Laptop batteries were a big issue and we must have heard from ten sources with differing opinions. The keynote speaker even had an opinion: “There is a 50/50 chance the airlines will ban all carry-on devices”. The latest exploding battery scenario may fuel the discourse. Check this out this web link.

Wiring and unwiring the new airplanes from Boeing and Airbus was another topic of great interest. It seems that with all the issues surrounding international governmental frequency approval and the vagaries of the technology, wiring may be a backup proposition

It sure is difficult to interview the movie content suppliers (excluding a couple). We tried to get a reading of “Snakes On A Plane”, and they were too busy to see us – sorry.

Thanks to Astronics for the best barge party and shoeshine, OnAir for the upscale event of the show, and the WAEA for their hospitality and our new ability to salsa dance.

Hyper buzz - Thales showed a really incredible, small satcom. ITAN had a sweet moving map display. VT Miltope`s new Visionary IFE system that uses ``lossy coax technology.`` AeroMobile is testing the slickest, 2-box GSM telephony hardware. Strangely no iPod-based hardware was shown at the conference. The eDigital folks had a nifty new portable player with a built in game controller. We really liked the diagnostic screen that, among other things, tells the interrogator the condition of the battery. Avionica’s simple and small gatelink product was light and sophisticated. Lumexis with their fiber-to-the-seat design offering HDTV and captioning. DTI has signed Electronic Arts, which adds games like The Sims 2 to their huge gaming coffering. IMS has a trendy new colored “skin” to their portable. And last but not least, the incredible technology demonstration room at the Panasonic booth.