Exploding Silicon
January 17, 2002 10:38 AM   Subscribe

Exploding Silicon Laptop thieves beware! We can now make your ill-gotten loot explode on command...
posted by Irontom (8 comments total)
 
"This machine is stolen and will self-destruct in ten seconds ... ".

I think it would be more effective in preventing future thefts if no warning were given. Thats just my opinion though.
posted by howa2396 at 12:22 PM on January 17, 2002


Yay, now all digital electronics can be destroyed from a distance! This has only positive implications!
posted by Hildago at 12:23 PM on January 17, 2002


well good, another great idea for to-be-terrorists.
posted by adnanbwp at 12:25 PM on January 17, 2002


A new process that will destroy data and render a computer unusable? Looks like Microsoft is set to dominate yet another market.
posted by Shadowkeeper at 12:27 PM on January 17, 2002


This idea will last until someone considers what would happen if a stolen exploding laptop injured a child.
posted by ilsa at 1:26 PM on January 17, 2002


response 1: Punishment without trial; guilty until proven innocent (or injured, whichever comes first)

response 2: get THAT past airport security

response 3: virus writers' dream come true
posted by yesster at 2:19 PM on January 17, 2002


Why would you assume it would be stolen before it blew up? Having worked on a laptop help desk (Zenith Data Systems), I can only imagine the dialogs:

Hi. I, uh, my laptop, uh, just blew up. And I can't see. How do I fix this? Oh, my presentation is in half an hour.
posted by dhartung at 4:46 PM on January 17, 2002


I sincerely hope they left the beer outside when they were pulling the exploding silicon trick. Although given the small scale of the explosion, I have doubts that it will do much damage to a thief.

Although just to throw in aside issue, laptop theft is a really good argument for the availability of strong cryptography. After all, it would really suck if the thief got not only your laptop, but the calling card number stored in your modem settings, your accounts, and any other potentially embarrassing or potentially profitable information stored on your hard disk.
posted by KirkJobSluder at 10:54 PM on January 17, 2002


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