Practice Management

Surf the Web While Flying

Airlines are slowly exploring the possibility of permitting internet access during flights, albeit for a price. American Airlines is the latest to announce that they will be testing in-flight internet access, according to an article by Teresa von Fuchs which appeared in WirelessWeek .

The service, offered in partnership with Aircell, will cost $9.95 to $12.95 depending on flight length, though the test service will be offered for free. The service will be tested first on a flight from New York to Los Angeles and on a return flight. Passengers will be able to use e-mail, IM, download video and connect to secure networks using notebooks or other wireless devices. Along with the paid service, passengers will be able to connect to American’s Website, Frommer’s Travel Guides and some news headlines for free.

For those who use VoIP for telephone communications, opening up internet access during flights will permit full functionality with remote desktop access, email access, and VoIP vmail access through the internet connection. Air travel has long been a non-productive consumer of time. For those who, unlike me, cannot sleep during a flight, the inability to do anything other than read or utilize a laptop for document production and editing has meant sometimes long lapses in productivity.

Some people welcome the respite. I welcome the choice more. When deadlines are looming, the ability to be more productive while traveling is highly appealing. I have no doubt that the beta testing will shortly result in a marked increase in functionality for travelers. Keep in mind, however, that there are confidentiality issues to deal with. It’s time to think about encryption over your wi-fi connection. It’s also time to think about a screen guard which makes it impossible for those around you to read what is on your screen. And finally, if you do not have a boot password (or any password for that matter) employed on your laptop, you should get it set up.

If you’re one of those lucky enough to get on the test flight with American, write and let me know how it works. From my childlike perspective, I think that the closer you fly to the satellite, the better your connection should be. But what do I know? I predicted the Beatles would never catch on!

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Full post as published by Law Practice Management on June 25, 2008 (boomark / email).