I like to attach random bumper stickers to laptops that I see unattended. I had a big stack of stickers from one vendor that read, "Your RF is showing" that I had to get rid of.

Xavoc

well, even if I know people in the place, unless I am there with somebody, of course I pack it in the rucksack & take it with me. I can't even believe somebody would be consider another option. Only if you have money to throw around and no important data on your laptop could you even consider leaving it alone.

Better take your laptop with you and make a 2000 USD donation to medecins sans frontieres if you really want to part with the money, that is better investment.

yogibimbi

Very good question. I haven't really run into a problem with this yet as I've either always been with someone at a cafe, or I'm sitting at the cafe within the store where I work (while I'm not on the clock, obviously) and can put it behind the register with the cashier, who I know personally.

karmaghost

Pack everything and go.
Unless it's one of those cases... I have absolute trust in the security of the shop, I know the owner or someone who could take care of it for me, or I can lock the laptop up on the table.

Bokusatsu_Tenshi

is it just me or were half (if not more) of he laptops in the vid thinkpads:) [davidjr.com]

citizen024

I've never had a battery that could outlast my bladder. I've also never had a job where I didn't have to be in the office, so I've never been a coffee shop blogger/artist.

But if I did ever take one in there, I'd definitely take it to the bathroom.

GeekyNerdGuy

you have no problems if you bring the right computer...

[improveverywhere.com]" width="425" height="344">

kellygeorge

I 'spill' coffee on laptops left unattended.

Y2KGTP

@madcran: That wouldn't it be economical for you to get an unlimited data plan and the corresponding card for your laptop depending on your cell phone company?

SinAmos

iAlertU with max sensitivity and auto capture.

lulu321

Evil plan to Disrupt hipsters who buy Starbucks

1) Buy coffee at starbucks
2) Sit down and plug in used IBM 486 laptop adapter
3) Get up and go to bathroom
4) Come back and accuse everyone of stealing your laptop
5) Be escorted out by police
6) Profit

praevalesco

@Notch_Johnson: ZING!!! LOL

axiomatic

Hey all, to everyone who is making a joke of this, there are legit reasons why people use coffee shops for work. I am a computer consultant who works out of my house. I don't have a place of work so when I am 40-60 miles away from home after a job and my next job is also in the same area, I have to go to a coffee shop or a Panera Bread to use their Wi-fi so I can get some work done. I usually ask a fellow customer who also has a laptop to watch it or I will ask the workers of the place I am at to watch it. Most of the time though I hold it and wait until I lock the computer in the car and then go back and use the bathroom.

madcran

I used to live really close to an awesome cafe with free wifi and used to always get the hookup with free drinks and food... when I got annoyed with my roommate I would go there. I used iAlertu [www.versiontracker.com] just in case, but I was usually there when people I knew were working.

lpranal

If it is an apple, I take it to the bathroom. . . . just in case there is no toilet paper.

Notch_Johnson

@weatherman: Yes, it's called a library.

EBone

The survey is missing an option:

G. Catheter

mullingitover

@weatherman: How is everyone so cheap these days they can't afford their own networking solutions? Is Starbucks really the answer, you starbuckers?

SinAmos

I'll watch your laptop for you. Go on...take your time.

Abe.Froman

@nutbastard: People willing to resort to stealing like that don't care what OS you're running. You know they're just going to grind it down and freebase it.

lpranal

@OMG! Ponies!: It's not a matter of "writing in public" it's a matter of getting rid of the distractions.

@OMG! Ponies!: I would be, but I'm afraid that I might actually hate all of you if I met you in person. I'm much happier hating you all online.

