Poll: An ethical question

[Betancore]

Wouldn't have taken it. It's different from seeing $10 on the ground - someone's work could be on that Macbook. Their work, their music, their photos, videos...everything. I know I'd be distraught if someone nicked my HDD or even my USB. Eric Harris would probably say that dumb fucks who leave their stuff lying around deserve to have their belongings stolen, but I don't agree with him on that point.

 

[Drakane]

Wheres the.. I'd try to find the owner and get a reward option?? I'm not for stealing but profiteering is another thing.

 

[Mad World]

I'd call security.

You definitely did the right thing - no doubt. Good job!

 

[Kortney]

I honestly can't even entertain the thought of stealing from someone. Why? Because I've been stolen from before, and it is an awful feeling.

 

[bl4ckh4wk64]

Security definately. I once lost an iPod at my university. Felt really shitty.

Went to security and found someone had handed it in. Felt pretty excellent.

Well then I certainly hope this person gets there computer back. I feel warm and fuzzy about it. You hear that universe?! Give me a random act of kindness now

Karma acts in strange ways, my friend. Just wait and good things will happen. Don't ask for it, it will happen.

 

[Durgiun]

I really don't know. Maybe I would've taken it, maybe not. I make decisions concerning unimportant things like those on the fly.

 

[Gardenclaw]

I'd have had a look to see if there were any clues as to who owned it so i could return it to them.. I work on the railway and find alot of lost property, which i always try and return to its rightful owner. Sometimes you get a reward (Once found a bag of medical equipment worth over £3000 and got a £50 reward for handing it in to a university) and thats cool. But the old saying Treat others as you would wish to be treated works well. If i lost something valuable i would love it if someone took the time to return it to me.

 

[Seraj]

I don't really need a Macbook. If it was a duffel bag full of money however...

Totally agree, macbook? useless!

 

[Korolev]

I wouldn't touch it - maybe someone was coming back later? I also would dread the scenario in which I picked it up, and just at that moment the owner came back and accused me of stealing it. So I wouldn't touch it. I would just leave it there.

 

[Sir Thomas Sean Connery]

Ehhhh..... A Macbook? No, it's useless to me. A good laptop? Sure..... Except anybody with a brain has their computer password protected. So, logically no.

 

[Mimssy]

Getting something stolen seriously sucks and I'd hate to do that someone. I could never steal like that.

 

[Octorok]

I honestly would have called security as well. Too many times as a teen I lost my wallet and had it returned with all my money removed. It may have only been like $40 here, $80 there, but that crushed me back then. My sister had my family's digital camera stolen at her prom. She never got it back, so we have no photos of her in her dress to show my grandma, and all of our other family photos are gone now, too.
I couldn't imagine losing a macbook. That'd be insane.


Not to mention my husband would probably question me about how I got it.

Wow, that's unbelievably shitty. One of the many reasons I'd hand it in, or return it to its owner.

Plus, it's just a Macbook. If I really wanted one I could get one without running the risk of theft. It's not like it was a suitcase of money or something.

 

[Choppaduel]

Ehhhh..... A Macbook? No, it's useless to me. A good laptop? Sure..... Except anybody with a brain has their computer password protected. So, logically no.

i agree on the mac part. but u should know that the data isnt what thieves would be after. its the hardware.

on pc u just need boot cd, wipe the partion, reformat and reinstall.
and if the have bios protection or w/e u just need to change the hard disc and reset cmos.
any security greater than that is more expensive than the common consumer wants(is willing to pay for).

Anyways, OP did the right thing, mac or otherwise.

 

[Caligulove]

good on you.

It's situations like that where I think about if someone found my laptop in my bag. I know that I use my laptop for a ridiculous amount of things in my life, both for my social and private life, and for school and work- I would feel incredibly violated if that was taken, not to mention how much that would hurt my schoolwork and my job.

Then you realize that just taking the laptop would be a huge dick move.

 

[Nigh Invulnerable]

I'd have checked for ID of some sort and if I had any inkling of how to find the person I'd contact them myself. Otherwise, to the Lost and Found!

 

[Merkavar]

im going to answer this question as if its not a mac, since im not a mac sort of person. but i would either hand it into someone that can get it to the right person. or take it and make get it back to the right person my self.

i wouldnt steal it cause its not worth it. its a laptop not a car. only worth 1000$ or something but the punishment for stealing it is probably alot more than that.

 

[GeorgW]

I'd check for an ID and try to find the owner. But there have been times that I've seen a cell phone left behind in my extremely small school and taken it just to teach the owner a lesson. I give it back of course. I once accidentally stole someones keys But the thing is, it's a small school. 16 ppl. Everybody knows everybody and they all know I steal things ^^ It's all in good fun. At a university with a few hundred students, I wouldn't even think of it.

 

[fgdfgdgd]

Personally, i'd have turned it in, i once thought i'd lost my laptop and the thought of all the data i'd lost absolutely crushed me. It's not that i have a high set of morals, it's just that i know what it feels like to be on the other side of that.

Fun story: Once i had forgotten my favorite hat in a lecture hall and waas about half way back to the car park when i realised, i had all but given up hope of finding the hat, knowing it was pretty good looking, rather new, not branded in any fashion, but then a pretty girl just came walking out looking around pencively and she asked me if i lost my hat, and then she returned it, shattering my preconsetpions of pretty girls and people as a whole.

[small]...not to wreck your high, but $10 says the security guard pocketed it for himself.[/small]

 

[Sir Thomas Sean Connery]

Ehhhh..... A Macbook? No, it's useless to me. A good laptop? Sure..... Except anybody with a brain has their computer password protected. So, logically no.

i agree on the mac part. but u should know that the data isnt what thieves would be after. its the hardware.

on pc u just need boot cd, wipe the partion, reformat and reinstall.
and if the have bios protection or w/e u just need to change the hard disc and reset cmos.
any security greater than that is more expensive than the common consumer wants(is willing to pay for).

Anyways, OP did the right thing, mac or otherwise.

Good point! Then if it's a laptop, it's mine now.

 

[loc978]

You did right, exactly what I would have done.
If I wanted a laptop worth a few grand, I'd buy one (though it's doubtful I'd pay the premium that Apple charges... I'll probably build my next notebook, I finally figured out where to get the parts), and if I wanted to make a grand or so, I'd work for it, rather than fencing stolen goods.