Uneasy Rhetoric

At 25,000 feet, Qualcomm tests its cell phone plans for planes (from the San Diego Union Tribune).

Oh yippee. Another technology making it easier for us to have even less downtime. I’ve never been a big fan of phones on airplanes; I think they’re distracting and when you’re sitting in such close quarters with other people, do you really need to know about their business deals, health complaints, or little johnny’s diarrhea? Okay, maybe that last one has a little merit, but you’re 30,000 feet in the air, half way between Portland and Denver; what are you going to do about it?

Making it easier for people to make phone calls from the air might actually lead to this kind of conversation:

Mom: “How was your flight dear?”

Daughter: “Very nice; all we had were 18 crying babies! Not a single person made a phone call!”