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Boeing Eyes In-Flight Live TV on Your Laptop
cobravenum2 writes "Boeing is planning to add live television to its Connexion by Boeing service during 2005, The television programs will be delivered across the Connexion network, which uses satellites to provide high-speed data connections between aircraft in-flight and ground stations linked to the Internet. The service entered commercial use earlier this year and provides a 5 megabits per second shared downstream and 1 mbps shared upstream connection to suitably equipped aircraft. You'll be able to view up to four channels of live TV over your laptop."
Now I won't miss Adult Swim while I'm taking my flights to Europe and back.
If they make those four channels of porn they might just get the airlines back in the black.
Now I can have some loudmouth on one side talking on his cell phone and some woman watching oprah on the other. Life can't get much better.
Quote: "You'll be able to view up to four channels of live TV over your laptop." Bearing in mind that most airlines won't even give you headphones for free, how are the people without laptops going to view this?
The problem is, how many people can watch TV at once before that 5 mbps is all used up?
The television programs will be delivered across the Connexion network, which uses satellites to provide high-speed data connections between aircraft in-flight and ground stations linked to the Internet.
So those long TransPacific flights will only have sporadic TV coverage? Those are the ones that could use it the most. Or will 747 aircraft start following the equivalent of ETOPS routes to ensure internet coverage?
* ETOPS Routes - Routes flown by twin engine aircraft on extended overwater flights to ensure that they can reach land within a certain amount of time in the event of an engine failure.
Man, this is going to be real headache for MPAA, having to refer 5 different country copyright laws, if the plane flies over different countries(Look at the Singapore Airline Routes) during the entire unauthorized recording process.
On the other hand anything that creates havoc for MPAA... this cannot be a bad thing, right ?
Streaming a channel using high compression video and audio codec at CIF resolution will get the data rate down to about 500 Kb/s. Assuming that every bit is used for streaming, that will be 10 channels maximum to be shared between those among the 300 passengers who has the laptop/PDA/phone.
:-)
I can see it now, air rage over bandwidth hogs.
Wonder if they'll have the new "Airport Security Bloopers" show where the security guards fondle or sexually assault (depends on your POV) passengers, pin granny down for a body cavity search, operate the usual drug and stolen luggage rings, and put "practice" bombs on international flights after finding them.
1) Does Boeing Run Linux?
2) Ummm... don't we already have those nice LCD screens on the back of seats (or folded to the side) on most 747s already? How is this an innovation in anyway? Wouldn't u rather just use the already supplied screen, as opposed to bring out your laptop and stuff? -1 Redundant, n/t
My Favourite Meme
This sounds like a good idea, until passengers end up watching live TV coverage of the next 9/11 and then start hunting in the plane they are riding in for assumed "terrorists" causing a riot in-flight.
We really should think about having less of this technology for the passengars in the air. I'd rather fly without people around me watching TV or doing AIM on their laptops from 35K feet.
We should force folks to read a damned book and keep the plane(s) quiet.
Sounds like the de facto HDTV standard that allows for either one HD signal or four SD signals through multicasting.
5 megabits downstream and 1mbps upstream, and we get.... TV?
Great.
--Bruce Fields
"Boeing hasn't announced the names of the channels that will be available but they'll be international news and financial news channels, he says."
Booooooring. If you have a laptop, why the hell would you watch StockMarketTV? Watch a DVD or hell... play some scorched earth. I love my PDA when I take flights cause I just load a few DVD rips on my SD card and have enough juice and content to watch for about 8 hours.
Can airlines ever think of anything other than cheesy novelty features. Does anyone actually use the phones built into the seat? No. Use that high speed connection to give us internet!
Why not copy Jetblue's idea of using Directv to provide tv to the plane. That way, at least in the US, the bandwith can be used for internet traffic. Other wise the 5mbps will get used very qucikly.
I dont think this is very practical. Planes are limited in the power supplied to the seats. Many modern and future laptops draw more power than the plane supplies (or at least the airline allows). Most planes restrict you to 75 watts. So unless you want to use your battery (which has its own limits) you are restricted to how long you can view this. Many airlines also make you remove your battery before you can use power from the plane.
