Travel Technology

This has huge potential to impact how we travel, and since the language barrier is a worry for many travelers it would be great to see Google partner with destinations to help soothe those qualms.

Gogo wants its Wi-Fi users to believe the notion that it is primarily monitoring customers' Internet usage to block improper video streaming to safeguard bandwidth and the browsing experience for everyone on the plane. Passengers who are aware of the controversy will have to decide if they trust Big Brother up in the air.

Fair or not, the modern traveler judges hotels by their Wi-Fi forwardness. The American hotel industry has everything to lose and nothing to win in this fight, even if it wins a ruling by FCC.

Marriott is claiming that its plans are misunderstood and that it merely seeks permission from the FCC to jam others' Wi-Fi in its conference rooms only. But travelers are telling the FCC that they don't want to be reliant on hotel Wi-Fi in conference rooms and other areas of the hotel.

The digital should enable people to more fully embrace the physical rather than serve as a shallow replacement.

Google and Microsoft are teaming up against Marriott, Hilton and the rest of the hotel industry over travelers' rights to independent Wi-Fi access when they stay at or visit a hotel.

Hotels that align themselves with free Wi-Fi will quickly be recognized by business travelers, making the cost worth the marketing value for most business brands.

In the near future, travelers won't be all thumbs when trying to get things done on their mobile devices. Help is on the way.

As the WiFi feud rages on the service is bound to get better and better. Connected and entertained, passengers win every time.

Impacted airlines moved quickly to fix the URL issue. However, it's possible that the hack has been quietly used before. The incident highlights how even the slightest technical oversight can have a huge impact on operations.