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Reminder - don't be a target

O

!on

macrumors member
Original poster
Jun 14, 2008
49
0
i post this here 'cos of my mbp but applies to any portable so if this needs moving, ok

i just had a reminder that i'd like to pass on about any of us carrying our machines in public. this guy gets off the bus behind me & immediately demands a cigarette - i reply "sorry i don't smoke" - "wrong answer" comes the reply. so i ask, "you what mate?" & i have to repeat my non-smoking status to him. now this is near to some houses & the guy decides to keep walking. so i think, this guy is hoodied up, looks a bit rough (drugs?) & the "wrong answer" reply made me think. i chose to make out i was going else where & give him a headstart. but then i cross his path again & he's giving it that i didn't have to go a different way & i shouldn't be afraid of him. i aplogise to him but he seems a bit aggressive still but carries on (this is still in a housing area). he didn't follow me from there.

now don't get me wrong, when i've been out (without mbp ofcourse), i tend to attract these nutters, the homeless & alkies & always been able to have a crack with them. but this was straight after work so i can't help feeling i was being a target & that i was quite lucky. i could have been on the wrong end of a knife but i think this guy was just a misfit who had an idea pop into his head but thought better of it.

so i maintain that avoidance is always the best policy & not to get into a fight or the wrong end of a blade. if you don't need to carry it then don't, laptops make you a huge target especially in an area where there may be smack heads or wannabe gangster kids. oh & try not to advertise where to them you live either.
 
True and good advice. This has happened to me. It almost seems like they are following you.

I tend to only carry my MBP when I need it the most.
 
!on said:
i post this here 'cos of my mbp but applies to any portable so if this needs moving, ok

i just had a reminder that i'd like to pass on about any of us carrying our machines in public. this guy gets off the bus behind me & immediately demands a cigarette - i reply "sorry i don't smoke" - "wrong answer" comes the reply. so i ask, "you what mate?" & i have to repeat my non-smoking status to him. now this is near to some houses & the guy decides to keep walking. so i think, this guy is hoodied up, looks a bit rough (drugs?) & the "wrong answer" reply made me think. i chose to make out i was going else where & give him a headstart. but then i cross his path again & he's giving it that i didn't have to go a different way & i shouldn't be afraid of him. i aplogise to him but he seems a bit aggressive still but carries on (this is still in a housing area). he didn't follow me from there.

now don't get me wrong, when i've been out (without mbp ofcourse), i tend to attract these nutters, the homeless & alkies & always been able to have a crack with them. but this was straight after work so i can't help feeling i was being a target & that i was quite lucky. i could have been on the wrong end of a knife but i think this guy was just a misfit who had an idea pop into his head but thought better of it.

so i maintain that avoidance is always the best policy & not to get into a fight or the wrong end of a blade. if you don't need to carry it then don't, laptops make you a huge target especially in an area where there may be smack heads or wannabe gangster kids. oh & try not to advertise where to them you live either.
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Thanks !on
You're doing a great job by reminding us to be on guard against these pestering bugs in the society!
I'll be passing on the message to all portable owners I know!

Do take care of yourself. These people tend to 'remember you and strike back'!
 
kinda glad this happened, easy to get sucked into the whole wifi hunting culture & all that. a wake up call.
 
very good advice, some of us that drive to school or work aren't usually walking with our notebooks, so when it happens we have absolutely no idea that we are potential targets for a thief or anyone that means us harm.

The best way to deal with this is to avoid dark areas, try if possible to walk with a group of people like when you're leaving work, etc., heavy traffic areas, avoid shortcuts through empty lots.

and this one was helped me quite a few times especially since I moved to the US where apparently public lighting is not available everywhere... if your car is in a parking lot and you're leaving work late at night, hurry up, walk with your car keys in your hand so you can get in fast enough, if you see someone walking towards you pay close attention, don't walk while talking on the phone, it might seem impossible but a lot of people get mugged that way because they weren't paying attention... as soon as you close the door to your car lock it, turn it on and put it on drive or reverse or put the foot in the clutch... some people get in their cars and don't lock up and someone can easily get in, or other lock up but someone taps their window and when they look another guy breaks the back window and steals the purse, back pack, laptop, whatever....
 
As big as my 17" mbp is.. I protect it with my waterfield bag then stick it in my jansport backpack so it looks like a normal backpack with books inside and no one ever knows I have a laptop in there and especially a mbp.

