October 2005

Despite what laptop manufactures claim, I’ve never seen a battery last more than 3 hours. I carry two batteries with me when I travel and normally don’t use applications like Microsoft’s Word, which are processor intensive and suck the battery right down. Apple offers a Lithium-ion battery resource that explains how they work and offers tips for maximizing the battery’s life (the guide applies to PC laptops as well). The first is to remember that batteries wear out, including iPods, and to cycle them at least once a month. A full discharge/charge cycle is to let the battery run down until the laptop goes to sleep and then plug it back in.

In the article ‘WiFi before you fly’ pysorg.com discusses how Hartsfield-Jackson now has what’s considered to be the best wifi coverage at any US airport. Forget “hotspots” - all 5.8 million square feet of the airport now enables wifi access.

It’s not free however. According to the article:

“The service at the airport — provided by a number of companies — ranges from $7.95 per day to $38 a month for access for frequent fliers.”

According to Dell, it will be offering a high speed networking alternative on some of its notebooks by the 1st quarter of 2006. Specifically , it will be Cingular’s High-Speed Downlink Packet Access network (HSDPA), which is a 3G network. Cingular should have up to 20 markets available with a HSDPA connection by the end of this year and into most major U.S. markets by the end of 2006. This option will complement its current agreement with Verizon (using Verizon Wireless’ Evolution-Data Optimized (EV-DO) broadband network). For more details, go here.

Skype Technologies is urging users of its popular Voice over Internet Protocol service to download a new upgrade because of some recently disclosed flaws, one of which could allow attackers to take over a Skype user’s system. Go here for the download.

[Erin](http://incisive.nu/) sent me [a link](http://www.livejournal.com/users/xopherg/60842.html) to what’s turning into a [meme](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Meme) about the movie [Snakes on a Planes](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0417148/). Click through to the [interview with Samuel Jackson](http://www.defamer.com/hollywood/samuel-l-jackson/dudesnakes-on-a-plane-117687.php) who stars in the movie, to the theme song, slogan and more. As Samuel Jackson said, “Snakes on a Plane, man!”

Dude! Snakes on a Plane!

Next time you’re bored on a flight, or stuck in an airport, Snakes on a Plane should give you a good laugh.

If you’re a Mac user and you’ve ever tried to imbed your applications folder in your dock, you know what a pain it is to try to open an application that way. You have to click and hold the icon for three to six seconds before you even get the menu to pop up. It’s annoying, it slows down your system, and it won’t make you very efficient, no matter where you are!

But there’s a free fix that lets you access your apps without cluttering your dock with unneccesary applications and folders. It’s called TigerLaunch. It puts a cute little pawprint in the upper right hand corner of your screen. Click the pawprint and it immediately pulls down a menu full of applications.

And unlike your applications folder, you can configure the TigerLaunch menu to include only those apps you actually want to have quick access to - but don’t use frequently enough to keep in your dock.

It doesn’t slow down your system, it’s almost instantaneous, and it’s totally free.

Bottom Line: It’s a new permanent resident in the upper right corner of my screen. A+

Travelocity has executed on a system they call Instant Flight Deal Notification With RSS that will deliver fare information to your newsreader via syndication. Just pick your origin city and up to 5 destinations, and they’ll let you know when the fares are discounted. Here’s what they say on the site:

Find out fast when fares to your favorite destinations drop by at least 20%! It’s easy, thanks to Travelocity’s new RSS feed. Just choose the destinations you’d like us to watch, and we’ll keep you informed though My Yahoo!, My MSN, or another RSS news reader of your choice.

My initial testing found some great fares, and a few cents cheaper even than Kayak but I couldn’t search all the cities I like.

Another similar service called farecompare also sends discount rates via RSS. It had all the cities I wanted to track, but the fares weren’t as good.

If your office is your laptop, consider signing up for email/web based faxing. Signing up for a service like maxemail or eFax allows you to receive faxes in your email in box as an attachments. Sending faxes is is easy as sending an email. Limited receipt of faxes is free, for a fee you can send faxes.

Another lifesaving feature for pepole who don’t want to lug a printer around with them is the ability to print things by simply faxing them to yourself at your hotel.

I have used eFax for years and like it, but am considering a switch to maxemail due to the features and lower price. Adam Engst discusses his move to maxemail here. A key advantage for me would be the ability to get faxes as PDF. eFax sends them in a odd format that requires theis special “reader” software.

Besides the on the road advantages, I have discovered that those friends and relatives who remain luddites (you know, the “I don’t DO email” people) are now more accessable. Now I can now include them in emails simply by faxing them. Saves you from making a bunch of extra phone calls.

Okay, so this device may not actually be a PC per se, but it will let you enter text into Microsoft word and other applications and is apparently convenient to use even in the tightest coach seat. The Logitech io2 Digital Writing System is a digital pen that when used with Logitech’s special paper, will convert written text and pictures into downloadable data. Just insert the pen into the cradle attached to your Windows computer and your information is automatically downloaded. I haven’t bought mine yet, but other travel writers seem to love theirs.

