Air Force Expects iPad Deployment to Save $50 Million Over 10 Years

Doug Drinkwater for TabTimes 2013-05-17 21:38:53 UTC

The U.S. Air Force is expecting to save a serious amount of cash as a result of deploying 18,000 iPads.

With the iPads brought in to replace heavy, paper-bound flight manuals, a spokesman for the Air Force's Air Mobility Command has said that the deployment will save $750,000 per year on fuel alone and "well over $50 million" in total costs over the next 10 years.

"We're saving about 90 pounds of paper per aircraft and limiting the need for each crew member to carry a 30 to 40 pound paper file," Major Brian Moritz, manager of AMC's electronic flight bag program, when speaking to The Street.

"It adds up to quite a lot of weight in paper." The AMC exec revealed that this weight saving did vary significantly by plane — from a saving of 250 pounds on a four-person C-17 to 490 pounds on a C-5 with ten crewmembers.

The AMC won a $9.36 million contract to deploy up to 18,000 third-generation, WiFi-only, 32GB iPads last year. Some 16,000 of these are now in use by AMC aircrew, with the remaining 2,000 units spread out across other Air Force divisions.

Image courtesy of Flickr, Air Combat Command

This article originally published at TabTimes here

Topics: air force, iPad, Mobile, U.S., US & World TabTimes is a Mashable publishing partner that helps you select, buy and use the best tablet devices, accessories, apps, platforms and services for yourself, your department and your organization. This article is reprinted with the publisher's permission.

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J.J. Abrams on Star Wars: 'You Have to Force Yourself to Start Over'

By Chris Taylor2013-05-03 15:47:36 UTC

They were supposed to discuss their new movie Star Trek: Into Darkness, but J.J. Abrams and actor Simon Pegg can't resist geeking out about their shared passion for Star Wars in this just-released video.

Pegg, who plays Scotty in Abrams' rebooted Trek franchise, makes a rather pointed compliment about Abrams and Star Wars: "I feel like it's in safe hands now ... you get it. You get it like a Star Wars fan gets it." Translation: the guy who directed the last three movies may not necessarily have gotten it the way a fan gets it.

And in case Pegg's take on the Star Wars prequels isn't clear, this scene from his UK comedy show Spaced might give you a clue:

Abrams, meanwhile, is as circumspect as we've come to expect from the director when it comes to discussing Episode VII, tentatively due in 2015. (When asked multiple questions about it in a Playboy interview published last week, Abrams' answers were repeatedly rendered as follows: "[smiles].")

But Abrams does talk about how he's approaching Star Wars in a different way from the Trek movies. Trek, he explains, was easier because he was never really a fan. He could approach the franchise fresh. Not being a fan was "a safety net" when it came to directing.

Since Abrams, like Pegg, was blown away by the original movie as a child in 1977 — indeed, he recalls reading about it and being enchanted before the release, in 1976 — Abrams recognizes he has to take a different approach.

"Part of the challenge of anything you come to pre-loving is you have to force yourself to start over," Abrams says, "and not assume anyone's going to care or be impressed."

Pegg then teases Abrams with the deadpan assertion that the title of the as-yet-unnamed movie will be The Further Adventures of Jar Jar Binks. Abrams' reaction could be best described as "[smiles]".

Thumbnail courtesy of Flickr, Gage Skidmore

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Never Seen Star Wars? Find the Force at This Special Screening

Chris Taylor2013-04-19 03:25:52 UTC

There's at least one in every family, every workplace, every social circle. They may be your best friends. You may know their secret, or they may be firmly in the closet.

We're talking, of course, about people who have never seen the original Star Wars. (Let's not confuse matters by calling it Episode IV or A New Hope just yet.) Yes, as surprising as it may be to the average geek, there are still people who fall into this camp. And as fans of a franchise that teaches tolerance, it's important that we treat them with respect, not ribbing.

Well, Star Wars newbies, the perfect opportunity to address this problem is coming up in a few short weeks — May the 4th, also known as Star Wars day.

Change.org, the global online petition nonprofit, is hosting a special screening in San Francisco on May 4, with an assist from Lucasfilm and Mashable. The peerless Pablo Hidalgo will be on hand to introduce the film and answer your most embarrassing newbie questions about the franchise afterwards. (Hidalgo is brand communications manager at Lucasfilm, and possibly the biggest Star Wars brain at the company — which is saying something.)

In the spirit of last year's Star Wars anniversary event at Mashable HQ, which saw features writer and #StarWarsVirgin Christine Erickson initiated into the ways of the Force, the event will be live-tweeted with newbie reactions. Free cocktails and food will be provided to smooth your journey to a galaxy far, far away. (The presence of Aunt Beru's blue milk cannot be confirmed at press time.)

If you know of a newbie who needs to see Star Wars and will be in the Bay Area on May 4th, here's how you and they can get in on the action: send an email to starwars@change.org introducing the newbie in question. Midichlorian count not required.

Winners will be notified by April 26th. In the meantime, here's a short video by Lucasfilm alumnus Bonnie Burton explaining the meaning of May the 4th — featuring one couple whose relationship was solidified by a similar emergency Star Wars screening.

Image courtesy Lucasfilm

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Tiger Woods and Arnold Palmer Are an Unlikely Fighting Force in New Trailer

Todd Wasserman2013-03-26 15:24:51 UTC

How do you make golf — and particularly old timers like Arnold Palmer and Lee Trevino — exciting to today's young gamers?

EA's solution was to cast Tiger Woods and Palmer as a couple of kick-ass fighters. The two square off against a group of nefarious dudes who are intent on stealing some trophies. Then Trevino parachutes in to save the day. The trailer, which promotes PGA Tour 14, comes at a good time — Woods just regained his No. 1 ranking after a slump that began in 2010.

The Hollywood studios may want to take a look at Woods' and Palmer's chemistry here, though. Could a golf-based action movie be in the offing? Suggested title: Fairway to Hell.

Image courtesy of YouTube, EA

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