House committee moves to ban in-flight cell phone use

Posted by admin - 31/08/08 at 05:08:00 pm

A House of Representatives committee threw another hurdle into the path of in-flight cell phone use Thursday, when it voted to ban the use permanently. By a voice vote, the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee passed the Halting Airplane Noise to Give Us Peace–or Hang Up–Act, which was introduced earlier this year by Rep. Peter DeFazio (D-Ore.).

The legislation, which now moves to the full House for consideration, would prohibit “voice communications using communications devices on scheduled flights,” with exceptions for flight crew members and a federal law enforcement officer acting in an official capacity. In-flight texting, Wi-Fi, and e-mail on airplanes would not be affected.

In a statement, DeFazio said that not only is cell phone use aloft an annoyance, but also that airlines should be stopped from using in-flight talking as a potential revenue source. “With airline customer satisfaction at an all time low, this is not the time to consider making airplane travel even more torturous,” he said. “Polls show the public overwhelmingly doesn’t want to be subjected to people talking on their cell phones on increasingly over-packed airplanes.” During the hearing Rep. John Mica (R-Fla.) lodged a dissenting voice, saying, “You are trying to legislate courtesy, folks, and that just doesn’t work.”

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Calexico, ‘Two Silver Trees’: Free MP3 of the Day

Posted by admin - 10/08/08 at 12:08:00 am

On “Carried to Dust,” indie rock’s bards of the border continue their remarkable hybrid: old Southwest dirges cross-bred with a particularly dark and brooding folk-pop. Few bands in the scene pull off such a natural dignity–or intimacy.

Continue reading Calexico, ‘Two Silver Trees’: Free MP3 of the Day…

Madvillain, ‘No Brain’: Free MP3 of the Day

Posted by admin - 09/08/08 at 12:08:00 am

Two of hip-hop’s most inventive smiths, Madlib and MF DOOM, have teamed up under the appropriately psychotic moniker of Madvillain, and the collab is every bit as delirious and eclectic as fans of those two might expect. Cutting up gnarly, electrostatic drum-and-synths, ‘lib proves the ideal beatmaker for the …

A PC made with Lego bricks

Posted by admin - 08/08/08 at 04:08:00 pm

We’ve covered our fair share of PC modifications here on Crave, but no other case has ever made me drool and mutter, “Must…have…” besides this monolithic beauty.

Luke Andersen, a computer science major from Rensselaer …

Cases and accessories for your Apple iPhone 3G

Posted by admin - 08/08/08 at 04:08:00 pm

It’s now almost a month since the release of the Apple iPhone 3G, and the accessory market for the iPhone is jumping with joy. That’s because cases and accessories are now selling like hotcakes for this …

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