Microsoft Zune becomes exclusive audio provider for United Airlines In-Flight Entertainment

In a smart marketing move, Microsoft’s Zune service has become the exclusive audio provider for United Airlines In-Flight Entertainment. Of course, this does not mean all passengers will be handed a Zune, the collaboration merely means the music experts behind Zune put together the music on all United Airlines domestic and international flights.

The 21 channels of digital programming include selections like classic rock, electronic dance, piano jazz and opera. Of course, United will still be in charge of their awesome channel 9 cockpit audio channel.

As a fan of Zune, I’ve always been impressed with their features, and taking their musical skills to the skies seems like a very smart step.

Crazy in-flight video clips – vomiting, tasers and dancing girls

Crazy stuff happens when you lock people up in a metal tube with poor air circulation. Some freak out, others may start dancing. We’ve collected some of the funniest video clips from on board.

Riverdance on a plane? You bet! And I found it just as annoying as on the ground. ” Crazy lady freaks out” is about as creative as I could get with this one. She’s either loopy, or she managed to pop a couple of “special cookies” in the bathroom before landing.

Not a real clip, but this sketch from “How to irritate people” is a must watch (unless you are a pilot looking for fun things to do to us passengers).

This rapping Southwest Airlines flight attendant is brilliant – we’ve featured him before here on Gadling, but in case you missed him, this is a must watch.

“I’m going to be die – shoot me” – This is a pretty sad clip, but somehow I couldn’t help laughing. Poor guy is clearly freaking out.

“Tazed and confused in Vegas” would make a good name for a movie. But it is also what happened to this big guy. Being Tazed can’t be fun – but being Tazed on a plane must really suck.

This is what can happen when you offer live video programming. It is why airlines never pick “Final Destination” as the in-flight movie.

And finally, have you ever wondered what zero-G vomit looks like? Wonder no more! (Strong stomach required!)

Gadling’s ultimate guide to powering your gadgets on a plane

Welcome to the Gadling “ultimate inflight power guide”. After reading this guide, you’ll know everything you need to know in order to power your gadgets, and keep them going during any flight. I’ll explain what all terms mean, and give you some handy tips that will make you a real pro at inflight power.

The basics

The inflight basics really are simple – there are 4 scenarios when it comes to powering technology on a plane:

  • Powering your laptop on flights with seat power
  • Powering your laptop on flights without seat power
  • Powering your gadgets on flights with seat power
  • Powering your gadgets on flights without seat power

To make the whole thing more complicated, airlines offer seat power through four different systems:

  • EmPower
  • DC power
  • AC power
  • USB power

Finding what your airline and seat have to offer

Before you know what you’ll need to purchase in order to power your equipment, you’ll need to know what your airline has to offer.

The easiest way to find this, is to head on over to Seatguru or Seatexpert. These sites specialize in displaying very accurate seat maps, along with all the amenities you can expect in your specific seat. For those of you that fly coach, only a handful of US domestic flights will provide power in the back. Newer airlines like Virgin America understand the need for power, and offer an outlet at every seat, including Coach.

The various seat power systems

EmPower

The EmPower system was the first airline seat power product – it offers 15 volts DC through a special (EmPower) plug. In order to plug your gadget into this outlet, you’ll of course need a compatible cable/charger.

The EmPower system has a limit of 75 watts – which means it can power and charge most laptop computers and low power gadgets. EmPower is becoming a rarity, but there are still some major carriers that installed it back in the early 2000’s and have not yet upgraded their cabin to something more common.

DC Power

Airlines with DC power offer the same kind of outlet you’ll find in your car (often referred to as a cigarette lighter outlet). The advantage of these is that they offer a higher current, the disadvantage is that they only supply 12 volts. Many laptop computers need 19 volts to charge.

DC power can easily be converted into AC power, which means you can invest in a cheap converter, and use your own laptop power supply. These converters do tend to get hot, and many require some additional cooling, so don’t keep them in your bag when you use them. The disadvantage of a DC converter is of course the bulk – using one of them along with your own laptop charger makes for a rather messy pile of cables.

AC Power

AC power is the easiest of all the inflight power solutions. The plane simply offers a regular AC jack by your seat, just like you find back home. These outlets are also limited to about 75 watts – so don’t expect to be able to power your hair dryer from your seat. The AC power comes from the same kind of jack you’ll find at home or your office, and most of them accept US and European plugs.

USB Power

The addition of USB power ports on some airlines has to be in the top 5 of great things they have done for geeks. A powered USB port means you can bring your usb cable with you, and charge your device, without having to invest in special chargers or cables. USB power ports are still pretty rare, but on longhaul flights with an up to date entertainment system, you’ll have a good chance at finding one.

Laptop power on flights with seat power

Lets start with the first scenario – powering your laptop on a flight with seat power. In an ideal world, this would be really simple to accomplish, but the airlines have (as usual) decided to make things complicated by using the different systems mentioned above:

EmPower – Use a DC/Air laptop charger from your manufacturer, or a third party version
DC Power – Use a DC/Air laptop charger from your manufacturer, or a third party version
AC Power – Use your regular laptop charger
USB Power – N/A, won’t charge your laptop

For virtually every laptop brand, you’ll be able to find an affordable and compact DC/Air charger. Pay attention when you pick one – some third party chargers only power off AC, others only do AC/DC (no EmPower). If you want to be 100% certain your investment will work in any scenario, go for a good AC/DC/Air charger. Some good examples of these chargers are

The Kensignton wall/air ultra thin notebook power adapter
($129.99)

Mobility Electronics iGo everywhereMAX ($119.99)

Innergie myCube90
($99.95)

To make matters worse, because of the power restrictions on each outlet, some laptops may only charge – they can’t actually be powered. This means a dead battery will have to be recharged before you can use it again. Thankfully, most recent laptops have low power requirements, which means your charger will power and charge at the same time.


