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The Buttocks Have It
An anonymous reader writes "From this ZDNET article: Future hijackers may find that their
buttocks betray them, if UK defense firm Qinetiq has its way. The company has developed a smart chair stashed with a thicket of seat sensors, according to New
Scientist magazine this week. The same seats could also be used to warn cabin staff of illness among the passengers, potentially alleviating the risk of deep vein thrombosis or DVT."
What is their privacy policy? How do I know they won't sell the info to Jenny Craig?
I'd hate to have my plane land gracefully in the Atlantic Ocean, the passengers exit the plane in an orderly manner via the designated exit rows, and then be pulled to the bottom by the electronics in my seat cushen.
Wouldn't you hate that?
Sig:Why copyright isn't a fundamental human right
Actually...you guys have it _really_ bad in the U.S. I have flown internationally quite a bit...and usually I go QANTUS or Air NewZealand or something like that. The economy class of those two is actually pretty good...two seats on either side, three in the middle...it's not as good a business class, but it's quite comfortable...even on a 13 hr flight. However, a couple of years ago I had the misfortune of flying United Airways...I flew first in Business, then economy on the way back (they only had one business seat left and I was travelling with the CEO of the company...hmmmmm, wonder who got it? ;) )...Business class was about as comfortable as QANTAS/Air NZ economy...except you got a little tv (yeah, thanks for that...I can watch seinfeld while I'm writhing in agony)...and economy class...I couldn't believe it...I fully did a double take when I walked in...it was like 10 seats across or something..people were nearly sitting on top of each other, and there was absolutely no room in the isles. Luck I was sitting up the back, in the only 2 seat section, next to a particularly beautiful canadian woman which made the flight 'semi' bearable. If that is what you guys consider good (note your above comment on united)...then you guys really have to fly different airlines. I will _never_ fly united again. And the stewardess was a b*tch...like I was sub human because I was in economy. United is the only U.S. airline I have flown...perhaps someone would like to comment...are the U.S. airlines like this?
"I know this was supposed to be a light topic and this post might seem alarmist but I really think we are giving up to much freedom to ensure freedom."
Indeed
"Beware the leader who bangs the drums of war in order to whip the citizenry into a patriotic fervor, for patriotism is indeed a double-edged sword. It both emboldens the blood, just as it narrows the mind.
And when the drums of war have reached a fever pitch and the blood boils with hate and the mind has closed, the leader will have no need in seizing the rights of the citizenry. Rather, the citizenry infused with fear and blinded with patriotism, will offer up all of their rights unto the leader, and gladly so.
How do I know?
For this is what I have done.
And I am Caesar."
Yeah, US airlines tend to cram people into economy. (Unless you buy "full price economy", which is actually just first class but named otherwise so businesses will comp it.) On 747s it's usually 3-4-3 in economy, and 3-3 on most of the medium jets. It's a matter of price. Most Americans just won't pay what it costs jfor more room. It's uncomfortable, but it's cheaper.
As to service, maybe I'm just used to it but I rarely have anything to complain about. The flight attendants at least pretend to be friendly, and they're actually less classist than most non-Americans airlines I've flown. (BA is a great example of an airline that does have a class system on board.) What you have to realize is that on American airlines, the expectations of service are lower. They usually hire just enough staff to take care of the planned routine of flight--serving drinks and maybe food. If you ask for an extra glass of water they'll oblige, but if you keep making requests they'll start to see you as a pest. (Not that if you have a real need for lots of drinks they won't be happy to help you, but if you just didn't bother to get liquids with your breakfast they won't be too pleased.)
Gates' Law: Every 18 months, the speed of software halves.
I'm not sure I'm convinced this technology will prevent hijacking, but if you really want to put technology into seats, perhaps they could do something to monitor passengers' body temperatures. If a certain passenger's body temperature is above a certain value for some period, then the passenger could be asked to shift to a quarantine within the flight. Inflight SARS-infections are, I believe, rare, but should be a good idea to quarantine SARS-suspects at least.
Now, many people might not like such intrusive and constant monitoring, so the technology could be opt-in, that is, if you don't like the idea, you'll be given a non-monitored seat (which could be close to, or within, the quarantine zone)
Of course, I guess the bigger problem would be space within the flight; as others have pointed out already, even legspace is at a premium, so allocating inflight space for a quarantined zone might be challenging.
I don't know, just a thought.
More than mere navel gazing.
I'm a physician... my training and board-certification are in emergency medicine, hence my experience with critically-ill people. Everyone dies sometime, and to be perfectly honest with you, I'm not sure that we have as much to say about it as we think we do...
/. (Davak UID#526912 is an internal medicine specialist)... there's also a smattering of paramedics and EMTs who also post here from time to time.
But anyway, I'm not the only doc who posts on
That's one of the things I love about slashdot, penis birds and goatse.cx trolls aside.
Even if a man chops off your hand with a sword, you still have two nice, sharp bones to stick in his eyes.