Crashing the IFE

[Flashback]

Slashdot | Crashing an In-Flight Entertainment System

rabblerouzer writes "Hugh Thompson, who was interviewed by Slashdot on the dangers of e-voting, now has a cool blog entry on how he was able to bring down the gaming/movie console on an airplane. He calls it one of the most interesting examples of a software 'abuse case' he has ever seen." Fortunately the IFE system is totally disjoint from the avionics.

Obviously... he has never flown Qantas, where it will crash all by itself

 

[Tooner]

Obviously... he has never flown Qantas, where it will crash all by itself

Very true Flashware! today's effort on QF575 to Perth was spectacular: I wasn't paying much attention, but it must have crashed at least 5 times, with abject apologies / consultation with engineers on the ground each time.:shock:

 

[Mal]

Unfortunately the site that contains what the person did to crash the IFE has been /.'d (for those who don't know, /.'d is where a site is talked about on an Internet site called Slashdot and then crashes due to the amount of visitors and traffic to the talked about site... Slashdot is a really popular site for people to visit to read up on geeky IT type of things)

Any computer system can crash. You've just got to induce it to crash by giving it too much data. Some computers are easier than others (cough, Qantas AVOiD).

 

[NM]

Very true Flashware! today's effort on QF575 to Perth was spectacular: I wasn't paying much attention, but it must have crashed at least 5 times, with abject apologies / consultation with engineers on the ground each time.:shock:

Hmm, I thought QF575 was supposed to be a 747-300 aircraft. Did they swap it today for a 747-400? The -300s don't have AVOD, just the standard loop system.

 

[serfty]

I was able to read the site before the /. took effect. Not really relevant to Qantas.

However, the main issue with Qantas' AVOD seems to result from repeated attempts to use a control without waiting up to 10 seconds for a response.

BE patient and it seems to work ok.

Now, last year there was an issue when travelling back from HKG. Among others my Daughter was travelling with me. She was in the seat behind me and her system 'crashed' three times on her. Beside her was my niece who had no problem. I had instructed both to be patient when using it. Checking up on things I found that with the control stowed in the armrest slot, my daughter kept bumping it inadvertently, even resting against the buttons on occasions (she does seem to move around alot).

By ensuring the control was resting out of the way on her tray table the problems ceased.

 

[Flashback]

Hmm, I thought QF575 was supposed to be a 747-300 aircraft. Did they swap it today for a 747-400? The -300s don't have AVOD, just the standard loop system.

Excuse my ignorance for not knowing exactly what the AVOD contains.. but the last time I took QF583 SYD-PER (743) we had a choice of games, 6 movies, etc. Is this AVOD? Or does AVOD give you a much wider range?

Edit: not sure if you can check the rego of the aircraft still.. but FYI flight was 21/01/2007 QF0583.

 

[NM]

Excuse my ignorance for not knowing exactly what the AVOD contains.. but the last time I took QF583 SYD-PER (743) we had a choice of games, 6 movies, etc. Is this AVOD? Or does AVOD give you a much wider range?

Edit: not sure if you can check the rego of the aircraft still.. but FYI flight was 21/01/2007 QF0583.

No, its not Audio and Video on Demand. Its the old multi-channel loop system that has just been replaced from the 747-400 fleet. Its the new AVOD system that has been very unreliable to date. The old multi-channel loop system has been pretty stable since it was first installed - but can still have its off day.

 

[serfty]

... .. but FYI flight was 21/01/2007 QF0583.

EBW, a 743 with loop IFE.

Here's more on AVOD: Flying with Us - In the Air - Entertainment - AVOD

With Qantas AVOD is currently only available on B744's and A333's.

 

[serfty]

... today's effort on QF575 to Perth was spectacular: ...

EBX, a 743 with loop IFE, not AVOD.

 

[Flashback]

EBW, a 743 with loop IFE.

Here's more on AVOD: Flying with Us - In the Air - Entertainment - AVOD

With Qantas AVOD is currently only available on B744's and B333's.

Gee.. and to think I was impressed with that even though I ended up watching movies on my laptop the entire trip rather than using the IFE.

Do you pull that info down off EF?

 

[serfty]

... Do you pull that info down off EF?

No! (... If I told you I would have to shoot you! ...)

 

[Flashback]

No! (... If I told you I would have to shoot you! ...)

*puts on his bullet proof vest* Give me your best shot

 

[Tooner]

EBX, a 743 with loop IFE, not AVOD.

Apologies, my mistake I read it all too quickly, it was definitely on the loop, however given the number of times people had to request a re-boot, it almost was video on demand