The process of removing a laptop from the bag each time it has to pass through the x-ray machine increases the risk of the laptop getting dropped or stolen and is otherwise rather annoying.  So the concept of a TSA-friendly laptop case that doesn’t require the laptop to come out of the bag is pretty appealing.  Two vendors, Targus and Skooba, are on the case, working with the TSA on designs that are supposed to obviate the removal need at the checkpoints.

There’s just one problem with the whole thing – the TSA isn’t actually going to be specifically approving designs.  So, unlike the TSA-approved lock program that specifies exactly what it takes and includes a label to indicate that the TSA actually approves, these new bags will be made “according to guidelines that the TSA publishes.”  On the plus side, the vendors are actually working with the TSA to ensure that their products will be OK before they start marketing them.  On the down side the designs in question are basically clamshells that open to have the laptop laying flat on the x-ray belt, without the protection of a bin surrounding it when the suitcase behind it comes rolling down the belt.

Obviously the manufacturers are hugely excited by this development:

“This could be huge,” said Michael Hess, CEO of Skooba, of Rochester, N.Y. “Anything that speeds up the process and reduces the burden on travelers and screeners will improve the deteriorating travel situation.”

Surprisingly he doesn’t mention that he expects huge revenue from folks buying new bags.

Anything that improves the screening process is a welcome development, but this seems more focused on driving private business than on actually making things work better.