Gliider: a handy travel planning gadget

I've been experimenting with a new 'travel helper' gadget called gliider, which is a free add-on for Firefox 3.x (alas, it doesn't currently support my default browser, IE 8).  gliider claims to help you "plan funner trips" and, I must say, I think it can deliver on that promise.

Gliider provides an easy-to-use means of organizing trip details and "clippings" of things you need to remember (or simply want to do) for your upcoming trips.

End-to-end Trip Organization

gliider includes a number of elements that will help you when you're planning a trip, all the way from thinking about it, through to booking, then finally deciding what you'll do when you get there.  There are 3 tabs you work with:

• My Trips:  This is a well-organized filing cabinet for each trip.  I'll give you a few more details in a bit…
• Ask Around:  This tab gives you an easy way to ask other people for advice about your destination.  gliider can connect to FaceBook to allow you to ask your FB friends, ask through Twitter, etc.  Pretty cool idea - of course, you can ask using those tools already, but if you ask through gliider, it will capture and associate any responses into the appropriate trip.
• Deals / Alerts:  This tab within the gliider interface will help you find good deals.  Currently, it only looks for hotel deals, but they are planning on adding flights and other stuff.

It's all about the trips

Now, back to the "My Trips" tab.  This tab is a mini organizer for data about your trip.  You can drag sample fares, confirmed itineraries, and related info into the "Flights" folder, drop sightseeing ideas into the "See" folder (as I've done in the screenshot above for my upcoming trip to Berlin), and much more.

Adding the information is pretty simple. Simply highlight the text and images you want to save in your browser, then drag and drop the info onto the appropriate folder icon in gliider.  As you research things you might want to do, this approach makes it very easy to build a list of candidates to choose from.

Some other odds & ends:

• gliider makes it easy to share information about your trips with others (caveat: they'll need to install gliider to see what you've shared)
• there is a function that allows you to print a hard copy "dossier" with all the information you've collected about your trip - this looks awesome as a paper backup with all your reservation details, confirmation numbers, etc.

Try gliider for free

If you find anything you don't like or want them to add, share it with them since this is still in its formative stages (there is a Feedback button right there in the app's window).

My gripes and wishes so far?  Not many, but here is the list:

• I want IE8 support
• The gliider UI has a problem with long passwords (so don't use a password any longer than 9 characters for now)
• I wish Deals/Alerts provided more deal types
• An iPhone app would be nice (you can forward details and access them via the iPhone browser, but hey…)
• I wish I could share info without requiring the recipient to install gliider
• Integration with TripIt would be awesome

Nonetheless, I like gliider so far.  gliider is free to use, and very easy to install.  If you're doing any traveling, it's a good gadget to check out. 

Amazon Prime Just Got Even Better

OK, so I know I’m doing two Amazon-related posts in a row (the Kindle price drop was just before this one).  But I just got an email from Amazon that made me happy – they are improving their already-awesome Amazon Prime shipping features.  In case you weren’t already aware, Amazon Prime is an annual, fee-based program that gives you automatic upgrades to free 2nd-Day Air shipping for any Prime-eligible item.

The big news is that they have improved Prime so that items ordered on Thursday will be delivered on Saturday now, instead of Monday.  Gotta love it – here is the blurb I got:

 

Why is Prime handy?

Other than just wanting things ASAP, I like Prime for a couple of key reasons:

1. I often order presents for friends and relatives in other states.  I love being able to order something knowing it will show up 2 days after I place the order – it makes the gift seem even more special or important, and it gives me the freedom to wait until almost the last minute before ordering. 
• This is especially valuable around Christmas, when I can order things until December 22nd and they’ll still arrive on Christmas Eve. Note that this even helps if you’re going to your relatives’ house – you can ship the gift (pre-wrapped by Amazon, if you wish) and not have to worry about trying to carry it on or putting it in your checked luggage.
2. Sometimes I ‘need’ a gadget before a trip, and I only realize it at the last minute.  Because of Prime, I can order a couple of days before I leave and still get it in time (in some of these cases, I’ll buck up for Overnight shipping for an extra $3.99 – very handy when you need it.

Amazon Prime costs $79 per year (averaging to a bit more than 6 bucks a month), and I know it saves me much more than that every year. Not sure if it's for you? Give it a try - they'll let you take a test drive for 30 days - just click here if you want to take an Amazon Prime free trial.

