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Attention Atlanta Flyers: Long Lines Re-Appear at Hartsfield

If you need to pass through security at Atlanta's Hartsfield-Jackson airport, you should know that this at 7:30 this morning passengers waited as long as 50 minutes in line.  Airport authorities attributed to long lines to the start of the summer vacation season.  Normally, about 250,000 passengers pass through the airport each day; this week that number ballooned to 370,000 passengers. 

But wait, it gets worse: On Wednesday, the wait time in security lines was as long as two hours, according to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.  Some passengers missed flights as a result.

Busiest times: between 8 and 9 a.m. and 2 and 3 p.m.  Generally speaking, of course, early morning is the best time to fly because there's less chance of back-ups and congestion in the sky.  In Atlanta, at least, long security lines this week made that advice moot.

My advice: If it looks as if you might miss your flight, go to the head of the line and show your boarding pass to a TSA agent and VERY politely ask someone if you can cut in line.

Check out wait times on the airport's web site. 

The UK Goes Smoke Free Next Month; Will Portable Ashtrays Fly?

I never thought Italy would ban smoking in restaurants, but it did.  Then I figured most Italians would flaunt the rules.  However, a recent stay in Rome and the Amalfi Coast proved me wrong, I'm happy to say--Italian diners are doing their smoking outside only.

Now, on July 1, smoking in English pubs, restaurants, stores, and workplaces will be banned.  In fact, the only indoor place where people in the United Kingdom will be able to smoke will be their homes and cars.  Given that 25 per cent of Britons smoke, the new ban will have a big impact. 

Footnote: Most central downtown London streets don't have trash cans--part of an effort to eliminate places for terrorist to stash explosives--so anti-smoking advertisements will urge smokers to carry portable ashtrays to minimize cigarette butts on streets.  It'll be interesting to see how well that idea goes over.

'Smart Money' Weighs In With Final Word On Battery Life

Thanks to the several readers who wrote to confirm that a cell phone, PDA, or laptop that's constantly searching for a signal is a device whose battery will drain faster than otherwise. 

I just came across an authoritative overview on how to coax a longer battery life out of, among other devices, wireless gadgets.  The article is titled "Out of Juice," and it was published in Smart Money magazine's March 2007 issue.  Click on the link in the previous sentence and you may read the article and check out the handy sidebar that accompanies it that rates the best and worst laptop, MP3 player, smart phone and PDA, as well as digital cameras and camcorders when it comes to battery life.

In the case of one laptop, an Acer TravelMate 8200, the company claims it has a battery life of 3.5 hours, but even under the least demanding conditions, Smart Money could only operate the computer for two hours and 20 minutes without it shutting down. 

Best MP3 player when it comes to battery life?  Creative Zen Vision: M, according to the magazine.