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Cellphones On Airplanes

Bonker writes "According to this USAToday article two companies, AirCell, and Verizon, are developing technology to let airline passengers safely use cellphones while in flight. The system would block frequencies normally used by cellphones and force cell customers to 'roam' on the new network. Saftey concerns aside, I thought that a plane cabin was the one place I would never have to deal with people who won't quit talking on the phone."

23 of 488 comments (clear)

  1. Weapons still illegal? by NetDanzr · · Score: 5, Funny

    I tend to whack people talking on cellphones during moview with a stick. Sitting on a plane with people all around you talking to their phones and not being able to whack them may get a little frustrating...

    1. Re:Weapons still illegal? by sharkey · · Score: 3, Funny

      Sitting on a plane with people all around you talking to their phones and not being able to whack them may get a little frustrating...

      Easy. Just tell a stewardess that you heard them talking in Arabic. She'll take care of the rest for you.

      --

      --
      "Outlook not so good." That magic 8-ball knows everything! I'll ask about Exchange Server next.
  2. Allow cell phones on airplanes? by fobbman · · Score: 5, Funny

    I have no problem with allowing cell phone use on airplanes. The problem is when they expect to use them IN the airplane. When they do that, then they need to allow me to carry a stun gun.

  3. Passengers only? by uk_greg · · Score: 2, Funny

    What about the pilots? Will they have to use hands free models? :)

  4. Re:Can someone explain by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Funny

    "Please turn off all electronic devices. This includes pacemakers."

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  6. Great by PygmyTrojan · · Score: 5, Funny

    Anyone who's willing to pay $3.99/minute roaming charges just to say "Hey! I'm flying over your house!" deserves a swift kick in the crotch.

    --

    Trying is the first step towards failure.

  7. Re:deal? by blincoln · · Score: 5, Funny

    Are you just upset about only being able to eavesdrop on one side of the conversation?

    My personal complaint is that people on cellphones tend to act as if they're speaking from the privacy of their own home, rather than talking with someone in a public place. They speak in a louder voice, and they discuss more personal topics. I don't like being forced to know things I didn't want to about people.

    The worst, though, are people who use them in the restroom. "Ah, yeah, let's close that business deal. Hang on one second, will you? Unnnh! Unnhhhhhhh! [sploosh] oh yeah! Okay, now about those terms..."

    --
    "...always new atoms but always doing the same dance, remembering what the dance was yesterday." -Richard Feynman
  8. Re:Dunno... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Funny

    That shit is all electrical and has photons and quarks shooting around in it and it and all that energy could easily explode out of the USB port and ignite the fuel tanks. If it saves even one life then there is no need to even finish this sentence!

  9. Re:Seems fairly antiquated by mustangdavis · · Score: 5, Funny
    one could easily make these calls from a plane as long as some type of broad connection to the Internet was available.
    We'll just run a Road Runner teather to the plane .... or attach a satalite dish to the plane's rudder ...

    Besides, I hate when calls drop, so lets use Linux instead.

  10. Re:Jetblue?? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Funny

    Maybe their planes don't have any electronics. Would explain the lower rates, wouldn't it?

  11. Re:deal? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Funny

    If you don't like knowing about their personal things, why don't you try discussing it with them? If someone is talking about how they have abdominal pains, go over and share a bogus anecdote with them after they get off the phone about how you have a bleeding anus or something. Or, alternatively, go into the stall next to the guy who is closing his business deal whilst taking a shit and fake a call to your doctor on troubleshooting said bleeding anus.

    Be sure to talk loudly!

  12. Re:Does not matter by i_m_sane · · Score: 4, Funny

    "The pilot has turned off the no smoking light and the seatbelt light, however the no cell phone light will remain on throughout the entire flight."

    --
    Adam Sane sanity is a dirty job, but somebody has to do it.
  13. Good news for us hungry geeks... by McFly69 · · Score: 2, Funny

    "Hello Pizza Hut? I would like a large cheese pizza and some hot wings deleveried to the Atlanta Domestic airport. What....where am I right now? I am about 3,000 feet above North Carolina, but I will be at the airport in 20 minutes."

