ewThis lead me to the thought:
- . o O (...you wake up to find an Iranian Chemistry professor cranking his laptop...)
It was suggested that, nope, no such thing would be allowed. You'd use seat outlet power or nothing. Tough luck to those in coach without such outlets available! Isn't that ripe for abuse (think sales of business/first) by the airlines? :)
Alternatively, not only "laptops must be taken out of bags", but also "batteries must be taken out of laptops and subjected to safety/recall notice check"! Nope, I can't see that much effort being feasible. More likely a ban on batteries. D'oh!