Web Worker Daily

When planning a vacation, it’s hard to find good information on the web.  UpTake, now out of private beta, tries to help with that process by assessing keywords and returning user comments from across the web to help you find great travel destinations based on your preferences.

UpTake aggregates information from Expedia, TripAdvisor, and Yahoo Travel.  The website crawls these sites (along with other travel niche sites) and returns user generated travel spot reviews for spots throughout the United States. UpTake provides information on hotels, restaurants, tourist attractions, and suggestions for things to do.

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Web Worker Daily readers are likely familiar with GrandCentral, a service that gives you a single phone number that can ring multiple phones including your office, cellular phone, and home number simultaneously.

However, if you’ve ever thought it would be nice to read your voicemails either in as a text message or email, PhoneTag has a service in mind for you.  With this add-on PhoneTag service, you can have all your phones ring at the same time, and if you call goes to voicemail - ready your voicemail through PhoneTag.

These voicemail to text services have been around for quite some time, but before this integration between PhoneTag and GrandCentral, you had to choose between the two services. No more.

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A common misnomer about Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) is that it requires you to be using a headset, tethered to your computer.  This is simply untrue as modern VoIP services and solutions use either a) normal corded and cordless phones or b) a specialized phone that resembles a cordless phone or cell phone - just modified to utilized VoIP technology.

VoIP has some major advantages over traditional landline phones. First, typically you can call phones in the US and Canada for one monthly flat rate.  Also, international calls can be made very cheaply.  Included services with your flat rate service include: call waiting, call forwarding, online enabled voice mail, CallerID, and many more.  Whereas conventional phone companies charge you individually for each of these services, VoIP providers give them to you for one flat rate.

Where do you begin if you’d like to use your broadband connection to lower your phone bill dramatically?  Lets walk through some of the options.

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A recent podcast from CNet featured Michael Breus, a psychologist and sleep specialist.   Dr. Breus discussed some common misnomers regarding sleep and its effect on those around us.

Getting adequate sleep is foundational to being successful in today’s world.  Consider the following important factors regarding sleep:

• Staying healthy - to remain in good health and avoid illness, your immune system requires you to get enough sleep each night.  In fact, trying to “catch up” on sleep by sleeping extra can actually cause additional harm to your body.
• Being a effective employee - in order to remain sharp, we must be alert and capable of learning and applying new knowledge.  Plus, being able to deal with stressful situations requires brain capacity and emotional intelligence, which is enhanced by sleep.
• Participating in social situations - Who wants to carry on a conversation with someone who is constantly sleeping and who acts un-interested in your topic?  Also, in the podcast, Dr. Breus said that most sexual issues he comes across with couples are related to at least one of the partners not getting adequate sleep.

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There are many online project management offerings on the web including Projjex (previously covered), Basecamp, and Zoho Project.

A relatively new entrant to the market is 5pm, a product is built by a very small team. Even without venture funding, the 5pm team has built a visually attractive project management utility, but how does it stack up to the competition?

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With travel costs rising each and every day, business are seeking ways to not only save money but be more conscience of the way their business practices are affecting the environment.  Video conferencing is a hot space currently with many options for web workers to choose from.  Being able to see your team on a video screen is vastly superior to a run-of-the-mill conference call.

SightSpeed (previously covered at GigaOm) is a great offering that does not require you to install expensive equipment to confer with your colleagues and team mates.  The application allows you to collaborate with up to 4 locations at a one time and is suited for both ad hoc and scheduled meetings.  If you want, you can share your desktop while in the midst of a video conference to enable collaboration on a website, word document, or any window on your desktop computer.

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For people who work on the web, getting access to the Internet is vital. If we can’t connect to our colleagues and projects online, we can’t earn a living. However, we can’t always stay attached to our home base and therefore we need a way to stay online while we’re on the go. Let’s give you a breakdown of the options for getting online on the go.

Cellular Options:

Mobile phone operators in the United States have been investing billions into building out their mobile broadband networks. Of the four major mobile carriers, three (Sprint/Nextel, Verizon and AT&T) provide high speed mobile broadband to their customers. The little brother of the bunch, T-Mobile, is still only delivering a slow EDGE network to subscribers but are rumored to be rolling out a 3G network soon.

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Typically, there are two ways of getting online when you are traveling: either rely upon Wi-Fi hotspots where you can find them, or pay for a mobile broadband cellular card.  However, mobile broadband cards are very expensive when you do a pay-as-you go plan.  With these pay-as-you-go options, you pay based on the amount of kilobits you use, which can add up very quickly, causing your pocketbook to become rather thin.

A new option has emerged called RovAir.  This service provides users mobile aircards, data cards, and EV-DO card without an extended contract or service agreement.  RovAir has cards from AT&T, Sprint, and Verizon Wireless available.  Simply rent the mobile broadband card by the day when you need it.  The costs start at $5.95 per day with a three day minimum.

Note: Be sure to research the area you’re traveling to.  For example, some metropolitan areas are better served by AT&T where others might have broader network access with Verizon Wireless.  Look at each service provider’s coverage map for more information.