    --



    NO! NO! Please don't mod me, I'm too young to die a troll. *click* Oh the pain, the pain...
  14. people who won't quit talking on cellphones by chachi5000 · · Score: 2, Funny

    "I thought that a plane cabin was the one place I would never have to deal with people who won't quit talking on the phone."

    I thought I was safe while running the Twin Cities Marathon last month, but I was wrong. On mile five I hear an annoying personalized ring and a "Hello!". The guy next me rigs up his hands free ear piece and starts jabbering away.

    Where will it end? Church? Public bathrooms? Theaters? I've heard cell phones in all of them! No place is safe!

  15. Re:deal? by Maxwell'sSilverLART · · Score: 5, Funny

    Only we can't mod people with cell phones.

    Sure you can! In a restaurant, a glass of ice water is a wonderful moderator. In a theater/theatre, your hat (which you did, of course, remove upon entering the building) is a wonderful whacking device. Elsewhere, just join their conversation. "REALLY? I CAN'T BELIEVE SHE DID THAT!"

    They'll learn, usually quickly.

    --
    Moderate drunk! It's more fun that way!
  16. Re:deal? (My rant) by throbbingbrain.com · · Score: 3, Funny


    The strange thing is, people will YELL things into a cell phone that they would never say in a face to face conversation in a public place.

    On my train ride to work this morning, I learned all about a passenger's:

    1. Divorce
    2. Joint debts with ex wife.
    3. Kid's behavior problems and learning disorder.
    4. New house.

    I DON'T CARE. I WAS TRYING TO READ A BOOK. It's a public place and the rest of us shouldn't be forced to endure someone's personal business.

    Evening news: "Disgruntled DC area commuter assaults passenger on morning commuter train. Surgeons were unable to extract the cellular phone from the victim's [choose an oriface] and fear it may be permanently lodged there..."

    Ahhh... I feel better now.

  17. Trigger Happy TV by smcn · · Score: 3, Funny

    *Nokia tune*
    Hello?!
    No I'm on an airplane!
    An airplane! It's some new system! Total rubbish!
    Hang on you're cracking up!
    You're cracking up, call me back!
    Alright, ciao!

  18. "Phone police" will have an officer on each flight by doorbot.com · · Score: 2, Funny

    Air travel will be very pleasant if the "in-flight cellular officer" is one of these guys, as I trust them to keep cellphone use to a tolerable level.

    What would you do if a giant cellphone told you to "hang up, or else?"

  19. Re:deal? by naNoox · · Score: 4, Funny

    ...for the plane to land to hear about the cute guy sitting in 21-b.

    Hey!! That was me in 21-b!

    Don't stop her from doing something about it...

  20. Maybe... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Funny

    Maybe he was just talking to his number two.

  21. Re:The Aviation Safety Reporting System by Lumpy · · Score: 2, Funny

    you forgot some important ones...

    Anomaly: Aircraft crashed upon takeoff, probable cause: Pilot's Alcahol level above 0.47

    Anomaly: Aircraft plummeted into ground 1/2 way through flight, probable cause: wings fell off due to ice

    Anomaly: after a long flight aircraft flew erratic and crashed, probable Cause: Lack of fuel.

    i can name 100 times more problems that relate to things OTHER than electronics and all are much more deadly.

    --
    Do not look at laser with remaining good eye.
  22. NudeSmokeCell Airways by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Funny


    Business Idea:

    January 1. 2003:
    NudeSmokeCell Airways, a new division of Jet Blue, flies all of the same routes.

    On NudeSmokeCell Airways, you can:

    * Wander around the cabin naked

    * Smoke as much as you want

    * Use a cell phone, and any other electronic
    device, as much as you want

    * upgrade your ticket for use of the in-flight hot-tub