Off the topic of peeing at Starbucks (wtf?), I've actually been looking in to this community workspace/alternative workspace/coworking arrangement. Anyone here use those? Are they a good alternative to Starbucks?

weatherman

Real simple... I started a project called www.coffeeatbirkdale.com which involves me meeting someone new everyday for 365 days when I go get my coffee. I'm on day 195 and know EVERYONE so I feel pretty safe leaving my laptop & iPhone on the table when I hit the head. :-)

shuneycutt

If' you're gonna drink coffee, you're bound bound to go to the bathroom for one reason or another.... Actually this is something that I've been wondering myself, as someone who's never owned a laptop. That, and whether or not coffee shops have free wifi, and if it's unsecured or not.

eblingmis

@nutbastard: Going to a coffee shop is like going to a water store. Unnecessary frills for peeps without a cappuccino machine and the will to be self-sufficient.

SinAmos

Yeah pack your shit up in your backpack before you hit the head. If you lost your table because of this.... Well, drink less coffee, and then you'll have to go to the restroom even less.

Here's how I see the whole situation. If the Starbucks is PACKED. Don't be a douche, go camp out at the library. If the store is light on customers, then its "ok" to hang out.

axiomatic

As an Information Security professional I encourage you all to leave your laptops and go take the pee. It's just data and equipment... using a bag for the rest of your life instead of having a bladder is scary. Just leave it, people who frequent coffee shops are not the type that want to steal your laptop or data.

Thank god these suckers listen to me, job security is mine...miiiiiiine....miiiiiiiiiiiiiiine :)

praevalesco

@Monty: Is that tangent really where you want to steer this discussion, because I'm sure the starbuckers with their bathroom escapades will start to trickle in with that window of subversive, sexual innuendo?

SinAmos

iAlertU ftw!

Sunlokyee

I dare someone to touch my laptop I set out on purpose sometimes, and hide to see if someone is going to try to take it.

GRRRR!!!

Kraftwerker

@SinAmos:

no because i find coffee shop atmosphere to be too... high school... it's like a friggin bar for people who can't drink, ie, the worst bar ever.

nutbastard

Depending on what you are viewing on your laptop, taking it into the bathroom with you might be a good idea anyway.

Monty

@lordargent:

yeah because for #2, im DEFINITELY bringin it in with me - theres only so many hours in the day, have to multi task my defecation with 'it's always sunny' episodes.

nutbastard

Has no one seen "Dirty Rotten Scoundrels"?

schrosa

@nutbastard: Because if that number reached double place holders, you would be very close to ridicule?

SinAmos

Why are you do your work in Starbucks in the first place? It's a coffee shop, not a study hall or a library. There have been a few times I wanted to kick the ass of some laptop camper at Starbucks so I could sit down for five minutes, drink my coffee, eat my scone, and leave. That's what the tables and chairs are for anyways.

/Thinks Starbucks should pull the WiFi plug from their stores.

EBone

@Murph1908:

It's actually much faster:

1. kill
2. profit

iomatic

Slip sad laptop in waterproof baggie, cross fingers, and then hope for the best. Splash back is just creepy after a java enema. It has this unique splatter effect caused by the caffeinated urea. CO(NH2)2 + C8H10N4O2 = Calamity with a capital C.

SinAmos

for the record, though, i've only busted the laptop out at one coffee shop, one time.

nutbastard

Are we talking #1 or #2 here?

lordargent

A friend of mine left her iBook open and running on the table to use the restroom, figuring that it was in front of the barista counter, there were people at the tables around her, and the place wasn't that crowded. Stolen. No one would even talk to her about seeing anything-not "Sorry, didn't see anything", but actually "I'm not saying anything".

dogcow

The thing is in China, I put it on the table and simply ask the waiter/waitress to look after for me... but here in Vancouver, definitely no (I'm not complaining, it's not part of their job description), in Vancouver, I always have the laptop in my eye sight... or get a friend w/ ya for coffee, s/he can take a look the laptop for ya... LOL

mikevan

i've got a 4 year old laptop running linux.

it''s hardly worth making a smash and grab for in a very public place with cameras in it.

nutbastard

@bobx3: @lostarchitect:

Hmm.

