Inventure Laptop Backpack from Samsonite
Having recently bought a V2000-series Compaq, which is smaller relative to my old fullsized 14-incher ThinkPad, I thought I’d also be better off getting myself a portable carrying case. I’ not fond of carrying around my laptop in those shoulder-type leather or nylon bags that come deafult with the package. Instead, I make it a point to get myself backpacks for easier transporting, and so it wouldn’t be too obvious that I’m carrying around a notebook computer (see my article on preventing laptop theft).
For carrying around my laptop and all the junk that I usually bring with me, I have a medium-sized Echolac laptop backpack. But it’s still heavy and quite bulky, especially with the junk I tend to carry along with me (which includes cables, coin purses, keys, notebooks, some extra shirts for emergencies, a small umbrella, documents, my toothbrush, and all that).
So yesterday evening, I finally got to buy that small-ish backpack I’d been eyeing for some time now. It’s the Inventure ICT Backpack A4 039 (pictured above) from Samsonite. It’s your basic one-zipper laptop case that’s designed to carry your laptop and only the most necessary of accessories (that is your AC adaptor and perhaps some cables and USB peripherals).
The backpack is designed to accommodate small/thin 14-inch laptops and of course smaller-sized ones such as 12-inchers and, of course, sub-notebooks. The V2000 initially didn’t fit as well as expected, because while it’s a 14-incher, it’s in widescreen format, so it’s as long as a 15-inch laptop would normally be. But a little adjustment does the trick and my laptop fits although there’s not much allowance in terms of play.
Inside
Inside the Inventure is your basic laptop case fare. You have the laptop pouch itself, which is padded but not as thickly as with larger ICT cases. The pouch is still suspended inside the backpack’s body, though, so that’s good for added protection, especially when you’re setting down the case bottom-part down. There’s a document holder, which is expandable by adjusting the velcro straps. Then there are two pouches that can hold PC cards or other accessories (such as my card-reader, which is the bluish thing you see on the photo).
On the front part of the internals are a set of businesscard holders and loops for holding pens/pencils. There’s also a mesh-type pouch where you can put in all those small articles you’d rather not lose elsewhere in the case. I keep my USB flash drive and earphones here. For those who like listening to music while on the move, the case has a small hole for earphone wires.
How it fares
- Protection. I’d say the Inventure gets a 6 out of 10 for protection, as it’s the padding is not as thick as I’d personally be comfortable with. Also, since the Compaq V2000 just fits the bag snugly lengthwise without any allowance, I wouldn’t want the top part of the case to hit something hard. If I were using a 12-inch laptop, I’d probably rate the backpack higher by two points.
- Comfort.I give the backpack a 8 out of 10 for comfort. It’s light and comfortable enough. My only gripe is that the shoulder straps aren’t made of that sweat-resistant material that lets your skin breathe (which my Echolac backpack has). The part that goes to your back actuall has this feature, but the shoulder straps have this velvety material that’s soft but can get hot with prolonged use.
- Portability. The saving grace in terms of comfort would be the fact that that the case is so light and that I’m not tempted to carry around all my junk. So my back’s saved from all the aches and pains associated with carrying heavy backpacks. In this area, I give the backpack a 10 out of 10.
Overall, I give the Inventure an 8 out of 10. Average in terms of protection. Not so perfect in terms of comfort. Perfect in terms of portability.
Preventing Laptop Theft
Kensington cable and lock
What’s worse than losing a $2,500 laptop you just bought a couple of months back? It’s losing the data inside, which is usually more valuable than the hardware itself. It’s not uncommon for laptop users to consider the contents of their computers as priceless, regardless of what these are. For business users, these can be important company documents or sensitive, confidential communications. For individuals, these can be personal files like family pictures or other such multimedia documents that are likewise valuable and irreplaceable.
A quick estimate pegs the value of a laptop’s content at about $800,000, and that’s just for personal email alone. What more with business secrets and data?
Some companies have even experienced losing laptops that contained huge client and user databases in unencrypted format. These proved to be very embarassing P.R. nightmares, where the involved parties lost some public confidence due to the lapse in security.
IT rumour site The Register has quite a number of articles on laptop theft. We also have some news snippets and quick tips on how to protect yourself.
(more…)
Largest U.S. Military Records Theft
The Pentagon has recently reported on a recent theft of a U.S. military personnel laptop and external disk drive that was stolen from the home of an unidentified analyst on May 3rd.
The defense officials now say that the database on the laptop had the names, birth dates, and even the Social Security numbers for as many as 1.1 million active-duty military men and women.
Currently, there is a $50,000 reward for the return of the Hewlett-Packard laptop and disk drive. This whole thing is absolutely rediculous. I hope there was alteast some encryption and password protection on the sensitive files or the U.S. Government might find themselves with a database of confidential information eventually finding its way online.
