7 ms·

hmm.. for some reason it feels like a viral ad for that Hidden app.

by vizzah 15y ago

habitatforus 15y ago
Thought the same thing.
- skunkworks 15y ago
  That would be awesome marketing, but wouldn't that involve intentionally leaving a MacBook to get stolen somewhere in Oakland?
  - skunkworks 15y ago
    Just wanted to come back and gloat a little bit. Downvoters, guess you were wrong.
  - yeahsure 15y ago
    I think it would be a lot easier/cheaper to pay someone to pose as the thief...
    - djcapelis 15y ago
      Really? Leaving a macbook unattended in Oakland for about 5 minutes doesn't seem that hard.
      - lallysingh 15y ago
        Versus having a coworker (or actor) take a few photos with it, and never having it stolen?
        catshirt 15y ago
        at the risk of being pedantic; yes.
babl 15y ago
clever advertising if that's the case
burke 15y ago
I wondered the same thing. Then I decided I didn't care, and bought it. If it's marketing, it's well done, and it looks like a useful app.
- jpdelatorre 15y ago
  There's actually a better alternative to this... http://preyproject.com/ http://preyproject.com/
  - codenerdz 15y ago
    I have prey on my macbook and tested its functionality by marking the laptop as stolen and can attest that the enduser has no idea that his face is being photographed and screenshots of whatever is going are being taken. Plus its free for up to 3 pcs
    - andrewpi 15y ago
      Actually, on a MacBook, the green camera light will occasionally blink for a split second while the photo is being taken.
  - deleted 15y ago
    [deleted]
twistedanimator 15y ago
Yeah, why would he publish the guy's face, but blur out his google account info? It smells like an ad to me as well.
- phxrsng 15y ago
  Seems to me it could be he doesn't want anyone emailing the guy and tipping him off that the owner knows who has it and that the app is tracking the laptop until it can be recovered. Its unlikely that any of the guys friends read HN, but its not that unlikely that some idiot seeing the blog post would send some email to the guy that would alert him.
dreamux 15y ago
Its definitely an ad. I've seen too much internet to believe the wording of that app pitch is genuine. Also, I don't even think its possible to drive with a macbook on your knee like that.
- jhamburger 15y ago
  I'd be somewhat surprised at an ad campaign depicting a minority as a criminal
  - gort 15y ago
    That's true of overt ads; ads masquerading as reality have less need to worry about such things.
deleted 15y ago
[deleted]
ksolanki 15y ago
It might seem so, but I would give the benefit of doubt to the poster. A very good friend of mine had a similar experience -- his mac was stolen from his car and he had installed Prey Project (http://preyproject.com/ http://preyproject.com/ ) on it -- an open source anti-theft solution. He could get the pictures and location of the person, gave it to Santa Barbara Police, but, alas, they couldn't/didn't do anything. It's been almost 3 months now.

hmm.. for some reason it feels like a viral ad for that Hidden app.

by vizzah 15y ago

hmm.. for some reason it feels like a viral ad for that Hidden app.

habitatforus 15y ago

Thought the same thing.

skunkworks 15y ago
That would be awesome marketing, but wouldn't that involve intentionally leaving a MacBook to get stolen somewhere in Oakland?
- skunkworks 15y ago
  Just wanted to come back and gloat a little bit. Downvoters, guess you were wrong.
- yeahsure 15y ago
  I think it would be a lot easier/cheaper to pay someone to pose as the thief...
  - djcapelis 15y ago
    Really? Leaving a macbook unattended in Oakland for about 5 minutes doesn't seem that hard.
    - lallysingh 15y ago
      Versus having a coworker (or actor) take a few photos with it, and never having it stolen?
      - catshirt 15y ago
        at the risk of being pedantic; yes.

babl 15y ago

clever advertising if that's the case

burke 15y ago

I wondered the same thing. Then I decided I didn't care, and bought it. If it's marketing, it's well done, and it looks like a useful app.

jpdelatorre 15y ago
There's actually a better alternative to this... http://preyproject.com/ http://preyproject.com/
- codenerdz 15y ago
  I have prey on my macbook and tested its functionality by marking the laptop as stolen and can attest that the enduser has no idea that his face is being photographed and screenshots of whatever is going are being taken. Plus its free for up to 3 pcs
  - andrewpi 15y ago
    Actually, on a MacBook, the green camera light will occasionally blink for a split second while the photo is being taken.
- deleted 15y ago
  [deleted]

twistedanimator 15y ago

Yeah, why would he publish the guy's face, but blur out his google account info? It smells like an ad to me as well.

phxrsng 15y ago
Seems to me it could be he doesn't want anyone emailing the guy and tipping him off that the owner knows who has it and that the app is tracking the laptop until it can be recovered. Its unlikely that any of the guys friends read HN, but its not that unlikely that some idiot seeing the blog post would send some email to the guy that would alert him.

dreamux 15y ago

Its definitely an ad. I've seen too much internet to believe the wording of that app pitch is genuine. Also, I don't even think its possible to drive with a macbook on your knee like that.

jhamburger 15y ago
I'd be somewhat surprised at an ad campaign depicting a minority as a criminal
- gort 15y ago
  That's true of overt ads; ads masquerading as reality have less need to worry about such things.

deleted 15y ago

[deleted]

ksolanki 15y ago

It might seem so, but I would give the benefit of doubt to the poster. A very good friend of mine had a similar experience -- his mac was stolen from his car and he had installed Prey Project (http://preyproject.com/ http://preyproject.com/ ) on it -- an open source anti-theft solution. He could get the pictures and location of the person, gave it to Santa Barbara Police, but, alas, they couldn't/didn't do anything. It's been almost 3 months now.