Flight Memory is free to use. Once you create an account, you can input all of your future or past flight information. How much you input is up to you, so you can detail all the information you have (Continental Flight 1586, Leaving IAH at 7:00 PM, Arriving MCO at 10:15PM, Jan. 6, 2012, on a Boeing 757, sitting in First Class with a window seat for a business trip) or you can just put in what you can remember (I flew from Orlando to Houston on January 2nd) and Flight Memory will take care of the rest.

It can be a bit laborious to put in all of your previous flights, especially for the well-traveled, but if you are a numbers nut then the payoff is worth it. Not only can you keep track of your longest and shortest flights (in terms of distance and duration), but you can find out how your travel mileage stacks up to the circumference of the Earth or the distance to the Moon. It can also tell you, if you don’t already know, your most frequent airports and routes taken. Automatic tweets can be sent with your flight info if you so desire.

But the coolest feature of this site is the poster you can have made of your travels. You can spring for a personalized world map documenting all of your trips and statistics. Show off all of the cities and countries you’ve conquered!

Flight Memory is free to sign up and is a great way to put all of your travels in perspective.

For even more features, FlightMemory’s premium membership is $39 per year with other plans available. This gives you tons more stats, zoomable maps of the world, tracking of your full journeys (car rentals, for example) to compare costs amongst trips, access to the mobile version of FlightMemory for your phone, private mail to chat with other flyers, the ability to create pdf files for printing or archiving, plus more features.

Since the year has just begun, it’s a good time to start recording your flights for 2012.

The big story from the Consumer Electronics Show this year may be Microsoft, as much for what they did as what they won’t be doing. At his keynote speech, CEO Steve Balmer talked about applying their Metro interface to the new Windows 8 platform due out later this year. It will be not only for PC’s but also tablets and phones. Hands-on experience at the show says this will be a nice improvement over Windows 7. Nokia announced their new Lumia 900 phone will use Win 8. However, the jury is out on whether the platform can make serious inroads against Apple and Google-based phones.

Most disappointing was Balmer’s announcement that Microsoft will not have a booth at future CES events. He cited the same reasons as other majors in the consumer electronics arena: Too much pressure to work their production calendar around this event because everyone expects major announcements at CES. Their presence will be missed.

Elsewhere, Samsung is offering a new smartphone with a huge 5.3″ screen, sized between a standard phone and a 7″ tablet. It comes with a stylus, which is handy if you are a graphics artist or designer or just someone who loves to write or draw on a phone. These handwritten notes can even be sent as text messages. So who would buy such a large phone? Some women may enjoy the larger size because it will still fit in a handbag easily. Those who mostly use their phones for games or video definitely will enjoy the larger, brighter images. Perhaps some seniors also will appreciate the easy reading from a larger screen. The phone will be coming to AT&T shortly.

Samsung also used CES to introduce their line of “ultrabooks”. The 13-14″ screen size may be the sweet spot for most travelers, and the 1 TB hard drive should be sufficient for nearly everyone. On the downside, the inclusion of such a large drive brings the weight to over 4 lbs. They’re beautifully designed, but not “ultra” light weight.

Other vendors were showing ultrabooks (a term coined by Intel) which are far more practical for travelers. Most have screen sizes around 13″ but use the lighter (and smaller capacity) SSD instead of the traditional hard drives. Also, they eliminate the DVD drive to bring the weight down to a very appealing 3 lbs or less. Look for them to arrive later this year loaded with Windows newest operating system. Expect prices generally higher than current laptops.

Next week: More from CES 2012 featuring handy travel products.

To receive a free copy of our ebook, 70 Secrets to Safe Travel — Because Your Life Can Change in a Heartbeat, and for more travel savvy info to help you travel smarter, safer and with more enjoyment, visit SmartWomenTravelers.com and PearlsofTravelWisdom.com. Watch for my new book, Business Travel Success – How to Reduce Stress, Be More Productive and Travel with Confidence, being published by Morgan James in early 2012.

A panel of judges evaluated the submissions to determine the 2011 Business Traveler Innovation Award – Judges’ Choice with Hipmunk.com taking the top prize. Hipmunk co-founder and CEO Adam Goldstein accepted the award. The Hertz NeverLost Gen 5 took the 2011 GBTA Business Traveler Innovation Award – People’s Choice and Robert J. Stuart, senior vice president for The Hertz Corporation and Roger Stevens, president and CEO of Navigation Solutions accepted the award on stage.

