The new rule's been in effect since August, and here's how it works: If a laptop is in a case or compartment all by itself and without zippers, pockets or other hardware that can obstruct the X ray machine's view of the computer, it can stay snug in its case. This means that when Girlawhirl travels with her laptop in a neoprene sleeve she can just pull the whole sleeve out of her larger carry on and put it on the X ray belt. She has to be sure not to stuff any documents, jump drives or even the plug in that sleeve, but there's plenty of room for those elsewhere in her bag.

There's also a new kind of computer bag that contains a foldout pocket designed for a laptop that complies with the new rule. These pouches or sections of the bags are designed to fold out and lay flat outside of the bag so the computer can be run through the X ray section of the machine without being obstructed by the other contents of the bag.

Not all computer bags meet the criteria, but Girlawhirl suspects that soon enough they'll catch up. Mobile Edge has a new ScanFast collection of bags that complies with the TSA rules, but until Girlawhirl finds a bag she loves, she'll keeps her computer in a neoprene sleeve.

Here's an added bonus: make a travel-friendly laptop bag with these easy instructions from favecrafts.com.