KXL Tech Expert Segment for 31 December 2007
Happy New Year!
Nearly a year ago we watched Apple’s CEO threw a hat into the ring for mobile phone market share... the controversial AT&T carrier-exclusivity did little to discourage early adopters from lining up for the iPhone days before the June release. Another major product that actually shipped in January was Microsoft’s Windows Vista. Claiming “the wow starts now” – many XP users are sticking to the former operating system while the Northwest-based software giant works out bugs. Corporate users even pressured Microsoft to extend support for Windows XP.
We talked a fair amount about social networking in 2007—with relative newcomer Facebook stealing the spotlight from one-time king Myspace. The decision to open Facebook for outside groups to build software on the network paid huge dividends and earned the site a sizeable investment from Microsoft.
Meanwhile, Microsoft’s Mountain View-based archrival, you know, the search, advertising (and added in 2007: Apps) giant Google watched its stock skyrocket above the 700 mark after announcement of an “Open Social” platform for social networking sites followed by plans to release an operating system for phones, resting months of speculation a so-called Google Phone was in the works.
Finally, in the world of video games – Two big winners, in this blogger's humble opinion: Halo 3 from Microsoft set records and Nintendo’s Wii console outsold rivals Xbox 360 from Microsoft and Sony’s Playstation 3. An exciting year, indeed.
As for my predictions for stories we'll be talking about in 2008...
I think (perhaps hope?) 2008 will be the year all these social networking sites finally grow up and become useful. A faster 3G version of the iPhone is due out while we see what Google has in store for their Open Handset Alliance. I’m personally excited about airline plans to offer inflight internet – a story we discussed a few weeks back on KXL – and the ever-changing face of digital content delivery ... are 24-hour movie rentals coming to iTunes in ’08?
As you may know, January 1, marks the start of the transition period to digital high-definition television… those old analog broadcast signals are going bye-bye... Finally, R&S, we’ll look to next week’s Consumer Electronics Show in Vegas and MacWorld in San Francisco the week after to set the pace for technology in ’08.
Listen to this report, originally broadcast on KXL-AM Monday December 31: kxl_techexpert-2007rewind2008preview_20071231.mp3 (MP3)
I'll bring you these tech stories and more in the new year... as always, drop me a line and let me know what you want to hear. I look forward to hearing from you!
Happy New Year and thanks for listening (and reading)...
Showing posts with label inflight internet. Show all posts
Showing posts with label inflight internet. Show all posts
Monday, December 31, 2007
Friday, December 7, 2007
Online Onboard: Inflight Internet in 2008
KXL Tech Expert Segment for 7 December 2007
A handful of domestic carriers have made plans to offer inflight Internet access starting next year. The carriers, starting with Jetblue's test plane next week, will offer a range of service options with fees ranging from free to $10 per flight.
This isn't the first time you've been able to online on board, yet there's new optimism this will finally fill in one of the last Internet dead spots with a useful option for frequent travelers. Boeing's now defunct Connexion project offered online access for largely international carriers but was disbanded in recent years.
Jetblue, through its subsidiary LiveTV, will offer email and messaging access for free while Alaska Airlines, American Airlines and new startup Virgin America each plan to offer a more complete Internet offering sometime in 2008 -- for an estimated $10 per flight.
Don't expect any mid-air connection as fast as services on the ground, but sometimes anything is better than nothing. Look for Voice-over-IP services such as Vonage and Skype to be disabled -- saving everyone from the feared Chatty Cathy in the next seat.
Listen to this report, originally broadcast on KXL-AM Friday December 7: kxl_techexpert-onlineonboard_20071207.mp3 (MP3)
For more on this story, check out the following links:
A handful of domestic carriers have made plans to offer inflight Internet access starting next year. The carriers, starting with Jetblue's test plane next week, will offer a range of service options with fees ranging from free to $10 per flight.
This isn't the first time you've been able to online on board, yet there's new optimism this will finally fill in one of the last Internet dead spots with a useful option for frequent travelers. Boeing's now defunct Connexion project offered online access for largely international carriers but was disbanded in recent years.
Jetblue, through its subsidiary LiveTV, will offer email and messaging access for free while Alaska Airlines, American Airlines and new startup Virgin America each plan to offer a more complete Internet offering sometime in 2008 -- for an estimated $10 per flight.
Don't expect any mid-air connection as fast as services on the ground, but sometimes anything is better than nothing. Look for Voice-over-IP services such as Vonage and Skype to be disabled -- saving everyone from the feared Chatty Cathy in the next seat.
Listen to this report, originally broadcast on KXL-AM Friday December 7: kxl_techexpert-onlineonboard_20071207.mp3 (MP3)
For more on this story, check out the following links:
- Some Airlines to Offer In-Flight Internet Service (NY Times)
- JetBlue To Test Limited In-Flight Net (AP via. Google News)
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