It
was just a short time ago that we blogged
about the imminent possibility of using your cell phone while you fly. I was mixed on the idea. On the one hand, if
you’ve got an important call to make: say, you forgot to turn off the oven at home…or maybe you just remembered
that you forgot to hit “send” for that most important business email. Call your assistant and ask her to do
it. But if riding on public transportation with babbling cell phone talkers (you know who you are!) provides any insight
into the matter, well, perhaps cell phones are best left turned off or stored in the overhead bin.
But the
whole issue may be moot. A new study shows that, contrary
to what we’ve read recently, cell phones can cause problems on flights. The study, by CMU’s Department of Engineering
and Public Policy, discovered that cell phone use and other portable electronic devices might actually interfere with
the normal operation of critical airline components more so than previously believed.
If you’re
really interested in the details, you can read the study in the March issue of IEEE Spectrum, a monthly magazine for technology
professionals. In the meantime, let’s keep those cell phones in the upright and locked position…um,
wait…oh, you know what I mean.