which electronic devices to bring?

Pirate - its more to do with what gadgets people want to take. I find the younger generations will take laptops, ipads, etc....the older style will keep it simple. Obviously, some of the older generation will be prone to use technology. But not the majority, like the young 'uns that seem to always have the latest gadgets.

I don't see any connections betweens generations. I'm not that young, I'm 46, and I need the notebook while traveling 'cause I'm work as a journalist in the places I visit.
Regard the electronics as things that make life a little more easy and enjoyable, it has nothing to do with being gadgets-addict.

The strangest thing about this post is that you've put it on the travel on a shoestring branch!

Never mind the worry of having all your expensive gadgetry nicked (which should be a serious concern), just think about the weight of it all. Once you've been on the road a while, you really won't want to carry anything that isn't absolutely necessary, and none of those things are.

A notebook: to work as I travel, blog, read email, websurf, etc.
Work - well just possibly, if you HAVE to work, and your employer is paying for you to stay in fancy hotels, otherwise keep work for something to do to save up money to travel, then....travel.
Blog - a notebook (made of paper) is all you need to write down your thoughts and impressions. You can always use it to make a blog when you get home as you will then be incredibly bored after your interesting holiday interacting with people rather than machinery.
Email and surfing - this is what internet caffs are for.

Ipad: to watch movies during the long hours of flights.
Most airlines have seat-back screens nowadays.

Iphone: I need to bring the SIM-card for eventually transfering money from my bank-acccount and they send me a code by phone.
And what will you do for money when your phone gets stolen? Use ATMs. (I'd carry cash, but I'm so old cash points didn't exist even in my own country when I started travelling). Buy a cheap local phone when you get there if you can't live without one.

Ipod: it has more memory than the iphone and it's faster.
You say this is mainly for listening to music, but you'll get more out of your travelling experience if you listen to the local music on the streets, in bars, or on a cheap radio - which you can also use to get news - thank goodness for the World Service! - about places you might be planning to travel to where a war has just broken out. Make a note of any music you particularly like and download when you get home, another good reminder of your holiday.

Kindle: sothat I don't have to carry the heavy paper-books.
You only have to carry one book at a time, when finished either swap with other tourists, use hotel book swap shelves, or buy another in a 2nd hand shop. You don't need to carry a heavy guide book, borrow from the library and read before leaving home. Copy town street maps to take with you, return the guide book and buy a map of the country so you know where you're going.

HD or pen drive? To back up work (just in case it's get stolen or damaged)
yes, exactly - see above about work.

Each to their own; it comes down to priorities. You don't want to take the good camera because it is too big and expensive. But an ipad is only a couple of hundred grams less weight than a consumer DSLR including lens, and not that much cheaper.

I am almost the opposite. I'll take my DSLR and lenses, but will cut out as much else as possible. I'd rather be able to capture images of things and events I may never see again than watch movies on a portable screen.

thanks, i decided to leave the Ipad, Iphone and HD at home, I'll bring the old camera, the notebook, a memory stick, Ipod and Kindle with me.
cheers

And the old phone...?

oh yes, and I'll bring the old phone with me also. :-)

Talk with locals, wherever you go. Hear 'em out.
Don't just do something/sit there!

Theguy who steals all that electric crap, will be doing you a favor.

So i've just come back from 5 weeks in Thailand. I took a standard phone, mp3 player, 16gb usb pen, DSLR camera & digital camera.
I took two cameras because i'm heavily into photography and the digital camera was better on nights out and to film things.

Listening to the radio can be good but as it's been said, listening to music to fall asleep to is nicer than some noisy surroundings.
My phone didn't have wifi and was a massive down fall when the other people I was with had it. It's a good way to find out things to do in the local area, places to stay before you get there, rough costs of things, currency convertor etc etc. Also with regards to the Kindle, we ran out of books and found them quite expensive to buy and a lot of places you stay ask you to exchange books but you might not find something you like.

I'd say minimise what you're taking but make sure you have something you can read, listen to music & use the wifi. A USB is a good way to back up everything you've done just so incase you lose it :) Have a good trip, hope i've helped!

Just a rucksack for me. Not even a torch. I have a small one on my mobile phone that does it just fine.
External hard-drives, 60squillion gb memory cards. Oh where's the room for me towel?? Oops, forgot, I rarely take one of those either.
How things have changed, indeed. Not over 20 years as suggested though, but merely 10 - if that.