We don't know how many airports total are being affected, but FAA computers at one of their facilities are having trouble processing data, which means flights everywhere are being delayed. So far CNN says LaGuardia in NY and Hartsfield-Jackson in Atlanta were affected, but radar and plane contact is fine. If you're flying today or tomorrow (like I am), you should get to the airport early. Or late, I guess, if flights are delayed. Maybe just show up at your normal time. [CNN]

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First it was liquid bottles. Then laptops. And now they are seizing our penis extensors, penis pumpers, and other sexual gadgets. The FDA is saying that they represent a real risk and federal border agents have now a guideline to confiscate them at US territory entry points. The list would be hilarious if it weren't so surreal and stupid:

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This is an Airbus A380--the largest passenger aircraft in the world--eaten alive by an Antonov AN-124--the largest mass-produced cargo aeroplane in the world (which I filmed inside at Dubai's airport). Before you exclaim "Photoshop!", this is a real photo by Dmitry Avdeev. However, it's not a real A380: it's a 1/3 scale model, which makes it the biggest aircraft replica in the world. So big, in fact, that its 26.5m wingspan is a metre wider than a real Concorde. Seeing it completely built in video gives you an idea of its gigantic scale.

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Forgetting to bring your electronics with you on a flight sucks really, really hard. This is why the DFW airport has allowed Best Buy to put Best Buy Express vending machines inside several terminals, giving travellers a chance to pick up the lost gadgets, chargers or headphones that they would otherwise have to do without. Is it a good deal? Probably not. But think of it as the electronics equivalent of having to buy a pack of Corn Nuts and going to town because you missed lunch. [Dallas News]

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"For six long minutes on June 30, screening operations froze at Jackson-Evers International Airport's West checkpoint in Mississippi." Bated breath. "Transportation Security Officer Scot Peele leveraged his training and experience when he detected the suspicious item while monitoring the X-ray image of the passenger's carry-on bag." The "explosive-like" item that brought you this tense Jack Bauer moment? An empty water bottle and an engineer's homemade battery pack to keep his portable DVD alive on a long flight to Hawaii.

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We have known for quite some time that the TSA would allow companies to develop "checkpoint friendly" laptop cases--and now the first products are beginning to roll out to the masses. The ScanFast collection from Mobile Edge is among these new releases, and their lineup features a backpack, briefcase, and a messenger bag that can allow security personnel to easily view its contents so you never have to remove your laptop. The products are expected to be released "in late summer" but pricing info has not been made public. [Mobile Edge]

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All you travellers coming home tomorrow from your wild and crazy Independence Day weekend vacations, don't be one of 12,000 people who lose their laptops at airports every week. That's right, that ain't no typo—12,000 dudes and dudettes somehow manage to misplace their portable computers every seven days. That's 600,000 machines a year, many containing sensitive information that companies need to account for.

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The director of the TSA, Kip Hawley, has spoken to the New York Times and confirmed that X-ray-friendly laptop cases will be accepted by the agency as soon as they hit the shelves, potentially bringing an end to the panic that your laptop will go astray in all the fuss at airport checkpoints. We brought you first hints of this back in May, but it looks like the process of getting the bags approved is well underway. And both Targus and Pathfinder Luggage are hoping to have products on sale as soon as September or October.

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The motors inside LiveLuggage's ingenious power-assisted suitcase can turn a 30kg load into something one-tenth of the size. With an anti-gravity handle and force sensors in the wheels, LiveLuggage is hack- and thief-proof and, once charged, the battery will run for a couple of hours. Costing US$1,300, I'm tempted to try one of these just to see what the Homeland Security bods might do when faced with a plastic suitcase boasting built-in electronics. [LiveLuggage via Born Rich]

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We love Transformers here at Giz, but it looks like the UK's already slightly-crazed authorities don't. A guy called Brad Jayakody was recently barred from boarding a flight at Heathrow Airport's new Terminal 5 because his T-shirt had a picture of Optimus Prime brandishing a gun.

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