bring no laptop at all (Score 1)

At least in south-east asia I regretted bringing my laptop: Either you have an internet cafe or you have no power and internet connection at all. Knoppix or U3 or something on a well protected USB flash drive should be your best friend that doesn't weight much nor takes a lot of space in your backpack. Get a big one (e.g. 4 GB) and chose a decent resolution for your digital camera and you are ready to take more pictures than your relatives/friends would like you to show them. Consider renting a virtual (or real) server and using NX.

And remember: Once inside the namib deserts, be sure to forget about your tech-oriented life, go outside and enjoy the sun!