On-line citizen crimefighters

The same technology that points gadget geeks to the nearest Starbucks or maps alternate routes to the freeway is now helping them turn the tables on would-be thieves. C.J. Lin in the Daily News,

Take, for example, Kenneth Gootnick's decision to install a program on his iPad to help him store contact data online. It turned out to be a smart move that helped him recover thousands of dollars in goods stolen from his home on Christmas morning.

Gootnick, a business adviser from Westlake Village, had installed a cloud application called MobileMe on the iPad to help him look up his contacts from an online server no matter what device he used. Fortunately, it also helps track the location of hardware that has the program installed.