Tech


Less tech is more travel experience

This blog is called Tales of Travel and Tech, but I’d like to remind everyone that traveling doesn’t mean taking all your tech with you on your vacation.

Want to maximize your travel experience? Then skip the tech!
Most of the time, that is. Not all of the time.
There’s plenty a bit of tech can do to expand your travel, but not if it blocks you from experiences!


Vonage mobile app saves the day for travel & work

I just gave a good shoutout to Vonage for the Vonage Mobile app on Twitter … @Vonage Fab! #VonageMobileApp just maintained a 66 minute call to terrific #JustHost from mountains of N Israel to US as a storm headed in. and I’m doing the same here. — Deborah Shadovitz (@DebShadovitz) February 10, 2015 …and I’m doing the same here. Vonage Mobile app maintained a 66 minute call – during a storm! For months I have slowly been redesigning this website and was finally ready to take it live. Just as I wanted to talk to one of the great support guys at my blog’s host, JustHost, the impending storm headed into these Northern Israel mountains right on schedule. The Wi-Fi is always shaky where I am working under a hard working heater — and with a storm coming in, there was a good chance I’d lose the signal — thus losing my support call. The signal did […]


Adventures of recording my radio show on the road

Wednesday, April 23, 2014 Every week, for several years, I have recorded my segments for Computer Talk Radio, a syndicated program played on the air in the United States.  Back in my Normal Apartment Days, I’d put a Recording sign on my apartment door, step into my office, and record. Only once did a friend — the amazing Andrew Coleman — walk in and make us laugh. But ever since I went Base-less,  I’ve never quite known exactly when or where each week’s recording would take place — or what challenges the location would bring.  __________________________________________ Wanna skip the words? Just have a listen: __________________________________________ Months in NYC, 52 weeks in Central America, a year of house-sitting all over Los Angeles, and now weeks in Austin…  I’ve huddled in closets. I’ve walked dirt road of Roatan to get to a cellular signal. I’ve recorded from a sales desk in an appliance store […]


Scosche – Best card reader for travel & all

Every traveler should carry a light, well-made USB card reader that handles multiple formats. Why? Because you are bound to want some of the photos someone takes of you or for you and that person may or may not ever get around to sending them to you. Granted, you still need to get to a computer in order to upload those  photos, but at least you’ll be prepared. Because you may need to copy data from a computer somewhere and this will let you copy that data onto one of your camera’s memory cards, something you’re likely to have while traveling. The Scosche USB 2.0 Card Reader is THE find among card readers! It weighs virtually nothing so its a no-brainer to carry with you daily as I did throughout my trip, and continue to do. It’s compact and the USB connector and cable are protected within the unit so it packs well. […]


Working from Cancun again

As I remained in Cancun for a week searching for my stolen Mac, I did whatever I had to in order to get my work done and not let my clients done. Stopping into the Office Depot across from my hotel, I found it cool and comfortable so I stayed a while. My work tools of the day (March 19, 2012), and of many days to come: iPhone 3GS that once belonged to my cousin Elena, V-moda earphones, and a fabulous battery by Scosche. This battery almost didn’t make the packing cut as I favored their lighter battery and their solar battery, but it recharges my iPhone at least 2-3 and still shows 3 lights. I have come to rely on it greatly. What I am doing: using an iPhone app called Voxer to speak, walkie-talkie style with my friend, fellow web designer (and GoLive 5 Bible contributor) to update […]


About Tales of Travel & Tech

When I decided to pack up my belongings and travel some of our great world’s roads with just my Mac, a few select pieces of tech, and whatever clothing basics that fit into my convertible backpack, I had no idea just what adventures in tech I was personally in for! What I knew: as long as I had my Mac I could continue to earn my living from wherever I was I’m the world. I would just need to not go off-grid (Internet grid and electrical grids, that is) for more than a week at a time. Easy, I thought. What I learned: even living in another state, staying in my hometown of NY, it was not easy to work. (in fact I took on a job that was much larger than its description and was quickly overwhelmed trying to get online, do the job, and actually get out and […]


Cell phone & phone calls in the Yucatan

Cell phones are big here. It seems as if every one has one. Walk into a woman’s room and you’ll here a woman speaking from her stall – just like I hear in Los Angeles. Yet pay phones are far from a thing of the past here. You can’t walk very far without seeing a phone and Internet cafe. Well, cafe would be a misnomer. It’s really a smallish shop with 2 rows of stalls. One row is of Windows towers for email. The other is of phone booths containing tabletop phones and a chair so you can enjoy your call. Payment is done through the shops proprietor. Hoping to find my stolen Mac, I visited a dozen or so pawn shops. The trip through Pawn Shops was shocking: the prices being asked for electronics was virtually the same as the prices in the local Office Depot or Sam’s Club. […]