RF Newsletter, #26 May 26 2000

==

1. Hello from Nizas.

I have been in London again at a conference on the applications and opportunities for wireless Internet. What has this got to do with travel in France you may ask? I believe a lot, I will not bore you with jargon about WAP and wireless, there are plenty of good technical newsletters already, but two very practical examples may indicate the value of wireless Internet and explain why I am trying to make new WML sites in parallel with our HTML mini portal on http://goto-france.com/ and with our vacation rentals site at http://rentalsfrance.com/.

The first is about security, recently I did two short newsletters about securing your luggage when you travel, I had a lot of mail about this and the conclusion was from everyone never to leave your luggage in your car even for a very short while. The cost of the new wireless technology is falling very fast and within two years every piece of luggage, your camera, briefcase even your pets and can have what is effectively a mobile phone built into it. It sounds crazy, but your suitcase could actually telephone you and tell you it is being stolen and even tell you where it is (it makes a trunk call). You can trace your dog or your camera. This should be a deterrent for thieves as they rely on a very short time to snatch, run and disappear. However, it is still very sound advice never to let your possessions out of your site until you have checked into your lodgings.

The next application is about finding your way and getting the very best value from your visit. Whether you are driving from one city to the next, or browsing through the streets of Paris or Montpellier, the next generation of wireless hand-held Internet devices can literally tell you where you are and suggest the best routes, cafes, the best places to visit, places to avoid, special offers, you can book tickets, a seat in a restaurant, send flowers, a million things but all at that moment. Future guide books will not be printed paper but on-line, up-to-date guides which you can download every morning and relax knowing the information is correct.

What will the cost of all this be? Prices are falling already, you can buy the existing equipment for less than $100 fully configured and with time already paid, but the next generation will be 200 times faster and be much more versatile with color and everything, I have heard that the suitcase gizmo will be less than $5 extra.

If I sound like an enthusiast, I am, I hope to bring a travel series of Micro-Portals for wireless users by the end of this year, please let me know what and where you would like to see on these new generation websites.

==

2. Sunburn. I don't know if summer has just arrived, but it is already hot and Clio caught the sun this weekend. Here in Languedoc we get an average of 300 days of sunshine each year. July and August are hot but it is a "dry" heat so it is easy to sit out in the sun too long. We have a prevailing wind from the North, the Tramontane, which keeps the temperatures just about right and the humidity low. But when the sun is shining, wear a hat, use sun block and don't sit out no matter how tempting it looks, relax, sip the wine and get a super tan, (all our terraces are completely private).

==

3. I always recommend you get good travel insurance to cover lost baggage, medical and third party liability, just in case. I have found a good site for the UK but would be interested in some details for any companies from other countries, US, Canada, Australia etc. If you shop around it seems you can cut the bill for a family for a year from $500 down to $100, that is a saving of 70 bottles of our best local wine (nearly a weeks supply).

==

4. I am trying to get our auction site going on http://goto-france.com/, the software seems really good but it is taking me a lot of time, I will try to set it up and put on the special offers sent to me, I just need ten more fingers

==

5. There is an "Atomz" search engine on our site, with hundreds of pages now on GoTo-France.com this means you can search for those pages containing exactly what you are looking for, It may not have all you want yet but please write in and ask and I can put it on. On the Search engine page I have added a bit about Boolean algebra, it really is very simple and only half a page to read, but it will help you with all your search engine searches and cut the responses from 9 million to a few thousand more targeted replys. Don't forget to use "" to make a search for a specific combination of words. Those of you searching for some rather "odd" subjects should write to me personally (yes I get a print out of everything you ask for).

==

6. I have had a lot of mail letting me know what you want on a site and what information you would like. Photographs and local news are top of the list. I really do try to reply to everyone who writes and I have a "to do" file which a regularly attack but it is getting bigger every day no matter what I do. I am now getting hundreds of e-mails a day after filtering the junk and ask your understanding if I am slow in replying. I could use auto-responders but I still feel they are impersonal.

==

7. I am planning to add some advertising to this newsletter, I use a paid mailing list server to protect your addresses and to make sure the list cannot be abused, to help me offset these costs advertising would help a lot. Please let me know if you have any objections. If I do run adverts they will be in keeping with the family and personal vacation market we address.