Help! Laptop Missing from Hallé Room

Hi Everypony,

Vice Chairman here.

We have had one of the hired laptops go missing from the Charles Hallé Room. Obviously this will cost us a considerable amount to have it replaced that we cannot really afford.

Details:
One laptop was taken upstairs to the Barbirolli room (large conference room) for the Q&A session at 17:00, and the empty case left in the Hallé. However this leaves 7 laptops in the Hallé and come the morning there were only 6.

You may be able to help us pin it down, if you can remember how many laptops there were when you were in that room. To help you remember:

14:00 to 16:00 Animation Workshop with Adam Clarke
16:00 to 17:00 Closed for Charity Auction
17:00 to 18:00 Budding Friendships Game Demo
18:00 to 19:00 Parlour Games
19:00 to 20:00 Craft Workshop with Bitter Tea
20:00 to 21:00 My Little Karaoke
21:00 to 22:00 Closed for Closing Ceremony

Item Details:
It is a silver HP 6730B Notebook

Spec:
Centrino Intel Core 2 Duo 2.53GHz
4GB DDR RAM
250GB HDD
Windows 7
MS Office 2007 Pro

It is stored in a black laptop bag marked "TECH AIR". The Hire Company is "Hire Intelligence" so their branding will be on it. Inside the laptop bag is a power lead, USB mouse and a mousemat branded with the company name.

Below is the Asset ID and Serial Number of the laptop.

Notebook 21737.
ID: MA1795 Or LO21737
Serial Number: CZC9103YM4

Can everpony keep an eye out to ensure that they have not taken it with their own gear. Particularly anyone who used the Hallé room. If you know who has it, please contact us immediately and assist us in its retrieval.

Whoever gets it back to us gets a free ticket to BUCK 2013

Pictures taken some time on the second day... possibly MLP Online?
2 laptops on Table 1, at least 1 laptop on table 2


2 laptops on Table 3

Pictures taken on Day Two - Budding Friendships?
1 laptop seen on table 1 and a space
2 laptops seen on table 2



Closed laptop seen on Table 1 - possibly the space we can't see in the previous photo
2 laptops on table 2
2 laptops on table 3
1 laptop seen on table 4 and a space

Picture taken on Day 2 - Pony Parlour & Brony Games
Laptop bag but no laptop seen on the end of table 4 - however this is not the missing laptop

The laptop for that bag was used in the last Q&A session on Day 2 in the Barbirolli Room

I picked up a hired HP laptop from the Barbirolli on the Monday morning.

Laptop case is still there during the Pony Parlour and Brony Games...



When I entered the Hallé Room on the Monday morning there were 3 laptops on Tables 1 and 2; and 3 laptops on Tables 3 & 4 and an empty case on the end of Table 4

Thus the missing laptop (and case) may likely be the one on the far left, on the side of Table 1 nearest the window.

The room was mostly clear during bitter tea's workshop on account of her not being there untill about half way though when a few of us starting playing hang pony then moved into the karaoke.
Room then cleared for the final ceriomony around 2045/50
Other than that all I cna remember is that there was 4 laptops on the left tables left of the door during the ccg. sorry I cannot be of more help

Not sure if this helps but I'll try my best, I was the person from MLPOnline. I'm actually in the photo XD On day 2 MLPOnline was in the room from 10-11

edit: I'd like to add that when we were starting up there was one PC missing from the very end but a man came in and said he had borrowed a laptop and he was returning it. I then believe we had all the laptops there?

That's definitely MLP online, I'm the guy in the blue shirt at the end and it's the only demo I played. I was on the last laptop and there was another one next to me which is being covered up by people in that image.

Edit: Also the Budding Friendships demo was being played on the laptop closest to the window on the second day. Mr. Almost-Matt-Smith had brought his mother's lappy the day before but it wouldn't work properly, so I don't know if they were on the con's laptop or or their own laptop on the second day. So I can tell you that this is indeed Budding Friendships:

Yeah, I was the follow playing the Budding Friendships demo that was on the projector on the second day; so it was definitely there at least to near the end of that demo - unfortunately I had to leave rather quickly due to illness @-@

I saw video footage of Laserpon3 and Tei the Pony singing on the karaoke machine. Was that on the Sunday evening? Does anyone recall if the laptop was still there then, or have earlier footage that might show that side of the room?

Sunday evening right before we all vacated the room for the closing ceromoy at around 8:45pm I have footage of around that time from the otherside of the room but it was rather full and the only tables you get a good view of are the ones of the left with 3 laptops between the two of them.
It's proably also worth noting that the karoake it's self was run off a laptop we had at the front of the room.

The laptop on the right was the one that went to the Barbirolli. We believe it may be the laptop on the far left near the window that vanished.

Could you post that pic/video of those left hand tables up in here?

(The karaoke laptop belongs to BUCK)

I'm not trying to insinuate anypony is a crook, but if the laptop was stolen, it is odd only one laptop was taken and not all in the room. I'm sure a crook would take more than one PC (just pretend to be in charge of packing up, and take them; a professional thief would have no problem). We know that one laptop is missing. Both the stolen laptop, and the one in the Barbirolli room, were HPs.

If we're going by the assumption that a laptop was stolen; there is the possibly overlooked possibility is that the laptop from the Barbirolli was the actual one that was stolen, and that somepony realizing that some clever fox had grabbed that laptop, took another laptop from downstairs to avoid the blame. That being said, I do not say this is what happened, and I'm not pointing fingers, but just something that we could look into.

Was there any surveillance at the venue? Any way we could check legitimate and illegitimate movements of those laptops?

While I was at the venue, I was making constant checks on those laptops. I had to leave early, but there's no chance a laptop was taken before the 4:00 charity auction. I have photos of the laptops during my demos, and I'll upload them if requested.

That is a thought, Tomasz, since the laptop was used for the Q&A, but the people who used the room afterwards have stated that they used their own laptop because there wasn't one: yet I picked up a HP laptop from the Barbirolli come the Monday morning. It would certainly be easier to have taken the laptop from the large room upstairs.

I have absolutely no idea what could have happened to this and I don't have any photos from inside that room so I can't help in that way I'm afraid.

I did, however, have an idea. Not everyone who was at the con is going to see this thread but everyone who attended had purchase tickets online and receive the ticket by email. Doesn't that mean that somewhere the is a list of emails for everyone who went? Would it be possible to send out a mass email to everyone asking for any information about the laptop?

I hope it does turn up. It's a horrible stain on the end of the first Brony con and I find it absolutely sickening that someone could have stolen it from such a friendly atmosphere!

I like this idea, if you guys were pretty good at keeping the event to only allow ticket holders in at least you have a (rather large) list with at least one being the thief. I don't want to seem harsh and say someone did steal it but it seems really odd for it to just disappear. It didn't just walk itself out of the building =/ If someone did steal it then ...wow...some faith in humanity has been lost

that is pretty awful you shouldn't steal it is disrespectful unless it was left there by mistake but I couldn't imagine that, maybe next time have an escort deliver the laptop and stay with it and have a signing sheet and have the person moving it sign to say they moved it to whichever room it was, I am very trusting but unfortunately you can't be to trusting with anyone this day in age. Though I am sorry to hear about this unfortunate situation

I actually just looked through all the pictures and all there was alot of people in the rooms there was no one around the tables safeguarding the laptops, also have you tried getting a hold of the the manager and ask if you can possibly look at CCTV for that con??

Mass email sent.

I really hope it turns up some new information.

Ok since I I'm me and I ask these things
You checked with the venue?
Like it might have been moved or found or w/e

(Someone's got to ask the obvious questions)