Kindle Going Global And Getting Cheaper

If you haven’t heard yet, Amazon has just announced a couple of exciting things about their Kindle Reader:

They’ve dropped the price (hooray!) and the Kindle will now be available in two versions which differ by the wireless technology with which they are equipped: 

• a US Kindle version (the one I have), which is now $259
• a US and International Kindle that ships worldwide, and will cost $279 (the International version will start shipping October 19 and is available for pre-order now)

This is very good news on both counts.  As you know from my previous reviews of the Kindle, I love it and use it whether I’m traveling or not.  In fact, I read a couple of books on my flight back from Amsterdam this week (and I’d have loved to have had the international wireless version of the Kindle whilst in Europe).

So, if you’ve been procrastinating on your Kindle purchase, that procrastination may actually have helped you this time.  And I suspect more people may now get a Kindle for Christmas this year.

One note:  The links above are for the “original size” Kindle, not the larger Kindle DX.  I had my hands on one of the bigger Kindle DX’s and I just couldn’t travel with a device that large.  I’m glad I bought the smaller one.

A few Podcasts for “On The Go” Folks

I’m beginning to travel a bit more again (the summer was a lot slower) and looking for good things to listen to en route.  Lately, that means podcasts.

If you’re on the hunt for some good podcasts, here are a few (all free) that stand out for me.

	The Wall Street Journal This Morning (non-iTunes link) This is an entertaining, well-produced daily rundown of news highlights from the Wall Street Journal.  There are hard-hitting news stories, gadget updates, and a lot of unusual stories covered, and the hosts of the show have great chemistry, which makes this a fun listen.  It’s about 40 minutes long, with very limited commercial interruption.
	Cranky Geeks (non-iTunes link) Hosted by John C. Dvorak with a collection of randomly selected others, this is a panel discussion of the week’s tech news.  It’s fun to listen to, particularly if you’re into gadgets or involved in the tech industry.  I’ve linked the audio-only version, but there are video versions available (I am usually driving when I listen so I forego the video).
	How Stuff Works (non-iTunes link) This is a series of in-depth, but conversational, discussions of lots of interesting topics.  These are great for the curious mind – you can find out useful things (like how to delay the onset of physical aging) and just entertaining things (like the best place to be during a zombie attack).
	The Bugle (non-iTunes link) This is a highly irreverent look at the news, featuring people like John Oliver (the British guy on The Daily Show).  It’s very much in the spirit of The Daily Show and The Colbert Report on the Comedy Channel in the US, so if you like those shows, you’ll probably like The Bugle.

I’m about to board a plane, so that’s all I can write up for now.  If you find this useful, let me know and I will share other podcast finds with you in the future. Happy listening!

Get your Outlook Tasks directly on iPhone

When I jumped into the iPhone pool last year, one of the big surprises was just how hard it was to sync my Notes and Tasks from Outlook (our company uses Exchange, and I use the heck out of Outlook).

Version 3 of the iPhone firmware solved the Notes problem, as it will now sync Outlook Notes directly into the Notes app on the iPhone.  Not so for tasks (No task app on the iPhone?  After 3 versions?  Really?)

Taking the iPhone to Task

In searching for a way to automatically sync tasks to the iPhone, here were my requirements:

• Must offer the ability to sort / group tasks by Category (for GTD) and due date.
• Solutions should be as simple as possible (the fewer moving parts the better, no re-entering text, etc.)
• Must support offline viewing and updating of tasks, through a native iPhone app
• Reasonably priced

The most popular apps (I sampled systems like Remember the Milk, ToodleDo, Nozbe, Google, and several others) had (at least for me) show-stopper issues: 

• Some apps required syncing from Outlook to a service in the cloud, then from that service to my iPhone, and many of these required me to pay an additional fee for a subscription account.
• Some apps required me to run a separate desktop app alongside Outlook.  Yuck.
• Some apps provided only web-based viewers (not iPhone apps), which meant I couldn’t get to my lists on the plane or in areas with no data coverage.

Luckily, I have found one solutions that works quite well, and meets or exceeds my requirement.

My favorite task solution for Outlook and the iPhone [so far]

My favorite solution so far, is an app called iMExchange (available in the App Store for $7.99).  iMExchange syncs directly with Microsoft Exchange, and can bring in your Tasks and Notes (for those of you still running a pre-v3 iPhone OS). 

iMExchange also creates a local, cached copy of your Tasks and Notes so you can access them even when you aren’t connected to the internet.  Once you’ve synched (over the air), this means you can access your tasks, add new tasks, update the status of existing tasks and so on from the iPhone.

I’ve found that the flexible sorting options (see screen shot at right make it easy to work within the Getting Things Done methodology from my phone).

As an added bonus, since the app connects directly to your Exchange Server, you can edit your Out Of Office message and adjust your Out Of Office status directly from your iPhone.  Pretty cool bonus.

Bottom line:  If you use Microsoft Exchange / Outlook and the iPhone, I think you’ll like iMExchange for managing your tasks while on the go.