Hugh R.

Interesting idea and I have read they ultimately raised over $200,000. But I can't make any sense of their home page, or understand what they say they are doing, and a number of their Twitter statements seem to relate to the whole thing falling over. It doesn't work for me...

I have used Open Office through 5 versions now, both for word processing and for spreadsheets. It has become better with each version and in virtually all instances is a complete substitute for Microsoft Word (and the related spreadsheet, etc etc software - OO is a full suite too). It is free to download, and I have run it under both Windows XP and under Linus OpenSuse with equal success. Unfortunately some people running older versions of Word can't open the standard Open Office ODF file if you send it in that format. There are two answers to that. One is that OO will always save a file in DOC format if you select that - end of problem. The second is that there are several download options for plug-ins which enable Word to read the file. An unexpected bonus of OO is that its ability to open files ranges across so many formats it can open files which Microsoft products don't open. Format and compatibility problems from OO 3.2 onwards are now rare. The main criticism of OO has been that it is a large download file and needs a general code "clean-up" to get it to run faster. OO 3.3 addresses that to some extent and there is more to come. Finally part of the OO team left to develop Libre Office, which is intended to be an enhanced, free, version of OO but with improvements. If you are running a standalone system this is vastly better than spending real money on Microsoft Word.

One more web-site which charges fees for ESTA entry permissions for the USA when you can do it all on the official ESTA web-site for the basic $USD14 fee - this site wants 15 pounds! It is possible sometimes to attack this through the credit card companies and get a refund but this site seems to have tried to set up its fees in a way which may be defensible if you were taken in by it. Avoid!

I made the mistake of starting an order for printed stationery (I was attracted by an initial free offer!) - with extra charges and upsell methods it blew out to an absurd cost and I did not proceed with the order. But they had captured my email and other details and I was then besieged for weeks with marketing emails. In the end I had to block them as a sender - nothing else worked.

The Landmark Trust has many properties (mostly in the UK, a few in France Italy and the USA) which have been preserved for their historical or architectural merit and which can be rented for a 3 day stay or longer. Through them we have stayed in Hampton Court Palace, a tiny canal side historic cottage, and a glorious apartment in a seaside town. We have also roamed across Lundy Island in the Bristol Channel, where the whole island is run by the Trust. We have recommended them to others who also rave about their experiences. Its self-catering; their accommodation does not include televisions, wifi or phones (it is true to its period!) and sometimes parking can be difficult or internal access constrained. But all of this and much more is disclosed clearly on this website. Include it in your trip planning for the UK!

Business Spectator is a free online only business journal written by some of the big names in news and commentary in Australia. It is a must read for anyone interested in investment in Australian shares and offers many other insights into this country and its economy. It is authoritative and conforms to standards of independence and disclosure in its reporting. Recommended.

This site contains a wealth of information about whether any particular airline seat in any class is good, bad, or has special features or disadvantages. It can be hard to work out which aircraft configuration applies to your planned flight but most of the time it provides vital knowledge on what to choose on the booking engine for the flight or to ask for at check-in. Recommended.

I have used this UK website to plan holiday travel in Europe for a couple of years. Its special feature is an interactive map which shows every flight route between airports in the UK and any other airport in Europe. This is not always 100% correct as a map, as sometimes on minor routes a service has ceased or is yet to start, but you find this quickly in the supporting text. This map makes it much easier to use than the booking sites such as Expedia etc when doing the planning of travel. This website does offer some fairly rudimentary links for booking but having sorted the options I will then go to the airline site or a booking site.

For over 10 years, quite the best source of reviews of New Zealand restaurants from actual users and diners. Any traveller to NZ should use it.

I have used this site for about 7 years. It is a vast resource of information and is a "must read" before booking hotels unknown to you. But I feel it has deteriorated in the last couple of years as it has become a place where many reviewers just indulge their gripes - many of them are petty. Too many reviewers have unrealistic expectations or absurd expectations of service. Tripadvisor also won't let you review the same place twice which is OK in theory but means you can't easily correct an earlier review for a later experience. You also have to watch their description of where the accommodation is - for example in NZ I have seen them list places up to 200 miles away from where they really are. Lastly, there are some great places to visit which are not on Tripadvisor at all and unless you use other sources you can miss them.

Very large European travel booking site; very easy to use; with the great advantage that it offers all the usual accommodation options but also quite a number of smaller and special options - recommended

Lists itself in New Zealand as batteryupgrade.co.nz but it is not an NZ business or in NZ. I thought when ordering I would have benefit of NZ consumer protection laws, but they don't apply to offshore deals. It seems to be based in Holland and the battery I ordered was sent (in plain cardboard with no accompanying papers) from Hong Kong. It was a poor Asian copy of what I wanted and would not charge beyond 30% capacity so is useless. I would not use this site again.