Why does AdFreak think that all this talk of lifting the ban on cell phone use on airplanes is a bad idea? No, we're not worried about whether your call to your friend bitching about your boss will interfere with the plane's navigation systems. We're much more concerned about cases of air rage emanating from those passengers who just want a little peace and quiet at 30,000 feet. When you think about all of the people who will abuse the cell phone privilege, it practically makes getting the seat next to every flight's obligatory crying baby seem like prime real estate.

Fortunately, lifting the ban might take awhile, since both the FCC and the FAA apparently have to agree on it. But the mere, um, talk of such a thing reminds us of one of those great missed marketing opportunities. We're forever reading stories about people getting really ticked off about cell phone use on commuter trains. And yet, even though the wireless carriers are actively trying to push text-messaging beyond the youth demographic, we've never seen a scintilla of marketing activity around reminding people while they're on trains that they can use their phones to communicate without talking on them. With planes also possibly turning into a non-stop yack-fest, it’s time.

—Posted by Catharine P. Taylor