No wireless on Dreamliner...

Good thing I don't fly often, since today I was excited to try to find wireless connections, Boeing scrapped plans for a wireless entertainment system on its new 787 "Dreamliner". Really though when I heard about it I wondered how they were going to be able to pull it off. It's obvious we aren't quite ready yet:

SEATTLE (AP) - Boeing has scrapped plans for a wireless entertainment system on its new 787 "Dreamliner," about eight months before the plane's first scheduled flight.

But the change won't delay the new plane's assembly, and going with a system of wires rather than antennas actually will trim pounds from the weight-conscious 787, Boeing officials said.

"We're putting in about 50 pounds of wiring and taking out about 200 pounds of other gear," said Mike Sinnett, director of 787 systems. "And from a schedule point of view, it makes life easier for us."

Problems with the wireless system became clear in December, Sinnett said: "A number of key indicators started to go bad."