Even on the road, there are things mobile warriors can do to help Green the world and save the planet’s resources.

1) Don’t leave it on:

Many of us leave our laptops on so they can receive e-mail. However, that burns electricity. Simply powering down if you’re going to be away for more than 30 minutes will represent significant energy savings.

And even before you leave on a trip, a simple check that the home will be using as little power and heat as possible can go a long, long way over time.

2) Unplug it:

“Phantom Draw” is the power pulled by appliances that aren’t, actually, doing anything for you. And your cell phone charger is one of the biggest offenders.

How big? Up to 90% of ALL the electricity sucked in by that charger happens when your phone isn’t even plugged into it! Just pulling it from the outlet can be a major change in terms of energy consumption.

3. Don’t Print It:

Sure, we need to print boarding passes and the like. But thinking twice before printing the rest would be a great boon to the planet.

There are other ways to be paper-free: downloading podcasts instead of grabbing brochures (like iToors), emailing meeting agendas, and sending itinerary information to a PDA or SmartPhone. I noticed that once I started paying attention, I was coming home with about 40 fewer sheets of print-outs than I had before.

3. Rent Green:

Like many other mobile warriors, I used to get bumped to some very comfortable cars over the years. Ones that burned a lot more gas than what I drove at home, but I didn’t think twice about it.

Now that I do think about it, and so do car rental companies. Three of the major ones are now offering very Green cars for rent. Enterprise, Hertz and Avis all have a Green Collection of hybrids available.

4. Get Your Power For Free:

I never knew that a universal 75-watt car adapter, which plugs into a cigarette lighter, actually draws from the car’s alternator. That makes is “free power” since it pulls from the extra available while driving! Now I carry the adapter instead of all those specially-made car chargers when I travel and help save the planet.

5. Replace your battery:

If you find yourself charging more and more often, it may be time to replace your battery. You can also buy extenders that will help your current battery work longer.

A more efficient battery can make for major power savings - and besides helping the planet, can be a real time-saver on the road.

The knack of saving the planet while traveling comes simply from having the intention to do so. At the end of the day, every little bit does help, and we can each be part of the solution.

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Since the MoGo devices were originally geared towards the mobile warriors among us, we know that a lot of readers tend to be on the road at any given moment. So today I’m breaking with the hot!new! tech news and for you, a post with some humor and timely tips.

News: Did you know that if you want to keep using your driver’s license for ID to travel, you’ll need to get it updated in the next 6 or so years?  According to a new regulation published by Homeland Security in January (but passed back in 2005):

“The American public’s desire for greater identity protection is undeniable,” said Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff. “Americans understand today that the 9/11 hijackers obtained 30 drivers licenses and ID’s, and used 364 aliases. For an extra $8 per license, REAL ID will give law enforcement and security officials a powerful advantage against falsified documents, and it will bring some peace of mind to citizens wanting to protect their identity from theft by a criminal or illegal alien.”

Read the USA Today article to get all the details in plain speak.

News: Ever wonder when restaurants will finally make a to-go meal that fits in your cupholder? Well, wonder no more! BBQ Chicken, a fried chicken fast food chain in New York, New Jersey, and North Carolina has launched a new meal that is served entirely in…cups!

No, really. Check it out.  (Thanks to the Road Warrior Blog for the item.)

Funny:  Once upon a time, I used to collect hotel toiletries from my many travels and donate them to a local shelter. But my Marriott hunter/gatherer ways were nothing on my old man (also a road warrior). Notoriously thrifty, I once saw him pouring the contents of about 15 itty bity bottles of shampoo into the regular-sized bottle in the shower.

Like no one would notice.

The combination was a frightening shade of milky green and smelled something like a gas station rest room.

My mother, bless her, has a lively sense of humor. Perhaps in revenge, she sent me this via email a long time ago. Still cracks me up. The original hysterical tale of a traveler, a hotel maid, and a whole lot of hotel soap.

Funny:  Dave Barry. Wrote about airplane travel. Don’t try to read and eat at the same time, you could hurt yourself.

Funny:  You say you’re stuck at the airport again and ready to commit mayhem? Just sit back, point and click yourself here, and relive the witty goodness of those early West Wing years.