Secondly, does anyone really need live TV via their laptop - it would seem using installed lcd displays is a whole lot easier.
Laptop power would be nice on overseas flights, 2 hours battery life sucks. That's something I'd pay up to ~$30 US for.
Since when has this country used intellectual elite as a pejorative term?
"So how long before "viewed on Laptop" becomes "recorded on laptop" ?"
How's that any different than "computer with a TV tuner"?
"On the other hand anything that creates havoc for MPAA... this cannot be a bad thing, right ?"
You people are really stretching things to demonize people aren't you?
How long before someone live-blogs their flight to wherever? And how pathetic would that be?
Give a man fire, and you warm him for the night. Set a man on fire, and you warm him for the rest of his life.
Song has a partnership with Dish Network, and provides 24 channels of TV to the screen in the headrest in front of you. They also provide trivia, music (broadcast and create your own playlist (for a fee)), as well as movies (for a fee), and games (for a fee). The fees for the pay-per stuff are reasonable, but there's enough free (trivia and 24 channels) stuff to keep you busy the entire flight.
Find out about the Lexus Rx400h Hybrid!
What is the Greed Factor?
They are going to have to charge you something to let you use YOUR laptop.
I bet it will only be allowed in first class, where all the vitamin D deficient hang out.
till some one puts linux on it :)
"To be is to do." -Socrates
"To do is to be." -Jean-Paul Sartre
"Do-be-do-be-do." -Frank Sinatra
On overseas flights, virtually every big-time airline has power at your seat in business class and many in coach.
You plug in your laptop and run for the entire flight. I did so on the way to and back from Taiwan 2 years ago.
But please don't let on that you'd pay extra for it when it is already included as part of your ticket.
The socket on the planes provides +12V or something close to it. The socket was originally also going to be installed in cars, but they seem to have gone for more cigarette lighter sockets instead.
"Probably isn't. So ?"
:P"
Ask the OP. He seems to think it's a big deal.
"Come on!!! This is the MPAA we are talking about. The task is redundant
Maybe, but you guys aren't helping your image any.
"Hmmm, will any such copying in-flight come under any juridiction at all actually ?"
It's a private carrier. That's all the jurisdiction needed.
offer any programs about calm hindu cows?
[Just Shut Up and Do What I say]
"Now I won't miss Adult Swim while I'm taking my flights to Europe and back."
Remember your seat doubles as a flotation device.
This service was announced sometime in 2000 or so and should have been far more pervasive than it is now. Wifi Internet access in the air was supposed to have been fairly easy to get, but you can still only get it on a few airlines (like Lufthansa) and you have to be going on pretty long trips (like overseas) to even have the option of getting it.
... give us more flights (shorter-duration and on more airlines) that have the wifi option.
Before we start adding more stuff like TV (why do we need that, anyway, when aircraft are often equipped these days with seatback LCD screens?)
More typical corporate foot-dragging here, and more PR fluff pieces for something that no one really has access to.
i am a soviet space shuttle
What is the current rate for headphone rental on airlines? Last time I flew it was $5 US (Unless you're sneaky and use your own with an adapter).
I can forsee Boeing coming up with some crazy adapter that you can plug into the armrest and charge you $10, $15, $20 for it. At least we'll eventually be able to thank Radio Shack for selling the same adapter for $2 under a different name.
You don't honestly think that they are going to retrofit their entire fleet and not charging anything for the convenience do you?
The passengers on the flight are subject to the laws of the territory it departed from until the flight lands... Meaning though the flight needs permission to overfly a country, that country doesn't get a say about the things the passengers are doing until the flight lands...
Gravity Sucks
JetBlue advertises that they offer 36 channels of DirecTV. Screen at every seat. For free. Right now. No need to bring your own equipment.
no kidding, I love flying because I can relax and READ A BOOK! Really, with 2 kids at home it's a rare time that I can get a book in, flights are my favorite place for them. now with my iPod I can have some Coltrane with my read too.
but phones, laptops emails? eeekkk! let me have some time to myself; sometimes I'm just unreachable, get over it.
