Airport security on Macbook Air: Laptop or suspect device?

Want to sound off, piss off or otherwise be an ass. Want to discuss non-tech and non-linux related things? This is the forum for you. Be advised, there is little moderation here and you must come with a thick skin! It's all in good fun!

Moderators: snarkout, Patrick, dann

Post Reply
User avatar
greggh
Posts: 1036
Joined: Fri Jun 02, 2006 7:17 pm
Location: Brooklyn, NY USA

Airport security on Macbook Air: Laptop or suspect device?

Post by greggh » Tue Mar 11, 2008 9:17 am

http://www.macnn.com/articles/08/03/10/ ... confusing/
The MacBook Air's thin design is causing some confusion for the technically ignorant, according to one blogger who says that the ultra-portable caused him to miss his flight. When going through the TSA airport security checkpoint, blogger Michael Nygard was held up as security staff gathered around his MacBook Air, trying to make sense of the slender laptop. One of the less technically knowledgeable staff points out the lack of standard features as cause for alarm.

"I'm standing, watching my laptop on the table, listening to security clucking just behind me," Nygard recalls of the situation. "'There's no drive," one says. 'And no ports on the back. It has a couple of lines where the drive should be,' she continues."

Nygard was made to wait until a younger agent came over to the gathering to inform his comrades of their error, that it is indeed a laptop and not a "device". After making three attempts to describe the concept of a flash-based hard drive, security lets Nygard through the checkpoint, only to go back to the service center to rebook, as his flight had since left.
Well at least even "the technically ignorant" can recognize a lack of useful features when they see it. :lol:

Post Reply