MLS reader David recently brought up a good point. Laptops get stolen. Obviously the theft rate depends where you live and where your school is situated, but since laptops are so important to students, it seems like something worth thinking about.

David mentioned two software options:

Undercover, by Orbicule - In the event your Mac gets stolen, Undercover transmits network information, takes screenshots at regular intervals (the better to find out what the thief is doing), and even covertly takes iSight photos every six minutes. All of this data gets sent back to Orbicule, so they can help you track down your missing Mac. Undercover is a Mac-only app. It costs $49, but students can buy Undercover for $39 (until September 1, 2007). There are no annual fees.

LoJack for Laptops, by Computrace - Like Undercover, this application transmits network information about your laptop back to Computrace. It doesn’t appear to have as many clever tricks as Undercover, but they do claim to recover 3 out of 4 laptops. LoJack for Laptops is available for Mac and Windows, and costs $49.99 (I’m always suspicious of $xx.99 pricing. Who do they think they’re fooling?) for one year, or $99.99 for three years.

In the future, Apple laptops may come with a built-in theft deterrent. The company recently filed a patent that may or may not ever wind up being used in a product:

The patent, titled “Protecting electronic devices from extended unauthorized use,” outlines a technique that would allow a particular device to authenticate itself with certain, user-approved power supplies and devices so that it can only be charged by those devices.

Current speculation focuses on its use in iPods, but since so much of Apple sales is in laptops, it wouldn’t be surprising if this technology found its way into future MacBooks and MacBook Pros.