IT Not Always the Answer

If you needed reminding that information technology isn't always the answer to efficiency, you may want to check out New York Times technology reviewer David Pogue's recent pieces on the modernization of the air traffic control system. Last week he wrote about the automatic dependent surveillance - broadcast system (ADS-B), a GPS-based system that gives pilots a view of the air traffic around them. The idea is that with that kind of control (and not having to depend on air traffic controllers so much), planes could fly closer together and relieve some of the congestion that has led to record delays this past year.

But wait.