| September, 2007 |  |
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AA to test in-flight broadband access
American
Airlines says it will test adding broadband Internet access to the Boeing 767-200 jets it uses on transcontinental
routes, Reuters
reports. The tests are set to begin next year and AA says the Web access could be expanded if the service proves
popular, according to The Dallas
Morning News (free registration). The Associated Press says AA
"will charge a fee for the hookup but won't announce the charge until broadband-equipped flights are ready to go,
according to AirCell, the company providing the hookup." However, The Denver
Business Journal (free registration) says the "service is projected to cost passengers $10 per flight for unlimited broadband access."
The service can be used by AA customers with Wi-Fi-equipped laptops, Blackberries or other wireless devices. But while AA gets ready to test in-flight Web access,
previous attempts have had a mixed record. Reuters says that "despite … interest from airlines, a viable system has been slow in coming." It points to Boeing, which
scrapped its Connexion service that allowed airlines to add high-speed Web access. But that service "was too costly to
attract enough airlines," Reuters says. AirCell predicts
its
effort will net better results. Some other U.S. airlines –- including Southwest –- say they're also looking into in-flight Web options, according to the Fort Worth Star-Telegram (free registration).
As for AA's coming Web access through AirCell, don't expect to see it pop up on overseas flights. USA TODAY writes that "AirCell's technology doesn't rely on satellites, rendering it workable only for flights over the continental USA. It uses the air-to-ground technology that relies on cellular telephone towers. Passengers would connect to the aircraft's Wi-Fi system similarly to how they would at Wi-Fi hotspots on the ground," the paper says.
China city opens public toilet with more than 1,000 stalls, Egyptian theme, soothing music
They're flush with pride in Chongqing, where a recently opened porcelain palace features an Egyptian facade, soothing music and more than 1,000 toilets spread out over 30,000 square feet.
Officials in the southwestern Chinese city plan to ask Guinness World Records to have the free four-story public bathroom listed as the world's largest, state-run China Central Television reported Friday.
"We are spreading toilet culture. People can listen to gentle music and watch TV," said Lu Xiaoqing, an official with the Yangrenjie, or "Foreigners Street," tourist area where the bathroom is located. "After they use the bathroom they will be very, very happy."
Footage aired on CCTV showed people milling about the sprawling facility and washing their hands at trough sinks. For open-aired relief, there's a cluster of stalls without a roof.
Some urinals are uniquely shaped, including ones inside open crocodile mouths.
Fliers can charge up their gadgets for free at LAX
Travelers at Los Angeles International now have free places to charge their electronic gadgets. The airport and electronics giant Samsung partnered to install 51 free charging stations throughout all the terminals at LAX. Each station has four outlets.
Apple issues security patch for iPhone
Apple has issued a software patch to fix some security holes that independent security researchers recently discovered for the company's vaunted iPhone.
The software update that Apple said it released late Tuesday addresses several bugs and security issues, but most notably a flaw that could have allowed hackers to take control of the multimedia cellphone to spread spam or steal data if its owner was to visit a doctored website or Internet Wi-Fi hotspot.
The iPhone hijacking vulnerability was only theoretical; there were no reports of criminals taking advantage of the glitch.
Still, such findings — and their subsequent patches — often help to make it more difficult for malicious attacks on computers and other gizmos like the iPhone, which connect to computers or the Internet.
The much-hyped iPhone — a combination cellphone, iPod player and wireless Web gadget — quickly became a popular research target after its June 29 launch. Its first-ever software update came just two days before analysts at Independent Security Evaluators were set to discuss the iPhone's hijacking hole at a hackers convention in Las Vegas.
| September, 2007 | |
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