Bill Gates traveling in Antarctica

Where does one of the richest men in the world go to get away from it all? Apparently, in the case of Bill Gates, it's Antarctica. The Chairman of Microsoft used his twitter account to post his thoughts on the frozen continent a few days back, saying "the beauty is amazing", while lamenting the fact that his satellite Internet connection prevented him from uploading photos.

Gates is reportedly on vacation at the bottom of the world, taking some time away from his duties with the software giant that he helped found and his Gates Foundation which works with a number of different programs on a global level to improve the lives of people around the world in a variety of ways.

How Gates is traveling in the Antarctic isn't clear, but it's likely that he is on an adventure cruise through the icy waters that surround the continent. While travel into the interior is done for the season, cruises will continue for several weeks yet.

In one of his tweets, Gates says "I'm guessing not much tweeting has been done from Antarctica", but he might be surprised to hear that a number of explorers that traveled to the South Pole on skis over the past couple of years have used twitter to send updates back on their status and progress. Clearly technology has pervaded every segment of our life and communication is now possible from all corners of the planet.

Gates promises to tell us more about his journey on his Gates Notes website in the near future. Can't wait to hear more about his trip.

Digital TV on the go with the FLO TV Personal Television - the Gadling review

Entertainment on the go is very important for most travelers. Some may find their entertainment in a book or stack of magazines, others (like myself) tend to rely on high tech gadgets. For those of you that enjoy their entertainment from TV on the go, there is the new FLO TV Personal Television

The FLO TV Personal Television looks more like a PDA than a digital TV. There is a reason for this - the TV is made by smartphone company HTC. Nothing on the device reminds you that you are looking at a television - there is no antenna and no tuning knobs.

On the front of the unit is a single button, on the top you'll find power button and battery status buttons, and on the side are volume controls. The screen is a 3.5" touch panel, and sound comes from a pair of stereo speakers on the rear of the TV, where you'll also find a sturdy stand.
Coverage

FLO TV is a digital TV service that is available on select mobile phones on AT&T and Verizon Wireless. The FLO TV Personal Television is a stand-alone product that uses the AT&T network for its signals.

This obviously restricts the places where you'll be able to pick up a signal, and in the image above, you'll see just how limited this can be - signals can only be picked up inside major metro areas, and any time you consider yourself to be "in the middle of nowhere", you won't be able to use the TV.

Reception within the coverage area is very good - you obviously won't get the same HD experience you have at home, and the signal occasionally drops for a second or two when it switches between towers, but other than that it's great.
Channel lineup

The channel lineup on FLO TV is probably its strongest point - you get a decent selection of sports, news, entertainment and kids TV. Some channels are specially developed for mobile use, others are the same signal you'd get on your satellite or cable signal.

    * 2.FLO Preview channel
    * MSNBC
    * Comedy Central
    * ESPN Mobile
    * MTV
    * Nickelodean
    * Disney Channel
    * CNBC
    * Fox News
    * Adult Swim
    * Food Network
    * ABC Mobile
    * CBS Mobile
    * FOX Mobile

There is a price to pay for all this entertainment - $14.99 in addition to the cost of the unit itself ($199). Navigating the channels is nice and simple - you can enable a "swipe to change" and use your fingers to slide up or down through the channels, or you can press the front button and navigate through the guide.
Hardware

The FLO TV Personal Television feels well made - the device itself is mainly plastic, but the stand on the rear is made of metal, and allows the TV to be angled any way you want it. The touch screen is responsive, and channel changes take just one or two seconds, plus a couple more seconds for the device to "lock" on to its signal.

Within the menu on the device, you can set reminders to watch a show, enable parental controls and change the touch settings (for changing channels).

Behind the metal stand is a battery cover and a SIM card (hidden behind a plastic cover). During normal use, users will never have to remove that cover. The battery is rated for five hours of continuous use and charges using a MicroUSB jack on the TV. A MicroUSB cable and wall charger are included - but no car charger. Inside the box is also a small carrying pouch.

There is a single headphone jack - but no video output. I'll get back to this shortcoming in a moment.

Thoughts on the service

As a geek, the idea behind FLO TV excites me - being able to receive TV on the go is awesome. Despite its limited coverage area, being able to watch good quality programming on the go is fantastic.

The lack of a video output is pretty inexcusable in my opinion - it forces you to watch the 3.5" screen, no matter where you are. It would have been a great feature if FLO TV allowed you to hook the unit up to your hotel TV or in-car screen (there are automotive versions available of the FLO TV hardware).

Then there is of course the price - the $199 purchase price currently includes 6 months of service, but after that, you'll need to pay $14.99/month to keep watching TV.

Final thoughts

PROS: Well designed hardware, great picture quality, compact, easy to control, good battery life
CONS: Fairly pricey subscription, no video output

A polo match fit for an elephant

Before the Olympics wrap up on Feb. 28, it's only fitting that we pause to admire athletes from every walk of life. Take, for example, the competitors in the 9th annual King's Cup Elephant Polo Tournament (March 22-28) held at Thailand's Anantara Golden Triangle Resort & Spa.

Apparently there's actually a World Elephant Polo Association for the sport, which is prevalent in places such as Nepal, Sri Lanka, and Thailand.

