Personal entertainment devices not new during war
on
iPods at War
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· Score: 3, Insightful
GI's had portable phonographs in World War 1 (although they weren't carried in the field).
In World War 2, the troops had "foxhole" (crystal) radios, the detector was a razor blade and safety pin. There were many AC and DC powered radios. AFRTS started broadcasting during World War 2. There were also portable phonographs.
I am not sure what the GI's used during the Korean Conflict because transistor radios hadn't been introduced yet; they would have had phonographs, they may have carried battery operated tube type radios.
In Vietnam, transistor radios and tape players were carried in the field. MANY GI's came home from Vietman with high end stereos.
During the Gulf War and Bosnia, there would have been portable radios, portable CD players and possibly still some portable cassette players.
iPods and MP3 players were probably first used in Afghanistan.
Now, during Iraqui Freedom and Afghanistan, the state of the technology includes iPods. Same idea, smaller devices.
This isn't really like BETA vs. VHS at all. In the Beta vs VHS war, one format became an orphan; first Beta prerecorded tapes became scarce and then Beta blank tapes became scarce. Even if plasma displays lose favor, the content providers and equipment manufacturers are not going to stop producing compatible content or input sources. Even if manufacturers declared plasma displays to be the loser tomorrow, the owners of plasma displays are not going to be inconvenienced (at least not until the picture starts to suck).
CRTs are essentially an obsolete display technology, and like plasma displays, they are not going to suddenly become orphans. There have been some very high quality CRT based televisions produced in the past few years, such as the Sony XBR Trinitrons. These high quality CRT displays are not going to become obsolete any sooner than any other display technology of the same vintage. I would expect that the CRT televisions and displays made in the past few years will have longer useful lifes than plasma or LCD displays made during the same time period.
In the early 1980's, an independant TV station in Boulder, Colorado (KBDI) didn't have a station to transmitter microwave link. They had used a VW to shuttle program tapes from the studio in Boulder to the transmitter on the mountain. Huge analog bandwith, with about 30 minutes of lag.
There isn't always necessary to read a patent to learn enough to infringe upon a patent, all one has to do is read articles and other literature concerning the technology and in some cases just see the technology in action. It also helps if you have an example of an object available to reverse engineer.
Some engineers will look at patents in order to see if they can come up with a similar, but non-infringing ways to accomplish what the patented technology accomplishes.
Henry Ford studied Seldon's patent when he built his car. Henry Ford's lawsuit caused the Seldon patent to be invalidated because a car built from the patent wouldn't work.
Some early vacuum tube manufacturers studied vacuum tube patents when they attempted to build tubes that didn't infringe on DeForest and RCA patents.
The technology behind most useful patents becomes obvious and easy five years after being patented. Part of it is normal advancement of technology, much of it is because the patent system requires that the technology be disclosed to the public, and in many cases it is because products using the technology become readily available on the market. It is sort of like good magic - the trick is a mystery until somebody puts up a webpage telling how the trick is done.
The Barton time warp patent is not a submarine patent. Tivo did not hide the existance of the patent and Tivo claims that they informed Echostar of the pending patents when they first pitched the Tivo to Echostar. It appears to me that Echostar stole Tivo's idea when they showed the prototype Tivo to Echostar. Whether this judgement and Tivo's patents can stand the test of time is an unknown right now. Tivo's most important patents are for the ability to simultaneously record and play back a video stream and for not using the CPU to do the encoding / decoding. Tivo had operating prototypes at the time that they applied for the patent. Although it doesn't really matter because software patents are enforceable in the US, it appears that these Tivo patents are not purely software related, nor are they simply abstract ideas; they involved the use of specialized hardware. I am not sure whether these technologies were obvious or novel at the time that the patent was applied for.
