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TSA Evaluating Laptop Bags
kbielefe writes "The Transportation Security Administration has sent out a call to laptop bag manufacturers to produce a laptop bag that could pass through airport screening without having to remove the laptop. The TSA will perform testing starting at the end of May, with the end result hopefully being a TSA stamp of approval that will reduce the hassle for a lot of us. According to the article, 'The key is for TSA screeners to be able to view the laptop in a single X-ray image, so the laptop would not need to be placed in a separate TSA bin.'"
Is right out!
Makes me want to change my boss' start up sound to loud orgasm noises before he travels.
"Can you turn this on for me?"
"Sure!"
"Aahahahahahahahoooooohhhh!"
"Trademarks are the heraldry of the new feudalism."
Just do what I do: boycott the TSA by not flying.
I've not flown since before 9/11, and I'm quite proud of it.
I support the Center for Consumer Freedom
I've been through a *LOT* of airports in the US. Pretty much every major airport.
I've only ever been asked once to turn on my laptop, and that was pre-9/11. I was leaving Detroit for Amsterdam. The funny thing was, the battery was dead. I told the security guy, if he could walk me over to a power outlet, I could plug it in, and turn it on for him. Otherwise, he was out of luck. He didn't make me, but we did chitchat about my work for a while. I worked at an adult company, and he was familiar with the company, so it made for an unusual conversation, but it was neat talking to a fan of the site. With several million daily viewers, it wasn't unexpected to bump into a few regular viewers, I just didn't expect it.
Serious? Seriousness is well above my pay grade.
Like every other country on the planet.
The lady at the Osaka airport looked at me weird when I tried to take my laptop out of the bag. I think Japan has an x-ray machine that can look through cloth, I cannot explain it any other way. We should buy those instead of what we got now and not waste our time on "Airport Cleared" bags.
I know. Actually, the zipper is usually more likely to give way than the lock, but since most luggage is soft these days, a box cutter will open almost any of them very nicely, and faster than fiddling with the zipper anyways.
Serious? Seriousness is well above my pay grade.
macbook air in an interdepartmental env?
Please use [ informative / summarizing ] SUBJECT LINES
Flame me here
It was actually first implemented after Pan-Am 103 when a bomb was fashioned into a boom-box in the cargo hold of the plane, but were discontinued when it was found that they don't actually improve security in any measurable way. They were re-instituted after the September 11 attacks in order to "do something", but like the "no liquids" on the plane they've remained in place even after they've been proven to be completely irrational and with no improvement of security.
Also the "turn on" rule was part of the aftermath of Pan-Am 103 until it was pointed out that the computer or boombox can still work perfectly fine ever after most of its internals have been removed to make a bomb.
Just thank god they didn't implement their first idea which was to ban all electronics from the cabin of the plane. Someone had the rationality to say, no that's just stupid.
It's not like this stops anything.
Most laptop batteries could easily be used to form a shaped charge with very minor modifications that wouldn't show up until after you slipped a film around the battery itself - and the separated components, combined with your seat tray table, can easily defeat the air cabin door.
At least, based on my memories of my first two Army combat field engineer courses.
Why are we as a society wasting our time on this?
-- Tigger warning: This post may contain tiggers! --