IntrepidXJ's Adventure Blog

I ordered a new little gadget earlier this week that showed up today. I figured a ‘netbook’ would make a great little laptop to use around the house and on my trips to get internet access, without having to lug around my bigger laptop. It would also allow me to get my photos off my memory cards for my camera on longer trips so that I do not run out of space.

I ended up going with the Asus Eee PC 1000HE. Here’s a few of the main specs:

• Intel Atom N280 1.66GHz processor
• 160GB 5400 RPM Hard Drive
• 12GB of DDR2 RAM (667MHz) (I upgraded from 1GB for only $20)
• 10” WSVGA LED-Backlit 1024 x 600 LCD
• SD Card Reader
• Webcam (1.3 MP)
• Battery: 7.2v 8700mAh 6-cell 63Wh battery (9.5 Hours)
• Wireless: 802.11b/g/n and Bluetooth 2.0

….and all of that is in a very small package with a very usable keyboard and screen….running Windows XP Home.

The actual size of the netbook is: 10.47” x 7.3” x 1.12-1.50”S

So far I am really enjoying this netbook and think it will work great for me out in the field, as well as around the house.

I added a ‘SPOT Me’ page to my website located in the bar across the top. This page contains a link to my shared SPOT page where you can follow my track when I am out travelling. It will also contain my previous locations for the last 7 days.

Amanda and I are headed out to Moab this weekend and plan to have our SPOT tracking on, so feel free to check out the shared page this weekend to see how well it works!

My SPOT Messenger showed up today! I already activated it and tried a test message which worked great so far. I should be able to give it a thorough testing this weekend in Moab 😉

Hopefully I will be able to get a new page on my website soon so you can see where I am at when I’m traveling, so stay tuned for that, too.

I have wanted one of these for a long time, and there is currently a great deal going on where you can get a free SPOT messenger if you purchase one year of service (which you would need anyways).

I ordered mine today and it’s supposed to be here Wednesday. I’ll post an update when it arrives. I figure that this device is a great investment considering I spent a lot of time exploring in my Jeep alone.

I finally picked up a new handheld GPS. I had a little bonus on my last paycheck and decided to upgrade my GPS mainly for a better geocaching experience. In the past I have used my Magellan CrossoverGPS and AT&T Tilt for geocaching, but I was never completely satisfied with either solution. The CrossoverGPS required that I also used an old Compaq iPaq PDA for paperless caching, which was a pain. The Tilt worked much better, but the battery life on my phone while using the GPS was really bad.

I ended up getting the new Garmin Oregon 400t and think it will work out much better for me….not only with geocaching, but also for keeping tracks of the trails I explore in my Jeep and on foot. I’ll keep you updated on how well it works out for me 🙂