Two airlines from the Middle East are coming to the rescue of fliers that have been effected by President Donald Trump’s recent executive order banning the use of tablets and laptops on flights to the United States.

Both Qatar Airways and Etihad Airways launched new electronics loaner programs for passengers this week, giving customers the option to rent an iPad while their own device is safely stored inside checked baggage.

Sick of in-flight WiFi that blows chunks? If you’re an AT&T customer, you could have LTE at 30,000 feet as early as late 2015.

YO! Sushi, a chain of Japanese restaurants based all over the globe, has adopted a novel new way of delivering food to its customers: Waiters and waitresses load up flying trays made of lightweight carbon fiber, then guide them to tables using iPads.

LAS VEGAS, CES 2013 – What do a four-rotor, remotely-piloted vehicle, touch-screen car audio and a little, Bluetooth-armed facsimile of a plant stem have in common? Not much. Yet they’re all concoctions from French-based Parrot; the latter is their newest gadget, a sensor-laden gardening device they’ve named the Flower Power.

The friendly skies have been cozying up to the iPad for awhile now. First, the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration allowed pilots to replace hundreds of pounds of flight manuals and log books for Apple’s tablet, and now a new airline is promising to save fuel, increase profits and make their customers happier by phasing out the in-flight entertainment system in favor of a fleet of iPads.

The new Timbuk2 Command Messenger 2012 ($140) is nothing like the first Timbuk2 bag I ever owned, some 11 years and 20 pounds ago, back when I was heavily commited to the world of cycling. Timbuk2 called it the Bolo, and it was a real messenger bag — though messengers almost always opted for it’s larger sibling, the Tag Junkie — crafted from a single piece of vinyl and Cordura; just a massive main compartment with not much more than a small pocket sewn on the outer face for coins and maybe a patch kit.

Although it’s just about as tough, the Command Messenger is light years away from my Bolo (and is really as much a messenger bag as a Chevy pickup is an ox cart): It’s sophisticated, uses several advanced materials, has loads of pockets and a trick feature that makes air travel easier for laptop-toting jestsetters. My how you’ve grown, Timbuk2.