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January Jones Goes Mad For Macs at LAX

GeekSugar — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 11:06:09 -0800

I'm so used to seeing the cast of Mad Men interact with such awesome vintage tech that I almost didn't recognize January Jones in her natural state (you know, not as Betty Draper), and toting a laptop as she went through LAX security on Sunday. The amazing season finale of Mad Men was packed with lots of retro typewriters, phones, and office tech, but January takes it to the 21st-century off set with her shiny new MacBook Pro - a powerful alternative to the MacBook Air I'd wire her with.

Unfortunately, we have to wait until next year to see what's next on the Mad Men tech horizon, but in real life, a girl's gotta stay connected - even if her day job is to play a woman who doesn't know what a cell phone is . . . yet!

Jet-Set Juicy Couture

FabSugar — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 09:59:17 -0800

Juicy Couture's latest destination is the airport. The bubbly brand is setting up four airport boutiques starting December. The first will be inside the American Airlines terminal at Miami International Airport. Next stop? The British Airways terminal at New York’s John F. Kennedy International Airport in January. Then Taiwan TaoYuan International Airport’s Terminal II in February. Lastly, the fourth shop is set for a Spring launch in the Athens Airport Duty-Free area.

"We know that our customer is traveling and she’s in the airports. Women are always wearing our tracksuits, especially to travel in. We just don’t think she’s being targeted by other retailers in these airports, so there’s a real opportunity there for us," said Ellen Rodriguez, senior vice president of global licensing and international for the brand. What do you think of Juicy's new venture?

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5 Helpful Airport Websites

GeekSugar — Fri, 31 Jul 2009 03:50:56 -0700

Taking flight this Summer for an action packed vacation? Or maybe you're off to visit friends and family? Whatever the case, I'm going to make sure to equip you with all the geeky tools you'll need to have an amazing and stress free vacay. I've already listed tech travel tips to remember before you leave the house and websites to visit before you bon voyage, but what about those few hours before you jet off? Here are some of my favorite websites that you may want to check out before flying up up and away.

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Clear Lanes Airport Security Pass Is Bankrupt, Closing Doors

GeekSugar — Tue, 23 Jun 2009 10:54:37 -0700

Did you have aspirations of being a Clear pass holder - the paid service that let you breeze through airport security? Every time I went to the airport and saw the empty Clear Lanes line - contrasted with the long line of all us regular peoples, I promised myself: One day, I'd have a Clear pass. Well, my dream will never come true, because Clear and its parent company, Verified Identity Pass, Inc., have just filed for bankruptcy and are closing down.

On their website, they assure their current customers (whoever you lucky dogs were) that your information will remain secure, but that they won't be able to issue refunds. And you'll have to go back to waiting in the security line with us regular folks and our cats.

How-To: Find Lost Luggage

CasaSugar — Tue, 14 Apr 2009 14:00:09 -0700

Hopefully, you've learned to pack by now. But once you've rolled up your socks perfectly and handed your suitcase off to an airport employee, you don't have much control over where it goes. Sometimes luggage disappears, and when that happens, Is This Your Luggage is there to save the day. The mysterious person behind this website collects lost luggage, photographs it, and then tries to find its owners.

Where does the luggage come from, you ask? Well, apparently, after a bag sits at an airport for a certain amount of time unclaimed, and its owner can't be identified, the airline will auction it off and send the profit to a charity. Then this odd, voyeuristic, web-savvy person, goes to these auctions and buys those suitcases in hopes of returning them to owners through the site. So, if you've lost luggage and the airline has had no luck in tracking it down, check out Is This Your Luggage.

Flying with NWA This Holiday Season? Use an E-Boarding Pass!

GeekSugar — Mon, 15 Dec 2008 11:25:49 -0800

Earlier this year, Northwest Airlines announced that they would be offering E-Boarding passes to select cities offering nonstop flights.

Wondering how it works? When you check in to your flight on nwa.com, just select the E-Boarding Pass option from the drop down on the "Completing Your Check-In" page. From this page, you will be prompted to enter your cell phone information, and your E-Boarding Pass will then be sent to your phone. Once you get to the gate, you will have to show your screen with the 2D barcode and scan it right there.

So far, people have reported that it works great - minus the TSA part since they usually check your paper boarding pass with your ID as you walk through the security X-Ray Machine - something they'll have to work on improving.

Do You Use Airport WiFi?

GeekSugar — Mon, 08 Dec 2008 16:03:48 -0800

One thing that makes me happy is free WiFi in airports. Something that doesn't make me happy is when I have to pay $9.95 for one hour of Internet use in most airports across the United States.

Once in a while I'm fortunate to be armed with a wireless broadband card so I don't have to stress about whether or not an airport has free WiFi, but quite often, it's just me and an expensive connection. Traveling is stressful enough without having to dig deep in your pockets to pay hefty WiFi rates. So I'm curious to know what you do - Do you pay the rates or turn to some other means?

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Find Out Which Airports Offer Free WiFi For Holiday Travels

GeekSugar — Thu, 20 Nov 2008 11:52:01 -0800

Last year around this time, I brought you a list of some airports in the US that offer free WiFi. Since many of us will be traveling this holiday season - with laptops and cell phones attached at our hips - it's helpful to know which airports won't be charging hefty rates for Internet use.

Many new airports have been added to the WiFi FreeSpot directory, so I suggest heading on over the site to see if the airports you'll be visiting this year will give you net access for free.

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Do You Trust Checkpoint-Friendly Bags?

GeekSugar — Wed, 19 Nov 2008 13:04:29 -0800

Ever since the concept of a checkpoint-friendly bag came onto the scene, I've been underwhelmed. So far, the bags produced haven't been so stylish, including these newly-released checkpoint-friendly bags by MobileEdge "for her."

The main reason I'm wary to purchase a new bag is that I just don't believe I'll get through the security line without having to remove my computer from one of these special bags. And I would not be about to argue with airport security either with a, "Oh no, you don't understand, this bag is checkpoint-friendly!"

Adding fuel to my theory is that the TSA approved some common styles of laptop bag for this purpose, but at no time on my recent flights has anyone assured me that I could leave my computer in its sleeve.

Therefore, I don't necessarily trust that I'd be able to breeze through airport security, laptop in laptop bag the whole time - not quite yet, anyway. Do you?

You May Already Have an Airport Security-Friendly Laptop Bag!

GeekSugar — Mon, 18 Aug 2008 02:02:34 -0700

It turns out that you may not have to sacrifice style for convenience after all. After announcing that the TSA would approve certain laptop bags that you wouldn't have to take your computer out of in the airport security line, the first prototypes were underwhelming, and had me thinking I'd just continue to take my laptop out of its bag. But now it seems that's unnecessary, because the TSA has approved a few common laptop styles that you won't have to remove your laptop from!

They are: Butterfly style, trifold style, and sleeve style, and this policy went into effect on Saturday.

The TSA specifically says no to backpack and accordion styles, and of course, gives the stipulation that carrying these styles doesn't guarantee that you won't have to pull your laptop out of its bag. But still, baby steps.