Recover Stolen Laptop, Get Free Beer for Life

This is awesome - get out your magnifine glass and start you hunt for a lifetime of beer!!

The owners of New Zealand-based boutique brewery Croucher Brewery Co. just got their laptop stolen. It was your usual crappy notebook, nothing fancy but full of valuable information for them. So valuable in fact that they have promised a free lifetime supply of their finest ale to whoever recovers it. That's about $18,000 in beerilicious fun. We asked Nigel, one of the owners, how many bottles that was as well as many other things about the laptop and their divine nectar.

Jesus Diaz: What laptop was it?
Nigel Gregory: It was a Dell Inspiron 5150.

JD: Any details that may help our readers find it online?
NG: I don't have the serial number with me now. The only thing I can think of that will automatically connect to the net is my antivirus/firewall program.

JD: What was in it that it's so important to offer free beer for life? I mean, come on, FREE beer from a non-industrial brewery for LIFE? That sounds like a pretty good deal to me.
NG: (Laugh) Yeah, it is a great offer. But we figure that since we don't have much spare cash and we make great beer, we would offer something a bit different. We have valued the beer at around USD18,000. It is a lot, but that is over a long period of time, at 12 bottles every month.

In terms of what is on the laptop, the main thing is financial info, all our accounts (the last backup was a few months ago—I know, I know, must back up more often). Also lots of photos, all our business email records, contact details, creative work. We do have a lot of it backed up, but have lost the more recent bits. It would save us a lot of time and effort if we get the laptop back.

JD: So any leads so far?
NG: Sadly, no. We've had a tremendous response to our offer, however, because we have got lots of coverage in New Zealand, and around the world for that matter. But the laptop remains "at large."

JD: I wonder if you get it back, will you start doing backups?
NG: (Laughter) Yes, I think you can safely assume we have learned our lesson. we've already implemented a couple of procedure changes to ensure we have some critical info in hard copy too.