http://www.engadget.com/2010/03/12/united-puts-the-kibosh-on-in-fligh-video-chat-one-family-seriou/ Engadget Comments for United puts the kibosh on in-flight video chat, one family seriously 'bummed' http://www.engadget.com/media/feedlogo.gif http://www.engadget.com en-us Copyright 2012 Weblogs, Inc. The contents of this feed are available for non-commercial use only. Blogsmith http://www.blogsmith.com/http://www.engadget.com/2010/03/12/united-puts-the-kibosh-on-in-fligh-video-chat-one-family-seriou/http://www.engadget.com/2010/03/12/united-puts-the-kibosh-on-in-fligh-video-chat-one-family-seriou/that makes no sense at all. This is communication over TCP/IP that they put on the planes for customers to use.]]>Mar 12th 2010 8:10PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2010/03/12/united-puts-the-kibosh-on-in-fligh-video-chat-one-family-seriou/http://www.engadget.com/2010/03/12/united-puts-the-kibosh-on-in-fligh-video-chat-one-family-seriou/Mar 12th 2010 12:19PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2010/03/12/united-puts-the-kibosh-on-in-fligh-video-chat-one-family-seriou/http://www.engadget.com/2010/03/12/united-puts-the-kibosh-on-in-fligh-video-chat-one-family-seriou/
I can imagine all the sensitive information this guy can give out . . .

"well Im in a plane . . . yeah its in the air, we're going to land at some point."]]>Mar 12th 2010 1:03PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2010/03/12/united-puts-the-kibosh-on-in-fligh-video-chat-one-family-seriou/http://www.engadget.com/2010/03/12/united-puts-the-kibosh-on-in-fligh-video-chat-one-family-seriou/
you can't get up during the last hour, so you go get your stuff before then

you can't have access to gps, well anyone with a little math skills can guess when you'll be flying over a good spot based on takeoff time, speed etc

you can't talk to the ground via chat. but hey text and email seems to be fine.

and so on. ]]>Mar 12th 2010 1:08PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2010/03/12/united-puts-the-kibosh-on-in-fligh-video-chat-one-family-seriou/http://www.engadget.com/2010/03/12/united-puts-the-kibosh-on-in-fligh-video-chat-one-family-seriou/I literally do this every time I fly (which is often, weather permitting).

