Existing since long, prepaid travel cards are not a new concept. But here’s a new twist to the tale. For all those frequent flyers, it’s a nagging and time-consuming exercise to book tickets, after researching through various deals available online, for their weekly or monthly travel itinerary.

To make life easier for those who fly frequently, let’s imagine a prepaid, preloaded airline card. You must wonder what exactly is the concept of this card and how will it work? Well, in a situation like this when a person travels from LA to SFO every week on Mondays and returns back to LA on Fridays — or any other destination — on a very frequent basis, airlines should offer a preloaded card with a number of air trips loaded in the same just like a cash card.

This prepaid airline card can have a certain number of trips loaded on it based on the flyers travel needs. In this scenario, it will definitely prevent the flyer from the hassle of booking tickets every time and checking the fares for 10 different flights. At the same time, this very concept of trips preloaded card will save time both for the customer and the airline. Furthermore, it will give the Airline a guaranteed revenue as every seat empty in an airline is perishable inventory.

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Though the pros and cons about the feasibility of this idea can be a subject for airlines and tour & travel operators to review, from a customer’s point of view it will be a welcome feature if air tickets for weekly or future trips are uploaded on their frequent flyer card in advance. And all you need is your preloaded airline card to go and check in just like a Starbucks Card!!

So what’s your take on this idea? Agree or disagree, do share this idea with your friends and colleagues. If you have a suggestion or even better idea to suggest, feel free to post it.

Hope this idea can be implemented before Fifty Shades of Grey! Whenever we think of entertainment, movies are obviously one of the most preferred time killer for almost everyone. Be it the close confines of our house or the new-age multiplexes, we love to watch the new releases in our free time. With the Academy Awards nomination around the corner, the DVD rentals will soar up as our checklist of the movies-to-be-seen gets prepared.

But the entertainment industry is far bigger. There are amazing stories and movies being released in different languages based on the countries and other territories. Mostly, we don’t get a chance to watch those masterpieces, reasons being aplenty.

First of all, the movies are not easily available. Even if it is available through online medium or our digital service providers, there is the language barrier. The average movie lovers can mostly understand one or two language other than their native language. If we talk about the dubbed version or the subtitled ones, still there are options for couple of prominent languages only.

We are in 21st century but still we are pushed to watch a movie in one language with nice subtitles popping up. If we wish to watch a Chinese movies in English subtitles or a French movie in some other language subtitle, there are not much options available in the market.

However, with the introduction of DVDs new possibilities have arisen for the use of dubbed films. For the most part, in addition to a series of other options regarding choice of scene, of commentary, of director’s comments, etc., the following versions are on offer: an original version with subtitles in the target language of the particular country where it is sold (sometimes also with subtitles in the source language), and a dubbed version (with subtitles for the deaf on demand). With some films one can even find two versions which are dubbed in different target languages (Italian and Spanish, for example).

As per erudit.org, altogether there is room for 8 different soundtracks (the original plus max. seven dubbed versions) plus 32 different sets of subtitles for the same film (interlingual subtitles in a number of different languages as well as intralingual subtitles for different audiences: the deaf and hard of hearing, young viewers, etc. (Gambier and Gottlieb 2001, xiii). However, the production of DVDs is still restricted to films whose success is predictable, i.e. mostly to big, mainstream productions.

Contrarily, the multiple-language subtitle options for movies in the multiplex are still not in the horizon. The entertainment industry needs to find a technical solution on how moviegoers can watch any movie in their own personalized language. With the advent of new-age technology, it could be addressed through apps or gadgets. The entertainment industry should invest in this direction to join hands with the technology partners to brainstorm and develop headsets or other technical device, which may offer the cinema lovers a range of language choices as subtitles to watch and enjoy a wide variety of International movies.

So what’s your take on this idea? Agree or disagree, do share this idea with your friends and colleagues. If you have a suggestion or even better idea to suggest, feel free to post it.

When it comes to entertainment, the new-released movies are probably one of our best bets. Each week there are a number of movies hitting the silver screens across different locations around the world. However, it becomes tough for a movie-goer to select which movie could provide value-for-money and a couple of good hours of entertainment. Mostly, we all rely on movie reviews, be it via online, TV or print media.

