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analogika · Jul 5, 2005, 07:01 AM

Well, apparently the powers that be have decreed that cellphones are not harmful to aircraft operation.

http://www.theregister.co.uk/2005/07...borne_mobiles/

Ban to be lifted next year in Europe.

ManOfSteal · Jul 5, 2005, 08:27 AM

Damn, that is the one place (an airplane) where I can actually enjoy a few hours without a cell phone going off and be annoying as hell. Oh well!

Weyland-Yutani · Jul 5, 2005, 09:06 AM

If they are going to allow cellphones on planes they should reintroduce smoking sections on planes. Yes I think people yapping in cellphones are that annoying (second hand smoking isn't carcenogenous according to WHO btw)

perhaps there should be cellphone sections on planes?

cheers

W-Y

Randman · Jul 5, 2005, 09:17 AM

Oh mi god. That's the worst thing that could happen.

His Dudeness · Jul 5, 2005, 09:19 AM

That's discrimination!

IonCable · Jul 5, 2005, 09:59 AM

Big deal, once you're airborne your cell phone isn't going to be able to connect to any towers. Cell tower signals don't reach that high last I knew.

ThinkInsane · Jul 5, 2005, 10:01 AM

Great, what a wonderful idea. Now I'll get to hear everything from Tubular Bells to Play That Funky Music White Boy all performed in MIDI, while insipid morons gab about nothing while I'm trying to catch a few minutes of sleep. I hope this means that parents have yet another excuse not to control their bored children on aircraft. This is the best idea ever! :roll:

mitchell_pgh · Jul 5, 2005, 10:06 AM

It upsets me that people don't now how to be polite.

You can answer your [on vibrate] phone quietly in a discrete way... keeping the conversation short, and I bet few people would be upset.

It's the people that feel they need to offer their conversations to the public that bother me.

jamil5454 · Jul 5, 2005, 10:12 AM

The real reason cell phone conversations are annoying is because you can't hear the other side of the conversation. Your brain goes crazy.

I guess most people talk loud, too.

Railroader · Jul 5, 2005, 10:18 AM

I think cell phones should be banned from the parking lot. It's amazing how people have to get that last conversation in before their flight leaves.

If phones are not banned, I beg of you cell phone people to realize that you don't need to shout. Why are you people always shouting into your phones?!?!

Railroader · Jul 5, 2005, 10:19 AM

Originally Posted by IonCable

Big deal, once you're airborne your cell phone isn't going to be able to connect to any towers. Cell tower signals don't reach that high last I knew.

The airlines will install repeaters in the planes.

I wonder how bad the roaming charges will be?

budster101 · Jul 5, 2005, 10:21 AM

BECAUSE MOST CELL PHONE AND SERVICES SUCK. QUALITY IS NOT THERE.

Oh, wait, I'm not on my phone right now... it's a habbit.

Eug Wanker · Jul 5, 2005, 10:23 AM

Originally Posted by Railroader

I think cell phones should be banned from the parking lot. It's amazing how people have to get that last conversation in before their flight leaves.

Yeah, it's not as if keeping other people up-to-date about your changing flight plans is important at all.

[/sarcasm]

xi_hyperon · Jul 5, 2005, 10:24 AM

One more reason that I carry earplugs with me when flying.

Railroader · Jul 5, 2005, 10:28 AM

Originally Posted by Eug Wanker

Yeah, it's not as if keeping other people up-to-date about your changing flight plans is important at all.

[/sarcasm]

See that row of phones on the wall to your left? Use those.

Seriously, most of the conversations I overhear, simply because the person is shouting is: "I'M ABOUT TO GET ON THE PLANE RIGHT NOW! HOW ARE YOU DOING? WE ARE GOING TO SEATTLE TO VISIT MY MOTHER! YOU WOULD NOT BELIEVE HOW MUCH IT COST TO PARK! HAVE YOU SEEN THE BATMAN MOVIE? ... yada yada yada...

