Stolen laptops seem to be the rage in Berkeley lately (and Cal being named to lead a cybersecurity project was a cruel joke, right?), but the latest laptop to be stolen has produced the most heated reaction.

Biology 1A Professor Jasper Rine had his laptop stolen last week prior to exam time. But not only does it have that information, it also contains classified information that has forced him to notify various government agencies including the FBI and SEC as well as a company he's working for. As a result, he dedicated the last 5 minutes of lecture to the thief, informing him that he was his only hope to getting out of this mess and that he was leaving for vacation in a few short hours.

First off, he probably missed the deadline since the class I understand is at 8 AM and somebody who's stealing laptops is probably watching the webcast over the weekend instead of listening to him live.

Second, yes, this probably gets your computer back while scaring the thief silly, but Professor Rine, you didn't need to make this public. If you can truly track down the thief through transponders and Microsoft Product Keys (can you really do that?), why not get him discreetly instead of basically detailing what you've got on the computer? It's like somebody stealing a briefcase, only to have the owner proclaim "Hey! That briefcase has the nuclear codes for this country, so you better return it!" Now, you're liable for all the data on the computer, possibly getting you into as much trouble as the kid who stole the laptop in the first place.

Watch the video through the Berkeley webcast (man, was this a lifesaver in my 4 years there) and scroll to about 49:00 or go to Boing Boing for his speech alone.