Is a movie prop the ultimate laptop bag?

> For me, the ultimate laptop bag is one that looks nothing like a laptop bag; it should look like nothing special at all.

That sounds like almost any regular backpack then. They can also be pretty weather proof, don't need to be carried in one hand, aren't open topped showing what's inside easily, and padded. Any simple and cheap backpack would solve this exact problem but better surely, unless your desire is to be different rather than just to move your laptop from one place to another with little ceremony.

> regular backpacks look nothing like a laptop bag

You're missing some context here — this is in San Fransisco.

I don't even live in SF but I'm a bit skeptical that a lot of people even carry around an obvious dedicated laptop bag at this point. I don't see them.

I've had my car burgled twice for them to only steal a backpack with nothing in it. I'm pretty sure the assumption is that backpacks have laptops.

I really hate this! Long ago, I had a quarterlight window smashed because someone broke into my 20 year old Toyota Corolla to steal a 4L, but half empty bottle of engine oil and a street directory. Obviously the engine oil wasn't expensive, and no-one used street directories anymore, even back then.

This was in nice suburb in New Zealand, so it was a bit of a surprise. The replacement window cost many times the value of what they took, and I was finding small pieces of glass for a while afterwards despite careful vacuuming.

Since then I'm more careful that there is nothing removable visible at all through windows. Ideally, anyone looking through the window should think I am the kind of compulsive person that carries every single thing inside each night. Unfortunately, the trick to making that work almost requires it to be true.

> This was in nice suburb in New Zealand, so it was a bit of a surprise.

A friend had her ancient Toyota’s back window smashed in and they stole an old dirty blanket lying on the back seat that they could have gotten for free from any number of places (clean and in better condition)

In a warm climate New Zealand suburb.

My takeaway at the time was that a subset of thieves will steal anything, with zero rational basis and no regard for consequences.

A paper bag would be just as enticing.