Laptop Safety in Atlanta
 

Hey teams,

Does anyone know if there is a precedent for laptops being stolen at the FIRST world festival? I'm trying to find out how safe it would be to bring mine and wondered if anybody had had theirs stolen before.

Thanks!
Micah

Re: Stolen laptops
 

As long as you keep it with you or with someone on your team you won't have a problem, our parent team had one stolen 2 years back at Peachtree, just don't leave it laying around.

Re: Stolen laptops
 

Team 1323 brings 3 laptops to Nationals, Long Beach, and UC Davis and has never had a problem with laptops being stolen.

Re: Stolen laptops
 

Agreed, as long as you keep an eye on it, there should be no problem. We had one walk off at VCU, but if you leave it on the sidewalk outside the venue, that's bound to happen.:yikes:

Re: Stolen laptops
 

The biggest problem I have seen is that someone from a different team could pick it up and try to return it (thinking that it was lost). It either ended up at Pit Admin, the team's pit, or returned after the competition. In light of this, make sure your laptop has your contact information on it as well as team information (At least your team number) so that it can be quickly returned to you by the many good samaritans in FIRST.

Re: Stolen laptops
 

I had one stolen from our FLL pit at World Festival in 2006. It was packed up with all of our other stuff. They had instructed us to pack up our pit and leave everything there while we went to the closing ceremonies. Bad idea - they were not secured and the Dome had contract workers breaking the place down when we returned. Labeling doesn't help unless your laptop gets lost. Mine had a big Bomb Squad sticker on the case. We have never had a problem in the FRC or FTC pits.

Re: Stolen laptops
 

I have to deal with this question when giving tours of the residence hall that I live in (What if we leave our backpack at the table where were sitting, will it get stolen?). As I tell them, it's possible, but highly unlikely that your lap top will be stolen. I will be taking my lap top to the event, and I have no concern in my mind that it will be exactly where I left it. :]

Re: Stolen laptops
 

My team had one stolen, actually it was my laptop, while in Atlanta, at the competition Ive never had anything taken, however we were at dinner, my laptop bag was in the rear seat area of the truck with our trailer attached, the windows were well tinted, and the bag was black, in a dark interior, the guy smashed the back door glass and pulled it out, in plain view of the guard at a parking garage across the street. But of course " I dident see nothin man!" was the reply.

I guess the point is, at the competition not a lot to worry about, I have left my laptop unattended in the pit and nothing happened to it in the past, not a bad idea to have someone in the pit at all times anyway for visitors, judges etc. Just be really careful anywhere else!!!

Re: Stolen laptops
 

The consensus seems to be not to worry about it at the event, I have to disagree with this. While I know most of the competitors at a FIRST event would not steal (even if this is wrong Im pretty happy with this delusion) we have to remember that our events are open to the public. Anyone can come in a look around. I would not leave any expensive equipment unattended for an extended period of time. This goes for anything, at any event.

Re: Stolen laptops
 

I have to agree with Andrew. While there is a good chance you wouldn't get things stolen, there is never a guarantee that someone unscrupulous won't come by and take valuables. The safest thing is to make sure that anything valuable is always with somebody. If you keep your laptop with you at all times, then you can be certain it won't get stolen.

Re: Laptop Safety in Atlanta
 

Lo/Jack that stuff man. All my laptops have lojack as a precaution because we travel with them a lot. Take the precautions guys.

Re: Laptop Safety in Atlanta
 

We have never had a problem at the events, however if you do bring a laptop I would recommend not leaving it in the pits unattended (general common sense stuff).

However, be careful where you take/leave it outside of the event. We had one of our team members parents that drove down left a laptop in the back of a minivan in a supposedly "secure" parking garage while in a restaurant and came back to find the vehicle broken into and the laptop gone. :(

Re: Laptop Safety in Atlanta
 

I've left my laptop in our Pit before, in the stands, and out in the open at team stuff. I haven't had an issue. That being said, don't make it easy to steal. I wouldn't say leave you laptop open in Plain sight in your pit but you don't need to put it under lock and key. Usually you're ok if you throw something over it or put it under a table because most people aren't going to rummage through your stuff. Even then, it's always good to just give your pit neighbor a heads-up and they'll usually keep an eye out.

Re: Laptop Safety in Atlanta
 

I wouldn't leave my laptop unattended. But it's probably safer to leave it unattended at the dome than in your hotel room or car.

Re: Laptop Safety in Atlanta
 

We never had any problem with laptops being stolen, but we did have an entire box of buttons vanish at VCU this year.


BTW, if anyone is in the possession of a shoebox-sized cardboard box full of 1793 buttons, please send them to us. Thanks.

Re: Laptop Safety in Atlanta
 

i do have 1 question for you then, what if lets say theoretically someone like myself (very experienced with computers) finds your computer, and wipes it clean?
or better yet rips out the hard drive?

What will lo/jack do for you then?