CB
free ipod and free gmail!
4 channels is not what most people are going to want to watch. Has anyone considered taking a DVD with them? If you really need the news, go to CNN's website. Or, if you want to kill time very efficiently, load HL 2 up on your laptop (and bring a mouse).
Silence is golden... and duct tape is silver.
But they'll have a program of a monkey running around a stage in a sweat-drenched shirt screaming "Developers! Developers!"
"Some fight for law. Some fight for justice. What will you fight for? One day, you will see."
I'd much rather have internet access on my laptop while I fly instead of 4 crappy tv channels.
"And posting on /. is a way to improve your image?
Consider parsing that sentence carefully before you answer."
I'm not the one coming up with outlandish speculation that's getting moderated to the level that uninvolved third-parties might see.
Most of the large airlines in the USA have a really difficult time dealing with onboard services and prices. Several of the biggies started charging for their poor quality meals. Pretty much every USA airline has a very poor excuse for first class (especially when compared to foreign airlines). Customer service is more than just a few listed items on some cutesy poster by the ticket counter.
So I'm wondering how these same airlines are going to implement and charge for this new service. Just because Boeing is offering it, doesn't mean that every airline is going to automatically buy and install these systems and not charge the passengers!
If American Airlines can't figure out how to serve a *large* dish of ice cream in first class, then I don't see how they're going to find the value in onboard streaming data and video.
Oh great, now everyone's going to pull out their laptops while en route!
When I fly in economy/coach class, I invariably spend at least one leg of my flight sitting beside somone who insists on using his 15+ inch notebook computer! Now, even if the seat in front of him is in it's fully upright position, there still isn't quite enough room to open the lid to a comfortable 110-degree angle. And because of the compact nature of coach class, the front (trackpad) edge of the notebook is only a few inches away from his chest... so there's not enough room for his arms, forcing him to jut out his elbows a good 8 inches in each direction so he can comfortably use the keyboard and trackpad.
PLEASE PEOPLE! Use your PDA in economy class. If you must use a notebook, get a 12" or smaller model. It's not just uncomfortable for you, it's uncomfortable for anyone sitting beside you.
I don't care about the in-flight tv, but it would be nice to be able to plug in my laptop so I can watch a dvd or something without worrying about the battery life. Internet access would be nice too.
I just happen to be in an ANA flight and they happen to have the Connexion service, and it rocks! Getting 28kb/sec on my torrent now. Perhaps the RIAA will sue Boeing?
I'll believe it when I see it.
Some airlines "get it" and have realized that their customers find value in free onboard services. JetBlue is a young "no-name" airline with a strong following because of their upbeat attitude and nice in-cabin entertainment offerings.
Other airlines have divisions that "get it", such as Delta's SONG airline. (I don't really agree with the way they pimp candy bars and sandwiches though).
But there are still so many airlines that have a really hard time grasping the concept that their customers have brains and like reasonable entertainment. I have a strong distaste for Southwest, they generally either treat me like crap or they try to be comedians. Continental, American, and United are far more professional, but they're deaf and blind. Why only offer in flight entertainment to overseas and only certain domestic flights? Why is your first class section so poorly managed. Those of us who pay for first (be it with money or upgrades with frequent flyer miles) expect a little better service and a larger variety of ammenties. Northwest is another airline I dislike. Why do they insist on hiring crabby old grandmas to be their flight attendents? I guess it fits their white and gray interior color scheme. But if you have white surfaces, KEEP THEM CLEAN, otherwise just use the dark beige and orange surfaces that Southwest uses to hide the dirt!!!
Rant Rant Rant. Airlines in the USA just don't get it. I really doubt they'll invest in Boeing's new entertainment systems. And even if they do, they'll just cripple it with strange usage restrictions and/or heavy fees. After all, these same airlines are starting to think they should charge us as much as $10 for a 3-day-old deli sandwich, no-name chips, and a piece of fruit. My local grocery store would sell me the same bundle of the same "quality" for $2.