Ridiculous. The FAA, and some airlines, really have their heads buried in the dirt.]]>Mar 12th 2010 1:14PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2010/03/12/united-puts-the-kibosh-on-in-fligh-video-chat-one-family-seriou/http://www.engadget.com/2010/03/12/united-puts-the-kibosh-on-in-fligh-video-chat-one-family-seriou/
That's every overheard cellphone call on a flight.]]>Mar 12th 2010 1:28PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2010/03/12/united-puts-the-kibosh-on-in-fligh-video-chat-one-family-seriou/http://www.engadget.com/2010/03/12/united-puts-the-kibosh-on-in-fligh-video-chat-one-family-seriou/Yup, these people only think unilaterally.
They prohibit communication because of a risk of terrorists communication. But that also prohibit normal folks to communicate with authorities when something bad happens.]]>Mar 12th 2010 1:40PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2010/03/12/united-puts-the-kibosh-on-in-fligh-video-chat-one-family-seriou/http://www.engadget.com/2010/03/12/united-puts-the-kibosh-on-in-fligh-video-chat-one-family-seriou/
Transferring info from your machine to a server and vice versa is the whole point of even having Wifi.]]>Mar 12th 2010 2:01PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2010/03/12/united-puts-the-kibosh-on-in-fligh-video-chat-one-family-seriou/http://www.engadget.com/2010/03/12/united-puts-the-kibosh-on-in-fligh-video-chat-one-family-seriou/Mar 12th 2010 12:20PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2010/03/12/united-puts-the-kibosh-on-in-fligh-video-chat-one-family-seriou/http://www.engadget.com/2010/03/12/united-puts-the-kibosh-on-in-fligh-video-chat-one-family-seriou/
figure it out.]]>Mar 12th 2010 12:20PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2010/03/12/united-puts-the-kibosh-on-in-fligh-video-chat-one-family-seriou/http://www.engadget.com/2010/03/12/united-puts-the-kibosh-on-in-fligh-video-chat-one-family-seriou/Mar 12th 2010 12:22PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2010/03/12/united-puts-the-kibosh-on-in-fligh-video-chat-one-family-seriou/http://www.engadget.com/2010/03/12/united-puts-the-kibosh-on-in-fligh-video-chat-one-family-seriou/Mar 12th 2010 12:24PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2010/03/12/united-puts-the-kibosh-on-in-fligh-video-chat-one-family-seriou/http://www.engadget.com/2010/03/12/united-puts-the-kibosh-on-in-fligh-video-chat-one-family-seriou/Yes, if terrorists really wanted to they could probably by-pass proxy's, ports, all that jazz. Everything is hackable, but just think how badly it would look for the airline companies if they werent at least trying.]]>Mar 12th 2010 12:25PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2010/03/12/united-puts-the-kibosh-on-in-fligh-video-chat-one-family-seriou/http://www.engadget.com/2010/03/12/united-puts-the-kibosh-on-in-fligh-video-chat-one-family-seriou/
But you see, that would require thinking, and if you're going to blow yourself up, I just don't see that happening....]]>Mar 12th 2010 12:27PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2010/03/12/united-puts-the-kibosh-on-in-fligh-video-chat-one-family-seriou/http://www.engadget.com/2010/03/12/united-puts-the-kibosh-on-in-fligh-video-chat-one-family-seriou/Mar 12th 2010 12:35PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2010/03/12/united-puts-the-kibosh-on-in-fligh-video-chat-one-family-seriou/http://www.engadget.com/2010/03/12/united-puts-the-kibosh-on-in-fligh-video-chat-one-family-seriou/
Why is everyone assuming terrorists are attempting to communicate with a person. I'd be more concerned about remote detonation. Any connectivity to the ground is a huge risk and not really worth the perk of people checking their youface profiles.]]>Mar 12th 2010 2:11PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2010/03/12/united-puts-the-kibosh-on-in-fligh-video-chat-one-family-seriou/http://www.engadget.com/2010/03/12/united-puts-the-kibosh-on-in-fligh-video-chat-one-family-seriou/
If terrorists manage to smuggle explosives onto a plane, you've got a bigger security hole than a few open ports.

And there are simpler and more reliable ways to detonate explosives than remote detonation over the intertubes.

]]>Mar 12th 2010 2:57PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2010/03/12/united-puts-the-kibosh-on-in-fligh-video-chat-one-family-seriou/http://www.engadget.com/2010/03/12/united-puts-the-kibosh-on-in-fligh-video-chat-one-family-seriou/
So what, eff it? Why bother since there are other ways? The more ways there are to exploit security holes, the higher the risk. Increase the amount of ways to detonate a device and you increase the chances of creating an even less detectable exploit. Using your logic we might as well stop screening entirely cause hell, you probably can get something by if you want to. ]]>Mar 12th 2010 4:04PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2010/03/12/united-puts-the-kibosh-on-in-fligh-video-chat-one-family-seriou/http://www.engadget.com/2010/03/12/united-puts-the-kibosh-on-in-fligh-video-chat-one-family-seriou/
Or we could you know....

...screen for the explosives instead of the many ways they might be detonated.]]>Mar 12th 2010 4:29PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2010/03/12/united-puts-the-kibosh-on-in-fligh-video-chat-one-family-seriou/http://www.engadget.com/2010/03/12/united-puts-the-kibosh-on-in-fligh-video-chat-one-family-seriou/
What is the point of not doing both? Anything considered mission critical always has redundant backup systems. I personally consider my life mission critical, you can deem yours however appropriate. ]]>Mar 12th 2010 5:42PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2010/03/12/united-puts-the-kibosh-on-in-fligh-video-chat-one-family-seriou/http://www.engadget.com/2010/03/12/united-puts-the-kibosh-on-in-fligh-video-chat-one-family-seriou/Mar 12th 2010 7:44PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2010/03/12/united-puts-the-kibosh-on-in-fligh-video-chat-one-family-seriou/http://www.engadget.com/2010/03/12/united-puts-the-kibosh-on-in-fligh-video-chat-one-family-seriou/Mar 12th 2010 12:24PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2010/03/12/united-puts-the-kibosh-on-in-fligh-video-chat-one-family-seriou/http://www.engadget.com/2010/03/12/united-puts-the-kibosh-on-in-fligh-video-chat-one-family-seriou/Mar 12th 2010 12:24PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2010/03/12/united-puts-the-kibosh-on-in-fligh-video-chat-one-family-seriou/http://www.engadget.com/2010/03/12/united-puts-the-kibosh-on-in-fligh-video-chat-one-family-seriou/I think they are doing deep packet inspection. For example if you try Skype via WiFi you'll actually find it works for the first 3 seconds then it gets really quiet and garbled, you can tell it's intentional.

