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Airbus 380 To Have Linux In Every Seat
jpatokal writes "Singapore Airlines will be rolling out the A380 superjumbo on October 26th, and a surprise awaits in the seat of every passenger: their personal Linux PC, running Red Hat. In addition to running the in-flight entertainment, passengers can also use a full copy of StarOffice, and there's a USB slot for importing/exporting documents or plugging in your own keyboard/mouse. Screen size is 10.6" (1280x768) in economy, 15.4" in business and a whopping 23" in first class (along with free noise-canceling headphones). The system is already available on current B777-300ER planes and will also be outfitted on the upcoming B787 Dreamliners."
Penguins CAN fly!
nerds can join their own version of the mile high club!
I see. They must have recompiled the kernel.
Yeah, right... when penguins fly!
When information is power, privacy is freedom.
...you've surfed pr0n at 20.000ft
this is probably the most boring sig in the world
I thought about this. I'm sure they took reasonable precautions. However, I wouldn't be concerned about people stealing other people's work. I would be concerned that some bozo hacker is going to try a social engineering experiment and subtly change the boot image that all the clients load.
If I were said bozo hacker I'd modify the image so that on a certain day, a few weeks after I planted the crack, a simple display would appear on everyone's monitor (white text over red background):
"SOMEBODY SET US UP THE BOMB. ALL YOUR BASE ARE BELONG TO US IN:"
Followed by a 35 minute count-down timer. To ensure this happens while in-flight I would check the schedule of flights for the aircraft and try to schedule it to launch then. As an added precaution I'd check for open-office running, or something similar indicating the system was in use (uptime and loadavg perhaps). If possible to get an exact count of terminals in use, I'd wait for a reasonably high usage pattern to ensure a full flight. Timing would be done during the day most likely to have a full flight.
Under the time I would write: "Shutting down this system will result in immediate detonation. Have a nice flight." That will ensure you'll get everyone's FULL attention for at least 35 minutes, followed by the media and HSA investigation. Perhaps scrolling your manifesto for all to read would be a nice touch.
That would be far more sinister than simply stealing somebody's shopping list. It would be just my luck to end up on such a flight too. Stupid bozo hackers.
If I Wine do I get a Windows seat?
You must be new here. You do _not_ talk about Linux crashing on Slashdot.
Please correct me if I got my facts wrong.
They could easily subsidize the hardware required to run the system. Airlines would even demand they pay for the extra fuel the heavier computers would require ;-)
They could also go the thin client with beefy server route. Maybe not as good for a in flight entertainment system, but good enough for browsing and emailing.
But they will probably wait until people (read: their astroturf teams) start complaining OpenOffice is not Office and refuses to read their MSOOXML files before they announce their move that will "save" the airlines from the headaches of the previous system.
Never underestimate neither their weaseliness nor the depth of their pockets.
http://www.dieblinkenlights.com
I'm a unix guy all the way, and they told me I could not have access to the plane's
media 'mainframe' or I would have had a look to see what was wrong.
Wow, they sound like idiots. What airline wouldn't want a random passenger given root access to their systems?
== Jez ==
Do you miss Firefox? Try Pale Moon.
You mean a Beowulf flock ;).
media 'mainframe' or I would have had a look to see what was wrong. I am shocked--shocked--that in this day and age a bunch of non-technical people would be hesitant about letting you jack in to the "mainframe" of a fly-by-wire aircraft at 30,000 feet.
Igniting your shoes is so 2002.
I think there is a world market for maybe five personal web logs.