Going remote - some advice please

[AG <computing.account@googlemail.com>]

Dear all

My wife and I are looking to go volunteering for at least the next six 
months and will be 95% off-grid.  We want to  remain connected to the 
Net and continue to have access to a computer, and Debian will be our 
system of choice.

We live in the UK and believe that a "dongle" will enable us to maintain 
connectivity, assuming the network provider has the appropriate 
coverage.  Has anyone any experience in this, and if so, please share 
any recommendations for setting this up properly.

Obviously, we are looking at laptops to provide the computing ability.  
But we want something that will be durable, with a decent and reliable 
battery life.  We will need some reasonable processing power and decent 
RAM for basic video editing, writing and statistical analysis.  Any 
advice on the hardware that will facilitate that would be very helpful too.

Finally, does anyone have experience of using PV to power/ recharge the 
batteries, and if so any recommendations on equipment for that?

Thanks for your ideas, recommendations and stories.

AG