A new program has appeared at San Jose Airport, and a few other airports like Orlando. It’s called “Clear” and is largely the product of the private company Clear at flyclear.com. But something smells very wrong.

To get the Clear card, you hand over $99/year. The private company keeps 90% and the TSA gets the small remainder. You then have to provide a fingerprint, an iris scan and your SSN, among other things.

What do you get for this? You get to go to the front of the security line, past all the hoi polloi. But that’s it. Once at the front of the line, you still go through the security scan the same as anybody else. Which is, actually, the right thing to do since “trusted traveller” programs which actually let you bypass the security procedure are in fact bad for security compared to random screening.

But what doesn’t make sense is — why all the background checks and biometrics just to go to the head of the line? Why wouldn’t an ordinary photo ID card work? It doesn’t matter who you are. You could be Usama bin Ladin because all you did was not wait in line.

So what gives? Is this just an end run to get people more used to handing over fingerprints and other information as a natural consequence of flying? Is it a plan to change the program to one that lets the “clear” people actually avoid being x-rayed. As it stands, it certainly makes no sense.

Note that it’s not paying to get to the front of the line that makes no sense, though it’s debatable why the government should be selling such privileges. It’s the pointless security check and privacy invasion. For some time United Airlines at their terminal in SFO has had a shorter security line for their frequent flyers. But it doesn’t require any special check on who you are. If you have status or a 1st class ticket, you’re in the short line.

Normally I’m a general-purpose computing guy. I like that the computer that runs my TV with MythTV is a general purpose computer that does far more than a Tivo ever would. My main computer is normally on and ready for me to do a thousand things.

But there is value in specialty internet appliances, especially ones that can be very low power and small. But it doesn’t make sense to have a ton of those either.

I propose a generic internet appliance box. It would be based on the same small single-board computers which run linux that you find in the typical home router and many other small network appliances. It would ideally be so useful that it would be sold in vast quantities, either in its generic form or with minor repurposings.

Here’s what would be in level 1 of the box:

• A small, single-board linux computer with low power processor such as the ARM
• Similar RAM and flash to today’s small boxes, enough to run a modest linux.
• WiFi radio, usually to be a client — but presumably adaptable to make access points (in which case you need ethernet ports, so perhaps not.)
• USB port
• Infrared port for remote control or IR keyboard (optionally a USB add-on)

Optional features would include:

• Audio output with low-fi speaker
• Small LCD panel
• DVI output for flat panel display
• 3 or 4 buttons arranged next to the LCD panel

The USB port on the basic unit provides a handy way to configure the box. On a full PC, write a thumb-drive with the needed configuration (in particular WiFi encryption keys) and then move the thumb drive to the unit. Thumb drives can also provide a complete filesystem, software or can contain photo slide shows in the version with the video output. Thumb drives could in fact contain entire applications, so you insert one and it copies the app to the box’s flash to give it a personality.

Here are some useful applications:

• In many towns, you can see when a bus or train will arrive at your stop over the internet. Program the appliance with your stop and how long it takes to walk there after a warning. Press a button when you want to leave, and the box announces over the speaker a countdown of when to go to meet the transit perfectly.
• Email notifier
• MP3 output to stereo or digital speakers
• File server (USB connect to external drives — may require full ethernet.)
• VOIP phone system speakerphone/ringer/announcer
• Printer server for USB printers
• Household controller interface (X10, thermostat control, etc.)

Slap on the back of cheap flat panel display mounted on the wall, connected with video cable. Now offer a vast array of applications such as:

• Slide show
• Security video (low-res unless there is an mpeg decoder in the box.)
• Weather/News/Traffic updates
• With an infrared keyboard, be a complete terminal to other computer apps and a minimal web browser.

There are many more applications people can dream up. The idea is that one cheap box can do all these things, and since it could be made in serious quantities, it could end up cheaper than the slightly more specialized boxes, which themselves retail for well under $50 today. Indeed today’s USB printer servers turn out to be pretty close to this box.

The goal is to get these out and let people dream up the applications.