Bayer AG lost the Bayer and the aspirin trademarks in North America when the Treaty of Versailles was signed after WW1. Sterling Drug bought the Bayer and Aspirin trademarks from the US government in 1918 and then lost the US aspirin trademark in 1921 because it had been genericised (Aspirin is still a trademark in Canada). Bayer AG bought the company that owned the North American Bayer tradmark and the Canadian Aspirin trademark in 1994. Bayer, a former member of I.G. Farben is selling insecticide in the US under the Bayer brand. Google for IG+Farben+insecticide+bayer+zyklon You might also want to Google for Fritz+ter+Meer+bayer+1963
I found that Wikipedia has great historical bios about companies and company web sites frequently have a history page. Be careful about Wikipedia, make sure that you verify data (or that it sounds about right if you are reasonably aware of the topic) and be especially careful about company history on company websites because public relations types tend to neglect to mention things. For instance, Coca-Cola does not admit that the original Coca-Cola formula contained cocaine. aspirin.com, from Bayer AG, gives a small history of Bayer aspirin but does not mention that the Bayer aspirin sold in the US and Canada for over 50 years was not at all associated with Bayer AG. Bayer AG also neglects to mention the IG Farben years.
People either don't see or ignore those sorts of warnings. I don't see a warning like that on my 6 month old Dell. If it is molded into the case bottom I will probably never see it, if the warning is on the battery pack I may see it when I check to see if it is subject to recall.
As it is currently the middle of summer in the nothern hemisphere, I suspect that in the past month a large number of laptops were exposed to temperatures well above 140F when they were left in closed vehicles that were parked in the sun. The interior air temperature of a dark color closed car parked in the sun can easily go over 150F.
Parts of it were from wikipedia. I had already known about the bayer and aspirin trademarks in teh US and Canada and that Bayer AG had reacquired then by buying Sterling Drug, I got the actual company names (which had changed) and dates from wikipedia. I find it interesting that Sterling Drug didn't obtain the Heroin trademark at the same time as it obtained the Bayer and Aspirin trademarks.
I also have an interest in some of the companies that were part of IG Farben, especially Bayer AG, Agfa AG, and BASF AG and their relationships to American companies prior to, during, and after WW2. Agfa AG (IG Farben) was intimately related to Agfa-Ansco/GAF/General Aniline and Film/American IG Chemical/IG Chemie.
My hair bristles when I see a Bayer insecticide commercial. Now that Bayer AG owns the Bayer trademark in North America, there are now many more products with the Bayer name brand. IG Farben (of which Bayer AG was a part) at one time owned the patent for and provided materials for the manufacture of an insecticide called Zyklon B -- which was used in the gas chambers of German concentration camps.
Most users don't even know that there is a major difference between a toaster and a computer. Personal computer users in general either need to be educated or the computers that they use need to be made as safe as a toaster. Electricity is still a mystery to many people. I had a person attempt to give me serious grief because I had put a plastic fork along with my food into a microwave oven -- she pointed to a "NO SILVERWARE IN MICROWAVE" sign. She had no idea that there was a difference between putting a stainless steel fork in a microwave and putting a plastic fork in a microwave. I didn't even bother to explain to her how a metal fork can be safely put into a microwave as long as some conditions are met. These people are also computer users.
Bayer AG lost the aspirin trademark at the end of WW1 when the US confiscated Bayer AG's holdings. Sterling Drug bought the American and Canadian "Aspirin" and "Bayer" trademarks from the US government. In the US, aspirin was ruled to be a genericized trademark in 1921. In Canada, Aspirin remained a Sterling Drug trademark. Bayer AG bought Sterling Winthrop (and the Aspirin and Bayer trademarks) from SmithKline Beecham in 1994.
Heroin was also a Bayer trademark until the end of WW1. Bayer AG was merged into IG Farben sometime after WW1. After WW2, IG Farben directors were convicted of massive war crimes, as a result, IG Farben was broken up in 1951 -- Bayer AG was again a separate company.
At least the creditors and collection bureaus probably have a real claim, although the interest and add-ons may be considered to be excessive, the decedent probably did actually owe them the money. Creditors usually have a valid claim for a debt, the RIAA is trying to sue somebody's family for an action that the the decedent may have taken.
