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Is Your Laptop At Risk While Traveling?
Editorgirl35 writes "Here's an interesting story on DesignNews.com
With last week's announcement that the British government thwarted an alleged terrorist attack planned for flights from the U.K. to the U.S., news that travelers are required to check their laptops as baggage on some flights has raised a new level of panic as they try to figure out the best way to protect their laptops."
Wow, thats really safe..
Some laptops ( and most pdas ) can turn them selves on at a predetermined time.. Just estimate the time for maximum impact, laptop turns on and detonates the 'extra' battery that is made up of C4.. now you have a nice big hole in the bottom of the plane..
---- Booth was a patriot ----
would it be a terrorist attack?
I'd rather take 10 minutes for the baggage screeners to give a laptop a "full cavity serch" than to be without a laptop on an international flight.
That's right, you're able to take them onboard the plane again. Baggage advice for UK passengers.
Only nudists will be allowed to fly!
"Money is truthful. If a man speaks of his honor, make him pay cash." Notebooks of Lazarus Long, Robert A. Heinlein
Man, fucking slashvertisements. For Halliburton, no less. Why doesn't Taco come out and say he's GOP?
fedex it and insure. twice as much baggage now so less care taken.
Although the article propably still has some merit the actual ban on laptops has now been lifted in the UK.
http://www.fcw.com/article95659-08-14-06-Web
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Why travel with a laptop? A high-end PDA is cheaper, smaller, more robust and has a better battery life. Even with a fold-up keyboard, you can safely stow it in your checked luggage and not lose any sleep over cracked screens or damaged hard drives. The PDAs support high-capacity flash cards, so you can carry a LOT of information with you.
Have a presentation to make when you arrive at your destination? Slap it on a USB flash key or DVD/CD, and off you go. I'm sure the place where you're going will have a computer available for the presentation. Programming an piece of equipment using your laptop? Even the old Handsprings had attachments for different interfaces.
So leave the laptop at home and save yourself some headaches.
That said, I haven't flown since 2001. Just to much nonsense to go through. I haven't missed flying yet either.
Pelican Cases have a good reputation, but they don't look as chick as the Halliburton. LowePro also makes some hard cases for cameras, but they don't take a computer (yet, I am sure it will very soon); they are a hardcase and a matching bag inside it.
The reality is that you don't want attention on your bag, as it might be stolen. I just recommended a person
to take the Styrofoam that came with the laptop to get to Heathrow. At least the laptop arrived in a working
condition.
I think the optimal solution is to find something that looks like regular luggage. Perhaps buying a cheap, beaten up luggage bag (garage sale?) to put the computer inside. Use duct tape and dirt for extra effect, and geek chicness.
The ban was lifted already. As it had to be. Business travellers routinely carry laptop computers with confidential client information on them, they would be negligent if they checked them into the current baggage handling system. Forget about the laptop being damaged since it is possible to package it safely, but the possibility of lost client data would be too high of a risk.
While a permanent laptop ban would have a serious impact on certain types of businesses and travellers, it would have an even more serious impact on the airlines when their primary client base was forced to use charter aircraft.
"Jenn... Uhh Mam, please remove your bra for further security inspection. Yes, you can stand over there next to the.. Uhh.. X-ray camera."
Full Tilt
People should be more concerned about the long lines being created by all the security. There is nothing stopping terrorists from taking out all the people standing around waiting to get through security. High concentration of people in one area == prime oportunity.
http://www.freewareppc.com/games/nethack.shtml
Fortunately I don't travel by air very often. And, as has been pointed out by others, the laptop ban has been lifted (wealthier, more powerful people than I have likely already informed the appropriate scaremongers what a losing proposition this was). Even so, there's no way I'm putting a laptop through checked baggage. Luggage gets lost. Luggage gets tossed around very roughly. And items are known to go "missing" from luggage.
No. Not my laptop. It stays with me, or it stays home.
Schwab
Editor, A1-AAA AmeriCaptions
My laptop has liquid fuel cells... I guess now I can't take it on the plane...
Funnypics
There's no way I would check a laptop due to the potential for physical damage. I've never tried that, but I had the experience almost a decade ago of sitting on an airplane in Atlanta on the return trip from a music tour to Europe. We had to check larger instruments (including my saxophone) given the amount of other stuff we needed. The baggage handlers were doing things like opening cases and playing instruments while we watched, in horror, out the window. Of course, they were not particularly careful in handling the luggage either, and nearly everyone had damage to get repaired when we made it home. I was lucky enough to escape with only a $30 repair for a bent key rod. Most laptops anymore are fairly rugged, but even if reasonably well-packed (knowing good and well that you'll probably have to unpack your bag for security screening), I cannot see most laptops surviving that kind of handling.
I used to do a lot of travel for work, lugging product samples all over the world.
I always travel with carry-on only. Since 9-11, I won't even bother trying to bring samples.