Eug Wanker · Jul 5, 2005, 10:30 AM

Originally Posted by xi_hyperon

One more reason that I carry earplugs with me when flying.

Even better, I carry this:

Originally Posted by Railroader

See that row of phones on the wall to your left? Use those.

Why use a pay phone when you already have a cell phone. And it's not as if people on pay phones are more silent than people on cell phones.

budster101 · Jul 5, 2005, 10:33 AM

Do they really deaden the outside ambient noise?

How much did you pay for those?

Railroader · Jul 5, 2005, 10:35 AM

Originally Posted by Eug Wanker

And it's not as if people on pay phones are more silent than people on cell phones.

You really think this? Weird.

Eug Wanker · Jul 5, 2005, 10:38 AM

Originally Posted by budster101

Do they really deaden the outside ambient noise?

Yes. They're essentially ear plugs that also can play music. I like them a lot better than the noise-cancellation headphones because:

1) The sound quality is better, at least for the higher-end in-the-ear headphones. I haven't tested the cheaper ones.
2) Noise-cancellation headphones drown out engine noise, but not people talking beside you.
3) In-the-ear headphones are much less bulky. (I don't actually carry the whole shebang shown above. I just carry the iPod mini and the headphones (and a plane plug adapter in case I need it).

How much did you pay for those?

Too much. It was $300 something. There are cheaper versions available now though.

tooki · Jul 5, 2005, 10:43 AM

Originally Posted by analogika

Well, apparently the powers that be have decreed that cellphones are not harmful to aircraft operation.

Electronics, including cellphones, have never been harmful to aircraft operation, and they know it.

In the U.S., cellphone/radio use is restricted in aircraft by the FCC, not the FAA. That's because a cellphone in flight has the ability to contact dozens of cellphone antennas, causing problems with reception for others.

Originally Posted by IonCable

Big deal, once you're airborne your cell phone isn't going to be able to connect to any towers. Cell tower signals don't reach that high last I knew.

No, in fact they can. Since radio can travel rather far through unobstructed air, an airborne cell phone can contact many cell sites. Perhaps not at 37,000 feet, but certainly anytime they're closer to the ground.

Originally Posted by jamil5454

The real reason cell phone conversations are annoying is because you can't hear the other side of the conversation. Your brain goes crazy.

I guess most people talk loud, too.

I disagree.

Haven't you ever heard people using those darned Nextel push-to-talk walkie-talkie style phones? They're horrible. You DO hear both sides of the conversation, with "bee-beep!" before each person speaks. It's FAR more annoying than any cellphone ever was.

tooki

Railroader · Jul 5, 2005, 11:02 AM

Originally Posted by tooki

Haven't you ever heard people using those darned Nextel push-to-talk walkie-talkie style phones? They're horrible. You DO hear both sides of the conversation, with "bee-beep!" before each person speaks. It's FAR more annoying than any cellphone ever was.

tooki

This is HIGHLY annoying. Even way more so than a regular loud cell phone conversation. It's so easy to put the conversation into private mode. And then you simply talk like you are on a regular phone, all you have to do is push the talk button when you want to talk.

His Dudeness · Jul 5, 2005, 11:07 AM

Why does everyone hate cell phones? What's the difference between a cell phone and hearing people talk to each other?

Railroader · Jul 5, 2005, 11:08 AM

Originally Posted by His Dudeness

Why does everyone hate cell phones? What's the difference between a cell phone and hearing people talk to each other?

BECAUSE PEOPLE DON'T YELL IN NORMAL CONVERSATIONS!!!

Eug Wanker · Jul 5, 2005, 11:09 AM

Originally Posted by Railroader

You really think this? Weird.

Yes, there are rude people and there are not-so-rude people. People who are loud on a cell phone are also loud on a pay phone.

I agree that a lot of people on cell phones are rude, but many are not. Perhaps a comment by the flight attendants about keeping phone calls short and quiet might help when cell phones are allowed on the plane.