1. buy non-functioning laptop for next to nothing
2. sit in Starbucks, waiting for nature to call fellow patron
3. offer to watch his laptop
4. profit

Murph1908

In college I'd study at the library and I'd usually put the laptop in its bag and take it with me to the bathroom. Tables and chairs were at a premium usually so I'd leave some things to keep my seat, but never the laptop.

Ike_Skelton

I usually ask someone nearby to just watch my stuff for a second. I don't live in some shady city so all is fine usually.

extraextra

On an NYC note, is anyone up for a Gizmodo Mini Meetup like we did for the Dark Knight for the Clone Wars?

Leave a message.

OMG! Ponies!

I ask one of the employees, or one of the patrons if that person is also using a laptop, to watch it.

bobx3

I just leave it for the whole world to steal.

It's not like my MBP stands a good chance of being hijacked with the 200 or so other MBPs that inhabit my favorite cafe!

slyseekr

i've never used my laptop in a coffee shop, but i would simply look at the nearest person who had a laptop out (meaning they probably wouldn't steal mine) and say "hey man, can you watch this for 1 minute while i use the restroom?" also, i'd say it loudly enough for a couple other people to hear.

lostarchitect

@lindtdale - me too. Why is that not an option in this survey? Seems to me the most obvious choice.

Yifkong

First, the Starbucks is not your office. You shouldn't be camped out that long.

Second, you can actually converse with other people in the Starbucks. You can ask someone else to watch your crap and offer to reciprocate.

Third, just because no one's watching doesn't mean that you can't write. Writing does not require an audience. Stop camping at the Starbucks.

OMG! Ponies!

simple...i don't like laptops, and i don't like coffee.

"Or do you simply wait until you are finished working?"

i think you meant "...finished filing for unemployment"

ishred

What I do is ask for the guard/barista to look after my macbook for a minute or two... :-)

lindtdale

I ingratiate myself to others at Starbucks, even offering to buy them another Grande double decaff, and when they ask me to watch their stuff while they go bilden Sie Wasser I steal their stuff. There's a whole lot of Starbucks out there so I'm thinking I'll have my Christmas shopping done by about mid-August.

Mowogg

I use a bottle under the table.

kickassy

SF has a place (both alcohol and caffeine service I think) where the point seems to be to bring a laptop. It's in an area where there is an overflow of art students. Maybe they have the equivalent of a cloak room for laptops and other gadgets you don't want in the toilet.

propertius

@aec007:

If you comment on blogs to tell people to get a life...
seriously, get a life.

thomasora

@bpapa9013: Winner!

EBone

I leave a note that says "I spat in this laptop".

Ct4ul4u

I just pee on the floor under my table...

bpapa9013

I just think coffee shops are for enjoying coffee and a nice company. If you are going to work or use your laptop, stay in the office or at work.

berbar

Wow, Google sure indexes these pages in a hurry...

Xavoc

@aec007: Not everyone's job is 9-5 anymore. There's a goodly number of us who have deadlines, or on-call duties. If I get paged and need net access, it's easier for me to go to a coffee shop (because, I have a life and am not plugged in 24/7) and log-on for a few minutes than to spend 30-45 minutes driving home, connecting to the network, yadda...or driving 30-45 minutes driving to work for something I can do online quickly.

And sitting in a coffee shop to do work for a bit while traveling is much nicer than trying to do so in an airport.

Xavoc

I use conspicuous hacking and ass-scratching followed by furious typing. Also, boogers on the screen border.

Seriously though, you manners police types need to go find yerselves some legitimate gripes.

mildretard

Personally, I like to take my laptop to the restroom w/ me and twitter the event.

Xavoc

• If you go to a coffee shop while working so you can work online...
seriously, get a life. You need a new job.
• If you just go to browse the web and drink some coffee after work...
seriously, get a life. Unplug.

There are many other scenarios that will also also answer to ... seriously, get a life.

You did not have this tech 10 years ago. You did not needed to be connected to the net 24 hrs a day. In the end, if you lacked a social life then... you provably still do. Unplug.
When I leave work, work is over. Leave me a message, I'll get back to you on the next 'business' day.

