Cellphones On Airplanes

Bonker writes "According to this USAToday article two companies, AirCell, and Verizon, are developing technology to let airline passengers safely use cellphones while in flight. The system would block frequencies normally used by cellphones and force cell customers to 'roam' on the new network. Saftey concerns aside, I thought that a plane cabin was the one place I would never have to deal with people who won't quit talking on the phone."

Weapons still illegal?

[NetDanzr]

I tend to whack people talking on cellphones during moview with a stick. Sitting on a plane with people all around you talking to their phones and not being able to whack them may get a little frustrating...

Allow cell phones on airplanes?

[fobbman]

I have no problem with allowing cell phone use on airplanes. The problem is when they expect to use them IN the airplane. When they do that, then they need to allow me to carry a stun gun.

Passengers only?

[uk_greg]

What about the pilots? Will they have to use hands free models? :)

Re:Can someone explain

[Anonymous Coward]

"Please turn off all electronic devices. This includes pacemakers."

Slashdot Odds Update @# +1, Exciting

[Anonymous Coward]

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Dick Cheney Resigns To Play Dr. Strangelove
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Great

[PygmyTrojan]

Anyone who's willing to pay $3.99/minute roaming charges just to say "Hey! I'm flying over your house!" deserves a swift kick in the crotch.

Re:deal?

[blincoln]

Are you just upset about only being able to eavesdrop on one side of the conversation?

My personal complaint is that people on cellphones tend to act as if they're speaking from the privacy of their own home, rather than talking with someone in a public place. They speak in a louder voice, and they discuss more personal topics. I don't like being forced to know things I didn't want to about people.

The worst, though, are people who use them in the restroom. "Ah, yeah, let's close that business deal. Hang on one second, will you? Unnnh! Unnhhhhhhh! [sploosh] oh yeah! Okay, now about those terms..."

Re:Dunno...

[Anonymous Coward]

That shit is all electrical and has photons and quarks shooting around in it and it and all that energy could easily explode out of the USB port and ignite the fuel tanks. If it saves even one life then there is no need to even finish this sentence!

Re:Seems fairly antiquated

[mustangdavis]

one could easily make these calls from a plane as long as some type of broad connection to the Internet was available.

We'll just run a Road Runner teather to the plane .... or attach a satalite dish to the plane's rudder ...

Besides, I hate when calls drop, so lets use Linux instead.

Re:Jetblue??

[Anonymous Coward]

Maybe their planes don't have any electronics. Would explain the lower rates, wouldn't it?

Re:deal?

[Anonymous Coward]

If you don't like knowing about their personal things, why don't you try discussing it with them? If someone is talking about how they have abdominal pains, go over and share a bogus anecdote with them after they get off the phone about how you have a bleeding anus or something. Or, alternatively, go into the stall next to the guy who is closing his business deal whilst taking a shit and fake a call to your doctor on troubleshooting said bleeding anus.

Be sure to talk loudly!

Re:Does not matter

[i_m_sane]

"The pilot has turned off the no smoking light and the seatbelt light, however the no cell phone light will remain on throughout the entire flight."

Good news for us hungry geeks...

[McFly69]

"Hello Pizza Hut? I would like a large cheese pizza and some hot wings deleveried to the Atlanta Domestic airport. What....where am I right now? I am about 3,000 feet above North Carolina, but I will be at the airport in 20 minutes."

people who won't quit talking on cellphones

[chachi5000]

"I thought that a plane cabin was the one place I would never have to deal with people who won't quit talking on the phone."

I thought I was safe while running the Twin Cities Marathon last month, but I was wrong. On mile five I hear an annoying personalized ring and a "Hello!". The guy next me rigs up his hands free ear piece and starts jabbering away.

Where will it end? Church? Public bathrooms? Theaters? I've heard cell phones in all of them! No place is safe!

Re:deal?

[Maxwell'sSilverLART]

Only we can't mod people with cell phones.

Sure you can! In a restaurant, a glass of ice water is a wonderful moderator. In a theater/theatre, your hat (which you did, of course, remove upon entering the building) is a wonderful whacking device. Elsewhere, just join their conversation. "REALLY? I CAN'T BELIEVE SHE DID THAT!"

They'll learn, usually quickly.

Re:deal? (My rant)

[throbbingbrain.com]

The strange thing is, people will YELL things into a cell phone that they would never say in a face to face conversation in a public place.

On my train ride to work this morning, I learned all about a passenger's:

1. Divorce
2. Joint debts with ex wife.
3. Kid's behavior problems and learning disorder.
4. New house.

I DON'T CARE. I WAS TRYING TO READ A BOOK. It's a public place and the rest of us shouldn't be forced to endure someone's personal business.

Evening news: "Disgruntled DC area commuter assaults passenger on morning commuter train. Surgeons were unable to extract the cellular phone from the victim's [choose an oriface] and fear it may be permanently lodged there..."

Ahhh... I feel better now.

Trigger Happy TV

[smcn]

*Nokia tune*
Hello?!
No I'm on an airplane!
An airplane! It's some new system! Total rubbish!
Hang on you're cracking up!
You're cracking up, call me back!
Alright, ciao!

"Phone police" will have an officer on each flight

[doorbot.com]

Air travel will be very pleasant if the "in-flight cellular officer" is one of these guys [phonebashing.com], as I trust them to keep cellphone use to a tolerable level.

What would you do if a giant cellphone told you to "hang up, or else?"

Re:Weapons still illegal?

[sharkey]

Sitting on a plane with people all around you talking to their phones and not being able to whack them may get a little frustrating...

Easy. Just tell a stewardess that you heard them talking in Arabic. She'll take care of the rest for you.

Re:deal?

[naNoox]

...for the plane to land to hear about the cute guy sitting in 21-b.

Hey!! That was me in 21-b!

Don't stop her from doing something about it...

Maybe...

[Anonymous Coward]

Maybe he was just talking to his number two.

Re:The Aviation Safety Reporting System

[Lumpy]

you forgot some important ones...

Anomaly: Aircraft crashed upon takeoff, probable cause: Pilot's Alcahol level above 0.47

Anomaly: Aircraft plummeted into ground 1/2 way through flight, probable cause: wings fell off due to ice

Anomaly: after a long flight aircraft flew erratic and crashed, probable Cause: Lack of fuel.

i can name 100 times more problems that relate to things OTHER than electronics and all are much more deadly.

NudeSmokeCell Airways

[Anonymous Coward]

Business Idea:

January 1. 2003:
NudeSmokeCell Airways, a new division of Jet Blue, flies all of the same routes.

On NudeSmokeCell Airways, you can:

* Wander around the cabin naked

* Smoke as much as you want

* Use a cell phone, and any other electronic
device, as much as you want

* upgrade your ticket for use of the in-flight hot-tub