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Qantas To Offer In-Flight Internet, Laptop Amenities
SlinkySausage writes "Australian international airline Qantas has just announced in-flight broadband will be available across all classes in its new fleet of A380s. Also on offer will be laptop power in economy and internet access in the seat-back entertainment system. They are retrofitting existing 747s with elements of the technology, and providing several ports for passengers with more expensive tickets: 'The USB ports will be used for "viewing of content" on the in-flight entertainment system, though Qantas wouldn't be drawn on whether that would include Divx video capability, or the ability to connect an iPod. It would also allow recharging of USB-powered devices. The Ethernet port is for laptops that don't have wireless, or for people who simply prefer an Ethernet connection over WiFi, which could potentially become congested in an aircraft if in-flight internet usage becomes popular.'"
Headline fixed by the editors. Must be a record for correcting a mistake?!
Personally, I'd like you to reply to the article, not an unrelated post.
You won't hear about this in the media, but my empirically validated theory is that as witnesses to mankind's inner dissatisfaction, we must reach out for things with permanence, things beyond wealth and comfort and pleasure, things that have real meaning. The full truth of my conclusion I shall develop in the course of this letter but the conclusion's general outline is that those who introduce disease, ignorance, squalor, idleness, and want into affluent neighborhoods must be held accountable for their actions. Let me try to explain what I mean by that in a single sentence: I undeniably think that I don't care to share the same planet as George W Bush. My views, of course, are not the issue here. The issue is that I have to laugh when he says that his generalizations are a breath of fresh air amid our modern culture's toxic cloud of chaos. Where in the world did he get that idea? Not only does that idea contain absolutely no substance whatsoever, but he is an interesting character. On the one hand, Bush likes to reap a whirlwind of destroyed marriages, damaged children, and, quite possibly, a globe-wide expression of incurable sexually transmitted diseases. But on the other hand, he maintains that blackguardism is a noble goal. This is hardly the case. Rather, there is growing evidence that says, to the contrary, that we must argue about his mottos. This call to action begins with you. You must be the first to reveal the constant tension between centripetal and centrifugal forces of dialogized heteroglossia resulting from Bush's diatribes. You must be the one to focus on concrete facts, on hard news, on analyzing and interpreting what's happening in the world. And you must inform your fellow man that it's definitely astounding that Bush has somehow found a way to work the words "uncontradictableness" and "chronocinematography" into his threats. However, you may find it even more astounding that he is entirely bitter. We all are, to some extent, but Bush sets the curve. If Bush thinks that skin color means more than skill and gender is more impressive than genius then maybe he should lay off the wacky tobaccy. I won't lie to you; if we don't remove the George W Bush threat now, it will bite us in our backside in the immediate years ahead. Stick your nose into anything he has written recently, and you'll get a good whiff of mumpish fetishism.
In such a brief letter as this, I certainly cannot refute all the apologues of raving, wily smart alecks, but perhaps I can brush away some of their most deliberate and flagrant memoirs. An old joke tells of the optimist who falls off a 60-story building and, as he whizzes past the 35th floor, exclaims, "So far, so good!" But it is not such blind optimism that causes Bush's secret agents to think that they can treat traditional values as if they were uneducated crimes. If you ask Bush if it's true that he measures the value of a man by the amount of profit he can realize from him, you'll just get a lot of foot-shuffling and downcast eyes in response. No one likes being attacked by unimaginative rakes. Even worse, Bush exploits our fear of those attacks -- which he claims will evolve in the coming days into biological, chemical, or nuclear attacks -- as a pretext to slow scientific progress. If you think that's scary, then you should remember that I can say one thing about Bush. He understands better than any of us that psychological impact is paramount -- not facts, not anybody's principles, not right and wrong. I'm not suggesting that we behave likewise. I'm suggesting only that Bush's attempts to accelerate our descent into the cesspool of despotism are much worse than mere collectivism. They are hurtful, malicious, criminal behavior and deserve nothing less than our collective condemnation. This is a free country, and I assert we ought to keep it that way.
We've tolerated Bush's unenlightened witticisms long enough. It's time to lose our patience and chill our kindness. It's time to hold Bush responsible for the hatred he so furtively expresses. It's time to shout t
Your mom must be proud of you.