Uploading photos from internet cafes while traveling?

[timcupery]

My brother is going on a 6-week road trip through Mexico, and is looking to buy a point-and-shoot digital camera for this trip. Problem is, he won't have a computer along, and enough extra memory cards would get expensive.

One option I've considered is to load pictures from the digital camera onto a computer at an internet cafe (he plans to use them to check email regularly), and then upload them to an ftp server. The issues with this are
1. do computers at internet cafes have USB ports?
2. do computers at internet cafes have hard drive space that users can access to download the pictures?
3. do computers at internet cafes have fast enough connections to make it feasible to upload photos to an ftp server in the U.S.?
Alternately, computers that have a cd-burner would provide a much quicker way to back up the pictures.

The other issue here is the type of camera: cameras that can download to a computer without special software would be preferable, as you really couldn't go around installing Canon download software on every internet cafe computer that you want to use.
So this leads me to my other main question for you: who makes good digital point-and-shoot cameras that can upload to a computer without special software?
My own point-and-shoot DC is a Canon, takes great pictures, but this needs software to download to a computer and do it right.

General thoughts on this issue would be appreciated as well. Thanks much.

[Chunk]

I wouldn't want to upload more than a few pics that way.
I'd suggest a card reader that works with your memory card and a small external USB hard drive. You might also want to take a multi USB port thingy in case the computer only has one available port. You don't need any software (for your canon either) as both the card reader and drive just look like system drives and the files can just be drag'n'dropped.
I have a Smartdisc Firelite portable USB hard drive that is small and easy to pack. The drive is powered from the USB connection so you don't have to carry an adapter. When I looked at their site, I see they have a FotoChute for pulling files off a camera. http://www.smartdisk.com/eWeb/smartdiskus/www/
You should be able to find better prices elswhere.
Other portable drives are available.
http://shop3.outpost.com/category/Ou...rd+Drives/USB/

[VanillaKisses]

Your brother is going to find that the computers at the cafe's vary greatly, some old, some new.. some have usb, some don't.. most, don't allow any HD space to be used
he could however check into photo centers... like kodak has in various stores around here (i've seen them in autralia too.. no idea what "brand" there, tho)... you take the pics off the card and they get burned to a CD right there in the store
it doesn't take long to do either

with windows xp, you can almost upload from any point and shoot, without having to have software, it just uses MS's camera / scanner wizard to import the pics.