Traveling with Technology

These days many people travel with their laptops, iPad, iPhone, cameras, and other electronics. Sometimes this is great to have. Other times it complicates. There are all sorts of insights, discussions, puzzles, and tips here or coming to this section. To read any full post, click it’s header.

Best Travel Spirit Songs

 in Packing / Traveling with Technology

[updated Feb 13, 2015] Every now and then I come across a song that exudes the sprit of travel, puts words to the song of the travelers soul, or just fits a traveling mood.  Last night, May 17, 2014, in a house concert in Austin, Texas, USA, I heard another song like that and realized I wanted to start sharing these songs. So here’s my ongoing blog entry of best travel spirit songs. I’ll add to it from time to time. And if you meet me on the road, you’ll know these are on my iPod. I am opting, for the time-being, to not embed performances on this page as I don’t want to slow the page down.

Protect yourself from phishing & email cons

 in Traveling with Technology

As you travel, you’re going to be relying on email and online services more than ever.  So you need to be more careful than ever.  When you’re home on your home computer, you might be careful about checking for fraud. BUT…it’s harder when you’re on a new computer, new computer system, etc each day, so be sure to put this into practice: You’re going to get emails that say: log into your bank account to verify your info log into your bank account to because someone tried to log in as you click this link because we’ve been trying to reach you etc And now that you’re traveling, these things seem more viable. Maybe you did leave your password in a browser somewhere? Maybe you did get seen entering info?  You can’t afford to just ignore those questionable emails. So what should you do?

BEST Apple laptop protection for travel

 in Packing / Traveling with Technology

As I set out to travel again, now with a brand new MacBook Air after my first one was stolen, I sought out and finally found the best case for myself and other travelers to use on our Macintosh computers — but, surprise, the protection solution is not actually a case. It’s a simple combo. [This article has been updated at times to add protection information.] If your  laptop is not a Mac, part of this will be helpful and perhaps you’ll be able to adapt some of this for another laptop computer, but I have not found a snap-on shell for other brands. From what I understand, the models change too often for manufacturers to create the shells. I always want to be able to pull my Mac (or netbook/laptop) out of my satchel or handbag, pop it open, work, slap it closed, slide it back into the bag, and […]

WordCamp Austin 2014 logo

Furthering my WordPress abilities

 in Deb in the USA / Deb's Travels / Traveling with Technology

You never know where your travels will take you — or what you’ll learn on the way. I still think it’s odd that as part of traveling the world, I landed up living in Austin for a few months. Yep, Austin – Texas – USA. Not some remote place like Austin like when I was in Australia and got to waterski under the Brooklyn Bridge.  As it happened, WordCamp Austin 2014 is taking place during my stay. And since I started getting into WordPress heavily as I traveled — due both to starting this blog and being robbed of my Mac and thus, my license to use Dreamweaver and Photoshop — I was thrilled by the timing! So my very first WordPress volunteering is here in Austin. I manned the camera and helped the speakers in the Themes & Design track all day today, and return for more tomorrow. The stuff in […]

Traveling Mac Maven strikes in Prescott, AZ

 in Deb Fixed It / Deb in Arizona / Deb in the USA / Deb's Travels / Traveling with Technology

Day 1 in Prescott, Arizona — February 18, 2014: I arrived in Prescott to clean up and repair a MacBook Air, having already saved it from daily Kernel Panics via phone. How did I end up in Prescott? A client from Beverly Hills has moved here. Day 9 in Prescott, Arizona — February 26, 2014: The woman who’s Mac I just resurrected told Apple techs that her Macintosh was about to be “the most expensive frisbee ever made” because she was ready to throw it against the wall. She’s had an ongoing love-hate relationship with all things Mac (and she’s had 5 of them) and now she’s l-o-v-i-n-g her Mac again! She has give me the title of “Residential Macintosh Intervention Maven.” After I dealt with the software-caused issues and ran diagnostics to assure her that her hardware was not the issue, I embarked on a massive file clean up. As […]

Mac Deb repaired

1Password support with a flair

 in Traveling with Technology

As I was setting up my MacBook Air to leave LA and travel in 2011, I sent a query to 1Password support. I promptly received a clear, full, excellent answer and my passwords and notes remained safely with me. Tonight I happened upon that support reply and noticed the closing words, perhaps for the first time. I’m sharing them here because they were both fun and indicative of the company. I wish you the very best for a safe and enjoyable trip abroad, and please know that you may reach us whenever you have a problem.  All it takes is a little bandwidth to send the Bat Signal! Cheers! Brandt — Brandt Swindell AgileBits Customer Care http://agilebits.com/support http://twitter.com/1Password

Tweakker app for international Android setup

 in Traveling with Technology

If you’re traveling with an unlocked Android cell phone, you’ll need to know how to set your phone up to work with the local phone services. Word on the street is that the easiest way to do so, is to use a free app called  Tweakker. I have not used Tweakker myself but here is the link to it at the Google play store, along with the start of the description the developer lists there. App name: Tweakker APN INTERNET MMS App location: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.tweakker  App description lead: Worldwide Internet and MMS APN settings – Now with ICS support – Tweakker is the best APN manager tool that helps you set up your APN settings – Access Point Name – for Internet and MMS connection.