**ANYTHING** has to be more interesting than the CNN Airport Network station you see in airport terminals.
Song and JetBlue are great. Unless you want to fly to Chicago, Houston, Dallas, Minneapolis, Toronto, Montreal, Anchorage, Honolulu, Tokyo, London, Paris, or Berlin...
Song and JetBlue are great. Unless you want to fly to Chicago, Houston, Dallas, Minneapolis, Toronto, Montreal, Anchorage, Honolulu, Tokyo, London, Paris, or Berlin...
(And really, if SONG can offer Dish Network and games, why can't the rest of Delta Airlines??)
they seem to be a bit desperate to attract new customers aren't they? what about this for ideas for an airline: flights that leave on time when advertised, arrived on time when advertised, preferably at the destination advertised, which ideally should also be the destination of your luggages (which should arrive, say, within the same week as you do, unlost, unstollen, and intact); now that would be an airline with which I'd fly...
but then I am also a guy who'd like to find a cell phone that makes it possible to make or receive a phone call, and be able to understand the person at the other end of the call, and without cameras, mp3 players, video games and other crap that burns the batteries in half an hour...
oh well...
As long as they still have some semblance of content control, I'm okay with it. Although I'm a big anti-censorship sort of person, there's a certain comfort I derive from knowing that all the entertainment provided in-flight won't be disruptive.
That is, I don't expect to see a film with a plane crash scene. I don't expect to see a kid playing AfterBurner or MS Flight Sim and crashing his plane. And I certainly don't expect to flick over to the news channel and see the latest news on an airliner that's just crashed only a few moments ago.
Obviously Boeing still seems to have control over what content the channels are going to provide, but let's hope they don't just pipe in a live CNN feed, even with a 30 second delay. The last thing I want is to be on a plane with a hundred passengers in a panic because they just saw footage of a plane crash in like, Kreplakistan, from a helicopter circling a smoking black smudge on the side of a mountain.
How long before someone live-blogs their flight to wherever? And how pathetic would that be?
It almost happened:
http://db.tidbits.com/getbits.acgi?tbart=07831
The last time I had a layover in the Denver airport I was tempted to use my digital camera and the free wifi access to blog.
Meal service isn't all that important to me. I'd just like there to be one airline where the plane arrives ON TIME! At least a 90% ontime rating, anyway. Some weather delays are inevitable, but the current situation is killing domestic aviation. Business travelers will drive if possible because they know that the flight will take about as long once they account for the flight delays and the getting to the airport 3 hours in advance to wait in line for airport insecurity.
Fucker... we're flying coach cuz we spent our money on that 17" 'portable' computer.
Religion is a gateway psychosis. -- Dave Foley
Why would I need to watch TV on my laptop when it's 80 gig drive holds hours of porn?
WTF? You can drastically cut the bandwidth needed by storing the station logos and advertising locally on the aircraft. Even better, since most TV is repetitive, you could generate it 'on the fly' (ha ha).
...etc for fricken hours at $20 an hour to the captive audience.
"Buy our product! Oooh yeah! It's really great! Woo!"
"You're watching Boeing-o-vision! Parp parp parp Boeing telly BOEING TELLY Boeing Telly parpity parp"
"And now, the news"
"News Time! News Time! Squeak! Parp! Toot! News Time!"
"Britney has/hasn't had plastic surgery. The war against terror continues. More news later."
"News Time! News Time! Squeak! Parp! Toot! News Time!"
"You're watching Boeing-o-vision! Parp parp parp Boeing telly BOEING TELLY Boeing Telly parpity parp"
"Buy our product! Oooh yeah! It's really great! Woo!"
"No, buy our product instead! Oooh yeah! It's really great and better than the other stuff! Woo!"
"You stink, buy our deoderent!"
"you suck as a parent unless you buy your kid our plastic crap!"
"You're watching Boeing-o-vision! Parp parp parp Boeing telly BOEING TELLY Boeing Telly parpity parp"
"And now, I Love Lucy, followed by the news"
They whose government reduces their essential liberties for temporary security, receive neither liberty nor security.