Congratulations to Hipmunk and Hertz!

I’ll proudly be wearing my new Hipmunk tshirt received from Adam Goldstein, and attaching the cute Hipmunk luggage tag to one of my bags!

To receive a free copy of our ebook, 70 Secrets to Safe Travel — Because Your Life Can Change in a Heartbeat, and for more travel savvy info to help you travel smarter, safer and with more enjoyment, visit SmartWomenTravelers.com and PearlsofTravelWisdom.com.

In the order presented:

1. AirPlus International – Carbon Offset for CO2-neutral business travel
2. Canon – PIXMA iP100 Mobile Printer
3. CIBT – CIBT Travel Visa Widget
4. ExpertFlyer – Seat Alerts
5. GateGuru – In-airport tool/guide
6. Hertz OnDemand
7. Hertz NeverLost Gen5
8. Hipmunk – Unique visual experience for booking flights and hotels
9. Limos.com – Fast and easy access to prices for limousine and chauffeured transportation services
10. MileBlaster – Personalized tracking and calculation of frequent flyer miles and rewards points
11. Navigon – MobileNavigator
12. Novatel Wireless – Sprint MiFi 3G/4G Intelligent Mobile Hotspot
13. Sabre – Sabre Hotel RFP – an automated service that brings corporations and agencies together with hotels

Which products or services get my vote?

CIBT – CIBT Travel Visa Widget – This is an easy way to see what visas and other travel requirements exist when traveling to another country.

ExpertFlyer – Seat Alerts – I’ve been a subscriber to ExpertFlyer but I never tried out their Seat Alerts until I heard about this feature. I don’t need this often, so it wouldn’t be a reason for me to subscribe to ExpertFlyer, but it’s a nice feature since I am a subscriber.

Hertz OnDemand – for those times when you need a rental car for a short time and don’t want to pay for a full day of a car and airport fees.

Hipmunk – My son has been using Hipmunk to search for his airline tickets … now it’s time for Mom to try it out. Besides, I love their logo.

Limos.com – A great service for booking a car service when you previously had no idea who to book from, with driver credentials verified – and at reasonable rates.

Novatel Wireless – Sprint MiFi 3G/4G Intelligent Mobile Hotspot – I have a similar MiFi 3G/4G device and love it for its reliability, small size and ability to allow my family or friends to also share in the mobile hotspot.

This is why GBTA didn’t select me as a judge … I wouldn’t have been able to select just one winner!

For the full list of contenders, see http://www.gbta.org/BusinessTravelInnovationAwards/Pages/BusinessTravelInnovationNominees.aspx

The final, final finalist of this year’s Business Travel Innovation Award will be announced at GBTA on their final day (appropriate, ay?) on Wednesday August 24, 2011.

I’ll update you after the winning announcement has been made.

To receive a free copy of our ebook, 70 Secrets to Safe Travel — Because Your Life Can Change in a Heartbeat, and for more travel savvy info to help you travel smarter, safer and with more enjoyment, visit SmartWomenTravelers.com and PearlsofTravelWisdom.com. Watch for my new book, Business Travel Success … How to Reduce Stress, Be More Productive and Travel with Confidence, being published by Morgan James in 2011.

With a simple phone call to 866-JOTT-123, you can capture notes, set reminders and calendar appointments, interact with your favorite web sites and services…all with your voice! Simply call Jott (store their number in your mobile phone’s Favorites list) and tell them where you want your message to go. They capture your voice, turn it into text, and send it to the destination you chose. I primarily send my Jott notes to my cell phone as text messages (for the little reminders) and to Outlook when I need to create tasks or appointments.

It took me only a couple of minutes to set up my Jott account and call in a few messages. Very cool! Within seconds, my voice message was converted into text and displayed in my Outlook email box and also in my Jott account online. This is great for the times when you’re in the car and all your ‘to-do’s keep popping into your mind, and you have no way to write them down while you’re driving.

I also use Jott with my emails that have come into Microsoft Outlook. If there’s an important email that I want to be sure to follow up with, I’ll send a reminder to either my phone or my email (or both) for the date and time that I want to be reminded.