:)

aec007

i dont have a laptop :(

Go Team Venture

@EBone:
I do, but sometimes when you are far away from it, you have no choice.

bgbs

@bgbs: If you have a $4.5K IBM laptop, you ought to have an office. Somewhere. At work. Or at home. Somewhere.

EBone

I'm not sure about anyone else here-- especially since no one has brought it up-- but that's why I have insurance. Seriously, all of my laptops are covered with a special rider policy, so even if someone tripped and spilled their coffee into my keyboard, knocked the table over and killed it, or snatched it while I was in the bathroom, one call and its covered. Why you'd take a $2k+ machine into a public place without this sort of protection is totally beyond me. And, if you do have it, you have decent security on the laptop, and, at minimum, daily backups, who really cares? The security wipes the drive when its out of your control, your data is still safely in the backup, and you just got brand new hardware to boot. Heck, I almost wish someone WOULD steal one of my machines, just so I can get a new battery! ;-)

infoclipper

Hmm... That old guy's elbow-pit is green. Nice chop otherwise... I would just put it in my case and take it with me.

hammertime1994

i ask the people working there to hold it for me

nuance

just suck it up and hold it. you really shouldn't be doing so much work that you can't wait 10 or 15 minutes.

spimoles

When you have a $4.5K IBM laptop, like I do, I take it with me to share the bathroom. When you have an expensive piece of equipment like that, you know that you simply cannot trust anybody. This is not Dell, this is not gateway. This is IBM notebook.

bgbs

Depending on where you are, it might be better to just leave the lappy at home (warning: 2-year-old news, but probably still relevant, due to the deteriorating economy):

[www.sfgate.com]

aj_robins

Who can afford multiple cups of coffee at Starbucks?

Xenocide

I wear diapers so I don't run into this problem.

pttymcgee

@thomasora: Infinite Loop Warning!

I think I would leave it at the table in a library, bookstore or coffee shop if I had a good cable lock and a motion detector w/ a very loud alarm. Also, hibernate the laptop if you are using BitLocker and that will keep your data safe. In any airport, I would take the laptop with me to the restroom.

thecodingeye

@lfstyl: the funny thing is the alarm will probably startle the thief and he'll drop it on the floor. i suppose if i had to choose, i'd rather have my laptop destroyed than stolen

Weihovah

If you got $4.5K IBM laptop you already got ripped off, losing the actual machine is just desserts.

pagercam

I just whip out my ant-filled scanner and plop it on top of the lappy.

Never had a problem.

FredicvsMaximvs

Yeah cause I wanna go running to catch my laptop thief mid-poop.

sakko

"what do you do when you have a laptop open and you have had multiple cups of coffee?"

Seriously! Who's asking this question? Most OSs have a suspend mode. Close your laptop, slip it into your bag, go to the bathroom, come back, slip it back out(....THE LAPTOP!!!!), open it up, resume work.

JEmlay

If you're on a mac, fire up iAlertU. This way you can hear the exact moment when someone steals your laptop...

lfstyl

1. ZIP it,flush my RAM.
2. Flush MY ram, zip IT.

Stem_Sell

@CYST!: Then you better not go leaving it behind in Starbucks while you wizz!

EBone

Everyone knows that the real hipsters stop bringing their laptops to starbucks when all the wannabes started doing it. I'd tell you what the new hipster fad is but then the posers would just move on to that!

marm0lade

I can't get any work done because some stupid blonde is singing "Smelly cat, Smelly cat." I am not ever coming back to this stupid coffee shop, but it does have a hot waitress. Man, I need to piss.

Notch_Johnson

@EBone: A lot of times that's why you have a $4500 computer. If you don't have an office, than you only have one computer and it HAS to be the best one possible. My girlfriend's a field photographer and carries 15000 in equipment at all times. It is dumb for her to change computers when she "gets in."

