In kind of a follow-up to the mention of the biometric/fingerprint-reader hardware security options, there is also software available for those who don’t have that option, that may help you recover a stolen notebook.
Gizmodo mentions a piece of software for tracking stolen Macs (iBook, PowerBook, MacBook), called Orbicule Undercover. In addition to emailing IP information, it sends other information that may help identify the person(s) who stole or received a stolen Apple notebook. Undercover costs $29.99 and the money is refunded if your notebook can’t be tracked down.
In the course of the discussion that followed, a Gizmodo user pointed to a Windows-based piece of software, from Absolute Software, called CompuTraceComplete and CompuTrace LoJack, that has similar goals, and has the added bonus of a “Absolute Recovery Guarantee (PDF)” of up to $1000 dollars if they are unable to help you recover it within 60 days.