You can try JOTT Voicemail free for a week, then review their options to continue Jotting. For me, it’s a price worth paying to keep on top of the many aspects of my life.

There are Jott apps for your iPhones or Blackberry. Jott also links to an amazing number of services (Twitter, Facebook, Google Calendar, WordPress, Remember the Milk and more).

UPDATE: As of May 3^rd, 2011 Jott will no longer be in service.

If you’d like to experience a part of the city that isn’t on the Top 10 list of places to go, to experience the heartbeat of the city or town, learn from the locals.

How do you learn from the locals when you don’t live there? Here are a few ideas:

Before Your Trip

Most cities and towns have a visitor’s bureau. Go online and request their information several weeks before you travel. After selecting a few of the hotspots, look for neighborhoods, restaurants, venues and other goings-on that seem interesting. Fall festivals are coming up in many locales and these can really be fun!

Twitter: Search and follow people who live in the city you’ll be visiting and ask them for recommendations of great non-touristy spots that they like to go to. If you can’t find a few people to ask, then post a tweet and ask others to post your message to their followers. For example:

“Looking for unique, fun & interesting places to go in #Orlando that aren’t in a guidebook’s Top 10 list. Please RT”.

The hash tag (#) in front of Orlando tags this word for others who may be looking for anything Orlando-related. The Please RT asks your followers to re-tweet your message to their followers. I’m always amazed at how many great answers I get and new friends I meet in Twitterville. And if you haven’t yet jumped aboard the Twitter train, this is one very good reason to do so. The world has become a very small place indeed with the easy access to so many people around the planet.

When You Arrive

Start with your flight. Ask your flight attendant if he or she is based in the city where you’re heading and if so, ask them for ideas from their local perspective.

Hotel desk personnel and concierges, along with cab drivers, are also good sources of info. I don’t ask the typical tourist question of “What should I see or what should I do?” but rather ask “What do you and your family or friends do when exploring your city outside of the top tourist attractions?” The answers will be very different just by asking the question a different way.

Head to the Visitor’s Center office once you arrive in town. Not only are the staff in these centers very knowledgeable about where to go, but they know the best days and times, off-the-beaten-track things to do, and insider secrets on great inexpensive restaurants, traffic issues to avoid, free days at local museums, and more.

Local newspaper’s travel section (you can usually find this online) or a city’s local magazine. Our Orlando magazine is chock-full of amazing restaurants and has a long list of upcoming events. I like their “Best of … ” lists because it’s locals who submit and vote on the venues. I could spend a month on vacation just in my own city of Orlando and never get near Disney World as there are so many other things to do. Pick up either of these at a newsstand or bookstore. Email me if you’re ever coming to Orlando and I’ll share some of our city’s great offerings with you!

Websites

There are tons of websites where you can get local opinions and input, even photos, of things to do, where to stay and places to eat. Some popular sites are Tripadvisor.com, cruisecritic.com (this site is great to find out what to do while in port), citysearch.com and virtualtourist.com. There are so many more, but these will get you started. Add in iPhone apps, and there are a ton more ways to find local happenings.

While I love guide books and order travel books from AAA before a big trip, I also love learning from the locals on ways to really experience the best that a city or town can offer. These off-the-top-10-tourist-track places are where I experience the most special feelings about the place I’m visiting and some of my best memories.

- Google Earth

Research places to see before you go. Google Earth doesn’t just show you where the museum is, but also displays pictures, videos, websites, reviews and phone numbers all relating to your place of interest.

See the sights in 3D. One of the great advantages of Google Earth is that they allow others to render buildings and terrain in 3D. See the Grand Canyon, the White House, or all of New York City rendered in 3D and get a glimpse of the scenery before you arrive.

See public transportation stops. If you’re visiting a city and plan on using the public transportation to get around, this feature is priceless. See all of the stops near your hotel or see what lines stop near that monument.

Browse pictures. The rise of photos tagged with the location they were taken at has allowed you to see almost an endless amount of pictures taken all around the world. Above, all of those blue squares are different photos taken in a few blocks of Mexico city. Below that, a closer look at a Tokyo fish market.

