Letters to the Editor
xtoph
Published Letters: 3
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Pepsi benefits too...
[Read the article: Ask the pilot]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]United has a Pepsi-only contract; prior to the new restrictions, you could still drink a Coke or Red Bull during the flight if you brought your own, but not not any more. Seems as though the value of Pepsi's contract with United has increased substantially.
My drive vs. fly threshold is up to twenty now... if it will take me 20 hours or less to drive, I'll drive. Even a 3-hour flight basically takes all day (especially if there's any kind of delay.) If I drive I can sit in a more comfortable chair, listen to better music, eat better food, drink whatever I like, stop and pee whenever I want, bring my dog along, carry a pocket knife, and save lots of money. (And if my luggage gets lost it's my own fault.)
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Now you're one of them! :-)
[Read the article: Ask the pilot]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]Think a little harder about the battery issue and explain again why it's being handled in a rational way where other bans are unreasonable.
Not every lithium battery has been found to be defective and dangerous, only some of them.
Newer Apple laptops, for example, have batteries that are not suspect.
The recall has been underway for some time, so many suspect batteries have now been replaced with good ones.
So why is a blanket ban on Apple laptops (or even certain models of Apple laptop) rational?
In far less time than the scenario you described in this article, a person with minimal training could cross-check the model and serial number of the batteries against a list of recalled models, and pass/fail them on an individual basis.
Fire is scary, but not all laptop batteries with a certain logo on them are a risk.
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embedded email = no change
[Read the article: The problems with iTunes Plus]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]The DRM versions always had your email address embedded as well, so the "someone who steals my iPod might send me an email" scenario has not changed. You could choose to think of it as a feature: "when I accidentally leave my iPod on the airplane, the friendly geek who finds it will be able to contact me." (Neither is very likely.)
For me the plus versions are valuable because now I can move these songs onto devices that wouldn't play them before (PSP, PS3, etc.) And when we someday find ourselves with more than five computers in the house, we won't need to choose which ones to authorize. (Don't laugh, we're at five already.)
The higher bitrate also means you could burn the files to disc then re-rip in your format of choice and end up with an untraceable file that still sounds great. If that's your thing.
If those benefits don't apply to you, and you can't hear a difference, don't buy the plus versions. Both options are available. So what's the problem?