Help me horrifically deface a thing of beauty in the name of security.

December 12, 2007 8:40 AM

I need to inexpensively secure 21 mac minis in a school lab setting.

I would rather not spend $40/unit for a single-keyed notebook lock solution. I am happy to work with power tools. I just want to prevent them from walking off indiscriminately, and am wondering if there is a clever, cheaper fix. I suppose I could epoxy a bracket to them and bolt each one to the table.

If worse comes to worse I could order 21 cables with a set of keys (If Kensington provided a simple way to call them and give them money), but I'd rather put the money into software licenses.

posted by mecran01 to Computers & Internet (8 answers total)

Best answer: Use a dremel tool with a drill tip, take apart the cover of the mac mini, drill two small holes on each side near a corner and pass a very long metal wire through all the macs, then secure both sides to something.
For the keyboard, make two loops, one that is held to the USB connector and tightly closed around it so you don't slip out, and the other side it looped to the long wire going through all the macs.
posted by PowerCat at 8:48 AM on December 12, 2007

Response by poster: Cool, now I can have work buy me a dremel to boot. Excellent idea!
posted by mecran01 at 8:55 AM on December 12, 2007

My school labs used these little anchors. They weren't quite as involved as drilling with power tools, but they did keep things from walking off.
posted by lilithim at 9:04 AM on December 12, 2007

While PowerCat's idea is good and practical, I would be concerned about voiding the warranty on 21 Macs. You might want to check with Apple before you start drilling.
posted by al_fresco at 9:32 AM on December 12, 2007

Best answer: They weren't quite as involved as drilling with power tools, but they did keep things from walking off.

For 20 years! Get a load of that Imagewriter II!

Drilling through the case pretty certainly voids the warranty. Whatever you do, don't attach anything to the top - the drives are touchy and often don't work properly if there's pressure on the top of the case.

For $475, you can get a bulk security kit that has enough stuff for securing 50 computers. A good chunk of that is the cutter/crimper tool, so future orders will be much cheaper.
posted by Caviar at 10:34 AM on December 12, 2007

You might also check out Orbicle's Undercover software.
(Although it is more about getting stolen Macs back, than it is keeping them from walking off in the first place.)
posted by blueberry at 2:15 PM on December 12, 2007

Response by poster: I may go for the bulk security unit.

There are fairly strong rumors that Apple is killing the mini, so I may wait for a price drop or see what shiny new thing pops out.
posted by mecran01 at 3:18 PM on December 12, 2007

There were also fairly strong rumors that Apple was killing the Mini in the days right before they released the latest upgrade to the line as well.
posted by Caviar at 5:19 AM on December 13, 2007 [1 favorite]