Well, let’s not get all crazy and sentimental and thankful and all, but this actually makes a measure of sense: “checkpoint friendly” cases.
[…] TSA said it reached out to bag manufacturers this year to design laptop cases that would provide a clear, unobstructed image of the computer as it passed through an X-ray machine. The agency said the new bags will be available for purchase this month.
To qualify as “checkpoint friendly,” a bag must have a designated laptop-only section that unfolds to lie flat on the X-ray machine belt and contains no metal snaps, zippers or buckles and no pockets.
It will be interesting to see how well these work and maintain protection for notebooks (which usually rest in the middle, and most protected, thus least-unfoldable, section of cases).
I hate the term “checkpoint friendly,” though — I really don’t care if the case is friendly toward checkpoints, I want something that’s easier for me, the traveler.
As it stands, I’ll be the first to admit that my briefcase is a mess, largely because I treat it as a purse, carrying anything I might (and sometimes do) potentially need at the office, at home, or on a business trip. That means a mare’s next of extra cables, headphones, power stuff, pens, highlighters, etc. And, oh yeah, files and some books. That makes my briefcase distinctly un-checkpoint-friendly (though it rarely gets more than a second glance on the X-ray), and a pain to slip the computer in-and-out of.
I do have my ey on a nice leather briefcase by Fossil to replace this one. I’d need to look at it again, and figure out what secondary containers I’d need within it, etc. But since my current briefcase is starting to look a bit worn …
(via Ginny)