The suspiciously thin, port-free laptop sends airport security
into a tizzy, until cooler heads prevail. Maybe it's time for some
tech briefings at the TSA, no?On
his blog, programmer Michael Nygard (by way of the
Unofficial Apple Weblog) writes that during a recent trip
through the airport, his solid-state
MacBook Air stopped TSA agents—puzzled by its lack of
rear-facing ports or a standard hard drive—in their tracks.
Nygard said the agents put him and his suspicious "device" in a
holding cubicle as security staffers huddled nearby, looking at
X-ray printouts of the sinister-looking Air and scratching their
heads.
A younger TSA agent—who, apparently, was aware of Apple's newest
laptop—tried explaining to the group that the Air uses solid-state
memory in place of a traditional hard drive. The senior staffer,
however, was still reluctant to let it go: "New products on the
market? They haven't been TSA approved. Probably shouldn't be
permitted," Nygard writes.
Finally, after booting up the Air and running a program, the agents
let Nygard go, he said—but only after he'd missed his flight.
I've been hearing stories like these all too often, which leads to
the question: how exactly are TSA agents being trained, anyway? How
about, I dunno, some regular briefings on the latest gadgets that
might be making their way through security checkpoints? And while
TSA agents are wasting time fussing with laptops, undercover
investigators with bomb parts in their bags have been sailing
though security checkpoints.
Anyone else out there get stopped by airport security because of a
"suspicious" gadget in their luggage? Feel free to vent right
here.