However they choose to price this service, I hope they only charge those who actually use the service (mostly dumb-founded Americans who constantly watch TV in the kitchen, bathroom, bedroom and living room). I never watch TV.
I also wonder if they are going to broadcast the same old crap as they broadcast everywhere else. I guess there won't be any adult channels... with some fresh asian pornos to boot, a plane trip could actually be a joy!
I suppose this is a bit off topic, But I'm extremely curios about the satellites providing this service. How many of those birds are up there to deliver all this bandwith? I know next to nothing about Sat Comm, but I imagine (due to launch costs and insurance etc.) satellites are expensive to operate. and that cost is passed on to the bandwidth endusers. Wasn't this the reason satellite phone (the ones with giant antennae) are only used sparingly by those in the most remote locations? Is it even a remote possibility that Boeing gets more than they bargain for and all this network access saturate their capacity?
Stay sentient. Don't drink bad milk.
actually it's 5 mbps upstream and 1 mbps downstream, since we are referring a connection of an airplane and the ground.
What a waste of bandwidth. I bet they're going to ask for a fortune when you want a share of the remaing couple of kilobits.
Since it's planes we are talking about I guess downstream is actually upstream and vice versa, only upside down in a reverse kind of way.
Several of the biggies started charging for their poor quality meals.
As long as they pass the saving on to me, this is not something I have a problem with. Especially on short distance routes. Why is it that an airline seems to be obliged to provide food for a 2 hour flight whereas I've been on a much longer train journey without needing to eat at all.
So I'm wondering how these same airlines are going to implement and charge for this new service. Just because Boeing is offering it, doesn't mean that every airline is going to automatically buy and install these systems and not charge the passengers!
They're going to be courting the frequent travellers. Some people are willing to pay a few dollars more for a little more to do on a flight, or failing that they'll at least switch if they know that airline A offers TV on board and Airline B doesn't.
If American Airlines can't figure out how to serve a *large* dish of ice cream in first class, then I don't see how they're going to find the value in onboard streaming data and video.
Airline caterers have some terminology. "Doable on ground" and "doable on board". Planes have all sorts of problems, like the space taken up with refrigeration, and the power needed for it.
pizza: If you must use a notebook, get a 12" or smaller model. It's not just uncomfortable for you, it's uncomfortable for anyone sitting beside you.
...to the person poking me
monk: Fucker... we're flying coach cuz we spent our money on that 17" 'portable' computer.
Yes. And if someone was poking me in the side with their elbows for a 1-12 hour flight I would certainly say something...
-- haha i know it's not funny but i said it so i'm gonna pretend it's funny --
lets be clear about what TV has become, the product is YOU content is more an inconvience
the airline just want you to watch their advertising stream because if you are watching a DVD on your laptop then they dont get the eyballs watching their crap
TV is a joke thats why DVD sales are massive and movie houses are clammering to get product placement deals, at what point do we say enough is enough (cough p2p)
Over at Apple-X.net, our senior investigative journalist had an article about Apple's connection to Connexion and a possible new iService. After seeing PCWorld cover the topic, we decided to run the story now. Check it out: "Apple's Connexion to Boeing: OS X Tiger's QuickTime Could Reach More than 3 Billion Users a Year!" --Trent L. CEO of Apple-X.net
I don't see why this isn't more common, if only to keep passengers calm as flying becomes more and more stressful. TV is certainly a better pacifier than those tiny bottles of whiskey...
The terms "down stream" and "up stream" seem counter intuitive for the first time ever. At 30,000 feet I think I want the bulk of my bandwidth comming up!
SPAM
Not much damned use when most a/c don't have power to cattle-class seats and adaptors for inflight power cost so much.
Most long haul flights even in economy class from Europe to the Pacific and Asia have seatback screens with video on-demand or a good selection of channels anyway. The boeing initiative seems a bit of a waste of time really...
I can't wait. A standard 22 minute TV comedy will take 45 minutes in the air after watching 23 minutes of commercials.
Thanks... but no thanks. I'll just stick to a DVD.
-- No sig for you!
and so do eyeshades.
