Mr. Cote is a longtime advocate of modernizing the Federal Aviation Administration's air-traffic control system, and has told industry officials heexpects to play an important role in devising ways to help airlines finance improvements.

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Two iPads in the rear compartment not only play movies, music and Internet content, they also control all functions of the S-Class COMAND system.

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The company highlighted this point repeatedly, announcing partnerships, for instance, with Netflix and HuluPlus that let Xbox Kinect users control those video apps by waiving their hands and talking to the system to select and play movies.

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But the more sophisticated units, which allow you to not only automate your piano and control the volume of it, can also record and play back your own recitals and integrate with your home theatre system.

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