This all goes back to the two main problem with computer security: 1.) People who are barely technically proficient to safely operate a toaster are operating computers that require a considerable amount of technical knowlege to safely operate. 2.) The vendor that provides the vast majority of the OS and office suite patches has a less than stellar track record at producing bug-free patches (the patch process has also has been known to introduce what some people consider to be malware masquerading as critical patches).
These computer end-users are the same people that have to be told:
Do not operate toaster outdoors in a wet location.
Do not insert fork or other metal object into toaster slots.
Do not operate toaster while any part is under water.
Do not insert over-sized foods into the toaster.
Do not insert metal foil packages into the toaster.
Do not place plastic wrapped items into the toaster.
Failure to clean crumb tray may result in a risk of fire.
MS has deeper pockets and can afford more expensive layers and iron clad EULAs. A consultant is less likely to be able to afford an expensive lawer and is also more likely to have a contract that a can be shredded by a competent lawyer. A jury is likely to be more sympathetic to a user suing a computer consultant than a computer consultant suing MS.
Hmmm, I wonder if that former customer could find a lawyer who could find you responsible for instructing them to blindly install a patch that broke their system. Even if they don't win the suit - you loose, and who knows; they might get a good lawyer and luck out with a judge who finds you responsible for telling them to blindly install patches as soon as they are released. It is MS's fault that the patch wass are screwed up, it was your fault that the your customer installed it.
I am firmly against a vendor forcibly installing any patch or other software without the computer owner's consent. I will not install the Genuine Advanantage patch (or whatever it's called) on my XP box, and I believe that MS has no right to force me to install it (I am running legit OEM Windows).
I agreee that some people are too stupid to be allowed to breed or own a computer, that does not not mean that they should be forcibly castrated or neutered, nor shoukd they should MS force them to install software on their computer.
For the taxpayers of the state of Illinois who were against these laws, I feel sorry; for the citizens of the state of Illinois who wanted these laws, I say nannynannybooboo. I would guess that would be a total of over a million dollars of nannynannybooboo paid to the lawyers for both sides. That ia about 8 cents for every man, woman, and child in the state, a family of 5 will pay about 40 cents for this stupidity.
A friend who travels 4 out of 5 days has had one piece of luggage in the past 7 years get for more than 24 hours; on a trip from Puerto Rico to Wash DC, his bag went to Sweden. About a week after the bag was lost, he got a call from a baggage person for an airline in Sweden letting him know that his bag was there. Nothing was missing when he got it back. Yes, he did get the airline to give him the frequent flier miles for a trip to Sweden, he had a platinum level super duper high mileage club classification with the airline and they wanted to keep it that way.
I had a cheap MP3 player stolen from my luggage on a vacation flight last spring so I no longer check items that I feel are worth stealing -- I either put them in a small canvas bag or in my laptop bag if I am traveling on business.
A small canvas bag, laptop bag, regular size attache case, or woman's purse is not considered carry-on luggage by most US airlines; the airlines usually classify them as a 'personal item', and allow one of them to be carried on in addition to one piece of carry-on luggage. Yeah, I know, US airlines don't usually enforce the carry-on limits.
You don't have to check the email address if you have the permission of the holder of the email addess, you will have permission of the holder of the email address, won't you? If you don't have permission, then you will be a spammer -- and are fair game.
So for there hasn't been any indication that the US carry-on rules will be changed to prohibit cameras, laptops, or any other electronics. The UK is indicating that the current no carry-on rules are temporary. I wonder if there won't be a third alternative, requiring passengers to gate check bags that would have otherwise been carry-on. This is currently done on several commuter airlines because there is no space for carry-on luggage on the plane. Gate checking of luggage is also currently required on larger planes for things such as baby strollers and oversized bags.
I had a semi-cheap MP3 player stolen from checked luggage, and now I won't check anything that is worth stealing. Luckily I travel with very few things that I think are worth stealing.
I also would never drink the water from an airliner water system.
