I was on the train from Washington to Philadelphia and I had my new laptop and the bag.

I was sitting in business class, not that it mattters much, but it wasn't crowded.

My question is this: when you go to the bathroom or to get coffee, what do you do with your laptop bag? Seems silly to cart it around with you (although that's what I did), but it doesn't seem right to leave the bag lying there either.

What do you do?

I haul my bag with me. It's uncomfortable, but safer than leaving a bag alone.

I would take it with me, but would also consider using one of the $20 cable locks to secure it to something if there was something available, like through the armrest or around the railing on the overhead luggage storage.

I NEVER EVER leave my laptop on it's own. Even when flying I prefer taking it with me to the bathroom than leaving it alone (it's a very small machine). The stuff on my notebook is priceless, I couldn't care less about the machine.

This is what I do too (dcarry it with me), but it is awkward, isn't it?

I do have a cable lock that I also carry with me. I suppose I could use that to lock my bag to something. That is a good possible thought...

Like most everybody else, I take it with me.

A train is too big. However, on a plane, many people don't take it to the lav. Maybe one should if it's bigger than a 757.

My laptop isn't THAT big

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Seriously, though, this is a concern of mine too, on a big plane. You don't want to be tethered to the thing with handcuffs...but there is a risk.

Frequent backups, including daily emailing of the newest information to your home account or company account is a good idea.

Then you would not have to worry about loss of too much priceless information.

Don't leave a laptop anywhere, even in a plane seat, unattended.

Travel tips:
http://members.aol.com/ajaynejr/travel.htm

It's not leaving it in a plane seat, it's leaving it in the overhead compartment. On the train, it's the overhead compartment there. It is still very easy for someone to steal if I am wondering around not paying attention.

On an airplane, it is a risk I take all the time. Don't you? You go to the lav, how many of you take your laptop with you?

The train is more leisurely, more wandering around for longer periods of time, and thus more of a concern.

BTW, even if I backup my computer, there is still the issue of someone getting ahold of my client lists and important business information. I sign non disclosure agreements with clients and have all sorts of info on my computer, so I wouldn't want it in the wrong hands anyway

On a plane I'll have it with me as I said... I've been on 3 flights where something was stolen, the last time everyone was "grounded" until the police got on board to search everyones stuff as a laptop was stolen from someone in business.

So did they find the stolen laptop? I've always wondered how this would work.

if this is in the US, wouldn't this expose the airline to charges of false arrest?

In stores there is something called "shopkeeper's privilige" that lets the store reasonably search you if they believe you have stolen something, and detain you for the police. But I don't think they have this on airplanes.

I certainly wouldn't like it, and I wouldn't want anyone searching my stuff either unless they had a warrant. Ha ha ha ha -- that was a funny joke!!!

Kinda hard to e-mail 2 gigabytes of data.

This is scary. I regularly leave my PDA and DVD player at my seat if I've been using them on a long haul flight and need to go to the loo. It would appear that I'm far too trusting!