Sometimes I carry a big ass black dell bag (old school) but ironically its a mbp inside heh.
 
Umm... I'm in Japan mate.

People here don't tend to steal stuff! You can leave your push-bike parked up on the sidewalk, next to the road and leave it there all night! It'll still be there in the morning.



Same goes for my Canon EOS 30D with it's Comon EF70-200mm-f4L and 16Gb Flash card
I left them in the public toilets, next to the sink, once.. was still there 2 hours later when I remembered!!!

Generally, no-one will steal something that's older than six months. My machines is definitely older than six months, it's been ripped to shreds and taped back together with some duck-tape, or the Japanese equivalent.
 
98% of protecting yourself from things like this is being constantly aware of your surroundings. Especially when you're carrying valuables (what's more valuable than your own life?), you should be aware of everyone around you. The world isn't the same warm, friendly place it used to be, so being "on guard" at all times makes good sense.
 
Thanks for the advise, luckily I bought an Incase sleeve so I can just slide my MBP into my bag.
I visited my campus, and it doesn't seem like a bad place, a lot of friendly people around...hopefully that isn't a false front.
 
Sucks that that happened to you.

I blatently walk around with my MBP on my school campus and have an apple logo on my case (which is all aluminum, although secured with two combination locks).

I'm a bigger guy. Not that it would thwart thieves with weapons superior to fists, but I havn't been jumped *yet* (knocks on wood)
 
I know this is easier said than done, but I wouldn't let a bunch of worthless bums keep you from carrying around needed possessions. Carry some sort of defense (Taser, pepper spray) and don't use a bag that says "Inside: One MacBook Pro, value $2500." Be careful, but don't let the vagrants run your life. Kick a drunk in the pills and see how many more times he asks for smokes. :)

Editor's note: This philosophy works better when you're bigger than said vagrant.
 
thanks for the heads-up. even though i drive everywhere, i'm now thinking twice before getting a replacement designer work bag now to my current worn-out one....hmmm:cool:
 
Im sure we are all thinking this....

If you want to stop attracting so much attention, carry a PC with you :)


they wont follow you then, theyll run away from you!!! :)


or, carry "said" MBP in one hand, and wooden bat in the other, no followage then...creepy people are everywhere.
 
I don't advocate violence and don't want to be seen as promoting such. I do keep my MBP in an Incase sleeve, tucked into an inconspicuous backpack. Extra security provided by my friends M******g and G***k.
 
So, from the guy that has actually been held up....

It won't really matter whether you carry your book or not. if someone wants to hold you up they will. It's not like they can see what's in your bag either way, and most crooks want cash and anything they can sell. They aren't looking for laptops specifically.

The best way to protect your book is to just leave it home. Best way to protect yourself is to stay home altogether, but what kind of life is that?

Homeless people and drunks don't steal laptops. Drunks are too drunk and most homeless people have bigger things to worry about.

Never bring pepper spray or a taser to a gun fight. :rolleyes:

Someone holds you up, give them your $h!t, better than loosing your life.
 
Digital Skunk said:
Someone holds you up, give them your $h!t, better than loosing your life.
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Only if they have a weapon and you are unarmed. Otherwise, it's a great (and legal!) excuse to beat the living **** out of them!!

This sort of thing is exactly the reason why gun laws don't work. The criminals ignore the laws anyways and now they know they can rob any law abiding citizen and *know* that he isn't armed. If the crooks have to wonder whether or not you've got a gun, they're far less likely to attempt a robbery - they're looking for easy targets, and gun bans give them loads of easy targets.

Look at Washington, DC as an example - gun ban law took effect there about 25 years ago - and crime immediately skyrocketed!! Same with Chicago, same with many other cities.
 
Whew, thank goodness for the conceal carry laws... oh wait. :)

Sorry, just putting in a poke to my friends across the pond, I'm glad nothing got out of hand.
 
I thought everyone carried guns? Maybe Alaska's different. **** we dont even have concealed weapon laws, people walk into the grocery store packin heat on the reg.
 
AlaskanGrown said:
I thought everyone carried guns? Maybe Alaska's different. **** we dont even have concealed weapon laws, people walk into the grocery store packin heat on the reg.
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Yeah here in New York you get 30 rounds for pulling out your wallet the wrong way.
 
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