From what I understand, there was no capability to remotely record a video. It was an anti-theft measure that could be used to snap photos (same as some of those iphone apps, or http://www.orbicule.com/undercover/ for macs, or one of the million programs that can be used to take a picture with a webcam on your stolen laptop) and that was supposed to only be activated after a theft was reported.
So obviously someone made use of that capability when they shouldn't have. The question is, was that person following policy or acting on their own? The software and capability isn't unjustified, it seems like a good thing to have on a school-given laptop.
My guess is that there was one or a few people who were taking these snapshots when they weren't supposed to, saw a kid doing something bad, decided it was their job to do something about, and are now going to get the school district in a whole shitload of trouble.
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From what I understand, there was no capability to remotely record a video. It was an anti-theft measure that could be used to snap photos (same as some of those iphone apps, or http://www.orbicule.com/undercover/ for macs, or one of the million programs that can be used to take a picture with a webcam on your stolen laptop) and that was supposed to only be activated after a theft was reported.
So obviously someone made use of that capability when they shouldn't have. The question is, was that person following policy or acting on their own? The software and capability isn't unjustified, it seems like a good thing to have on a school-given laptop. My guess is that there was one or a few people who were taking these snapshots when they weren't supposed to, saw a kid doing something bad, decided it was their job to do something about, and are now going to get the school district in a whole shitload of trouble.
See the school district's response here: http://www.lmsd.org/sections/schools/default.php?m=&t=hhs&p=hhs_today_anno&id=1138