As well they should. If you're only going a few 100 miles the drive would be easier [or train/bus]. Planes are really good for things like transatlantic and cross continent [e.g. Ottawa to California].
Where this obsession with flying somewhere you can drive in 2 hours came from I can only guess...
Tom
Someday, I'll have a real sig.
Let's charge people oh, about a dollar a minute to watch tv on the plane because making them line up like it's the last plane out of Saigon, treating them like they're criminals and pretty much pulling their on time schedule out of their ass and charging more to go to Memphis TN than to go to Moscow really isn't enough.
I hope every airline goes broke in 05.
I've done a lot of flying this year, and some people not only don't care about their neighbors, they actively try to push you out of your damned seat. I finally got agressive myself, shoving back twice as hard, and not giving an inch. While I hate pressing the flesh (literally), there is sometimes simply no other alternative. So when some obnoxious thug tries to steal my seat, I just say HELL NO.
Americans are Fat Alberts. Airline seats are for armless anorexics. But for these scumbags, I don't think it would matter if they were in first class, they would still be hogs.
If the big airlines keep up their "the only people who hate the customer more than we do is the TSA" approach to customer service, the little guys who don't actually suck might just end up taking over.
Mod down posts with a "Free Mac Mini/iPod" sig, they're spam!
I don't want to be on a plane that's tilted or constantly turning just to keep the antenna pointed at the sattellite.
How about just "keep your damn arms in your own seat?" I don't care if you bring a 15" or 17" laptop with you, as long as you're willing to deal with the fact that you don't get to type comfortably, and that there will be no "elbow easement" into my ribcage to accomodate you.
If people in a moving plane can it that kind of bandwidth, why can't the cable company get a cable line/modem run to my house!!!
Coder's Stone: The programming language quick ref for iPad
Wow. I just had a business idea. I agree that driving/bussing those short journies is a good idea. The main problem I have with coaches(not so muc hwith trains) is that its a pain to get any work done(try using a laptop in that cramped seat). Why not start up a business coach services. With internet connection etc... Id use it.
I don't know about you... but as a 6'1" dude I can hardly sit in the seat without my knees digging into the seat ahead of me let alone open a laptop.
That goes for planes, trains, and automobiles [well buses, I can use my laptop in my mid-size car just fine... not while driving...].
My understanding is that public transportation is meant to make money and not comfort. So concepts such as "humane leg room" is just ludicrous. I can understand city buses being cramped but 8 hr flights overseas or 9 hour bus rides south are literally painful to the point I get "touchy".
I've yelled at my share of passengers that feel the need to push their seat back [into my legs more], annoying loud kids, etc after a few hours of pain...
As for flights the way you make them interesting is occupying the passengers mind. e.g. put real music/shows on the units instead of "CBSWatch".
First off, they use the same tape. Ever fly twice in a week? Ever watch the same 8 hrs of movies/CVSWatch? I have.
Second, christian country or jazz make selection not.
Third, if I want a fucking drink I'll ask. Quit pestering me! [though that's policy and not personal... I know].
Fourth, to the person ahead of me, don't move your seat back if you don't like my knee cap digging into your lower back. Biatch.
Tom
Someday, I'll have a real sig.
If I decide to sleep and with my laptop record the stream, be it live tv or movies, are they mine, will I be arrested for 'Stealing' copyrighted materials?
A computer once beat me at chess, but it was no match for me at kick boxing. Emo Philips
Live TV huh? well if nothing good is on I'll just use my Tivo then.
Some drink at the fountain of knowledge. Others just gargle.
Consumers in the US demand cheaper fares and care less about additional onboard services.
Domestic first class is about a bigger seat.
If you want big bowls of ice cream, eat them at home. Don't increase my ticket cost for that stuff.
For a lot of people long-distance flights represent, like subways/tubes/undergrounds/metros, the rare opportunity to sit down, relax, maybe read a book.
I'd rather airlines don't buy into the TV service, and instead offer more comfortable chairs or even beds for long-haul flights. Or at least give customers the choice. Some will pay more for a TV, some will pay more for a comfortable chair or bed.
