Based on the following email, it looks like broadband is coming to an airline near you. A co-worker mentioned Southwest and JetBlue will also be providing broadband access for transcontinental flights.
American Will Be The First U.S. Airline To Launch Aircell’s Real-time Broadband Connectivity
American Airlines is committed to enhancing the travel experience for its customers as the first aircraft installation of the Aircell® Internet broadband connectivity solution has been completed. American, which will be the first U.S. airline to offer customers Aircell’s Internet broadband solution, plans on additional installations and testing of the technology in 2008 on all 15 of its Boeing 767-200 aircraft that primarily fly transcontinental routes.
Aircell’s exclusive air-to-ground broadband system will provide customers with an Internet connection, VPN (virtual private network) access, and e-mail capabilities through all Wi-Fi-enabled laptops, PDAs and portable gaming devices. Customers will experience speeds similar to wireless, mobile, broadband services on the ground
After testing and certification is completed, customer benefits will also include:
• Complimentary access to AA.com including services such as gates and times, fares and AAdvantage information, • Access to the Wall Street Journal Digest Edition, • Compatibility with VPNs used to access corporate intranets and exchange email, • And seamless coverage over the continental U.S. above 10,000 feet.
Aircell will offer the connectivity solution to American Airlines customers in all classes of service on the B767-200 aircraft for a fee.
The jet engine puts me to sleep, but for those of you who need your online fix even in the air. There’s hope in your future.
The key term is checked baggage. You are still allowed to carry spare lithium batteries in your carry-on luggage with some new rules.
Here are the new rules from safetravel.dot.gov:
Effective January 1, 2008, the following rules apply to the spare lithium batteries you carry with you in case the battery in a device runs low:
- Spare batteries are the batteries you carry separately from the devices they power. When batteries are installed in a device, they are not considered spare batteries.
- You may not pack a spare lithium battery in your checked baggage
- You may bring spare lithium batteries with you in carry-on baggage – see our spare battery tips and how-to sections to find out how to pack spare batteries safely!
- Even though we recommend carrying your devices with you in carry-on baggage as well, if you must bring one in checked baggage, you may check it with the batteries installed.
The following quantity limits apply to both your spare and installed batteries. The limits are expressed in grams of “equivalent lithium content.” 8 grams of equivalent lithium content is approximately 100 watt-hours. 25 grams is approximately 300 watt-hours:
- Under the new rules, you can bring batteries with up to 8-gram equivalent lithium content. All lithium ion batteries in cell phones are below 8 gram equivalent lithium content. Nearly all laptop computers also are below this quantity threshold.
- You can also bring up to two spare batteries with an aggregate equivalent lithium content of up to 25 grams, in addition to any batteries that fall below the 8-gram threshold. Examples of two types of lithium ion batteries with equivalent lithium content over 8 grams but below 25 are shown below.
- For a lithium metal battery, whether installed in a device or carried as a spare, the limit on lithium content is 2 grams of lithium metal per battery.
- Almost all consumer-type lithium metal batteries are below 2 grams of lithium metal. But if you are unsure, contact the manufacturer!
Examples of extended-life rechargeable lithium batteries (more than 8 but not more than 25 grams of equivalent lithium content):
- 130 watt-hour “universal” lithium ion battery
- 160 watt-hour lithium ion battery for professional audio/visual equipment
Happy New Year, Road Warriors!
Bruce Schneier, a well-known security and cryptography expert, interviewed Kip Hawley, the head of the Transportation Security Authority (TSA). Bruce asks the questions you and I have been asking ourselves as we stand in the security line.
Examples of the Poignant Questions:
Bruce Schneier: By today’s rules, I can carry on liquids in quantities of three ounces or less, unless they’re in larger bottles. But I can carry on multiple three-ounce bottles. Or a single larger bottle with a non-prescription medicine label, like contact lens fluid. It all has to fit inside a one-quart plastic bag, except for that large bottle of contact lens fluid. And if you confiscate my liquids, you’re going to toss them into a large pile right next to the screening station—which you would never do if anyone thought they were actually dangerous. Can you please convince me there’s not an Office for Annoying Air Travelers making this sort of stuff up?
Bruce Schneier: People regularly point to security checkpoints missing a knife in their handbag as evidence that security screening isn’t working. But that’s wrong. Complete effectiveness is not the goal; the checkpoints just have to be effective enough so that the terrorists are worried their plan will be uncovered. But in Denver earlier this year, testers sneaked 90% of weapons through. And other tests aren’t much better. Why are these numbers so poor, and why didn’t they get better when the TSA took over airport security?
And the one we’ve all been dying to ask…
Bruce Schneier: When can we keep our shoes on?
I thought the questions and answers were very informational, although I’m not thoroughly convinced all the procedures are necessary or beneficial. In any case, it helps clear up some of the confusion. Something to think about while you’re waiting in security. Happy travels.
I always avoid using cups and other “re-usable” items at hotels for good reason.
Check out this video.
Always check out your towels as well and don’t be afraid to ask for new ones if you are the least bit suspicious.
I frequently put my laptop into standby mode instead of shutting it down completely. This allows quick access to my computer when I have idle time waiting for a flight or sitting in a taxi. On Leveno laptops, the keystroke is Fn+F4 (look for the half moon). Some people have problems with the laptop returning from standby mode. You can minimize the chances of this happening by going through a few steps before hitting standby.
Steps to Improve Laptop Standby Reliability
- Close down unnecessary applications - yes one of the benefits of standby mode is to return to your open applications, but the memory footprint of applications are saved to your hard disk; this is why it takes so long to load up when coming out of standby
- Unplug devices BEFORE you enter standby mode, not after - the laptop expects things to be the same way when it returns, even hardware; if you remove a USB mouse or EVDO card after going into standby mode (and forget to insert it before waking up the laptop), you put the laptop in an unknown state
- Reboot once in a while - while I’ve gone several weeks without shutting down, it’s good practice to give your laptop a memory refresh; I usually reboot it right before I goto bed so it’s ready for me in the morning
- To return from standby mode, hold down the Fn key until your hard disk light begins to flicker - that is the signal your laptop has heard your wake-up call; just relax and wait for the wake-up process to complete - have patience and don’t reboot!
Getting yourself up and running is important so you can use your idle time wisely. As travelers we have plenty of that. Happy travels.