I have noticed that it is now pretty universal that US airlines serve complimentary bottled water on all flights with beverage service, even if it is bottled purified water from a 1.5 liter bottle served in a plastic cup over ice. One of the commuter airlines that I was on recently didn't have a beverage service but offered plastic cups of bottled spring water (I watched the stewardess crack the sealed caps on the 1.5 liter bottles). SOME airlines do charge for bottled water if you ask for a bottle of water; a complimentary plastic cup of bottled water, with or without ice, is almost always available. Most airlines also serve complimentary canned or bottled soda water.
Delta and Air Tran serve complimentary Dasani bottled water. Alaska and Horizon Air serve complimentary Athena bottled water. United Airlines serves complimentary "bottled purified" water (I would guess in a glass).
I used to live in a small town about 200 miles from the capital of the state. The small town was served by a small commuter airline and had an FBO that chartered small airplanes, including a Piper Aztec that could carry 5 passengers (plus pilot). It was cheaper for four people to get together and charter the small airplane to fly between the small town and the big city than it was to buy four tickets on the commuter airline. The air time was about the same and the fifth passenger was a bonus. Another factor was that the morning commuter flight was frequently canceled due to fog; the chartered plane (which just had to be wheeled out of the hangar) could take off, but the commuter plane (which was flying in from another small town) could not land in the fog.
From what I understand contingency fees are for when the layer is represnting a plaintiff who is suing somebody else for money -- and the lawyer gets a portion of the award (if any). The lawyer getting paid is contingent upon winning.
Pro bono (pro bono publico) means that the lawyer is not charging the client. Pro bono does not mean that the laywers can't get attorney's fees awarded to them by the judge.
Even during the current unpleasantness in London people are being allowed to carry on diapers (nappies in a clear plastic bag are specifically allowed). It is not necessary to carry luggage to carry a few diapers.
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GI's had portable phonographs in World War 1 (although they weren't carried in the field).
In World War 2, the troops had "foxhole" (crystal) radios, the detector was a razor blade and safety pin. There were many AC and DC powered radios. AFRTS started broadcasting during World War 2. There were also portable phonographs.
I am not sure what the GI's used during the Korean Conflict because transistor radios hadn't been introduced yet; they would have had phonographs, they may have carried battery operated tube type radios.
In Vietnam, transistor radios and tape players were carried in the field. MANY GI's came home from Vietman with high end stereos.
During the Gulf War and Bosnia, there would have been portable radios, portable CD players and possibly still some portable cassette players.
iPods and MP3 players were probably first used in Afghanistan.
Now, during Iraqui Freedom and Afghanistan, the state of the technology includes iPods. Same idea, smaller devices.
This isn't really like BETA vs. VHS at all. In the Beta vs VHS war, one format became an orphan; first Beta prerecorded tapes became scarce and then Beta blank tapes became scarce. Even if plasma displays lose favor, the content providers and equipment manufacturers are not going to stop producing compatible content or input sources. Even if manufacturers declared plasma displays to be the loser tomorrow, the owners of plasma displays are not going to be inconvenienced (at least not until the picture starts to suck).
CRTs are essentially an obsolete display technology, and like plasma displays, they are not going to suddenly become orphans. There have been some very high quality CRT based televisions produced in the past few years, such as the Sony XBR Trinitrons. These high quality CRT displays are not going to become obsolete any sooner than any other display technology of the same vintage. I would expect that the CRT televisions and displays made in the past few years will have longer useful lifes than plasma or LCD displays made during the same time period.
In the early 1980's, an independant TV station in Boulder, Colorado (KBDI) didn't have a station to transmitter microwave link. They had used a VW to shuttle program tapes from the studio in Boulder to the transmitter on the mountain. Huge analog bandwith, with about 30 minutes of lag.
There isn't always necessary to read a patent to learn enough to infringe upon a patent, all one has to do is read articles and other literature concerning the technology and in some cases just see the technology in action. It also helps if you have an example of an object available to reverse engineer.
