Pocket Goddess: Is Mobile Tech Grounded?

[Jason Dunn]

<div class='os_post_top_link'><a href='http://www.pocketgoddess.com/articles/2006/08/is_mobile_tech.html' target='_blank'>http://www.pocketgoddess.com/articles/2006/08/is_mobile_tech.html</a><br /><br /></div><i>"Today’s events have turned the modern world of aviation on its head—news of a foiled terrorist plot involving British airliners headed to the US has led to chaos as trans-Atlantic flights are delayed or cancelled, security measures are tightened, and experts argue about what could happen next. I’m sobered by these reports, but I know that life can and will go on. I may be a bit more cautious when I fly, and know that I need to allow plenty of time to pass through security checkpoints—gone are the days of rushing to the airport at the last minute—but I’ll still travel just as I have before. Or will I? According to many reports, carry-on luggage has been virtually banned on flights originating in the UK, with passengers being allowed to take nothing more than their passport and cash. Evidently the suspected plot revolved around constructing some sort of explosive device in the air from separate components brought on a plane, and some experts speculate that an electronic device such as a radio or even the key fob from a set of car keys could have been used to set it off."</i><br /><br />This is certainly sobering news for any tech-type who travels with gadgets (I imagine that would be pretty much everyone reading this site). Safety is important of course, but the thought of a long flight without music, movies, offline email, or my laptop for that matter...is a frightening thought. I enjoy a good book, and often read on flights, but I'm also the type of person that can't read while others are talking. I need to block out the world around me with music in order to not be distracted, and thinking about listening to a crying baby or loud talker for six hours is enough to make me not want to fly. ;-) The issue of carry-on luggage is also very concerning to me: I'm going to Hawaii with my wife for our 5th wedding anniversary, and I don't trust my expensive Nikon D200 to be handled by anyone but myself. Put it in my luggage? No way! Yet it seems I may have no choice. A laptop would be even more fragile, certainly not something you'd want to pack in a suitcase, yet I can't imagine going on a vacation and not having my laptop available to dump photos onto. Is there any chance most of these regulations will "blow over" in the next couple of months? :?

[Philip Colmer]

At the moment, the level of the clampdown appears to be just in case. It is believed that there may be some people at large that were part of the group intending to blow the planes up and the security services want to make sure that they've got things under control while the arrested people are interrogated.

There was a comment on the BBC this morning from a respected travel reporter that this level of clampdown cannot continue for too long, otherwise people will start to reduce the amount of air travel, which will hurt the airlines. Already, ten people every minute are apparently switching from plane to Eurostar (the train that goes underneath the English Channel between the UK &amp; France).

There are a lot of people phoning/emailing in with concerns about laptops, photograhic equipment, musical instruments, etc, etc. This is particularly bad when the compensation levels are really, really poor for damaged goods. Also the hold is much colder than cabin space which could have a detrimental effect on items.

Unfortunately, it appears that one of the concerns is related to the potential for a bomb detonator to be hidden inside normal equipment, hence the blanket ban on anything electronic, even car key remotes.

I've got to fly to China in September. I don't relish that flight without some of my creature comforts, particularly my noise-cancelling headphones.

I understand the need for security and I understand why these measures are being taken. I hope that a sensible easing off can be achieved in due course.

--Philip

[Gary Sheynkman]

I fly a lot .... so tech on flights is important to me....

knowing the industry...I doubt this "ban" will hold...too many business people need access to their toys online

[bluemax]

What better time than now to check out train travel. You're 1 hour flight that actually takes 3 or 4 hours with baggage check in and security could be a comfortable 4 or 5 hour train trip. Plus you'd skip the long drive from the airport to "downtown" since your train arrives there in the first place.

www.amtrack.com

Plus -
* you can cross you legs in the seat
* put your laptop on a real table
* use your cellphone while travelling


Bill B

[Jerry Raia]

The only thing right now that applies to domestic US flying is the liquid ban.

[Jason Dunn]

The only thing right now that applies to domestic US flying is the liquid ban.

Yes, things seems to have calmed down a bit. I wonder though about flights from Canada to the US with international destinations?

[Jerry Raia]

As far as I know only the UK is a problem.

[Crocuta]

What better time than now to check out train travel. You're 1 hour flight that actually takes 3 or 4 hours with baggage check in and security could be a comfortable 4 or 5 hour train trip. Plus you'd skip the long drive from the airport to "downtown" since your train arrives there in the first place.

Trains could be a great option in theory. In Europe, they're a genuinely viable option. But here in the US, the passenger rail system has been so gutted that the odds of finding a train going where you want to go are very small. I'm lucky that we even have a train station in my small city (in central Virginia), but it only does me any good if I want to go to Washington DC or New York (north) or New Orleans (south). And to even do those requires me to be at the station at something like 4:00 am. If I want to go anywhere else, it requires going to DC and transferring to another line, which then makes almost any trip a multi-day affair. I love trains and would gladly travel that way, but it's really not feasible as an alternative to air in this country. (And, of course, if we all switched to train travel, then the terrorists would simply start targeting them as well.)

[ctmagnus]

Trains could be a great option in theory. In Europe, they're a genuinely viable option. But here in the US, the passenger rail system has been so gutted that the odds of finding a train going where you want to go are very small. I'm lucky that we even have a train station in my small city (in central Virginia), but it only does me any good if I want to go to Washington DC or New York (north) or New Orleans (south). And to even do those requires me to be at the station at something like 4:00 am. If I want to go anywhere else, it requires going to DC and transferring to another line, which then makes almost any trip a multi-day affair. I love trains and would gladly travel that way, but it's really not feasible as an alternative to air in this country. (And, of course, if we all switched to train travel, then the terrorists would simply start targeting them as well.)

True of Canada as well, only we lost a considerable amount of our twice-weekly routes a few decades ago. Unless you're on the northern line that Via does, or you want to pay out the nose to ride the Rocky Mountaineer, which doesn't even stop between Vancouver and Calgary/Jasper.

And I love train travel as well.