Apps and Mobile Changing How We Fly
When cellular phones first hit the mainstream, the airline industry maintained a measured distance to keep mobile use at a minimum. Since 1991, the FCC had prohibited cellular use due to concerns that they could interfere with wireless networks on the ground, as well as disrupt Captain to traffic control communication. Passengers were instructed to turn mobile devices on “airplane mode” or even have mobile phones completely powered down for the duration of the flight.
Additionally, customer satisfaction reports showed consistent resistance to cell phone use, given the concern that voice calls may be a nuisance in such small quarters. Yet since the original iPhone release in 2007, cell phone use has dramatically changed, and just this year the ban on mobile use in airplanes has been lifted by regulators. This new freedom provides pilots and airlines the ultimate decision whether or not to allow cellular phone use in-flight.
There are still agencies such as the Department of Transportation (DOT) fighting to bring back the ban on cell phone use in flights, however the forward progress is an indicator that technology may be utilized more in the airline industry. As previously mentioned, the decision to allow cell phone use is currently up to individual airlines, and some are fully embracing new mobile technologies to add convenience for customers as well as efficiency across the board.
In-Flight Music
Yes, in-flight movie and music entertainment have been around since the VCR. But some airlines are taking in-flight entertainment to the next level, moving beyond in-flight radio and on to mobile apps.
One example is Air France, with their app Air France Music. The app is intended to help flyers discover new music given the region that they travel to. By giving passengers a “sensory” experience, Air France Music provides a unique selection of music onboard with rare and exclusive content from artists all over the world. Touted as helping passengers find, “music in the sky,” users can download and save the new tracks they enjoy to playlists.
However the app isn’t intended only for those flying - users with feet firmly planted on earth can interact with the app as well. Exclusive pieces of music are “hidden in the clouds,” and users can enrich playlists by lifting their mobile device up to the sky. Music notes appear in the app’s tracking screen, and by clicking on the note the user can view the artist, listen to the song, and save it if they wish. Every region from Paris to Tokyo to Buenos Aires have their own tracks, intended to give a nod to the cultural flavor of each region.
Gaming
Games aren’t just for kids, especially during a long flight. Virgin Airlines’ mobile app comes equipped with many tools most airlines include in mobile apps - check-in capability, flight status updates, and seat selection. However Virgin also offers in-flight entertainment by providing not only destination videos, but 2 video games to play during the flight. Similarly American Airlines is also in the gaming arena, offering a trivia game that passengers can play with each other over the WiFi network in-flight, providing entertainment and engagement with other flyers.
Mobile Boarding Passes
One of the biggest changes in 2014 was the release of mobile boarding passes. As a customer checks in for their flight, they have the option for which kind of boarding pass they would like, either printed, online, or mobile. Those who select mobile no longer need to visit an airport kiosk, agent, or print a pass at home. They simply need to scan the open mobile pass at the gate. Airlines that released this feature this year include US Airways, American Airlines, Southwest, and British Airways as well as several others.
For iOS users the mobile boarding pass brings another convenience. With the latest iOS 6 update Apple released the Passbook, a multi-functional app to store reward coupons, loyalty memberships, gift cards and of course, boarding passes. When checking in for flights and selecting the mobile boarding pass, these passes can be stored in a user’s Passbook for easy retrieval upon arriving at the airport.
Real Time Flight Tracking
Those tasked with picking up a friend at the airport tend to have the concern of flight delays. This concern could be alleviated by calling the airline or checking online to see the status of the specific flight. However new apps are available that not only alert you to whether the flight left on time, but will display real time progress of the aircraft, showing specifically where the plane is in the sky. This is great news for those traveling long distances who may have been slowed by turbulent weather or sped up by tailwinds.
The airline industry has been through a myriad of changes in recent years, and it’s refreshing to see the embrace of mobile apps. In fact this year American Airlines, fresh out of their own mobile app ideas, invited 60 developers to compete at SXSW to create the latest app to be supported by the airline. This demonstrates that the future is bright for those interested in building mobile apps for the airline industry.
Do you have an idea for mobile app development? Let us know and we’ll be happy to help you get started.
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Non Disclosure Agreements (NDA’s) and Non-Complete-Agreements
This article by Hunter Jensen, CEO of Barefoot Solutions, was originally published in the April 2008 edition of PHP Architect, a print magazine for PHP Professionals. It is the third article in a five part series on some of the different legal issues surrounding the web development industry.
As a PHP programmer, if you have ever worked on a project that is even remotely interesting, then surely you have come into contact with a Nondisclosure Agreement (NDA). If you have ever been employed in a medium to large sized company, then quite possibly you have been presented with a Noncompete Agreement. It is vitally important to your career that before you sign these documents, you understand the implications they may have on your future endeavors.
