Glympse, a new easy way to share your whereabouts

If you ever been in a situation where you wanted to effortlessly and continuously share your whereabouts with someone or several others, this new mobile application called Glympse by Glympse.com , may be worth giving a consideration.

For now, the application only works with T-Mobile's G-1 phones and according to the New York Times, versions for the i-Phone, Windows Mobile phones, BlackBerrys and other portable devices, are on the work. Here are the basics on how the service works : You download the application from the Android Market which is the G1 kind of version of Apple's App Store.

From there, you can start sharing your whereabouts with anyone with Web-enabled phone or PC. Every time you want to do so, you begin the process by opening the application and enter the phone number or e-mail address of the person or persons you want to share that information. The length of time for which you can be tracked, is by default set at 30 minutes with the option to extend it.

Beside your actual location which is tracked by your phone's GPS system, you can include other information like your destination or your own message or one of the scripted ones.

The last step is to hit the "send" option, and there you are beaming your position or destination like an airplane to a to a control tower.

For more, see techcrunch.com

Environmental conscious lifestyle get rewarded by Insurance companies

A new trend among insurance companies is to set themselves apart as environment responsible by embracing or developing many projects and programs designed to take into account and lessen whenever possible, the impact of human activities on the environment.
In that spirit, many Insurance companies have begun to offer lower premiums on car, homeowner and property insurance for people who drive less, own hybrid cars or build greener homes.
For car owners, a new product called PAYD or pay as you drive in which they opt to drive less than the average driver, allow them to save on their premiums. Progressive Corp is one of the Insurers that offer that option. Others Insurance companies like Travelers Co and Farmers Insurance offer discount between 5% to 10% on premiums for driving a hybrid vehicle.
When it comes to green buildings, some Insurance companies offer up to 10% discount on homes' annual premiums for owners of LEED -or Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design- certified homes.

For more, see WSJ.com

Hotells deals offerings are spreading.

About a month ago, online hotel booking sites Orbitz.com and Expedia.com, cut booking fees for hotel reservations through their sites. Booking site Travelocity.com also signaled it may cut hotel booking fees to compete. The whole trend was started last month by Orbitz.com which announced a reduction of the service fee it usually charges to book hotels rooms on its Web site trough July 15. According to some estimates, the move will save customers about $7 a night.
Also last month, Orbitz made a dramatic change in the way it displays hotel pricing with it's "Total Price" search future. That platform will now display taxes and fees alongside the hotel rate from the very beginning of a search for a room and not at the end of the booking process as is standard right now.

For more, see DennisSchaalBlogpost.com

BlackBerrey rental for travelers.

Summer is almost here and if you are planning to go on vacation for a few days but still want to stay in touch with what is going on in the office by peering tr0ugh your company email service but do not own a smart phone nor want to take a laptop along with you, a happy medium can be found in the form of renting a BlackBerry, one of many so called smart phones available that way.
Among the various cellphone rental companies that are available to consider, here are four of them: Cellhire.com, EventRadioRentals.com, RentCell.com, TravelCell.com.
Beside just BlackBerry rentals, these companies offer many more things like satellite phone rental, international cellphone calling plans, etc.

For more, see WSJ.com

Swapping sites offer an alternative to shopping.

In this down economy, people looking for good deals but are not in the mood to shop, can find an alternative in the old practice of swap made easy today by the Internet.
Three leading Web sites, Swapstyle.com, Rehasclothes.com and Dignswap.com, let you post pictures of items you no longer want, with the hope to trade them for things you really do. All three sites are free to use with the last one, -Dignswap.com- planning to start charging a small transaction fee for each completed swap.
Also, the features, conveniences and security offered in these sites, varies widely.



For more, see WSJ.com.

Subsidized netbook with cell service offered by Verizon Wireless.

Starting this past Sunday, Verizon Wireless has begun offering a subsidized HP netbook for $200 after a $50 mail-in-rebate. Just like with its cellphones subsidies program, customers must sign a two years contract and agree to pay between $40 and $60 a month for data access.
The netbook model name H-P Mini 115NR, comes with a built-in cellular and WI-FI modems, a webcam, but lacks a DVD drive. The data level included in the plan is not unlimited and it will cost you extra if you exceed your limit; also, the service speed is slower than many WI-FI connections, minus the WI-FI access fees of course.
And for even less, you can go for a similar netbook made by Acer and available at RadioShack for $50, plus $36 activation fee, and a two years service contract at $60 a month with AT&T.

For more, see WSJ.com

Security and Online storage solutions for virtual office by Mobiu.

In today's wired world, more and more business people have to deal with two real issues: data storage and security. And for a lot of individuals with limited choices and small business owners who can not afford an in house IT or do not have a budget to outsource such service, the perfect solution may be found in the form of a USB dongle.
Just like any other portable USB, the device plugs into your PC or laptop and comes with 1GB of secure flash memory and 1GB of online secure storage and acts more like a key. When you plug it to a PC or laptop, what it does is connect to a remote online storage where you can access your data using a CHIP and a PIN. That way, you can work from any PC from anywhere and not have to worry about security breach because your activity does not leave any trace on the the PC or laptop used to establish the connection, and if the device is lost, it can be remotely disabled .
The mobiu USB device sells at a promotional price of $60 right now, and another $38 will buy you an additional 5 GB of online storage but you can buy as much storage as you need, and when you need it.

For more, see Mobiu.com