BTW, this will help when the music-playing phones are common. Right now there are phones that allow you to turn off the phone part when playing music, but I'm sure some flight attendants would still ask you to turn off the phone completely.

Originally Posted by Railroader

BECAUSE PEOPLE DON'T YELL IN NORMAL CONVERSATIONS!!!

No, just in Mac forums.

Link · Jul 5, 2005, 11:10 AM

Yah well I'm gonna get myself a nextel phone now! Not the small compact ones, no a big radio one.. so I can get on the plane, I'll have the volume up all the way and yell into the speaker all the time like I'm some macho man... Then I'll use it as a weapon to beat up the pansies who attack me

His Dudeness · Jul 5, 2005, 11:32 AM

Originally Posted by Railroader

BECAUSE PEOPLE DON'T YELL IN NORMAL CONVERSATIONS!!!

I guess I never heard people yell into cell phones.

analogika · Jul 5, 2005, 12:13 PM

Originally Posted by Railroader

BECAUSE PEOPLE DON'T YELL IN NORMAL CONVERSATIONS!!!

Actually, the people that talk really loudly on cell phones DO tend to yell a bit in normal conversation.

though bad reception will let cause people to think that talking LOUDER will make them more audible.

suvsr4terrorists · Jul 5, 2005, 12:34 PM

From a thread a while back, I'd just like to point out this:

http://forums.macnn.com/showthread.p...ht=cell+Ca%24h

"They are being stupid. In the old days, planes had avionics that were extremely sensative to that type of stuff. Today, on any modern airliner, it isn't going to do a damn thing. I always turn my discman on right before takeoff, and stuff it into my bag just to feel like I'm sticking it to them. How does a DISCMAN transmit?! IT DOESNT! They don't ask people to turn off their WATCHES do they? Their pacemakers? They're hearing aids? Etc?!

Its a load of crap, use whatever you want.

- Ca$h"

I was right, and you people who were disagreeing with me (Spheric Harlot, RazaRazor, Link, etc) , are wrong.

analogika · Jul 5, 2005, 12:53 PM

I used to be spheric harlot, and you may note that i posted this thread regardless.

I was surprised.

Your reaction, however is entirely unsurprising.

You were right for once, but you're still a complete asshole.

SSharon · Jul 5, 2005, 01:37 PM

Not to reintroduce the debate of electronics interfering with planes, but I posted in another thread about just that. A flight attendent told me that on multiple occasions the pilot told her that some aspect of the plane's electronics was wrong (cargo door open in flight for example), then after she found a person with their phone on and had them turn it off the cargo door "closed". I can't verify this story, but I don't think she made it up. That being said, devices that don't transmit anything (discman, laptop, etc.) do not mess up anything.

Back on topic, I would like wifi on planes but not cell phones. being between two business types yapping about numbers might be worse than sitting between a quite fat guy.

suvsr4terrorists · 03:32 PM

Originally Posted by analogika

I used to be spheric harlot, and you may note that i posted this thread regardless.

I was surprised.

Your reaction, however is entirely unsurprising.

You were right for once, but you're still a complete asshole.

Oh well. Blatant reasoning and logic mixed in with some common sense do wonders, and when people still disagree, I don't feel like being very nice. That said, I think you're an alright guy. I like your keyboards. How's the coke stained one doing? Keys getting any better?

Luca Rescigno · Jul 5, 2005, 03:00 PM

I think it's funny that you ragged on some guy in another thread for spelling something incorrectly, but just now you spelled "blatant" wrong.

suvsr4terrorists · Jul 5, 2005, 03:31 PM

Originally Posted by Luca Rescigno

I think it's funny that you ragged on some guy in another thread for spelling something incorrectly, but just now you spelled "blatant" wrong.

Thanks. I screwed it up.

I don't mind when people correct me, it'll keep me from doing it again.