The best way to avoid an uncomfortable and unproductive plane ride in coach is to keep seat pitch in mind when making your travel plans. Seat pitch is the distance from one point on a seat to the equivalent point on the seat in front of you. The larger the seat pitch, the more distance you will have from the seat in front of you. Keep in mind that one type of aircraft can have a different seat pitch, depending on the airline. So just because you found that coach seat quite comfortable during your last flight on a 757 with Song, does not mean it will be the same on a 757 with Delta. In fact, in this case the seat pitch is up to 34″ on Song, and a cramped 31″ on Delta (unique in this case as they are owned by the same parent company).

So, with the average seat pitch at about 32″-33″, forget using any laptop with a display larger than 14″ on an airplane with less than say, 32″–unless your equipped with a new ultraportable such as the new Sony Vaio VGN-T150P/L or equivalent.

We think the best source for seat pitch info is seatguru.com. The information is arranged by airline (both domestic and international) and includes some seat width stats as well. It also provides some nice graphics which help rank the seats (Good Seat, Be Aware, Poor Seat) and gives you an idea which seat has a power port as well as closet, galley, lavatory and exit locations. The site also includes, where applicable, information about available AC power and any audio and video services onboard.

The Digital Hotspotter® is a new second-generation Wi-Fi detection and analysis device from Canary Wireless.

Not only convenient for finding that local hotspot, but its also helpful in determining where your home or office coverage extends and where the optimal locations for use of the network are. And on the flipside, I’ve found it helpful for finding where a network is leaky–determining if your access point signal extends beyond your walls and whether it is secured–and help detect any rogue access points.

The Hotspotter display shows four crucial pieces of information: Network ID (SSID), Signal Strengh, Encryption status (WEP or WPA) and Channel–and can provide specific information about each network when multiple networks are present.
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[Brick Meets Byte](http://www.brickmeetsbyte.com/) reviews [inFlightHQ](http://www.brickmeetsbyte.com/index.php/weblog/het_gesponsorde_weblog_van_boeing/) and we tried to translate it, but came up with, “the web-unwieldy is made web fish-waggons which gesponsort becomes . . . ,” which made no sense at all. Regardless of being lost in translation, it looks like a good review.

The Wall Street Journal has recently expanded its online version to include more mobile options. Now, as an Online Edition subscriber you can get its content for download onto your Blackberry, cell phone, MP3 player and OnStar equipped car. Check it out here.

Tired of digging for the correct plug adaptor as you settle into your hotel room in Zurich–or Oslo–or Johannesburg? This product is designed to provide power for laptops, cellphones, battery chargers, etc. for use in over 150 countries. It’s a nice pocket-size universal adaptor…..with a cool slide-out power plug design that includes a built-in fuse. Handles up to 2.5 amps/275 watts at 110V or 550 watts at 220V.

If you’d like to learn, “everything you need to know to get blogging now,” attend the Business Blogging 101 Seminar later this month, on October 29th. I’ll speak about blog design. Joining me will be Steve Broback, Molly E. Holzschlag, Robert Scoble, and Buzz Bruggeman. The cost is $195.00 and you can register now.

We flew Northwest and the flight was fine. I took my PowerBook and two batteries to work during the flight. I also bring in-ear headphones to listen to music and tune out the ambient noise. Customs and the Montreal airport were easy and I noticed that the signage in Montreal was very well done. I always judge an airport by it’s signage and we could easily figure out where we were and need to go, and that’s with French and English translations.

Northwest doesn’t offer food any longer, except for a nasty snack pack, so we packed protein shakes and bars. After talking to other travelers, I don’t think the food cost savings are worth the anger passengers have or not getting a bag of peanuts or having to buy a snack pack.

There was no Internet service on the flight, but I was able to be productive and get some work done.

Sidestep, while in some respects just another travel search engine……what makes it unique is its toolbar that can be viewed while examining your search results–giving you a convenient side-by-side price comparison. While visiting your favorite travel site, it automatically opens a sidepane giving you comparative results to your search. The key is its ability to search over 100 sites to help you find the best travel bargains.

I used WorldAirportGuide.com while travelling in Europe recently. This website became an invaluable tool in making my ‘downtime’ as constructive as possible. Recommend for all domestic and international travelers…..

The New York Times’ Matt Richtel writes about in-flight phone calls and attitudes toward working at 30,000 feet in Silence Aloft Is Under Threat.

For some business travelers, they feel that their mid-air travel time is an oasis of “digital downtime.” Others think it’s a great opportunity to get caught up with work and want to have as many communication options as possible available.

The F.C.C. has received an earful from the citizenry about the subject in general. In a public comment period from February to August, more than 8,000 responses were received, many from people who do not want to hear others chatting in flight. Some of the objections have been more organized; the Professional Flight Attendants Association, for example, argued that chatting in the tight confines could lead to greater stress.

I personally agree with Charles Lax, one of the business people quoted. He’s very connected and has two cell phones with him at all times. The article says “Mr. Lax said he could do without phone access on planes, but would like e-mail, which he said was a more efficient way to get business done anyway.”

Logitech® has introduced its Wireless Headphones for iPod complete with integrated iPod controls for volume and playing or pausing tracks, built right into the headset.

Given my choice of being untethered whenever possible, I plan on using them to catch up on my email while walking the dog or waiting at the airport. Providing its audio signal via Bluetooth, this model includes a wireless adaptor that connects directly to your iPod or iPod Mini.

I prefer the over-the-ear style of headphone (rather than the earbud) because I’m not completley disconnected from my surroundings–if I’m outside, I can still hear cars or emergency vehicles, or flight announcements if I’m at the airport.