I proposed a similar thing but it got buried in the comments below. Here it is:
Devices like Tile, Trackr are available in the market but they are easily recognizable and thieves will detach them. If they can't be inbuilt due to any reason, there are two alternatives to make it work:
1) A paper thin version of above mentioned devices that can be pasted on laptop OR -
2) Replacing a keyboard key with any of the above devices
The hardware will do two things: 1) It will tell the location of the device and 2) It will 'factory reset' the device so that the data doesn't fall into wrong hands.
I think the biggest problem is getting the user base. The location of the device is an afterthought to me. It needs to be a standard in the tech world in order for the crowd sourcing idea to work.
Devices like Tile, Trackr are available in the market but they are easily recognizable and thieves will detach them. If they can't be inbuilt due to any reason, there are two alternatives to make it work:
1) A paper thin version of above mentioned devices that can be pasted on laptop OR - 2) Replacing a keyboard key with any of the above devices
The hardware will do two things: 1) It will tell the location of the device and 2) It will 'factory reset' the device so that the data doesn't fall into wrong hands.
What do you think?