Burglar caught the Internet way

Burglary victim remotely controls his stolen laptop to photograph thief - and then hands image to police who arrest him

By Chris Parsons

• Arrested after software identified him as a taxi driver

A designer who had his laptop stolen helped police by using a spy camera programme to take pictures and catch the thief red-handed.
Joshua Kaufman thought he had lost his Apple MacBook when a thief broke into his apartment and stole the computer in March.
And with police giving his burglary report a low priority, he was resigned to never recovering the expensive laptop until he remembered the software he had installed on his MacBook.

Caught in the act: The hapless thief, who police later arrested, stares unwittingly into the camera of the stolen Macbook

None the wiser: The same man's mugshot is snapped as he uses the computer while sitting in bed

Mr Kaufman was reunited with his MacBook

Using 'Hidden' software, he remotely took pictures of the thief using his stolen computer - before handing the evidence to police to make an arrest.  Mr Kaufman captured the thief in a variety of bizarre locations - including using the stolen MacBook in bed, and in his car. 'Hidden' also provided him with location information, which police in Oakland, California, used to identify the thief as a taxi driver.
Officers then caught the thief by arranging for a 'pick up' from his car firm and arresting the man when he appeared in person.
Mr Kaufman said he started using the software once he realised his laptop had been stolen when the thief got into his apartment through an open window on Monday, March 21.  He also lost a Kindle and some jewellery stuffed into a computer bag.
A few days after activating the program he started receiving pictures revealing the hapless thief in action.

 

Out and about: The thief was even captured using the stolen Apple computer while driving his car

Always watching: Another covert snap shows the thief sleeping on his sofa.

Mr Kaufman said: 'The following Thursday I started getting images and location information.  'I was amazed.  I was, like, this thing actually works!'

The thief was captured using Mr Kaufman's computer to browse Middle Eastern music videos, cahging the laptop's account and even typing a password to get on Facebook.

Evidence: The 'Hidden' software even takes screenshots once your laptop has been stolen showing the activity of the user

Logging on: Another screengrab from Joshua's laptop showed the thief trying to log into his Facebook account

Got him: Joshua detailed his hunt for the laptop thief, before celebrating with online fans on Twitter

HOW THE LAPTOP WAS ABLE TO TRACK THE THIEF

Joshua Kaufman was able to track down his stolen MacBook thanks to a security application called Hidden.

Hidden is a theft tracking application for the Mac operating system

After installing the Hidden software, it lies dormant on the computer until the user goes to the Hidden website to report it stolen, activating the tracking software.

It can not only take pictures of the thief using the built-in webcam, but also send screenshots of the computer in use, internet history and the machine's location plotted on Google maps.

Hidden's makers boast that their software works worldwide, so whether the computer is stolen in London, New York or Buenos Aires, its owner can track it down and get it back.

To get the most out of hidden, the developers recommend setting up and enabling a separate password-free guest account.

This runs contrary to the usual computer security advice, but it makes sense with Hidden. The thief must actually be able to use the computer so the software can gather the information it needs to track it.

With all the information captured, all that remains to be done is to call in the police.

 

But his one-man investigation hit an obstacle when police told him they didn't have the resources to follow up his complaint - despite him telling officers exactly where the thief was.
It was only when he created a blog - 'This Guy Has My MacBook' - which generated support from thousands on the internet, that police were forced to revisit the case and eventually catch the thief.
Mr Kaufman added: 'I was excited, honestly - it feels like the power of the Internet is on my side.
'They (Oakland Police department) said, we're really sorry you fell through the cracks.'
Mr Kaufman said he was told by Holly Joshi, OPD's director of public relations: 'We have about 2,400 theft reports that come in per month, and three theft investigators.  After two months of ignoring Mr Kaufman's information, Oakland Police finally nabbed the thief on Tuesday night after he was caught on camera.

 He tweeted shortly after: 'ARRESTED! An Oakland police officer just called me to let me know that they arrested the guy in my photos! BOOYA!'
Later, he tweeted: 'This just in: MacBook acquired by the OPD! The officer was so kind on the phone: "It's these kinds of partnerships that make things happen".


Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1393117/Thief-caught-Hidden-app-victim-remotely-controls-MacBook.html#ixzz1OMYdx2ak

Strategies for Teaching Comprehension Questions

Angela Walker Foster from Anderson County Schools in Lawrenceburg, KY has provided a great instructional strategy for teaching the comprehension questions.


Main Idea: It's not just a fact from the story, but what the story is mostly about.

