Baker On Tech

Credit card companies love to promote their premium credit card benefits: Airport lounge access, travel insurance, statement credits for trusted traveler programs, bonus points, free streaming services, elite membership ifrom hotels and airlines, etc. The perks help justify annual fees that can run close to a thousand dollars. But sometimes those benefits work in ways that leave customers wondering whether they really care about their customers.

When the Trump Organization unveiled their T1 smartphone, it was marketed as more than just another Android phone. It was presented as a symbol of American manufacturing—a phone supposedly built in the United States at a time when politicians across the spectrum have been calling for more domestic production. Buy this phone, consumers were told, and they would be supporting American workers rather than overseas factories.

Do you ever click on a link and get to a site that won’t open it because it’s behind a paywall? Or start to read a news story only to have it fade away and not let you complete it? It might be a link from a friend or from another story or a click that goes to a site that suddenly pops up a window asking you to subscribe. If we had to subscribe to every request, we’d be broke. I once was directed to a link to a story in the Chicago Tribune from the Drudge Reort.

For years, Mark Zuckerberg wanted Meta to be more than a social media company. He envied Apple with its huge hardware business and decided he wanted his own hardware. He attempted to create a phone, but that never made it to market. Then there was the Facebook Portal for the home, a device for the home with a display, microphone and camera that never sold well because few trusted him with an always-on home camera and mic.

Most travelers worry about delayed flights, lost luggage, or long security lines. Few expect to be accused of international drug smuggling because someone stole their baggage tag. Yet that is exactly what has happened to a growing number of airline passengers in Canada, according to a recent investigation by CTV News. The scheme is both simple and frightening. Corrupt airport baggage handlers remove luggage tags from innocent travelers’ bags and attach them to suitcases packed with illegal drugs.

With a number of new EVs hitting the dealers’ lots, I began testing several of those now available in the $30K-$45K range. Compared to three years ago when I leased my Lexus RZ ($63K with a $15K rebate) there are many new models with greater range and quicker charging. While not as luxurious, they offer more affordable options. The major improvement is that 300 miles on a charge is the norm and no longer an goal.

Each of the many times I flew to an international destination for business—more than 100 times over the years—I went through the exact same ritual. As soon as I stepped onto the plane, I would manually change the time on my watch, mentally placing myself in the time zone of my destination. Like so many things, that small ritual has largely vanished in the digital age, replaced by the effortless auto-syncing of the Apple Watch and similar digital timepieces from Garmin and Samsung.

As one who loathes to check a bag, like most travelers, I use an expandable 22-inch rollerboard as my main suitcase. It’s become the standard most every luggage company makes, because it’s perfectly suited for most flights. The challenge for me has been the second bag, especially when travelling internationally where it’s more likely you’ll will need to check the rollerboard. I’ve always used a 2nd bag that can be wedged under the seat, yet still have plenty of capacity.

A new website called Mindtrip Flights lets you search for flights by just describing what you want.

Having flown millions of miles, I thought I experienced most everything when it comes to the airlines. But a week before my wife and I were scheduled to fly from the West Coast to South Africa via Frankfurt for a long-planned tour/safari, Lufthansa pilots and cabin personnel went on strike. Our tickets were United flight numbers, code-sharing a Lufthansa flights from LAX to Cape Town via Frankfurt.