The airport experience is simply the worst part of traveling.
Pick a carrier any carrier (UPS, FedEX, DHL, etc.) and ship what you need to your hotel.
As long as you pack it well (and insure it, of course) it will be waiting for you in your room when you arrive.
Trust me, it seems like a lot of extra trouble at first, but its worth it.
"Kittens give Morbo gas!"
Taking a look at United's "Damaged baggage" information:
For international travels, including the domestic portions, subject to the Warsaw Convention, the liability limit for delay, damage or loss is approximately $9.07 per pound ($20.00 per kg) for checked baggage and approximately $400 per passenger for unchecked baggage.
United is not liable for damage to fragile items, spoilage of perishables, loss/damage/delay of money, jewelry, cameras, electronic/video/photographic equipment, computer equipment, heirlooms, antiques, artwork, silverware, precious metals, negotiable papers/securities, commercial effects, valuable papers, or other irreplaceable items and/or any item where a liability release was signed by the passenger.
If that's the case, then a laptop would not be covered by their insurance, so I think they're in trouble asking people to check it in.
Please arrive at your gate 10 hours early so that our one certified laptop cavity searcher can accomodate everyone...
This issue is a bit more complicated than you think.
It'd be more robust to trigger a bomb using the air pressure drop in the cargo hold. The cabin and cargo hold of course are pressurized at significantly less than 1 atm. Fill up pen ink cartridges with hypergolic chemicals, let them burst at altitude and you've got your fuse. No suspicious electronics necessary.
Otterbox makes a rugged laptop case as well: http://www.otterbox.com/products/pc_cases/laptop_c ase/index.htm
Ive used their products before to store documents (passport, wallet, etc) while snorkling - they are completely waterproof and usually float.
I fly quite a bit in Canada and would never check my laptop, iPod, digital camera or anything else valuable as I would be afraid of theft more than damage. I've never had a theft, but I have heard horror stories from people, mainly international travelers, that have returned home only to find a video camera, liquor, jewelery or some other item stolen from checked luggage.
I do have a friend that works on the ramp, as it's called, stowing and retrieving bags from aircraft. He told me that theft isn't a problem domestically because they're watched so carefully with video cameras and security, but most importantly they just don't have the time or opportunity to pull someone's bag aside and rifle through it. He said international flights are a different story as bags are checked hours before the flight actually leaves, but he still doesn't think it's a big problem. I won't take my chances though and will continue to carry my digital/video camera and laptop onboard.
I just came back from India last week and had to put my company laptop along with the check-in luggage. I don't mind anything happening to the laptop (in terms of damage) but my life would have been hell if it got lost as it contained company confidential data including client databases.
br I've never been so worried in my life. Thankfully, it came safe.
Help a man when he is in trouble and he will remember you when he is in trouble again.
I'd heard earlier today that you were going to be required to bring laptops as carry-ons. Which one is it?
I have to fly back to college next week too, dangit.
You aren't paranoid if they really are out to get you...or your stuff:
TSA Under Fire for Rising Theft by Baggage Screeners
"It's a huge security threat," said aviation industry consultant Michael Boyd. "If we've got the kind of people who would steal things out of bags, we're not sure if we have people on the job who will put things into bags. And obviously we don't have enough scrutiny of the bags once they're checked. It's huge."
But I really feel the need to ask this question, and hope someone out there in /. might work for the TSA or other security company, and/or hardware manufacturing, and might give a good answer to this question.
... thank you Dan Rathers). America can't always be 100% secure, and I think most /. readers are intelligent enough to know that when there's a will, there's always going to be a way. Does anybody honestly think we can keep every port of entry secure? If you truly do, do some reading on the Akwesasne reservation.
The parent poster mentioned sneaking C4 in a laptop battery. I was wondering the same thing about a hard drive. When you think about it, both are small, but certainly have enough volume to put explosives inside of the casing that would cause a very significant detonation onboard an airplane. And would screeners really see that on their scanners? I'd imagine that to the lazy eye, it would just be another object like any other inside a laptop. I doubt most screeners would be particular about looking for the platters inside a hard drive, let alone know that a hard drive is a necessary part of a laptop. I'm sure that if you were to hand these explosive laptops to 20 terrorists, at least one would get through, and it only takes one. I've gone on a number of domestic and international flights, and the laptop is a carry-on object. I've never seen any bomb-sniffing dogs sniff my carry-on luggage, so I think the TSA are the only checkpoint for an attack such as this.
Now, I've never seen all of what those modern x-ray scanners are able to detect, so if there's anybody with knowledge on the subject, I'd sure appreciate an explination of whether or not this is feasable.
Oh, and for anybody who wants to try and accuse me of aiding terrorists, I get my information from the six-o'clock news. They give me all these great ideas each and every day on how to cause devistation to America (blow up the Hoover Dam, San Fransisco bridge, Alaska Oil pipeline, the Lincoln tunnel
>>there is no silver bullet or extra security measure we can take that will guarenty safty from terrorist attacks.
