It's like this: if I'm walking down the aisle and see 35 people with headphones on, and we're on final approach, we don't often have the time to check every passenger's gadget for the little green light. It's the same situation with those cell phone/PDA combos - your's just might have an 'inflight mode' that makes it safe to use, but unfortunately I don't know the ins and outs of every gadget; to check every single one in use on the plane would be cumbersome and time-consuming (not to mention annoying for you and I both!). It's one of those situations where the gadget technology has outpaced our methods on board and in the avionics. Honestly, we don't enjoy 'policing' the gadgets any more than you like having them restricted..I can't wait for the day when everyone can use any toy inflight, personally.

Then of course there are quite a few folks who tell us, "Oh no, it's off - see?" and then switch their iPod or discman back on as soon as we pass on to the next few rows.

The noise-cancelling headphones are great, been thinking about getting a pair myself - but truthfully, in some emergency situations you would need to be as aware of the ambient noise that they cut out.

And at the end of the day, our policies state that all electronic equipment be turned off and stowed when below 10,000 feet, regardless of their effect on anything else. It's not a new rule that was just made up on that particular flight, just one that may have been overlooked on your previous trips.