wireless game devices to be banned on planes? Japan

[David Farber <dave () farber net>]

Begin forwarded message:

From: Rod Van Meter <rdv () tera ics keio ac jp>
Date: March 26, 2007 8:49:00 PM EDT
To: David Farber <dave () farber net>
Subject: wireless game devices to be banned on planes?
Reply-To: rdv () tera ics keio ac jp

Dave, for IP if you wish...

Today's Daily Yomiuri reports, in a small article bylined "The Yomiuri
Shimbun" (which, I believe, usually means it's a prepackaged press
release from somewhere), that the Construction and Transportation
Ministry has decided to restrict the use of game devices such as the
Nintendo DS and Sony Playstation Portable, which have some wireless
capability.  The fear is that they can interfere with the plane's
navigation and operation systems.

Under the new guidelines, use of the devices with the wireless turned
OFF will be allowed after takeoff.  Flight attendants will be allowed to
check that it's being used with the wireless off (though I'm fuzzy on
how they expect attendants to keep track of such things).

The article claims that about 200 incidents concerning "such electronic
devices" (including cell phones, etc.) have been reported by domestic
airlines, including one case where they claim that the autopilot may
have been disabled due to inteference!

Personally, I find this all extremely implausible, but then, I'm not in
charge.

Re: the recent fuss over cell phones on planes -- I wasn't going to put
in my $0.02, but since I'm writing anyway...

My first point would be to emphasize that the focus on voice
conversations is misplaced.  A few writers have pointed this out, but
the discussion keeps drifting back to it, anyway.  Nobody bans cell
phones on trains here in Japan, but talking on them is frowned upon.
Nevertheless, it's not uncommon for half of the people in sight to be
tapping away, sending email using their phones.  With that capability, a
plane full of, say, kids on a school trip, would make a fortune for the
phone companies and airlines, emailing back and forth from the front of
the plane to the back.  (I have friends here, adults, who literally use
their cell phones to send email from one room of a small Japanese
apartment to the other.  It is SOO much a part of their communication
lifestyle it's hard to describe.  People can type and carry on a
conversation at the same time.)

But, if you want to talk about the voice conversations, what annoys
people about listening to others is this: people on the phone lose track
of the world around them, and don't realize it.  They talk about
personal details that they would die of embarrassment if a stranger knew
about, and, because of limitations of the technology, speak in a loud
voice and repeat themselves.  The ambient noise level in a plane is
high, and the connection quality will certainly be less than on the
ground, making it less desirable to have a phone-chatty neighbor, for
sure.

But the arrival of a decent data connection on a plane seems to me to
just be a matter of time, and voice is just data, right?  Only social
conventions will work to keep it at a reasonable level.

Speaking of such social conventions, I was on a plane recently where a
man was watching an erotic DVD on his laptop.  You just can't make rules
that anticipate every offensive or stupid thing people will do...

Enough for now.

                --Rod

P.S. For those with other interests, a top Japanese pro, Akira Watanabe,
soundly beat the best computer shogi (Japanese chess) program, Bonanza,
last week.  Computer shogi is a LOOONG ways from as good as computer
chess.

P.P.S. And for other interests, Intel announced a $2.5B fab to be built
in Dalian, China.  Reports are that it will be operational in 2010, and
likely will use a 90nm process on 300mm wafers, when Intel's
leading-edge facilities are expected to be at 45nm.




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