In the second Back to the Future flick, Stephen Spielberg envisioned a future with flying cars, one that according to the date on the DeLorean's dashboard is just three years away. That gives GM and company several months to get on the ball, but in the meantime, there are still trains, planes, and land-based automobiles to get from point A to point B. Getting with the times not a moment too soon, Amtrak announced it's now accepting eTickets on all of its trains. Welcome to the Internet era, Amtrak.
It’s oxymoronic to say that a vacation is stressful. But it is. And I’m not even talking about the sand that’s waiting to creep into your shorts on the beach, the hotel room that’s going to spring a leak, or the vast number of other disasters about to transpire throughout your travels.
For many of us, traveling is about experience. Leaving behind the doldrums of our daily existence, we venture forth to immerse ourselves in new, unknown cultures and locales, finding joy and intrigue in all they have to offer. Who wants to ruin the vibe that comes with that sort of thing by returning to the banality of a cookie-cutter cast hotel room at the end of the day? Not us, that’s for sure. Instead, we recommend booking the accommodations for your next trip through Airbnb, our Cool Site of the Week.
With the economy’s on-again-off-again struggle to crawl out of the toilet, holding on to your dough is the sensible thing to do. That means that extras like eating dinners out and updating your PC are out, and buying No-Name brand mac and cheese is very much in. Sooner or later, all of that spendthrift behavior’s bound to leave you with an itch to burn through some coin. When that itch hits, we recommend you blow a bit of dough on something that you, your family, or a friend can enjoy together like a day trip planned with DayZipping, our Chrome Web App of the Week.
Google has announced a new feature for Google Maps that makes so much sense we’re shocked it wasn’t already there. Now when you are using Maps, you will be able to toggle on a weather layer. This is a handy feature when you’re planning a trip, or just want to check the goings on around the globe.
You might not have heard of Airbnb, a feisty young startup out of San Francisco that lets users book lodging in the vacant homes of other Airbnb users, and rent out their own homes while they are away. The entire process is handeled by Airbnb, not directly by the users. In recent weeks, a firestorm of bad PR has hit Airbnb as a woman, blogging under the pseudonym EJ told the tale of how an Airbnb guest robbed and vandalized her home. In an attempt to diffuse the situation, Airbnb has now offered an unconditional apology and a $50,000 insurance guarantee, but not after a few missteps.
Google has received federal approval for its purchase of travel software company ITA. Google has faced intense scrutiny over the sale from the government as well as from the competition, like Microsoft Bing and Expedia. But it's not a free-for-all, Google will have to adhere to some fairly strict guidelines.XCom Global brings WiFi to your pocket in more than 35 countries, for $17.95 per day.
For international travelers, feeding an Internet addiction while traveling abroad can be incredibly inconvenient, not to mention costly. XCom Global, a rather-fresh entrant to the International roaming market, has the perfect solution, however. Travelers can rent a pocket-sized unlimited-use Novatel MiFi 2373 device from the San Diego-based company for $17.95 per day, regardless of your destination – less than you’ll pay for WiFi in many European hotels.
