Tag: travel
VIDEO: Worldwide air traffic over 24 hours
Click play on the video. Now watch as the world’s aeroplanes cross continents and oceans. It’s strangely relaxing in the same way that watching a trail of ants in a garden on a warm summer’s afternoon is relaxing. One thing that’s worth looking out for – compare Europe at the start of the video to Europe at 0:45 – the flight volume changes dramatically between day and night.
Seen a similarly fantastic depiction of data? Post it in the comments below. I love stuff like this, so if you’ve got a favourite visualization of information then I want to see it too.
Nitmesh (via @damiano)
Related posts: First photo of Hudson air crash surfaces on Twitter | No phones on planes please, we’re British, survey finds
Glasgow tube stations get O2 phone reception today
That nice gentleman up there has probably just fainted with delight, after discovering that today he’s able to use his O2 mobile on the tube in Glasgow. We’ve known about it for a while, but today, O2 has brought phone reception to the five busiest platforms on the Glasgow subway – Buchanan Street, St Enoch, Partick, Hillhead and Govan.
The move is just a trial, but if it goes well, then you can bet your bottom dollar, or pound, that it’ll show up in London, and any other subway systems around Britain. Get ready to ask loud people to shut up underground, as well as on buses and trains.
Are you in Glasgow and on O2? What’s the service like – perfect? Or a bit patchy? Let us know in the comments.
O2 Press release (via O2UKOfficial Twitter)
Related posts: O2 brings mobile reception to the UK underground | The other first mobile phone use in the UK underground?
Petrol-powered Snowboard is snow joke
Okay, in reality this bears as much resemblance to a regular snowboard as a petrol-powered, three seater lawnmower with cupholders does to a hand-pushed traditional lawnmower, but bright yellow paintwork aside, doesn’t it look awesome?
It’s got a 6.5 horsepower engine, and can carry up to 250lbs as fast as 18mph. That might not sound fast if you’re used to cars, but when you’re whizzing along millimetres from the snow, it feels a damn sight faster than is comfortable. You steer by – *gulp* – leaning to one side, and it’ll run for two hours on three quarters of a gallon of petrol. The cost? A slick US$2,000. At that price, I’ll stick to my skis.
Hammacher Schlemmer (via OhGizmo!)
Related posts: Sno-Baller: huge tongs for making perfectly spherical snowballs | 20,000MW Speakers made of snow
Oyster card hacked – details being published in October. Free travel for all!
The Oyster system could go into meltdown this October, after a court ruling found it’s OK for details of its security failures to be made public.
NXP, the company behind the Oyster technology, had applied for an injunction against a group of Dutch technology experts, who worked out how to hack Oyster cards back in June. The judge has now overturned this injunction, so the Dutch hacking masters (Prof Bart Jacobs and his team…
Vinton Cerf, founding father of the internet, wants to send his baby into space
Say hello to Vinton Cerf, everyone. This old geezer claims he invented the internet, and is now throwing a strop due to earthlings being the only lifeform able to access the internet – he’s now thinking outside the box world and into the universe.
Cerf recently spoke at a conference in Seoul, South Korea, and expressed his desire for the world wide web to be accessible in space. He’s already started working with a bunch of boffins, namely engineers at a Jet Populsion Laboratory, creating…
AA launches Smart TravelGuides: interactive guides and maps for 3G mobiles
AA Publishing has announced a new set of AA Smart TravelGuides, that turns any 3G mobile or smartphone into an interactive travel guide and map.
The maps, provided by the Ordnance Survey, will cover a variety of areas, with the first in the series covering London.
The product comes as a memory card which is loaded into the phone and then allows you to search for points of interest, including sights, things to do, and AA-rated restaurants and hotels.
easyJet go green
They may be known for their garish orange but Stelios seems to fancy a colour change – his budget airline has unveiled a new fuel efficient plane, The Ecojet.
It’s not just a normal flyer with better fuel efficiency, this has two open rotor jet engines at the back of the airplane, which, according to the firm, improve the overall performance of the plane. The wings are swept forward to reduce drag and the body is made with lightweight carbon fibre to reduce the overall weight…
Lonely Planet launch pick and mix downloads
Lonely Planet is to launch a create-your-own guidebook service so you can download their top tips straight to your computer. The experts in all the best places to visit across this fine globe will start with content from the Caribbean,…
The straw that filtered the water back
SUCK this and see the benefit to your health. If you’re off on your travels to a destination where the water isn’t nice enough to drink – which can be as near as Spain – this could stop you getting…
Fisher's Travel SOS and Zaptag partner to provide USB 'medical emergency' flash drive
Back in July we reported on the Zaptag USB memory stick that allows wearers to store vital medical information for use by medical professionals in an emergency. Now Fisher's Travel SOS have announced a partnership with Zaptag that will make…