- Google Maps

If you have Google Maps on your phone, a good idea is to take a screenshot of your hotel location. This came in handy when my son went to Spain alone. If he got lost and could not find a wi-fi spot, he always had a picture of a map to show him exactly where his hostel was. Like above, try to get major cross streets, public transportation spots, and major landmarks all in one shot and you will always find your way back.

Don’t forget that Google Maps has walking and bicycle directions, as well. They may be safer or faster than your regular driving directions. Just remember that they are in beta and always trust your better judgement if you feel they are unsafe.

Just like Google Earth, Maps can give you more information about particular hot spots. See pictures and get a link to Wikipedia pages of interesting landmarks and attractions.

Just in case you’d like to gunk up your arteries with a Fried Mars Bar, do a Google Maps search on ‘fried mars bar Aberdeen Scotland’ and you’ll find The Carron … the site of my sinning when I visited Stonehaven, Scotland. It’s amazing how Google Street View shows the building so clearly!

Google Earth is a free download, and you can find Google Maps here. Use these tips and get the most out of your travels.

My old solution for these problems involved a lot of extra stuff: CDs, thumb drives, external harddrives, etc… a lot of extra “stuff” that just added weight to my carry on and didn’t really help keep things organized. Version control was never my strong suit, and knowing if that version of the report on my thumb drive was the latest was more of a guessing game.

These days I have been cleaning up my act. I have found a few solutions that have made finding the file I need a little easier.

- Date Documents in the file name

Whenever I save a new version of whatever it is I am working on, I like to put a date in the file name. Instead of “expenses.xls”, I use “expenses.06.05.10.xls”. This way you always know when you worked on which file. When automatically sorting files in folders, you get a nice chronological order, as well.

- Cut down on loose notes

I get little pieces of information all day long. Receipts that need to go in the expense report, the business card of an associate, hand drawn notes from a productive lunch meeting … all of this just adds to my “stuff” that I need to process. These little slips of info that I would like to keep track of are no good stuffed into my laptop bag, so this is why I bring my portable scanner with me on every trip.

Scan it, file it, and then toss it!

There are a few options for keeping track of loose notes. I personally use Microsoft Office OneNote to track all of my notes and put Outlook Calendar reminders on them. Another option is Evernote. This option syncs all of my notes, so when I scan that takeout menu or take a picture of that dress I liked, all of my notes wind up in the same place.

- Cloud Storage

Cloud Storage has been growing in popularity, and it’s easy to see why. Having all of your files accessible easily and securely from any computer helps with revision control and collaboration. Your whole team can collaborate on the report and know that they are working on the latest version. Work from home on that year end project, sync it to the cloud, and pick up right where you left off in the office on the next day.

There are a few options when it comes to cloud storage.

Dropbox is a simple solution for hosting files. Once installed, you can have a Dropbox folder on your computer that acts like any other file, except it automatically syncs the contents with the servers. The free plan lets you store up to 2 GB of files, and the next step up is 50 GB for $9.99 a month or $99 a year.

Google Docs allows you to store up to 1 GB of any type of document (which you don’t convert to their Google Doc format). It is free with any Google Account and more storage can be added for a yearly fee. Collaboration is a breeze, allowing multiple users to edit a document on the server. One of their newest features allows you to see changes made as they happen!

SugarSync is a bit more user friendly cloud storage solution. Your files can sync not only on your Windows or Mac computer, but they also have apps for iPhone, BlackBerry, Android, and Windows Mobile. They have a free 2 GB trail version, and their plans start at $4.99/month or $49.99/year for a whopping 30 GB of storage.

These are just a few of the tips I’ve used to cut down on the clutter and simplify my mobile life. How do you keep organized on the road?

High quality noise-isolating (different from noise canceling) headphones, or noise canceling headphones are preferred by travelers. They can make a world of difference by reducing the plane noise to a mere background hum and allow you to fall asleep to your music in a quiet environment.

Headphones are also great for discouraging a talking seat mate. Whether you’re actually listening to music or not, put the headphones on to look like you are.

I love my noise-cancelling headphones. When I’m ready to doze off, I tune my iPod to Enya or soft classical music and the sounds in the plane fly out the window.

For a recent report on the 5 Best Headphones read http://reviews.cnet.com/best-headphones.