Some engineers will look at patents in order to see if they can come up with a similar, but non-infringing ways to accomplish what the patented technology accomplishes.
Henry Ford studied Seldon's patent when he built his car. Henry Ford's lawsuit caused the Seldon patent to be invalidated because a car built from the patent wouldn't work.
Some early vacuum tube manufacturers studied vacuum tube patents when they attempted to build tubes that didn't infringe on DeForest and RCA patents.
The technology behind most useful patents becomes obvious and easy five years after being patented. Part of it is normal advancement of technology, much of it is because the patent system requires that the technology be disclosed to the public, and in many cases it is because products using the technology become readily available on the market. It is sort of like good magic - the trick is a mystery until somebody puts up a webpage telling how the trick is done.
The Barton time warp patent is not a submarine patent. Tivo did not hide the existance of the patent and Tivo claims that they informed Echostar of the pending patents when they first pitched the Tivo to Echostar. It appears to me that Echostar stole Tivo's idea when they showed the prototype Tivo to Echostar. Whether this judgement and Tivo's patents can stand the test of time is an unknown right now. Tivo's most important patents are for the ability to simultaneously record and play back a video stream and for not using the CPU to do the encoding / decoding. Tivo had operating prototypes at the time that they applied for the patent. Although it doesn't really matter because software patents are enforceable in the US, it appears that these Tivo patents are not purely software related, nor are they simply abstract ideas; they involved the use of specialized hardware. I am not sure whether these technologies were obvious or novel at the time that the patent was applied for.
Bayer AG lost the Bayer and the aspirin trademarks in North America when the Treaty of Versailles was signed after WW1. Sterling Drug bought the Bayer and Aspirin trademarks from the US government in 1918 and then lost the US aspirin trademark in 1921 because it had been genericised (Aspirin is still a trademark in Canada). Bayer AG bought the company that owned the North American Bayer tradmark and the Canadian Aspirin trademark in 1994. Bayer, a former member of I.G. Farben is selling insecticide in the US under the Bayer brand. Google for IG+Farben+insecticide+bayer+zyklon You might also want to Google for Fritz+ter+Meer+bayer+1963
I seriously hope that you were going for +1 Funny in that post.
I found that Wikipedia has great historical bios about companies and company web sites frequently have a history page. Be careful about Wikipedia, make sure that you verify data (or that it sounds about right if you are reasonably aware of the topic) and be especially careful about company history on company websites because public relations types tend to neglect to mention things. For instance, Coca-Cola does not admit that the original Coca-Cola formula contained cocaine. aspirin.com, from Bayer AG, gives a small history of Bayer aspirin but does not mention that the Bayer aspirin sold in the US and Canada for over 50 years was not at all associated with Bayer AG. Bayer AG also neglects to mention the IG Farben years.
d e=030311
For some I.G. Farben history, get a copy of "The Crime and Punishment of I. G. Farben", it is available from http://www.soilandhealth.org/copyform.aspx?bookco
Secrity was picked because I needed a random nick and I saw a magnet on my cube that said "Secrity - all that's missing is U".
People either don't see or ignore those sorts of warnings. I don't see a warning like that on my 6 month old Dell. If it is molded into the case bottom I will probably never see it, if the warning is on the battery pack I may see it when I check to see if it is subject to recall.
As it is currently the middle of summer in the nothern hemisphere, I suspect that in the past month a large number of laptops were exposed to temperatures well above 140F when they were left in closed vehicles that were parked in the sun. The interior air temperature of a dark color closed car parked in the sun can easily go over 150F.
Parts of it were from wikipedia. I had already known about the bayer and aspirin trademarks in teh US and Canada and that Bayer AG had reacquired then by buying Sterling Drug, I got the actual company names (which had changed) and dates from wikipedia. I find it interesting that Sterling Drug didn't obtain the Heroin trademark at the same time as it obtained the Bayer and Aspirin trademarks.