CYST!

@JEmlay: Exactly Close your laptop, slip it into your bag, go to the bathroom, come back, slip it back out(....THE LAPTOP!!!!), open it up, resume work. I do the same if I am writing at a bar, the airport, or a restaurant.

If you are one of thoese that has a cord running across the floor.
I don't have much respect for you. Get a second battery.
I can understand plugging in, but if you don't have the curisy to tape the cord down, then your just being discourtious.

DeadWriter

I put mine back in my bookbag and take it with me. I never let my laptops out of my sight.

Mr. B

I ask someone nearby to watch over it.

Prefixmag

You are not a writer unless someone sees you writing.

taftsearlobe33

@nutbastard: Jokes on you, all I play is TuxKart.

Metkis

I live in Mississippi, so I'm not really "taking a chance" by leaving it on the table. We ain't called the "Hospitality State" for nothin.

TC2COOL

I just ask someone next to me to watch my shit...

nachobel

When I go to a coffee shop or restaurant and take my laptop, I always go with someone else (usually my daughter) so we can watch each other's computers while one of us is in the restroom.

@TC2COOL: Chances of one of the three other computer users in Mississippi being in the same coffee shop are pretty slim anyway. :)

infmom

@Murph1908:

Hahahaha, it took me a few seconds to understand your plan

Jitty

@EBone:

If people are sitting and working in starbucks, they're physically going to be in the store longer, and therefore buy more coffee products.

Easy profit my friend.

Rob C

@Me:
Did I just say, "WiFi-enabled?" Jesus H Christ. I meant to write "restaurants with WiFi hotspots."

DisposableInterloper

@Me:
I'd like to add that I don't go to coffee shops. I just do that in WiFi-enabled restaurants.

DisposableInterloper

It really depends on who I'm with and where I am. If my friends are around and it's a generally low-crime area, I leave it. In all other cases, I take it with me.

DisposableInterloper

@thecodingeye: i dunno about those alarm locks but the old kensington locks are ridiculously easy to defeat

Weihovah

What's with the davidjr.com video? I am more worried about some guy wandering Starbucks with a video camera and counting than I am that some people like to use their laptops in Starbucks!

fyredragon17

@TC2COOL: I used to live in the "city of brotherly love." Shall I enumerate to you the many ways THAT was an oxymoron?

FredicvsMaximvs

@Weihovah:

Easy to cut the cable you mean? Or to break the lock off?

elgringoguapo

Its going with me to the bathroom. I trust no one. It doesn't matter if its in the suburbs or the city. MacBooks will WALK if unattended.

leonwestbrook

@fyredragon17: The video seems strange - but more importantly it is extremely boring. Who watches this clown's videos?

tommo

iAlertU is the bomb! It has gone off 2 times already and scared the whole starbucks but got the crook to run for it! I wish i had vid for the times when they tried.

Dice

You left out the best option: just pee in your seat.

frndlybnny

@Rob C: No way. One laptop camper will nurse a single drink for four hours. I'm in and out in five minutes, making room for the next customer who wants a coffee and a quick snack and somewhere to eat it.

EBone

@weatherman: Lighten up Francis.

EBone

@SinAmos & EBone: I ask a simple question and you cube jockies deign to get snarky? STFU.

weatherman

I've never though twice about leaving my rig to go to the head. Today I slipped out, walked across the street to Taco Bell and ate. Came back 20 minutes later, no problem.

But that was at my regular coffee house. I am known there, and I know many of the regulars. It would be very hard to steal from any of us.

