iPhone / Twitter application for travelers.

Just a quick post, but one of my co-workers mentioned this iPhone application to me today. It is called TwitterLoc.

From the site:

A nice freebee, based on the same map code as all the streetmaps on this site, except the map is fetched live over the internet, no part of the map is self-contained. This application allows you to send messages to Twitter.com containing your location information, like this:

Also, if you are doing any traveling and want to download full maps of where you are going without wasting the precious mobile data plan, I'd recommend checking out his city maps. They load much faster and you don't have to pull from Google Maps all the time. You can also pinpoint where you are on the map and get nearest points of interest.

Hopefully this will keep everyone back home at ease. All they need is this site URL. :)

Ordered my Dell Mini 9!

I have just placed the order for a Dell Mini 9.

As much as I wanted to just take the iPhone, I could not talk myself out of having a full fledged internet browser. Since I am only going to go over with the first 3-4 nights planned and booked, I will need a way to make reservations on the fly. This thing will work perfectly and will fit in my backpack without the need for a full blown laptop.

For those of you interested, I do plan on converting this into a Hackintosh! :)

iPhone Tips for International Roamers

When using your iPhone outside the U.S., Puerto Rico or U.S. Virgin Islands (for either voice or data), international roaming rates apply. Your iPhone provides access to email, visual voicemail, web browsing and other applications that can use a significant amount of data, so remember-international data roaming can get expensive quickly.

How iPhone Users Can Minimize International Data Charges:

* Turn Data Roaming "OFF": Be sure to download and install the latest version of iPhone software from iTunes. By default, this setting for international data roaming will be in the "OFF" position. To turn data roaming "ON/OFF" tap on Settings>General>Network>Data Roaming

* Utilize Wi-Fi Instead of 3G/GPRS/EDGE: Wi-Fi is available in many international airports, hotels and restaurants to browse the web or check email.

* Turn Fetch New Data "OFF": Check email and sync contacts and calendars manually instead of having the data pushed to your iPhone automatically. This way you can control the flow of data coming to your iPhone. To turn off the Auto-Check functionality tap on Settings>Fetch New Data, change Push to “OFF” and Select to Fetch Manually.

* Consider Purchasing an International Data Package: Purchasing an international data package can significantly reduce the cost of using data abroad. AT&T now offers four discount international data packages. The 20 MB package is $24.99 per month, the 50 MB package is $59.99 per month, 100 MB package is $119.99 per month, and the 200 MB package is $199.99 per month. See att.com/worldpackages for details and international roaming rates.

* Reset the Usage Tracker to Zero: When you arrive overseas access the usage tracker in the general settings menu & select reset statistics. This will enable you to track your estimated data usage. To reset Usage Tracker to Zero tap on Settings>General>Usage>Reset

Europe 2009: The Weather Map

For those of you looking to travel to Europe, I found a great site that uses the Google Maps API and overlays information about current weather statistics. I have posted an embedded map below. If you want to generate your own code, please check out this page.

Trip Tech: The iPhone LoJack Mod

Being the techy guy I am, I have to have a way to stay connected. This past year I purchased an iPhone. To put it bluntly, this device is badass but I'm not here to sell you one. Your BlackBerry is badass too.

Most users purchase devices and never use them to their full potential. I on the other hand buy devices and find a way to reverse engineer them. Everything from roomba vacuums, iPods, Xbox consoles, watches, PlayStation consoles, wireless internet routers and dvd players. My original iPod video lasted a whole 3 days before I modded the firmware, unlocked it and gave it the freedom a device like that deserves. It's been running like a champ since 2005. So far, my iPhones original software has lasted this long because of my company participating in the Apple 2.0 iPhone software beta program and the additional applications that you can now download. But, all good things must come to an end. Like Tom Bradys ACL.

Enter, the iPhone Jailbreak mod.

Simply put, this mod requires you to do something that Apple would never recommend, nor would they promote doing. If you are uncomfortable making operating system level changes to your computer or don't know what a shell script is, I'd probably advise against trying this. Now before I go crazy and you hear me vent my hatred towards DRM; I'm going to tell you that by doing this, you will be opening your iPhone up to a whole new world of possibilities but at the same time you will void your warranty. Google it.

So Ryan, what does this have to do with Europe? Ahh, thanks for getting me back on track.

Enter, the iPhone LoJack mod.

After you jailbreak your iPhone (or iPod touch) and install the LoJack mod you can sign up for a twitter account and use the findme script that is provided. So, long story short...I can be walking down the street in Brussels, Belgium, hit the "findme button" and have my iPhone triangulate through the nearest cell phone towers where I am (down to the street) and post it on my twitter feed and then to this very blog.

This entire process can be automated. It was created as more of a theft deterrent but for a techy backpacker like myself it works both ways.

Sweet huh!

Last Two:
Crystal Method - Roadhouse Blues (Original Dub)
Coldplay - Clocks (Gabriel and Dresden Remix)

Europe 2009: The Map

Here is the start of a Google map. I'm still researching georss and how I can embed that data into this map.

Note: This map is a work in progress. It will be updated as we determine which places are a must. Green pins mean the destination is a go, yellow means the destination still needs to be ironed out. We'll eventually turn them green or red based on our decisions.



View Larger Map