Thursday, May 06, 2010
A Few Things Learned During My Travels
You Don’t Get What You Pay For
On one occasion no discounts were available and we had to pay full price. If the sky is the limit, then it was way above that limit. The accommodation was poor, TV was snowy, furnishings were sparse, and it had bugs.
Out of dozens of hotels/motels, including the trip down and back to Florida, along with all the events we attended, this was the highest price we had paid for an overnight stay. We didn’t get what we paid for, although I think the bug was free.
Large SD Camera Card Not Necessarily Better
But … there is a problem. As you know digital cameras have a lag when you turn them on. The time it takes for the camera to power up before you can snap the picture. If you have a 4 gig SD card in you camera, and it is a third full or more, this lag becomes even longer, as the camera has to read what’s already on the card in order to know where to store more pictures.
If you are trying to get that once in a lifetime shot, it will probably be over before the camera is ready to shoot if you have too big a storage card.
In my experience it was better to have two smaller cards rather than one large one until you get the pictures downloaded on the computer.
If It Says Internet – It May Not Be Free
Having high speed internet is almost a must these days, especially while traveling. Talking to those ‘back home,’ checking email, making advance booking, all of those things require a computer and internet. That’s the way things are today.
So whenever choosing a place to stay, we always looked for “Internet” to be listed in the features of the next nights accommodation. Here’s a little advice. Make sure it says “Free High Speed Internet.”
On several occasions “Internet” was listed, but it was not free. Once you check in, internet is available from the room by signing in to various unknown providers. Once you sign in the cost averaged $7.99 plus taxes for 24 hrs of internet use.
But the biggest negative is you must sign in, and give your credit card number. Some even stated “charges will continue until you advise otherwise.” First of all, if you are just staying overnight, you don’t need 24 hrs of internet use. And I wasn’t willing to input a credit card number on an insecure connection for internet use overnight.
This was the only way to get internet, you couldn’t get it at the front desk or any other way. I think free internet should be included at all hotel/motels, and in most instances it is.
When they first came out I wondered what the heck good a 10.5 in Netbook computer would be good for. Didn’t we wait all these years to get a Laptop computer with a large screen equivalent to the desktop back home?
In the case mentioned above, not willing to pay for the overpriced 24 hrs of internet, I had a couple occasions where I had to have internet for about ten minutes in order to get some important messages. There are lots of free legal internet connections called WiFi in most major areas. Many cities supply them, most US rest stops and so on. They are readily advertised as a convenience to tourists and other travelers.
My laptop with its 17” screen was very awkward and large to open and use during the times I had to use it in the vehicle. Its bright screen and large size made it a hindrance in this situation.
One of those small 1” thick 10.5” screen Netbooks would have been ideal in this situation. It would fit in a small space for transportation and could be opened and used anywhere for checking messages and email. That alone would make it worth the low prices they charge for the basic models these days.
-=One Day At A Time=-
This work by NSCAVE is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License
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