If I was in a strange urban area or airport, I wouldn't trust anyone. I'd pack it up and take it with me to the restroom.

bramachari

i put my iphone in my pocket...

johnthevulcan

@OMG! Ponies!: Yup, my general experience is that if the person next to them has been there long enough using a computer as well, then they will ask the to watch it.

twilight-arc

@johnthevulcan: This poll is about LAPTOPS. Not overrated, overpriced, under performing, DRM locked status symbols.

marm0lade

How I keep my laptop from getting stolen: 1. I work out of the coffee shop I used to work at (and am still friends with most of the staff) or another coffee shop where some friends work at. 2. I sit toward the rear, so that someone picking up and walking away with the laptop would be as conspicuous as possible. 3. I also use the bathroom at lightning speed. And most importantly, 4. I have a cheapo unsexy $350 laptop. The end.

asurroca

I turn on my electroshock feature. Anyone that picks it up will be shocked with enough juice to disable them. Sort of like a taser. You can't shut it off unless you know the password. Last week I fried a busboy. hahaha It was so funny.

It is almost as much fun as when we would take white envelopes to DisneyLand - fill them with monopoly money - seal them - write Vacation Money on the outside of the envelope and watch the tourist suckers pick them up thinking they had just scored some serious cash. hahaha good times.

hardenstuhl

Meh...I say let it fly ON your laptop. Not only will it never have to leave your sight (not to mention everyone elses in that moment) but I guaranty NO ONE will take it after that...

OddManOut

well living in U.A.E "aka Dubai" i just leave my laptop, phone, wallet.. anything i have on the table, i just leave it there and nothing has ever been stolen from me, not in this country

zixyon

I sometimes escape to a Starbucks to get some work done. What else would I go to a Starbucks for? Their coffee is overrated and way overpriced, their foods are very expensive and not really great, they're more like "corporate". When I want a good cup of joe I go to a real coffee shop or brew some myself, when I want a getaway office I go to Starbucks.
Nuff said.

raindogmx

I live in Japan, which is relatively safe (but, naturally, not crime free), so even though my distrustful American nature tells me never to leave anything alone, usually I can convince myself it's okay to leave my laptop alone for a short while. It's always there when I come back. :)

Also, there's a lot of blawing on here about people taking their laptops to cafes to do work or surf the net. Well, I'll have you know, some of us use laptops for *gasp* both non-net and non-work things. ;) As a writer, I often take my laptop to cafes because it helps to be in a new atmosphere sometimes. And yes, I could write by hand (which occasionally I do), but I know that a lot of people write faster by keyboard than hand, so.

nightmajik

damn, my train of thought got derailed mid line (DAMN YOU PHONES), let me begin again:
I have no talent, I buy expensive drinks,
I shame real artists, My writing really stinks,
I show the whole world/I fail at everything!
Boom de yada, boom de yada, BOOM DE YADA, boom de yada...

Con Seannery

I have no talent, I buy expensive drinks,
I shame real artists, My writing really stinks,
I show the whole world/My fail at everything!
Boom de yada, boom de yada, BOOM DE YADA, boom de yada...

Con Seannery

poop and surf baby! Nothing like reading giz on the crapper! ... just always carry tons of alcohol hand sanitizer with ya.

sonburn

There is a guy in San Francisco that leaves his laptop at the table. He goes to the big Starbucks at Union Square he has had a few taken by doing this however he feels that if they need a laptop that bad then they deserve it.

It takes all kinds to make this a great city, God bless the dude.

LauPan

i use ialertu

kevman90

It depends...If I don't know anyone, I will pack up the laptop with me and go to the bathroom. If there's someone I'm acquainted with nearby and I'm feeling pretty secure with the area/store, I will lock it down with a cable around the chair and the table and set iAlertU -- and still make my pit stop quickly.

brandtb

120+ comments? I see this calls for my two cents. Seriously, it's obvs that you ask a non shady person if you really gotta go and hope for the best. It works for most part. Apropos, not making your local coffee shop your office, I object. Coffee shops are awesome for catching up on emails or doing homework. Come on guys, take the pewter dragon mug with you, fill it up, do some work and be surrounded by people for a bit. Maybe you'll get some sunlight in transit.

Larrrn

I know the staff at the coffee shop where I hang out at pretty well (I'm a regular). If they see someone dick around with my stuff, they'll tell me.