Laptop Theft and Data Loss
A writer on Infoworld strikes up his side of what he thinks of laptop theft and dataloss saying that it the answer is simple encryption of important data, thus making it more difficult to attain, and more likely that any theif will just format the hard drive thus losing the hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of data that had been on the machine.
Okay, I’ll agree with this week’s column by Oliver Rist on not blaming the laptop for data theft (but please don’t tell him, he’s already got a big enough noggin). When it comes to sensitive mobile data access, policy is the key. Why should all of those employees have all of that sensitive data on a laptop anyway? Unless they really need it, and I’m sure if it comes down to brass tacks, they probably don’t.
Okay, if you’ve read my blog before you know what I’m going to say next - encryption! If sensitive data must be floating out there unsecured in hotel rooms, taxis, airports and outside restaurants, at least take the time to encrypt it. The inconvenience of having to put in a password to encrypt and decrypt the sensitive data will pay off in the long run.
Pay by Touch
Coming to a laptop near you soon, is a new payment system from Pay By Touch. It uses a biometric sensor, much like the ones you see on a Lenovo business laptop but instead of just using it for access to your operating system, it allows you to pay for things like wireless internet connections and whatnot without having to send any other data.
“The incessant news of data thefts, spyware and other information security threats undermine online trust, leaving too many people rightfully wary about the safety of their personal information,” said Chris Shipley, executive producer of DEMO 2006. “By offering consumers the security and convenience of finger scan authentication on laptops and PCs, Pay By Touch Online will rebuild consumers’ confidence in the safety of online transactions and accelerate e-business overall.”
“As crimeware is becoming more pervasive, consumer protection must take advantage of innovative technologies to maintain security online without taking away convenience,” said Jon Siegal, executive vice president of Pay By Touch Online. “Pay By Touch Online uses innovative technologies such as finger identification, encryption and secure data centers to provide the necessary multiple layers of authentication and security that haven’t existed until now in one service — making it the safest and most convenient way to log-in and pay.”
Protect Your Laptop
SmartPros have an article up called Protect Your Laptop, in which they throw out some pretty shocking statistics in laptop theft, and some helpful solutions that might save any data that could fall into unfriendly hands.
- Encryption.
- Stronger authentication.
- Machine GPS.
- Pervasive asset management.
- Exit inspections.
- Stopping it from ever happening.
The last two are the funniest, and probably the most difficult to do, but it is also the most common sense approach, and mixing two or three of these can prevent millions of dollars of information from being released, erased or otherwise misused.
Laptop Worth Close to a Million Dollars
I was reading at various websites today, that it has been analyzed how much the data on a laptop is actually worth, and that comes to basically what amounts to a million dollars.
The survey was carred out by Symantec, and they found 78% of laptop users carried substantial amounts of valuable intellectual property or commercially sensitive information.
Some respondants were found to have notebooks that had over eight million dollars of information on their machines, that if lost, could cost the company a great deal of money.
My first thought is that I would love to set up a Laptop Theft Retrieval company as it could make some pretty big dollars protecting laptops.
Source: Pocket-Lint
Toshiba Portégé R200 Review
Pocket-Lint has a great review on the R200 and they give it an eight out of a possible ten.
There is no manufacturer that can match Toshiba for its length of service to the notebook industry. With 20 years under its belt, the company has helped establish the market. For the main part, that market has been in supplying business travellers. So its no surprise that its latest ultraportable, the Portégé R200 is a slim and light number aimed at the business buyer.
Weighing in at a featherweight 1.3kg, you may not even notice that you’re carrying a notebook around with you. This may be an exaggeration with a footprint of 287 x 222 x 23mm, you’ll find that you won’t need a dedicated notebook case to carry the machine about, which is ideal if you’re worried about theft. The R200 looks like it means business, with slate-grey-and-black styling and a chrome strip around the touchpad. On the downside, the chrome may be pleasing to look at but it soon gets covered in fingerprints, which lessens the image.
Read more about the R200 from Pocket-Lint
Police Recover ID Theft Alarm Laptop
ZD Net UK has a story in which a laptop with private records was recovered. I think there should be more anti-theft technology for laptops.
A laptop stolen from a secure area of the University of California has been recovered after it was found to have been sold over the Internet
A stolen laptop containing personal information of more than 98,000 California university students and applicants has been recovered but it’s uncertain whether the information had been tapped, the University of California, Berkeley, said on Thursday.
The laptop, which stored names and Social Security numbers, disappeared in March from a restricted area of the university’s graduate division offices, forcing the university to alert more than 98,000 students and applicants of the theft.
The university said in a statement that a San Francisco man has been arrested and charged by the Alameda County district attorney with possession of stolen property after investigators discovered the laptop had been bought over the Internet by a man in South Carolina.
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