Laptop power on flights without seat power

So, you’ve booked your flight, and the seat map site show no power outlets anywhere near your seat. You’ll have to make a decision – is keeping your laptop working for the duration of the flight that important? Before you invest in any accessories, there are several things you can do to keep that machine running longer:

Turn things down or off

How long is your flight? How long will your laptop work off its battery pack? If you have a five hour flight, and your laptop only works for four hours, you’ll probably be fine – the first and last 30 minutes of the flight won’t allow you to have it turned on anyway. If the flight is longer, or your battery won’t last that long, you’ll need to start saving some power.

Turn your display brightness down as far as you can, without losing the ability to read what is on the screen. Enable as many power saving features as possible, turn off WiFi (unless you are on a WiFi enabled flight). Disable Bluetooth, and unplug any accessories you won’t be needing during the flight. A really conservative power setting can easily add about 30% more run time on your machine. Of course, the harder you make it work, the quicker it’ll burn through your battery – basic word processing will use a lot less than watching an HD Movie off your hard drive.

A second battery

If your battery and flight time really don’t go together, you’ll need to go shopping for something that will keep it working longer. The easiest solution may appear to be a second battery, but these have a couple of disadvantages you’ll need to keep in mind:

  • You’ll need to turn your computer off to do a battery swap
  • An original second battery is very expensive
  • Third party/OEM batteries can be very cheap, but also poorly built
  • Your battery investment will usually only work on this machine

You’ll also need to find a good way to carry the second battery, as they almost never come with a case or other protection method.

An external laptop battery pack

I’m a huge fan of external notebook battery packs – they are usually a bit more expensive than a second battery, but they are future proof – most of them come with power tips that can be used on a variety of brands. If you switch from one model to another, you simply swap out the power tip. Some external battery packs also include a USB charging port, and many of them come with a carrying case. Recently, we reviewed the Tekkeon myPower on Gadling, this battery pack doubles the run time of most computers, and comes with power tips that will allow it to work on almost any brand of laptop.

Powering your gadgets with seat power

Let’s assume you loaded your iPod/iPhone/Zune or other device with some cool movies for the long haul flight. You’ve already burned through 3 hours of battery power on the trip to the airport, and chances are, you’ll only make it through the first of your movies before the “low battery” message appears. There are simple and affordable ways to keep your gadgets going.

EmPower – Find a dedicated EmPower charger cord for your device or an EmPower to AC converter
DC Power – Use a regular car charger cord
AC Power – Bring your AC adapter
USB Power – Use the USB cable included with your device

Powering your gadgets without seat power

If you are not flying an airline that provided seat power, you’ll need to carry your own power source. Just like with the laptop solution, you are going to need a battery pack. Of course, for gadgets, these are much smaller than what you need for a laptop. Many of these devices have an internal battery pack sufficient for 2 or 3 full charges of your mobile device. On an iPhone or iPod, this means you’ll be able to watch movies for up to 12 or 13 hours. There are countless options on the market, and a decent quality battery pack will cost you about $40.

British Airways says, “Sandwiches? You don’t need no stinkin’ sandwiches!”

British Airways has announced that as of next week it will no longer serve sandwiches on its short-haul flights, the BBC has reported.

The move, which the airline hopes will save £22 million ($36.3 million) a year, will affect all flights after 10am that last less than two-and-a-half hours. Passengers will be served “snacks” instead, most likely meaning a tiny bag of pretzels and a thimbleful of orange juice in a little cup filled with ice. Early morning flights will still serve breakfast, such as it is.

The airline is also considering further cuts such as no more hot towels in Club class (my heart bleeds) and maybe even getting rid of free pretzels in economy.

So much for “Fly the friendly skies.” Oh wait, that’s United, and they went bankrupt and had to get bailed out by the American taxpayer. Sorry, I have trouble keeping my penny-pinching airlines straight. I’m still mad about BA opening my luggage and leaving it out in the rain at Heathrow. When it got to Missouri (two days late) my clothes were soaked and my books were ruined.

Ah well, the sandwiches I make at home and bring with me when I fly always taste better anyway. And I never put anything valuable in my checked luggage. I’ve seen people putting laptops in their suitcases. They obviously don’t read Gadling.

Mexican authorities to allow mobile phone calls on commerical flights

Good news! The Mexican FCC just canceled directive NOM-019SCT3-2001!

Sure, I’ll forgive you if you have no idea what this means (I didn’t either at first). The directive was a 2001 piece of law banning the use of mobile phones on commercial planes.

This means passengers will be legally permitted to yap away on their phones during “certain phases” of flight. The source article does not mention what those “certain phases” are, but it is probably just a way of saying you can use your phone after the take off and landing phase.

There is of course one small snag in this plan – no Mexican carriers actually offer inflight calling technology, and once you get above 10,000 feet, you won’t be in range of any cell towers. That said – it is probably just a matter of time till the airlines start seeing Peso bills, and install the equipment required to make calls. Other airlines that introduced inflight calling, did so with rates of about $4 per minute. You thought $12.95 for WiFi was too much? Try paying $20 for a call back home telling people what a great time you are having.

So far, US law still prohibits the use of mobile phones in flight, and if US Congressman Peter DeFazio has his way, that isn’t about to change any time soon. His ridiculously named ‘Hang-Up act” (Halting Airplane Noise to Give Us Peace) is trying to convince the FCC that removing the ban will kill air travel for everyone.

So dear readers, what do you think of inflight mobile phone calls?

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(Via: Engadget)