Wifi On Flights Out Of Australia?

A recent article (Here’s when you will be able to access free Wi-Fi on planes), over at the New Daily site examined the introduction of WiFi on airlines servicing the Australian flying public.

As someone who has made numerous international trips since 2008, I know how frustrating it can be to feel like you are cut off from the rest of the world while flying at 30,000 feet.

While it can be a positive experience to be able to ignore the constant demands of your smartphone or tablet device, and spend anywhere from two to 24 hours watching inflight movies, many travellers do need to be in contact, even if it is intermittent contact, with friends, family or their work colleagues.

Happily, things are starting to change, albeit slowly, and the complete disconnect from the online world during long-haul flights looks like it will soon be a thing of the past for Australian travellers, with the New Daily reporting that "...several local airlines [are] planning to roll out in-flight Wi-Fi."

This image shows the current state of WiFi availability with some of the major airlines servicing the Australian market. It would appear that Qantas is going to offer free WiFi to their passengers, although the article does not mention whether there will be restrictions on the amount of data that can be used by passengers.

If it is anything like the miniscule 10MB limit that Emirates are currently offering, you might as well leave your mobile devices turned off! On the other hand, if Qantas is going to offer free unlimited Wifi to all passengers, then I for one will be more than happy to make that airline my international carrier of choice.

According to the article, "Qantas plans to have the technology installed by late February, and Virgin Airlines is expected to follow suit later in the year."

I can't see the budget airlines, Jetstar and Tigerair, offering free Wifi anytime soon, let alone offering the service at all, but I live in hope.

So, what do you think, dear reader; can you live without a constant stream of tweets, Facebook updates, and Instagram uploads while flying to your next holiday destination, or are you, like me, so addicted to your mobile device that you begin to experience withdrawal symptoms two hours into your flight? Your comments await...

Site of The Day: 13.Org - Treasures of NYC

The New York City television station, THIRTEEN currently has 24 great programs ranging in length from around 28-minutes to 58-minutes.

As the series name suggests, each program examines an organisation or institution based in New York City, and of those I have watched to date about the Flatiron Building, St. Patrick's Cathedral, The Cooper Hewitt Museum and several more, I can attest they each offer great insight and information about the topic under examination.

I am sure that even resident New Yorkers will be rewarded with a new appreciation for many of the featured organisations when they watch the videos.

Unfortunately, not all of the films in the Treasures of New York collection seem to be viewable from Australia, which is where I live. When clicking links to some of the films I keep getting stopped by the message: We're sorry, but this video is not available in your region due to rights restrictions.

Visitors to Thirteen.Org from other parts of the world may have different results. Of course, if you live in the United States you should have no trouble viewing all the films on the site.

Here is a 57-minute video which serves as a great introduction to the Treasures of New York series. This examines the Landmarks Preservation Movement which is responsible for helping to save thousands of potentially endangered buildings across the five city boroughs. Without the Landmarks Commission, New York would not be the same wonderfully diverse and fascinating city it undoubtedly is today.

Note: For a time I was having trouble watching some online videos using Google Chrome. Happily it didn't take me long to fix the issue after I eventually asked 'Dr. Google' for the answer. This page, Fix Videos That Won’t Play in Chrome, provided the cure I was looking for. The problem is due to the fact that my Chrome browser settings had been set to HTTPS Everywhere. When I remove the 'S' (security) designation, videos played without a problem. Videos also played in a Google Chrome INCOGNITO window without issue. Given that the Safari browser on my system is not plagued with the same problem, I tend to use that as my default browser for watching online videos.

Note also that the HTTPS Everywhere setting even stops the embedded video on this page appearing on my iMac! Again, opening this page in a separate Incognito window solves the issue. To confuse matters even more, when I open this page on my PC laptop, my second generation iPad, and my Galaxy S7 smartphone it appears exactly as it should. Go figure!

UPDATE: Several hours after adding this blog post it occurred to me to check YouTube to see if the videos were available there, and lo and behold, most, though not all of them were. Sadly, the above video is not on the Thirteen.Org YouTube page. Still, if videos don't load on the organisation website, you can always try their YouTube page.

Sigh... After more than 25 years of using computers, I am amazed by how easy it is to still be confounded and frustrated by them.

Oh, and here is the link to the Thirteen.Org Treasures of New York section on YouTube. Enjoy...

San Antonio's Spanish Missions World Heritage Site

SAN ANTONIO – San Antonio’s five Spanish colonial missions – four of them already protected as a national park – are being celebrated as one of the newest United Nations’ World Heritage Sites in a ceremony attended by world dignitaries and local community members. Representatives from the United States, Spain, and Mexico gathered with thousands of San Antonio citizens in a celebration ceremony at Mission San José to formally welcome the San Antonio Missions into the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization’s (UNESCO) World Heritage List. A World Heritage designation brings awareness to the “outstanding universal value” and “cultural significance” of these missions as they join the ranks of other important global sites, including the Great Wall of China, Stonehenge, and the Giza Pyramid of Egypt. Designation as a World Heritage Site reflects the global interest in and historical impact of a certain location, which generates an increase in tourism to the site. Below is a statement from Suzanne Dixon, Senior Director, Regional Operations of the National Parks Conservation Association: “This celebration ceremony is the culmination of nine years of work by this community and its allies to make this designation a reality. The World Heritage List recognizes the most significant natural and cultural sites on the planet, and our missions have secured this prestigious and well-deserved distinction. The San Antonio missions are the country’s largest collection of Spanish colonial resources. They now stand among Earth’s greatest natural and cultural landmarks.” ### About National Parks Conservation Association Since 1919, the nonpartisan National Parks Conservation Association (NPCA) has been the leading voice in safeguarding our national parks. NPCA and its more than one million members and supporters work together to protect and preserve our nation’s natural, historical, and cultural heritage for future generations.