I spend far too much of my life sitting in airports. This time has enabled me to discover some practical survival skills for using a laptop in the airport. It's also meant that any news story involving computers and airports makes me pay close attention. Just this week, a reporter wanted to do a story from Los Angeles International Airport about American Airlines introducing onboard wireless connectivity to their flights. And the reason I couldn't meet the reporter for the interview? I was heading out of town at a different terminal and couldn't change my plans. But the reason for this post is three items in the news involving airports, laptops and security.
The first story is about the US Customs agency seizing laptops and other digital storage devices from US citizens upon reentering the US. No warrant, no reasonable suspicion required. In fact, a survey of business travelers found that 7% have experienced the loss of a laptop or other device in this way! Of course, the real purpose of these investigations is to determine if people are engaging in terrorist, criminal or espionage activities. And some terribly bad people have been caught using this method. But the net is apparently thrown so widely that innocent people can get tangled. We're all against terrorism, corporate and governmental spying and child pornographers but has this practice gone on too long and without enough structure? Wisconsin Senator Russ Feingold recently held Congressional hearings on the topic.
Second on the fun topic is the possibility of losing your laptop at the airport. It seems almost far fetched. It's big, valuable and you put it on the conveyor belt at Security along with your purse/wallet and carry on luggage. What's to forget? Apparently lots of people just walk away, leaving their laptop behind. 630,000 laptops are lost each year in United States airports. And few of them ever make their way back to their rightful owner. I've already got some colorful stickers on my laptop because I'm always afraid I won't be able to identify my black laptop from your black laptop in my rush to get my one-quart bag in my luggage and my shoes back on, boarding pass in hand, etc. Would those stickers be enough for someone in lost and found to contact me? I doubt it!
Lastly (or number three), in an effort to speed up the "laptop through security" process, the TSA is approving new laptop case designs that won't require you to remove the laptop altogether. Great idea! Let's cut down the lost laptop statistic to just those seized at customs. 