If they were doing this per-port it would just be blocked altogether, or scrambled from the instant you started a call. Instead it takes a few seconds to recognize the voice data and mess with it.]]>Mar 12th 2010 4:06PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2010/03/12/united-puts-the-kibosh-on-in-fligh-video-chat-one-family-seriou/http://www.engadget.com/2010/03/12/united-puts-the-kibosh-on-in-fligh-video-chat-one-family-seriou/Obviously terrorists don't use Macs eh? ]]>Mar 12th 2010 12:26PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2010/03/12/united-puts-the-kibosh-on-in-fligh-video-chat-one-family-seriou/http://www.engadget.com/2010/03/12/united-puts-the-kibosh-on-in-fligh-video-chat-one-family-seriou/Mar 12th 2010 12:29PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2010/03/12/united-puts-the-kibosh-on-in-fligh-video-chat-one-family-seriou/http://www.engadget.com/2010/03/12/united-puts-the-kibosh-on-in-fligh-video-chat-one-family-seriou/Mar 12th 2010 2:40PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2010/03/12/united-puts-the-kibosh-on-in-fligh-video-chat-one-family-seriou/http://www.engadget.com/2010/03/12/united-puts-the-kibosh-on-in-fligh-video-chat-one-family-seriou/Mar 12th 2010 12:30PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2010/03/12/united-puts-the-kibosh-on-in-fligh-video-chat-one-family-seriou/http://www.engadget.com/2010/03/12/united-puts-the-kibosh-on-in-fligh-video-chat-one-family-seriou/Mar 12th 2010 12:30PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2010/03/12/united-puts-the-kibosh-on-in-fligh-video-chat-one-family-seriou/http://www.engadget.com/2010/03/12/united-puts-the-kibosh-on-in-fligh-video-chat-one-family-seriou/Mar 12th 2010 12:33PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2010/03/12/united-puts-the-kibosh-on-in-fligh-video-chat-one-family-seriou/http://www.engadget.com/2010/03/12/united-puts-the-kibosh-on-in-fligh-video-chat-one-family-seriou/
One of the best trips I ever had was in a sleeper from ATL to DC. Like a second honeymoon.]]>Mar 12th 2010 12:35PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2010/03/12/united-puts-the-kibosh-on-in-fligh-video-chat-one-family-seriou/http://www.engadget.com/2010/03/12/united-puts-the-kibosh-on-in-fligh-video-chat-one-family-seriou/Mar 12th 2010 12:37PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2010/03/12/united-puts-the-kibosh-on-in-fligh-video-chat-one-family-seriou/http://www.engadget.com/2010/03/12/united-puts-the-kibosh-on-in-fligh-video-chat-one-family-seriou/
ATL to NewOrleans is $54. The Fertile Crescent loop, that runs the eastern seaboard and down along the Gulf is beautiful, and cheap.]]>Mar 12th 2010 12:41PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2010/03/12/united-puts-the-kibosh-on-in-fligh-video-chat-one-family-seriou/http://www.engadget.com/2010/03/12/united-puts-the-kibosh-on-in-fligh-video-chat-one-family-seriou/
I may be Engadget's only AmTrack fanboy~]]>Mar 12th 2010 12:42PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2010/03/12/united-puts-the-kibosh-on-in-fligh-video-chat-one-family-seriou/http://www.engadget.com/2010/03/12/united-puts-the-kibosh-on-in-fligh-video-chat-one-family-seriou/Amtrak is a fantastic way to travel. The on train service is competent and old school friendly, despite the black cloud of underfunding. But their longer routes are very pricey, getting from ATL to Chicago is easily double the cost of flying. taking the train from Seattle to Montana is a great ride.
Even Amtrak commuter rail, at least between Baltimore and DC, was pretty good (if not always on time).]]>Mar 12th 2010 12:47PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2010/03/12/united-puts-the-kibosh-on-in-fligh-video-chat-one-family-seriou/http://www.engadget.com/2010/03/12/united-puts-the-kibosh-on-in-fligh-video-chat-one-family-seriou/
The expense jumps when you cross lines. Traveling on a route that is uninterrupted is faster and cheaper.]]>Mar 12th 2010 12:50PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2010/03/12/united-puts-the-kibosh-on-in-fligh-video-chat-one-family-seriou/http://www.engadget.com/2010/03/12/united-puts-the-kibosh-on-in-fligh-video-chat-one-family-seriou/
No, there are others. Train travel makes sense for trips under 400 miles, unless you're just going for a pleasure trip to look at the scenery.

