Bolting it down won't work, and laptops can disappear awfully fast. Just ask Qualcomm CEO Irwin Jacobs. After speaking to a national conference of business journalists in Irvine, south of Los Angeles, he left his laptop on the podium and took off. When he returned 15 minutes later, the laptop was gone.
Laptop thefts are common and are becoming more so.
SafeWare's projections, based on claims from its client base nationwide, show that claims by laptop and notebook owners rose from 53 percent of total claims in 1997 to 88 percent in 1999. Theft accounted for 29 percent of laptop and notebook claims. About 1.2 million computers were stolen, damaged or otherwise destroyed in 1999, according to the company. Various ingenious solutions involving alarms are available to prevent theft. And, when the laptop is stolen anyway, some companies offer ways to protect your data, others help you track your stolen laptop down, and a few do both.