Ask Slashdot: Starting From Scratch After a Burglary?

New submitter sc30317 writes "My house got robbed on Friday, and all of our electronics got stolen. Everything. Now, I have to go out and buy all new electronics with the insurance money. We had five TVs (don't ask), three laptops, a Bose Sound dock with iPod, a digital camera, and a desktop stolen. It's looking like I am going to get around $10K from the insurance company to replace everything. What would you do if you had to replace ALL of your technology in your house at once? I'm thinking: replace TVs; nice Desktop; new speakers; and new, cool stuff I don't know about (suggestions welcome). I already added a DVR security system, so hopefully the new things won't get burgled! Looking for suggestions to utilize my money in order to get the best stuff. Also, no Windows computers allowed in my house."

Comments

Re:Dictionary

[Anonymous Coward]

"Burgled" is correct in British / International English. Only Americans use the hideous "burglarized".

Re:Shotgun and big scary dog.

[Entropius]

If they're robbing you, you're there. If you're not there, they're burgling you.

Re:Dictionary

[Zordak]

While it seems really pedantic, it makes all the difference to police and lawyers. A robbery is a theft that also involves an element of assault (you were physically threatened or physically harmed in the course of the theft). Burglary is just a theft that involves breaking into a home or a car. A person who is robbed is usually much more traumatized than a person who is burglarized, and sentencing reflects that. Assault can carry penalties as stiff as lesser murder charges or manslaughter.

Re:First purchase

[AmiMoJo]

Your reasoning is flawed. In the US you are far more likely to get shot during a robbery, precisely because people keep guns in their homes so burglars bring their own too. Armed robbery is pretty rare in countries where you can't easily acquire guns.

The problem perpetuates itself. Robbery-murders increase so more people buy guns, so more criminals start to carry them for protection too. It becomes impossible to get rid of all the guns. The US is now screwed because everyone is locked in to an arms race.