There are literally hundreds of flights out of Chicago to nearby midwestern cities (e.g. Cleveland, St. Louis, Louisville) that would be cheaper and faster by train. Hell, there are flights from Chicago to Milwaukee!

Multi-day cross country trips are fun, but they're really geared towards tourists, and with the lack of equipment, fairly expensive during peak months (for a sleeper car).

Frankly, I'm getting close to calling it quits with the hassle and discomfort of air travel. I'll take the first-class legroom, dining car, observation car, electrical outlets, and casual atmosphere of the train over the cramped, hectic, peanut-munching, $100 checked-luggage experience of flying.
]]>Mar 12th 2010 12:52PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2010/03/12/united-puts-the-kibosh-on-in-fligh-video-chat-one-family-seriou/http://www.engadget.com/2010/03/12/united-puts-the-kibosh-on-in-fligh-video-chat-one-family-seriou/
I don't doubt your numbers. You don't take the train long distances if you're interested in fast and cheap. The long routes are all about the scenery. The California Zephyr travels through the Sierra Nevada and Rocky Mountains, not to mention the red rocks of southern Utah. 'Very nice.
]]>Mar 12th 2010 12:57PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2010/03/12/united-puts-the-kibosh-on-in-fligh-video-chat-one-family-seriou/http://www.engadget.com/2010/03/12/united-puts-the-kibosh-on-in-fligh-video-chat-one-family-seriou/
They just need to look at their service. I want to be able to go from Indianapolis to Chicago with only two or three stops in between. It takes 3 hours by car, yet 5+ hours by train. At least once a day there should be a high speed train that cost $20.]]>Mar 12th 2010 1:04PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2010/03/12/united-puts-the-kibosh-on-in-fligh-video-chat-one-family-seriou/http://www.engadget.com/2010/03/12/united-puts-the-kibosh-on-in-fligh-video-chat-one-family-seriou/
One of the best parts about train trips is the feeling of community. People move about, to the dining car, bar, etc. Get up on a plane, you better have a real good reason.]]>Mar 12th 2010 1:04PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2010/03/12/united-puts-the-kibosh-on-in-fligh-video-chat-one-family-seriou/http://www.engadget.com/2010/03/12/united-puts-the-kibosh-on-in-fligh-video-chat-one-family-seriou/Mar 12th 2010 1:07PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2010/03/12/united-puts-the-kibosh-on-in-fligh-video-chat-one-family-seriou/http://www.engadget.com/2010/03/12/united-puts-the-kibosh-on-in-fligh-video-chat-one-family-seriou/
We'll get there eventually. Check out the Midwest High Speed Rail Association. We're way behind the Europeans, and even the Chinese now, but we have to start somewhere. There are a number of "higher" speed projects in the works, but it'll be a looong time before we have truely high speed trains, if ever. That's OK, though. We don't need 200 mph. As you point out, we need trains that compete on the same level as automobiles, and better than planes for short trips.