Guarantee? No, but prohibiting Muslims from flying (or at least giving them an extra-thorough level of scrutiny) will make a huge improvement. Religion is the single defining characteristic of modern terrorists who use aircraft as weapons or seek to destroy aircraft full of passengers. And it's not Scientologists or Mormans we're talking about here, it's Muslims.
Not all Muslims are terrorists, but nearly all terrorists are Muslims. And quite a large percentage are sympathizers as demonstrated by recent polls in London showing support for the recently foiled plot to kill a few thousand westerners in-flight UK->US. Call it flamebait if you want, but it is true. Nearly all airplane hijackings and intentional attacks on civilians have been done in the name of Islam. The world can go on pretending that's not the case, but until we are willing to at least identify the well-defined group of people responsible for most of this mayhem, increased security will be a pipe dream.
Or you moderators can just mod this 'flamebait' and go on pretending. Call me racist. Hit the cultural 'snooze' button... roll over & go back to sleep. Whatever. Maybe once an attack affects you personally, your family, or your country you'll wake up. Sleep well.
I guess this puts this technology out of business. Ain't no butane on a plane now, and there's not a GOTdamn thing you can do about it.
They say the first thing to go is your penis. Well, it's either that or your brain. I forget which...
As someone who gets to Latin America every once in a while (thus the name...), I would NEVER check my laptop, electronics, or ANYTHING of value in my baggage. NEVER.
Theft occurs often enough in the U.S. to make me at the very least give serious pause... in Latin America? In Argentina, for example, a country where you have almost no hope of receiving anything more than a disposable camera in the mail, there is NO way I would entrust my laptop to their baggage handlers, not to mention my camera, iPod, etc.
It looks like the security is being toned down a little bit now, and I hope and pray it stays at the present level.
I would also appreciate it if people would stop planning to blow up airplanes - can y'all just knock that off, please? Thanks, guys.
Better have a very good case when the inspector's final task is to check it in for you. Don't bother tipping, it will make them angry.
Friends don't help friends install M$ junk.
Comment removed based on user account deletion
Anyone who's been reading the news about the latest changes to the carry-on luggage situation would know that checked baggage gets checked for explosives.
http://www.mcsweeneys.net/2006/8/14sullivansulliva n.html
instead of:
With last week's announcement that the British government thwarted an alleged terrorist attack planned for flights from the U.K. to the U.S
With last week's announcement that the British government allegedly thwarted a terrorist attack planned for flights from the U.K. to the U.S
In the free world the media isn't government run; the government is media run.
Dell laptops have been coming pre-equiped with timebomb batteries.
Well, thank God that they lifted the laptop restrictions. Sure, my one-year old Inspiron isn't worth much anymore, but it's still worth something to me... and I'm flying to London this Saturday. What fun for this stuff to go on right before I leave...
Oh and flashback to last century anyone?
========
CINC, 4th Penguin Legion
...of having coffee spilled on it by the Flight Attendant.
What sound do people on rollercoasters make? Hint: it's not Xbox 360.
People, don't check your laptop, send it ahead of you. Make a backup to cd-rom of the really important data you need (just in case), and put your laptop in a laptop box (fedex, DHL, UPS, etc.) and send it the day before you have to go. The likelyhood of your laptop getting where it is going, versus your baggage, is far better than trusting it to the airlines. Added bonus, you can insure it!
- Encrypt the data on the hard drive with the strongest encryption you have access to.
- Back up everything essential to a CD/R, DVD/R, USB stick, etc. (preferrably more than one copy)
- Encrypt the backups, too!
- Wipe all hard drive slack areas clean.
- Don't label the computer bag with company names and logos, or anything other temptation. Use "steal me!" cases for soiled laundry, not valuables.
My father and a few others form several sites in his company where headed for some training in the US some ware (he came form Canada eh). He called me and told me what happened to one of the guys coming from another site. Basically some lady had a bottle of hand cream with her on the flight which first off, should have never made it onto the plane with the added and o so important and useful security (note added sarcasm). Of course the person in question decides to use this on the plane, which an attendant sees. As I was told, the plain might as well have been a fighter at the rate they got down to the runway some ware. The entire group of passengers had the fun of a strip search out on the tarmac as well as all there luggage searches. The guy who told the story has not even seen his luggage since, so needless to say he is not happy.