In a field that thrives on new ideas and rapid innovation, Nondisclosure and Noncompete Agreements have become major players in the competitive landscape of high tech industries. Companies and entrepreneurs feel compelled to protect their ideas while still having the need to share them with others. To solve this conflict of interest, many will require signed NDAs and/or Noncompetes before disclosing any trade secrets. One such proponent of NDAs is Sabeer Bhatia, the founder of Hotmail. Over the course of two years he collected over 400 NDAs from his friends, family, and employees – basically anyone that knew about his startup. He believes that his secrecy resulted in a significant head start on the competition, and in 1997 he sold Hotmail to Microsoft for $400 million.
This article will not be discussing how to draft NDAs and Noncompetes. You can go your whole career without the need to draft either of these documents. If you do have the need, I suggest you hire an attorney. What it will discuss is how to react when approached with these documents. When is it appropriate to sign an NDA? A Noncompete? What should I look for in each? What are some pitfalls to avoid? At the very least it should give you the confidence to read, understand, and make a decision on whether or not to sign one of these documents. Do not forget, you do not have to be a lawyer to understand legal documents, and nearly all contracts are negotiable.
NDAs – Secrets, Secrets are no fun
A Nondisclosure Agreement – also known as a Confidentiality or Secrecy Agreement – is a contract between at least two parties in which they agree to protect confidential information that is disclosed during the course of business. The two necessary parties are the Discloser and the Recipient. The Discloser is the party who originally possesses the confidential information. They disclose this information to the Recipient, who agrees to protect it in accordance with the terms of the agreement. In the programming world, confidential information can be any number of things including: general business ideas, code, database schemas, documentation, development tools and techniques, business processes and much more.
There are many different circumstances which could involve you being presented with an NDA. I am the owner of a Web development firm that focuses a good portion of our resources on startups. Often I am approached by entrepreneurs who would like me to provide a quote to build a Web application based on what they consider to be an innovative or bleeding edge idea. Understandably, they are uneasy with just disclosing their idea to me and my company. With our resources, we could surely be first and best to market if we were to try and poach their idea. So before they disclose any confidential information, they will send over an NDA for me to sign. This is a perfectly normal part of doing business, and I have signed several dozen NDAs over the last few years. As a programmer doing contract work, some business owners will require a signed NDA before giving you access to their code, schemas, or other technical information. Also, it is very common to sign an employment agreement which includes a nondisclosure clause. In these and other situations, it is quite often appropriate to sign an NDA. What is important is that you carefully examine the document, and make any changes that you need before you sign anything. Remember, with a little knowledge, contracts are both understandable and negotiable.
So what should you look for when examining a Nondisclosure Agreement? The clauses with major implications include the definition of confidential information, the exclusions of confidential information and the disclosure obligations and terms.
Any NDA should carefully define the nature of the confidential information that is being disclosed. This must be done without actually disclosing the information however, so it is generally described categorically. For instance, an agreement may include: PHP code, database schemas, and unique development processes. As the recipient, it is important that the definitions are not too broad, and are limited to what you actually may be receiving. Something like all business related information is too broad and should be avoided.
More important than the definition of confidential information are the exclusions of confidential information. Sometimes the best way to describe something is by describing what it is not. This is a list of situations in which information cannot be considered confidential. Usually the list will include situations where:
The recipient had prior knowledge of the information
The recipient gained the information independently or from other resources
The information is available to the public
This ensures that you do not sign away your right to share your own knowledge to others. The final important clause of an NDA is the disclosure obligations and terms. This section outlines the obligations a Recipient has to protect the confidential information and permissible reasons for disclosure. In my situation, I often need to consult my programmers and graphic designers in order to provide an accurate quote. So if I sign an NDA it is important that I be allowed to communicate. Some common ways of structuring these terms include:
Requiring that the Recipient use all ‘best efforts’ to maintain the confidentiality
Defining a purpose, such as providing a web development quote, and allowing disclosure only to fulfill that purpose
Requiring that the Recipient disclose only on a ‘need to know’ basis
Requiring that the Recipient protect this information similar to the way they protect their own confidential information
And always, allowing disclosure if the information is requested by a government agency or court of law.
These terms are important to allow disclosure when it is truly necessary, whether for business or protection from legal sanctions.
Finally, a few minor points to make note of in an NDA include the term of the agreement and the right to receive an injunction. Be sure that the term is of a reasonable length; one to five years is common. Also, it is standard that the Discloser has the right to receive an injunction if the terms of the agreement are breached. However, be wary of any other relief options like attorney’s fees. The last thing you need is to pay for someone to sue you.
