they want to make sure it's not a bomb.
most of the airports i've been to make everyone turn them on.
an xbox is just plastic, so it's easy to scan.
a laptop is metal, different density plastics, etc... which could look like different things in the scanner.
the reason why they want only laptops is b/c of poor post-9/11 security flaws. they just don't want to admit it. people with weapons are still getting aboard (like me with a multi-tool multiple times - i wear it all the time so i forget it's there) and there are still many opportunites to wreak havoc, but it seems to be a forgotten subject after we threw billions of dollars at the problem.
terrorists can still pass for average people even with the new profiling laws. it's domestic terrorism that will get us later. individuals with non-detectable plastic sharpened utensils can do the same kind of damage that happened on 9/11.
sky marshalls can't be everywhere at once and neither can airport security and poorly managed security systems that are decades old.
sorry if i sound like a naysayer, but i try to be a realist. i know that when i step onto an airplane, enter a large building, ride the subway, that i could be a victim of terrorism and i accept it, since there is nothing i can do.