Here’s one for free, just because:

Josh: You’re going to be reading a bit today about your secret plan to fight inflation.
Bartlet: I have a secret plan to fight inflation?
Josh: No.
Bartlet: Why am I going to be reading that I do?
Josh: It was suggested in the press room that you do.
Bartlet: By who?
Josh: By me.
Bartlet: You told the press I have a secret plan to fight inflation?
Josh: No, I did not. Let me be absolutely clear, I did not do that. Except, yes, I did that… I denied it for half an hour, they wouldn’t take no for an answer!
Bartlet: You were clear?
Josh: I was crystal clear! They said, “Do you think that, if the President has a plan to fight inflation, it’s right that he keep it a secret?” I said, of course not!
Bartlet Are you telling me that not only did you invent a secret plan to fight inflation, but now you don’t support it?

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Raise your hand if you didn’t see this one coming?  Anyone?  Anyone?  Bueller?  Yeah, thought so.  In a recent study done by the Pew Internet and American Life Project, the cell phone has officially taken the throne as the most vital device in the lives of Americans.

Wow.  It is not really a surprise given the fact that cell phones nowadays can do everything (albeit a bit slower) that a computer can do AND fit in your pocket at the same time.  Mobility, as you well know by being Here, is key and the ability to have mobility is of chief importance to us Americans always on the go.  According to the article I just read:

 ”People’s growing reliance on their cell phones, together with wireless internet access from laptops, suggests a shift in expectations about cyberspace…For many people, access to digital information and resources is an ‘always present’ utility for answering questions and documenting what is going on around them through photos or video recording.”

With 62% of all Americans taking advantage of mobile access to digital information, it’s clear that the Mobile Warriors around our country are officially starting a revolution!

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If you were to ask a whole gaggle of Mobile Warriors, what their number one pet peeve is about their cell phone service provider, I’d be willing to bet that a great deal of them would come together and agree its’ the limitations on their plans that bugs them the most.  Whether it’s how long they can talk, how much data they can transmit or receive or just how much it’d cost to do more, it bugs us all.

That said, it looks like one of the Biggest service providers in the country has heard our feeble cries and decided to do something about it.  That’s right friends, Verizon is now unveiling a series of UNLIMITED plans!  The entry-level Unlimited Voice plan, with no long distance or roaming fees, ever, will be at $99.99 a month and will step up incrementally as users decide whether or not to add unlimited SMS or MMS messaging, web use, VCast and the likes.  Bottom line, this is pretty freaking cool and will make things a whole lot easier for everyone to understand.  Believe it.

The greatest thing about this, in my humble opinion, is that it will open the door for everyone else to follow suit and offer their own version of the Unlimited plan.  Rumor has it, and according to the article I just read, Sprint has their own $119.99/month Unlimited Plan that tosses in web use, email and messaging.  The only problem, it’s not Nationwide…yet.

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Man, when it rains it pours for all us Mobile Warriors out and about.  First we find out about the ability to program your DVR from your cell phone, now we’re finding out that AT&T is going to launch their very own Mobile TV Service sometime soon!

You heard right folks, the service that was supposed to be released sometime last year is finally being launched.  According to the article I just read, “the service will launch with two exclusive channels, in addition to the eight channels on rival Verizon Wireless…”   Sounds like if they really want to compete they better make darn sure it competes with Sprint’s service as well.  Bottom line is, no matter what wireless provider you use, it’s great that this kind of technology is coming everywhere.  Not only will you not have to program your DVR over your phone, you won’t have to miss the episodes of your shows at all!

Regardless, go check out the article, brace yourself for February 5th, and get ready to be rockin’ some of your favorite stuff right there on the tiny screen of your tiny cell phone.  Crazy how fast we’re advancing.  Crazy.

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Last week Elizabeth posted about just how crazy it’d be to have a Bluetooth lawnmower cruising around your yard.  Can you imagine?  That said, in passing she also mentioned how the future truly is here in that she can simply email her DVR to tell it to start recording…well for all us mobile warriors, turns out the future is actually a lot MORE here than we thought.

That’s right friends, mobile warriors, American Idol lovers…DirecTV is actually going to be allowing you to program your DVR from your cell phone.  Yeah, your phone.  Think of this, you could be sitting in an airport and remember how much you can’t miss Lost and 10 seconds later, you’re recording.  Crazy.

