[mvpel]

If I drop a banknote on the street while taking something from my pocket(and I have), I know I'll never see the money again(and I don't), and whoever finds it, is probably going to keep it.

Yes, but if you dropped your $3,000 laptop on the street while taking something from your briefcase, are you seriously suggesting that you'd also never expect to see it again? Wouldn't you think that someone would have turned it in to the local police department if they were unable to find or reach you, rather than selling it to someone who would then dismantle it?

What's more, unlike $5 bills, cell phones are registered to a cellular network which is capable of identifying their general location, if not their exact GPS location.

[1rudeboy]

Yes, but if you dropped your $3,000 laptop on the street while taking something from your briefcase, are you seriously suggesting that you'd also never expect to see it again? Wouldn't you think that someone would have turned it in to the local police department if they were unable to find or reach you, rather than selling it to someone who would then dismantle it?

You mean that, if you call the laptop's manufacturer and some low-level functionary blows you off, the laptop doesn't magically become yours?
/retard