Considering the number of man-hours, money and reputation at stake for a given movie, one bad review simply writes the obituary even before it is released. We have movie critics everywhere, right from newspapers to TV channels and blogging site to micro-blogging spheres. The self-acclaimed movie experts find it easy to summarize the hard work of a movie within 500 words to either rate it higher or discard it altogether. We are talking about the role of the new-age movie critics. How justified are they to make or break the fate of a movie which took years of hard labor to reach theaters.

In recent times, the impact reviews have on a film’s box office performance and DVD rentals/sales have become a matter for debate. There are those who think modern movie marketing, using pop culture convention appearances and social media along with traditional means of advertising, have become so invasive and well financed that established reviewers with legitimate criticism cannot be heard over the din of popular support, argues a page on Wikipedia titled ‘Film criticism’.

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However there are pros and cons of the movie reviews on the digital space. In some cases if a movie flops due to negative reviews, there are many incidences where positive film reviews have been known to spark interest in little-known films. For example, independent films with smaller marketing budgets, such as The Hurt Locker, are promoted more widely thanks to the positive reviews they received.

Taking this argument further, there’s an old post titled ‘The Role of the Film Critic in the Internet Age posted on mubi.com. Here a visitor has rightly pointed out: Professional movie critics? film reviews have become obsolete and hold little value for me. Helping moviegoers decide on which movies to see seems to be the primary objective and value of most movie reviews. Yet, now one does not need a professional movie critic and their reviews to get this type of assistance. If that’s true, what value do knowledgeable film critics have? What role or function should they fulfill? And what form should we see this role played out?

Keeping these questions in mind, how about an idea that no expert should be able to provide movie review for at least 2 days after a movie is released? They should be restricted on sharing their views on a particular movie for initial few days. Let the movie buffs decide the movie fate. The initial movie review should not be the main criteria to define either the success or failure of a movie. This change in industry vision may provide an interesting dynamics.

So what’s your take on this idea? Agree or disagree, do share this idea with your friends and colleagues. If you have a suggestion or even better idea to suggest, feel free to post it.

Whether it’s about shopping or making other transactions, we are used to getting paper receipts for the payments. The more you shop the more paper receipts keep on adding to your wallet and later released at your home.

However, the concept of paper receipts seems to be outdated in the context of the availability of the latest technologies. Paper receipts are offered across country except for some exclusive brands. I may have spend approx. $100000 over the course of last 3 years and If I calculate I have approx. 3000 paper receipts scattered somewhere inside my home or my car.

There should be a mechanism in place which would let users get paper receipts only on demand. While we keep on educating everyone about save papers, save trees message, there is hardly any effort to work on the same lines here. In fact, stores should not be offering paper receipts unless a consumer has specifically asked for the same. It is a sheer wastage of paper impacting the global environment.

To tackle this issue, there should be a technology developed which would work as repository of transactional bills of a person. If a person wishes to get a particular bill of older date, s/he may easily get that via using that technology.

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With the new innovations happening around cloud storage and other internet applications, it shouldn’t be much challenging to create a virtual space with a unique PIN number for the users to get the desired bills as and when required. Alternatively, tech companies can work on a payment gateway module for each consumer to store their paper receipts in digital format. So, that next time a person is required to get his medical bills for submission in office, he can get the print out of the bills by accessing the virtual space or app through his unique PIN or ID no.

So what’s your take on this idea? Agree or disagree, do share this idea with your friends and colleagues. If you have a suggestion or even better idea to suggest, feel free to post it.

Think about social sector and it seems that there are not many takers to volunteer for work to improve our society simply due to the lack of incentives and financial gains. Yet, there are many who are working hard to address many concerns and evils of our social system. So, what’s the way out to encourage more individuals to serve this sector?
The message should be loud and clear. Be social for a cause. Let’s encourage and educate our fellow citizens to serve the society. To achieve the same, why not offer incentives to them to get attracted to this program? In fact government should devise novel ideas to prompt citizens to be a part of the social movement and help improve society through their involvement and work commitment.
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Government should chalk out a proposal where citizens are given incentives if they devote 10 per cent of their early time towards Non-Profit organizations. Those who opt-in to be a part of such program, the Government should offer a tax rebate of 1 per cent to that individual. This reward-for-work will certainly excite and encourage younger generation and proud citizens to passionately serve their society by getting attached with any social organization within their locality.
Furthermore, government’s tax rebate will work as an impetus for many undecided minds. Additionally, the non-profit organizations will get equipped with more manpower to carry out their work and agenda and spread their message to distant places. In short, this concept will result in a win-win situation for all.
So what’s your take on this idea? Agree or disagree, do share this idea with your friends and colleagues. If you have a suggestion or even better idea to suggest, feel free to post it.

