Travel with a Small Phone Bill

I'm always interested in never reinventing the wheel. Economy of motion.  In that spirit, I direct you toward a very interesting NY Times article about how to travel, talk on the phone a lot, and not return with a $1500 phone bill.  I've spoken about Skype in other blog posts, but this article is more comprehensive.  Enjoy! 

Skype while traveling abroad!

Want a great way to stay in touch while traveling abroad without worry over international rates or roaming charges?

Take the easy way out and download Skype to your iPhone:  for a very low rate, call back home to the US from wherever you are as long as you can connect to a wifi network.

• If you don't already have a Skype account, go online and sign up.
• Depending on how many calls you plan to make while abroad, buy either a pay as you go plan OR a subscription model 
• Go to the iTunes store and download the FREE app onto your iPhone
• Sign into Skype on your iPhone
• You're ready to go!

Before you leave on your trip, I would suggest creating or importing the phone numbers that you plan to use while abroad so that you don't have to fiddle with that.

You will also be able to receive calls on your Skype iPhone app, so your friends don't need to endure long distance expenses either.  And remember that you need to connect to a Wifi network.  Soon, the Skype app will be accessible on the 3G network, but not yet.

You're welcome!

File Sharing: Just Do It

I'm going to give you a real-life example:  my husband and I both need to access Quicken for our finances. One Quicken data file can't be on both computers.  So we use a free (up to 2 gigs are free) software called Dropbox.  Even though Quicken is installed on both of our computers, we have it set up so that I can access it on mine as well -- with a simple click!  We can't work simultaneously, but that's the only limitation.

 

The data file exists in three places, my husband's machine, my machine and online.  Drop Box manages the sync. 

Another perk is that if you break your laptop while traveling, you can still access the data through the Dropbox website.  Of course, it's password protected and only those you invite to share certain files can access them.

Many users are beginning to replace "My Documents" with "My Dropbox" and storing all their files in there...so they can be synced to multiple machines.  The first two gigs are free.  Free.  Hello!

WiLife: Security Camera for the Do-It-Yourselfers

I received a Logitech WiLife Digital Security System to review.  Essentially, these are digital video cameras that can be placed inside or outside and then connect via the electrical wiring in your home, to your computer.  You can also check on the status of what you're monitoring remotely -- when you're traveling, or even at work.  I'm not going to get into too many technical details.  There are many good reviews and I don't feel the need to reinvent the wheel.  If you are a gear head, check out the reviews here, here and here.
The main thing to note before buying this system is that there is a little hard work involved and there are a few technical issues to overcome.
First off: you have to think about where you want to put your camera.  Is there a power outlet nearby?  If not, you're going to have an ugly extension cord there.

Next: you should know that if your computer is asleep or off, the system won't work.  You won't be able to log in remotely.  Your computer must be on and the software program open for the system to work.
Also, if you are using home plug technology, you might have to forgo your current system in order to get WiLife to work.  (If you don't know about Home Plug, you're probably not already using it.  Don't sweat it.)  We use Home Plug and we had a lot of technical issues trying to get the WiLife to work.  Their tech support was unhelpful and could not direct us.  Eventually, we figured out that we just needed to unplug our current system and use theirs.  Not a long term solution for us.
But:  if you want a relatively inexpensive solution for a security cam, without having to hire a security company to install and monitor your house, this is a great solution.  You can use the system while you're at dinner or on vacation -- since your computer is on, you can just remotely log in and see what's going on at your house.  That's good for some peace of mind.
I have the outdoor camera and I'm amazed at how well the picture looks, even in very low light.  At first I thought the program froze, but then something moved and I realized I was looking at a live feed.
Really, just having a video camera set up outside is a good deterent.  If you're not into gadgets, you can look into the fake camera in the SkyMall magazine.  It's not hooked into anything, but you put a battery in it and it has a flashing red light -- as if it works.   Sometimes, a visual deterrent is all you really need.

Useful iPhone Apps for Travel

For the longest time, I was totally uninterested in iPhone apps.  To me, when I thought of iPhone apps, I thought of video games or iFart or the one where it tells you what kind of cry (sleepy/hungry/wet) your baby was crying.  Useless and a waste of time.

Change that: now, I'm addicted.  What changed?  Well, I actually went to the iTunes app store and started browsing.  And now, I have suggestions.

Yelp:  For those of you who use Yelp religiously on your computer, why wouldn't you also want it on the go?  And it's FREE!  Yelp gives you user reviews of anything you can think of in the city you are visiting:  restaurants, tailors, manicures, parks -- you name it!  Whether it's business travel or a vacation: The bigger the city, the more reviews.  I find the service essential.

Currency Converter Pro: For a mere ninety-nine cents, this app gives you over 220 currencies to convert -- and not just into dollars -- into any other currency.  It's easy to use and it's one less thing you have to concern yourself with.  Especially if you're bad at math and a nervous Nelly while you travel.

