July 16, 2008 282 miles per gallon and very little luggage storage; the car of the future:
Total storage space behind the seats: 2.8 cubic feet. No steamer trunks or adventure duffels. Read it about in the Daily Mail.
July 15, 2008 Press Release
July 15, 2008
WASHINGTON – The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) today announced expanded deployment that will bring Advanced Technology X-ray (AT) and Passenger Imaging to 21 of the nation’s busiest airports by the end of 2008. TSA also plans to purchase and deploy approximately 300 additional AT X-rays and 80 Passenger Imagers, bringing the total to 900 AT and 120 Passenger Imaging units nationwide in 2009.
“This major step up in technology coupled with our enhanced security training for our officers will elevate security across the board,” said Kip Hawley, TSA administrator. “AT X-ray and Passenger Imaging technologies greatly enhance our ability to find small improvised explosive device (IED) components made of common items, which remain the greatest threat.”
Passenger imaging technologies enable TSA to detect prohibited items including weapons, explosives and other metallic and non-metallic objects concealed under layers of clothing without physical contact. Advantages of AT X-ray include a greatly enhanced image with the ability to target novel threat items resulting in fewer bag checks and faster throughput, and the ability to upgrade the system with enhanced algorithms.
The following airports will receive new technology in the coming months: Chicago O’Hare, Atlanta, Newark, Boston, Indianapolis, New York LaGuardia, Tampa, San Juan and San Francisco.
Airports already operating new technologies include; Baltimore-Washington, Los Angeles, Phoenix, Albuquerque, Denver, Dallas/Fort-Worth, Detroit, Miami, Ronald Reagan Washington National, New York John F. Kennedy, Washington-Dulles and Las Vegas.
TSA will also continue to deploy Bottled Liquid Scanners. This technology is used at the security checkpoint and by transportation security inspectors to ensure sealed containers do not contain hazardous liquids. TSA anticipates deploying up to 900 bottled liquid scanners to the nation’s busiest airports by the end of 2009. - TSA.gov
July 14, 2008 Haven’t we all seen this:
A Clark Griswold-ish family of four spends many minutes in the security line dithering about what to do and where to go, holding up the many other passengers who already know the drill, having been paying attention over the last seven years. Mrs. Griswold is noticed removing a gallon-sized plastic bag from her carry-on and placing it into one of the bins to go through the X-ray machine. Said bag contains at least 6 full-size bottles of sunscreen, lotion, shampoo and bug repellent. Mind you, the bag was all by itself in plain sight in the bin, visible to anyone.
-
The bin is slid into the X-ray unit, and the TSA agent in charge of scanning the items just passes it right on through. No stopping the belt, no reversing the belt to check it again, just thank you and have a good day…
So here we are: The Federal government places arbitrary, burdensome and onerous restrictions on the traveling public, and then becomes quite lax and sloppy in enforcing them. This trend will undoubtedly continue until some other tragedy occurs, at which time we will be told that we need even more restrictions on our freedoms, as the previous ones proved to be ineffective. Next stop - clear ponchos over naked bodies and no carryons. Think it won’t happen? I wouldn’t take that bet. - The Northern Muckraker
July 14, 2008 Here’s a post to accompany this discussion in the OBOW Reader Forum about compression straps. Here’s Vic technique for adding straps to his carryon:
“Here are the pictures for the “compression straps on the outside” thread -
July 14, 2008 Checking a bag with British Airways is like rolling dice:
But BA calls this improvement
The recent word was that Heathrow Termimal 5 was improving after its disastrous opening several mothis ago, but figures don’t lie. BA is in no danger of losiing its unofficial slogan: “Fly the flag, lose the bag.”
(Thanks to OBOW reader Mike for referring this one)
July 11, 2008 You might be a luggage geek if…part of your daily routine is checking an OBOW thread about a piece of luggage that has (to date) only 143 comments. People are talking about us:
“Apparently there is a whole group of people that take immense pride in being one-bag carry-on people. There are whole blogs about it. (One Bag One World). These people debate the differences between brands like Red Oxx and Tom Bihn, MEI, REI, and Rick Steves. Hardly the Tumi vs. Samsonite vs. Swiss Army luggage wars I was used to, but they have many valid points. And the same things that attracted them to each of those brands caused me to consider each of them. These bags are lightweight, well made, well organized and designed to be carried by a real person with today’s luggage limitations.”
Actually that’s very kind. Click here to read the blog post and see which carryon this self-described “geek chick electrical engineer” chose with the help of OBOW and its readers.
