Activesync in internet cafes / telecentres etc.?

daviddd said:

Hi - does anyone know if Activesync (to allow PPC to communicate with PC) is usually / sometimes / never available in these places? I'm thinking how best to regularly download my blog when touring in Oz. I could use an SD card reader but that's a bit more fiddly.

I have been using a pocket pc for years now and also been a frequent visitor to internet cafes in Australia and OS (including the UK) and never found one that had Activesyn installed. That said, I have found a few that would let me install it (or install it for me) if I asked and some that the computer security allowed program installation without even having to ask.

My advice - take your activesync disk with you and you never know your luck. Just do not count on it!

uMP2k said:

I have been using a pocket pc for years now and also been a frequent visitor to internet cafes in Australia and OS (including the UK) and never found one that had Activesyn installed. That said, I have found a few that would let me install it (or install it for me) if I asked and some that the computer security allowed program installation without even having to ask.

My advice - take your activesync disk with you and you never know your luck. Just do not count on it!

Thanks uMP - Noted, I'll bring the CD with it on. I expect I'll usually be able to get away with the SD card / card reader - I will type up my blog / e-mail replies and record onto the SD card, then plug the SD / USB reader into the PC - if I'm allowed - I understand some internet cafe owners don't like this though. I've spent ages organising the electronics side of things; I just ordered a Sunlinq 6.5W solar charger and 10 x AA battery pack, which is supposed to charge all 10 within a good sunny day, which will keep the Axim going as much as I need. (Should do for £125!!).

Where abouts in Oz do you live?

daviddd said:

Thanks uMP - Noted, I'll bring the CD with it on. I expect I'll usually be able to get away with the SD card / card reader - I will type up my blog / e-mail replies and record onto the SD card, then plug the SD / USB reader into the PC - if I'm allowed - I understand some internet cafe owners don't like this though. I've spent ages organising the electronics side of things; I just ordered a Sunlinq 6.5W solar charger and 10 x AA battery pack, which is supposed to charge all 10 within a good sunny day, which will keep the Axim going as much as I need. (Should do for £125!!).

Where abouts in Oz do you live?

Sunny Perth (although it is not that sunny today🙂 ) - just the place for solar battery chargers. I have one (from Proporta) that I use to keep my gadgets charged when away from home - very handy.

Where abouts in Oz are you touring?

uMP2k said:

Sunny Perth (although it is not that sunny today🙂 ) - just the place for solar battery chargers. I have one (from Proporta) that I use to keep my gadgets charged when away from home - very handy.

Where abouts in Oz are you touring?

Perth - Perth anticlockwise, starting early October. My org gave me a year off work. Mostly coastal but avoiding busy coast roads in the east wherever possible, and hoping to do the Gibb River Rd after popping into Purnululu (just like that lol). I've splashed out on a Thorn Raven Tour (Rohloff Hub) which should be good and strong for offroad. Arr back in Perth mid Sept 08..

daviddd said:

Perth - Perth anticlockwise, starting early October. My org gave me a year off work. Mostly coastal but avoiding busy coast roads in the east wherever possible, and hoping to do the Gibb River Rd after popping into Purnululu (just like that lol). I've splashed out on a Thorn Raven Tour (Rohloff Hub) which should be good and strong for offroad. Arr back in Perth mid Sept 08..

Aye, the canny Scot! But...the Gibb River Road!!!!??? :eek: You better make sure the bike is built bomb proof and forget all about the PC/phone techy stuff out there; you'll be more concerned with the dust, corrugations and boredom... If the GBR road mulches 4WDs, what'll it do to a bike??

Garyh_GONP07 said:

Aye, the canny Scot! But...the Gibb River Road!!!!??? :eek: You better make sure the bike is built bomb proof and forget all about the PC/phone techy stuff out there; you'll be more concerned with the dust, corrugations and boredom... If the GBR road mulches 4WDs, what'll it do to a bike??

And number one on your list of concerns should be Water. Making sure that you have enough of it firstly. Secondly, making sure that you aren't doing it at a time of year when too much water has turned the GBR into mud!

The bike is a Thorn Raven Tour with Rohloff hub - bomb-proof by all accounts, I couldn't have a stronger bike. The racks are also Thorn's famed 'military' quality and cost a packet.
I don't take the GBR lightly I assure you, I've thoroughly researched the route and am prepared for a slog, however it is said to be one of the most rewarding parts of Oz, and I'm really looking forward to it. I'll be doing it in midwinter - June / July-ish, well into the dry. If I survive that long I'll have 12,000 km under my belt so hopefully fitness won't be a problem. Although it seems water is not that hard to find in GBR (it's harder in parts of mid-WA I'm told) I will be carrying a minmum of 10 litres, up to 20 in dry sections. I may take up to a month, doing ave of only 30 k/day, in order to enjoy it, travelling v.early in the morning to avoid 4x4's and hot sun and spending the rest of the day chasing freshies round the creeks and bird-spotting.

BTW the Sunlinq solar charger arrived and is superb quality, very robust looking and rolls up quite small; I can tie it on top of my rear panniers / rack.. Lets hope it stands up to a year in Oz! It charges 10 x NiMH AA batteries- about 10 - 12 hours should charge a set of 2500 maH according to the blurb - we'll see. (Cost £125 with the battery pack)