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Scott Carmichael

- http://www.gadling.com

Scott spends most of his time playing with the latest and greatest travel gadgets. No trip is complete without at least 10 pounds of gadgets and 3 mobile phones. Got a great gadget you'd like to share with the Gadling readers? Send an email to scott AT gadling.com.

Gadling gear review: the 2010 Ford Taurus

by Scott Carmichael (RSS feed) on Nov 25th, 2009 at 11:00AM

No dear readers, you didn't stumble onto Autoblog - this is still Gadling, your favorite travel site. In this review I will indeed review the latest Ford Taurus. But first, let me explain why a car is being reviewed here. Back in August, Ford approached me and asked whether I'd like to take their latest Taurus for a one week test drive.

Now, I've never reviewed a car, so I was initially a little hesitant. I'm not a huge car fan, and I couldn't immediately see a link between this car and travel. But when Ford explained all the new technology they added to the 2010 edition, I instantly realized that this car could be the perfect road trip vehicle. So, here are my observations from driving the 2010 Ford Taurus for a week.

The Gadling Black Friday and Cyber Monday deals guide

by Scott Carmichael (RSS feed) on Nov 25th, 2009 at 10:00AM

Yes - Black Friday is almost here again, which means brave people will once again be out of bed at 3am so they can stand in line with 500 others, just to save $100 on a TV. Before I mock those people too much, I too will be one of them. Even though I don't need any new gadgets, I enjoy being part of the madness that is Black Friday.

If you don't get too excited by this concept, or you'd rather be shot than be part of this once a year event, then check out this massive lineup of great online deals we have collected for you. Shop from the comfort of your own home, without the risk of being trampled to death in a mass of slow moving shoppers.

WalletPop takes you on a tour of the Oasis of the Seas - the largest cruise ship in the world

by Scott Carmichael (RSS feed) on Nov 24th, 2009 at 4:30PM

Gadling contributor and WalletPop writer Jason Cochran shot this great video clip of the new Royal Caribbean Oasis of the Seas - the largest cruise ship in the world. He wrote about his experience on this mammoth ship earlier this week, but video always manages to paint a great picture of what to expect.

In the video, you'll see the boardwalk, zipline, FlowRider surf simulator, the carousel, the "elevator bar" and more. Truly an amazing vessel, and one you are bound to hear more about here on Gadling as well as our friends at WalletPop.

Majority of travelers admit they don't care about their carbon output

by Scott Carmichael (RSS feed) on Nov 24th, 2009 at 2:00PM

Dutch bank ING asked their economic survey team to interview travelers about their opinion of CO2 output, and whether they really care about their impact on the environment.

As it turns out, only 15% of the 41,900 travelers interviewed actually do something about the environment. Of that 15%, only 3% actively try to offset their emissions, while others only admit to making a minor effort at it.

76% of travelers simply don't care, and 9% has "no opinion". Despite all the efforts to change the public awareness of CO2 emissions, only a small portion of people actually care.

This data is interesting, because people are slowly starting to realize that carbon offsets are not going to be the solution to the problem - the real solution is to actually reduce the emissions instead of trying to offset them by planting a couple of trees. Airlines like starting to experiment with bio fuels, and others are making small changes to their flight procedures. Of course, these measures are still in their infancy, but every little bit helps.

RoomAtlas mashes Google maps with hotel prices and reviews

by Scott Carmichael (RSS feed) on Nov 24th, 2009 at 11:30AM

I'm a sucker for a good mashup. RoomAtlas is such a service - it combines the power of Google maps with thousands of hotel locations. The map looks a bit like a Monopoly board, and shows the location of hotels, along with a color coded price, links to reviews, a thumbnail photo and a link to a booking site with even more details of the property.

Rates come from Hotels.com and Expedia, so you are almost always going to get the best available rates. I've been playing with the site for some time this morning, and absolutely love how easy it is to find a hotel where you want it, for the price you are willing to pay.

RoomAtlas current covers 53,000 hotels from all around the world. Prices can be displayed in US Dollars and UK Pounds.

Daily gear deals - free iPod headphones, $99 HD Camcorder and more

by Scott Carmichael (RSS feed) on Nov 24th, 2009 at 11:00AM

Here are the hottest gear deals for today, Tuesday November 24th 2009. Remember, these deals are often valid for just one day, so act fast before they are gone.

