[LINK] 5 Reasons Why E-Books Aren't There Yet

[Jan Whitaker]

At 10:37 PM 9/06/2011, Ivan Trundle you wrote:

>Actually, the current thinking is that encouraging people to FIRST 
>turn their certified device to flight mode, THEN to turn it off 
>prior to take-off and landing - to ensure that when the device is 
>switched on at cruising altitude, all hell doesn't break loose (or 
>so they say - and possibly poor metaphor).

I turn off my gear in the airport terminal. That way I'm not 
shuffling around with switches etc on the plane, which can be a bit 
harrowing. I do recall forgetting to turn off a mobile in my purse 
once. Then you go through the problem of either getting a flight 
attendant to get it down or crawling over the other passengers to get 
the bag out of the overhead compartment, both uncomfortable.

I reckon I don't need a phone while still on the plane. It's time 
enough to call from the terminal if required. 10 minutes won't make a 
bit of difference upon landing. Life is a whole lot longer than that.

As for ebooks on planes (getting back to the original idea), they 
won't do for long haul flights. Battery life isn't good enough on 
netbooks. Ebook readers may be better. I don't own one, so don't 
know. If you're in the privileged parts of the plane, you may have 
access to power, but in cattle class, no way. Standby is around 70 
hrs on my laptop battery, but that means you're not doing anything 
with it. I think battery power is about 4 hours MAX on this machine.

Jan



Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
jwhit at janwhitaker.com
blog: http://janwhitaker.com/jansblog/
business: http://www.janwhitaker.com

Our truest response to the irrationality of the world is to paint or 
sing or write, for only in such response do we find truth.
~Madeline L'Engle, writer

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