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'Airplane Mode' will let you relive the monotony of economy class this fall
Move over Microsoft Flight Simulator, there's a new sim in town that let's you live the highs and lows of a six-hour economy class flight.
AMC Games' first title is the intentionally boring 'Airplane Mode'
Desert Bus won't be the only big name in town for games that are purposefully, excruciatingly boring. AMC is marking the start of its game publishing division by unveiling Airplane Mode, a game from Bacronym that tasks you with sitting through a nearly six-hour transatlantic flight... in real time. You have to stave off the tedium using the all-too-familiar resources of a cramped coach seat, including the (sometimes flaky) in-air WiFi, outdated shows on the seatback entertainment system and crossword puzzles in the airline's travel magazine. It's not even predictable -- you may have to deal with random delays, turbulence and crying babies.
Does your iPhone really charge faster in Airplane mode?
A widely circulated iPhone tip would have you believe that your device will charge must faster in Airplane Mode. On the surface, this makes a whole lot of sense. After all, with GPS lying dormant and all of the wireless radios inside the device rendered temporarily inactive, your phone can take a break from things like searching for a cellular signal and work on recharging. Intrigued, and perpetually in need of a charge, I decided to check out this oft-cited iPhone lifehack for myself. Here's what I found using an iPhone 5s as my testing device with all charging being done via a wall socket. With Airplane Mode turned off, I was able to charge from 1 percent to 25 percent charge in 21 minutes. Reaching a 50 percent charge took 45 minutes. Getting to a 95 percent charge took one hour and 32 minutes. Not too bad. Now it was time to try it with Airplane Mode enabled. Needless to say, my expectations where high. With Airplane Mode activated, I was able to get to a 25 percent charge in 18 minutes and a 50 percent charge in about 43 minutes. I was able to get a 95 percent charge in one hour 29 minutes. So does Airplane Mode help you charge faster? Technically, sure, but the difference isn't exactly earth-shattering. Still, if you're pressed for time and need to charge up as quickly as possible, you might want to resort to Airplane Mode just to ensure that your device doesn't begin updating apps in the background or processing, say, a video sent to you via iMessage. Was this the most scientific of testing environments? Not quite. There is an argument to be had for the iPhone's battery strength indicator not being 100 percent accurate. To that end, a test from a completely dead iPhone to fully charged might have been a tad more instructive, but this should still provide a rough framework for what to expect when charging in a hurry.
Would adding 'Car Mode' to the iPhone prevent texting while driving?
Texting while driving is an insanely dangerous habit that, despite the best efforts of many different groups, shows little sign of slowing. We're already used to having to using our iPhones in "Airplane Mode" when taking to the skies, so would a "Car Mode" be a viable tool for curbing dangerous texting habits? As Fast Company reports, a pair of designers -- Joey Cofone and Michael Vanderbyl -- have come up with a concept for how such a feature -- of which there are already versions on the Moto X and certain Windows Phones -- would work and look on the iPhone. The theoretical mode would activate as soon as it senses your vehicle's Bluetooth system (if your car doesn't have Bluetooth, I guess you're out of luck). It connects to your vehicle for GPS navigation and other common features, but if you happen to receive a text message during your drive it will be collected and held until you shut your vehicle off. If you text someone while their device is in Car Mode, you'll be told that they cannot read messages at the moment. So what do you think? Would such a feature help or would chronic text addicts just disable it and resume their dangerous practice?
Japan court rules Apple did not infringe two Samsung patents
In the latest scuffle between Apple and Samsung, a Tokyo court has ruled that the iPhone 4 and 4S do not infringe on two of Sammy's patents. According to The Asahi Shimbun, a decision on September 14th found Apple had not violated a patent related to app downloads, as Samsung's method is different. A dispute regarding flight / airplane mode also went in Cupertino's favor on October 11th, because the technology in question was regarded by the court as incremental. Only one case against Apple remains undecided in Japan -- for a patent on using "homescreen space" -- but, as usual, don't expect that to be the last chapter in the neverending story.
iPad 101: Conserving your 3G data use
Since I brought home my 3G + Wi-Fi iPad a little over a week ago, I've been running in Airplane Mode with Wi-Fi enabled to avoid using cellular data. Otherwise I kept getting a prompt (shown here) asking me if I wanted to setup an account, which I didn't want to do. Fortunately, there is another way. Go into the Settings application and tap on "Cellular Data." This brings up an on/off switch for Cellular Data and Data Roaming. Turn both "off" and you will not be prompted to sign up for a data plan when Wi-Fi is unavailable. Airplane mode disables not only the cellular data, but also Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, and the GPS. If you are only trying to avoid using cellular data, there's no need to use Airplane Mode. If you have upgraded your iPhone to iOS 4 then you also have the ability to disable cellular data under Settings » General » Network » Cellular Data, which may come in handy if you have a metered account with AT&T.
Extending your iPhone's battery
IntoMobile has a few good tips on how to extend your iPhone's battery life, and most of them involve the most obvious thing you can do to keep your iPhone running: cut down on any and all extra functions. They actually recommend to turn off 3G, but you don't have to go that far -- just by holding down the Home button, you can close any background applications sucking up juice. And by resetting your phone, you can do the same thing -- clear out anything running that you're not using.Actually, while I was in Los Angeles last week, I heard the great Leo Laporte mention a great tip on his radio show: turn off the "Ask to join networks" feature in the WiFi settings. If you're like me, you almost always know when there's a WiFi network around that you can use on your iPhone, and so it's pointless (and a waste of battery life) for the iPhone to be constantly searching for one. You can always flip it back on if you do want to do a little poking around, but leaving it off will significantly help battery life.In fact, when in extreme trouble, you can go even farther and just switch the whole thing into Airplane Mode. It'll make your phone useless, but when you really need it -- out on a trip, or waiting to make an important call -- the extra battery time might make all the difference.[via Apple Enthusiast]