I can understand the point of security, but I have heard so many stories that it's not even funny of things happening at airports, though this one takes the cake. In the end what gets me the most is, even with this HIGH security in effect; some lady was able to casually carry a bottle of hand cream onto the plane without issue. So because security can't even do there job right, we get things like this happening. And now you want me to put my laptop in luggage (I know ban was lifted but hey), what are they nuts. I arrived in Ca 2 weeks ago, one of my brand new bags was crushed, and all the support plastic at the top of the bag that holds the handle in place was shattered to bits. They replaced the bag at least, just happened to have a spare new bag of same size in the back room. But in the end we still have heighten security which dose nothing, ticked off customers getting strip searched or at the least mad they can't take the bottle of coke they bought IN the terminal once past security on the plane. At least set it up so no liquids past the gate, then in the security zone the coke at the vending machine is fare game.
Anyway that's my rant, my 2 cent and 2 more
As someone flying through Heathrow in just a few weeks and taking a lot of photo gear, I've been watching this rather closely. The best idea (as read on DPreview) seems to be a pelican case inside a canvas duffle bag of some sort. It hides the "Steal Me" quality of the Pelican yet everything is still protected, the best of both worlds.
Supposedly there is also a padlock with a way for the TSA to unlock it for baggage inspection, which would provide a small but possibly useful degree of extra security.
"There is more worth loving than we have strength to love." - Brian Jay Stanley
To adjust your splendid world view, here's some food for thought http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_terrorist_org anisations.
That list is about the mental equivilent of a Mcdonalds meal - anyone who equates the KKK with people coordinating the destruction of multiple planes full of people at once had better re-check thier classifications (or try actually having some and not just listing any group that anyone, anywhere once decreed was a "terrorist" group).
I go by deeds thanks, and in that regard you have to put Islamic Extremists way up there on the scale of potential harm.
"There is more worth loving than we have strength to love." - Brian Jay Stanley
There is actually a cargo place that was lost where they suspect it may actually have been the batteries in question used by Dell.
"There is more worth loving than we have strength to love." - Brian Jay Stanley
I flew back from Europe on August 10/11 (Athens to NYC via Prague), and I had to check my laptop bag, since we were only allowed our wallet, passport, and boarding pass with us on the plane. I arrived at my departure airport blissfully unaware of the situation and carrying my iBook stuffed into a flimzy laptop bag (no safer-than-the-plane's-black-box Halliburton case). Even so, the machine survived the trip as checked baggage without any damage. Damage, however, was not the biggest worry for me -- it was loss and theft. As anyone who as ever travelled and changed planes knows, bags get lost all the time and valuables get stolen (which is why most people put them into their carry-ons). I had my ipod, digital camera, and computer in one case, which the airport agent kindly wrapped in security tape before checking. All the same, the bag broadcast the fact that it contained a computer, and baggage handlers don't get paid enough to be honest. When I got to New York (JFK), it was the only bag that did not make it through, although it was not stolen. (Perhaps, with a case as expensive as the one in TFA, perhaps it may have been stolen, since it absolutely screms "Here be valuables!" Fortunately for me, it turned out that the bag was stopped and searched, so it did not make it onto the plane. The airline found it and got it back to me within days, but judging from the massive line of angry people at the desk -- and the fact that many of them left the desk even angrier -- I think I was one of the lucky ones. That may be part of the reason that the rules were relaxed to allow laptops, since forcing people to check their laptops exposes the airlines to alot of expensive liablity for things that passengers would normally take responsibility for in their carry-ons.
What is wrong with people and their insistance on keeping confidential material in the clear on a laptop?
How many headlines do people have to read before they 'get it' and simply encrypt the data?
What are companies thinking allowing this data to be carried at all?
Readers here have even less of an excuse. Try 'man losetup' and look for -e...it's just not that hard.
Set yourself up a nice big crypt file with AES, set it with a nice long and strong passphrase and don't leave the mount mounted when you hibernate the laptop either.
Yes one could brute force the passphrase, but at least you'd be trying to make an effort.
Even better, encrypt it with a key...one that isn't on the laptop at all.
The twin towers where brought down with Thermite. For real, read it.t ml
http://www.physics.byu.edu/research/energy/htm7.h
I didn't realize they were so easily found, thanks for the link.
Once I had a lock that I attached to only one zipper of a bag so the TSA could get in - well of course they didn't bother to check that and cut the lock and zipper as well. At least with a real TSA lock they'll nt be cutting anything (I hope).
Do you know if you can use those locks for international travel?
"There is more worth loving than we have strength to love." - Brian Jay Stanley
American, living in London, on the road betweet three to five days a week. I usually travel via Heathrow although sometimes I'm out of Gatwick.
I now use City Airport as much as possible, but they only provide short haul service into the continent.
For long haul flights I now Eurostar to Paris or Amsterdam where I pick up a connecting flight.
The fundamental problem is BAA, the airport operator, has declined to add staff to perform the required searches manually, thus protecting their profits. And the airlines are just as bad, attempting to maintain the same flight schedules to preserve revenue.
So the passengers are caught in the middle, and we're expected to strip down to our underwear and file, arms crossed above our heads, gratefully onto to the waiting aircraft.
