SwimmingRiddles is right - Targus Defcon 1 is the way to go. It won’t cause permanent damage to you laptop just by installing it, and you won’t risk doing something that’ll void your warranty, prevent upgrades (or repairs) or cause you more trouble than it’s worth. It has a motion sensor and a steel lock-down cable. Not only would they have to cut the cable, but they’d be running away with a siren they can’t shut off or detach from the laptop. A docking station is a great idea, but you can’t take it with you when you want your laptop to be portable. The Targus lock fits in your laptop case.
You’re already talking about chaining it down, why not get an actual security device? It’ll probably be at least as effective, and much more convenient.
And maybe you should consider moving - I’d hate to live somewhere I had to chain down every thing I owned.
It’s not foolproof, but when you’re traveling and want to secure your laptop, see if your hotel can put it in their safe. If you’re staying in a hotel. And if the hotel has a safe.
Some genius where I used to work came up with this novel solution: laptops were locked down to the desk, and only one person in the whole friggin’ building had the key. You had to track him down if you wanted to take the laptop with you, and when you did, he’d give you the third degree.
Guys, guys, I splashed out on a brand new Omnibook last week, 15 inch screen, DVD drive, the works, you’re beginning to make me nervous!
The firm I work for has an excellent anti-theft device, they print their name and logo on the lid of their notebooks, in big writting, from side to side. If you take one look at it you know you will never get rid of that logo without taking the entire screen off. OF course, that is assuming that you care about a big logo on the lid of your laptop.
My post questioned the fact that he would be better of by using an anti-theft device, because that might turn the theifs into plain vandals and trash his place.
How does that have anything to do with my thread?
Getting back to the OP…
i would have to suggest the docking station solution too… aslong as the docking station is bolted or locked to your desk then theres no way they can get it out of there without breaking both the laptop and the docking station. If you furthermore take out the HD and the battery the theifs will have absolutle no use of it at all. Thats exactly what you want so this seems like the ideal solution. (ofcourse except for when youre travelling)
When travelling i would simply bring it with me everywhere i went… i know that may not be the most practical thing, but it would definately be the safest. If you stay in hotels you could ofcourse use their safe, but if youre staying in motels i have no clue where you could even attempt to hide it.
Swiddels,
I have an iBook, too, and had the same thought about a bike u-lock through the handle. How exactly is the handle attached to the rest of the functional box and how strong/ well-attached is it? Would it be possible to cut through that handle without hurting the rest of the machine’s works? I think the thing is the most expensive object I own, so it’s the source of some anxiety.
A friend of mine spent a small fortune on a reinforced door for his apartment. I am not sure what he was trying to protect but, since the most valuable item he now owned was the door, I told him he was attracting burglars by showing off such an expensive item. He should take the door and hide it under the bed or else it might be stolen.
Docking stations are just not an anser to the OP as I want to protect it when I travel. Not to mention that a) I am not going to spend that kind of money when the computer is covered by my insurance anyway and b) the burglar can just as well take the docking station with the laptop and now i have multiplied his yield.
For a simple solution I think the device I described (which screws into one of the port connectors) would be best. I will probably try to build it myself.
I have already drilled a hole and passed a steel cable through the back of the laptop. I have another loop of steel cable which has a big washer on one end. I have drilled a small hole in my desk so I can thread the steel loop from below and padloch the laptop. In a hotel I will just loop it around something.
Add to this that I can remove the hard disk and the covers to the hard disk and battery compartments and the laptop is not worth stealing.
Who would steal a laptop with a steel cable threaded through a couple of drilled holes, no hard disk or plastic covers for the compartments? They could not give it away.
My point? Oh, only that, since you traffic in stolen laptops, and manage to rationalize it as acceptable, your credibility is less than zero in this discussion. You are one of the beneficiaries of exactly what sailor fears.