The pub worker theft device

As a homeless internet developer, I spend a lot of my time in pubs using their wifi and drinking their beer, drinking beer has a side-effect, and not just on my code quality, my bladder fills and I need to partake of the facillities, this means abandoning the laptop on the table of a strange pub in a strange town - the data's safe, that's encrypted - not for me the embarrassment of losing a laptop chock full of an unsecured source tree, but the machine is worth a fair bit, and it'd be bloody annoying too. So I was thinking - T60's and indeed all decent laptops already have an accellerometer in it, why isn't there a program which starts shrieking "Help, Help, he's stealing me" at full volume. Probably be really crap, but it should at least exist - people? Of course if you do see a strange bloke sitting in a corner drinking alone yet talking to himself and imaginary people on IRC, go buy him a drink - it might be me.

Comments

  1. Ricky Clarkson Says:
    So the next time I want to steal a laptop that's on, I'll have to hold its power button for about 4 seconds first. Thanks for the heads up. I had a laptop stolen a few years ago. My only consolation is the knowledge that it would have fallen to bits by now had I still had it. I got CCTV footage of the guy stealing it, but because you couldn't see it inside the bag it was in, they probably couldn't do much. Sounds like garbage to me, but that's what we pay our taxes for.. I just take my laptop with me to the toilet.
  2. some jw Says:
    If you'd gotten the X60s then you'd have just been able slip it in your pocket. :-)
  3. Jesper Larsen-Ledet Says:
    If only you had a MacBook :) iAlertU is just what you're talking about. It's "armed" using the apple remote and gives off a nice reassuring beepbeep that sounds like a car alarm. If anyone tries to move your machine (or fiddle with any of the buttons) it starts flashing and making noise. It even takes a phot of the would-be thief using the built in camera :) http://www.slappingturtle.com/home/?p=3
  4. Jim Says:
    JW, I know I've put on weight recently, but my shorts aren't exactly big enough for an X60 ! I am thinking of getting one anyway though, I still wouldn't carry it to the toilet, urine is bad for a laptop - I'm sure! Ricky - the Power button in locked mode would also set off the alarm - simple...