Mar 10 2009

Laptop yells S.O.S.

Posted by Jim as Software

talklapjpg This is perhaps one of the sensible solutions out there to avoid laptop theft. Sure.. the usual laptop chain would at times suffice, but there are clever thieves who would bring industrial wire cutters to clip away. What is there to do then when you’re yards or miles away from your precious machine?

A company called “Front Door” has developed a “nuisance” application called “Retreiver” for laptop owners. It works by emitting an irritating alarm with phrases like “help I’m a stolen laptop” or “help I was stolen, bring me back to my owner”. This occurs every 30 minutes, just enough time interval to prevent any comfort for thieves. Adjusting the volume wouldn’t work too… as it will automatically set itself to LOUD.

When I first heard about this I asked, but how would a laptop know if it was stolen in the first place? is there a transmitter/receiver mechanism involved that detects if the owner was so so yards away? No… when a laptop is stolen, the owner should log on to the Front Door website and mark it as stolen. And when the laptop goes online on the internet first thing it does is sense its “safe status” from the website. If it’s marked as stolen, that’s when the wailing begins… endlessly.

The Retriever is sold for US$30, right here.

Share and Enjoy:

Comments (0)

Search Gadzooki

Our Features

Software and Security

Silverlight – Is This Going To Be Web 3.0?

It’s not that often when a technology comes along that leaves me amazed. You know, the sort of thing when you look at it you think “wow, this is good. Not just good, but perhaps is going to make a difference to websites in a very real way in the near future”. [...]

Read on
More Software Features

Hardware and Gadgetry

The CrunchPad is dead. Now what?

It’s dead, Jim.

And now, news of the CrunchPad’s demise has reached the blogosphere (twice-over, I must say), we’re here to examine the post-mortem. It was an ambitious project: an internet tablet meant to sell cheap. Everybody was waiting for it with bated breath, but it never came.

Read on
More Hardware and Gadget Features

Gaming

Sony reveals PlayStation Move

I have to admit, my mind is officially blown. Sony finally revealed its new PlayStation 3 motion controller at GDC 2010 in San Francisco, and boy is it looking good.

Dubbed the Playstation Move, the advanced motion controls on this baby makes it supposedly more accurate than that other motion controller from that little-known console from [...]

Read on
More Gaming Features

Automotive

Pagani Zonda R

The Pagani Zonda R is a truly awe inspiring car. With a price tag of about £1.3 million, this was always going to be a special motor. What made it even more impressive is just how tuned it is, the level of performance and technical specification is breathtaking. Here’s the official line [...]

Read on
More Automotive Features

GADZOOKI TEAM