Geeky Traveller

Since it’s still summer here in Montreal (and sweltering hot and humid, thankyouverymuchUGH), my brain is still stuck in the world of camping. When I used to go camping with my dad when I was a kid, I remember trying to pick my way to the bathroom down a rocky path with a little flashlight. It was the kind everyone had, the black handle with the little bit of red plastic wrapped around the glass. It worked well enough, but it was inevitable to find myself tripping over a root I hadn’t seen or nearly walking into a …read more

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Samsung’s L74 tries very hard to offer a built-in travel guide with its camera features. It’s set up to take group shots and panoramic landscapes, offers up 7MP photo quality, and a 3.6X optical zoom. It also boasts advanced shake reduction, 14 different scene modes, and 450MB of internal memory.
Unfortunately, the camera doesn’t get great reviews, including complaints that the surface is easily scratched and a touchscreen LCD that doesn’t always respond – slow response time is not something you want in a digital camera when you’re trying to catch shots quickly.
However, it is the built in tour …read more

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If you’re a biking fanatic, you’ve probably thought about bringing your bicycle with you when you travel. If you’re going by car and have a rack it’s not that difficult, but what if you don’t have the rack? What if you’re traveling by train or plane? A bike is big and takes up a lot of space, but on the other hand, it could save you some money if you can ride around your destination rather than relying solely on public transit, expensive taxis, or car rentals.
The A-Bike Folding Bicycle is one compromise you could try out. …read more

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I can’t tell you how much I envy all the people who can pick up affordable waterproof cameras now for their vacations. Many years ago (almost ten years, actually) I went to Cancun and swam with dolphins, something I’d wanted to do just about forever. I had a camera, but sadly it was locked up with my clothes and backpack in a locker because it was a regular old 35 mm camera – not waterproof.
I wish I could have taken pictures of the dolphins. I got one taken for me by the park people at Xcaret (by …read more

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If you own your own business and travel a lot, Grand Central could be a really useful service for you. It’s in Beta right now, but it’s also a Google service, so you know that it will likely get stronger and more improved rapidly, just like all their services (hi, I’m a HUGE Google fan).

What it does is consolidate all your phone numbers into one single access number. With it, you choose one new number and you can hook it up to office phone, land line, and cell phone. Instead of giving everyone three or four numbers …read more

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Japan’s Nippon Airways announced that in May 2008 they will be receiving their 50 787 Dreamliner aircraft from Boeing. Among other things, they will feature the Toto toilets that are so popular in Japan as well as around the world.

Most people have heard of these high-tech toilets but for those not in the know, Toto toilets offer a butt-spraying wash option – press a button and get a nice rinse after you use the toilet. They have wands that will – at the push of a button – first wash and then dry your behind for extra cleanliness.

The …read more

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If you travel a lot or even if you’re just planning a trip to another country, I could see this neat tool coming in handy – the Time Zone Check. With it, you can easily check what time it is anywhere in the world.
You can use it if you’re not the one traveling as well; if your husband or wife has to travel to France on business while you’re still back in the U.S. and you know they’re planning to be back at the hotel by 6 pm, you can check to see what time it is …read more

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Boo! Did I scare you? I hope not, because here’s a nifty website that isn’t scary at all and will put a lot of travel information right at your fingertips.
Boo.com is a travel search site that will give you just about everything you’re looking for and then some. What can you do at Boo? You can:

search over 2200 major travel destinations in 170 different countries for general information
compare hotel prices, locations, reviews, etc.
make reservations, either through Boo or directly through the hotel’s own website
share your photos, experiences, and recommendations with other Boo readers

Here’s a …read more

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Mid-June, it was revealed that Airbus had won an approval for cell phone use on their flights. They were the first aircraft maker to win this type of approval from the European Aviation Safety Agency.
This new system, once it’s in place, will make it possible for passengers to make and receive calls, as well as use email and text messaging. Supposedly the cabin crew will be able to activate a voice-off mode which would stop the calls and only allow the silence of text messaging and emails, but I wonder if they’ll use it often what with …read more

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I’m really digging around these days for interesting things people use for camping. Like I’ve said in the past, I’m pretty simplified for camping. When I went camping last weekend I did have to pack a lot of stuff but that was only because my kids are 4 and 1 1/2 years old and you never know when they might need a change of clothes. Still, even though I like to try to pack all my own belongings into a very tiny bag and call it a day, camping gadgets are fun!

Which is why I was totally …read more

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