Hi B,
I agree with the others, that is some very nice braid-work. I like the bead as well, curiously what's the material?
-John
Hi J,
Actually, what B made for his Mac is considered a fob rather than a lanyard. You are correct that a lanyard is designed to prevent dropping and losing items, but a fob is also a very useful tool.
As B has created in this case, in addition to the decorative aspect, a fob is often designed to make deploying small/EDC items from a pocket, bag, purse, etc much easier. For example, when deep-pocket carrying an EDC light, knife, car keys, etc., a fob provides quick and easy access w/o using a clip. The attachment lead or loop can be made long enough for the fob to just barely or completely hang out of the pocket and easy to grab and pull.
Additionally, in the example of pocket-carrying an item, to prevent possible dropping or losing that item, the opposite end of the fob can have a second lead that is attached in a variety of ways to a belt loop for example.
-John