I also have an interest in some of the companies that were part of IG Farben, especially Bayer AG, Agfa AG, and BASF AG and their relationships to American companies prior to, during, and after WW2. Agfa AG (IG Farben) was intimately related to Agfa-Ansco/GAF/General Aniline and Film/American IG Chemical/IG Chemie.
My hair bristles when I see a Bayer insecticide commercial. Now that Bayer AG owns the Bayer trademark in North America, there are now many more products with the Bayer name brand. IG Farben (of which Bayer AG was a part) at one time owned the patent for and provided materials for the manufacture of an insecticide called Zyklon B -- which was used in the gas chambers of German concentration camps.
Most users don't even know that there is a major difference between a toaster and a computer. Personal computer users in general either need to be educated or the computers that they use need to be made as safe as a toaster. Electricity is still a mystery to many people. I had a person attempt to give me serious grief because I had put a plastic fork along with my food into a microwave oven -- she pointed to a "NO SILVERWARE IN MICROWAVE" sign. She had no idea that there was a difference between putting a stainless steel fork in a microwave and putting a plastic fork in a microwave. I didn't even bother to explain to her how a metal fork can be safely put into a microwave as long as some conditions are met. These people are also computer users.
Bayer AG lost the aspirin trademark at the end of WW1 when the US confiscated Bayer AG's holdings. Sterling Drug bought the American and Canadian "Aspirin" and "Bayer" trademarks from the US government. In the US, aspirin was ruled to be a genericized trademark in 1921. In Canada, Aspirin remained a Sterling Drug trademark. Bayer AG bought Sterling Winthrop (and the Aspirin and Bayer trademarks) from SmithKline Beecham in 1994.
Heroin was also a Bayer trademark until the end of WW1. Bayer AG was merged into IG Farben sometime after WW1. After WW2, IG Farben directors were convicted of massive war crimes, as a result, IG Farben was broken up in 1951 -- Bayer AG was again a separate company.
At least the creditors and collection bureaus probably have a real claim, although the interest and add-ons may be considered to be excessive, the decedent probably did actually owe them the money. Creditors usually have a valid claim for a debt, the RIAA is trying to sue somebody's family for an action that the the decedent may have taken.
This all goes back to the two main problem with computer security: 1.) People who are barely technically proficient to safely operate a toaster are operating computers that require a considerable amount of technical knowlege to safely operate. 2.) The vendor that provides the vast majority of the OS and office suite patches has a less than stellar track record at producing bug-free patches (the patch process has also has been known to introduce what some people consider to be malware masquerading as critical patches).
These computer end-users are the same people that have to be told:
Do not operate toaster outdoors in a wet location.
Do not insert fork or other metal object into toaster slots.
Do not operate toaster while any part is under water.
Do not insert over-sized foods into the toaster.
Do not insert metal foil packages into the toaster.
Do not place plastic wrapped items into the toaster.
Failure to clean crumb tray may result in a risk of fire.
MS has deeper pockets and can afford more expensive layers and iron clad EULAs. A consultant is less likely to be able to afford an expensive lawer and is also more likely to have a contract that a can be shredded by a competent lawyer. A jury is likely to be more sympathetic to a user suing a computer consultant than a computer consultant suing MS.
Hmmm, I wonder if that former customer could find a lawyer who could find you responsible for instructing them to blindly install a patch that broke their system. Even if they don't win the suit - you loose, and who knows; they might get a good lawyer and luck out with a judge who finds you responsible for telling them to blindly install patches as soon as they are released. It is MS's fault that the patch wass are screwed up, it was your fault that the your customer installed it.
I am firmly against a vendor forcibly installing any patch or other software without the computer owner's consent. I will not install the Genuine Advanantage patch (or whatever it's called) on my XP box, and I believe that MS has no right to force me to install it (I am running legit OEM Windows).
I agreee that some people are too stupid to be allowed to breed or own a computer, that does not not mean that they should be forcibly castrated or neutered, nor shoukd they should MS force them to install software on their computer.