In the fast-changing landscape of the technology-driven world, there’s a need to overhaul the existing education system in our society. Gone are the days when teachers or professors only were the torch-bearer of knowledge, the younger generation is equally equipped with modern technologies and related information.

In this digital world, kids are more educated in technology and other programs. It is extremely important that Professors understand that importance of reverse education. It’s time to share knowledge but in the reverse order. Let kids become the teachers.

Equipped with the current technologies, the younger generation should be the ideal candidate to teach and share their expertise with the seniors. Basically, every school should have this reverse education program for a healthy education system. Although, the senior citizens are more learned when it comes to literal knowledge, they are not much up-to-date with the new technologies.

On the other hand, the teenagers are more adept with the digital world and they are equally literate about the new gadgets, apps and tools. In this scenario, the students can act as teachers and let elders learn from their experience to manage technology and the latest gadgets. Whether it’s about installing apps, downloading files, working on Internet, software or computer related issues, the elders can learn a lot from their junior counterparts.

It’s not a hidden secret that when it comes to handling smartphones, tablets, apps or the digital space, the young generation is much informative and spends a good amount of time surfing, playing or troubleshooting technology related problems. With the reverse education model, kids can act as a bridge when it comes to technological knowledge sharing with the elders. The seniors can learn basic tricks and tips about how to manage and handle their latest gadgets or devices. This way, the younger generation can become the right source of information and knowledge exchange with their respective elders.

So what’s your take on this idea? Agree or disagree, do share this idea with your friends and colleagues. If you have a suggestion or even better idea to suggest, feel free to post it.

The recent disappearance of Malaysia’s national carrier Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 and AirAsia Indonesia flight QZ8501 reminds of the legend of the Bermuda Triangle again, where a number of aircraft and ships are said to have disappeared under mysterious circumstances.
In fact, the missing AirAsia flight QZ8501 that disappeared yesterday is the third plane tragedy this year alone to affect Asia. On a flight to Singapore, the AirAsia Indonesia airliner flying from Indonesia with 162 people on board has gone missing. However, the recent development suggests that the missing
AirAsia Indonesia flight QZ8501 is likely to be at the bottom of the sea, the head of Indonesia’s search-and-rescue agency has said. So far, the story of AirAsia Flight QZ8501 sounds remarkably similar to that of Malaysia Airlines MH370, which remains missing nearly 10 months after it disappeared from radar screens on a flight between Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, and Beijing, says CNN. AirAsia boss Tony Fernandes said this was his ‘worst nightmare’.
As the frequent news of tragic flight disappearance keep on hitting the headlines, it’s time to raise questions about the aviation safety in the region. South-East Asia has a fast-developing aviation sector with many carriers fighting for space, observers say.
In view of the recent incidence, there needs to be active collaboration across industries to brainstorm ideas to tackle issues related to safety and precautionary measures. The experts of the different sectors should work together and think out of the box to provide solutions to the other industries based on their experience and acquired knowledge. Taking the argument further, here are few ideas initiated and shared by ideatrr team. Hope this can evolve into a concrete solution as others share their expert opinions on this matter.
So, what are the short-term and long-term solutions for the aviation safety? To address the safety norms of the flights and troubled airline’s history, the industry needs to invest in better technology- let the tech giants brainstorm to come up with innovative solutions. With the advent of groundbreaking technologies, the industry experts should develop dedicated apps and gadgets to track, locate and monitor flights and their corresponding routes, a device way smarter or interactive than the Black box.
When a flight goes missing, all the efforts are made to retrieve the black box to know about the last moment of communications and other details when the flight lost control with the air traffic control. Why shouldn’t there be an idea of a cloud storage for the black box device as it would be easier to access the data whenever there is a dire need to do so?
Furthermore, the Silicon Valley should envision and create a tech gadget which can give proactive heads-up to the control room in case of an emergency or turbulence during the flight. Also, every flight should have inbuilt cameras which may offer visuals and recording of the flights from inside. In view of the security of the flight and safety of the co-passengers, cameras can play a vital role in monitoring and safeguarding the entire flight. The airlines should take more effective measures to look after or maintenance of the mechanical aspects of the airlines than the ambience itself. Based on the age and hours of air travel a flight has taken, there should be a periodic check up of an airlines’ carrier comprising each and every physical part.
Additionally, The aviation industry, experts and tech companies need to brainstorm to address the safety issues of the flights, their respective co-passengers and should come up with better technologies and solutions to avert frequent flight tragedies in future. Again, this is the reason why industries need to collaborate and share ideas amongst each other. It is the right time to take assistance from the Tech Giants.
What are your suggestions to strengthen the aviation safety norms?

