Geeky Traveller

Collecting air miles is all fine and dandy but trying to keep track of when you can redeem them for a specific flight isn’t always easy. Now it is, because Yapta.com has launched a completely free service which will alert members by email when they’re able to exchange their air miles for a specific seat.

At the moment the service works with Alaska Airlines, United, Delta, Continental, and U.S. Airways, although more may be added soon as the service grows.
When you search and find the fight and airfare you’re seeking, Yapta then gives you the option to track both …read more

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I’m reasonably happy at the moment with my Dell Inspiron laptop (though it definitely needs more memory and I do wish I could get a Mac), but as portable as laptops claim to be, they can still be big, clunky, and inconvenient for travel purposes.
HP has now released their HP Mini 1000 which you can get for $400. First of all, $400 is an excellent price for a laptop!
But better than that, what makes it so perfect for travelers is that the largest size is only 10.2″ diagonally, it has a nice tiny weight of just over two pounds, …read more

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Everyone knows you can find just about everything you ever need to know by looking to Google for guidance. However, sometimes the problem is you get overwhelmed by the sheer volume of information that gets thrown at you in the results. I found a great listing of quick ways to find what you need by typing in simple requests in the Google search bar.

For instance, type in your airline and flight number (for example, “united 959″) and the first result will give you a link to track the flight BUT it also tells you right away what its …read more

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A!erts.com is a great service that delivers a wide variety of alerts to either your cell phone or email keeping you up to date on whatever is important to you. While it includes the standard birthday reminders and meeting reminders, it also offers up some handy services for travelers. You can get alerts as to the cheapest hotel price in a specific area, the best flight options, and the lowest gas prices. If you need to get around at peak traffic hours in your destination, you can get real-time traffic updates so you can plan accordingly, and …read more

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Have you ever been driving and suddenly realized you can’t remember passing a certain landmark or that you don’t recall the past five minutes of driving? Falling asleep at the wheel happens more often than you think and it’s dangerous. It’s also not difficult to imagine it happening when you’re driving on a long road trip, especially in the wee hours – or even if you’re driving in the daylight but six time zones away from home.
Originally designed for long distance truck drivers, the Anti Sleep Driving Alarm is a device that fits on your head, sitting behind …read more

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You may not be able to use your actual cell phone on a flight (and really, thank goodness for that because no one wants to listen to ten one-sided phone conversations while trapped in a tube 30,000 feet above ground!), but with more airlines using Wi-Fi in the Sky, you’ll be a little less limited in the future.
Not only can you get online with the Wi-Fi service to do things like check your mail, you can also use SpinVox, a mobile voice-to-text service, to retrieve and reply to your voice mail. How does it work?
SpinVox retrieves the …read more

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If you plan to travel within the US and need to grab a cab from one location to another, you can use your phone (with internet access, naturally) to book yourself a taxi, sedan, limo, or shuttle service with RideCharge.

You simply enter the date and time you need to be picked up. Then specify your pick-up spot, the destination, and how many passengers there will be. When it searches, it will tell you which services are available to you. For instance, I asked to be piked up at JFK airport in New York City, and dropped off at …read more

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Have you ever gotten out of a taxi, slammed the door, and crossed the street, only to realize that you left your laptop bag, luggage, or purse inside? While this is mind-blowingly upsetting and can cause you to utter expletives for hours on end, it’s even worse if you lose something in another city while you’re traveling.
Contrary to popular belief, there are people who are honest and kind enough to try to return your lost stuff. However, some things (like wallets with ID) are easier to return than others (like a camera bag with no info as to …read more

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Want to know a really bad way to start your vacation? Kicking it off by wasting a huge chunk of time standing around trying to find your luggage when it comes down to the carousel. Perhaps if you have a bright yellow suitcase, it’s less difficult, but since a lot of luggage looks like pretty much everyone else’s luggage, it can be frustrating to try to find yours amid a sea of look-alikes. I don’t know about you but I don’t particularly enjoy hanging around airports. When I’ve arrived I want to GO and get on …read more

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It sounds like it should be a no-brainer, but the truth is that sometimes when you change time zones, it can get complicated trying to keep track of the time difference. That means you might call your mom to tell her how beautiful the ocean is, while forgetting that it’s only 5 am back home. Worse, if you’re traveling on business and have to schedule a conference call for multiple offices in multiple time zones, you can burst an artery trying to find the right time slot to fit everyone.
If you use the excellent Firefox browser, you can …read more

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