Please direct your questions, comments, subscription requests, and site submissions to [email protected]In This Week's Report:
***Traveling at Net Speed
***Flying through the Net
***Book 'em Dano
***Look Them Up
***Providing For My Needs
***Guide Me Pleeeeeease
***E-mail: The Ultimate Travel Tool
URLs in this issue:
TheTrip.com: http://www.thetrip.com
Alaska Air: http://www.alaska-air.com
Northwest Air: http://www.nwa.com
Travel Web: http://www.travelweb.com
Bigbook: http://www.bigbook.com
Sprint: http://www.sprint.com
NY Guide: http://www.urbanaccess.com
California Guide: http://www.athand.com
Pegasus Mail 2.53: ftp://risc.ua.edu/pub/network/pegasus/w32-253.exe***Traveling at Net Speed ***
After spending the good part of the past month darting in and out of airports, taxi cabs, and hotels, I thought I'd devote this week's Kleinman Report to traveling via the Internet. This month (with the help of my trusty laptop, which I am writing this report on), I have found the Internet to be an essential tool and trusty companion when I travel.***Flying through the Net***
I began this travel frenzy of mine long before I ever stepped onto a plane or hailed a taxi cab. Back in February, I started by browsing through the flight times and fares on thetrip.com. From the beginning, I have been a big fan of thetrip.com and find it to be one of the best places on the Internet for no nonsense travel information. The site just got a face lift, making it better than ever. What's great about thetrip.com is how easy it is to input your destination and instantly see all your travel options. While searching for a flight, I also found some great deals on some of the airline's own web sites (with deals spotted on Northwest Air and Alaska Air).TheTrip.com: http://www.thetrip.com
Alaska Air: http://www.alaska-air.com
Northwest Air: http://www.nwa.com***Book 'em Dano***
The next step in my trip planing was booking a hotel. For hotel hunting, I always take a trip to Travel Web. Travel Web gives complete hotel fare listings as well as pictures of the hotels and details on each property. When traveling to New York earlier this month, I spotted a steal of a deal at the Marriott East Side on Travel Web.Travel Web: http://www.travelweb.com
***Look Them Up***
Once I've taken care of my air and hotel, I always pay a visit to Bigbook to look up the locations and phone numbers of the places I'm going to visit. Bigbook has a great feature of displaying things on a map so that you're sure to find where you are going!Bigbook: http://www.bigbook.com
***Providing For My Needs***
One of the problems I have had to address while traveling is finding an Internet provider with national dial-up numbers (so I can dial locally from where ever I am). After having some less-than-positive experiences with IBM.net (who lost my user record so I was unable to log onto the Internet) and Netcom (with busy signals galore and truly crappy service), I settled on Sprint Internet Passport (they don't charge a set up like Netcom, you get the first month free, and they have great friendly toll-free support). If you travel with a laptop, a good national ISP is a must!***Guide Me Pleeeeeease***
I have been amazed at how helpful the many city guides are on the Internet. I used Urban Access extensively when I was in New York, and found one of the best Thai restaurants I have ever eaten at! Also, when I traveled to California, I found that Pacific Bell's At Hand was the ultimate in California resources. If you are going on a trip, be sure to check to see if there is an Internet travel guide to match your destination.NY Guide: http://www.urbanaccess.com
California Guide: http://www.athand.com***E-mail: The Ultimate Travel Tool***
In all my travels this past month, the thing I have relied on the most is e-mail. With e-mail I have been able to continue to conduct business, keep in touch with my family, and send out my report as if I was back at home. This week, my favorite e-mail program, Pegasus Mail, released a new updated version (2.53).Pegasus Mail 2.53: ftp://risc.ua.edu/pub/network/pegasus/w32-253.exe
Next time you are planning on taking a trip, be sure to look at the many Internet resources that will save you time and make your travel even easier.
Safe and Sound at Home,
Geoff