And here’s her Europe packing list Polyvore:
July 10, 2008 
Get ready for fuller overhead bins and more gate stress - Northwest has joined US Airways, American, and United on the charge-to-check bandwagaon. NWA will charge $15 for a single piece of checked luggage. The fee will apply to tickets sold after today for departures of August 28 or later in the United States or flights to Canada.
July 10, 2008 July 9, 2008 
Exoffico has come out with a new travel shirt that - thankfully - looks a lot less like a travel shirt - the Trip’r. I like its cut and pocket design better than their Air Strip shirts. I really like the Air Strip Lite but it does look like a fishing shirt. You can’t argue with the Exofficio fabric and construction though - very durable and no chafed neck.Frank@OBOW
And here’s a travel oxford that definitely doesn’t look goofy.
July 9, 2008 The rush is on to develop laptop cases that allows the traveler to breeze through security without removing the darned computer from the bag. The TSA wants “checkpoint-friendly” bags. Travelers would appreciate “traveler-friendly” procedures and agents, but I digress…
“Two problems with the existing laptop cases are that security officers have difficulty seeing inside them with X-ray equipment, and many of the cases are so crammed with extra gear — power cords, a mouse and the like — that the computer is obscured.
The new cases include either a fold-down section in a bigger briefcase or a stand-alone protective sleeve that contains no extra clutter and can be readily viewed through the scanner.
More than a half-dozen luggage manufacturers, among about 60 that initially responded to a T.S.A. request for proposals about three months ago, have submitted prototypes for testing at checkpoints at three airports: Dulles, outside Washington; Austin-Bergstrom in Texas; and Ontario, near Los Angeles.” - New York Times
Here’s hoping the small bag manufacturers can keep up with the behemoths mentioned in the linked story (Pathfinder, Targus). This is not a great economy for small companies to have to spend $$ for R&D and retooling. Here’s an example of what the new bags may look like.
July 8, 2008 
We posted several weeks ago that improving camera phones mean you may be able to leave one more thing out of your travel kit: the camera that’s just a camera. Kodak and Motorola have collaborated on what may be the best one yet - the Motozine ZNS. It’s worth a look.
It’s promised by the end of the year and is said to offer one-touch upload to a Kodak online account. I like the idea of uploading trip pictures daily (or hourly) so those back home can see them almost live.
July 8, 2008 More first-class rage:
GEORGETOWN, Guyana (AP) — Guyanese authorities say a first-class airline passenger was so angry at seeing economy passengers leave a jetliner before him that he yanked open an emergency hatch and slid down the chute. - USA Today
And more from the airborne (or, in this case, stuck-at-the-gate) summer of love:
MYFOXNY.COM — A flight from Florida to New York Sunday night never got off the ground. That’s because after the flight crew arrived late, angry and impatient passengers got verbally agitated and hostile. Apparently it was so bad, the crew wasn’t comfortable working the flight so they refused to take off.
July 8, 2008 Ipod junkies and word-processing road warriors rejoice:
Minneapolis-St. Paul now has 22 charging stations throughout the Lindbergh and Humphrey Terminals. Sponsored by Samsung Mobile, the 8½-foot-tall towers include four outlets per station, letting travelers recharge their electronic devices for free.
Similar stations are available at five other airports: New York’s John F. Kennedy and LaGuardia, Los Angeles, Orlando and Dallas/Fort Worth. - from USA Today’s Airport Check-in
July 8, 2008 Elliott.org on first-class passengers behaving badly:
Elites can be demanding customers, but hell hath no fury like a card-carrying frequent flier bumped down to steerage class. I’ve seen it. Every time I snag a bulkhead or exit row seat with the other un-upgraded suits, I get a lesson on how to get a free drink from a flight attendant. It’s embarrassing.
Some travelers don’t even bother to ask. Consider the case of Bert Niepel, a German banker who was apparently unaccustomed to sitting in the cheap seats. So Niepel reportedly upgraded himself to a seat in the first class section on a recent flight from Berlin to New York. Then he refused repeated requests to return to his seat in economy class. Finally Niepel flew into a rage, forcing the pilot to lock the cockpit door and divert the flight to Manchester, England, where Niepel was arrested and fined. It could have been worse. Two years ago, passengers stormed the first class section of a Boeing 747 operated by Pakistan International Airlines after it sat on a hot Islamabad tarmac. More than a dozen would-be first class passengers were arrested. - more…
July 7, 2008 Thanks to OBOWer Skip we have new pictures attached to the reader review of the MEI Executive Overnighter - the bag OBOW readers (125 comments) helped to shape! And it looks great. I’ve stayed out of the way on this one and let the experts (the users) run with it.
