It used to be that they would only make you take out notebooks for separate x-ray. After some initial confusion about ipads the general consensus around the world was that tablets were ok, but I noticed this spring that they were asking for tablets and e-readers to be taken out, too, in Europe, the US and probably also Canada.
And believe me, there were many many people carrying a notebook, an e-reader and a tablet. And that is not counting phones, players, cameras, games consoles which until this week could stay in the bag.
What I was trying to say is that the new reality is that many people are carrying a number of devices, and checking all of these in a timely fashion, or getting people to carry fewer devices, will be a challenge.
Actually, the new requirement to keep all these charged will mean people will start to carry mobile chargers. These things have a Li-ion battery of between 3000 and 20000 mAh capacity, and the casing is ususally flimsier than your typical smartphone or tablet. I don't want to be near when one gets damaged!
And again, it's all about being perceived as doing something about the threat. Anyone who can fit something nasty within an electronic device can probably also fit a smaller battery that will provide power for those critical 5 minutes of the security check. Coming to think of it, all you need is an ink jet printed film of a popular boot screen glued to the back side of the cover glass, some LED backlighting and a jingle chip from a greeting card, both of which can be powered by a button cell. I hate to think that changing the rules will actually result in new threats being designed as a result!
Last edited by BRE; 7th Jul 2014 at 19:34.