Qantas to offer only canned net content

[oz_mark]

Qantas to offer only canned net content
Qantas to offer only canned net content - BizTech - Technology - theage.com.au

Qantas has shelved plans to offer live internet access on its A380 planes from next month as American Airlines comes under fire from customers and flight attendants for allowing passengers to surf cough websites.

Qantas will instead offer only a limited selection of what it calls "cached internet content" and access to web-based email and chat services.

 

[simongr]

Bloody hell! Why can't people who want to watch cough not buy one of these so that the rest of us dont have to be hampered

 

[Ikara]

The simple solution is for the flight attendants not to hand out the coughagraphs and then they can't play it.

JB

 

[moa999]

How do they know it was net content and not just content on the hard drive.

I have had the (dis)pleasure of having to call a FA to report a passenger on a BA747-400 upper-deck who was watching a very explicit and hardcore movie on a LHR-SFO flight during the middle of the night.

 

[kyle]

How do they know it was net content and not just content on the hard drive.

I have had the (dis)pleasure of having to call a FA to report a passenger on a BA747-400 upper-deck who was watching a very explicit and hardcore movie on a LHR-SFO flight during the middle of the night.

So you were peeking at what he/she was watching? Was it illegal though:?:

 

[beardoc]

Given that that same article suggests that QANTAS will offer a live feed in 2009, could it have something to do with QANTAS have decided that the costs of the service were too much for QANTAS and offering a limited subset of content is much cheaper, and they're just blaming "cough surfing" as a reason to do it?

I think this is just as likely to be the case.

 

[oz_mark]

Given that that same article suggests that QANTAS will offer a live feed in 2009, could it have something to do with QANTAS have decided that the costs of the service were too much for QANTAS and offering a limited subset of content is much cheaper, and they're just blaming "cough surfing" as a reason to do it?

I think this is just as likely to be the case.

I think there is an implementation issue, as I have seen versions of the report around that make no reference to the cough issue.

http://www.streem.com.au/technology/6397-live-net-no-more-on-a380s

 

[Keith009]

Goodo, so I won't have to arrive with an aching neck if the person next to me decides to watch cough.



Back on topic, can't they simply implement filters of some sort to block out 'inappropriate content'?

 

[simongr]

Webfilters wouldnt necessarily prevent people downloading via peer to peer - though I expect some blocking of that as well.

 

[dot]

Just as long as they cache AFF!

Seriously, I doubt that cough is the cause of them not rolling out the service. They have filters on the QP shared PCs, it would make sense to implement similar technology in the air if they are satisfied with it's use in the QP.

 

[bambbbam2]

I have had the (dis)pleasure of having to call

Why did you 'have' to?

 

[simongr]

I was wondering the same as well - I never look at another pax's laptop in flight - but I guess if sat in whY you may not have the option of not seeing what is on their screen?

 

[moa999]

I was sitting aisle centre-right in J, he was aisle right-side slightly in front and I was reading a book in a sleep-mode cabin with all the lights out. Then all of a sudden noticed a new light source from a large laptop out of the corner of my eye and couldn't help noticing the movie playing on it.

Number of kids in the J cabin as well.

 

[oz_mark]

QANTAS has denied offering limited internet access on its new A380 in order to stop passengers from surfing cough websites.

The airline confirmed its new flagship carrier will not have full internet access as initially promised, because of "technical issues" encountered by their connectivity provider OnAir, and not because of fears passengers would access cough.

Qantas denies A380 internet cough link | Herald Sun

 

[tscharke]

a little unclear here - are AA/Aircell and QF/Panasonic using the same ground-2-air wifi technology?

AA is not filtering
QF is filtering!

Are they both routing the bandwidth to the passengers? and just that AA have chosen not to filter?

or

Is Aircell offering public access and QF using some private frequency which is then routed to passengers?

either way QF is screwed -as speed would then be severely limited on a flight full of happy lappy owners wanting a piece of silicon pie!

if that is the case then, I wonder why the satellite method wasnt considered by QF as I think(?) it offers higher speeds?

in the end tho one thing is certain - it would only take a couple of drop outs or to experience a dial-up like speed to put me off for good!


edit:: actually it doesn't make sense that Aircell are offering public access as it would then be available on all carriers!!!!! any techies out there in the know? Mal?

 

[NM]

Its a pretty simple exercise to filter and cache the content inside the aircraft. This has the advantage of limiting the actual data transfer volume (for which Qantas will be required to pay). So rather than trying to block inappropriate content, it sounds like they plan to only permit access to a set of known suitable sites. Obviously Qantas' own site would be one that is permitted. But they have not indicated what else would be permitted.

Of course the cynics may suggest this is mainly a cost saving exercise by maximising the ability to cache on-board and hence limit the cost exposure for actual data transfers. The blocking of cough may just be a marketing exercise to ensure they are seen to be addressing an important issue.

 

[tscharke]

so...
working on Aircell's claim of 1.5Mbps
add the QF A380
presume everyone in F,J & PE will connect up
and bingo! you're in the dial-up speed "depths of hell"


yeah, I'm sold!

 

[tscharke]

AND then you get a passenger onboard like simongr who starts up their bittorrent

 

[NM]

so...
working on Aircell's claim of 1.5Mbps
add the QF A380
presume everyone in F,J & PE will connect up
and bingo! you're in the dial-up speed "depths of hell"


yeah, I'm sold!

Hence my belief of what is driving the on-board cache/filter process.

 

[tscharke]

don't hear the americans making noise about AA not filtering! hope we aren't turning into a bunch of whingers!!!

...and there are always http tunnels or web proxies that will allow the nudies to sneak through