In message , at 09:51:38 on Thu, 5 Apr
2012, Graeme Wall remarked:
Emirates aeroplanes are now equipped on certain routes with equipment
that allows in-flight mobile phone service.

BA have had built in mobile phones on some routes for several years
now.

There's a possibility for confusion between planes with seat-back (or
other) "built-in" phones which you can use, and being able to operate
your own mobile phone from within the plane.

Being pedantic they are both mobile phone services.

That's why I wanted to clarify the difference between the two cases, to
avoid confusion.

One is a phone service that's mobile because planes move around, the
other allows use of a subscriber's regular GSM (mobile) phone.
--
Roland Perry

On 05/04/2012 10:04, Roland Perry wrote:
In message , at 09:51:38 on Thu, 5 Apr
2012, Graeme Wall remarked:
Emirates aeroplanes are now equipped on certain routes with equipment
that allows in-flight mobile phone service.

BA have had built in mobile phones on some routes for several years
now.

There's a possibility for confusion between planes with seat-back (or
other) "built-in" phones which you can use, and being able to operate
your own mobile phone from within the plane.

Being pedantic they are both mobile phone services.

That's why I wanted to clarify the difference between the two cases, to
avoid confusion.

One is a phone service that's mobile because planes move around,

AIUI it uses mobile phone technology where available, I assume it uses
sat-phone technology when out over the Atlantic.

the
other allows use of a subscriber's regular GSM (mobile) phone.

Which uses exactly the same technology as the built-in phones. The
difference being that the planes' on-board systems (non-phone) have been
proved to be immune from interference by random models of domestic
mobile phones.

As an aside Varig allowed mobile phone use except during take off and
landing some years ago.


--
Graeme Wall
This account not read, substitute trains for rail.
Railway Miscellany at http://www.greywall.demon.co.uk/rail

In message , at 10:20:28 on Thu, 5 Apr
2012, Graeme Wall remarked:
Emirates aeroplanes are now equipped on certain routes with equipment
that allows in-flight mobile phone service.

BA have had built in mobile phones on some routes for several years
now.

There's a possibility for confusion between planes with seat-back (or
other) "built-in" phones which you can use, and being able to operate
your own mobile phone from within the plane.

Being pedantic they are both mobile phone services.

That's why I wanted to clarify the difference between the two cases, to
avoid confusion.

One is a phone service that's mobile because planes move around,

AIUI it uses mobile phone technology where available, I assume it uses
sat-phone technology when out over the Atlantic.

I think you'll find it's satellite everywhere. Apart from anything else
it's prohibited (in USA for example) to make cellular calls from an
aircraft, and the transnational billing issues would be a nightmare.

the other allows use of a subscriber's regular GSM (mobile) phone.

Which uses exactly the same technology as the built-in phones. The
difference being that the planes' on-board systems (non-phone) have
been proved to be immune from interference by random models of domestic
mobile phones.

The plane has a picocell - the mobiles used by customers don't contact
base stations on the ground. The lack of interference with the plane's
systems is largely a result of the low transmits powers needed over such
a short distance. The backhaul is then by satellite, although I think
one day there may some experimentation with "shortwave" links to
dedicated base stations.

As an aside Varig allowed mobile phone use except during take off and
landing some years ago.

That would be a third and completely different scenario (and one I can
see little evidence of, although if it was likely to be acceptable
anywhere, Brazil is the kind of place to look).
--
Roland Perry

On Apr 4, 8:51*pm, wrote:
Fairly sure there was a place called Automat in Bellevue road
Southampton UK till around 1980 ish. No idea if the food was any good
though.

The 'fina' petrol station at the old Norman cross roundabout on the A1
used to be completely robotic for a few years in the 70s. Note
acceptors on the petrol pumps, and an automat for selling hot and cold
food. There was an Automat in one of the garages in Yorkshire, too,
filled up twice a day by a mad old woman in a headscarf and a dog that
used to piddle on yer car.

On Apr 3, 3:12*am, wrote:
I recall a trip to Scotland in the 1950s where a payphone was wheeled
into the restaurant car whilst at Waverley, much as we used to drop
one into ships arriving at Boston Docks.

These were merely tied in by extension cords to a landline, right?

Oh yes. There was a fairly lenghty layover while they changed
engines, filled water tanks, and replenished the galley.

The US used to do that with premium trains when at major stations or
terminals.
It's a good thing. They could do with it now, there are huge chunks
of the praires where I can't get a cell signal!

"The aircraft, an Airbus A340, is fitted with a system which
stops mobiles from interfering with a plane's electronics.

Well, sort of. The aircraft is equiped with a pico cell (miniature cell tower)
that instructs the phones to reduce their power output to the minimum. There's
no active interference protection.

wrote:

Asda, is owned by Wall-Mart, but trades under
the ASDA name.

Asda UK seem to be grocery stores with a smaller non-grocery (clothing,
electronics) selection, similar to Tesco. Walmart in the US started out as
department stores (clothing, dry goods), expanded to include a small grocery
selection, and now certain "Super Walmarts" have a full grocery selection.
Walmart in the US also has some smaller grocery only outlets.

Tesco's experiment in the US - Fresh & Easy, smaller grocery only outlets seems
to have failed. They've closed a number of them over the last year. Shame - I
liked them.

In message , at 07:15:25 on
Thu, 5 Apr 2012, Robert Neville remarked:
"The aircraft, an Airbus A340, is fitted with a system which
stops mobiles from interfering with a plane's electronics.

Well, sort of. The aircraft is equiped with a pico cell (miniature cell tower)
that instructs the phones to reduce their power output to the minimum. There's
no active interference protection.

The interference protection is achieved by that action of "reducing
power". Which is caused by the picocell. It's just different ways of
saying the same thing.
--
Roland Perry

On Thu, 05 Apr 2012 07:22:37 -0600
Robert Neville wrote:
Tesco's experiment in the US - Fresh & Easy, smaller grocery only outlets seems
to have failed. They've closed a number of them over the last year. Shame - I
liked them.

They probably made some basic mistakes like selling real cheese instead of
20 "varieties" of processed gunk that you usually find in US supermarkets
or steaks not big enough to feed an african family for a week.

B2003

In message , at 07:22:37 on
Thu, 5 Apr 2012, Robert Neville remarked:
Asda UK seem to be grocery stores with a smaller non-grocery (clothing,
electronics) selection, similar to Tesco. Walmart in the US started out as
department stores (clothing, dry goods), expanded to include a small grocery
selection, and now certain "Super Walmarts" have a full grocery selection.

The traditional Walmarts are very like Wilko in the UK.
--
Roland Perry