Lost your iPod headphones? Deadly Deals is selling the original Apple iPod headphones for free, with $6 shipping. There may be cheaper headphones out there, but at least this way, you get "the real thing". Click here for this deal.

Sellout.woot.com is selling the highly rated Sennheiser VMX100 dual microphone Bluetooth headset for just $29.95 + $5 shipping. The headset is brand new, and comes with a wall charger and USB charging cable. Click here for this deal.

Next up is an Audiovox 7" portable DVD player kit. The kit includes the DVD player itself, 2 folding headphones, a carrying case, car and AC chargers and a headrest mount. On sale for just $75.75, with a free one year subscription to Wired Magazine. Click here for this deal.

And finally in today's lineup, the Kodak Zi6 pocket HD camcorder has dropped to a new low price of just $99.99. It may not be the newest generation camera, but it'll still make pretty decent HD video clips. Click here for this deal.

Dispelling the top myths about cruise ships

by Scott Carmichael (RSS feed) on Nov 24th, 2009 at 9:30AM

Cruise ships have a bit of a bad reputation. Those that love cruising really love it, and will have 10 or 20 voyages in their past. Those that hate it, will claim they'd rather be shot than take a cruise. There are lot of myths about cruise ships, so Gadling is here to help dispel some of them.

United Airlines offers a free "try before you buy" Wi-Fi session on all p.s. flights

by Scott Carmichael (RSS feed) on Nov 23rd, 2009 at 2:30PM

Passengers on the United Airlines p.s. premium transcontinental service can enjoy one free Gogo Inflight Wi-Fi session. The promotion is done as a "try before you buy", which is a great way to get introduced to the joy of inflight Internet access.

To get the free session, all you need to do is create a new Gogo Inflight account. After that, you can surf the web for the entire duration of the flight. Since these flights are some of the longest domestic flights available, you'll be saving $12.95 with this freebie.

Wi-Fi access is offered on all United Airlines p.s. flights. These premium transcontinental flights operate between New York JFK and Los Angeles / San Francisco. Seats on p.s. flights all offer an AC power port, making it easier to stay online for the entire flight.

The iPhone holiday airport survival guide

by Scott Carmichael (RSS feed) on Nov 23rd, 2009 at 12:30PM

The holiday season is a tough one for air travelers. Bad weather, oversold flights and flight cancellations can really screw up your holiday plans. Sadly, when things do go wrong, airport staff are not always able/willing to assist, and when they do, the line to reach the desk can be huge.

Thankfully, if you have an iPhone, you really do "have an app for that". In this lineup, you'll find six iPhone apps that can help survive the worst the airport throws at you.

Gadling gear review - Moshi voice control travel alarm clock

by Scott Carmichael (RSS feed) on Nov 23rd, 2009 at 11:00AM

Let me open by admitting that I have a hard time dealing with hotel alarm clocks. I've never come across one that was really easy to operate, and every time I program its alarm, I'll set my phone alarm as a backup, because I just never know if it'll work correctly.

In this Gadling gear review, I'll show you the cure for the crappy hotel alarm clock. The Moshi voice control travel alarm clock does exactly what the name implies - it allows you to program its various setting with your voice. The voice recognition is absolutely amazing, and during my tests, it never once let me down. The clock itself is very compact, and is the perfect size for popping in your travel bag. The display features a backlight, and only turns on when you press the snooze/light button. It has three different alarm tones, a volume setting and manual time controls for when Moshi can't understand you

Next to the snooze button is the voice recognition button. To program Moshi, you simply press this button, and speak your command. She understands everything from "alarm on" to "set time" and even "temperature". Setting an alarm is as simple as telling Moshi the time you want her to wake you. I've included a brief video clip of how to operate Moshi, which will give you a better idea of how well this travel alarm clock works.

One of the smartest features on the Moshi travel alarm clock is the keylock button - this allows you to block access to all the keys, which is perfect when you put it in your bag as it'll prevent you from changing any of the settings when you travel. Best of all, the Moshi voice control travel alarm clock only costs $24.99. It is available directly from Moshi in white, black, pink and blue.