Imagine you are calmly browsing around duty free at Heathrow airport. You’ve checked in your bags, you’ve had a coffee, you’ve checked Facebook, you neither know nor care what time it is, because you know you’ve plenty of spare time, and now your loved one is texting you to wish you bon voyage.

Or… what's this?

It isn’t a loved one. It’s your airline telling you it knows exactly how far away you are from your gate and that you should start running - now.

Airline specialist SITA has been explaining at a conference in Brussels how the air transport industry could use technology to discover where someone is, based on their mobile phone. Airlines could use the technology to find out if a passenger is on time for his/her flight, if they are likely to show up, if they are in a congested area and whether or not they should be prompted to head to the gate.

This is obviously an excellent marketing opportunity - mobile advertising revenue is predicted to hit $14bn by 2012 - as phone settings can offer information on which languages the user speaks and what their preferences are.

And there are ways of finding out who is in the room with you and automatically accessing their contacts list. Then you could change your phone mode depending on what you want to share and who with.
It’s a bit scary, but no scarier than what we already have, according to Jim Peters, chief technology officer of SITA.

“There’s going to be spam, there are going to be viruses, there’s going to be people trying to get into your keylogger; expect them, they won’t go away,“ he said.

“We will see the same kind of issues in this environment that we’ve seen on the internet. But the underlying technology is there to handle it, and there will have to be careful handling.

“I don’t want the boogie man knowing where my kids are. But for our kids and the digitally-enabled generation, it’s not scary for them. They’re not held up by these barriers, it’s going to be about what’s socially acceptable behaviour and what’s not.”

Ignoring the security issues, and provided the technology remains in “safe” hands, I would be torn between convenience and wanting to protect my privacy. I will probably think it’s fine until the adverts start coming…

By Janie Davies

In a traditional Chinese restaurant in central Beijing, the waitresses dart around in full length silk gowns and enormous floral headdresses, carrying buckets of water and paper lanterns containing small candles.

They curtsey and greet us all in Chinese, before whipping out their handheld, electronic pads to take our orders. Later, our host and interpreter, wearing a shiny pink Bluetooth headset, laughs as she tries to translate the symbolism of each dish into something we can relate to.

And overlooking Beijing’s Olympic stadium, affectionately named the 'birds nest', I have to remind myself that China is still emerging. Everything is geared up towards the 2008 Olympics, from special lighting along the highways, to the corporate neon signs lighting up the high rise sprawl.

It is clear already that the Games are going to leave an enormous legacy and the anticipation is in the air. The preparations for Beijing 2008 are immense. Atos Origin, IT partner of the International Olympic Committee, has had a team here since 2004, working with the Beijing Organising Committee and local and international technology firms.

There will be 4000 IT experts and 21,600 media representatives involved in the event that will cover 28 sports, across 70 venues and seven cities. And when that’s all over, the systems will be modified for the Paralympics Games in September.

It was 1932 when stop watches and the human eyes proved insufficient and officials turned to newsreel film to determine that US runner Eddie Tolan was winner of the 100 meters race. Since then the Games has evolved from telex to computer punch cards, live coverage and eventually the internet.

The Beijing Games are meant to be the most-technologically enabled ever - and while I’ve only just heard of Qinhuangdao and Tianjin, I can see why Chinese cities are ready for it.

By Janie Davies

Free laptop with every operating system!

Well, not yet, but surely it's only a matter of time.

The recent downward trend in the price of fully-featured Windows laptops with huge hard disks rather than Flash storage indicates that this type of system may soon be given away as part of software licensing deals.

Intel reckons sub-$300 notebook PCs based on its Atom processors will be available next year, but you only have to look at the full-specification Windows XP portables already being sold by the likes of HP, Acer, Toshiba and Fujitsu Siemens for under £300 to wonder how this type of hardware will be sold in the future.

Vendors rarely charge what they think something is worth, only what they think a particular market is willing to pay for it, depending on a number of geographical and economic variables. Hence the price disparity between computers, mobile phones and other electronic devices sold in developing countries, compared to what they typically go for in western Europe.

One obvious question is how laptop manufacturers make any sort of worthwhile margin out of selling systems at such a low price? Either manufacturing and distribution costs have fallen through the floor or they have been charging completely over the odds in the past. Probably, both are true.

By Martin Courtney

The transport sector is in a period of change. It has discovered technology. Train operators, airlines and bus companies are scrabbling to get a piece of the high-tech action.

Some projects are intended to improve communication with passengers while others are meant to entice travellers. The electronic revolution is at its most aggressive in the airline industry, where airlines are looking to technology to improve internal efficiencies and entice passengers away from rivals. The International Air Transport Association says the sector is on course to meet its target of having 100 per cent electronic tickets by the end of next year.

Most major airlines have expressed an interest in, if not started offering, online access to travellers on flights.

But this apparent interest didn’t stop Boeing axing its Connexion by Boeing in-flight internet service last month.

The aircraft manufacturer says it conducted a detailed analysis and concluded the anticipated market for high-speed in-flight internet systems has not materialised. It will write off $320m (£168m) as a result of the venture.

But airlines subscribed to the service have reacted angrily to Boeing’s decision and some are seeking compensation. So who is right? Boeing and its market analysis or the airlines that are determined to cram as much technology into planes as possible?

The industry is now hell bent on installing technology to allow passengers to use their mobile phones on flights.

Last week Ryanair announced, subject to regulatory approval, that it is to start offering onboard mobile facilities from the middle of next year.

When asked about the potential aggravation factor of mobiles on flights prior to its announcement, chief executive Michael O’Leary is reported as responding: ‘Why should I care, if it is generating some money?’

I am, quite tragically, rather attached to my mobile. I feel ever so slightly lost on the rare occasions I leave it at home.

But there is a time and a place for using mobile phones, laptops and PDAs. The technology generation seems to have lost all sense of etiquette and appropriateness when it comes to communication. I dread the day when I am stuck on a 10-hour flight and the person next to me shouts into their phone: ‘I’m on the plane’.

Technology in its rightful place is a brilliant thing and innovation should be applauded. But technology for technology’s sake should be discouraged.