1. Provide each of your students with the same five stories. 
2. Explain to the students what the term "main idea" means: It's not just a fact from the story, but what the story is mostly about.
3. Display the definition of "main idea" so the students can see it, and highlight the key words in the definition that students need to remember: mostly about.
4. Read the first story aloud with the students. 
5. Examine the first possible answer for the main idea question.  Ask the students the following question about the answer: "Is that what the whole story was mostly about, or is it just one fact we learned from the story?"  Discuss why the answer is either what the story is mostly about or only a fact.  Repeat this process for each of the remaining possible answers.  The purpose of this activity is to help students understand how to identify the main idea.  This should be a think-aloud exercise that involves all of the students. 
6. As a group, choose the one answer that is what the story is mostly about. 
7. Repeat steps 4 through 6 using the second story. 
8. Ask students to find the main idea in the third story independently. 
9. Review each possible answer to the main idea question for the third story as a group, and ask the question "Is that what the whole story was mostly about, or is it just a fact we learned from the story?"  Discuss why the answer is either what the story is mostly about or only a fact.
10. Repeat steps 8 through 9 using the fourth story.
11. Use the fifth story as an assessment to determine whether the students understand how to identify the main idea.  If they are still unable to identify the main idea, choose a few more stories to practice as a group.  As with any new lesson, some students will need more practice and instruction than other students.

Short answer: A person should be able to understand what question was asked by reading only the answer. Always restate the question in your answer.

1. Choose five stories at a readability level that most students in your group can read. Give each student the same five stories. Display what short answer means and then highlight the key words you want the students to remember: restate the question.
2. Spend a moment asking the students some simple questions, and require them to restate the question in their answers. Explain that they will need to do the same thing with the short answer questions. For example: Question: What is your brother’s name? Answer: My brother’s name is Billy.
3. Read the first story with them out loud.
4. After the story, examine the short answer question. Pick out the key words from the question that will need to be included in the answer.
5. Help the students cross out words that are not needed in the answer (i.e., question words like what, when, and how). Also, help the students add words that are needed to make the answer sound correct (i.e., words like because and is).
6. Then as a group, write out the answer. Be sure to restate the question within the answer.
7. Repeat steps 3–6 with the second story. The goal is for students to understand how to phrase the answer. This is a think-out-loud exercise. 
8. Have the students try it themselves on the third story.
9. Talk about the answers after they restate the question on their own. 
10. Repeat steps 8–9 for the fourth story. 
11. Use the fifth story as an assessment to determine if the students understand how to correctly restate the question in the answer. If they are still unable to write the answer correctly, choose a few more stories to practice as a group. As with any new lesson, some students will need more practice and instruction than other students.

Factual: You can find the answer right there in the story.

1. Provide each of your students with the same five stories.
2. Explain to the students what the term "factual" means: You can find the answer right there in the story.
3. Display the definition of "factual" so the students can see it, and highlight the key words in the definition that students need to remember: right there in the story.
4. Read the story aloud with the students.
5. Examine each possible answer to the factual question. Go through the story as a group searching for the sentence that contains the answer. Explain to the students that they should be able to underline the answer in the story.
6. As a group, choose the correct option.
7. Repeat steps 4 through 6 using the second story. Make sure everyone understands how you are getting the answer. This is a think-aloud activity.
8. Ask the students to try to find the answer to the literal question on their own for the third story.
9. After each student has selected his/her answer, review each of the possible answer options as a group. Talk about the answer options and the answers everyone selected. Review why they chose their answers.
10. Repeat steps 8 through 9 using the fourth story.
11. Use the fifth story as an assessment to determine whether the students understand how to find the answer to a literal question. If they are still unable to find the answer, choose a few more stories to practice as a group. As with any new lesson, some students will need more practice and instruction than other students.

Vocabulary: Look at the sentence before the word, the sentence the word is in, and the sentence after the word.

1. Give each student the same five stories.
2. Display what vocabulary means, and highlight the key words you want the students to remember: "before the word," "the word is in," and "after the word."
3. Read the first story with the class out loud.
4. After the story, examine each possible answer for the vocabulary question. Search for the vocabulary word in the story text, and circle it.
5. Then underline or highlight the sentence before the vocabulary word, the sentence the vocabulary word is in, and the sentence after the vocabulary word.
6. Look for context clues in the highlighted sentences. Then read all three sentences to see what the vocabulary word means in this story.
7. As a group, choose the correct answer.
8. Repeat steps 3–7 for the second story. The object is for the students to understand how you arrive at the answer. This is a think-aloud exercise.
9. Have the students try it themselves for the third story.
10. Talk about the different choices after they pick their answer(s).
11. Go through each step to make sure they use context clues around the vocabulary word to find the meaning.
12. Repeat steps 9–11 for the fourth story.
13. Use the fifth story as an assessment to determine whether the students understand how to find the answer to a vocabulary question. If they are still unable to find the answer, choose a few more stories to practice as a group. As with any new lesson, some students will need more practice and instruction than other students.