Not me, and many like me. Business class travelers are avoiding this circus in droves.
We're all either using smaller airports that were not impacted like Heathrow / Gatwick or, if a long flight is needed (I'm off to Cairo in two weeks), we're taking the train to Paris or Amsterdam, and picking up a connecting flight from there.
None of the continental airports are doing this crap. None of the Asian airports are doing this crap. Even the US isn't going this far.
Make no mistake about it - this is all about protecting profits. Nothing more.
A message from our sponsor
And a tip o' the hat to Luc Bresson for showing us the future in secure, safe air travel (OK, it was interplanetary travel in the movie). The flight attendant says "sweet dreams" and hits a button. When you wake up, you're on the ground at your destination.
To bring it back on-topic, there seems general agreement that checking laptops as baggage as unacceptably risky, the flying public and big business will not stand for the banning of laptops as carry-on and the Brits went and reversed the ban that started this whole discussion in the first place.
"A Little Song, A Little Dance, A Little Seltzer Down your Pants" -Chuckles The Clown
You can and I have. The TSA have a special tool to open them without the key (which changes the indicator from green to red on applicable models); as far as everyone else is concerned, it's just a padlock. At least several models also include a warranty that covers them for TSA destruction; if they clip it, you get a free replacement from the manufacturer/retailer.
Nothing says you are a professional more, than showing up to a presentation and hoping your client has some way for you to present your information. In the business world, showing up with a usb stick wont cut it. What if you get last minute changes? Going to borrow a clients computer to do your work on?
Presentations are meant to impress somebody. People dont hop onto a jet and fly around the world to impress their underlings. If you cant spend $1k on a laptop, and $1k on a projector, my company wont be providing what you cant afford, and wont be doing business with you.
OtterBox makes nigh-indestructible (and waterproof!) cases of all sorts, and it looks like they've branched out into laptop cases as well.
I mean really... just a complete troll.
a) How many of us don't have or want a PDA? Answer: Lots
b) Even if we did have a PDA we'd still need the laptop in order to either work on when we get to our work destination, or, in my case, use as a portable entertainment unit for watching movies etc. when at my travel destination, and also to be able to offload and edit photos I've taken while out and about.
Urgh, what a post!
How do you recognize a moslem to haul into the special line anyway? I know one with red hair and freckles.
So do I. That's why I specifically mentioned Islamic Extremism as a problem, which is an ideology and not a race - as is the case with most terrorist organizations. It's why racial profiling probably will not work well though behavioral profiling might yield some results, and why you have to monitor general international communications looking for keywords instead of just looking at someones last name to decide if perhaps you want to sample communications from tem randomly and go seek a court order.
Most of the other groups on the list have quieted down (don't hear much from the IRA nowadays which would be the runner up) so that leaves us with one major group of people far more active than anyone and with a larger scope of operations. Again, the list does not take into account the degree of activity and seeks to put the KKK on the same footing as Islamic Extremists. The equivlizing is dangerous as it either leads one to trivialize the dange from truly dangerous groups or to divert attention to groups that are in fact Mostly Harmless, as Adams would say. That is why the list is Junk Food - because it simply is not good for you despite the warm fuzzy feeling you get inside your head while reading it.
"There is more worth loving than we have strength to love." - Brian Jay Stanley
If you'll also recall, one of the patsies trying to get on the plane at Kurben Dallas (sp?) failed, reported to his boss, and his boss detonated a bomb inside him. Replace boss with timer and assume he got onto the plane. :/
Simply put:-
- Board train with suitcase filled with explosives at any station - minimal security.
- Leave suitcase in suitable location and leave train. Here in the UK no one would touch it
- Use timer/gps to detonate bomb at suitable location. Suggestions given were:-
- As train passes suitable military base
- As train passes through suitable urban area
And even without the gps/timer aspect, consider what would happen if a bomb went of in a major rail station of your choice in a city of your choice during the rush hour. Remember 7/7/05? Those were baby bombs delivered by amateurs.init 11 - for when you need that edge.
This isn't very convincing, considering that the ship was destroyed by terrorists.
Do yourself all a favor, pack your bags well and don't over pack. In the end, would I check a laptop? Probably not, but I would be more worried about theft on the baggage claim side than plane side.
BTW don't you just love Google - even helpful to people researching bombs. Restores my faith in humanity.
Reduce, reuse, cycle
So, hippies use apples... and... terroists use dells?
That can't be generally applicable. Slime-sucking corporate weasels use Dells by preference so that would make them terrorists under your definition. Now that just can't be since I don't see US politicians launching 'decapitation attacks' to zap their own source of campaign contributions with 125lb Paveway bombs and Hellfire missiles. Thus you should perhaps consider limiting your definition of 'terrorist' to the subset of Dell users who run Linux? Perhaps you can even launch an online petition to Dell that they install an IFF device in their laptops that only works if you don't have Linux installed?
