Slashdot Mirror
Thief Returns Stolen Laptop Contents On USB Stick
While it's true that Sweden is responsible for unleashing IKEA and ABBA on humanity, not everything they produce is terrible. Their thieves are some of the most considerate in the world. An unnamed professor at Umeå University received a USB stick with all his data after his laptop was stolen. From the article: "The professor, who teaches at Umeå University in northern Sweden, was devastated when ten years of work stored on his laptop was stolen. But to his surprise, a week after the theft, the entire contents of his laptop were posted to him on a USB stick. 'I am very happy,' the unnamed professor told the local Västerbottens-Kuriren newspaper. 'This story makes me feel hope for humanity.'"
Reminds me of when a friend had their radio stolen from their car, however, the thief took the time slimjim the door rather then bust his window. He even locked it up after he was finish. Just because you're gonna be a thief, doesn't mean you have to be a jerk about it.
10 years of work on his laptop without a single backup?
Is that considerate, or really creepy ? First you get your laptop stolen, then you get proof that the thief was rifling through your data and evidently thought some of it was important enough to back up and send to you at their own expense. I don't know if 'hope' is the right word to express what I'd be feeling.
A single CD being shared by two people? Sounds like copyright infrignment to me.
I have a feeling the RIAA lawyers will hunt down both perpetrators before the cops can finish their donuts.
A long, long, time ago, I moved into the campus dorms a week early to lay claim to the only network port in the room (yes, back then there was only one). Only thing is that the dining halls hadn't opened. I went out to grab a bite to eat and got my wallet pick-pocketed, leaving me without money for food for days. A few weeks later, a package arrived with my empty wallet, even with my credit cards, ID, etc... the only thing missing? Cash (of course), and the creepy part: the guy took all of the pictures of family and friends I had. Rather than making me feel hope for humanity, it showed me how creepy we can be.
The story of the thief who returns someone's goods with some opera tickets and an apology comes to mind -- when the victim goes to see the opera, the thief cleans out the victim's house.
Kinda makes me wonder if there's a rootkit on that drive for the purposes of emptying out this gent's bank accounts.
Also, wtf, no backups? ffs.
I'm listening to Abba right now, you insensitive clod!
In Sweden, stealing laptops is The Name Of The Game! Obviously, The Winner Takes it All except he brings back some of it's MP3 on a USB stick to the Dancing Queen, who had been sending out an S.O.S. She then says to the thief Thank You For The Music, followed by Voulez-Vous?. At which point the story turns to swedish erotica which is not appropriate to relate here.
-- Home is where you eat your heart out.
It sounds like the thief would have been kinder to steal a newer machine for the professor, preload it with his data, and send *that* back to him. :)
Serious? Seriousness is well above my pay grade.
But that might be Stockholm syndrome speaking.
Knowledge is power; knowledge shared is power lost.
im 35 years old, i listened to iron maiden at their prime, listened to metal for my teenage years, yet i didnt see any problem with abba even then. good music, is good music, regardless of genre.
Read radical news here
No, the quote was used in the wrong context. He was not referring to his laptop/data but his calendar which was in the stolen backpack that was returned by the thief (backpack with calendar, other documents etc) a few hours later. Then, a week later he also got the USB with his work for which we simply know that it was not backed up well...
Way to go Telegraph. Read this instead: http://www.thelocal.se/29636/20101015/
Violence is the last refuge of the incompetent. Polar Scope Align for iOS
In Germany, wallet thieves often take the valuables and throw the wallet (with ID card and whatever else) in the nearest post box and it gets returned to its owner.
Saves the victim a load of hassle at least.
Expert in software patents or patent law? Contribute to the ESP wiki!
There's a surprising number of people who will classify entire genres of music as crap without considering that talented musicians can make an appearance anywhere. (Example: Prince. Once of the most versatile and talented musicians around today - largely disdained because his music is "pop" ). The funny part is that the same people will listen with steadfast determination to their own chosen genres, apparently deaf to the fact that the ratio of crap to talent is the same there as well.
Congratulations. You apparently have less empathy than a common thief.
To be fair, less empathy than a rather uncommon thief.
Quidnam Latine loqui modo coepi?
A good friend of mine in Berlin had her MacBook stolen over a year ago. In May, she received a Facebook message from a woman in Tunisia who had bought the notebook, found my friend's personal data and wondered if it had been stolen. Originally the plan was to simply send the personal data, since my friend had already purchased a new notebook, but in the end the woman decided to ship the notebook to my friend in Germany without any compensation (my friend paid the shipping costs on delivery). The woman was apparently overjoyed at recently giving birth to twins, and simply wanted to do the right thing. I personally witnessed the arrival and unboxing of the returned laptop.
There are good people in the world. Whether you choose to be one of them is up to you.
www.gaiageek.com
He had 10 years of his work on one hard drive and didn't ever do any backups?
Wow.
It seems you can be really stupid and still become a professor.