As noted in my previous post, I had the privilege to be one of the first people to test out Virgin America’s new inflight Wifi last weekend on a special test flight over San Francisco.

I got a chance to put the service through its paces – trying things like VoIP, email, chat, video, etc. Read on for my full review and some more pictures.
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Both Alaska and Southwest have previously announced plans to operate in-flight internet using a satellite-based solution from Row 44.  Now another player has finally launched service in the same space.  ViaSat will also be offering Ku-band satellite connectivity using pretty much the same technology as Row 44, including the same antenna provider.  And ViaSat doesn’t seem to have any commercial carriers signed up to partner with.  But they also don’t really seem to care about that.

They’ve inked a deal with Lufthansa’s Technik group to provide connectivity to private planes, including arriving as standard equipment on some models.  What does this mean to you?  Probably very little unless you’re in the market for a Bombardier Challenger 300.  But seeing another player in the in-flight broadband space is always a nice thing, as it means more opportunities for carriers to implement solutions and keep us connected on the go.

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If you believe a recent study claiming we lose 12,000 laptops every week (PDF) at US airports (I don’t), then you might want to learn a few ways you can get your laptop returned to you.

Here are 5 of my tips that will help prevent losing your machine, or that can help your laptop find its way back to you in the event it is lost, forgotten or worse…

Mark it

Back in the days when I was stupid enough to actually check bags, I always made my bags stand out from others. That way, when they finally came down the baggage carousel, I’d be able to spot them from a distance. That naturally also works for a laptop. Make it look different. On any given hour of the day, your Dell or Thinkpad will be one of 10 or 20 moving down the x-ray conveyor at the same time.

A piece of duct tape or a large fluorescent sticker will do wonders. Steal some stickers from your kids and add flowers and stars to it.

Make it yours

In this day and age many companies do not allow you to affix your business card to your laptop. Especially publicly listed companies will advise you to remove any traces of the company name from your machine. That doesn’t stop you from putting your name and phone number on the machine. Once again, make it nice and clear, put it on the top and bottom. And be sure to add your mobile number in case someone at the TSA is kind enough to actually call you and track you down at the airport.

Make a mental checklist

Flying sucks. We all know that, and we all know the stress involved with getting from the parking lot to your gate. Add some structure to what you do by making a mental checklist. Once you get past security, go over a few simple things; do I still have my wallet, my jewelry, my mobile phone, my laptop. Do the same thing when you leave the plane. I’m one of those people who is standing up as soon as the plan reaches the gate, but I always take 20 seconds to feel all my pockets and double check the seat back.

Get a checkpoint safe laptop bag

The easiest way to prevent losing track of your laptop, is to never take it ouf of the bag. There are several manufacturers that have started to ship TSA approved laptop bags, including Tom Bihn, Travelon and Mobile Edge.

Use technology

Add some technology to your laptop to help retrieve it. For starters, consider a software package like LoJack or Undercover (for the Mac). IF your machine does go missing (and it isn’t on the lost and found shelf), these packages will help track down where it is. Other products to consider are this Belkin laptop alarm or this Kensington lock.

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With the announcement a couple weeks ago that Southwest has finally set a date for the testing of their in-flight Internet connectivity it seems that the majority of the US-based carriers have something in the works.  Runway Girl has a couple good posts (Post 1; Post 2) about the various options, but I haven’t been able to find an exhaustive list of all the offerings from all the carriers.  So I decided to put one together.  Here are the airlines, the service and the status of the deployment efforts:

• American Airlines – Aircell’s gogo service currently operational on 767s for NYC-LAX/SFO/MIA routes.
• Alaska Air – Row 44, currently planned for testing on a single plane.
• Jet Blue – LiveTV, but only on one plane and no word on when additional rollout will happen.
• Continental – LiveTV on the entire domestic-focused fleet, starting in January ‘09
• Delta – Aircell’s gogo service, expected on the MD8x planes first and on the entire fleet by mid-2009
• Frontier – Likely LiveTV since they already use the service for television on the planes, but I haven’t seen an official release.
• United – Nothing planned/announced
• US Airways – Nothing planned/announced, though back in February they said they were looking at it.  The fact that they are pulling the entertainment systems to save weight makes me suspect of their ability to actually get it into their planes soon, particularly since they have nothing specific announced, but they supposedly are looking at it.
• Southwest – Row 44, currently planned for testing in Q4 ‘08
• Virgin America – Aircell’s gogo service coming soon and will be fleet-wide.

