Maybe the FAA Gadget Ban On Liftoff and Landing Isn't So Bad

First time accepted submitter oyenamit writes "Ars Technica reported a while back that FAA is going to reconsider the ban on use of electronic gadgets during take-off and landing. If this ban is revoked, you will be free to use your gizmos for an additional 30 minutes or so. Peter Bright has an interesting take on why lifting of the ban may not be such a good idea."

Re:Screw off.

[mpoulton]

A quick Googling of "arrested for not turning cell phone off on plane" shows MANY results. First: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/09/06/air-passenger-arrested-fo_0_n_950326.html [huffingtonpost.com]

American Taliban

[Grail]

Watch as your nation is demolished by people claiming that religion is more important than science, and that giving all children the same grade in reading tests is better for their education. If you want to know where your country is headed, watch "Idiocracy".

Just remember that it's easier to control a population if they are uneducated and fearful.

Re:person sitting next to the user

[jon3k]

The best noise cancelling under $100, period, end of discussion: http://www.etymotic.com/ephp/mc5.html [etymotic.com]

http://www.amazon.com/Etymotic-Research-Isolating-In-Ear-Earphones/dp/B003S3RFIQ/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1332724721&sr=8-2 [amazon.com]

Re:person sitting next to the user

[forand]

If you had RTFA you would have noted that the ban on cell phones is not being revisited. That is cell phones will continue to be banned during flight.

Re:person sitting next to the user

[CapOblivious2010]

Did you READ TFA? He's not talking about lifting the ban on talking on the phone - he's talking about lifting the ban on having gizmos powered on during the takeoff and landing. If you can tolerate someone next to you reading a kindle or playing angry birds for 10 hours, you can tolerate it for another 30 minutes.

His real point is that he's too weak to turn his gizmos off when he wants some down time, so he wants to make sure no one else can use theirs either.

Actually, I wonder - if that's the only time he can get away from his gizmos, does he book pointless flights back and forth across the country, with as many stops as possible, just to get some quiet time?

Re:Attention

[Drishmung]

Modern commercial passenger aircraft are barely flown by the pilot anyway. Automation is so extensive that the air craft is basically a drone flight and the pilot is just an emergency override.[...]

No, not even close. See the "Ask the Pilot" [expertflyer.com] piece, or go read a bit more about it. Patrick covers this particular myth with remarkable frequency, since It Will Not Die!

Passengers using electronics is unlikely in the extreme to ever impact flight safety.

Absolutely agree. Basically, if it were possible to bring a plane down merely by using a cellphone, it would already have been done by now. Certain groups have an intense interest in doing just that. They haven't, so they can't. Q.E.D.

Re:Neither new nor interesting

[billcopc]

Why is this RUBBISH on the front page?

Because the stupid people that rule the world have finally taken over our beloved site.