Only to idiots, are orders laws.
-- Henning von Tresckow
I reckon if everyone on the plane turns on their mobile phones at the same time, we're bound to crash :D
What about those guys from Ireland? Were they muslims? hyuck hyuck
The ban may have be lifted in the UK but in Poland you still can't have any carry-on baggage.
This situation is really stupid for people who have to return home under the new rules and have no option of just leaving the laptop at home.
Hopefully they will come to their senses before I have to fly back in 10 days.
frisks every middle eastern Islamist. They've had zero probs.
Every homicide bomber in the western world is a Moslem. Sorry, you lose.
You also have 180,000kg of aircraft traveling at 236m/s. Which gives you an additional 5 gigajoules. Hmm, insignificant in comparison to the fuel. As you were.
Deleted
While these cases are very nice (as they damn well should be at $350 a pop...) they still do nothing to protect your laptop in checked baggage.
It is still forbidden to actually lock your baggage, as it is required for "security reasons" for them to be able to dig through your belongings at any time. So you have a a nice, unlocked laptop case. Which when it arrives empty at your destination, the airlines will still deny all liability for the loss. You'll be lucky if they wish you a nice day before having you escorted out of the claims office by those nice armed guards they have wandering the airports now.
Fuck the airlines. If you are forced to fly, save yourself a hell of a lot of trouble and UPS/Fed-Ex your belongings to your hotel. (Just call ahead.)
In your way of seeing the world it actually may appear that it is only the muslims that are the terrorists... and as funny as it may seem theese muslims have this fixation mainly against innocent americans & the allies (tm)(having to choose from the whole world)
I hear there are people who think that the americans (& the whole western world) are the global terrorists, and I am not even talking about a bunch of soldiers that come in, rape some women, kill some kids and stage a bombing assault.(hint: try google: chomsky on terrorism)
so let me take a wild guess: it may be that extremists from both sides are in war defending some economic interest of their own ? mhm?
And as it comes usually in wars, mainly innocent people die, whether by getting blown in pieces on airoplanes or are targeted down in their homes (because some 'Ahmed' main terrorist fugure was supposedly hiding in their basement)
But to get to my point, war or not war, there may NOT be any excuse to discriminate any other human by any means. especially not by war induced false propaganda.
And I do wake up, not when a tragedy hits my country, but when mine or others human rights are beeing endangered. I would risk my country's interests & integrity to obtain the respect of human rights, and I prefer beeing a human to beeing a 'patriot'
The article talks about drop testing kit from a height of 18 inches (or 36 inches later on) but I've watched bags being thrown out of the hold of an aircraft onto a waiting truck. The drop from the hold to the truck was possibly greater than 36 inches vertically but that doesn't take into account the horizontal velocity involved in covering the 8 - 10 feet these bags had to fly to reach the truck.
I doubt any fragile equipment survived a trip in the hold on that flight.
Moore's law is not a law. Theory, yes; Predictable trend, certainly; Law, no.
You can get ruggedized laptops that are ideal for military, contractor, construction site, law enforcement work. They're heavy and expensive but, if you're concerned about durability they're a good bet.
Now what about thefts?
I love it! I really didn't think I'd been the first to think of it, the comment just occurred to me and I posted it cause I thought it'd get a few giggles.
I love the different comments, though! And the site you linked to is hilarious!
"Money is truthful. If a man speaks of his honor, make him pay cash." Notebooks of Lazarus Long, Robert A. Heinlein
How about those TSA approved luggage locks?n &lr=&sa=X&oi=froogle&ct=title
These locks have a combo that you know and a special key that the TSA has
that can open it too -- "for security".
http://froogle.google.com/froogle?q=TSA+lock&hl=e
Or did it strike anyone else odd that the article seemed to just be a big advertisement on why you need to go buy a new laptop case? I saw very little information about the actual policies, or doing anything about them, other than "Go buy a new case."
Irony: The article below it on the Slashdot homepage refers to fake news reports.
Coincidence?
Considering that those "dippy civil rights types" earlier achieved the same goal in that other British-controlled/occupied country in 1/5 the time it took the IRA, I'd say the IRA did far more to prevent civil rights improvements in Northern Ireland than they ever could to advance them.
Yup, UPS & Dell laptops...
a ttery_upsfire/ ...a fool proof plan I tell ya ;-)
http://tomshardware.co.uk/2006/07/13/ntsb_laptopb
The London bombers and the alleged London terrorists captured last week (alleged, information is emerging that many of them did not have a passport, flight tickets or anything that would have allowed them on a plane anytime soon) did not allege anything.
They were normal people by the reckoning of most people that knew them.
The current problem is a small minority of deranged people incensed by suicidal policies of Western leaders (mostly the US and the UK) when dealing with Muslim countries and their international grievances.
