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Friday, April 18, 2008

EU: Go ahead, talk on a cell phone in flight

By Steve Pounds | Friday, April 18, 2008, 05:26 PM

The European Union has agreed to allow the use of cellular phones in-flight.

The loosening of rules is aimed at pleasing the high-priced business traveler. But I wonder if they won’t regret it in the end.

In the early-Nineties, they were the only ones carrying mobile phones. Now everybody’s got them.

Sure, there are restrictions on the number of calls that can be made at any one time. And flight attendants will have the authority to shut somebody up who’s too loud.

It just doesn’t seem workable to me. People always talk too loudly on their mobiles. Are you ready for mobile phones on commercial airliners?

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Get out your brackets (again)!

By Bob Keefe | Friday, April 18, 2008, 01:23 PM

Call it a techie version of the Final Four.

Two weeks after hosting the NCAA college basketball championship, San Antonio this weekend hosts another collegiate championship - the NCCDC or National Collegiate Cyber Defense Competition.

Defending national champion Texas A&M University will try to retain its title as teams from across the country face off to decide who can play the best defense - computer network defense, that is - against opposing teams of would-be hackers.

In the tourney - the first round begins today - teams are responsible for running an operational computer network for a fictional business, complete with e-mail, Web sites, data files and users. They have to keep the network running as an opposing team tries to hack into the network and shut it down with computer bugs and other types of real-world computer maladies.

Along with the Aggies, other teams left standing from the field of 56 in this year’s April Madness include Mt. San Antonio College of Los Angeles (home of the Mounties, for those you playing along); the University of Louisville (that would be the Cardinals); Rochester Institute of Technology (Go Tigers!); Baker College of Flint, Mich. and the Community College of Baltimore County.

Apparently the Alamodome was booked this weekend. The cyber-tourney is being held at the Hilton San Antonio Airport Hotel.

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