Jaunted

Tags: Travel Gadgets / Laptop Travel / Computers / SkyMall / → All Tags

Will The Portable Laptop Desk Raise You Up?

We can tell we've spent too many nights bathed in the warm glow of our laptops not when we develop the trademark hominid slump, but when one of our wrists feels like it's being cinched by a bracelet 24/7. (Always the left hand, never the right... why?!) The SkyMall Portable Laptop Desk would solve both of those problems by adjusting our computers at a supposedly kinder angle, but would it mean computing freedom or just the danger of dropping our laptop on our faces?

The desk elevates your computer off your lap or a desk to a precarious angle where you can (theoretically) type without pain and (probably) not burn your legs. Portable DVD players or books would also fit in this stand, which we can only guess works through magic since it requires no assembly and we can see no visible stress.

At $119.95, we're afraid we wouldn't get enough use out of the Portable Laptop Desk to justify its purchase, but we do have a dream of being able to type comfortably from bed. What do you think?

Related Stories:
· Portable Laptop Desk [SkyMall]
· Adventures in TSA Logic: Explaining the New Laptop Bag Rules [Jaunted]
· Travel Gadgets coverage [Jaunted]

[Photo: SkyMall]

Tags: STA Travel / Computers / Technology / Second Life / → All Tags

STA Travel in Second Life

Though it's certainly a smart move from a marketing standpoint, STA Travel's recent launch in Second Life, the wildly popular online virtual reality universe, kind of cracks us up. They've infiltrated the world of Second Life and put on virtual concerts, put up a Mayan Temple, and even opened a travel store. That's where the funny part really comes in. People are paying real money for fake stuff! Well, we guess we have some weird hobbies too.

If you want to keep up with STA in Second Life, this blog will certainly fill you in. They're hosting all sorts of Second Life events, such as travel trivia parties with questions taken from Lonely Planet books. Just remember that the hot young lady in the virtual low-cut STA tank top might not really be your type in first life.

Related Stories:
· STA Travel in Second Life [Official Site]

Tags: Hotels / Computers / → All Tags

When the Internet's Mega-Pricey

Time is money, but that's especially true when you're traveling and paying through the nose for a slow Internet connection. Over at Macworld, Christopher Breen's reporting from aboard a ship charging $0.40 to $0.70 a minute for slow Internet, and he's trying to keep those costs down. Some of the instructions he gives are Mac-centric and require a little computer savvy, but the general principles, such as getting your browser to automatically open the Web sites you really need while you're doing something else, and configuring your e-mail program to only download the first parts of massive e-mails, can be applied to PCs as well.