Is there a standard carryone size that will get thru all the "cages" that different airlines have to measure them ?

I have seen so many different size bags on a plane ,

I just do not want to be caught out with the wrong size so that it has to be checked , as I usually hand carry my Netbook, DVD player etc

To me "checked" means all the crooks downstairs can go thru your stuff, throw it , drop it and nothing will be done about it,,,,

Thanks for you ideas

Rally