Last minute geek

1. SpaceX and Dish’s Super-Shady War for the World
(English/ieespectrum)

... year over fears of interference in the C-band between high-speed cellular service towers and plane altimeters in low-visibility conditions on approach to airports. Meanwhile Starlink wants to open its ...

2. This Affordable New Airline Is Trying To Help You Make Travel A Breeze
(English/ChipChic)

Meet Breeze Airways, home of Seriously Nice™ flights and fares recently welcomed to various airports around the country. Breeze Airline was founded by David Neeleman, a serial airline entrepreneur ...

3. W.H.O. declares Wuhan coronavirus global emergency
(English/BoingBoing ibag)

... cancel flights, screen people arriving at airports or take other protective measures. Declaring emergencies also adds urgency to any W.H.O. appeal for money. Thus far, that is hardly relevant: The countries ...

4. United Airlines reports "significant decline in demand" for flights to China
(English/BoingBoing ibag)

... Chicago. Meanwhile 20 US airports will soon start screening for coronavirus symptoms, up from five airports currently checking. Photo by Tim Gouw on Unsplash Read the rest Read all  ...

5. Somebody swiped weed from Chicago airport's "Cannabis Amnesty Box"
(English/BoingBoing ibag)

While recreational marijuana was legalized in Illinois on January 1, it is still illegal under federal law. So just a few weeks back, authorities installed "Cannabis Amnesty Boxes" at Chicago airports ...

6. No more emotional-support animals on planes except specially trained dogs if these new FAA rules are approved
(English/BoingBoing ibag)

... the pets relieve themselves on planes and in airports, writes David Koenig for AP: The public will have 60 days to comment on the proposed changes. Officials highlighted a few areas where they are most ...

7. Boeing indefinitely halts 737 Max production
(English/BoingBoing ibag)

Boeing's cursed 737 Maxes are no longer in production. The aircraft started falling out of the sky last spring, after which one nation after another banned them from taking off or landing at their airports; ...

8. Heathrow Airport installs anti-drone system that can locate UAV pilots
(English/engadget)

The UK knows first-hand how disruptive drones can be to major airports. Last March, it introduced legislation to widen the drone no-fly zone around airports to five kilometers. Now, to enforce the new ...

9. This Christmas tree is so fucking metal
(English/BoingBoing ibag)

... https://t.co/OAOyHxUKmo pic.twitter.com/WTwaPhP2gJ — Lithuania Travel (@LTtravelUSA) December 11, 2019 In an interview, the director of the Lithuanian Airports Security and Safety Department, Vidas ...

10. What to do when random airport security screening isn't all that random
(English/BoingBoing ibag)

... that the security personnel at the airports I fly out of put into making sure that everyone has a safe flight. I can only imagine that not everyone chosen for additional screening on a regular basis feels ...

11. Call for entries: Share Festival 2020, themed "RIOTS Here we are"
(English/BoingBoing ibag)

... banner, subways are flaming, airports are besieged, lasers flare in the tear-gas clouds under the drones — urban mayhem smolders over every horizon! Leaderless crowds cry out their need to take back a ...

12. What it's like to take a vacation in Singapore's Changi Airport
(English/BoingBoing ibag)

Singapore's Changi Airport is rated the #1 airport in the world by most entities that rate airports. It has theme parks, free movies, a retro video game arcade, hiking trails, and much more. Stephanie ...

13. Consumer Reports documents the deceptive cable industry practices used to hike real prices 24% over advertised ones
(English/BoingBoing ibag)

... inflated with industry "fees" that are misleadingly listed in a way that makes travelers think they're paying taxes to governments or airports). All in all, the cable industry is bringing in an estimated ...

14. No trains or buses from Narita to Tokyo after the category 3 typhoon = chaos for thousands
(English/BoingBoing ibag)

... hour-long queue for visiting foreigners. Once through customs, I have to decide how to get home. Some airports offer no transportation, Narita for all its faults (mostly that it’s so far from Tokyo) offers ...

15. My collapsable water bottle
(English/BoingBoing ibag)

Most airports have filtered water dispensers past the security checkpoint. I take advantage of the free water by traveling with this Vapur Element BPA Free Durable Foldable Flexible Water Bottle. It folds ...

16. Beijing promises "no mercy" for the "backstage masterminds" of the Hong Kong uprising
(English/BoingBoing ibag)

... (including airports, universities, and the public transit system) to attack the protests, promising "Especially to those key violent criminals and their backstage masterminds, organisers and agitators, ...

17. US to require air travelers to show 'gold star' at airports in order to fly
(English/BoingBoing ibag)

Starting next year you won't be able to board a plane without REAL ID. Read all

18. Cathay Pacific's new privacy policy: we are recording you with seatback cameras, spying on you in airports, and buying data on your use of competing loyalty programs
(English/BoingBoing ibag)

When airline seatback entertainment systems started to come bundled with little webcams, airlines were quick to disavow their usage, promising that the cameras were only installed for potential future ...

19. Cisco's failure to heed whistleblower's warning about security defects in video surveillance software costs the company $8.6m in fines
(English/BoingBoing ibag)

... continued to sell this software to schools, airports, hospitals, state/local governments, the US military, FEMA, the Secret Service and police departments without mitigating the defect or warning their ...

20. Aircraft lands itself truly autonomously for the first time
(English/engadget)

Many airliners can land automatically, but they don't really land autonomously -- the airport is guiding them in with a radio signal (the Instrument Landing System). And when many smaller airports ...

21. "Just don't have a face": what it's like to opt-out of US airports' "optional" face recognition
(English/BoingBoing ibag)

Privacy advocate Allie Funk was surprised to learn that her Delta flight out of Detroit airport would use facial recognition scans for boarding; Funk knew that these systems were supposed to be "opt in" ...

22. Lyft also trying out PIN-based airport pickups in Portland
(English/engadget)

... eventually expanding to other airports. Instead... Read all  ...

23. Boingo and Mettis Aerospace Test Wi-Fi 6 for Airports and Factories
(English/ieespectrum)

A single Wi-Fi 6 access point can deliver high-speed, low-latency service to hundreds of users at once Read all

24. Australia, Singapore, China ground Boeing's 737 MAX
(English/BoingBoing ibag)

The BBC reports that Australia and Singapore have disallowed Boing's 737 MAX series from flying in or our of their airports, joining other countries in grounding the jets. The decision comes after an Ethiopian ...

25. Woman demands that plane turn back mid-flight when she realizes she forgot her baby at the airport
(English/BoingBoing ibag)

... International Airport where the mother was able to retrieve her child. Sure, leaving things behind at airports is common. News.com.au claims that Brisbane Airport finds up to 1,000 items a month, including ...