Some rules from the association's website:

    * Elephants are swapped at half time to balance out any advantage
    * No elephants may lie down in front of the goal
    * An elephant may not pick up the ball with its trunk during play
    * Stepping on the ball is prohibited

For the polo tournament, the Anantara Golden Triangle resort has put together a special spectator package. With nightly rates starting at $493 per room per night, you'll get accommodations, breakfast, lunch, and transfers to and from the polo match. It's not cheap, but this hotel isn't exactly roughing it. Guests staying four nights or more will also receive a free round-trip transfer from Chiang Rai to the resort.

If going to Thailand for an elephant polo match this year isn't likely, there are some options closer to home: New York City has bike polo and Barbados hosts a Segway polo championships this year. (Random trivia: Steve Wozniak of Apple fame is reportedly not only a fan but a masterful Segway polo player.)

Furious Ryanair passenger eats his $13,600 winning lottery ticket

Despite all the weird things Ryanair manages to do to its passengers, they do have their fair share of wacky passengers as well.

During one of their flights this week, a passenger purchased a scratchcard lottery ticket (one of the many ways Ryanair makes money). When he uncovered the numbers, he turned out to be the lucky winner of €10,000 (about $13,600).

And this is where the story takes a twist for the weird - when the passenger was told that he would have to send his ticket in for verification, and that the cabin crew don't fly around Europe with that kind of cash, he got furious.

Normal people would throw a tantrum, calm down, and accept the situation. Instead, the lucky winner ate his ticket.

Right in front of all his fellow passengers, this guy actually ate a $13,600 winning lottery ticket. The only upside to this story is that the winning prize money will go unclaimed, so it can be donated to charity. I'm not sure whether alcohol or just plain stupidity played a role here, but it sure seems like one of the dumbest ways to throw away money.

Daily gear deals - $60 noise canceling headphones, $14 Bluetooth headset and more

Here are the hottest gear deals for today, Saturday February 27th 2010. Remember, these deals are often valid for just one day, so act fast before they are gone.

Today's first deal is for one of the best deals in noise canceling headphones. The Audio-Technica ATH-ANC3's come in a nice carrying case, complete with plug adapters, an extension cable and a set of batteries. On sale for just $60.99. Click here for this deal.

Next up is a "Bluefox" Bluetooth headset kit. Included is a Bluetooth headset, phone case, car charger, retractable charging cord, USB cable and a variety of phone charger plugs. On sale for $14. Click here for this deal.

Find a cable for anything on the road with this $5.43 portable cable kit. Included is an assortment of ethernet, phone and USB plugs, along with a retracting USB cable. Click here for this deal.

And finally in today's lineup, start recording your life in HD with this (pink) Kodak Zi6 HD camcorder. It is on sale for jsut $85.95, and records to SD memory cards.

Giant iceberg splits from Antarctica

A giant iceberg, the size of Luxembourg, has broken free from Antarctica and according to scientists could potentially play havoc with weather patterns across the globe for years to come. The massive chunk of ice, more than 985 square-miles in size, broke free from the Mertz Glacier Tongue along the eastern coast of Antarctica on February 12 or 13, and moved out into a region of the Southern Ocean that is vital to the production of cold, salty water that helps circulate important ocean currents.

The new iceberg was created when an older one, labeled as B9B amongst researchers, slammed into an ice shelf, dislodging it from the continent. B9B had broken away back in 1987, and drifted around the region, but had mostly sat dormant until recently. Now, the two pieces of ice have merged to form this one giant berg which could have long lasting implications to global climate.

The newly formed iceberg, which is over 48-miles in length, has already drifted out into a part of the ocean known as a polynya. Polynyas are an area of the Southern Ocean where dense, extremely cold and salty water is produced. That "bottom water", as it is known, sinks deep into the sea and creates the circulation that moves the various ocean currents around the globe. If the iceberg stays where it is at right now, it could cause a change in those circulations, having an effect on ocean currents worldwide, which will also change jet stream patterns and the movement of weather.

Best case scenario, the iceberg will either move back into the Antarctic coast or drift north into warmer waters, where it won't cause any problems, but scientists say that isn't likely. The good news is that it will probably be decades before the effects of the iceberg will be known, and I'm sure by then global warming will have kicked in, and we'll be happy for the cooling effect this might bring.

Radisson Blue Coming to Mongolia

It's time to go to Mongolia! Almost. In winter 2011, the country will welcome the Radisson Blu Hotel Ulaanbaatar, the first Rezidor Hotel Group property to hit Mongolia. This will increase the company's tally to 61 countries, says Rezidor president and CEO Kurt Ritter. You'll find the new Radisson Blu right in the heart of the country's capital, Ulaanbaatar, walking distance from Sukhbaatar Square and Peace Avenue, and it will be adjacent to the Choijin Lama Temple, which is home to an eighteenth century gold-covered statue of Buddha Shayaryamuni.

The property will have 175 guestrooms, three restaurants (including a microbrewery) and a wellness center – not to mention close to 5,000 square feet of conference and meeting space. Needless to say, this will be helpful in accommodating the increasing number of tourists to Mongolia, which has been growing at a compound annual rate of 15 percent since 2006.

So, if you're looking to check out the temple or trod some of the same dirt as Genghis Khan, you're about to get another lodging option.