Similar to why headphone jacks are getting rare on cellphones? (The latest XPS-13 laptop has no headphone jack! Any second now Apple will ship a Macbook with headphone jack, too.)
Reminds me of one of my favorite rants: Why can’t “smart” phones have a loop for a wrist strap? Because it would be too practical and remind us of old flip-phones? Because it would save too many broken phones and be bad for the phone business?
I think it is all because it isn’t what Apple does.
Ironic one of the missing lock slot workaround products works by rather permanently occupying a headphone jack.
I mostly don’t leave my laptop unattended, but occasionally I need to leave it in a hotel room, and a lock would slow down an opportunistic thief.
It would be nice if in the future Framework could figure out a place for a lock slot in the bottom portion of the case. It won’t help me, I already have my Framework 13, but it would make it a better machine. (I personally wouldn’t care if it is on the bottom surface, for I only need it when I need to leave my computer unattended.)
The last contractor company I worked for had an internal IT order not to give out any more Kensington locks to employees, because of too many issues caused by those who lost their keys…
As an alternative idea.
How about putting an accelerometer attached to the EC. If the laptop is moved, it sends an alarm out. The EC could prevent the laptop switching off while the alarm was sounding.
The alarm could be sound, or sending a message to your mobile phone or similar.
For looks you could even use a Kingston lock cable attached to an expansion slot card. The alarm would still sound with the card removed.
Also, the laptop could be made to look like it is power off, but still send message to your phone. It would probably need help from the bios to do this.
None of this is super secure, but a least it would provide a similar discouragement as a Kingston lock does.
A kensington lock in expansion slot card is something I’m surprised no one has made. Should be room to add a lock hole next to the USB-C port on a USB-C card.
If need be, the USB-C PCB can likely be cut in the corner to make room internally, as there shouldn’t be any traces there.
But that provides zero security, some will say.
All security is just deterrence in the end. It gives the perception that it’s secured. And I’d argue that is most important in reality, in enough situations, and enough cases.
Kensington locks do not prevent anyone from stealing laptops. It’s just a deterrence. Anyone who wants to, can break or cut kensington locks. Breaking in some cases for those that are unprepared, cutting for those looking for locked items to steal and are prepared. Small cutters that can cut through cables can fit in an oversize pocket
I’ve used the same size of cutters to cut a bike lock cable with a jammed / broken lock. Thicker than a kensington lock cable.
90% of the time, kensington locks are just about discouraging thefts of opportunity. A laptop that someone sees, that they can merely pick up and walk off with in an instant.
Add an alarm in a kensington lock expansion card, with “Alarmed” warning stickers, and it becomes more than adequate in enough situations to be worthwhile. If you want it to actually not be removable without breakage, you should be able to put a pair of countersunk screws through the expansion card slot bay and into the card. So it can’t be removed without either, a good bit of disassembly, or breakage of the frame around the card slot. And with the way the expansion card slots are designed, I believe you could also create a locking expansion card without screws. A mechanism that prevents removal only when a kensington lock is inserted into the hole. But I don’t have a Framework laptop to protype with, or the need for kensington lock.
