My iBook just got stolen anyway to trace it?

[Leareth]

My ibook just got swipped from right beside me at a coffee shop, the airport card was turned on and I was in the process of downloading a file when it got swipped, is there anyway to trace it and get it back? All of my school work is on it... : (
Does applecare cover theft???

 

[dorqiekat]

My ibook just got swipped from right beside me at a coffee shop, the airport card was turned on and I was in the process of downloading a file when it got swipped, is there anyway to trace it and get it back? All of my school work is on it... : (
Does applecare cover theft???

Sorry to hear about your ibook. From my experience, applecare doesn't cover it and they can't do anything about tracking it either. They said they were able to track it before, but they don't do it anymore.

 

[sjpetry]

Will your homeowners insurance cover it?

 

[stevep]

Thats very sad.

Two suggestions which just might be worth trying:

1. Put a 'Wanted' ad in a local paper, local shop etc for a secondhand iBook.

2. Put a 'For Sale' ad for the accessory things like the power supply (assuming that you still have that at home).

If the pond-life scum bag that has your iBook sees them he may just respond.....

 

[powerboy]

If you have the serial number, I would call Apple and report it as stolen. That way, if they ever try and have it serviced it will come up as stolen. At least that is what I was told at the Apple Store.

 

[Eevee]

Oh no...Sorry to hear about your iBook getting snatched away. Have you reported it to the police? Also, do you have security on your machine (i.e. loggin and password, file valt). That way, the robber will not be able to retrive your data.

Have you tried contacting the owner of the coffee shop?

 

[TMA]

Does applecare cover theft???

I know it doesn't help with your documents stored on there, but have you checked your home insurance policy?

Sorry - Didn't read thread properly, someone already suggested this.

 

[nichos]

I'm sorry to hear about your loss, and can't provide any help, however, if anyone is reading this forum and might be worried about this happening to your machine, read the following: howto track a stolen ibook/powerbook
Basically, you setup a crontab to hit a server where you have access to the logs, so when the low life turns it on, and it's on the internet, you can atleast get the IP - though I don't know what legal recourse you'd have.
There's also a bunch of software that will help you
One that looks pretty neat, and is only $4 for students is lapcop
It notices if the environment (printers, etc) has changed and sends you an email. They claim that if you send them the email, they'll help you track it. I've never tried any of the above software, I think you can do it all using crontab, but for $4 you can't go wrong.
good luck!

 

[Leareth]

Thanks guys for the advice

I have called the cops and gave the serial and model #'s to them
Nobody at the coffee shop noticed it being stolen, it was less than 5 feet from me.
There is nothing sensitive on that machine, but important school work is on it
I am putting up a flyer in and near the place to see if anyone noticed anything, or knows where it is.
As for pawn shops, there are more of them in this city that McDonald's and starbuck combined

And I don't have any insurance because I live in a heritage house that is 102 years old and wooden construction my insurance would be over $180/ month . Nobody offers laptop insurance anymore that does not cost more than an arm and leg

 

[blodwyn]

No surveillance cameras in the coffee shop or nearby that could help to identify the culprit? The Police should be able to view any tapes if there are any and the thief might be a regular at the coffee shop.

 

[LucasLand]

This is the reason why I'm afraid to buy a laptop. You stick out like a sore thumb in a public setting.

 

[CanadaRAM]

No surveillance cameras in the coffee shop or nearby that could help to identify the culprit? The Police should be able to view any tapes if there are any and the thief might be a regular at the coffee shop.

LOL. Surveillance cameras? In Canada?
I'm always blown away when I read news reports or English detective novels and come across references to cameras surveilling city blocks.
We had a speeding motorist camera system for a while, and it got taken down...

Edit: OK, my son informs me that Vancouver has quite a few cameras. So I live an incredibly sheltered life..

 

[skubish]

Thanks guys for the advice

I have called the cops and gave the serial and model #'s to them
Nobody at the coffee shop noticed it being stolen, it was less than 5 feet from me.
There is nothing sensitive on that machine, but important school work is on it
I am putting up a flyer in and near the place to see if anyone noticed anything, or knows where it is.
As for pawn shops, there are more of them in this city that McDonald's and starbuck combined

And I don't have any insurance because I live in a heritage house that is 102 years old and wooden construction my insurance would be over $180/ month . Nobody offers laptop insurance anymore that does not cost more than an arm and leg

I can't believe you don't have homeowners' insurance. It is a must have for catastrophic events. What does wood construction have to do with anything? Most homes are made of wood. My house just build last year is wood.

