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Cell Phones In The Air?
jumbledInTheHead writes "Are you ever annoyed when someone near you talks unnecessarily loud on their cell phone? Or even worse, when it is in a tight, enclosed space and you can't walk away? The problem is about to get worse the next time you take a flight; the FAA is considering removing the ban on cell phone use on airlines."
So they can let phones on planes - big deal. Exactly how is this different:
'some wanker talking loudly to the person next to them'
'some wanker talking loudly to a person on the phone'
That's right - there is stuff all difference. People use phones (rudely sometimes), but so what! If they are a loud, rude person then they will be loud and rude no matter what technology you limit them to.
I hardly ever use my mobile, but on a plane I imagine it would be really useful (Hi Honey - I'll be in late, or booking rooms or whatever)
You can't expect to wield supreme executive power, just because some watery tart threw a sword at you
It is to bad we can't make laws to stop people from being jerks. The idea that if it is legal then I can do it mentality, so a bunch of people see that it is legal then they abuse the law then they people get annoyed with them then they make it illegal so people cant do it even why it is appropriate. It is the same with NY and people with Cell Phones while driving they started talking and driving all the time getting into accidents so NY made it illegal to talk on a cell phone and drive at the same time. Now if people take to heart the warnings that they give they should be smart and reduce there cell phone usage or whatever is annoying people. If not just to not be a jerk but to make sure you right to do this activity when it is really needed is maintained.
If something is so important that you feel the need to post it on the internet... It probably isn't that important.
The people who want the laws enacted are worse than the jerks. Jerks are just annoying.
People who enact laws are forcing you to act the way they want or they'll put you in prison. In other words, they're a dangerous threat to you.
As a private pilot, I always leave my cell phone on when I fly VFR. (So far I haven't flown into any mountains due to navigational system confusion.)
...).
I don't.
The phone interferes with the VHF radio - I know this because I can hear it. What I don't know is whether it interferes with the NAV radio or with other electronic gear on the plane. How would I know? - the result might simply be a needle pointing the wrong way, which could be bad news if I was using that needle (sure, if I'm flying VFR then all the electronic gear is secondary to reading the map and looking out of the window, but even so
I don't quite understand this. Does the cell phone create a magical energy field which prevents the seatmate from telling them to shut up?
Mod down posts with a "Free Mac Mini/iPod" sig, they're spam!
What is it with the frickin Jihad people have on using phones in a public place? Last I had heard, noone had legislated that being a inconsiderate assmunch was illegal. Here's my tips for blocking out people talkign loudly (it works on my wife, so it will work on your idiot cell phone user):
1. Headphones man....put em on when you get to flight level and crank away my friend!
2. Just ignore it. Get into something like a good book and you can block out most anything.
3. Relax! It's ok dude! That person talking on thier cell phone is exercising their rights. You can't legistlate the rights of people to be idiots. People are going to be idiots whether they have their cell in their ear or not.
Now, here's a list of cell phone usage rules for the idiots:
1. Vibrate man.....put it on vibrate on the plane, in the theater or in a restaurant. If it's a quick call, take it. If it's going to get extended, head for the restroom and finish it up in there.
2. USE YOUR INSIDE VOICE! If your in a bad cell, hang up, call later.
3. If it's on audio ring, silence it quickly. No reason to hear more then the opening bar or two of music.
4. If you simply need to make that call, then wait til you get to a private location. Don't make extended chattering calls in public. If it's simple hey we're running late calls, go ahead and make it or take it. If you feel the need for a cell convo to take your whole plane ride, don't. As you can see from the posts hear on slashdot, it annoys people.
Lastly for everyone, TAKE A FRICKIN CHILL PILL! People are idiots with or with out cellphones, cars, bicycles, walkmans, bass thumpers, iPods, laptops....etc, etc....they will continue to be idiots when you take their toys away (in fact they willl be worse because now you have to listen to them whine about it).
Gorkman
If only we could block voice traffic and not text traffic on planes. Text messaging is a quiet, discrete, polite way to communicate when crammed like sardines into a metal tube hurtling through the sky at 800kph.
You have two hands and one brain, so always code twice as much as you think!
Some people seem to be mystified as to why some others find obnoxious cellphone users so annoying. Personally, I think it's because those loud, one-sided conversations are a bit like audio spam. Not in the sense that it's trying to sell you something, but because the listener is effectively powerless to do anything about it (unless you want to get into a confrontation, which most don't). Think about it: Spam is annoying because there is this sense that someone can reach out and plant irrelevant messages in your inbox that you have to spend time and attention deleting. It's this feeling that someone else has power over you (despite the best filters, I still get a few every day) is what is so annoying. In the same way, it's that these people yacking in a very loud voice is effectively subjecting you to something that you have little or no control over, and you have to spend time and valuable "mental space" trying to ignore or block out. It takes effort. Noise can be very, very irritating, since it's so hard to screen out. The sense of hearing is one of those (like smell) that we cannot easily tune out, without substantial inconvenience (i.e. blocking out all other sounds).
It's no coincidence that the most common "quality of life" complaint is about noise from your neighbors.
So, for all those people who are saying "just chill out, relax, tune it out", you should realize that this is pretty much the same response that spammers give when they are criticized for sending out thousands of useless messages to people who aren't remotely interested in what they have to sell. Saying "oh just chill out and don't listen to it" and "oh, just hit delete and relax" is pretty much the same thing. The key is to realize that even if you personally don't find it annoying, MANY other people do.
