The Mexican Tech Toolkit

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I had quite a mountain of gear with me over the last couple of weeks.  Aside from the usual vacation stuff, I also dragged along:

1. A laptop for storing and editing photos and blog postings.  Both of the resorts we stayed at had a place somewhere that had a net connection, although it was inconveniently not in the room.  All editing was done with Microsoft Digital Image Suite 2006, and all blog postings were composed offline (they charge by the minute for network access!) using Windows LiveWriter beta.
2. A Nikon D50 digital SLR, with a 70-300mm lens (that's how the flamingo shots were taken), and the stock 18 to 55mm lens that came with the camera body.  Tripod too.
3. A Sony HDR-SR1 high def camcorder.  I shot 18Gbytes of video.  It will take some time to sort through it, now that we're back.
4. A Nokia N80i cameraphone, equipped with WiFi.  Very handy for quick snapshots, and also for approving blog comments in hot spots.  I bought a Mexican SIM, as well, but made only a few phone calls with it.
5. A Nokia N93 cameraphone.  I shot quite a bit of video footage with the N93, in various situations where it was inconvenient to get the SR1 out, or where I didn't want to risk the SR1 (ie. moving at high speed in a boat on the Gulf of Mexico).  Along with the N93, I also brought the Nokia DT-22 tripod clampstand for the device, which makes a world of difference in holding the phone steady.
6. The Solio solar powered batter charger, seen here charging my son's iPOd. Need power on the go?  Got plenty of light?  Solio is the solution.

Alec Saunders is the Vice President of Developer Relations for BlackBerry maker Research in Motion. This is his personal blog, with his personal viewpoints. Prior to this Alec was the CEO and co-founder of Calliflower — the easiest way to hold a meeting, online, on a conference call, or on the go. A double-decade veteran of product management and marketing, he spent nine years at Microsoft where he helped launch Windows 95, the first two versions of Internet Explorer, the Universal Plug and Play initiative, the push into home markets, opt-in email marketing and what might well go down in history as the very first direct email list ever.