They've been rumored for a while, but it appears that they will actually be in existence in a couple of months: laptop bags that can get through airport security while your precious laptop remains snug within. If you carry your machine in one of these bags, you won't have to remove it in order to pass X-ray inspection, according to the New York Times.

Two major makers, Targus and Pathfinder Luggage, have already announced models that will be available by fall. Half a dozen other manufacturers are said to be scrambling to catch up. Targus is planning 4 models, priced from $39 to $100. Pathfinder's offerings, a briefcase and a wheeled model, will be more expensive, about $150.

Since the bags don't yet exist, there are no photos. So it's not quite clear to me how the design(s) will ensure that laptops can be inspected easily while still in their jammies.

The problem up to now, the Times says, is that cables, mouses, and other impedimenta essential to actually using your machine on the road have gotten in the way of the X-ray pics. How the new bags will solve that problem is not at all obvious from the description, to wit:

"The new cases include either a fold-down section in a bigger briefcase or a stand-alone protective sleeve that contains no extra clutter and can be readily viewed through the scanner."

Fold-down section in a bigger briefcase? Stand-alone protective sleeve? Hello, we've been using those for years.

I await clarification. Meantime, I hope someone will find a way to get rid of the hassle of airport foot gear removal. I mean, besides those humiliating rubber flip-flops.