Bad Ideas: Stealing Products That Can Be Tracked Wirelessly

from the just-a-suggestion dept

Slashdot points us to the amusing story of technology "solving" a theft of an irrigation controller on a farm, thanks to a wireless connection. The irrigation controller was stolen, which was first noticed when it sent an error message to the guy who runs them. A few weeks later, though, he was surprised to get a signal from the controller, and he was able to communicate with the device and get the company that supplied the wireless connection to triangulate and reveal the general location of the unit (the guy had the maker of the controller, who obviously contracts with the wireless provider, request this info to make sure the request was legit). From that, the guy used Google Earth to figure out where the controller must be -- and went to the local police. After investigating the person whose property it ended up on, the controller went missing again... only to turn back up in its original location a few weeks later.

While it's a neat story of technology thwarting a theft, there are a few questions raised by the story. To be honest, the full writeup so pumps up this particular brand of irrigation controller system, that it almost sounds like an apocryphal story made up to hype up how much better this controller is than competitors (look, it's theft proof!). Also, despite the "happy ending" -- the actual thieves were not apprehended, and future thieves will simply learn to disable the wireless communications ability. In the meantime, though, it's a reminder that technology is making the job of the ordinary thief somewhat more difficult these days.
Hide this

Thank you for reading this Techdirt post. With so many things competing for everyone’s attention these days, we really appreciate you giving us your time. We work hard every day to put quality content out there for our community.

Techdirt is one of the few remaining truly independent media outlets. We do not have a giant corporation behind us, and we rely heavily on our community to support us, in an age when advertisers are increasingly uninterested in sponsoring small, independent sites — especially a site like ours that is unwilling to pull punches in its reporting and analysis.

While other websites have resorted to paywalls, registration requirements, and increasingly annoying/intrusive advertising, we have always kept Techdirt open and available to anyone. But in order to continue doing so, we need your support. We offer a variety of ways for our readers to support us, from direct donations to special subscriptions and cool merchandise — and every little bit helps. Thank you.

–The Techdirt Team

Filed Under: irrigation controls, theft, tracking, wireless


Reader Comments

Subscribe: RSS

View by: Time | Thread


  • identicon
    Anonymous Coward, 8 Jul 2008 @ 7:26pm

    This just goes to show you what Linux or any non-MS OS can make you do...

    Police have identified the body found in the Oakland hills as convicted killer Hans Reiser's estranged wife.

    A prominent software programmer who had denied having anything to do with his wife's disappearance even after he was convicted of her murder, Reiser led police to the body on Monday, defense attorneys said.

    The abrupt about-face came just two days before 44-year-old Hans Reiser was due in court to face sentencing on a conviction of first-degree murder returned by a jury in April.

    link to this | view in chronology ]

    • identicon
      You're an Idiot, 8 Jul 2008 @ 8:20pm

      Re:

      WTF does that have anything to do with this story? Furthermore, the fact that he was Linux programmer has nothing to do with the murder.

      link to this | view in chronology ]

    • identicon
      Anonymous Coward, 8 Jul 2008 @ 8:24pm

      Re:

      what in the WORLD does this having anything to do with ANYTHING related to this article? and where in the world do you see anything having to do with "NON MS OS"? Windows CE can probably do this kind of thing, as well as XP or Vista (though they probably wouldn't be on an embedded controller). this is the worst comment i've ever seen

      link to this | view in chronology ]

    • identicon
      Anonymous Coward, 8 Jul 2008 @ 8:35pm

      Re:

      Dorpus, is that you?

      link to this | view in chronology ]

    • identicon
      Anonymous Coward, 8 Jul 2008 @ 8:40pm

      Re:

      ... you disgust me.

      link to this | view in chronology ]

  • identicon
    Trish, 8 Jul 2008 @ 10:01pm

    Looking at that website you linked to and reading that article, makes me feel like the whole thing was a bunch of paid advertisements, including the article. lol looks like they're taking your advice.
    "The incident brings Rain Master's 'Visionary Solutions to Water Management through Technology" to a new meaning of the term 'visionary.'"
    That's some valiant journalistic reporting.

    link to this | view in chronology ]

  • identicon
    Chunky Vomit, 9 Jul 2008 @ 12:15am

    Phone Home

    I personally like it when my devices, and my company's devices phone home to let me know what they are up to these days.

    The reality is, with computers, it is quite easy to make them phone home and let you know what IP address they are using and other valuable information.

    For one client, we actually have two phone homes for the laptops. One runs on the service level and phones home every few minutes to give vital info on the machine.

    The other runs on the application level and phones home letting us know if it has or hasn't been able to run a successful backup.

    link to this | view in chronology ]

  • identicon
    Anonymous Coward, 9 Jul 2008 @ 2:05am

    Quandry of the Wireless BBQ Dog

    If John McCain ate a neighbor's dog, and the dog was had a GPS chip, is it safe to say he will eat babies too? The logic behind this is such that he may posses the baby's power, health, and longevity.

    Seems crazy, but it holds some merit- His main challenge may actually be internal: Instead of purchasing Lifealert service, which could be considered "Porkbarrel Spending", it may make more sense to have a BBQ and have an event where a neighbors dog disappears like magic.

    How to handle with the media:
    Ever since formally recognized in 1960s in the landmark case California v. Douglas Jones, Kleptomania has been recognized as a valid mental disorder and it would be best to be prepared for this as a defense if questioned by the media. Possibly, it would be best if some corporate sponsor just paid for the next few years of LifeAlert service and spare the widespread national shame. The alternative outcome is certainly not desirable- Can you find a positive way to break it to millions of families of this disorder affecting millions of elderly men? This is not an easy task

    If we could track him wirelessly, we could determine if he has keys in his pockets and alert the governing authorities at the retirement home before the patient displays advanced kleptomaniac tendencies involving salt and pepper shakers.

    Speaking of which, it should be noted that we found nearly 500 salt and pepper shakers in the past week from various cafes across the country. It's probably best that they be quietly sold on eBay. If he asks, what we're doing with the salt and pepper shakers, just say it's a test of a new job creation stimulus package.

    link to this | view in chronology ]

  • identicon
    Joe, 9 Jul 2008 @ 6:52am

    WTF is up with the comments today? Troll much?

    link to this | view in chronology ]

  • identicon
    Swera, 6 Oct 2008 @ 8:40am

    If you need to download new movies and games, visit http://loadingvault.com It is the best rapidshare search engine in the internet.

    link to this | view in chronology ]

  • identicon
    Funs, 4 Nov 2008 @ 7:16am

    Very interasting tool. Besides, you can downloud a lot of music on http://need-share-link.com Very useful rapidshare search.

    link to this | view in chronology ]

  • identicon
    Coma, 4 Nov 2008 @ 7:17am

    http://4rapidsearch.com Very useful rapidshare search.

    link to this | view in chronology ]

  • identicon
    GetFiles, 4 Nov 2008 @ 7:18am

    If U want download files very fast U can try this http://suche-project.eu Very useful download site.

    link to this | view in chronology ]

  • identicon
    fly, 4 Nov 2008 @ 7:20am

    If U want buy cheap tickets u can try this dirt cheap airline tickets Very useful download site.

    link to this | view in chronology ]


Follow Techdirt
Essential Reading
Techdirt Deals
Report this ad  |  Hide Techdirt ads
Techdirt Insider Discord

The latest chatter on the Techdirt Insider Discord channel...

Loading...
Recent Stories

This site, like most other sites on the web, uses cookies. For more information, see our privacy policy. Got it
Close

Email This

This feature is only available to registered users. Register or sign in to use it.