Does your father have any Saturn guidance software source code AT ALL, or any knowledge of where it might be?
We have been desperately searching for the Saturn LVDC guidance software for years now, even to the extreme of obtaining core planes from a LVDC and trying to read them out.
If your father has any prints at all, or any knowledge of where the software might be, we DESPERATELY need to hear from him!

N/T

Usually.

Of course they aren't. The current rules are about maximizing airphone profits. What makes you think the rules are about safety?

Maybe I worded it badly. The idea is to be prepared for the worst scenario each time, so that if it does come to pass you aren't surprised by it and maximize your chances of successfully handling the situation. Being complacent about it and assuming "It'll never happen to me" has a habit of biting people in the ass. Then again, the consequences of my being lazy up front are probably a lot more severe than the chances of your being lazy in the back...

Well, even if it does stop in the seat ahead of you and lose all of its energy, it'll still have injured your hands departing, and you need those to operate doors or remove debris from your path on your way out.
In any event, that's just one of the points I made, there's plenty of other reasons to stow your stuff for takeoff and landing.

Because those who make the rules miss the point of the rules, which is why we have the interference boogeyman.
It is part of the safety briefing to please stow all objects in the seatback or overhead bin for takeoff and landing. If you ignore us, we can't force the issue, it's not against the rules.

They never get mentioned as a reason because pilots get lousy press. I couldn't get this stuff in the news even if I mugged Dan Rather and wrote it on his chest in permanent marker.
Anyway, it is part of the safety briefing (ours at least) to please stow all objects in the seatback or overhead bin. But since it's not against the FAA rules, we can't force the issue if you want to ignore us.

Besides, if there was interference, we'd know about it up front - We'd hear it in our radios or see it in the instruments. Then we'd just jump on the PA and ask everyone to turn off their stuff for a moment to see if it goes away. If it goes away, then it's simple process of elimination to find the interfering device, and then notify people to have it handled. It can't be -that- common, at least not in any remotely modern equipment.

I too earnestly wish for there to be less bullshit in flying. For some reason those government types seem really fond of it...

I don't know who your fly with, but we tell passengers to stow their stuff in the seatback or the overhead. If they ignore us, we can't force the issue, as holding your object isn't against the FAA rules but operating it is. They may be missing the point. In any event, since when have you ever known management to get the point of something and do the right thing? They probably think it's for interference too, and holding the turned-off object is fine.

As far as thinking I am exaggerating, it's simple physics, you are welcome to do the math yourself.

The ban on cellphone usage during takeoff and landing is for your safety. The ban on cellphone usage during cruise is due to weaknesses in the cell network and your sanity.

The reason we tell you not to use your phone for takeoff and landing is because those are the point during the flight when the aircraft is most likely to encounter problems and also when our navaid usage and workload is at its highest. We are trained to assume that the airplane will crash on every flight and act accordingly - Complacency Kills! You should be in the same mindset. First, there's the matter of the crash. When the aircraft goes from flying speed to nothing in a few seconds, the G-forces are going to make that iphone/laptop/whatever that you are holding in your hands suddenly weigh several times its normal weight. You WILL NOT be able to keep ahold of it. It's going to become a projectile and injure or kill the people sitting near you. Next is longer-term survival. The fact is, most deaths in air crashes happen not during the impact sequence, but in the post-crash environment. People panic and stampede. They don't know which way is out. The aircraft is dark and possibly filling with smoke or water. Situational awareness and decision-making ability are KEY to both your survival and that of your fellow passengers. Having to get your headphones off or figure out where your laptop went is not going to help. If you weren't paying attention to things before the crash you won't know where you are now and what direction you need to go. You probably ignored the safety briefing too. See where this is going? Finally, if you are alert and paying attention, the amount of information you will be able to provide to the crash investigators after the crash will be of higher quality. Those of us at the pointy end of the aircraft probably died in the impact. Being able to give information to the investigators could uncover flaws in the aircraft or our procedures, and by correcting those save hundreds of lives. We take this flying stuff seriously. You should too.

I've heard that cell usage during cruise overloads the cell network by switching cells too often - I'm not an expert on the cell system so I'll defer to a cell tech on that. In my eyes, the ban on cell usage during cruise is for reasons of everyone's sanity. Do you really want to hear the guy in the next seat shouting into his phone about the BIG IMPORTANT EXECUTIVE THINGS BIG IMPORTANT EXECUTIVES LIKE HIM DO, or THIS THING ON MY NECK IS GETTING BIGGER, or whatever other inane thing he wants to rattle on about at maximum volume? It's bad enough everywhere else, why must we suffer too? (Misery loves company?)

Anyway, that's the score. I've repeated this I don't know how many times now and it never sticks. STICK, DAMMIT!

XNA is all well and good but it's not the XDK. XNA is severely restricted when compared to the XDK.
I'm talking about putting commercial developers and hobbyists on the same footing in terms of tool capability.

This is not a surcharge on hardware. It's what I expect management types to think the SDK and PSN is worth. The hardware isn't the only thing being sold here. The SDK and PSN have to be paid for too.

Just to be clear: I expect the $1-2K to cover a hardware device with full debug capability, complete SDK, reference material for the SDK, and the plugins and/or documentation of the appropriate file formats for asset generation (3D models, textures, audio, etc). There's also the homebrew PSN, forums and associated hosting and administration. It's not just the hardware. This would be the same stuff delivered with a commercial development license, just without the support entitlement.