Screener,
Thanks for your feedback.

There's nothing wrong with telling someone, "Your shoes will set off the alarm." That's both polite and appropriate.

What I was saying about the ETD is that there should be some way for conveyor belt x-ray systems to integrate ETD. Right now the machines are too slow, so the technology isn't ready yet. It's just a pain to go through the x-ray then go over to the ETD, wait for the swabbing, wait for the ETD machine to respond, etc.

The shoe and electronic device issues underscore the continued inconsistencies that outrage frequent flyers. Yes the TSA is new and big, but it's not brand new...

At some airports I've been snapped at for taking off my shoes. Sometimes I get reprimanded for not using a bin, sometimes because I used the bin. Sometimes I have to show my ID at the WTMD and get my boarding card initialed by the screener; in other cases I'm told that my boarding card and ID have to go through the x-ray machine. No wonder I get frustrated!