Today's New York Times has an update on the new laptop cases that airport security folks can X-ray while still in the case. Some of the bags that fit the TSA's specifications are expected on the market by September, such as by Pathfinder and Targus. 

To make sure the cases are easily identifiable, the TSA said in its request for proposals sent to manufacturers in March that bags should be designed with "self-evident features," including an absence of buckles, pockets or zippers.

The article later states: 

Ron Davis, the executive vice president of Pathfinder Luggage, said that his company had just started producing its two new cases at a plant in the Philippines. He said both had been tested at checkpoints to ensure that they met government specifications.

"They don't want anything obscuring the view of the laptop," he said. "In our case, the material is nylon and foam, and the X-ray machine will see right through that."

Before the Woo Hoos burst forth, a caveat: The bags don't carry any special seal, such as "approved by the TSA." So you could still find yourself pulling your laptop out of your X-ray-friendly bag, and watching it go bumping down the conveyor belt in a scuffed-up plastic bin.

Still, if it gets you through just one checkout line faster at the airport, I'll be among the first lined up to buy one of these bags when they hit the market.

As for other travelers that might sneer at me for being an early adopter of the bag, as one blogger put it, who actually cares what other travelers think? We're all just trying to get through the indignities of airport security checks.