The individuals that hide behind Islam have no redention as human beens and should be caught and punished, but, and this is the bit but many people are blissfully ignoring, you don't pacify a mad man by been unjust to him.
IANAL but write like a drunk one.
A laptop should not contain confidential information. Period.
Confidential information should be contained in a remote server properly secured, or in removable, encrypted media.
IANAL but write like a drunk one.
.... the use of the word allegedely is a healty necessity.
Oh, and it seems that secveral of the people arrested did not even have a passport, so how is it that the risk was "imminent"?
This history has still lots of stuff to show...
IANAL but write like a drunk one.
Enough alternatives - unless you travel to a location where they haven't discovered the PC yet.
Just to name a few:
Musicians don't die. They just decompose.
I call bullshit. You're equating blowing up airliners with hijacking planes, when they are completely different animals. Yes, someone could check a bomb into the baggage of a plane and blow it up, but I submit that after 9/11 it became impossible for anyone other than an actual airline pilot to fly an airliner into a pre-designated building. Before 9/11 being on a plane that was being hijacked mostly meant a scary ride and some inconvenience. It was to your advantage to sit down, shut up, and not look anyone in the eye. The psychology of the airline passenger is now completely different (at least in the Western world). Today, being on a plane that gets hijacked means that unless you actively do something you are absolutely going to die. As a result, anyone stupid enough to try to hijack a plane today will suddenly find themselves outnumbered 100 to 1 by people willing to charge into gunfire to tear them to pieces because otherwise they're already dead. Add to this the pent up rage over 9/11 and locked/reinforced cockpit doors and hijacking is a fool's game. No need for air marshals or extra security there- the security comes from the passengers themselves.
Compared to that, simply blowing up a plane is a piece of cake, but far less effective. Hell, if high profile and high casualty rates are your goal, it'd be easier and much more effective to pull an Oklahoma City-style truck bombing on the airport itself, or better still a publicized crowded venue like a sporting event.
Your belief that you're safe from hijacking isn't an illusion. The illusion is your belief that airport security has anything to do with it. Enjoy your token searches and security checkpoints. I despise them as the unnecessary inconvenience and violation of my person that they are, and have shied away from flying as a result. If I can't have my laptop either then there's no way I'm going to fly. Screw the airlines, the TSA, and Homeland Security.
Boundless Expansion, Self-Transformation, Dynamic Optimism, Intelligent Technology, Spontaneous Order- BEST DO IT SO!
This is a tremendously important point.
Violence in pursuit of peace and freedom is terrible inefficient. Civil disobedience in one form or another is vastly more effective, as the case of Gandhi's India shows.
People who choose violence as a means of pursuing their goals are either a) immensely stupid or b) not really interested in the purported goal, but really interested in exploiting the chaos that violence brings. There is a final possibility, that they are cowards. Civil disobedience requires far greater courage than blowing yourself up, because it takes away your control of the situation.
Many of us are aware of how beneficial it is to the Bush/Blair folks to keep everyone scared and to portray the current world situation as a state of war. It is worth remembering that this state of war benefits the leaders on the other side just as much or more. It gives them power and prestige within their communities, where otherwise they would just be arrogant blowhards with major adequacy issues.
The one fact we can be sure of: people using violence to bring about political change are not interested in bringing about the goals they claim to be pursuing. If they did, they would use more efficient means.
Blasphemy is a human right. Blasphemophobia kills.
I know that everyone is just having fun at Dell's expense, however, the problem is with the Sony manufactured Li-ion batteries. There have been reports of Apple MacBooks suffering the same fate (Apple also procurs its batteries from Sony http://gizmodo.com/gadgets/laptops/who-else-beside s-dell-used-the-sony-batteries-apple-194728.php), however, since they ship far fewer laptops per year than Dell, they have had fewer laptops burst into flames. And then there were the cell phone batteries that were catching fire a few years ago -- http://news.com.com/Cell+phone+batteries+Avoid+get ting+burned/2100-1041_3-5420061.html.
The problem also extends to the shipment of Li-ion batteries. A shipment caught fire on a UPS plane a few months ago - http://hardware.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=06/07/ 17/1857232&from=rss.
The problem is linked to poor quality control and flawed designs.
I know this is off topic, however, this is becoming a serious problem and may lead to further restrictions when traveling on commercial aircraft.
but as they only killed funny coloured foreigners I suppose you think that does not count.
If you are so juvenile as to require that you demonize those you argue against because your own thoughts are too weak to put together a proper argument, what is the point of having a discussion with you? If you want to grow up and continue having a real discussion please do come back. I'm sure you care about people in general just as I do, to claim that anyone has it in for another race or nation of people just based on color of skin without proof they in fact are racist is reprehensible and makes you look the fool.
