08-11-2006, 05:00 AM
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Executive Editor
Join Date: Aug 2006
Posts: 29,160
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Pocket Goddess: Is Mobile Tech Grounded?
"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."
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? :worried:
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