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XBox (Games) It's funny. Laugh.

Xbox 360 Sparks Bomb Scare 36

Posted by Zonk from the why-was-that-a-carry-on dept.
CivilianHero writes "The New York Post is reporting that a carry-on case, with an Xbox 360 inside, sparked a terror alert to go off at MacArthur Airport after several x-ray screenings revealed the case to be containing suspicious wires. That section of the airport was cleared and the bomb squad was deployed to investigate. That's one more reason why Xbox 360 is the bomb for Games.net and Joystiq."
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Xbox 360 Sparks Bomb Scare More

Xbox 360 Sparks Bomb Scare

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  • x-ray machines (Score:2, Interesting)

    by megrims ( 839585 )
    Aren't they able to distinguish between biological material, (which I suppose is found in bombs, that or some form of liquid.) and the electronics in the XBox?
    What would have set the machine off?

    (Or does the machine do nothing, and leave the interpretation up to the user?)
    • My god, man. Have you ever actually been to an airport?

      The X-ray machines are right there in front of you when you go through security. You can see the screens.

    • Re:x-ray machines (Score:5, Informative)

      by Yaotzin ( 827566 ) on Monday January 02, 2006 @06:52AM (#14377707)
      Take a good read here [howstuffworks.com]. Do you see the picture of the bag? That's what airport security sees on their screens and they determine whether the contents of the bags they check are a threat or not.

      • Re:x-ray machines (Score:4, Interesting)

        by Tim Browse ( 9263 ) on Monday January 02, 2006 @07:36AM (#14377788)
        So in other words, they can detect biological material?

        From your own link:

        While the colors used to signify "inorganic" and "metal" may vary between manufacturers, all X-ray systems use shades of orange to represent "organic." This is because most explosives are organic.

        The caption on the picture of the bag also says:

        Notice that all organic items are a shade of orange.
        • Well, who told you that bombs are made onlyu of biological material? You can make a bomb with almost anything. And a XBOX360 would be a perfect place to hide one. Ser www.salvaneschi.com.ar [salvaneschi.com.ar]
          • Well, who told you that I think that bombs are made only of biological material?

            As I quoted above, from the article:

            This is because most explosives are organic.

            (Emphasis added by me because you seemed to miss it the first time.)

            I said that the scanners can detect biological material, not that they can detect explosive material.

    • I assume you mean organic material not biological. They are not the same thing. It is totaly possible to build a bomb that uses not organic materal. Thermite would be a good example. In theory you could make a bomb out of liquid oxygen and powdered aluminum but I don't know how practical it would be. And I am not going to try it.

  • This looks bad.. (Score:3, Funny)

    by revmoo ( 652952 ) <slashdot.meep@ws> on Monday January 02, 2006 @04:41AM (#14377450) Homepage Journal
    Great, now I guess only terrorists will have the 360?

    Sucks...

  • fully story - no reg needed (Score:3, Informative)

    by Anonymous Coward on Monday January 02, 2006 @04:41AM (#14377454)
    December 28, 2005 -- A passenger toting an Xbox 360 in a carry-on case sparked a terror alert at MacArthur Airport on Long Island yesterday, forcing a terminal to be evacuated.
    Officials say the Chicago-bound flier, worried that his game console might be swiped if he checked it, instead put it in a metal case that he carried through security checkpoints.

    At 12:15 p.m., the container passed through an X-ray machine, and screeners thought it might have held a bomb.

    "The package looked to be suspicious with wires running through it," said airport spokeswoman Michele Remsen.

    Officials evacuated the west wing and called in the bomb squad.

    Officers examined the case and deemed it harmless.

    Airport worker Kimberley Edwards, 17, who'd been on the job for just three days, said the incident was "frightening."

    "Of course I thought it was a terrorist threat,"she said.
  • SOP seems to be to get such a device away from its handler, stick it into something that'll absorb a blast, and then detonate a second charge such that the original device cannot function and is disabled.

    Was this person's Xbox toasted? Will airport security be footing the bill for a replacement?

  • why it was a carry on (Score:3, Informative)

    by metalpet ( 557056 ) on Monday January 02, 2006 @06:48AM (#14377702) Journal
    Probably because of the current policy of having checked-in luggages inspected at will, and the various reports of objects found missing after said inspections.
    I'm sure problems that may have happened in the past have been fixed by now, but it still seems often easier to keep your valuables close to you rather than to hope the system is somehow watching the watchers.

    There's also the matter of how delicately checked-in luggages get handled, and how some electronic equipment could take offense to it and go on indefinite strike as a result.

    In short, checked-in luggages are fine for clothes, shoes and toothbrushes.
    Electronic equipment is usually much better off in a carry-on.
  • Someone set us up the 360? For great justice.

  • gotta wonder if these brainiacs (Score:4, Insightful)

    by NeMon'ess ( 160583 ) <flinxmid&yahoo,com> on Monday January 02, 2006 @07:20AM (#14377765) Homepage Journal
    Even asked him what it was and if so, why didn't they believe him? He put it in a metal case, so what? That makes it more conspicious. I'm quite sure many folks have taken their PS2s in their carry-on because they didn't want 100 pounds of luggage on top of theirs in the cart-trains out on the tarmac.
    • Doesn't matter what he said it was. They are suppose to check anythink either suspicious or unidentifiable that shows up on the x-ray. This was both.

      I know someone who had their bag searched because of quaters in a pill container.

      The real issue is is everyone's overreacting, again.
  • There is a very cleaver joke in this headline. Lets see if you can spot it. . .. ... You see bombs sometimes have wicks that "spark" when lit. Get it now? HAHA! So funny! Really!
  • Someone set up us the bomb!

    What you say?!

  • Bundle your wires (Score:4, Insightful)

    by DustMagnet ( 453493 ) on Monday January 02, 2006 @04:51PM (#14380399) Journal
    I always bundle my wires and keep them separate from complex electronics. They way the screeners have no trouble telling the wires aren't connected to explosives. These people have a tough job. The quicker they can tell that your bag is safe, the better it is for everyone.

    In my checked bags over the holidays, I put all wires and antennas in an outside pocket of my checked bag. Power lumps with attached cords were wrapped and kept away from my hubs, etc. Since I started making an effort to help the X-ray guys, my bags have not been hand searched.
    • Good call. A while back (a year or two after 9/11) there was a big call for new security in all the airports. I'd been working security at the time and figured a government contract would be better than what I was doing.

      I went to apply and ended up testing in. The tests had you looking at a bunch of items and trying to memorize what they looked like. Knives, guns, explosives, and various junk. Then you would look at scans of bags and try to ID not only if there was an object from the list, but what o

  • I've been stopped at airports for carrying almost any of my electronic devices. My old titanium powerbook caused a bag search on a few occasions. One time, we were carrying this portable chess set with round peices that stacked, which happened to look a lot like explosives on the scanner.
  • "Oh, it's not a bomb, it's an... Xbox 360!"

    "We'd, uh, we'd better get this back to the lab for.... additional tsting."

    "Yeah....testing."
  • This was on Game Politics [livejournal.com] a week ago.

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