on 4/10/02 10:35 AM, Scott C. Gregory at scgregory_at_bigpond.com wrote:
> Reminds me of the time I was flying from Sydney International to
> Auckland NZ a couple of years ago.
>
> The guy in front of me in the baggage inspection cue had one of the old
> portable computers, you know the ones that only run from a power point,
> and don't have batteries... Well the security guard hand inspects the
> guys luggage. When he gets to the computer he says "Sir, can you power
> it up for me please." The guys says that he is unable to because it
> only runs from power na doesn't have any batteries. The guard says to
> the guy "There is a power point here, please plug it in and power it up
> sir." Again the guy says he can not. But this point the security guard
> is backing away, clearly getting quite agitated, and reaching for his
> gun, again asking the guy to power the computer up, and once again is
> met with the same response.
>
> By this stage, the whole baggage check hall has come to a complete
> standstill to see what all the commotion is all about. At which point
> also, the security guards supervisor walks up and whispers something to
> the guard, who right away holsters his gun.... turns bright red, and
> left the hall, and the passenger was clear to proceed.
>
> You see, what the guard failed to remember was the fact that the airport
> terminal has been in a total blackout of for the past three hours due to
> construction work, and everyone had to be manually hand checked..... and
> of course... this poor passenger indeed, could not plug in and power up
> his portable computer!
>
> I bet the guard never lives that one down, and hopefully the passenger
> bought a newer laptop..... with a battery pack.... duty-free while he
> was away! :0)
>
>
> Cheers
>
> Scott
>
I traveled from Kansas City to Tampa and back this week with my MP2100. In
KCI airport I pulled my 2100 and keyboard out and placed in in the tray to
go through the X-ray machine. After setting off the metal detector with the
metal arch supports in my shoes, a partial strip search where I had to
unfasten my pants and a thorough wand over including the soles of my feet, I
went to the end of the x-ray conveyor and three guards surrounding my Newton
motioned me over. They weren't concerned about the security of it...they
wanted to know what it was, how it worked and who made it. I gave them a
short demo of handwriting recognition, how you could web surf, email, hook
up the keyboard and a look at my contacts and calendar.
The head guard says, "What will they think of next. I bet this thing will
replace all the notebooks within 2 years!" I then explained the death of
the Newton 4 years ago.
On the flight back I used the Newt to type some thank-you letters. Three
people stopped to ask what I was using. Maybe I should buy some of the used
Newtons on eBay and sell them in airports!
-- Tom Hofts Lawrence, KS-- Read the List FAQ/Etiquette: http://www.newtontalk.net/faq.html Read the Newton FAQ: http://www.guns-media.com/mirrors/newton/faq/ This is the NewtonTalk mailing list - http://www.newtontalk.net
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