Laptop/mobile finder

Maybe with GPS..

if mobile . even location from care of address base station would be sufficient I think, for Lappy yup, may be GPS.

You can do it with existing GPS + transmitter modules, but they are still expensive and bulky. If one was made to fit in the PC Card slot, that'll make things more convenient.. but still costly.

I think just for the purpose of finding a laptop nearby, a simple radio module would suffice. If you get closer to it, it can beep or flash faster. Directionality can be implemented if needed.

yeah, ash is correct..GPS will be a expensive and bulky..something on the lines of an RFID which beeps would do the trick..tracking could be initiated by a hand held device

I thought " what if a laptop is stolen" hence GPS was bought into picture for location purposes or we have any other methods easier ones to find a laptop?
Obviously Ip detection wont do, will MAC tracking do?

MAC addresses cannot be accessed outside a LAN, and you'll need to trick the thief to either broadcast it voluntarily or visit a website containing an Applet that can read it. If the thief was clever, he/she would reformat the laptop first. That eliminates the chances of any software based tracker installed on it. If the thief is paranoid, they'll just spoof the MAC addresses of the installed network devices.

You can get GPS chips that are tiny, but they are a lot more expensive than their already expensive bulky compatriots. So far, a hardware based tracker is the more likely solution for expensive stolen stuff.

Probably the only thing one can do at the moment is record down the serial number of the laptop now, and report it once it gets stolen so that the thief will have a harder time selling it.

ashMAC addresses cannot be accessed outside a LAN, and you'll need to trick the thief to either broadcast it voluntarily or visit a website containing an Applet that can read it. If the thief was clever, he/she would reformat the laptop first. That eliminates the chances of any software based tracker installed on it. If the thief is paranoid, they'll just spoof the MAC addresses of the installed network devices.

understood.

Probably the only thing one can do at the moment is record down the serial number of the laptop now, and report it once it gets stolen so that the thief will have a harder time selling it.

Ah! couple of friends did have a burglary at their places, as you said reported the sequence number. It did not work. They have lost their laptops for good.
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