The Aircell and LiveTV services are both terrestrial, which Row 44 is a satellite-based solution.  Row 44 and Aircell’s gogo are both supposed to be “full” Internet service while LiveTV is very up front about the fact that they are providing access to a very limited subset of the internet, and they’ve increased the content available recently.

Hopefully this helps (and I didn’t mess up the details too much).  If I did, I’m sure you’ll let me know.

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Back in May I posted about an impending change from the TSA to allow some laptops to be screened without having to remove them from their bags, like the rest of the modern world does it.  Well, today’s the day. 

The TSA even offers some “helpful” comments about the new policy, including this gem:

Given TSA’s use of random screening protocols, TSA reserves the right to re-screen any bag or laptop regardless of the design of the bag.

If you’re shopping for a new bag anytime soon I’d definitely consider a model that meets these specifications, but I still haven’t seen one that is actually nice and meets the requirements. 

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Hold on to your hats folks, Nokia are at it again. Now, apparently, after several generations of happy functionality Nokia have decided that Blackberry is the Root of All Evil. More after the break.  Read the rest of this entry »

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If you plan to bring your technology abroad this summer, be sure to check these 5 quick tips:

1) The voltage

Before you even think of plugging your electronic device into a foreign outlet, you need to check the voltage in that country, and the voltage compatibility on your device. I’ve posted about this in the past so I suggest reading that and checking your power supplies.

2) Mobile phone roaming enabled and possible at your destination?

Most mobile operators do not turn international roaming on by default. If I had a nickel for every time someone emailed me complaining that their mobile phone "could not get a signal" at their destination, I’d have a couple of bucks.

There are 2 things to check before taking your phone with you:

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In the same week that United Airlines announced that they’d start charging $15 for every piece of checked luggage, they began rolling out their newest in-flight entertainment system.

United guests may now reach cruising altitude with a new, personalized in-flight entertainment system. United is the first U.S. carrier to offer iPod and iPhone connectivity to its in-flight entertainment system, enabling customers to enjoy their individual content on a 15.4-inch personal television, all while the iPod or iPhone charges.

The first aircraft with iPod and iPhone connectivity is scheduled to depart at 5:40 p.m. from Washington, D.C. to Zurich as United #936, and it will fly primarily on trans-Atlantic routes. United’s entire fleet of international, widebody aircraft are being reconfigured over the next two years with lie-flat seats, on-demand entertainment, and iPod and iPhone connectivity in first and business class.

“Our guests may now watch or listen to what they want, when they want with programming they choose,” says Graham Atkinson, United Airlines – executive vice president and Chief Customer Officer. “United will continue to provide services and technology that makes our customers’ travel experiences more relaxed and enjoyable."

I love the last part of the press release. I guess adding an iPod charging port makes up for all the other stuff they took away from us. Of course, knowing United, the chances of this new entertainment system making its way to domestic flights is next to nothing.

Source: United Airlines press release

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One thing all these newfangled notebooks have in common is their insane heat. It’s enough to be far too uncomfortable to want anywhere near your unmentionables.

This pocket fan from cooler maker Cradia might be just what the doctor ordered.

It’s made for machines 10 inches and up, and unfolds from a small box into what can only be described as a guy lying on his back. It even has a built in USB hub. The bad news? It looks like it’s only going to be available in Korea.

Source: Aving.net

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If you took my advice, and downloaded Firefox 3.0 this afternoon, then my blog hero Gina Trapani over at Lifehacker.com has 10 awesome tips on making it even better.

They vary from simple little things like making icons smaller, to some pretty nifty tips like a quick way to remove individual URL’s from the address bar. Oh, and don’t forget the best one; the robot easter egg.

Lifehacker.com

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