Simpy
Back around 1998 or so, when I was still at Boeing, the Commercial Avionics department had built, and was experimenting with, a prototype system that would provide Dish Network service to every seat.
It was pretty amazing stuff. For the antenna, they had a rectangular slab about five feet by three that contained the electronic equivalent of hundreds of individual "dish" antennas in a phased array. The idea was to give each seat the equivalent of its own dish so that each passenger could be watching a different channel.
This monstrosity was designed to be mounted on the top of the fuselage, about mid-body. It was aimed electronically, based on latitude/longitude info gathered from the ADIRU (Air Data Inertial Reference Unit), a 'black box' that contained (among other things) an inertial navigation computer.
The idea was to have a six-inch LCD active-matrix panel in each seat back, with the audio piped over one of the existing channels in the aircraft's audio entertainment system.
The entire system was a marvel of engineering, and I consider myself fortunate enough to have watched the prototype undergoing testing. Unfortunately, I don't think it ever made it into production -- the costs were just too high.
Now, though, perhaps the idea will be revived...?
Keep the peace(es).
Bruce Lane, KC7GR,
Blue Feather Technologies
my favorite show is on at 8pm eastern & pacific, 7pm central & mountain... how will I *possibly* schedule my flight to make sure I see it?
(If I'm redundant, save your mod points... I am browisng at +5 and don't feel like reading the thread lower to see if someone else made this joke already.)
Dear Slashdot: next time you want to mess with the site, add a rich-text editor for comments.
No, sadly. I have a RadioShack brick car power inverter (140W continuous, 400W for seconds). This inverter can run two iBooks with no trouble. It cuts out if I connect one Toshiba 6300 to it with the battery in - the machine boots and runs until XP gets up enough to start running power management and charging the battery, then the inverter overloads. I can charge the battery with the computer off, or run the computer with the battery out, but not both at once.
To a Lisp hacker, XML is S-expressions in drag.
Or something like that - the airlines always seem to charge to the max for onboard communications services.
This is a nice idea if it was, say, free, to offset the discomfort of having to be on the plane in the first place, but I'll bet access to this server will cost a fair bit...
My 15" laptop works just fine in coach. Thank you very much. Of course, I only use it in coach on a decent airline. One that doesn't pack you in like cattle. Instead of buying a PDA, just spend a little extra and fly a better airline. It's no secret that some have more room than others.
Yea, if I'm sitting in front of you, I'm going to sit straight up for an entire 8 hour flight just so you can have some more leg room. Right. If you need that much space, fork over the money for a first class seat. I'm about 2 inches shorter than you and I fit into a coach seat just fine, even though it is a little too tight for comfort. But that's the way coach seats are. It's not like sitting in your La-z-boy recliner at home. You can't just slouch back and take up all the room you want. Who are you to tell someone they can't put their seat back?
The main reason that this was obliged was for people who can't get a direct flight.
It used to be that our corprate policies had me taking two connecting flights. While 2 hours might not be a long time, 6 hours could be, and often there was only 5 or 10 minutes to get between the planes, so grabbing something to eat wasn't really an option.
If your code is acting bloated, and is running rather slow, it's likely and predicted that some loops you will unroll.
I don't know about you, but when I bring a laptop on a plane, it's to avoid having to watch the airline TV. Isn't this a step in the wrong direction?
If so, that'd be a nice way to kill time...
You have a point, and I see no reason not to offer food as an option, but I think many people would prefer a cheaper flight. Those that want food can pay the extra.
Sorry, had to be said!
Fine, put the seat back. Just deal with my knees in the seat.
And FYI I don't slouch on them. Not enough room to slouch.
Asshat.
Tom
Someday, I'll have a real sig.
The competition http://www.frontierairlines.com/ charges five bucks for about a dozen channels on their Airbus fleet (more than Boeing is offering here). Bring your own headphones; the ones they give you aren't great sounding and won't adjust to fit oversized geek crania. No, that doesn't get you free service: you're stuck on the GPS map channel until you pay. Which helps you answer the inevitable "Are we there yet?" from your offspring.