Flashlight: This seems a little silly, but it's always good to have a flashlight with you.  Dark hotel room.  Don't want to wake your husband. .  It's a free app that turns your iPhone very very BRIGHT.  Hence, the name.

Sit or Squat:  Bathroom Finder  When I lived in New York City, I prided myself on where to find the most luxurious public bathrooms (Bendel's on Fifth, downstairs -- like a studio apartment!  My god, you have to see this bathroom!) because I was always on the go.  Now, I don't have to work so hard.  When you're in a strange place, you want a stable, clean toilet.  Am I right?

Audiobooks: I just blogged about it recently, but it bears repeating.  This app gets you thousands of free, public domain books that are read by volunteers streamed or downloaded to your iPhone.  For $.99, it's a huge bang for the buck.

Pocket Express:  Also a free app, this one gives you all sorts of general information.  The weather is what I've keyed into.  It's easy to use and you really need to know what to wear in the morning, boots or sandals.

I was also going to tell you about Trip It: it's a free app, but for the past 72 hours, the website that accompanies it is down.  That's a LONG time.  Not sure what's happening.  Well, if it's just a blip, it's a great place to congregate all of your travel plans, no matter where you booked them: hotel, car, appointments, etc.

Go ahead to the iTunes store and start poking around.  I guarantee that you'll find something useful.  Even if it's just a game to while away the time while you're waiting for your delayed flight to arrive.

Late Night: Why Ellen Should Host the Tonight Show

I'm not an expert, but I'm smarter than the average bear.  Why is NBC is shuffling a bunch of low-rating losers like Jay and Conan?  Last summer, it was perfectly obvious to me that the best choice for the Tonight Show was and is Ellen DeGeneres.  Why isn't it obvious to everyone else?

First off:
Most of the Tonight Show's current viewers are the "coveted" 18-49 year old men.  Why are they coveted?  Dunno.  In my reality, women who love Ellen (35+, I'm guessing) have FAR more buying power than this group of men.  Does NBC seriously not know that women buy 80% of EVERYTHING!  That includes cars, electronics, major appliances -- you name it.  That's a LOT more buying power than a 35 year old guy who hasn't yet earned his highest pay potential and who is just starting out.  Compare him to the 50 year old woman who spends not only her paycheck, but the majority of her husband's (groceries, clothing for the family, vacations, etc.).

Secondly:
If you court the audience that has the most buying power and they start to watch, you can get the most advertising revenue.  Right?  (I told you I was smart.)  And so what if you get a drop off in the 18-49 year old men?  You get a whole new demographic for late night.  I would venture that much of Ellen's current audience don't watch Conan -- but that they would tune in for her.

Lastly:
Ellen is delightful.  Who doesn't like Ellen?  She's not a middle-of-the-road ass-kisser like Jay.  People like Ellen who have the moral courage to come out of the closet before it's fashionable to do so are definitely not ass-kissers.  They are trend setters.

I don't watch her daytime show, but I like her.  If I watched daytime talk shows, I would watch hers.  I've seen it a few times and she's always funny -- authentically funny.  Why do you think American Idol picked her up?  People like Ellen: they want to hear her opinion on things -- even things she probably doesn't know much about, like pop music. 

So why is NBC sticking with the losers?  Here's my best guess:  middle aged moms are so unappealing, so unsexy to the executives at NBC that they would rather lose money than have to court this demographic.  They would like to make a show that their younger selves would watch. To me, this sounds like a shaky business model.

Free Audio Books for Children

OK, almost free. All you have to do is buy a 99 cent app for your iPhone. That's pretty close to free for a long car ride with two kids in the back seat, no?

There is a wonderful organization called Librivox. They take books in the public domain and have volunteers record them and then distribute them on their website. You could listen to the books on your computer for free.

An enterprising company called AudioBooks has created an app whereby you can download these books to your iPhone et, voila! You're all set. There are new titles being added all the time and tons of books for kids.

Here's the bad news: the people reading the books are not actors and god bless them for volunteering, but some could use a little pep, zest and tone fluctuation. And some ACTING LESSONS! It's not like listening to John Lithgow, people! But it's free! (OK, 99 cents)

Here's what you do:

• go to the iTunes store -- for those of you with PCs, yes you can download iTunes and go to the iTunes store (did you really think that Apple was going to miss out on all that revenue?) and...
• go to the App section and search under "audiobooks."
• Now buy the app. It's called "Audiobooks" and has a blue background. Version 3.1 as of today.
• Now sync it to your iPhone.
  

You are done.

Oh, here's the other kind of down side: the catalog could use a little bit better organization. And perhaps, user reviews. And key word searches like say "boy" or "girl" and "Princess" -- stuff like that. But it's almost free! And there is a children's category to search. Look, for free, you can spend 15 minutes searching the catalog and figuring out what to play before you get into your road trip. Right?

What do you mean you don't have an adaptor to play your iPhone through your car stereo? And you don't have a headphone splitter so that both kids could listen to the story on separate headphones? Honey, start clicking. This is a GREAT investment.

It's only getting better, people.