Textured Steel Trunk: a 30 3/4" x
15 1/2" x 15 3/4" steel footlocker that will
protect electronic gadgets from theft
in a dorm room. [ Photo courtesy of
The Container Store ]

The Palm Springs Desert Sun reported yesterday that college students are stocking up on security devices to avoid losing their electronic gadgets to dorm thieves. The most sought-after products include:

• Nice looking metal footlockers: Footlockers such as a Textured Steel Trunk can be used to hold digital cameras, iPods, and laptops when not in use.
• Digital safes: Some safes with digital combinations are designed to hold laptops, but they are huge and heavy. A good example is the Brink's 5084DB 1.2-Foot Technology Fire Safe that will protect its contents from theft (it weights 140 pounds) and also protect contents from fires burning at 1700 degrees Fahrenheit for one hour.
• Electronic door locks and lockable furniture: These are potentially good ideas, but they depend upon the college or university to make the investment. In all likelyhood, upgrades like this are not going to take place during this school year, if they aren't already underway.

I'm not sure I would have wanted items like these in my dorm room during my college career, but I would have thought again if more than one iPod had disappeared on my floor.