Why don't built laptops with a small smartcard reader, or similar device and have a hardware encryption for the harddrive?
Of course with linux it is easy to set up encrypted partitions, but implementing this efficiently would protect the data irrespective of the operating system. Cost is completely another matter though:-/
Slashdot Mirror
...and curiously the Danish female physiscist happens to be exactly the same person (Dr. Hau) who is featured in the article.
There is more about Dr. Hau's methods in an older article. A bit of the method as well, they are using Bose-Einstein condensate as the medium.
Of course with linux it is easy to set up encrypted partitions, but implementing this efficiently would protect the data irrespective of the operating system. Cost is completely another matter though :-/