Travel Writing Miscellanea...

Travel writer Tim Cahill discusses The Intrepid Spirit of Travel at Book Passages 2009...



Budget Travel has listed the Top 10 hottest new travel gadgets

TravelWriting2.0 has an interview with Stuart McDonald of TravelFish

Sphere: Related Content

Have Laptop, Will Travel...But How to Keep the Battery Going.

I usually take my laptop with me on my travels, allowing me to write and stay in touch with family and friends at the click of the mouse. But more often or not, I fnd that the battery runs dry long before my words do.

Hopefully, these Seven Tips for Better Notebook Battery Life from Laptop Mag will stop this from happening.

Here's a summary of what they recommend...

1. Sleep is good for the laptop so let it hibernate when inactive.
2. Don't be performance hungry - use the power saver feature.
3. Dim the lights.
4. Banish Non-Essential components.
5. run scheduled tasks only when plugged in.
6. lay off the multimedia.
7. get more juice.

To find out how to do all the above and let your laptop live longer on battery, check out the full article.

Sphere: Related Content

Travel Writing Miscellanea...

A few interesting things that I've come across this week...

Oz Traveller has put together A Round-up of Reaction to Lonely Planet’s Rogue Author Thomas Kohnstamm, covering reaction from a variety of bloggers from World Hum to Perceptive Travel.

Want to submit a travel article to the New York Times? Then you should read this Q&A with Stuart Emmrich, travel editor.

Just what a travel writer needs...a Wi-Fi Umbrella. No joke. Japanese company Pileus has created an umbrella that "... has a large screen on the top surface, a built-in camera, a motion sensor, GPS, and a digital compass, and it provides two main functions; A Social Photo-sharing and A 3D Map Navigation."



You can buy one through Sharper Image.

Sphere: Related Content

In search of Free WiFi...on the road.

I’m travelling ‘wireless’ for the first time this trip so I’ve been searching around for information on where to find WiFi on the road.

Here’s what I’ve found out:

Just because a hotel say they offer free WiFi access doesn’t mean that it’s available where you want it. For example, the hotel might have free WiFi but only in the lobby or on specific floors.

It’s important to do your research before you leave. Check the hotel’s website for information on WiFi access and where in the hotel it’s offered. Call the hotel direct and ask someone about the access.

For further verification, you could check out an independent hotspot directory to find out more details. Directories worth checking out include Free Hotspots, WiFi Free Spot, Hotspot Locations, and JiWire.

These directories can also guide you to hotspots around the city you're visiting. I did a check through Free Hotspots and discovered a number of places in central Madrid that offer WiFi.

Open WiFi Spots has a comprehensive listing of over 24,000 free WiFi spots around the United States. They have also listed them by category. For example, there is a listing of bookstores, coffee houses, fast food restaurants, public parks, NYC hotels, and airports with free WiFi.

The Airport Wireless Internet Guide has detailed information on access in US airports. For the rest of the world, check out the USA Today Hotspot Finder.

It seems that free WiFi is everywhere.

You just have to know where to find it…

Sphere: Related Content

Want a travel companion ? Take an MP3/iPod…

The MP3/iPod is the ideal travel companion. It provides information, entertainment, and comfort but doesn’t need to be fed, watered, or humored.

The top five things that the MP3 can do for you:

1. Keep music in your life - you can download your favorite songs to keep you from being homesick or download soundtracks to fit the mood of your location. And many MP3 players have built in recording devices that let you capture the sounds of your travels.

2. Provide reading material - save a tree and download a book. Going to Paris, download The Da Vinci Code. Going to Italy, what about Under the Tuscan Sun. Wherever you're going, there's a audio book out there for you. Check out Audible.com and iTunes.

3. Be a personal tour guide - throw away the guidebook and download your own personal professional tour guide. From walks around the city to road trips, there is a tour out there for you. Check out Pod Cast Alley, Yahoo Podcasts and Lonely Planet podcasts to see what’s available.

4. Store your photos - The MP3 player can be used as a portable hard drive where you can download and store digital photos. A useful idea for those who are snap happy.

5. Map your journey - driving directions from Map Quest and subway maps for the big cities work great on the MP3 screen.

Sphere: Related Content