Global Nerdy

Even though it the FCC’s lifting of the ban on in-flight calling seems pretty assured — FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler seems quite hot to trot to remove it — it doesn’t guarantee that you’ll be able to make calls on just any flight. It’s still up to each individual airline to decide whether or not to allow in-flight calls, and it requires the installation of onboard technology that acts as a mini cellular tower.

USA Today reports that Delta Air Lines CEO Richard Anderson announced in a memo to employees:

Delta will not allow cellular calls or internet-based voice communications onboard Delta or Delta Connection flights.

Our customer research and direct feedback tell us that our frequent flyers believe voice calls in the cabin would be a disruption to the travel experience. In fact, a clear majority of customers who responded to a 2012 survey said they felt the ability to make voice calls onboard would detract from – not enhance – their experience. Delta employees, particularly our in-flight crews, have told us definitively that they are not in favor of voice calls onboard.

While they’re against in-flight voice communications, Delta are most certainly not against the use of portable electronics throughout the flight. Along with JetBlue, they were one of the first airlines to get their fleet certified for gate-to-gate use of lightweight devices such as smartphones and tablets. They still request that larger, heavier electronics, such as laptops, be stowed during takeoff and landing, but that’s related to the possibility of them getting launched in the event of a sudden change in altitude, not interference. As long as your use of electronics is silent to other passengers, Delta appears not to have a problem with it. If you need to make a voice call on a Delta flight, you’ll have to do it the way we do now: either until they close the door before the flight, or immediately after wheels-down at the destination city.

Delta’s 2012 customer survey isn’t the only one showing Americans’ strong preference for banning in-flight voice communications. A study conducted by Quinnipiac University shows the same preference:

As far as I’m concerned, Delta’s decision is good news. Now if they could only get past their “Least respected brand in America” status…

Photo by Amanda Palmer. Click the photo to see the source.

Update: I found the origin of the photo — that’s Amanda Palmer. In her own words:

going to give a speech to a bunch of women at microsoft in seattle.

very nervous.

jason webley lent me an artistic helping hand so i wouldn’t feel so out of place.

everyone will like me

If you’re tech-inclined and looking for an amusing Twitter account to follow, I recommend the parody account Bored Elon Musk. He’s the new DevOps Borat (who hasn’t updated since April 5th).

Here’s the latest Bored Elon Musk post as of this writing — it’s a Venn diagram that very simply explains modern web design. As one observant wag noted in response, the area where the circles overlap should be much larger…

Click the picture to see the source.

And by “the right way”, I mean “as the designers intended”. And since they’re not HP designers, they’re more than likely to be right.

This has been floating around the internet for the past couple of days, and I’m surprised that even today, several years after Apple introduced this style of MacBook power adapter, many people still don’t know this trick for effectively wrapping the cords to easier transport. It’s simple:

1. Extend the power adapter’s “ears”.
2. Wrap the big cord around the adapter’s body so that it passes between the “ears”.
3. Wrap the little cord around the “ears”, securing it in place with the built-in clip near the MagSafe plug.

…and that’s it!

Click the screen shot to see it at full size.

…I’m taking an old friend (in new form) out for a test drive. More later.

It’s 1:00 p.m. Eastern Standard Time on a Friday afternoon as I post this. Perhaps these videos will lull you out of your post-lunch coma, but they may also drag you spiralling down the YouTube hole. I take no responsibility for any lost productivity resulting from your viewing these videos on mobile tech. Enjoy!

13 Horrifying Facts About Your Cell Phone

And yet you’ll still use it often after watching this video.

30 Things You No Longer Need Because of Smartphones

If you don’t know what a “Walkman” is, here’s the Wikipedia entry.

I’ll Bet You Have These Photos On Your Phone

I’ve got about half of these on my phone.

The Unwritten Rules Of Texting

Worth knowing.

Expert Ways To Handle Wrong Number Texts

We’ve all done this at least once.

Bonus video 1: Things You Do Online That’d Be Creepy In Real Life

Somewhat related to mobile tech, and hey, it’s funny!

Bonus video 2: 6 Essential Mac Tips

While not related to mobile technology, this will be useful to a lot of Mac users out there.

Remember, this is from December 10, 1993, when mobile phones looked like this:

…and cutting-edge mobile computing looked like this:

and this:

…and the browser, which wasn’t even a year old, looked like this: