Our friend Rich Oppenheim has been pondering the idea of CHECKING his laptop! As far as I'm concerned that will happen when the TSA workers pry my cold, dead fingers off my tablet ..... er, ah .... well, maybe Rich is right and we should start at least considering the possibility.
Until now, when your laptop traveled with you, it was safely stored in the same location as you - under your seat, in the overhead bin or on your lap. With the threats impacting every aspect of air travel, your laptop may soon not be allowed to travel with you.
Checking your laptop as luggage presents a few problems. First, the loss of work time while at the airport and in the air. Second is the possibility of the laptop being stolen. Third is the potential for damage while the luggage handlers play Frisbee with the bags. 
A few ideas to overcome the risks:
Lost work time – plan your work time well
Stolen laptop – backup your data, use passwords, remove sensitive data before travel
Damage – use a better protective case. Consider the Otter Box.
Of course, one can use all sorts of technology to reduce both the need to travel and travel time itself and therefore reduce all sorts of risks.
