“Programmer Michael Nygard is used to travel. He’s got the process down, from airport to hotel. Unfortunately, the TSA isn’t as prepared,” Dave Caolo reports for TUAW.
“While passing through airport security recently, he was pulled aside and made to sit in the holding area. He watched as a gaggle of TSA workers examined his things, especially his laptop,” Caolo reports.
Caolo reports, “‘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… As you’ve probably guessed, Michael’s MacBook Air had them all baffled.”
Full article here.
Nygard’s original blog post, “Steve Jobs Made Me Miss My Flight,” here.
[Thanks to every MacDailyNews Reader (and their mothers) for the heads up.]
MacDailyNews Take: Yeah, okay. Color us cynical, but are TSA workers really that out of it? Granted, the TSA is not a hotbed for Mensa candidates, but didn’t the large Apple logo on the Air’s lid help them along even a little bit? How about the Air’s major TV, print, and radio campaign that’s been running for nearly two solid months before Nygard’s blog post? Even that didn’t help the poor TSA schlubs any, huh? We’d like to see the video evidence, please. Yup, you guess it, this story sounds just a bit too made up to us, almost like a PR plant — “The MacBook Air is so thin and advanced that it baffles government workers!” — but, hey, there’s an outside chance that we might be wrong once or twice, so what do you think?
Actually, I don’t doubt this. I’ve seen some Airport wackiness, and all it takes is one person with a raised eyebrow.
Make that airport wackiness, to disambiguate for the Mac community
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Unless you have witnessed it, the combined intelligence of the TSA personnel is quite stunning. And honestly, if you are not in the tech sphere, or read the bigger publications regularly, I doubt you would be aware either. We get caught up in our little world, and we forget the life of the lemmings…
Even if the TSA HAD heard of the MBA, he probably didn’t know about the SSD.
I believe it. I’ve traveled by air enough to know that the ‘security measures’ exclude my wife’s makeup, body cream, toothpaste, shave cream, etc. She couldn’t carry the items in her suitcase unless they were contained in a clear ziploc bag. She had to go out and come back in with them. It was ok to have them but the ultra secure explosion proof no leak ziploc was the safety key.
I doubt the educational level is too high for those who are entrusted with the safety of millions of people and billions of dollars of equipment. I brought a food slicing device through the safety checkpoint and the TSA employee had to ask a superior if it was safe. I can just imagine what a sleek new laptop would do their minds.
Ooops was getting off onto a rant. My patriotism was slipping. I must be reeducated for the good of all democracies around the globe. Do not think for myself. Do not think for myself. Do not…
The shave cream was mine.
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Some people are baffled by the stupidity of TSA agents? Come on. Doesn’t anyone remember the stories about the hiring process? One man had to be reminded to bathe, but was an excellent screener”.
Or the article about an undercover TSA screener?
http://www.concierge.com/cntraveler/articles/detail?articleId=10624&pageNumber=1&print=true
I went through JFK on a slow day one time and was terrified when they started shouting at me from the Xray machine while I was putting my shoes back on. They were real worked up about what was in my carry on but didn’t want to open it. They just kept shouting “What’s in there? What is it?” I was going white trying to figure out what they were on about and I think they picked up on that and someone finally said. “Is it a doll ?” and I answered “It’s a Rescue Hero action figure for my son” They went nuts shouting “I knew it. Told you!”
They all started laughing and apologized. It was pretty funny after I realized they were having some fun trying to guess what stuff was on the Xray.
I have another good story about a national guardsman drawing his rifle on me at the San Francisco airport right after 9/11 but I’ll save that one.
So, no, nothing about security at the airport surprises me.
if it was a dell they would have ushered them right through…
They don’t exactly recruit the best and the brightest for the TSA.
Sorry, I fly regularly with a MacBook Air. And I have never been challenged.
Does anyone remember when security used to make you boot up your laptop to prove that all the gizmos inside were really part of a computer? I used to laugh at the poor Windows guys who had to wait interminably for their laptops to boot up when all I had to do is wake my sleeping Powerbook.
I was pulled aside by airport security when I traveled with an original 45-pound Mac Portable. They are not trained to know what the hell is going on.
Q. What did the airport security professional get on his IQ test?
A. Drool.
And just think, if Hillary Clinton or Barrack Obama wins the election, we’ll be handling your medical care as well!
Hey, my magic word is “plane!”
Sounds like MDN doesn’t fly anywhere very often. TSA fools are dumb as dirt.
@original Shiva:
Thanks with clarifying the issue of the shave cream. My mind is soooo fast.
You won’t see video evidence of this. One of the TSA rules is that you cannot video tape anything in the area of security screening. It helps them to keep the terrorists guessing, I guess.
The comment about Obama and Hillary was just plain ignorant. I don’t believe they were the ones that came up with the TSA in the first place, fool.
I’ve dealt with TSA before. They even conducted an investigation on me that took 6 months! Nothing with them surprises me.
I’m not saying they all are like that or even the majority are like that. Just that it is believable to me.
MDN could try and contact Michael Nygard. If you are going to question him you should at least do him the courtesy of questioning him.
BTW – I was cleared. Boom!
“The MacBook Air is so thin and advanced that it baffles government workers!”
Not that this is a particular accomplishment…
Q: Where does an 800 pound gorilla sleep?
A: Anywhere he wants.
Q: Why does the TSA stop people at random for no apparent reason?
A: Because they can.
Like other caged animals, they are dangerous and to be feared.
The crack about Hillary & Obama was an observation about ALL big government initiatives. They are all mirrors of the TSA. The TSA is a very visible government agency that we all must suffer through, but just about every Federal Government bureau is equally inept, just better hidden for most of us. Of course Hillary and Obama profess to love “big government can do anything” projects (and if you don’t recognize that then it is you who are ignorant). But the fact is if you don’t like the incompetence of the TSA (which is par for government projects) then you had better prepare yourself for the worst when we allow the federal government take over healthcare, etc.
TSA will never do security right because they’re resistant to human screening – profiling, if you will. Not of the simple race or religion variety, but one covering behavior, probe and response, documentation and background. It was such profiling that kept the 20th hijacker out of the US, despite the “open door policy” to Saudis, and could have kept his partners from flying out of Logan. Technology is no substitute for the trained, human observer.
What does TSA stand for, according to the FBI?
Take Scissors Away
Funny, the TsA girl was able to find my hard drive when it was in a solid state….
When I fly I don’t give a damn what they do or ask me as long as I don’t miss my plane.
They have a job I wouldn’t want to do and don’t want.
Major BS detected. And delected.