Re: Laptop Safety in Atlanta
 

Lo/Jack puts into in the BIOS of supported computers so wiping the hard drive wouldn't do anything to help you. Atlanta is a rough city. Keep your laptop on you at all times and don't let yourself get into a risky situation on the streets of Atlanta. I've had people come up to me and team members asking us for money. I've also had one guy show us a gun after asking me for money, but then he noted that the people walking with me were my friends and he was severely outnumbered. I feel that if I was not in a group of people, that he would have shot me and taken the $20 I had in my wallet. I wouldn't dare carry around my laptop in the streets. It's safer in the hotel safe or hidden somewhere in the room than to be on my back when I get mugged. I've never had anything stolen though. Just be responsible with your stuff and yourself, and you'll be all right.

Re: Laptop Safety in Atlanta
 

I've brought a laptop to almost every event I've gone to and I've never had it stolen. If you leave it alone in the stands to go get lunch or something as a scout, just ask one of the teams near you to keep an eye on your stuff just in case. We always do that when we leave camera's and stuff in plain sight if we don't have someone to sit with them. I know any team that sits near me can feel free to ask me to watch their stuff while I'm scouting. If you're doing that job, just ask people not wearing that team's shirt to stay away from that area. -shrug- but then I'm paranoid. :)

Re: Laptop Safety in Atlanta
 

This is starting to be a pretty good list of easy-to-lift-laptops...:yikes:

Re: Laptop Safety in Atlanta
 

Yup I agree, folks you know, GP is nice, Id love to trust other people, really, but the ugly truth is that some people dont care about being nice. Some people will steal your stuff, that is a fact of life and if you put yourself in a situation for it to happen then you are just naive and foolish. Atlanta is a city, a real city with places you dont want to go at night, to leave valuable items unattended is stupid, outright stupid. This includes inside the Georgia Dome. The thinking, "Oh I will be right back" doesn't apply here either, it takes no time at all to come by and steal something. I hate to bring it up but things are going to be worse then ever due to the economy. Don't be alone, especially when carrying expensive equipment. Don't wave around a lot of cash. Don't leave things unattended.

Gosh that post sounds negative... The general thing is, dont be a fool and trust everyone.

Though, on a related note, if you guys care so little about your laptops that you will leave them unattended, Id GLADLY take them off your hands. I could sell them to finance a new camera that would not leave my sight. ;)

Re: Laptop Safety in Atlanta
 

we'll be having a laptop open in our pit to show a sideshow, and team website, in order to keep it safe, we got a Kensington security cable, but will still have someone with the laptop at all times.

lo jack is great, but is fairly easy to circumvent (reload bios, and take out lojack chip)

overall, the best protection is supervision.

-Z

Re: Laptop Safety in Atlanta
 

ok, if my laptop goes missing, I'll know who to send the police to...

-Z

Re: Laptop Safety in Atlanta
 

Exactly, I thought this is a kleptomaniac goldmine.

Re: Laptop Safety in Atlanta
 

I work in news and do mostly the crime beat and severe weather so all day I am listening to four Uniden BC996's and one 396 and I hear and the emergency services calls all day long.

My best advice is never take the chance and not even for a second because it only takes seconds for the professional bandit to do something.

I always bring extra stuff of value into the event/regional that I'm covering because it's probably the safest place for my backpack and laptop but of course it is a well advertised public event so maybe a steel cable securing the valuables is still a good deterrent just in case.

As for the car or truck I wouldn't leave anything in there, doesn't matter what city you are in or what part of the city, keep in mind the professional bandits are very good at what they do.

I was downtown Toronto last summer at the court house and stepped a few feet away from my truck to buy an ice cream and a bandit on a bike rode up and got into one of the compartments on the truck while I was paying for the ice cream, right 25 feet away, I walked over and most of that ice cream went right up his nose, he ran and left the bike behind.

Lucky only 500 feet of video cable was in that box but if it was a laptop or camera it would have been picked up and gone in seconds.

Just amazing how fast it can happen and how quietly and it can happen to anyone anywhere in a big or small city or town.

I work with the constant mentality that a bandit could be right around the corner, I also am in the habit of covering things up and leaving things a bit messy when I leave the truck, and no visual distractions, even a coke can sitting on the dash can draw the bad guys eye to you're vehicle. in general though....I leave nothing removable of value in the vehicle and when I am transporting the laptop it is always covered and in the back pack out of sight for a reason.

Any planned indoor event the vehicles outside are at risk so don't leave anything in those vehicles.

As for inside, I personally am of the opinion that a first event is probably the safest place for you're equipment but still perhaps keep it tied down just in case.

The stuff we hear on the scanners everyday is just incredible as to how slick some of these crooks are and with the severe recession I would be just as worried about robbery as theft so low profile is the way to go.

I want the would-be bandit thinking all I have in my backpack is a stuffed animal :)

m
m

Re: Laptop Safety in Atlanta
 

Just so you know FIRST and the Dome will not be held accountable for any personal items brought into the dome. I always keep an eye on my stuff reguardless of value. You just never know who is really watching you =]. GP as others have said is nice but like everything else you can't always depend on it to save your stuff =) you are the true deterent!

Re: Laptop Safety in Atlanta
 

Just remember that the event is open free to the public so sure teams may be willing to return stuff, any person could come in and swipe it away. Just keep it with you like many have already said and you should be fine.