Mobile Tip: Read This Newsweek Article - How A Stolen Laptop Was Recovered

It's been a while since we've provided any mobile tips.  There are plenty of mobile tips out there that are really common sense that any mobile warrior should follow.

However, after read this article by Newsweek journalist Joshua Alston, I felt compelled to share it with you and encourage you to read it.  It is about Alston's attempt to recover his stolen laptop, iPod, PS3, and Wii after a break-in in his home.

It had a good ending (not sure if he got everything back though) but it also took unusual steps the writer had to take that most mobile warriors probably aren't aware of.  It's a must read.

Tens of housands of laptops are stolen every year.  Heck, thousands are left at airports because their owners simply forgot about them.  I really hate for my readers to have to go through any unhappy episodes, especially as victims of theft.  

This really got me to think that perhaps, Microsoft and Apple should work together to create protocols that make it easier for stolen or lost laptops to be recovered.  Once scheme I immediately though of it a centralized registry that allows folks to sign up upon taking ownership of a laptop.  They can simply alert the registry and an Amber Alert of sort for mobile devices can go out to law enforcement.  And should the stolen devices attempt to sign onto the Internet it can also call the registery with relevant information for retrieval by the police.

I'm probably oversimplifying this.  And I'm also aware of services and software available just for such a thing.  Still, I believe manufacturers and OS providers can provide a more comprehensive service.  It doesn't have to be free.  

We'll examine this further but we did quickly come across LoJack for Laptops.  Perhaps this is a whole new revenue segment for an increasing mobile world.

Via Newsweek