Just like all the best countdowns, this one is paused for a while. The reason? Taiwan. Both VIA and myself have been non-stop busy since Computex started 4 days ago and we’ve decided to delay for a week. Looking at the weather forecast, its probably a blessing in disguise because cloud and light rain is forecast for much of next week.

Watch out for a video overview of the Solar equipment coming up either later today or tomorrow.

Although you might find some value in what I’m posting on this blog, what you might not realise is that a lot of the posts are there for me! I’m a ‘list’ man you see, and I need to write everything down to get some order, detail and priority in my life that lasts for more than an hour. Call it bad memory if you like but I like my lists and I like writing things down. Doing it publicly like this also has the advantage that my mother can watch it and 1) Tell me not to be so stupid and 2) Correct my spilling!

So here’s the first one. Its the one that seeds all the other lovely lists that I’ll be writ….hey….pay attention at the back. You might learn something!

The main aims of the tour are:

• Have fun
• Demonstrate that UMPCs allow you to be productive while mobile.
• Demonstrate that UMPCs are very low power devices.
• Demonstrate that Internet access is available wherever you want to be.
• Get a little fitter.
• Learn about solar energy and how it applies to ultra efficient computers both now and in the future.
• Get contact with others working in this area of tech.
• Promote UMPCPortal.com and my sponsors.
• Have fun

You’ll notice I’ve got ‘sponsors’ listed there too. I’ve been very lucky with them to be honest. I assessed some companies, made a decision and sent an email to the two chosen companies. One is VIA who I chose because they currently have some of the most efficient UMPCs available and are well known for energy efficient computing. VIA will be my main sponsor. The other company I contacted was Solar Select in the UK.  In fact I contacted them some months back and we had a good chat about the technology and the possibilities. Solar Select will be my energy adviser and supplier of solar equipment for the tour. Many thanks in advance to both sponsors for helping me out on this project.

Next up on the blog will be….you guessed it…..another list. It will be my ToDo list.

No, this isn’t just another one of those keyword-seeking blogs that hang around waiting for a market and clogging up search results. This is one with a purpose. A real project! A working blog from day 1.

If you don’t know me, Hi! I’m Steve (aka Chippy) from UMPCPortal.com and in about a month from now I will be starting my Solar UMPC Tour and this site is where the project will be detailed and journaled from start to finish and beyond. Yes, a Solar UMPC Tour! I’ll be taking a bike, camping equipment an off-the-shelf UMPC and solar kit to South Germany, climbing on the bike and cycling down the Rhine for about 7 days while continuing to work on UMPCPortal.com and Solar-UMPC.com using a UMPC. No, not while I’m riding. I’ll be stopping at lots of cafe’s on the way! There’s one important rule I should mention though – No mains charging of equipment is allowed. Everything will run off solar power for a week. Camera, Mobile Phone, Lighting and UMPC.

Sounds like a challenge doesn’t it. It will be! Its one month away and I haven’t even started testing solar equipment yet. I don’t know how long I will need the UMPC each day. I don’t even know what UMPC to take. I don’t know how long my camera will last on AA batteries. What data connectivity should I use? Bike? Tent? There also the small worry that I haven’t done a bike tour in years. I need to get on a 4 week training program so that I can cover the ground between stop-overs and still have enough time to work. And then there’s the weather. More unpredictable than a UMPC manufacturers battery life figure! One thing is for sure, I won’t be going if there’s no sun forecast and if the weather breaks half way through I probably wont be able to go on. End of story!

All these questions will be answered in the coming weeks. The project starts today and I’m happy to say I’ve got the support of the best sponsor possible. VIA Technologies. I have been thinking about this project since last year and put the details to VIA some time ago. They came back very quickly with a positive feel and after our first project conference call this morning, we’ve agreed to do it and are all very excited about it. Its what the UMPC is all about of course. The combination of Ultra Mobility, power-efficiency, work and play. Ultra Mobile Life!

So there’s the introduction in plain text. Things will get more detailed and colourful from here on and I hope you’ll stay with me, help me, advise me and pass the word on about Ultra Mobile Computing. Help me. I’ll say that one again!

Steve.