Carrying cables & small tech stuff

 in Packing / Traveling with Technology

As you travel, you’ll find you need a pouch to carry your cables and smaller computer or cellphone accessories. I used a soft zippered ditty bag to keep weight down, but STM Bags just came out with STM Cable Wrap Portable Organizer — which looks promising as a way to keep your cables and chargers organized and tangle-free.

STM Cable Wrap folded

iPhone/iPad/iPod case for extended viewing

 in Traveling with Technology

In November 2011 I saw, tried, and fell in love with the ZeroChroma “Theater-Stand 360°” case — an iPhone and iPad case that was also a brilliant stand. My first reaction was, why didn’t someone think of this before. My second was that this is incredibly well done. The easel mechanism is perfectly flat in the rear of the case. It then pulls out to provide many flexible viewing angles. The iPhone case provides 11 viewing angles and comes in two models — slim and more protective. Some of the cases provide slightly different viewing angle options, but there are always plenty. This is, I believe, a great travel case. About 6 weeks ago, I gave one of these ZeroChroma cases to a young man that impressed me. As he was writing to me recently, he included this paragraph. In addition I would like to express my gratitude for the new iPhone 5 […]

In CA Sprint LTE handles dual apps — even when one is real-time navigation

 in California / Deb in the USA / Deb's Travels / North America / Traveling with Technology / USA

I write this from my home-base of Los Angeles, CA as I take a travel break and my travel is house/tech-sitting within various areas in LA. Sprint recently launched it’s LTE (Long Term Evolution aka 4G) network in Los Angeles, California, so I took a Samsung Galaxy Note II for a test run on a bus across town to see how it does. The bus was a local, but there was no traffic at this time of day, so we moved rather swiftly. The Note II is a rather large screen and has a split screen feature so you can view and use two apps at the same time. I placed the Maps app on the top and, well, Facebook, as the bottom app. Maps loaded immediately. I figured out how to set it to track my movement. (It’s not highly intuitive.) I did that first by Destination, later just […]

Carry light, give light

 in Africa / Asia / Balkans / Baltics / Central America / England / Europe / Israel / North America / Packing / Traveling with Technology / UK

I think that we who live in cities, be it on any continent in any city, tend to not realize that there ARE places in the world where there is NO electricity and people do not have light — other than that of the sun. And we who live in cities have so much light in the sky at night that we don’t even realize… how very dark the night really is. Those who live in non-electrified places can wake with the sun and go to sleep with the sun — but there are still issues such as: going to the bathroom before bed or in the middle of the night a mother needing to get up in the night to feed an infant a parent needing to tend to a child a person needing to work until dark and then find his/her way home boats needing to cross a lake or ocean or […]

3% international fee on credit card purchases — not!

 in Africa / Area / Asia / Balkans / Baltics / Europe / Israel / North America / Packing / Traveling with Technology

This post is for American travelers who plan to use an American credit card while traveling outside of the United States.

It’s great to be able to travel with a minimum of cash in your pocket but did you know that when you use your credit card outside of the United States, you may incur a 3% fee on top of your actual charge?

Scosche – Best card reader for travel & all

 in Packing / Traveling with Technology

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. […]

iStabilizer smartphone mount for photography – Terrific for travel

 in Packing / Traveling with Technology

While in Panama City talking about the Panama Canal with a terrific guy/terrific photographer named Joshua Flannigan, Josh showed me the time-lapse video he created of a few ships locking down in the Miraflores lock. I loved it — and loved the device in which he held his iPhone to shoot them. Josh traveled with a brilliant device — a light-weight, tiny $20 device called the iStabilizer Mount, which simply held his iPhone (or most other smartphones) in place and screws onto any standard tripod.  I actually loved Josh’s photos and canal enthusiam so much that I brought him out on a Panama Canal tugboat and we got lots of great photos and time-lapse videos. Now that I am back in the states, I have the iStabilizer Flex™ — the same Mount but with a detachable, incredibly light-weight flexible-legged tripod. The  iStabilizer Flex legs are well padded so they won’t scratch anything and […]

iStabilizer great photo taking tool for smartphones

A personal cell phone charger shelf

 in Packing / Traveling with Technology

I saw it so often — and each time the sight bothered me, being just short of sending chills down my spine… The sight of cell phones sitting on the floor as they charged. On the FLOOR where they might be stepped on, or a backpack could easily land having slide off of a tired backpacker. The sight of a cell phone sitting on a bathroom counter to charge — right by  a water facet, or by the soap dish hands reach for so often, on a counter that gets wet at the hands of the various others using that counter. Yes, even iPhones were left charging in such manners.

