American Airlines to test in-flight Wi-Fi

August 01, 2007 (Computerworld) --

American Airlines Inc. will test in-flight Wi-Fi services across the U.S. starting next year, according to the airline and its Wi-Fi provider AirCell LLC.

Other airlines are reported by Engadget and others to have expressed interest or have planned tests for 2008 with similar in-flight technology, including Deutsche Lufthansa AG, Southwest Airlines Co. and Qantas Airways Ltd.
Business and leisure passengers on American flights would be able to e-mail and surf the Web from laptops and handheld devices while in flight aboard 767-200 aircraft primarily on transcontinental routes, according to a statement from Itasca, Ill.-based AirCell.

"We understand that broadband connectivity is important to our business customers and others who want to use their PDAs and laptops for real-time, in-flight broadband communications," said Dan Garton, executive vice president of marketing at American Airlines, in a statement.

The cost of the service was not announced, and American did not say whether passengers will be allowed to use Skype-type voice services from their devices to make voice calls. Some airlines have been concerned about voice calls in-flight disturbing other passengers nearby.

Lufthansa is also interested in adding in-flight Internet service.

Read the rest here

Starbucks 2.0: Terra Bite Lounge, Where Coffee is prices are based on the people who are inherently good….

Ohhhh this should be interesting…and only in the area of Seattle could I se this working. Kirkland

area, people tend to be a bit more honest.

If it's Web 2.0, it's free - we're quite used to that, but would you expect it in the real world?

Terra Bite Lounge is an upscale cafe in Kirkland, WA that doesn't list any prices on its menu. That doesn't mean it's free either. The owners' definition:

"Terra Bite Lounge is an upscale voluntary payment cafe/deli.We serve espresso, blended drinks, baked goods, sandwiches, and desserts in a hip upscale setting.

Patrons choose what to pay, and are encouraged to pay what they would elsewhere. You may use this as a convenience feature, e.g. get your daily coffee and drop in a $20 at the end of the week.

We also cheerfully serve those who cannot pay, in a non-stigmatizing customer setting, with no political or religious message, and with full-time availability. "

The idea emerged from a debate where founder Ervin Peretz, a Google programmer (ahhh, is Google moving into the cafe business? ) argued that people are inherently good. To prove his point, he create Terra Bite. Talk about putting your money where your mouth is... to the tune of 6 figures. But he does not run a charity, he plans to build a growing for-profit business. Will people pay (enough)?

"Even without posted prices, "social monitoring" — the feeling that others are watching what you do — can enforce payment, said Erica Okada, assistant professor of marketing at the University of Washington Business School." But Terra Bite employees are instructed not to look at the drop box where patrons can discreetly drop payment - if they so chose:

With its anonymous drop box, Terra Bite has minimized, if not eliminated, that effect. Under these circumstances, Okada said, the economic model predicts that Terra Bite customers won't pay anything.

The Professor's pessimism does not deter Ervin, who plans to expand Terra Bite into a chain - last time we checked, Starbucks hasn't crumbled yet.

What do you think? (If you can't see the poll in your feed, please click through to cast your vote).

Bill Gates openly challenges hackers to exploit Vista!

Does anyone else feel that this is just a bad idea? Or an entertaining one. Maybe this will become the next sequel in Bill Gates movies.....

Microsoft chairman Bill Gates talked with Newsweek magazine's Steven Levy about the new version of Windows and shared his views on the "I'm a Mac" television commercials. In excerpts from the interview Gates goes on the offensive and claims that the security in Vista is better that the security in the Mac:

Gates even goes so far as to issue a challege to hackers to exploit Vista while calling the Mac's security sub-standard (because of the MOAB hacks):