The Best Comments Of The Month: November 2009
At the end of every month I like to take some time to highlight a few of the comments that appear on various posts. The comments are insightful, entertaining, and add much more information and experience to each post. Here are just some of those great comments.
- The Backpack Foodie tells up how to really crack an iPhone to avoid its disadvantages.
- Drive 2,250 kilometers the quick and painless way using some of Mark H‘s Australian advice. Brian Smith recommends B vitamins, hot water, and a getting your blood flowing to keep the trip safe and seamless.
- While I don’t recommend using the Internet kiosks at airports, if you really must, use Richard‘s technique to keep your online accounts safe.
- Luke says the trip is in the traveler and we don’t fall into neat traveler types or categories.
- In addition to some of these free alternatives to Hotspot Shield (so you can watch Hulu and get to other sites from outside the US), Benjamin Barnett recommends Graboid, an option for a small fee.
- I may have convinced Shannon OD to go to Comic Con, while not on the level of a full blown Star Trek convention, it’s still dorky fun.
- I never though of it before but the Van cat does kind of look like David Bowie (thanks Gourmantic!)
- Finally, take some time to check out and enter Jen Laceda‘s camera giveaway. It’s very easy to enter and the Soviet-style Lubitel 166+ Universal Lomo medium-format film camera is an awesome prize.
Top Commented Posts
- The Advantages of Traveling Without an iPhone (30)
- 5 Turkish Cities (Other Than Istanbul) To Add To Your Itinerary (28)
- Questions and Comments Frequent Travelers Hear Frequently (25)
Thank you all very much for the comments, keep them coming!
[photo by: Vito]
No Posts Today, Or Tomorrow
It’s not often that I take a break from my usual once a weekday blogging schedule but I’m going to take advantage of the Thanksgiving holiday in the US and do some work behind the scenes. In the meantime, I’d like to point you to some recent blog posts I’ve written on my other travel blogs, including A Traveler’s Guide to Hacking Wireless Networks Part 1 and my interview with Go Pet Friendly road trippers Rod and Amy Burkert.
For all of you travel bloggers out there, I’ll be updating Travel Blog Advice with a spanking new post tomorrow morning. Until Monday, have a great weekend.
Hotspot Shield Alternatives To Watching Hulu and Other US Sites Abroad
Hotspot Shield is the popular method for getting access to US-only websites but is ad-heavy, and since Hulu and other providers are on to it, isn’t as reliable as it once was. Those of you outside of the US can still access Hulu, Netflix instant streaming, and other US-only websites using these good alternatives.
In addition to watching TV, using these proxies can be a good way to get lower airfare if you’re in Europe by booking on Kayak, or some other site that thinks you’re in the US.
(Be careful what information you send across a proxy you didn’t set up yourself. It’s best to use a one-time credit card if your bank offers it.)
Free Programs
Reader Andrew sent me a great list of alternative programs, all of which I’ve downloaded and tested (on Windows, Mac, and Linux). These are the easiest alternatives to use because they don’t require you to set much up and are free.
- FreeVPN (Windows only) – Out of all the virtual private network (VPN) software I tested, FreeVPN was the easiest to use, set up, and the least intrusive. Once you download and install the program, it sits in your taskbar and does it’s magic as you turn it on or off.
- UltraVPN (Windows, Mac) – Similar in setup to FreeVPN and available for Mac, except that UltraVPN requires you to set up a username and password. Make sure to use a password you don’t use for your email or any other accounts.
- FoxyProxy (Windows, Mac, Linux) – FoxyProxy is an application that you install but requires you to change some settings on your browser (Internet Explorer, Firefox) to get the proxy to work. It’s not much work and is a one time setup. A good proxy that also works on Ubuntu Linux.
There are some paid alternatives out there which I didn’t try. They run anywhere from $30-100 annually and the quality and service varies. The free methods listed above should be enough to meet your needs in most cases.
Set Up Your Own VPN
There are two ways to set up your own VPN. One is to have a computer that running somewhere in the US (i.e. in your parent’s house) and the other is to purchase some cheap hosting or use an existing Web server you may have. Basically the computer just needs to be in the US, running, and connected to the Internet.
Other Alternatives
- Hamachi (Windows, Mac, Linux) – Makers of the popular remote desktop solution LogMeIn also have a free VPN service you can sign up for called Hamachi.
For many of you watching your favorite sitcoms abroad makes VPN software like these essential tools for digital nomads. Remember though that all the data you send through a VPN that you didn’t set up yourself might not be absolutely private. Avoid sending across passwords, credit card numbers, and anything else you wouldn’t want someone else to read.
[photos by: thms.nl, colmmacc]
What Type Of Traveler Are You? [POLL RESULTS]
It would seem that most of you reading travel at least several times a year, even if it’s hard to classify what type of traveler you are. I think many of us fall into more than one of these categories.
What Type Of Traveler Are You?
- Vacationer - I take a few trips a year when I get time off from work (32%, 7 Votes)
- Round-the-World Traveler - A journey of a year or more (23%, 5 Votes)
- Long Term Traveler - I'm not sure when I'll stop moving around (23%, 5 Votes)
- Adventure/Outdoor Traveler - Mountains, woods, you name it I'm there (14%, 3 Votes)
- Backpacker - It's the same pair of underwear for a week mate (9%, 2 Votes)
- Armchair Traveler - I don't really travel but love to read about it (0%, 0 Votes)
Total Voters: 22
Loading ...How would you have grouped the different types of travelers – or do you think traveler ‘types’ are really an exaggeration?
