travel

Major air carriers are opposing a Transportation Security Administration plan to collect the birth dates and genders of airplane travelers, along with their full names, saying the added data collection will create needless hassles.

While the new data collection could add to the annoyance of air travel for the masses of air passengers, the move would pose a special challenge for those of us for whom the question of gender is more complicated than checking one of the two boxes.

Now, I fly a lot. And while some people may see me as female, and others as male, the fact … Read more

I fly internationally at least once per quarter. Given that flight time tends to be some of my most productive time, I need to ensure I have enough juice to get me over the Atlantic without missing a beat on email or, even more importantly, that Arsenal match I previously ripped to my Mac's hard drive with Elgato's EyeTV 250.

I used to use Electrovaya's PowerPad, but it doesn't (or didn't) support the MacBook Pro. So when I started looking around for a replacement, I discovered Batterygeek's Portable Power Station. It's bulkier than the Electrovaya battery, though more compact, and doesn't last as long (eight or nine hours, depending on how CPU-intensive my activity, compared to 10 to 14 hours). Having said that, Batterygeek has come out with new models that last as long, if not longer, than Electrovaya's (one goes for over 20 hours).… Read more

I'm saddened to report that Southwest Airlines has effectively shut down Pass-a-matic, the service that would act as your proxy to retrieve the coveted A-1 boarding pass. The service, which I raved about two months ago, would take your reservation number and use it to jump on the Southwest Web site precisely 24 hours before your flight's departure time to grab the good seats.

Southwest, clearly, was not amused, and recently amended the terms of service for its Web site with this proviso: "You may not use Southwest's web sites for or in connection with offering … Read more

I liked previous iterations of WorldMate, a travel organizer best suited for power business travelers, at least in theory. The app grouped valuable travel information in one place, but pricing made it impractical for most casual users. WorldMate Live for BlackBerry is an app I can get behind, with its clean, friendly interface; fully synchronized Internet maps and alerts; and a more congenial pricing model that assumes basic, free usage and provides frequent, but never obnoxious, opportunities to upgrade.

The revamped WorldMate Live adds more value with a brand new on-app itinerary section for inputting flight, hotel, car rental, and meeting details to go along with a corresponding Web app, where you can also input information. All trip data is stored on WorldMate's servers and synced in real time when the app opens and auto-connects online. Maps, powered by Google on your online account and by BlackBerry's native map on the device, are another new addition.… Read more

External GPS receivers are pretty handy if you want to turn your Bluetooth-enabled mobile phone into a satellite-navigation device. But imagine if you could use your external GPS receiver to keep a log of your travels and then be able to see your journey on Google Earth.

Better yet, imagine if you could use that GPS travel log to synchronize your digital pictures with their exact locations, so you can post them on sites such as Locr or Flickr and let your friends see where the pictures were taken. The Qstarz Travel Recorder BT-Q1000--the little black box in the pic--does … Read more

A simple plea to AT&T: Texts ARE data!

With that said, my travels ended and I got my first AT&T invoice from my far-flung travels. I managed to stick to a lean 15 MB of data used (both downloaded and uploaded) on the iPhone. I called stateside a handful of times using the international roaming plan, which reduced the charge per minute to $1.29 from $1.69. I found myself becoming the master of keeping calls from rounding up to the next chargeable minute (my average call time to the States was 2:59). In … Read more

This classic Airstream trailer outfitted with off-the-grid features got people thinking back to the future at the 18th Bioneers conference this weekend. The sustainability convention in San Rafael, Cal., brings together "bio-pioneers" including scientists, artists, clean tech investors and nonprofit activists.

The 22-foot Safari model, circa 1958, incorporates a composting toilet, wind turbine and solar panels. It has bamboo floors, trimmings and cabinet skins as well as an Alaskan yellow cedar couch bed. Countertops are recycled stainless steel and the bathroom floors are marboleum, derived from flax oil.

Owner Tim Blair, who runs a green design consulting firm, … Read more

Sitting on the plane in San Francisco I knew a few things would happen when I got to Syndey: I would have an international long-distance plan, I would have an international data plan (with a strict diet of 20 MB for a month) with data roaming and auto-email check switched off and I knew that I'd have to call my mom when I got there. Apart from that, I had no idea what the logistics would be.

In fact, I had ventured into an AT&T store on a whim to add these features. As it turns out, … Read more

Recently, I highlighted the Belkin Dual USB Power Adapter as a great option for anyone with two USB-powered devices. But what if you have three, four, or more--say, an iPod, a Blackberry, and a Bluetooth headset? With its ability to charge six devices, the CallPod ChargePod caught my eye--but the need to buy a host of proprietary adapters turned me off. If all my devices already have charging cables with standard USB plugs, wouldn't it make a lot more sense for a charger to use corresponding standard USB ports instead? Of course it would. So, I was looking for a charger with as many standard USB ports on it as possible.

And then I realized it was already sitting on my desk. And it's probably sitting on yours, too. … Read more