Wars. Famine. Plagues. Disease. Cell Phones and Laptops on Airplanes.
 | by Drew on August 5th, 2008 |
Yes, they are all signs of the Armageddon and at least two of them are coming to a terminal near you! That’s right. In the very near future cell phone and laptops will be allowed in the friendly skies. In fact, he European Union on Monday opened the way for air travelers to use mobile phones to talk, text or send e-mails on planes throughout Europe’s airspace. Sounds like a perfect way to maximize time while in the air. However, I am not sure I want to be on the receiving end of the monthly bill for mid-air calling using GSM technology or be the one sitting next to Ms. Jabber Jaws as she talks about her vacation in Boca with her daughter-in-law and her good for nothing son. As it stands now the United States and other countries forbid the use of these devices during flight for fear it may interfere with the airplane’s instruments. I, personally, think this is a good thing. However, Delta did make a bit of an announcement today saying that during the next year they would be providing Wi-Fi for 330 planes (covering 1000 flights daily) when flying above 10,000 feet. I think I am not against Wi-Fi on planes but the cell phone situation just seems to toy with the tranquility that is sometimes offered during long-distance flights.
Should this come to pass though I fully expect for MinuteFix to be assisting with support issues from “somewhere about 20,000 feet over Singapore, I think.”