60-second Review: Maclock for Apple’s New Retina Display MacBook Pros
My one complaint with my new Retina Display MacBook Pro is that it no longer has a locking hole drilled in the side of the laptop itself, so you can no longer secure your laptop with a Kensington security lock and cable (like you could with other MacBook Pro models). So far, after searching around the only simple solution seems to be this new clear plastic skin from http://www.macLocks.com which lets you attached a cable lock.
Here’s how it works:
You remove five screws from the bottom of your MacBook Pro, then (using the supplied screws and screwdriver) you attach this very lightweight clear, plastic “skin” to the bottom of your laptop (it has ventilation slats), and it has special locking mount in the back right corner (seen in the photo below). I tried it at the Bucs/Chargers game on Sunday and it worked well (and the lock and cable come with the unit).
If you look it it, of course, this plastic skin is not unbeatable (you could break it but it would take some doing and likely trash the computer in the process) but unfortunately that might not be obvious to a thief at first (it looks more breakable than I think it is), so while you might still have your computer at the end of the day, if they seriously tried to break it, your MacBook Pro will probably be fairly damaged as well — so think of it more of a deterrent but certainly not a local version of Fort Knox.
Its Achilles Heel
If the would-be thief has a very small screwdriver, they can just turn your laptop upside down, remove five screws, and just slide the plastic plate off, so when you return you’ll find a still-locked cable attached to a clear plastic plate, and your laptop will be gone. Yikes!
If I could change one thing…
…..it would be that it has a combination lock rather than a key-lock, because if you lose that key you’re really stuck (you do get one back-up key, but you’d better have it on you). Other than that, it seems well-thought out and so far seems to be the best solution out there in the absense of the old Kensington lock with a hole drilled in the body (like before) and so it makes a less-than-ideal situation workable for folks who need to lock down their laptop when they step away.
Price: $59.95
From: MacLocks (direct link)