In a message dated 10/2/01 10:21:14 AM, [EMAIL PROTECTED] writes:
>The strange thing is that I have had similar experiences in the past >before Sept 11. I had my laptop swabbed with a small white cloth and >then the swab was put under some sort of sensor ( on a trip from >Raleigh Durham to New York). This was about a year ago. Folks, the FAA is not a part of the Federal Government and airport security is run by the lowest bidder and paid for by the airlines. There is no standardization. The swabs and test equipment are looking for chemical residue from explosives. 3 years ago I had my briefcase, with my PB5300 inside, swabbed, I asked if they wanted me to turn it on and they said no. They were surprised that I knew what the swab was for. (SFO) I had no special knowledge about the explosives search techniques at the time. My father as a professional photographer had been thru airport security hundreds, if not thousands of times. On occasion he would not set off the metal detectors, yet he always had two pounds of steel and stainless in his brace. He even covered a Presidential speech where the Secret Services' metal detectors did not go off. But who would have wanted to harm President Ford? As to why Mar was asked to turn on his 3 laptops, I would guess that since it was outside of the norm, that it was flagged. The amount of explosives that could be hidden in a laptop or even a spare battery could bring a plane out of the sky, and someone is bringing 3 on board??? And they prolly did not have the explosives test equipment. I have already asked the listmoms if we could expound on this thread and go a bit OT and talk more about airport and airplane security. I felt that if we were to be prohibited from taking a laptop on a plane that that would affect mobile computing. The stated purpose of this list is _technical_ issues that affect mobile computing. But if you can not travel with a laptop, there would be no need for this list, and currently many airlines are talking of banning all carry-on. So either ask the listmoms to _temporarily_ allow us to expound on this subject or ... can we end this thread now? Brent -- PowerBooks is sponsored by <http://lowendmac.com/> and... Small Dog Electronics http://www.smalldog.com | Enter To Win A | -- Canon PowerShot Digital Cameras start at $299 | Free iBook! | Support Low End Mac <http://lowendmac.com/lists/support.html> PowerBooks list info: <http://lowendmac.com/lists/powerbooks.shtml> Send list messages to: <mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To unsubscribe, email: <mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]> For digest mode, email: <mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Subscription questions: <mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Archive: <http://www.mail-archive.com/powerbooks%40mail.maclaunch.com/> Using a Macintosh? Get free email and more at Applelinks! <http://www.applelinks.com>