I think that with all the loud background noise on planes, this would mean that people would talk even more loudly than normal on a cellphone. And, in my experience, there is always someone who seems totally oblivious to the loudness of their own phone voice. They are totally focused on their conversation, and simply don't care about the people around them. Or, perhaps they actually believe that other people are interested in what they are saying - I certainly think that this is the case sometimes. I have heard cellphone users talking loudly about stuff that seems purposely designed to be heard by the passers by, particularly when it pertains to something "cool" that the person did, e.g. a sexual conquest, or when the person is trying to be "wise" and demonstrate to everyone around them what a great person they are. There's something about having an audience that makes people behave a little differently. In a twisted way, they believe everyone else will be interested in what they have to say, just like those people who believe that everyone in the vicinity simply *MUST* love the song that's playing on their music system (of course, they totally forget that treble doesn't travel so well, so other people mostly just hear the thudding "dmpha dmpha dmpha" of the bass, like a bad headache), or the guys who drive around very aggressively with screeching tires for no apparent reason ("ooooohhhh, he must be *such* a great driver" is what is going through their little heads, methinks)...
I believe that if cellphones became formally permissable on planes then we are going to see an increase in "air rage" incidents because of the closed space and already somewhat tense environment. People are already primed to be annoyed by the time they step on the plane, what with all the parking hassles, lines, delays, security checks and other impediments to their getting from A to B. We certainly don't need to finally settle down into that airplane seat, only to realize that the asshat behind us wants to talk to Lenny in marketing about the latest sales figures. When that happens in the terminal, I simply get up and walk away. On a plane, not really an option.
Just my opinion...
I don't pretend to think this is an original thought... I'll say it anyway. For each time that I wished I could make a call from a plane, there were probably 50 times that I was glad I had a rock-solid excuse for not being called by anybody, and there were probably a 100 times that I didn't even think about that I would have been disturbed by somebody else on their phone.
Now the announcement from the crew will be "please put your phones on vibrate out of respect for your fellow passengers," and that will be largely ignored along with something about oxygen masks and floatation devices.
I'm all in favor of dumb rules going away and freedom to use my phone when I really need to, but I really believe that I will miss the relative peace that came with knowing that nobody had a phone and there was nothing we could do about it.
On another topic, I thought I heard that cell phone towers only have a range of a mile or two. So how is it that we expect to be able to use our cell phones at 30,000 feet (5.6 miles)? Just wondering.
RP
When people near me are using technology to speak to friends and relatives instead of being as bored as me. I like the current airphones ok, because it means that the bastards have to pay through the nose, and communication should be expensive. After all, what about my right to not have to put up with people talking around me? What about my freedom from speech?
Oh, wait...
Seriously, I really hate this logic. Cellphones are a wonderful, lifesaving technology. Sure, people use them wrong sometimes, and sometimes I'll hear one side of a stupid conversation, and that side is really loud. You know how we talk at a certain volume into a phone, and a softer volume to someone right next to us? I betcha that's a technical problem no one cared about until cellphones became ubiquitous. I bet that having a better microphone plus some voice enhancement software (cutting out the nonspeech band I think happens already during compression but is anything amplifying the strongest sound source yet?) will eventually allow you to talk at a murmur and still be clearly heard.
Until then, the principles of freedom dictate that we put up with the inconvenience, instead of going with junk science (turn off gameboys at takeoff) and luddites (i haet teh c3llphones c4n i jam tem pls?).
I'd love there to be "no cellphone" flights for the few people who would prefer them, or a "no cellphoning" section of the airplane. That way people could still get their chance at not being bothered. But, failing that, the default should not be to deny people access to their useful and frankly somewhat godlike (by standards of generations ago, this is telepathy) technology.
Personally, I would glady put up with cellphones, if they would ban reclining seats.
I think I people seem to talk louder on cell phones than "normal" phones is because they can't hear themselves talk. I noticed this when I first made the jump to my cell phone a few years ago. I tended to talk louder and it takes a GREAT conscious effort to talk softer. What tipped me off is that it wasn't like the person couldn't hear me when I talked softer, so I figured that it couldn't be the difference in the cell phone's microphone.
Try this...
Pick up your desk/home phone. Dial a couple numbers to get some dead air and blow into the receiver (no jokes, please) or scratch it with your fingernail. You'll find that you can hear the noise pretty well in the listening end of the phone.
Now do the same with your cell. Nothing, right?
I think this is the same effect of singers using an audio monitor in their ear for pitch control or plugging your ears when you hum. I think if we were able to hear ourselves speak, we'd all chill a little instead of making up for our perceived lack of volume.
Whattaya think?
Whether it would work anywhere but Japan is another matter. It works in Japan because people there actually care about what random strangers think of them. Shame is not nearly as strong a motivating factor in most other cultures. (Which in this case is too bad.)
I would almost go the opposite direction: instead of telling the noisy people to go to a particular part of the plane, instead wall off a quiet section reserved for people who sign an agreement to stay non-noisy for the entire trip. Cell phones must remain off in the quiet section, if you listen to music or play video games you must do so with headphones that are inaudible to anyone but you (like these), babies are not allowed there, striking up conversations with your neighbors is strongly discouraged, and only the safety-critical annoucements from the cabin crew are piped over the PA system. Violate the rules and you get charged double for the flight. A solid wall with a door to separate the quiet section from the rest of the cabin, and I know I'd pay extra to be there for flights of more than an hour or two.
And for intercontinental flights, I'd pay even more if the seats were arranged as bunk beds so I could lie down the whole time. Trains have had sleeper cars for ages, but so far I've never seen beds on a plane.
Branson, are you reading Slashdot?
Perhaps this would be even more effective if you pulled out a notepad and pen? Don't even talk to them, just write down all the details. Once they realise you're taking notes expect them to quiet the hell down real fast. If they ask you about it afterwards tell them you were taking notes for SOME GUYS TWO BLOCKS AWAY who couldn't quite hear all the details... they should get the hint.
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