Traveling with music… I didn’t and…

 in Packing / Traveling with Technology

I am listening to Peter Cetera, a voice and music that I have loved far longer than I knew, because for years I didn’t know he was the voice of Chicago that I was so enamored by. It is so nice to have my music again. I actually made a conscious decision to not bring my favorite music on my trip. I had a nice, small iPod Nano that would have been easy to bring.  I was bringing an iPhone and MacBook Air. But on the latter two I wanted to keep the limited space available for work files, photos and videos. And I made my friend take my Nano so she could have music to walk to. My thought was that while traveling I preferred to be exposed to local music and sounds. I knew I would be doing a LOT of walking — and I sure did! — and […]

My travel SteriPen will now help a child have safe water

 in Central America / Food / Medical / Packing / Panama / Traveling with Technology

The morning before I left the good people of the tiny village of Pueblo Nuevo, I used my SteriPEN UV light water purifier one last time as I purified one more bottle of water for my trip back to Panama City.

I got good use out of this SteriPEN but as I go back to Los Angeles, where I am lucky enough to have healthy, safe water, emergencies aside, I know my trusty SteriPEN can be put to much better use here. It will now be used to purify water for the newest baby in the village.

Gotta get GoGo internet when I get going

 in Traveling with Technology

Funny how things go…. Yesterday I was in a remote village in Panama where there is no Panama-supplied electricity. After a day with my adorable 9 year old guide, as this trip is coming to an end for me, I gave him my flashlights — including the great little GoGo light I was given at an event. Today, as I make plans to arrive home, and as a client called with more work, I realized I want to get GoGo in-the-air Internet service for my flight home. UPDATE: I just spoke to GoGo Customer Care on their toll free like (via my MagicJack iPhone app) and asked them: “what if I have a problem or question while I am actually on the airplane? I won’t be able to phone.” The response impressed me: While in the air, you can chat with Customer Care even if you do not have a […]

Traveller cash emergency, my Vonage saved the day

 in Traveling with Technology

Talking with a friend about calling technology, I was reminded of a calling lesson I hadn’t thought to share here. In early December, I was hanging out in the sitting area of Bambu Hostel in David, a fellow traveller approached me and asked if he might borrow my iPhone. He was having problems with his bank card and his bank needed to call his bank as soon as possible. Happily, I was able to help. I had three calling options installed: Skype Vonage Mobile app MagicJack Vonage Mobile was the instrument that saved me when I needed to call my own banks. It even lets me call the US for free (for now).I knew MagicJack could call the US as well. However, this guy needed to call Europe. I don’t recall where he was from. Maybe Sweden, Denmark or Germany. The issue was simply that I had never used these […]

Walking, movie & my radio show

 in Central America / Deb Fixed It / Deb in Panama / Deb's Travels / Panama / Sight-seeing / Sight-Seeing in Panama / Traveling with Technology

At 11am today, just as the heat of the day was building, my friend Gary Smith and I went walking. We walked the entire Cinta Costera, stopped at the Seafood Market for cold drinks, then continued through the streets and scenic views of Casca Viejo and San Filipe. As the sun went down we thought we would take a Metrobus but we just walked instead. It was easier to walk as the sun went down. We stopped for shaved ice along the way. Gary’s first. As we walked home, we decided to go see a movie. We did something I have never done before. We walked up to the ticket counter and asked what the next film was that was playing in English. It was 7pm and The Impossible was on at 7:30, so that’s what we saw. At $9 or so in LA, I would likely not choose to […]

Story of a traveling Sim Card

 in Central America / Costa Rica / Deb Fixed It / Deb's Travels / Panama / Traveling with Technology

Having an unlocked phone enables you to buy a sim card in each country and have a local number and local phone service.

In Panama City, I met the bright, personable, and trustworthy Karol. Karol was headed up to Costa Rica so I gave her my CR SIM card.

Service with CR’s ICE is so inexpensive that I had plenty of service left on the card and it might come in handy for her. I insisted she take it. A few weeks later she returned — with stories of how that sim helped make her trip a great one.

Thefts by USA, TSA

 in North America / Theft / Travel Tips / Traveling with Technology / USA

On Monday, December 10, 2012, TravelMole.com reported about a TSA agent leving JFK International Airport with iPads he stole from passenger luggage. The story is “TSA agent caught red-handed with stolen iPads.” Regarding action against the employee, the story says: Transportation Security Administration spokesman David Castelveter told ABC News that the TSA has “taken the steps to begin processing [Henry] for termination.” “TSA holds its employees to the highest ethical standards and has zero tolerance for misconduct in the workplace,” said Castelveter in a statement. What I do not understand is why the TSA does not have a simple rule: You steal, you lose your job! Granted, the USA is a country where we stupidly are not permitted to say something negative if asked to give a job reference, so a second rule is needed: You steal, you lose your job and the theft becomes a criminal record! It is […]