"There is more worth loving than we have strength to love." - Brian Jay Stanley
I'm about to take a trip in to do some photography. The camera gear I'm taking for the even totals about $4k. At first I thought of cancelling because I'm pretty much assured if the equipment is checked it will be "lost" or damaged. Now that you can carry on small things again I've gotten a smaller case that will fit everything, but I've also taken out an additional insurance policy just in case!
Hmmm... couldn't they just make you drink a sip or two of your bottled drink in front of them to pass it as harmless? Is there such a thing as potable liquid explosives?
So again, how do you recognize one? What you REALLY mean is arabs.
No I do not. I mean Islamic fundamentalists that can be blonde haired and blue eyed. You cannot know them by look.
Try again.
"There is more worth loving than we have strength to love." - Brian Jay Stanley
The few times I've ever checked my laptop I've used the following custom made case design. Now, granted that most people have real laptops that are actually fragile (as opposed to my antique Vaio FXA-49) this might not work for some.
- Go to Harbor Freight, Enco, or similar.
- Buy a "Sample" Case, or the aluminum sided technicians case. IMHO the Sample case works best for laptops, but the technicians case works best for a 12 pack of beer bottles (Delerium Tremens/Nocturn/Chimay Red.. Yum.)
- Rip the guts of the case out. Reinforce the corners with wood blocks cut to fit and glued in place.
- Line interior with 1/2 inch of 'disposable ice cooler' stryofoam (use a good glue)
- Add 1/2 inch layer of High Density Foam (firm but slightly squishy) cut to fit and glue in place.
- Line latch portion of lid with interlocking layers of same foams.
- Wrap laptop in a pillow case, a drycleaners bag, another pillow case, and add a "cheesecutter" wire loop around one edge (cuts the lid section).
- Build cardboard form of available interior space inside case.
- Insert bagged laptop into form, attach ends of 'cheesecutter' to outside of form.
- Add one to two cans of "expando foam"
- Allow to cure.
- Trim to fit.
- Peel cardboard, pull cheesecutter wire, extract laptop, inner pillowcase, and drycleaners bag.
- Outer pillow case becomes the liner.
- Fabric or doublesided sticky tape "expando foam" to high-density foam.
- Load laptop, close case. Wrap with two elastic straps.
Presto, one relatively shock-proof laptop case. When swung at person is gauranteed to cause more damage to person than to the laptop inside. How tough is this configuration? My laptop survived a roughly 10 foot drop onto concrete. Totaled the aluminum sided case, shattered the styrofoam, mangled one corner of the HDF, and crumpled a tiny bit of the expando foam, but the laptop survived without a scratch.
Hope this helps.
I went to college on the opposite side of the country from where I grew up. On long breaks, I would take the hard drive from my desktop home with me - in a cardboard box in my carry-on backpack. I continued to do this even after 9/11. The most scrutiny this ever resulted in was that they often, but not always, swiped the outside of my backpack for explosive residue.
After several intelligence blunders.... .... the use of the word allegedely is a healthy necessity.
I do agree there. =)
A few years ago I checked in my GRiD laptop thinking that it would survive anything thrown at it. These laptops were supposed to be indestructible... the story goes that they've even survived falls out of helicopters. Mine had a smashed screen after Northwest was done with it. It turns out that the screen latch didn't lock properly.... In the end I got a rebate for my next Northwest flight in compensation... not a bad deal for a 386 laptop. :-)
Pardon for being a spelling nazi...but HOLY SHIT, BATMAN!!! "redention as human beens"??
I would *THINK* you meant "REDEMPTION as human BEINGS"...
Then again, maybe you meant "human beans"...but we may never know.
While I can forgive you for redemption...the other is fucking ridiculous!
Agile Spaceport - You will never find a more wretched hive of scrum and villainy. We must be cautious.
laptops are already allowed again iirc
note: i'm known as plugwash most places but i screwd up registering that here somehow in the past and now can't register
> Every homicide bomber in the western world is a Moslem. Sorry, you lose.
Even the non-religious Tamil Tigers, who invented the suicide vest and as of 2000 were "unequivocally the most effective and brutal terrorist organization ever to utilize suicide terrorism"?
And Japanese Communists, who brought the idea of kamikaze-style suicide attacks to the Middle East?
And Polish Nihilists, who introduced suicide bombing to the modern world with the assassination of Czar Alexander II?
The notion of suicide bombings, much less suicide attacks in general, is by no means an idea unique to Muslims, and to argue otherwise is to simply display your utter ignorance.
1994: Had a Mac SE in a padded "carry-on" bag that had fit on the bins in one direction. 3 months later, they wouldn't let me take it on the plane, I argued and argued with the staff, but gave in and let them check it, marked with "fragile" tape. Hard drive died, no backup, computer ruined. The worst part: The airlines are not liable for damage to electronics. They are not liable for any valuables - read the fine print on the back of your ticket (or wherever they're hiding it these days). I would not check electronics, jewelry, or anything valuable.
Glad the rules changed, but I do hope this doesn't have to happen again.