i have no personal stories. and, i think a bunch of the stories on the internet are crafty ad campaigns for expensive products with no practical value. feeding on fear.
any thief with even the tiniest bit of intelligence will turn off/disable the internet, put a piece of tape over the camera, download all your data, and wipe the drive. in a few hours it will be over.
instead of living in a fantasy world in which cops race around town like jack bauer chasing down people who have our stolen laptops (as these companies would have us believe) we should put our laptops in backpacks and put those backpacks on our back.
leaving your computer on the table at the library, even with a lock, is an open invitation (although, better than no lock at all) to everyone. i won't even comment on the people who leave them on tables at starbucks or other places while they hang out in the bathroom.
instead of wasting time and money on these silly devices, buy insurance (for peace of mind in case of accident or theft) and keep your computer with you 🙂