 

[Toreador93]

It's 102 year old wood.

 

[rtdgoldfish]

Is there any way to track a computer via the MAC address?? Isn't this supposed to be a unique number for every computer?? If they connect to the internet, the ISP should be able to see the MAC address and track its location.

Maybe this is way off, I really don't know. Sorry about your iBook. I would cry if mine was taken away from me.

 

[Sun Baked]

It's 102 year old wood.

If you are that old... wow.

---

Going naked on a house is pretty bad, $180/month is quite a bit. But that is probably a full restoration.

You don't have to insure for full restoration value which would be insanely high, you can always insure the house for the cost of rebuilding a new home with an old-looking exterior.

Otherwise a fire will leave somebody a nice empty lot.

 

[Abstract]

I can't believe you don't have homeowners' insurance. It is a must have for catastrophic events. What does wood construction have to do with anything? Most homes are made of wood. My house just build last year is wood.

Its a heritage house. Its not allowed to be renovated or changed without permission from the town. You can't start adding sections to it, and you can't insure it. Yes, the house is yours, but if you choose to live in a Heritage house, its also the responsibility of the town to take care of it and make sure nothing is done to it.

Anyway, you can't get insurance on a house like that because its value isn't based on the price of other homes in the area.

 

[Leareth]

Another reason I dont have home insurance is that I rent this place not own... much more expensive to get renter insurance than homeowners.
plus I am a full time student who works two part time jobs to make ends meet.
The people who took it are known professionals for laptop theft, they have hit most of the student hangout coffeeshops and the university libraries grabing laptops from student who need them, grrr
I get really pissed off at people who scam students, students need all the help they can get.
BTW= my G3 imac and the two B&W's are up for sale (see sig), if anyone is interested PM or email me at esnirer@sfu.ca , I need to replace my iBook ASAP. And I don't get my scholarship until Sept. It is vital to my school work.

 

[Leareth]

Is there any way to track a computer via the MAC address?? Isn't this supposed to be a unique number for every computer?? If they connect to the internet, the ISP should be able to see the MAC address and track its location.

Yep got the two major ISPs looking for its MAC adress

...Sorry about your iBook. I would cry if mine was taken away from me.

Crying does not cover it...threw things, swore, wiped hard drive on other computer and reinstalled system for hell of it, polished knives and swords, then cleaned house... still feel like crap but house is spotless
I need the data on it, I have all data as of yesterday morning but I need the stuff from the last 24 hours the most...

 

[tech4all]

Crying does not cover it...threw things, swore, wiped hard drive on other computer and reinstalled system for hell of it, polished knives and swords, then cleaned house... still feel like crap but house is spotless
I need the data on it, I have all data as of yesterday morning but I need the stuff from the last 24 hours the most...

I think the crook(s) are big trouble if you ever caught them and at least you have a clean house now

No but really, I don't mean to make light of your situation. That really sucks. I don't even want to think how I would react if that happened to me. People who have the nerve steal other people's property just plain suck

Hope it all works for you

 

[munkle]

This link might be useful. Basically, type in your serial number and all the info about your Mac comes up...just in case you don't have it. Sorry to hear about your Mac, I hope you catch the scum.

 

[Abstract]

I'm sorry to hear about your loss, and can't provide any help, however, if anyone is reading this forum and might be worried about this happening to your machine, read the following: howto track a stolen ibook/powerbook
Basically, you setup a crontab to hit a server where you have access to the logs, so when the low life turns it on, and it's on the internet, you can atleast get the IP - though I don't know what legal recourse you'd have.
There's also a bunch of software that will help you
One that looks pretty neat, and is only $4 for students is lapcop
It notices if the environment (printers, etc) has changed and sends you an email. They claim that if you send them the email, they'll help you track it. I've never tried any of the above software, I think you can do it all using crontab, but for $4 you can't go wrong.
good luck!

Lapcop is $4 for educational institutions, not for students. Plus you need to get at least 100 computers using Lapcop, and that would cost you $400 minimum to use that student discount.