What the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) calls "novel and unusual" apparently entails some sort of direct network connectivity between the avionics (think: cockpit) and the passenger entertainment system (think: dude with his iPhone connected to the in-seat USB port) in the latest Boeing 737 models.

Details here: https://www.federalregister.gov/articles/2014/06/06/2014-13244/special-conditions-the-boeing-company-models-737-700--700c--800--900er--7--8-and--9-series-airplanes

The good news is, if you get bored on your next flight, and the movies are all *meh*, you might be able to connect to the cockpit and help the pilot do his/her job. Pilots, these days, are all stressed out, and I'm sure they appreciate help from all the XBox and Nintendo pilots sitting in the main cabin!  A completely new form of auto-pilot: Flying a plane through majority decision by the geeks in the cabin!

I wonder how many years we are away from a cross-platform virus that moves from Joe Bloe's PC at home, to his phone, to his car, to his tablet, to his airplane. I hope it never happens. But the "internet of things" manufacturers, especially the manufacturers of massive moving things, seem to be very keen to get us there.