses and hotels will have generators running 24/7.  Power plug adapters were only required once, as most plugs were fitted for North American & Euro type prongs.

Recommendation: Keep an eye on the status of your camera battery to make sure you don’t run out while shooting in this photogenic country.  Sadly. my DSLR battery died during an incredible Hindu celebration…

On Disconnecting in Burma / Myanmar

While I was in Burma / Myanmar, Dave wrote an excellent piece asking “Can Technology Ruin the Travel Experience?”

It was timely for me, as I was forced to essentially eliminate the tech part of my life during the beginning of the trip.  Though I usually read news feeds on my smartphone at night, I had also placed a self-imposed “no screens in bed” rule on myself.

And it was pretty great.

While my occupation requires technology, and it affords me the ability to work nearly anywhere in the world, that first week or so without internet access, was really great.  The internet in itself is almost a job for many, and there is no better place to unplug than technology-frustrated Burma / Myanmar.

I only wish I could have gone the entire 6 weeks without using the computer and frustratingly slow internet.

Recommendation: Don’t bother with the internet unless you NEED it.  Your time is better spent outside.

Wrapup

In many ways, Burma / Myanmar is a country in the midst of major changes, and technologically speaking, this is more visible than ever.  Mobile phones, internet cafes, and an increasingly more reliable power grid are helping to shape this country that has been left in the dark for quite some time.  Citizens are slowing gaining access to the outside world through internet access, and as citizens of the rest of the planet, we use the same internet access to see how their country is slowly changing on a political level.  Both sides of the border, breaking down barriers through the internet.

Just watch your step as you walk down the cracked sidewalks of Yangon staring at your smartphone.  There aren’t many street lights at night, and you might just fall through…

Technology & Travel in Burma / Myanmar – A Wrap Up is a post from Too Many Adapters