Hasta La Gadget!

We highlighted a way for Dropbox users to be able to use the service in order to help them find a stolen computer, but one person took their stolen computer experience and decided to publish it for the world to see on a Tumblr called “Dom’s laptop is in Iran.”

The Tumblr’s author’s name is Dom Deltorto and he claims his MacBook Pro was stolen from his apartment on February 4. Lucky for him, he installed a $15 application on his computer called Hidden App, which allowed him to track his stolen machine the next time it connected to the Internet. Once it locates the computer, it can send you photos from a built-in webcam and even takes screengrabs to show what they’re doing on the computer. (more…)

By Ubergizmo. Related articles: The ZenDock Is An Elegant Way To Manage Your MacBook’s Cables, SimCity Headed To Mac On June 11; Will Be Free For PC Owners,

We hear stories of Apple products like the iPhone and iPad being stolen on a somewhat regular basis, and we’re never happy to hear criminals are continually targeting these products, although we could understand why they would want to. If you took the necessary precautions and installed apps like Find My iPhone, then retrieving your stolen goods might be easier than than it used to be a few years ago.

A story published by the New York Post goes into detail how Apple and the NYPD have been working together in order to have stolen Apple products retrieved, even if the goods are no longer in New York City. (more…)

By Ubergizmo. Related articles: Analyst Says Cheap iPhone Makes Sense After Meeting With Apple, Google Supplies iOS Developers With Updated Maps SDK,

Despite the added risk brought on by Apple’s Find My iPhone feature, the iOS handset remains a frequent target for smartphone thieves, thanks to the device’s resale value and compatibility with networks around the world. There’s not much you can do to deter sticky fingers short of keeping your iPhone or MacBook in view at all times, but the issue does appear to have crossed the desks of Apple’s design team, which was just granted patent number 8,217,792 for a sophisticated anti-theft scheme. The acceleration-based system would detect a “known theft condition” based on acceleration characteristics, sounding an alarm and disabling the device. The smartphone or laptop would ignore vibrations from passing cars or those caused by items being dropped onto a nearby surface, instead focusing on undisclosed scenarios that likely involve direct movement. The device owner would use a GUI to configure and disable the system, at which point the handset or computer would return to its pre-disturbed mode. Overall, it sounds like a fairly straightforward hardware/software solution, with the added benefit of a technique to filter out regular motion in an attempt to reduce the number of false alarms. You’ll find the full patent at the source link below.

Filed under: Cellphones, Laptops

Apple granted patent for accelerometer-aided theft-detection system originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 10 Jul 2012 15:16:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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