There have been some interesting comments about the Tenzing system that paint it to be pretty crap. However, a lot of these are off the mark. Btw - I'm a developer at Tenzing so I have a good grasp on the product, what we are trying to do and just wanted to reply to clear a couple of things up.
People connect to the system with their own laptop. These connections are currently done through the phone handset on the plane, but we are also working with USB/Firewire solutions. Our development focus is Internet access and caching not aviation hardware, so we are designed to work on any network infrastructure an airline has or will have.
The web cache seems to have struck a nerve with a whole lot of people. There are bandwidth constraints when working on planes at the moment that make live web access for the average (i.e. non-millionaire) traveler not viable - i.e. current communications links on commercial aircraft are around 9600bps over North America and about 2400bps over a satellite. Sure the onboard cache isn't the most ideal solution, but it works today. As bandwidth grows, so will the services we provide.
Connecting a private jet, which isn't under the jurisdiction of the FAA and whose owner has a fat wallet is one thing, supporting 50+ concurrent users on a commercial aircraft is a whole other story.
People were also upset about time-based charges. Tenzing is not charging per minute, we are working off a subscription based pricing model. You can send and receive email, surf the web, book hotels and play games all you want.
Oh, and even though Tenzing are based in Seattle, you will be pleased to know we live in a penguin friendly environment - mmm... flying penguins;)
Of course the most important topic is games (many of which have been thoroughly tested by Tenzings dedicated engineering team). You'll be pleased to here that multiplayer games work fine - especially Rocket Arena 3.
Some of you guys almost talk as big as me in a game of Quake. If you some of you are serious about attempting to hack our box or interested in working on it, send me an email - sejast10000@yahoo.com.
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There have been some interesting comments about the Tenzing system that paint it to be pretty crap. However, a lot of these are off the mark. Btw - I'm a developer at Tenzing so I have a good grasp on the product, what we are trying to do and just wanted to reply to clear a couple of things up.
;)
People connect to the system with their own laptop. These connections are currently done through the phone handset on the plane, but we are also working with USB/Firewire solutions. Our development focus is Internet access and caching not aviation hardware, so we are designed to work on any network infrastructure an airline has or will have.
The web cache seems to have struck a nerve with a whole lot of people. There are bandwidth constraints when working on planes at the moment that make live web access for the average (i.e. non-millionaire) traveler not viable - i.e. current communications links on commercial aircraft are around 9600bps over North America and about 2400bps over a satellite. Sure the onboard cache isn't the most ideal solution, but it works today. As bandwidth grows, so will the services we provide.
Connecting a private jet, which isn't under the jurisdiction of the FAA and whose owner has a fat wallet is one thing, supporting 50+ concurrent users on a commercial aircraft is a whole other story.
People were also upset about time-based charges. Tenzing is not charging per minute, we are working off a subscription based pricing model. You can send and receive email, surf the web, book hotels and play games all you want.
Oh, and even though Tenzing are based in Seattle, you will be pleased to know we live in a penguin friendly environment - mmm... flying penguins
Of course the most important topic is games (many of which have been thoroughly tested by Tenzings dedicated engineering team). You'll be pleased to here that multiplayer games work fine - especially Rocket Arena 3.
Some of you guys almost talk as big as me in a game of Quake. If you some of you are serious about attempting to hack our box or interested in working on it, send me an email - sejast10000@yahoo.com.