While visiting a new place, one often wonders where to get some rare gift items for friends and relatives. We all encounter this problem while traveling to distant locations, be it a business trip or a holiday tour.

Once you check-in inside a hotel, you recall suddenly that you have to meet a distant relative and you have no extra gift to present there. During a similar experience, it occurred to me that it would be a great idea if hotels start selling select merchandise to woo their regular customers.

Basically, hotels should scout for the most unique gift and luxury items in the room and sell it under unique product merchandising. This will ensure that people who are short of time get the rare gifts from their hotel only rather than searching around for it in the city.

Won’t it be a good idea for the visitors to pick up unique gift items for family members or friends — right from the hotel where they are residing during their trip?

This smart idea will certainly save time and money for the travelers and at the same time it can work as a new business idea for the hotel industry. Here we are not talking about bathrobes and caps, but very selective unique products sourced for appeal. Furthermore, hotels can research about their gift warehousing based on the age, gender and countries of their visitors.

In fact, with this unique initiative, hotels can gain more monetarily as well due to this added source of revenue. At the same time, travelers who booked their rooms in these hotels would find this gift pick-up option as a pleasant surprise as they will be saving time and money on their next rare gift hunt.

Next time, when you visit a hotel in some distant location, don’t get surprised if you come across a range of rare gift items at display for sale. So what’s your take on this idea? Agree or disagree, do share this idea with your friends and colleagues.

If you have a suggestion or even better idea to suggest, feel free to post it.

Those who fly frequently know it better that how much hard it is to kill time while you are inside the airport and waiting for your flight to take off or sitting idle to hear about your connecting flights status. While different people have different ideas to kill their time, whether playing games on smartphones, watching movies, enjoying drinks and snacks or loitering around for no meaning at all, but there is one thing in common — they are looking for some better engagement to while away their time.
Thinking on those lines, there is an idea about rental libraries at the airports. We all love books and enjoy it the most while traveling, be it on train, flights or local transports. In fact, it was more evident before the advent of smartphones and tablets as this habit is gradually fading out. So, it can be a fantastic proposition to think about libraries at the airports. Aimed at the book lovers, this new feature will encourage the new generation as well to engage them more into reading habits if they happen to be frequent fliers.
Create libraries at airport and let people rent books of their choice at a certain price to enjoy while they are in flight. Once they reach their desired destination, they can return it to another library there before exiting off the airport or can leave the book at airlines. Now, here the airports of different countries have to work out on a model where they can have libraries at different cities in different countries. They also need to work out couple of things like taking the book back to the parent library, price sharing and other issues before this model can be applied for the public usage.
So what’s your take on this idea? Agree or disagree, do share this idea with your friends and colleagues. If you have a suggestion or even better idea to suggest, feel free to post it.

When was the last time you wondered why don’t they do something about it while waiting in a long line at a retail store to make your payments? This problem exists everywhere. The entire process of searching for items, storing and finally checking out after payment from a mall or a store is time consuming.
Wonder, why no big player in this sector has yet come with any smart idea to make the lines shorter or payment process easier? How about a scan payment machine that gives you a barcode, which you scan on phone for automatic payment on anything?
This simple gadget will make credit cards obsolete and frauds difficult. The machine can be used by the merchant establishments to receive payments. Above all, this application will come most handy for those stuck in long lines as they’ll be able to leave big retail stores (i.e. Safeway, Costco, Wal-Mart) in a quick time.
Moving further on the concept, the store can capture one time authentication and track customers’ purchased items. And when we are leaving the store the app should allow us to pay from our phone within next 24 hours. The advantage of having this system in place will be that whichever item we bought can be tracked through the bar code and our mobile app. Ultimately, this will save consumers precious time as well as give opportunity for a competitive tech space for all these big retail giants.
So what’s your take on this idea? Agree or disagree, do share this idea with your friends and colleagues. If you have a suggestion or even better idea to suggest, feel free to post it.