Noncompete Agreements – The NDA’s Ugly Stepsister
While an NDA is fairly common and can be approached with little trepidation, Noncompete clauses are less common and must be approached much more carefully. A Noncompete Agreement – also known as a Covenant not to Compete – is a contract, generally between an employer and employee, that restricts the employee from working in any related business for a certain length of time after termination of employment. The purpose is to protect the employer from training an employee in all of the trade secrets and practices of a business just to have the employee turn around and work for a direct competitor, or start their own competing business. For instance, suppose an existing search engine hired you as a programmer and gave you access to all of their code and procedures. After a year, you were unhappy with your job and felt you could create a better search engine on your own. Your employer would not want you to be able to start your own competing search engine, using all of the tricks of the trade learned during the course of your employment. As such, they would have required that you sign a Noncompete Agreement before you began your employment.
Unlike the NDA, there are only a few situations where it would be appropriate for a PHP programmer to sign a Noncompete Agreement. The most common circumstances would involve a Noncompete clause in an employment agreement. Even in that situation, the job should be in a specialized industry, not just general programming. Be wary of others sneaking Noncompete clauses into agreements like NDAs, Independent Contractor Agreements, or Employment Contracts. As always, be sure to fully read any document before you sign it. On more than one occasion, I have had an entrepreneur try to include a Noncompete clause into a document titled, “Nondisclosure Agreement” or “Independent Contractor Agreement”. In those specific instances, I do not think there was malicious intent. Instead, I just think the entrepreneurs included the clause out of ignorance. Regardless, I did not and would never sign a Noncompete in that situation.
These clauses are generally fairly straight forward, and as such there is not too much to look out for in the language itself. Most importantly, be sure that the duration of the agreement is reasonable. These vary from area to area and industry to industry, but somewhere between two and five years is a reasonable amount of time. Ten years ago, geography was an important factor in a Noncompete Agreement. Most limited employees from working in a competing business within a certain distance from the employer. For instance, if I sold dolls in Virginia, I would not want my former employee to sell dolls in Virginia. But if he wanted to sell dolls in California, I doubt he would be serious competition, so that would be allowed in my Noncompete clause. Given the current technology however, geography is often not included in Noncompete clauses. If I sell dolls in Virginia, and I have a website, then I sell dolls in California too.
While there is not too much in the language to look out for, there are certainly a lot of other extenuating factors to consider before signing a Noncompete Agreement. First, it is important to note that enforcement of Noncompetes differs greatly from area to area. In the U.S., each state has its own policy and precedents concerning the enforcement of a Noncompete. For instance, Michigan has a history of enforcing Noncompete agreements, while they are generally thrown out in California. Some have argued that the unenforceability of Noncompetes in California is what helped lead to the success of Silicon Valley as a technology startup haven, while other areas remain much less successful. The ability of bright young employees to jump from company to company and share knowledge allowed Silicon Valley to thrive at a much faster pace than would be possible if these employees were mired by Noncompete Agreements.
Another important facet to consider before signing a Noncompete Agreement is how this factors into your overall employment situation. As a potential employee, it is important that you include this in your decision just as you would the salary and benefits. It also could give you leverage during your contract negotiation. Not being able to work elsewhere in the industry could be a major detractor, so perhaps the employer can provide something to help account for this. Further, some employees are approached with a Noncompete after they have signed their initial employment agreement. This is common in the case of startups that bring on their first employees before hiring an attorney. If you are in this situation, it is important to realize that many states require that the employee benefit from signing a Noncompete. For instance, signing the agreement could be coupled with a raise in salary, a bonus, or better benefits. Because you are forfeiting some of your rights, most courts agree that it is only fair to receive something in return. In Wisconsin however, precedent has shown that not being fired is considered a benefit. So, an employer in Wisconsin could tell you to sign a Noncompete or you will lose your job, and be within the law. Once again, this is different from area to area, and it is important to consult a local attorney to review your agreements.
Finally, let us suppose that you sign a Noncompete and eventually choose to leave that job. When applying for a new job, it is important that you disclose to the potential employer that you have previously signed a Noncompete. The employer could be vulnerable to a lawsuit by hiring an employee that is in violation of a Noncompete Agreement. Not disclosing this information would certainly be grounds for firing if the new employer were to find out, or even worse, get sued by your former employer.
The Last Word
Unfortunately, NDAs and Noncompetes are a part of the business we have chosen. We are forced to navigate carefully and sign only when necessary. Armed with a little knowledge, these legal documents are understandable and negotiable. If you have any doubts however, particularly with Noncompete Agreements, be sure to consult an attorney before signing anything.
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