Basically it’s called the DirecTV DVR Scheduler and it’s pretty darn sweet for all you customers of the service.  The ability to be mobile, stay mobile and not have to sacrifice the creature comforts of actually being home is amazing…not to mention futuristic.  So, just imagine your Bluetooth Lawnmower cutting your grass, your DVR recording American Idol and you on a plane, 5,000 miles away.  How Jetsons of you.

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2008 and already we’re worrying about scary Trojans that will infect and destroy all our precious electronics.  I’m tellin’ ya, the moment something rad gets invented, someone finds a way to mess it up, ruin it, and scare the pants off you thinking you’re going to fall victim to it!  What’s this world coming to?!

Ok, enough dramatic overreaction, now down to business.  What I say is true and there is floating around out there, a fake iPhone upgrade that just might get into your beloved touchscreen goodness and infect the whole thing.  According to the article I just read, “This Trojan claims to be a tool used to prepare the device for an upgrade to firmware version 1.1.3…When a user installs the Trojan, other application components are altered. If the Trojan is uninstalled, the affected applications may also be removed.”

In a word, Yikes.  Beware of this for all you mobile warriors out there that are just trying to get your iPhone to its most modern state.  Beware indeed.  So before you go installing anything wild on your phone, consult with Apple first.  Be smart.

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Man, and I thought Verizon could be sticklers about charging you for almost every single penny they possibly could.  How would you feel if you were a Canadian man, lonely in your job testing oil and natural gas wells alone, and you wake up to find a cell phone bill charging you a not-so-pleasant $85,000?

Yeah.  Me too.  Too bad this all really happened to Piotr Staniaszek in Canada.  Basically here’s what went down:  He was bored, lonely and Alone so he used his phone as a modem, thinking that browsing the internet was all part of the $10/month unlimited browser plan he signed up for.  The bad news came fast as he racked up hours and hours of internet time downloading movies and music and an assortment of other files.  Then came the bill.

Yeah, apparently it’s pretty clear in the contract that those are Not free activities and he WILL be paying for them.  Lucky for him, Bell, the company in question, agreed to reduce the charge down to a little over $3000, but he plans on fighting that as well.

Bottom line friends, read the fine print.  Please.  All true mobile warriors know that, unfortunately, the youth of America (myself very included) don’t always do so.  Hey, who can blame us, we’re the MTV Generation after all.

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As a mobile warrior, you and I both know the Mobile Warrior code:  We die with honor and glory.  Right?  Ok, maybe as mobile warriors we’re actually apples fallen pretty darn far from a true warriors tree…well, most of us.

So, this one isn’t exactly technology related in a GOOD way, it is interesting and hopefully updates will explain to us that it isn’t true.  Anyhow, here goes:  A man reportedly was found dead in South Korea and according to a doctor, the 33 year-old quarry worker was found dead “with a mobile phone stuck to his chest. It is believed that the device may have caused the death. The man had burns on his chest, fractured ribs and internal bleeding.”  Wow.  Authorities are wondering if the death could be attributed to the phone itself, possibly a faulty battery?

UPDATE:  Ok, mid-research on this one I find out that now South Korean officials are saying the chances of an explosion from the battery causing this man’s death are slim to none.  The cause of death has yet to be determined, but LG and others are claiming it is not a possibility.  What did happen?  The moment I Know, you’ll know.

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Bonjour, je suis iPhone.  Yep, it’s true, the iPhone is French now.  Well, French too.  And British, and German, and American and soon to be a whole lot of other nationalities.  At any rate, it is officially official that the Apple iPhone has made its way over the sea, over the confusing political differences and into the loving arms of Parisians.

According to the article I just read on my good ol’ RSS feeder, “Orange, the mobile phone and Internet branch of France Telecom, has the exclusive rights to sell the Apple handset in the country that gave us Paris. Twelve outlets in France are offering the device for 749 euros today, before the full launch scheduled for tomorrow.” 

My question to you, all of you is this:  Will the iPhone have the impact there that it did here?  Will it spawn copycats?  Will it push other mobile phone designers to push their own limits?  What will the global impact of an American sensation be?  I’d love your feedback on this one, and I’d love to hear how all of YOU think the iPhone will help change global mobile warriors.  Global Mobile.  Cool.

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