flights

Tiny Wings for iOS: Discover the joy of flight

I just figured out why the Angry Birds are so angry: it's because they can't fly! They have to be flung, and even then they get only a few seconds of airtime before suffering rapid-deceleration trauma. I'd be ticked off, too.

In Tiny Wings, there's just one bird, and all he wants to do is fly. It's your job to help him, to keep him flying fast, far, and just ahead of ever-encroaching nightfall. Once you get the hang of the flight mechanic, you'll find yourself thoroughly, hopelessly addicted, always wanting to try "… Read more

The 404 748: Where you don't know what you've been given (podcast)

There's plenty of serious tech news going on in the world today, like the Intel Sandy Bridge chipset recall and two Web giants helping Egyptians communicate without the Internet, so be sure to check out the CNET home page for the latest.

As usual, we're covering the cultural aspects of tech news that interest us today, stories like Facebook offering free access on flights in Feb-roo-air-ie, Chinese immigrants finding love on the Internet a la JDate, a Chatroulette model for medical diagnoses, and a Stanford psychology study that links Facebook "one-upsmanship" to the worldwide depression epidemic.

We finish with surprising news about your favorite adult Web sites and a plea for user-submitted voice mails! We're running low, so call 1-866-404-CNET and tell us what's on your mind! Don't worry about messing up, we'll make you articulate using the magic of editing, so pick up the phone or record a video voice mail and e-mail us the YouTube/Vimeo link at the404(at)cnet(dot)com.

Episode 748 Subscribe in iTunes (audio) | Subscribe in iTunes (video) | Subscribe in RSS Audio | Subscribe in RSS Video… Read more

Do we need the Internet for a revolution?

In the last two years I have read at least a dozen books that champion the Internet as the key to personal and political freedom. Scholars and academics have come to see digital communication as a near messiah in power and prescience.

However, I believe that the current revolution in Egypt should temper our faith in the Internet.

The Egyptian government has cut off the digital tools that we have come to rely on. All ISPs are shut down, cell phone service has been cut, and Al Jazeera has lost its license to broadcast within the country.

Yet the people … Read more

Paddle your way to a holiday destination

There are a great number of travel Web sites on the Internet that let you search flights, hotel listings, and car rentals, but if you want a quick way to get that info while on the go, check out the new Kayak for iPhone app. Though Kayak has been around for some time, the latest version for iPhone includes a completely redesigned interface and faster search results making it much easier to get your travel plans in order quickly. Like the older version, Kayak works seamlessly with the Kayak.com Web site.

Instead of the older tilelike interface, Kayak has … Read more

Updated: Kayak for iPhone

There are a great number of travel Web sites on the Internet that let you search flights, hotel listings, and car rentals, but if you want a quick way to get that info while on the go, check out the new Kayak for iPhone app. Though Kayak has been around for some time, this latest version for iPhone includes a completely redesigned interface and faster search results making it much easier to get your travel plans in order quickly. Like the older version, Kayak works seamlessly with the Kayak.com Web site.

Instead of the older tilelike interface, Kayak has … Read more

JetBlue bolter slides into Mile High Text Club role

What do you do after you quit your JetBlue flight attendant job while still on the plane, tell the rude passengers what you thought of them, open the emergency slide, and waft your way down it and into the public eye?

If your answer was "train to be a pilot," "try volunteer work," "have a talk show on basic cable," or "pose for Playboy," you would be heartily mistaken. For Steven Slater, perhaps America's most renowned former flight attendant, is to become the official spokesperson for the Mile High Text Club.… Read more

Paper plane launched into space

We tend to think of paper planes as small things, thrown in class in order to get 7-year-olds through the crushing boredom of, say, arithmetic.

But you might not have guessed that some adventurous sort would, one day, try to build a paper plane with a three-foot wingspan.

If you did, I feel sure that it would not have crossed your mind, as it did that of three British amateurs, to build a paper plane with a three-foot wingspan and send it into space.

John Oates, one of the threesome, cheerily told the BBC: "I knew we'd be … Read more

Air Force's G-Force centrifuge spins its last

The U.S Air Force seems to do a lot to make the lives of its pilots and air crew more comfortable.

Just the other day, one heard about a new chair that stops fliers from losing their lasagne before its full nutritional value can be enjoyed.

Now, emerges news that the Air Force is retiring a lovely centrifuge that helped pilots stay, well, conscious.

According the the U.S. Air Force's own Web site, the Physiological Training Center at Holloman Air Force Base is shutting down its spinning centrifuge in favor of a new centrifuge being built to … Read more

Reddit co-founders reunite at Hipmunk

Last month, Reddit co-founder Steve Huffman launched Hipmunk, a flight search engine that aims to address the messiness associated with other flight search engines (you can sort search results by "agony" of travel), and this week he brought on board Reddit's other co-founder, Alexis Ohanian. At this rate, they may be shaping up to be the Cheech and Chong of start-ups, except that "high" in this situation would refer to cruising altitude (we think).

"The way the site has taken off, combined with my own love of travel (and loathing of most travel search … Read more

T-Mobile teases the G2 smartphone

Links from Wednesday's episode of Loaded: T-Mobile announces G2 with Google Microsoft Flight Simulator returns Microsoft's Arch Touch mouse Google Sync for Outlook 2010 Yahoo! Mail gets iPad app