July 3, 2008 Thanks for OBOW reader Flerdle for this fine, detailed look at the tiny Eee PC:
I tend to be the sort of person who travels at least as much
technology as clothes, so an upcoming work-and-play trip to Europe
over the summer and a growing interest in one bag travel prompted me
to get this little baby - the EeePC, from Asus. I waited until the
8.9” version came out and got one yesterday. Here are some photos and
first impressions of use, of the EeePC 900, with Linux. Photos were
taken with my camera phone.
PARTS
All the bits you need are in the (small) box. The recovery disk needs
to be transferred to an external drive or flash disk for use,
obviously, as there is no dvd drive but 3 usb slots and an SD card
slot. There is an ethernet slot but no modem. The quick-start guide
and the user manual are easy to follow but fairly brief, so most
really useful information is probably best taken from the web.
Thankfully, it works straight out of the box and you will be online in
no time.
SIZE
Firstly, I have to say it’s small. Really, REALLY small. I have small
hands, so touch-typing is not too difficult, but if you have larger
hands - many men may fall into this category, unfortunately - you may
find you have to alter your typing style. It’s half the size of my 15”
macbook pro and only a little bigger than a large paperback, slightly
shorter than a hardback book. It really is just under 1kg. There is a
soft sleeve which is great for cushioning it in whatever (small)
daypack you choose but I can see it getting fairly dirty quickly.
Carrying around the power cord as well will need a slightly larger
bag. The power cord(s) comes with handy attached velcro strips to keep
it all neat. The cords weigh 240g or so, with a small “brick” and thin
cord to the computer, with the brick connecting to a plug cord with a
double-pin connector on the non-wall end. This part may be
interchangeable with that going to a camera charger, ipod charger plug
or small radio for further lightness. [I don’t know how to further
describe it. I can take a photo…]
BATTERY
Since we’re taking it on the road, issues about usage time are very important.
I didn’t check the initial battery charge-up time, but it would be
about an hour or two, much longer if you are using it at the time.
Battery life seems to be good (make sure you get the 5800mAh version -
UK buyers beware!). It seems to automatically swap to a more
power-saving mode (primarily cranking back the processor speed) when
the plug is pulled, but it seems not to suffer any performance issues
on simple use at least (web browsing, typing). The battery life
GREATLY depends on what you’re doing, how bright you have the screen,
and what peripherals you have plugged in.
I would expect 2 1/2 hours easily and up to 3 hours out of this on the
road, depending on what you’re doing. The battery meter is probably
fairly coarse and unreliable, so getting a feel for how it works for
you is a good idea before you depart.
This is of course very rough, but a fairly real-world test of the
system “out of the box”: 45min typing indoors with wireless on
occasionally checking webpages, then 105 minutes streaming audio with a
little video before there was a (20%) low battery warning. I played
videos for another 15 minutes then reconnected the power. This means
that 2 3/4 hours of mixed use is easily obtainable. It shuts down at
10% remaining, but this may be able to be altered in settings
somewhere (at least for XP) since reports are that you can safely get
an extra half an hour beyond that.
The newer 901 version should have better battery life as well as a few
other improvements.
SCREEN.
The screen is small but very clear. I think the 8.9” screen, 1024x600,
is sufficient for surfing and writing. Most web pages don’t need side
scrolling, and documents don’t either. I wouldn’t like it to be any
smaller - so if you are thinking of getting one of these, I think the
900 or 901 is about a perfect compromise between smallness and
usability. 7” I would find annoyingly small.
The over 40s and long-armed will need their glasses. Font size is
easily changed and the fonts and images are sharp. I dropped the
screen brightness to 40%, as really that was all that was needed
indoors. Outdoors you will need to crank it back up.
USE
It takes about 15-20 seconds to fully boot. Shutdown is very fast.
The initial interface is the so-called “easy mode”, with tabs and big
icons for the various things you might like to do - internet, work,
play etc. You can change over to a more traditional advanced desktop
mode, which takes a few steps but is very well outlined in the eeepc
user wiki (http://wiki.eeeuser.com). This is more customizable and
offers access to more applications. The applications that are included
are basic but very usable - Firefox, Thunderbird, a multiple
messenger client, text editor, picture viewer, Open Office (word
processing, spreadsheet etc), games, etc. Adding software may prove to
be a little tricky, but getting tips is easy if you go to a user forum
such as the one at http://www.eeeuser.com . For most travel purposes -
keeping in touch, taking notes/writing, checking up on things - it
comes with all you need straight out of the box. The version of linux
they use is actually not scary, especially for new users, a far cry
from my first laptop installation of Linux back in 1995…
The system takes up about 65% of a 4GB internal SSD, with extra
storage on another internal 16GB SDD. Extra storage can be gained by
using either SD cards, flash memory sticks or external hard drives
which can be quite cheap and compact. 20GB might sound fairly small,
but going larger than that would require hard discs which draw more
power and may be more susceptible to motion damage.
