Get $4 off your next GoGo inflight internet

by Grant Martin on

Now that internet is becoming commonplace in many of the nation’s airlines, cheapasses like myself are trying to find a way to get it for free. Honestly, should it cost 1/2 as much as a month of internet at home to check your email on a 5 hour flight to Los Angeles? Furthermore, shouldn’t people in first class get wireless for free?

I digress. Once supply fills in I hope that internet prices will go down. In the meantime, use the code 4wifi to get $4 off your subscription of $13 or $10 respectively. No, 5wifi or 50wifi does not take more money off. I tried.

Use the code on GoGo enabled flights, including Air Canada, Air Tran, American, Delta, United and Virgin America.

4wifi expires July 2nd. Check out more details about Gogo at their site.

Online bookings just got cheaper!

by Tom Johansmeyer on

Online travel deals just got better. Even though airlines are tacking on extra fees, fares have been plunging for a while now, so it still cuts in favor of travelers. Travel websites have started to get in on the savings, too. Several sites are ditching their booking fees – at least temporarily.

Orbitz, Travelocity and Expedia announced yesterday that they are waiving their booking fees. For Orbitz, this is a permanent move. In the hypercompetitive world of online travel sales, these guys are doing everything they can to get your travel dollars. So, if you’ve been waiting to save even more money on travel – as if the dirt-cheap fares aren’t enough – the deal just got a little better!

[Via BloggingStocks]

PhD student Curtis Melvin uses Google Maps to uncover North Korea’s secrets

by Aaron Hotfelder on

North Korea has a reputation as one of the most secretive, authoritarian, repressive countries in the world. But that doesn’t stop Curtis Melvin, a PhD student at George Mason University, from trying to shine some light into the country’s dark corners.

Using knowledge gleaned from his own trips to North Korea, as well as tips from many others who have visited, Curtis and his crew of civilian spies have managed to plot into Google Maps previously unknown sites in North Korea such as secret prison camps, vast burial mounds, and missile storage facilities. His interactive project, called “North Korea Uncovered,” has literally thousands of entries and is the most exhaustive map of North Korea to date.

The Wall Street Journal recently had a front-page article about Curtis’ project called “Gulags, Nukes and a Water Slide: Citizen Spies Lift North Korea’s Veil.” “Mr. Melvin and his correspondents have plotted out what they say is much of the country’s transportation network and electrical grid, and many of its military bases,” according to the article. “They’ve spotted what they believe are mass graves created in the 1995-98 famine that killed an estimated two million people. The vast complexes of Mr. Kim and other North Korean leaders are visible, with palatial homes, pools, even a water slide.”

The fascinating map is available for download here. MSNBC’s Rachel Maddow recently chatted with Curtis about the project here. Gadling’s own first-person coverage of the secretive country, “Infiltrating North Korea,” is here.

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Easily create your own tilt shift photos with TiltShiftMaker

by Scott Carmichael on

There is something magical about tilt shift photos – I’m not much of a photo buff, so I’m easily amused by minor optical tricks.

Normally, making a tilt shift photo involves a special lens, or a ton of Photoshop knowledge (2 things I lack).

Enter TiltShiftMaker.com – this online tool does all the hard work for you, and is as simple as uploading a photo and moving a couple of sliders around.

It still takes a little practice to get the best results, but since the site is both free and easy to use, anyone with a little spare time could be producing some amazing tilt shift images in a matter of minutes.

After the jump, my first couple of attempts at Tilt shifting some of my photos. As you can see, I have not yet mastered the art of sliding little controls around, but I’m confident I’ll get there.

Oh, and yes – I am fully aware that I am about 2 years behind the curve when it comes to the latest and greatest in photography.


Tulips at Keukenhof in the Netherlands



Model boats in a Parisian park

This one is totally cheating, and completely missing the point – it is a tilt shift photo of a miniature cheese market model (You can see the “real” people in the background).

FlightStats for Android now free till July 1st

by Scott Carmichael on

Two weeks ago, I wrote about the new FlightStats for Google Android powered phones. The application is still available in the marketplace for $5.99, but if you’d rather take it for a spin before paying, then search for “Flightstats” and take advantage of the free trial version.

This app was placed in the market several days ago, and the duration of the trial should be enough to give you a good idea what you can expect from FlightStats.

As a quick reminder – FlightStats shows live flight information, departure and arrivals data and live map tracking of flights.

In addition to this, you also get airport and airline information and the ability to store flights and airports in a saved list.

If you own an Android powered phone, and are often in the air, then I highly recommend taking FlightStats for a spin.