

Lap lock – leave your MacBook unattended worry free for a short time - code_devil
http://beta.vyte.in/laplock-www/

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ivanmaeder
I'm one of the developers. We created the app and service this weekend at a
hackathon so it's still very new.

We know there are limitations (especially: if you close the MacBook, the alarm
will not work) but we're working on it. So thanks for all the feedback, it's
very useful to know what areas we should address.

If you would like to write to us directly: @laplockapp. Thanks!

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omonra
1\. Wait, what happens if the thief closes the macbook first?

2\. Even if it works, wouldn't this be useless since the thief would not know
about the app running? Ie most theft prevention mechanisms works because they
manifestly inform the potential thief that it's not worth his trouble to
bother with this one.

But if this is just an app running in the background - there is no 'warning'
shown.

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pmoriarty
Not like anyone's actually going to do anything when someone walks off with
your laptop anyway.

Witness how car alarms are regularly ignored.

.

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saintmac
1\. It also sends you a notification (SMS or Yo notification), so you can do
something about it 2\. In a cafe or coworking space, when people steal stuff,
they just pretend they're theirs. Bit harder to pretend in this case if you
can't unlock it

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timrichard
Have to agree with a previous poster; I would imagine it's more likely that
people would stare at the thief running out of the venue, rather than get
involved and take a risk.

You can pick up a drawstring gymsack for a couple of bucks. It scrunches up to
a very small size in your daily carry, and you can ensure any valuables are
secure on your back if you have to be away for a short time while the rest of
your stuff stays at the table. Low tech, but has been effective for me so far.

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fencepost
Nifty, except in public places I usually have speakers muted (I assume Macs
have the same capability). I also always close the lid prior to unplugging -
does this require changing power management settings?

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saintmac
Actually the speakers settings are set to loud just before the alarm goes off

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praseodym
This is pretty similar to
[https://www.virtualock.com](https://www.virtualock.com) who also provide a
Windows version.

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williamstein
Wow -- that was fast: "You have OS X 10.9.5. The application requires OS X
10.10 or later."

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Artemis2
Even though the icon looks like it was made for OS X < 10.10.

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saintmac
Well OS X 10.10 is about flat design. Could you think of a flatter icon? :-)

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Artemis2
It's mostly that it looks very bad in dark mode.

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nodata
Your first feature request is going to be for it to work without the power
cord :)

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benzoate
I think it could actually be done. I know my MBPr has accelerometers in it
that can be accessed.

(visit [http://mrdoob.com/projects/chromeexperiments/google-
gravity/](http://mrdoob.com/projects/chromeexperiments/google-gravity/) with
Chrome on a MBPr)

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nodata
So the thief should steal slowly? :)

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ivanmaeder
Hehe verrrrrryyy slooowwwwly.

The MacBooks with mechanical hard drives have the motion sensors.

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benzoate
I believe that's why they were originally added, to protect the disk in the
event of a drop. My early 2013 13" MBPr definitely has both an SSD and
accelerometers, though I don't know if they kept them for later models. Cool
app/idea btw!

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jaxbot
The more a think about it, the more genius this application is. Well done!

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therobot24
this is really cool, i'm surprised something like this hasn't been implemented
years ago

it would be nice if you could text back the PC to turn on it's speakers like a
car alarm

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joshmn
An SMS when it's unlocked would also be great to see.