1GB of RAM seems fine. You can upgrade to 2GB.
NETWORKING
Setting up the wireless access is very easy. It automatically detected
my mac-based home network (including the printer) and worked out what
sort of password key format was needed for the network security.
Printing over the network is quick and easy. I have not taken it out
on the road yet, but the range of the wireless seems to be very good.
There is no bluetooth, so getting pictures from a camera phone will
need either a bluetooth adapter or a usb cord or removal of the card
from the camera and use of an adapter card or card reader. This is a
slight annoyance, which may be solved in the 901 if both versions get
bluetooth.
CONTROL
The keyboard is slightly springy, which can be a little disconcerting,
and possibly because of this some of the keys may have a tendency to
not strike if you are not spot-on — leading to missed characters if
you are typing fast. The number keys seem slightly further to the left
than usual, leading to some mis-strikes, particularly the - key. The
right shift key is very small, so you might find you hit the up key
accidentally a lot. There is also a tendency to hit the enter instead
of the ‘. Apart from that, it seems quite usable.
The trackpad is somewhat temperamental, taking a little concentration
to use with accuracy. Tap-clicking is good (sometimes it doesn’t seem
to detect?), double-finger scrolling and zoom are very nice touches,
and the single-looking touchpad button is actually a kind of rocker,
with right and left click sides.
MULTIMEDIA
The speaker is, weirdly, UNDER the trackpad. If it’s sitting on your
lap or on a desk it’s still happily audible but you might like to pack
the headphones.
The 1.3MP webcam is basic but ok - certainly no worse than the old
eyeball type I had a couple of years ago.
Youtube works well - there is some jumpiness but that might be the
videos themselves! Streaming audio worked out of the box through
firefox choosing realmedia player (abc.net.au/rn). Trying to surf or
use filemanager or system preferences while listening seemed to mute
the player (speaker or headphones); other activities seemed ok. I will
have to investigate if there are other such clashes and see if there
are other workarounds. (no problem with youtube; might be a realaudio
problem). A downloaded .wmv video file played fine in the native media
player.
CONCLUSIONS
Even with an updated version coming soon (the 901) this is an
impressive little machine and I will be happy to take it with me. I
have been waiting for this for some time now - the airport “laptop
shuffle” gets very tedious after a while. The EeePC 900t does
“compact”, “easy” and “useful” very, very well. As a roadwarrior it
and other upcoming very small laptops are ideal for the light
traveler. If you need all your bells and whistles, take your usual
computer. If you need to take notes, get online, and one or two other
things, all at a very reasonable price, this is perfect for the
onebagger. I am very happy.
Frank@OBOW
July 2, 2008 Choose one or the other, but neither is desirable:
June 27, 2008 A call to your congressman supporting H.R. 6355 might be a good idea. Unless you like being imprisoned in sweltering, stinking, delayed airplanes.
“A new, separate Bill providing significant relief for air passengers from extended on-board delays was welcomed today by Kate Hanni, founder-president of the Coalition for Airline Passengers’ Rights, Health and Safety, formerly Coalition for an Airline Passengers’ Bill of Rights (CAPBOR). The new Bill, H.R. 6355, was introduced in Congress on June 24 by Congressman James Oberstar, chairman of the House of Representatives Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure and Congressman Jerry Costello, chairman of the Aviation subcommittee.
“Despite frustrations inevitably encountered in the process, we are delighted that passengers’ rights are clearly now on the agenda of the House’s appropriate leadership,” Ms. Hanni said. “This Bill is intended to move passengers’ rights legislation along on its own merit, since similar passenger legislation was already passed by the House in the FAA Reauthorization Act, which has become stalled in the Senate,” she added.
H.R. 6355, the “Air Service Improvement Act of 2008,” requires air carriers and large and medium hub airports to file emergency contingency plans with the Secretary of Transportation for her review and approval. The Secretary may establish minimum standards for plans and require airlines to modify the plans they submit. These plans must detail how the air carrier will provide food, water, restroom facilities, ventilation, and necessary medical treatment for passengers on board an aircraft that is on the ground for an extended time period without terminal access. The Coalition had fought hard for plans that required Transportation Department approval, as opposed to the voluntary plans the DOT, favored.
Airlines that do not comply are subject to a $25,000 per day penalty. The Bill will also establish an Advisory Committee for Aviation Consumer Protection.” - eTurboNews
June 27, 2008 The LA Times reports that federal agents are randomly seizing laptops at customs:
Nice. Maybe the feds just wanted to see if he was current with his Windows updates. Maybe they did a complimentary upgrade to Firefox 3.
June 27, 2008 