In any case, I trust the clientèle. Obviously, this only makes sense if you either a) have a good rapport with the staff and area [ie, doesn't work if you're new to the area or are just passing through], or b) just have boatloads of cash to blow on irresponsibility.

I get off cheap, with option a.

koolatron

Lore Sjöberg already commented on this in May.

[www.wired.com]

HFC

simple! u dont take a laptop to the coffee shop. u take one of these!

+ Watch video

nEmmY

@bgbs:

When you have a $4.5K IBM laptop, like I do, I take it with me to share the bathroom.

IBM hasn't made laptops in a good 3 years now. no 3-year-old (or more) laptop is still worth $4500.

for example... i have a stack of "$3500" laptops under my desk. they are worth about $75 a piece. if that.

x23

@Metkis:

jokes on you, tuxcart sucks.

nutbastard

@nutbastard:

I prefer the next Pub too and they have free WiFi

krom

I really like working at coffee shops. It's nice to get out of my house sometimes and see people that aren't my roommates. My coffee shop has large tables with outlets set up for people who want to study/work, so when I have studying/work to do I take advantage of the change of scenery.

As for what I do when I have to go to the bathroom... I try to go to the coffee shop with a friend (who can watch my computer) or ask someone at the table next to me to watch it. If they have their laptop out and 3 books open and a ton of papers strewn about it's going to take them to long to pack up all their stuff grab my stuff and run. Also, I've been going to this same place for a while and I feel pretty pretty good about the people who work there keeping an eye out for shady things.

DorkRawk

@Notch_Johnson: If you think that the waitress is hot, you should see her roommate...

Lupus_Yonderboy

surf web on toilet redtube

oopsIsharted

@Murph1908: Don't forget the part where you paste a fake print out of Windows Vista on the screen to make it look really cool!

bobx3

Oh yeah, forgot to mention that anyone with a Mac can download one of those programs that uses the built in accelerometer to set off an alarm if someone moves your computer. That'd be pretty funny.

Eric1285

I usually have to camp out at Starbucks on fridays for "work" and I have been able to leave my stuff on the table and not have it taken. Granted the city I work in is safer and nicer than most and the Starbucks I go to is usually empty. Even the workers at Starbucks offered to watch it as I walked to the bathroom. And yes, this location does have cameras.

tonedef83

I love how asking someone to watch it for a minute is not an option. Geeks really are anti-social. Either that, or way too paranoid.

Eric1285

Safest bet, leave the drink (or some other worthless item) that makes it obvious you are not done and take the laptop. You still have your spot when you get back.

berribrand

i will ask a pretty lady or guy in suit to look after my machine for a minute or so, besides we have CCTV everywhere here anyway.
and i rarely go to coffee shop by myself, just take out ;)

bookmark

This is not a problem if you sit in the bathroom when at the coffee shop instead of at the table... LMFAO

kaltespj

This is a surprisingly good question. Not to knock you guys here at Gizmodo, but usually I don't vote or read the results on questions here. Way to go guys.

MikeRapin

I'm suprised no one has said it yet!

GET AN IPHONE!!!

Apple can do everything a PC can do....or something...

Hehehehe....

JEmlay

@JEmlay: lemme finnish that sentence for you.

Apple can do everything a PC can do....BETTER...

kevman90

Just sit on a toilet in the bathroom. I'm sure you can still get wifi reception there.

happychap

iAlertU. That and I usually have a friend with me, or I know the people behind the counter. Making having positive relationships with baristas (and tipping well) is a VERY good thing. They'll go out of their way to make sure you're happy.

YadiraCalvus

@kevman90:
Then there ya go! Just get an iPhone and work on your spreedsheets from there!....oops...

JEmlay

@elgringoguapo: the area around the hole where the lock is inserted is poorly reinforced or sometimes not at all. if you apply the right leverage, you can take the lock off along w/ a small chunk of plastic around the hole or it'll just deform the hole so it's big enough for the lock to fall out

Weihovah