The Japanese transport ministry has decreed that Wi-Fi enabled handhelds are not permitted on their airlines because of safety concerns. They’re convinced that the electromagnetic waves emitted by consoles like the DS and the PSP can interfere with aircraft navigation systems and other crucial devices, says The Hollywood Reporter. As of last Monday the use of these consoles was made illegal.

This is a pretty sad development; the only reason that airline flights are even remotely bearable is because we can play games on the go. Without it we’re trapped in a claustrophobic hell of screaming kids, smelly feet and bad food. Let’s hope and pray the rest of the aviation industry doesn’t follow their lead, otherwise you might want to consider alternative forms of transport.

Airlines are not the only institutions having difficulty with the proliferation of Wi-Fi. Recently prisons in both the UK and Sweden decided to ban all next-gen games consoles for fear that their Wi-Fi capabilities were being used to coordinate terrorist attacks. A bit of an over-reaction, perhaps, but they went and banned them anyway.

Via Next-Gen

Bookmark It

This entry was posted on Wednesday, October 3rd, 2007 at 12:51 pm by Bulent Yusuf
DS, Misc news.