Valleywag
road warrior
Posts Tagged “
Road Warrior
”
road warrior
road warrior
I'm writing this post from 30,000 feet, and you're not
I like to think I'm resistant to neophilia, the fetishistic embrace of new technology endemic to Silicon Valley. And yet I felt a rush when I logged on to Gogo's inflight Wi-Fi service on the American Airlines flight I'm currently taking from San Francisco to New York. The airliner's cabin has long been the last online frontier, a disturbing pocket of disconnectivity. My colleague Jackson West urged me to test the service, to review it for my readers. But I find myself more preoccupied with human needs than speeds and feeds. More than anyone, I worry about the likes of Mary Meeker. More »
road warrior
American Airlines' misdirected Internet-calling ban
American Airlines has debuted in-flight Wi-Fi from Aircell, giving more aspiring business-class passengers the chance to look busy on their laptops. The service bans Skype and other VOIP phone services. The only people really complaining that you can't make Internet phone calls are tech-blog commenters — exactly the kind of people who can't be trusted to not shout into their new phones in the first place. Why doesn't American just ban them? That seems easier.
road warrior
In-flight Wi-Fi test scheduled for 9 a.m. today
American Airlines begins its full in-flight broadband service today. CrunchGear writer Peter Ha is on a flight from JFK to LAX and promises to file a report from his seat at 9 A.M. Pacific today. For now, American offers the service on three New York-based routes, including flights between JFK and SFO. [UPDATE: Ha's live post from 30,000 feet.] (Photo by Cubble_n_Vegas)
politics
Congress acting fast to ban in-flight phone calls -- yours, not theirs
H.R. 5788, The Halting Airplane Noise to Give Us Peace Act of 2008 (aka HANG UP), was approved by the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee on Thursday. USA Today recounts the anecdotes traded in yesterday's meeting: The woman whose seatmate discussed her sex life. The flight nearly canceled because of a guy begging and pleading with his soon-to-be ex. And of course, the guy taking photos of "sensitive parts" of the airplane. By contrast, the European Union is moving ahead on inflight cellular service (and the bureaucratic EU licensing nightmare to go with it.) Emirates has allowed calls on some flights since March, enabled by a specially equipped Airbus A340. (Photo by AP/Fernando Vergara — and yes that's former president of Ecuador Lucio Gutierrez)
road warrior
Valleywag in the air
It's not our custom to post datelines, but you may have noted some on recent posts. That's because I'm in New York today, blogging side by side with associate editor Nicholas Carlson. Melissa Gira Grant is off to Atlanta for some kind of "sex 2.0" conference. Jackson West is in Los Angeles. And on Sunday, Carlson is coming to San Francisco for a week of Valley reeducation, as I beat the last remnants of New York media groupthink out of him.
road warrior
Virgin America is like a rave gone wrong
I'm posting this in the air, people, as I fly to Los Angeles for tonight's PopSugar-TechCrunch party. Virgin America in a nutshell: Lots and lots of purple, candy-cornered everything, and a guy playing Doom on his individual LCD display. It's like I stepped into some future predicted by Wired and ID in 1994. I'm scared to ask for an orange juice because it might be spiked with MDMA.
road warrior
Obnoxiously incessant fliers rest easy with Priority Pass
If you fly a lot, check out Priority Pass. For anywhere from $99/year plus $27 per visit to $399 for unlimited visits, you can get into a ton of VIP airport lounges around the world. Skydiving PR man Peter Shankman Twitters "Priority Pass = Greatest. Thing. Ever. Flying CO but allowed full access into UA club. Vodka, wifi, comfy chair. YAY PRIORITY PASS!" The list of lounges (PDF) includes most major airports, including SFO. Even if you're grounded, you can flash the card at dinner just to impress, or more likely annoy, your friends.
valleywag mascot
Chadrick loves Southwest calling the cops on him for being a "fuckin' genius"
"I've just been the victim of an attempted undressing by Southwest Airlines," Valleywag mascot Chadrick Baker informs us via his blog. Returning from SXSW, Baker sported a T-shirt he'd borrowed from Ask.com's Diana Furka (shown here modeling it). It announced to the world what Valleywag already knew about our Chadrick: He's a "fuckin' genius." Such a genius that he wore said shirt while flying Southwest back to San Francisco. Come on, Chadrick! More »
your security is an illusion
