Space tourism one step closer with Virgin Galactic’s first manned flight

by Sean McLachlan on


The VSS Enterprise, also known as SpaceShipTwo, has taken its first crewed flight. It stayed in the air for six hours attached to its mother ship, the VMS Eve. Two crew members stayed aboard and conducted systems tests. This is the latest aviation milestone in an active month that saw the first overnight flight by a solar airplane and the first unmanned solar plane to fly for a whole week.

This “captive carry” flight was the third for the ship. The first flight of the VSS Enterprise was only three months ago and it appears that the project is developing rapidly. Testing will continue into 2011 before commercial flights start. Tickets for the suborbital flight will be $200,000. Another space tourism company, Space Adventures, promises to offer flights for $102,000, although this won’t happen until 2012 at the earliest. While the VSS Enterprise will detach from VMS Eve and soar into suborbital space, the Space Adventures capsule will launch from a traditional rocket.

Keep cords organized with TP rolls – Hotel tip

by Gadling Staff on

Keep your power cords — and your sanity! — in check by using the cardboard from paper towel or toilet paper rolls to organize all your electronics’ cords. To make a “cord minder” for each of your gadgets, follow these steps:

  1. cut a piece of cardboard tube to size
  2. cut a notch at each end to “hold” the ends (USB head or plug)
  3. stuff the cord inside the tube, leaving the ends wedged into the notches (add a rubber band for more security)
  4. mark each tube’s contents and place all cords in a plastic bag

When you arrive at your destination, grab the tubes you need and leave the rest in the bag. Rather than having numerous power cords draped around the room, the cords will be contained neatly in the tubes.

Bonus: if you see a toilet paper tube when packing to leave, it’s probably yours. [Photo: Flickr | Andres Rueda]

Google Goggles helps you explore the world with your phone

by Jeremy Kressmann on

Ever needed a quick translation of a foreign menu? Wanted to identify an unknown landmark? A new app called Google Goggles offers mobile users highly useful way to decipher the world around us using the camera on your mobile phone. This new service for Android users makes it remarkably simple to find quick translations of foreign languages, identify landmarks or even pick a bottle of wine, all rolled into one.

To use Google Goggles, all you need to do is launch the app and take a photo using your phone’s camera. See a word on the menu in Paris that you don’t recognize? Skip the guidebook and send a picture. You’ll be given a translation right on your phone. Or maybe you’re walking around and want to know more about a building or landmark. Send a photo of it and you’ll be delivered an explanation. It’s a new way of searching the world visually, tapping into Google’s vast database and the increasing power of mobile devices. Much like augmented reality and location services, mobile devices now allow travelers the ability to make the real world ‘clickable’ – almost as if you were surfing the web.

Although Google Goggles is a tremendous leap forward for travelers, it’s still not universal to all mobile phone users. To download the app, you have to be an owner of one of Google’s compatible Android devices (sorry iPhone owners) like the Nexus One or Droid running version 1.6 or above. If that’s you, you can find Google Goggles by searching and downloading it from the Android Marketplace. The recognition software is also not perfect. The technology is still in its infancy so don’t expect every image you send in to be recognized. Still, the concept of Google Goggles is exciting one for travelers. For anyone with a mobile phone, a whole new range of services is on the horizon.

How the iPad is changing the way I travel already

by Kraig Becker on

Okay, I’ll admit it. I’m a gadget freak. I love new tech toys, especially ones that can make my life better and enhance my travel experiences. That’s why I was very intrigued when Apple announced the iPad a few months back. Not only did it look like it had the potential to replace my netbook as a lightweight travel computer, but it could also double as an e-book reader, allowing me to leave books at home, lightening my load even further.

Of course, there were questions and doubts about the new device. The virtual keyboard seemed like it could be a challenge to use and the included Safari web browser doesn’t support Flash, a common element on websites across the Internet. Some critics, unimpressed with what was shown at the unveiling, even said it was just a “big iPhone”. But as the days rolled by, and we got closer to the iPad launch, it became clear that the tablet computer had a few tricks up its sleeve, and that new, compelling apps clearly demonstrated how it would separate itself from its smaller sibling.

I’ve had the iPad for a little over a week, having picked one up at launch, and as I prepared to leave the country on a two week long trip, it dawned on me just how quickly the device had become ingrained in my life and how much I was looking forward to traveling with it.
As predicted, the iPad is indeed a worthy replacement for a netbook computer. The virtual keyboard is surprisingly easy to use and I found that after a day or two of practice, I could be quite productive on the iPad, especially with the platform specific version of the iWork suite, which includes a full featured word processor called Pages. Throw in an e-mail client that rivals something you’d find on a desktop, not to mention a fast and responsive web browser, and you’ll have no problem handling work while on the go.

Usually when I pack for a long trip, I squeeze a couple of books and an mp3 player into my backpack before catching the flight. But with the iPad, I can simply grab a few e-books from the new iBook store and load all of my music onto the device, cutting down on weight and clutter in my pack. And just in case the inflight movies turn out to be something that wouldn’t even go straight-to-video, I can add a few movies from the iTunes store too. My carry on bag now has a full fledged media center inside of it and if the flight also happens to have WiFi, which is quite common these days, your entertainment options extend even further.

The iPad isn’t just good for keeping you occupied while en route to your destination however. The built in Maps app is great for finding your way around once you’re there, and having travel guide books pre-loaded on the gadget opens up a host of possibilities too. And once Apple ships its iPad Camera Kit, due at the end of the month, you’ll be able to load your photos at the end of the day, giving you an opportunity to share them on the nice big screen, while simultaneously making a back-up of your travel photos too.

All of this functionality comes in a sleek, well designed package with a multitouch interface that is fun, intuitive, and down right addicting to use. But perhaps the most impressive thing about the iPad is its battery life. Having all of this functionality at your fingertips is great, but if it can’t even stay powered up for a coast-to-coast flight, then it’s not really all that useful. Fortunately, Apple hasn’t scrimped on the battery, and it is possible to get 12+ hours of up time on the device. More than enough for most flights.

The iPad is one of those devices that you have to play with to understand. It is an amazing device that does a lot of things very well, and much like its iconic older brother, the iPod, it could have a huge impact on the way that we travel. I suspect in a few years time, the iPad will be an incredibly popular traveling companion for nearly everyone.

Forgetting to earn miles when pre-ordering the iPad

by Amy Chen on

I was amused to read that on Day 1, about 120,000 iPads were sold on “a product that 99.9% of purchasers haven’t touched or for that matter, even seen in person,” CNN reports.

I’m embarrassed, but not for the reason you’d expect. On Day 2, I pre-ordered the 3G version of the iPad, due to start shipping in late April. In my eagerness to get my hands on the tablet, I committed a rookie mistake: I forgot to access the Apple Online Store through United Mileage Plus Mall.

For some reason, online shopping is the one mileage-earning opportunity that I often overlook. I’ve even gone as far as bookmarking the Mileage Plus Mall page in hopes it’ll remind me. But no, I forgot — again.

After buying the 64GB model ($829) and a case ($39), my total came to $945.05 with taxes. I’m kicking myself because had I remembered to log in first with my frequent-flier account, I would’ve earned 945 miles toward my United account. (The Apple Online Store lets you earn one mile per dollar).

If I end up buying a dock for the iPad or a wireless keyboard ($69), I’ll try to remember my own advice. Feel free to remind me.