For the taxpayers of the state of Illinois who were against these laws, I feel sorry; for the citizens of the state of Illinois who wanted these laws, I say nannynannybooboo. I would guess that would be a total of over a million dollars of nannynannybooboo paid to the lawyers for both sides. That ia about 8 cents for every man, woman, and child in the state, a family of 5 will pay about 40 cents for this stupidity.
A friend who travels 4 out of 5 days has had one piece of luggage in the past 7 years get for more than 24 hours; on a trip from Puerto Rico to Wash DC, his bag went to Sweden. About a week after the bag was lost, he got a call from a baggage person for an airline in Sweden letting him know that his bag was there. Nothing was missing when he got it back. Yes, he did get the airline to give him the frequent flier miles for a trip to Sweden, he had a platinum level super duper high mileage club classification with the airline and they wanted to keep it that way.
I had a cheap MP3 player stolen from my luggage on a vacation flight last spring so I no longer check items that I feel are worth stealing -- I either put them in a small canvas bag or in my laptop bag if I am traveling on business.
A small canvas bag, laptop bag, regular size attache case, or woman's purse is not considered carry-on luggage by most US airlines; the airlines usually classify them as a 'personal item', and allow one of them to be carried on in addition to one piece of carry-on luggage. Yeah, I know, US airlines don't usually enforce the carry-on limits.
You don't have to check the email address if you have the permission of the holder of the email addess, you will have permission of the holder of the email address, won't you? If you don't have permission, then you will be a spammer -- and are fair game.
So for there hasn't been any indication that the US carry-on rules will be changed to prohibit cameras, laptops, or any other electronics. The UK is indicating that the current no carry-on rules are temporary. I wonder if there won't be a third alternative, requiring passengers to gate check bags that would have otherwise been carry-on. This is currently done on several commuter airlines because there is no space for carry-on luggage on the plane. Gate checking of luggage is also currently required on larger planes for things such as baby strollers and oversized bags.
I had a semi-cheap MP3 player stolen from checked luggage, and now I won't check anything that is worth stealing. Luckily I travel with very few things that I think are worth stealing.
I also would never drink the water from an airliner water system.
I have noticed that it is now pretty universal that US airlines serve complimentary bottled water on all flights with beverage service, even if it is bottled purified water from a 1.5 liter bottle served in a plastic cup over ice. One of the commuter airlines that I was on recently didn't have a beverage service but offered plastic cups of bottled spring water (I watched the stewardess crack the sealed caps on the 1.5 liter bottles). SOME airlines do charge for bottled water if you ask for a bottle of water; a complimentary plastic cup of bottled water, with or without ice, is almost always available. Most airlines also serve complimentary canned or bottled soda water.
Delta and Air Tran serve complimentary Dasani bottled water. Alaska and Horizon Air serve complimentary Athena bottled water. United Airlines serves complimentary "bottled purified" water (I would guess in a glass).
I used to live in a small town about 200 miles from the capital of the state. The small town was served by a small commuter airline and had an FBO that chartered small airplanes, including a Piper Aztec that could carry 5 passengers (plus pilot). It was cheaper for four people to get together and charter the small airplane to fly between the small town and the big city than it was to buy four tickets on the commuter airline. The air time was about the same and the fifth passenger was a bonus. Another factor was that the morning commuter flight was frequently canceled due to fog; the chartered plane (which just had to be wheeled out of the hangar) could take off, but the commuter plane (which was flying in from another small town) could not land in the fog.
From what I understand contingency fees are for when the layer is represnting a plaintiff who is suing somebody else for money -- and the lawyer gets a portion of the award (if any). The lawyer getting paid is contingent upon winning.
Pro bono (pro bono publico) means that the lawyer is not charging the client. Pro bono does not mean that the laywers can't get attorney's fees awarded to them by the judge.
Even during the current unpleasantness in London people are being allowed to carry on diapers (nappies in a clear plastic bag are specifically allowed). It is not necessary to carry luggage to carry a few diapers.