An April article in the San Francisco Chronicle pointed out the rising problem of laptop theft. According to the Chronicle, theft of laptops has jumped from 18 in 2004 to 48 in 2005, and the city’s on target to see 70 thefts this year. Ji-Wire suggests the following measures to project your laptop when you’re out at hotspots:
• sit away from the door
• install software like Brigadoon Software's PC/Mac PhoneHome or Absolute Software's Computrace LoJack for Laptops – both transmit your computer’s location when you’re online, which can help law enforcement find your laptop if stolen
• back up frequently
• encrypt files you wouldn’t want a thief to see

WEBbeams will present at this year’s Coffee Fest Las Vegas, June 9-11 at the Las Vegas Convention Center. If you’d like to attend the convention, you can get free tickets until May 21. Visit visit the Fresh Cup website and register with the WEBbeams code: EC43120. You can receive free admission for up to six people (the form must be fully completed). If you miss the May 21 deadline, you can use this code to save $20 off the $30 admission price. When you’re at Coffee Fest, visit WEBbeams at booth #12 and check out our class, “Wireless Internet in Your Café,” on Friday, June 9 or Saturday, June 10 from 8:30 am to 9:50 am in Coffee Fest Training Room #N231.

As Google plans to cover San Francisco with free (advertising driven) Wi-Fi, many people are raising concerns about privacy. Google will use technology to track users’ location within several hundred feet each time they log on. The company plans to save this data for up to 180 days, meaning it will hold information that the government could use to check up on people. Just last summer U.S. Attorney General Alberto Gonzales issued a subpoena to Google, demanding it turn over user information in an effort to crack down on child pornography. A battle ensued as Google refused to hand over user the data. With user whereabouts maintained in Google’s database, the government could potentially request data again. Watch for this privacy vs. public safety debate to continue in the upcoming months.