Monday, July 14, 2003
Air Marshal PDAs are Field Flop
Posted by Jason Dunn in "NEWS" @ 05:00 AM
"The Transportation Security Administration spent $6.9 million to outfit the federal air marshal corps with voice-capable wireless handheld computers for in-flight use and then subsequently banned any voice usage because of potential interference with cockpit functions, according to interviews with several air marshals. The handheld devices, made by Palm Inc. and commonly known as “personal digital assistants” (PDAs), have become a running joke, in part because they are unwieldy to use, according to interviews more than a dozen air marshals and administrators within the air marshal program."
This article is funny for two reasons: one, that even Palm devices are too hard to use for some people, which shows the relative immaturity of the PDA industry. We still have a ways to go before everyone can use these things. The second reason this is funny is that before spending $6.9 million dollars, you should do a small trial deployment to find potential issues prior to roll-out...like the device you picked being banned from the aircraft. :roll:
This article is funny for two reasons: one, that even Palm devices are too hard to use for some people, which shows the relative immaturity of the PDA industry. We still have a ways to go before everyone can use these things. The second reason this is funny is that before spending $6.9 million dollars, you should do a small trial deployment to find potential issues prior to roll-out...like the device you picked being banned from the aircraft. :roll:
