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FAA Bans Recalled Apple Laptops from Flights

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Re: FAA Bans Recalled Apple Laptops from Flights

#231

Post by monksy »

peterburkimsher wrote: post #73
1e-9 wrote: post #39

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Along with the hassle of opening the laptop, powering it on, and clicking About This Mac; you would have the security issue of entering your password while surrounded by other people and cameras. None of the verification options seem very appealing.

I flew Etihad from Sydney to Abu Dhabi last week. They warned transiting customers that phones and laptops must be charged up before passing airport security in the UK or US. The TSA already requires that laptops and phones must be powered-on on demand to "prove that they're real". That's already a cybersecurity risk. I'm relieved that the banned laptops doesn't include my 15" mid-2014 MacBook Pro, or my dad's hand-m…

The only place that I've had this issue was connecting through Istanbul. It was weird to wait for them to see it boot. They were fine with seeing a bios screen.

Re: FAA Bans Recalled Apple Laptops from Flights

#232

Post by warrenm »

Iolaum wrote: post #160
jandrese wrote: post #127

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yeah, someone would have to leave a Raspberry Pi zero sized chunk of explosive out to put up a boot screen and something close enough to a windows boot logo to pass a cursory visual inspection. In reality, the X-Ray should already make it pretty clear if there is something weird about the laptop's build. Turning on the machine is entirely unnecessary. Also, I have not been asked to turn on a laptop in many years, so…

The metal casing of many laptops reflects the xrays, hence you can't see anything inside them.

Not even close to true - just look at the scan monitor next time you fly: you can clearly see inside any electronics going through the scanner

Re: FAA Bans Recalled Apple Laptops from Flights

#233

Post by zrobotics »

vanilla_nut wrote: post #230
r0m4n0 wrote: post #224

Just adding my mbp anecdote. I purchased my MacBook Pro in 2015. A year ago I noticed the top 15% of my trackpad wasn’t clicking. I did a little research and saw that this is sometimes the first symptom of an expanded battery and to bring it in. I finally made an appointment a few months ago and came in to have it investigated further. In the appointment they told me they “disassembled and confirmed everything was fu…

A growing problem since Tim Cook took over as CEO seems to be Apple techs trying to slither their way out of providing service. I've dealt with a number of flat-out lies that I had to actually call techs out on to get my devices serviced. Examples: I bought Airpods last year. When they were about 10 months old, it was December in NYC, where I live. It gets a little cold, but not that cold -- freezing point is about t…

"Bluetooth just doesn't work well in the cold"

I really hope this is BS, but I wouldn't be surprised. Sad the tech couldn't come up with a better excuse than that, are you supposed to really believe that? Bluetooth isn't exactly a new Apple-specific technology, people have had years of experience already with Bluetooth devices.

Re: FAA Bans Recalled Apple Laptops from Flights

#234

Post by pushpop »

AlexDragusin wrote: post #107
Zanni wrote: post #87

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Indefinitely, because most people do not consider it a "fiasco." Have you seen what the batteries look like for, say, the new 13" Macbook Pro or the 12" Macbook? They're not bricks you could just feed into a slot. They're multi-part systems that distribute the battery through the gaps in the case. Fixing them in place means they don't need extra casing support, don't need to be near a specific edge and are flexible e…

Yes I've seen them and it's driven by the misguided quest for the thinnest, form over function devices while refusing to accept that battery technology is not yet up to the task. Particularly when you consider the volatile Lithium based tech which is sensitive to heat, let's put them in enclosed cases where lots of heat is generated, make them non removable, what could go wrong. Here I just put something rough togeth…

> Here I just put something rough together to demonstrate that it can be done even with the thin devices if the motivations were in the right place: https://www.ypson.com/hn/battery-thin-device.png Took me a few minutes, surely this can be done given the budgets and great engineers available in the employ of the major companies.

All you’ve done is drawn a few rectangles and added some labels to them. It doesn’t prove anything is possible. It’s not even detailed enough to be concept art let alone a technical design. You could just have easily drawn the same thing with circles and labelled it “worlds first fusion powered laptop” for all the technical merit that diagram had.

Re: FAA Bans Recalled Apple Laptops from Flights

#235

Post by adrianN »

kd0amg wrote: post #226
adrianN wrote: post #216

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You mean something like dying a fiery death because your laptop caught fire on a plane?

That's a lot rarer than a 5% chance. If 5% of these laptops exploded every few hours, there wouldn't be many of them left by now.

If the actual negative effects are a lot rarer than 5%, then the expected punishment should probably also be lighter.

Re: FAA Bans Recalled Apple Laptops from Flights

#236

Post by bparsons »

zrobotics wrote: post #233
vanilla_nut wrote: post #230

Earlier quoted context omitted.

A growing problem since Tim Cook took over as CEO seems to be Apple techs trying to slither their way out of providing service. I've dealt with a number of flat-out lies that I had to actually call techs out on to get my devices serviced. Examples: I bought Airpods last year. When they were about 10 months old, it was December in NYC, where I live. It gets a little cold, but not that cold -- freezing point is about t…

"Bluetooth just doesn't work well in the cold" I really hope this is BS, but I wouldn't be surprised. Sad the tech couldn't come up with a better excuse than that, are you supposed to really believe that? Bluetooth isn't exactly a new Apple-specific technology, people have had years of experience already with Bluetooth devices.

Weird. I use bluetooth headphones while skiing all the time. Never had an issue.

Re: FAA Bans Recalled Apple Laptops from Flights

#237

Post by magduf »

stronglikedan wrote: post #221
sanguy wrote: post #210

Flew yesterday out of Dulles and they were inspecting and ordering "no fly" on certain models. Was a complete shit-show.

I hope they at least have a separate line for that. Apple folks are used to waiting in extra long lines anyway, right?

Exactly. This sounds great to me: they should have a separate (long) line for the Apple customers, so people like me with Dells can just cruise right through security.

Re: FAA Bans Recalled Apple Laptops from Flights

#238

Post by magduf »

kingosticks wrote: post #183
eridius wrote: post #177

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Looks like the Dell XPS 13 uses a single rectangular battery, though it still requires unscrewing the whole case, disconnecting a battery cable, and then unscrewing the battery, so it's not something you can do on the fly. The 2018 MacBook Air battery isn't quite so neat and rectangular: https://d3nevzfk7ii3be.cloudfront.net/igi/HvCgVPqVQtVI5K5X.h... And you can see here how it fits into all of the available space in…

It's also worth nothing that the XPS has a 52Whr battery and the 2018 Air had a 50.3Whr battery. Although you probably get worse battery life with the XPS (config dependent maybe), you've stil got to hand it to Dell here.

Dell has some really good hardware design. I've been using the business-class Latitudes for years now (getting them a few years old off-lease; they're usually pretty lightly used in corporate settings), and they're extremely easy to work on. The old E4600/4610 models were really nice: they had a single captive screw on the back panel. Just loosen it and slide the panel off.

Just looking at the ifixit.com page linked above, the XPS looks very well-designed and easy to work on too, with just 8 screws holding the back panel on, while still being just as thin as a Macbook. It seems like Apple stuff is simply designed specifically to be hard to repair.

Re: FAA Bans Recalled Apple Laptops from Flights

#239

Post by 1e-9 »

sanguy wrote: post #210

Flew yesterday out of Dulles and they were inspecting and ordering "no fly" on certain models. Was a complete shit-show.

How were they determining if a model was banned? Was it serial number, Click "About This Mac", outward appearance, or some other method?

Re: FAA Bans Recalled Apple Laptops from Flights

#240

Post by magduf »

ribosometronome wrote: post #173
bumblebeard wrote: post #123

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I left a water bottle in my bag at SJC once. The TSA agent pulled me aside after I went through the scanner and pointed to it on the X-Ray to ask me what it was. I said something like "oh, oops, looks like I forgot my water bottle in there" and she asked me to take it out of the bag. She took a quick look at it and then just let me on the plane without making me dump it out or even opening the bottle. I guess that me…

Meanwhile, up at SFO, I had a few sips in a fancy water bottle. They wouldn't let me drink or dump the water. They escorted me, past like three bathrooms/water fountains, back to the other where I drank it while back in line.

Yep, that happened to me in a DC airport. American service is horrible.

By contrast, when I was trying to board my plane in Tokyo to return to the US, I again forgot to empty my water bottle, and was already through the line. The woman just asked if she could dump it, and she did: they had special containers there for the express purpose of dumping people's disallowed liquids. Of course, American security can't be bothered to implement a common-sense measure like this.

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