Traveling with Technology

Two backpackers explore their next destination as they share information. A typical scene on today’s travel scene. None of them travel with Lonely Planet or other guidebooks.

Oops, my iPad hasn’t been backed up since October 7th. Since then, I have been turning it off when not in use, and every night, due to lack of electrical outlets — and that means it doesn’t back up automatically. I have 1.8GBs of audio files for my radio show that are not on iCloud, which means that in event of a system failure (I refuse to put the t word out there), they would not be restored to my Recorder Plus recording app. (I did back them up manually to my own person professional cloud backup as soon as possible though.) But more than that extra iCloud restoration convenience, my contacts and calendar events are not being saved and exchanged with my online info or iPhone. In fact, that lack of ultra-convenient exchange is what Maude’s me realize my lack of backup long before iCloud alerted me. You KNOW […]

I saw this in a bookstore in San Jose, Costa Rica. It is made by a New York company. I love it for all the travelers who now balance their phones on their wall chargers in hostels. It takes up a bunch of room in a backpack though – depending on packing. I didn’t get one to try it though, so this is not an endorsement. By DRIINN – driinn.com, New York. It comes in several colors.

A highly savvy Mac/computer consultant recently reported that her Skype account was suspended when Skype determined that it was probably hacked. Someone had gained access and was making calls to Asia. The great news: 1) Skype monitors and was suspicious, suspending the account 2) her damages, her financial loss, was limited to $11 3) via chat with Skype customer service she was able to get it back up and running. Why her Skype loss was limited to $11. Thanks for that minimum loss go to Allison Sheridan, the fantastic woman of Nosillacast podcast — and I now share that thanks here and I have a feeling many of you will join me in thanking Allison. A while back Allison’s Skype account hacked and she lost a few hundred dollars! Unfortunately, Allison had a DEFAULT SETTING ON — having Skype automatically reload her account via her payment method when the balance […]

On August 13, after months of lamenting my cracked screen iPhone, I posted  12 Reasons I wish I had invisibleSHIELD on my iPhone. As August ended, a Salvadorian friend visited the states and brought me:  invisibleSHIELD – a clear coating for my iPhone’s screen  ZaggSkin– a nicely designed coating for my iPhone’s body invisibleSHIELD – a clear coating for my iPad’s screen The invisibleSHIELD is a “scratch-proof patented film delivers military grade invisibleSHIELD protection.” I love that it is on my screen now. When this stuff first came out I watched devices get tossed around in plastic bags full of keys and nails and come out without a scratch. I am secure now in knowing that I can put my phone into a pocket or pouch along with stuff and that it will be OK. (Of course, allowing a key or coin land inside a devices connection port is not good.) I also […]

Here’s something different in my life… I have actually just called ASUS computers for advice on their models. I am actually considering traveling with a non-Apple netbook. I know this will be a shock to many. It is to me. I won’t be running Windows though. I’d be using Ubuntu, open source, and running the apps of creative open source programmers. I would be exploring this as a lower cost option to provide true computing power and more flexibility than the iPad or an Android-based tablet provides. Not having my Apple and my Adobe software will be hard, but this is a growing exercise, in part for Computer Talk Radio. [facebook page] I have been looking into photo and web design apps in this arena. This will be difficult for me, but apparently this trip was meant to be a wild tech growth experience for me. Unfortunately, ASUS did not […]

As it stands today, Sept 2, 2012, the Facebook iPad app is very poorly done and is an exercise in non efficiency. I marvel at the failures of the Facebook programmers, given that they came of age in the days of the Macintosh. Want to add a new Facebook photo album via your iPad? Here is what I found necessary. First, you must go to the website to create the album. Use a browser. No UI to do this in the app. Then you have to Cancel because you cannot add photos from the FB page on iPad. Then you have to quit the FB app if it is running on your iPad. Then go to the FB app and find the album, and then you have to add the photos ONE photo at a time. What should take a few minutes becomes an hour of ordeal if you have […]

If you’re taking a camera traveling, be sure to consider the media card format when you purchase that camera! Also consider its cable connection. And the charger. For example, I had to deal with an Olympus camera that uses xD-Picture Card rather than the very common SD card — and a proprietary connector. The photos were important to me, but there was no way to get them out of the camera without the person carrying the cable or having the correct card reader myself. I love Olympus, but this format ruled out their cameras for me. Another big issue is the camera’s charger. Big being the issue. Why most cameras require you carry a separate charging unit, which takes up critical bag space, is beyond me. See if you can find a camera that charges via USB. Sadly, they are not common yet. So next, go for a compact charging […]

Are you visiting small villages around the world and having fun letting the local kids play with your iPad (or iPhone)? This can be a lot of fun – for you as well as the kids. But it is all too easy for your hard-earned money to be accidentally spent via in-app purchases. Especially when the kids don’t know your native language to understand the notice that asks if they are sure they want to make the purchase. You can alleviate this concern by turning off in-app purchases. It is easy enough to turn the feature back on when you want to make a purchase. I just turned mine back on to buy Spanish lessons — and not bothering to turn the feature back off, I almost made an accidental purchase because my fingers were sweaty and I am tired. How to: Launch Settings and choose General, then select Restrictions. […]