At work we sometimes work on projects which span multiple offices. We have used a pair of Tandberg units, one sitting on our desk in California, the other sitting on a desk in New York. It is great to be able to say "hey Bob, can you explain this bit of code?" when you see that Bob is sitting at his desk and not deep in conversation with someone else. Much more productive than resorting to email, phone, or IM all the time.

Sadly, I've heard that those Tandbergs are super expensive...

http://xkcd.com/703/

Fascinating. Thank you for the details!

I was amazed to read this entire article and not learn:

a) what do they do with the data they collect? I'd have loved to learn what sensor data is valuable for, and how it changes the dynamics of the race. (Who cares how many bits they ship if you have no idea if the bits are _useful_ bits?)

b) how much of an impact does this have on the race? Does this make a 1% difference in track times, 80%, something in the middle?

Anyone have a link to an article which explains _why_ they collect all this data?

Before thinking that an IFR ticket will let you fly a 182 anytime, look into the icing conditions in your area. For example, in the SF Bay Area most cloudy days occur in the winter, and a large fraction of those days are also prime icing conditions -- grounding most single engine planes. (Airliners have extensive anti-ice equipment, and usually climb or descend through the icing layer so quickly it is a non-issue.)

An IFR ticket is really educational, fun to get, and does expand your options when flying. But in many otherwise fantastic places for GA flying, it won't give you year-round on-demand transportation.

In the US?

T-Mobile. I signed up for a FlexPay account yesterday for my and my wife's phones, no credit check required.