Look, what we need is a transportation *system*. No one mode will be sufficient. We've poured thousands of miles of concrete for roads and runways, but we don't have the money to maintain them properly, never mind expand them.

Look at Chicago. We're spending billions to expand O'Hare, when several hundred flights a day are flying to cities as close as 100 miles away. Get those people on to trains, and we eliminate the need to expand the airport.

It's estimated that California alone will require billions of $$$ just to keep the roads at their current capacity, never mind expand capacity for expected future population growth. In many areas, there's simply no room to widen the roads, and when they do, they're at max capacity in a matter of a few years.

Trains are the most efficient means of moving people short distances. However, as you point out, it's a chicken and egg problem. People are going to use trains if they aren't convenient, and they won't build the trains if there are no passengers. However, if you look at the states that expanded service, e.g. Chicago to St. Louis, the numbers went way up. If you run ever hour or two, people will use the service.
]]>Mar 12th 2010 2:18PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2010/03/12/united-puts-the-kibosh-on-in-fligh-video-chat-one-family-seriou/http://www.engadget.com/2010/03/12/united-puts-the-kibosh-on-in-fligh-video-chat-one-family-seriou/
Yes, that's true. However, I think the Class I railroads are starting to realize that they can expand their capacity at a discount if they work with Amtrak. One way is to improve track condition and signaling systems. Amtrak pays for the improvements, and the railroads benefit from increased capacity and more efficient operations. It's a win-win.

Another option is to build a second or third track on the railroad right-of-way dedicated for passenger trains. This gets the passenger trains out of the way completely, and again, it's a win-win. However, this is much more expensive than improved signaling, so we won't see it in too many places. One place it is being proposed is the southeast link out of Chicago on the Norfolk Southern. This is one of the biggest bottlenecks in the Amtrak system, affecting almost all east-bound trains.
]]>Mar 12th 2010 2:23PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2010/03/12/united-puts-the-kibosh-on-in-fligh-video-chat-one-family-seriou/http://www.engadget.com/2010/03/12/united-puts-the-kibosh-on-in-fligh-video-chat-one-family-seriou/]]>Mar 12th 2010 8:45PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2010/03/12/united-puts-the-kibosh-on-in-fligh-video-chat-one-family-seriou/http://www.engadget.com/2010/03/12/united-puts-the-kibosh-on-in-fligh-video-chat-one-family-seriou/Mar 12th 2010 12:30PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2010/03/12/united-puts-the-kibosh-on-in-fligh-video-chat-one-family-seriou/http://www.engadget.com/2010/03/12/united-puts-the-kibosh-on-in-fligh-video-chat-one-family-seriou/am i really the only person who's terrified by the idea of having to listen to this family's nighty-nights? not to mention business meetings and yahtzee chatroom video three-ways? as far as i'm concerned, united can use whatever whatever lame excuse they want!]]>Mar 12th 2010 6:01PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2010/03/12/united-puts-the-kibosh-on-in-fligh-video-chat-one-family-seriou/http://www.engadget.com/2010/03/12/united-puts-the-kibosh-on-in-fligh-video-chat-one-family-seriou/prohibits "two-way devices"

So, pretty much anything that can connect to the internet?]]>Mar 12th 2010 12:33PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2010/03/12/united-puts-the-kibosh-on-in-fligh-video-chat-one-family-seriou/http://www.engadget.com/2010/03/12/united-puts-the-kibosh-on-in-fligh-video-chat-one-family-seriou/
Or all communications. Even accessing a web page can be used as a way to communicate.]]>Mar 12th 2010 12:34PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2010/03/12/united-puts-the-kibosh-on-in-fligh-video-chat-one-family-seriou/http://www.engadget.com/2010/03/12/united-puts-the-kibosh-on-in-fligh-video-chat-one-family-seriou/Mar 13th 2010 12:45PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2010/03/12/united-puts-the-kibosh-on-in-fligh-video-chat-one-family-seriou/http://www.engadget.com/2010/03/12/united-puts-the-kibosh-on-in-fligh-video-chat-one-family-seriou/Mar 12th 2010 12:33PM