airport

When in doubt, change planes in Munich

When you fly to Europe from the West Coast, your choice of nonstop flights is rather limited. Outside of cities such as London, Paris, Amsterdam, or Frankfurt, you're usually forced to fly to a large hub airport and then change planes if you want to travel to another city. Such was the case when I flew to Barcelona for the recent GSMA World Congress. Since there are no nonstop flights to Barcelona from San Francisco, I had to fly to Munich first and then catch another flight from there. And all I can say is, I'm glad I … Read more

Relaxation of the future: Airport pods

As fond as we are of massaging chairs, beds, or anything else that's shiatsu-enabled, the "Nemorelaxer" seems to take the concept a bit too far.

It's not that we have anything against its restorative properties, mind you; it's the venue that has us a little weirded out. These modules--equipped with recliner chairs, sound insulation, folding desks, and touch-screen monitors--are planned for airports, according to Luxist. Although they're designed for suites with staffs that will watch your luggage and wake you up, we'd be too nervous to fall asleep in the 30-minute rental … Read more

Beyond Binary headed (slowly) to CES

The entire technology world is preparing to descend on Las Vegas for the Consumer Electronics Show, but many of those in the San Francisco Bay Area are finding it slow going.

The entire Beyond Binary staff (yes, that is just me), is among those who have been hanging out at San Francisco International Airport amid weather-related flight delays. My flight is now running three hours late, but, like all good CES-goers. I have plenty of gadgets to keep me occupied.

My laptop and Sprint EV-DO card are letting me blog, while a video iPod has a season of Weeds and … Read more

Bits from Beyond Binary--Dec. 12, 2007

Here's a collection of links from the "Stuff I'm reading" section. To see these as they post, come back to the Beyond Binary blog and check out the right-hand column. I recommend doing it ten times a day, but, the digest below is here for those that have other things to do:

Are Microsoft-served ads slowing down Web sites?--Blogger Long Zheng noticed that his recent visits to Digg had been slowed by ad requests to MSN. He did some more, well digging, and found that some other sites with MSN-served ads are also sluggish. (istartedsomething) … Read more

Reports: Time Machine needs wires

If you want to use the Time Machine feature in Mac OS X Leopard to set up automatic backups, you'll have to find a networking cable.

In the advance marketing material for Leopard, which goes on sale later today, Apple had promoted the ability to connect an external USB hard drive to an AirPort Extreme wireless router (Airport Disk) and use Time Machine to wirelessly back up the hard drives of Macbooks scattered around a home. Time Machine, one of the more universally liked features in Leopard (click for CNET's review), is designed to make backing up and … Read more

Relax: No SLR check at airport security

I read about some recent teeth-gnashing and eye-rolling by photographers who were distressed by airport security personnel who required them to pull their SLR cameras out of carry-on bags for inspection, as is required for laptop computers, but the official word is that there's no new requirement to do so.

National Association of Photoshop Professionals President Scott Kelby and photographer Richard Wanderman both were required to pull their cameras out for the airport security checks in Minneapolis-St. Paul and Los Angeles, respectively, according to their blogs. Wanderman in particular was concerned because he had two camera bodies and feared … Read more

Homeland Stupidity: Security policies that place the public at risk

Homeland security officials seem to have adopted a naive and dangerous standard to detect bombs: Devices sold by major corporations that come packaged in logo-adorned, mass produced containers are perfectly safe, while those made by hobbyists and tinkerers with exposed wires and batteries are potential bombs or at least hoax devices.

The problem with this approach is that in many past cases of successful terrorism, especially those committed by state-sponsored groups, the bombs were actually hidden in fully-functioning mass-market electronic devices: personal stereos and mobile phones. Smart terrorists, the ones we should be trying to thwart, do not walk into … Read more

Skip to the front of the airport security line

Attempts to assert your right to fly without ID can often be very frustrating, due to Transportation Security Administration and airport officials not knowing their own rules.

With any luck, this should no longer be an issue because the TSA has, at last, clarified things.

Passengers with tickets for domestic flights are under no obligation to present ID to TSA. Passengers may be required to show ID to airline employees, but that is a contractual matter between the airlines and their passengers. U.S. government employees cannot, however, require you to show ID in order to pass through the security … Read more

CLEARly a dumb idea

I've been a member of the CLEAR program for almost a year now. CLEAR is a program for registered travelers that are "pre-screened for security and provided with a biometric card which allows them to pass through security faster, with more predictability and less hassle." Sounds good, right? Submit to a full cavity scan, a review of everything you've ever thought of doing in your life, and get through airport security faster? Sign me up!

Well, I did. I fly 125,000+ miles each year, and have done for nearly 10 years. Getting through an airport quickly is a big priority for me.

Today, however, was my first time actually using the program. That's because there are approximately two airports on the planet that participate in the program. (OK, I'm exaggerating - there are a whopping 11, but they're not airports most of us use on a regular basis.)

Even worse, the program seems to delay passage through security, rather than speeding it up.… Read more

Radio telescope technology reveals hot bodies on Earth

A new imaging system promises to pinpoint the location of a weapon concealed on a person without using a metal detector, a pat-down or the slightest dose of radiation, all thanks to some heavenly technology.

The BIS-WDS Prime combines "millimeter wave sensor" technology, video cameras and algorithm software to detect "objects made of metal, plastic, ceramic and composite hidden beneath a subject's clothing" from up to 45 feet away, according to manufacturer Brijot Imaging Systems. The subject doesn't have to stand still or even know he's being scanned.

The technology, which is used … Read more