Travel

Out of financial necessity, Russia was one of the innovators when it came to the burgeoning field of space tourism, with American businessman and former JPL scientist Dennis Tito becoming the first space tourist in mid-2001 when he spent nearly eight days in orbit on the Russian Soyuz TM-32, the International Space Station (ISS), and Soyuz TM-31. Following Russia’s halting of orbital space tourism earlier this year due to an increase in the ISS crew size, private Russian company, Orbital Technologies, has now announced plans to build, launch and operate the world’s first commercial space station (CSS). It envisions the station will be used by professional crews and corporate researchers to conduct scientific experiments, as well as private citizens looking for an out of this world holiday destination.  Read More

Celebrity Cruises has gone beyond presenting its wine list on an iPad to become the first cruise line to provide self-guided contemporary art tours using Apple's tablet. The latest "first" closely follows the company's introduction of “Celebrity iLounge” equipped with MacBook workstations, a Mac accessories store and Mac short courses on the ships.  Read More

In an effort to persuade the UK Government to move forward with the project as soon as possible, design studio, Pristmanngoode, has unveiled its high speed train concept, the Mercury. The company has previously worked with Chinese rolling stock manufacturer, Sifang, to design high speed trains for China and other parts of the world and now believes that a new high speed train is vital for the future of Britain. Perhaps taking London’s famous buses as an example, the Mercury is a double-decker train that incorporates a flexible, open plan design that Priestmanngoode says allows passengers to interact without compromising privacy.  Read More

One definition of the word frustrating is realizing you don’t have the right cord for the right job when you need it most - whether it be for an iPod, iPhone or one of the multitude of mobile devices that connect via USB. Presenting a simple yet effective solution to that particular problem is the Scosche flipSYNC, a keychain USB and sync cable about the size of a car alarm remote control.  Read More

It's happened to most of us at one time or another - you pack a suitcase before going on a trip, only to find that it's over the airline's weight restriction. Surely there has to be a better way than lifting that heavy suitcase back and forth to your bathroom scales, right? British company Expert Verdict is now selling a clever solution on their website. This self-weighing suitcase has an LCD display just underneath the handle that will tell you exactly how much the contents weigh.  Read More

Each year, around 80,000 people in Germany become seriously ill from occlusions of veins caused by blood clots. Such thromboses can cause pulmonary embolism or even heart attacks. Air travel is recognized as a risk factor for deep vein thrombosis with evidence showing the wearing of compression socks or tights while traveling reduces the incidence of thrombosis in people on long flights. However many people don’t wear such items as they don’t realize they may be at risk. A new fast and easy test of the risk of travel-related thrombosis will soon be possible – and all airline passengers will have to relinquish is one drop of blood.  Read More

Sometimes even the travel-weary budget flier would pay just about anything for a couple of hours sleep after a long haul flight in “cattle class” - which is where the Sleepbox concept comes in. Imagine your joy at spotting one of these comfy cocoons at the airport lounge while you’ve got a few hours between connecting flights. Or if you’ve arrived late at night in a strange land and don’t want to risk finding a hotel room in the dark – or the lone cab driver parked in the shadows of the airport or train station. Check into the Sleepbox and you could be on cloud nine before your head hits the pillow.  Read More

If you fancy getting amongst nature in some of the world’s wildest and most remote locations, but don’t really want to sleep in a tent, you might want to consider boarding a Rotel (rolling hotel) for your next holiday destination. The Rotel rolls a coach and hotel into one unit (or for larger groups, a bus and tag-along sleeping quarters). By day passengers sit in the front of the coach and take in all the sights, and by night they adjourn to the rear of the vehicle to enjoy their semi-private sleeping quarters.  Read More

When the British plug was introduced in 1946 it did not have great ambitions. It did not expect to travel the world, buried in laptop bags, forming awkward acquaintances with travel adapters. When burdened with a jet-setter lifestyle it fought back; peevishly shredding important documents, scarring laptops, and generally making itself a bulky, disagreeable yet indispensable travel companion. But after 50 years of dogged service, finally the old-fashioned plug could be heading for a revamp. The astonishingly simple "Folding Plug" design from British student Min-Kyu Choi, just won product design category of the prestigious Brit Insurance Designs Awards.  Read More