Inferential: Look for the clues the author left behind so that you can put them together to find (infer) the answer.

1. Begin this lesson with a guessing game. Pretend you are an animal, and provide the students hints or clues as to which animal. For example: “I am very large. I have big ears. I have a long trunk. What animal am I?”
2. Then talk to the students about how an author leaves clues in their stories. Explain how those clues can be put together to draw additional information from the passage.
3. Now, give each student the same five stories.
4. Display what inference means, and highlight the key words you want the students to remember: "clues the author left behind," "you can find (infer) the answer.”
5. Read the first story with the class out loud.
6. After reading the story, examine the inferential question. Search the section of the story related to topic of the question looking for the clues. Circle the clues as you find them.
7. Discuss the clues, and determine what they mean.
8. As a group, choose the correct answer.
9. Repeat steps 4–8 for the second story. The object is for the students to understand how you arrive at the answer. This is a think-aloud exercise.
10. Have the students try it themselves for the third story.
11. Talk about the different choices after they pick their answer(s).
12. Go through each step to make sure they find the clues the author left behind.
13. Repeat steps 10–12 for the fourth story.
14. Use the fifth story as an assessment to determine whether the students understand how to find the answer to an inferential question. If they are still unable to find the answer, choose a few more stories to practice as a group. As with any new lesson, some students will need more practice and instruction than other students.

Source:  Adapted from www.readnaturally.com
http://www.readnaturally.com/pdf/bookmark_CompQs.pdf

Chinese boy sells kidney to buy iPad 2

By liyana | SingaporeScene – Fri, Jun 3, 2011

Apple products like the iPad2 have become a symbol of wealth for many young Chinese.  …

A 17-year-old student from China sold his kidney for 20,000 yuan (S$3,800) to buy a laptop and an iPad 2.

Zheng Xiao, who initially did not have the money to buy the gadgets, said in an interview with Shenzhen TV: "When I surfed the internet I found an advert posted online by (an) agent saying they are able to pay RMB20,000 to buy a kidney."

After negotiations, the boy travelled to the city of Chenzhou in Hunan Province where he met three men, who were supposedly part of an organ selling syndicate, at a hospital on 28 April to remove his kidney.

Three days after his surgery, coming home with a laptop and an iPad in hand, he confessed to his mother, who demanded to know how he had raised the money for his gadgets.

She then brought her son back to Chenzhou to report the case to the police. The agents whom the boy met could not be contacted as their phones were switched off.

The boy, expressing remorse over his actions, said that he was suffering from complications and his health has worsened after the kidney removal.

Despite the Chinese government's repeated attempts at stopping illegal online organ trading, it is still common in China. Last year, there were reports of Japanese "transplant tourists" going to China and paying £50,000 for new kidneys.

This latest case, which sparked a furore among Chinese netizens, was cited by some as an extreme example of increasing materialism in modern China.

Popular Apple gadgets like the iPhone and the iPad are seen as a symbol of wealth and modernity especially among young consumers.

Last month,  fights broke out outside several Beijing Apple Stores as desperate shoppers queued to buy the newly launched iPad2 and white iPhone4.

Some comments ...

• He was lucky that the agents paid him and did not just leave him to die. They could have very easily done that. In a macabre sort of way, at least they were honest.
• Maybe the boy think of getting iKidney in appstore.
• Sad! I see no future for him as he is being so addicted to have those gadgets.
• Materialistic way reaches a new height in PRC.
• Such stupidity! His health is only worth so much.
  My sympathies to his parents knowing how precious boys are to China families.
• Educating the younger generation is important. Money cannot buy everything and anything,

U.S. teenager mistakenly killed by Costa Rica hotel guard

By Alex Leff. Edited by Peter Bohan | Reuters – Fri, Jun 3, 2011

SAN JOSE, Costa Rica (Reuters) - A U.S. high school student was shot dead by a hotel security guard in Costa Rica on Thursday after being mistaken for a thief, police said.
Sixteen-year-old Justin Johnston was shot in the chest in the early hours of Thursday as he tried to sneak back into his room, breaking a night curfew on a school trip.
"It appears the hotel guard thought the guest was a thief," police said in a statement.
The Kansas teenager was on the trip with 40 other students in the Central American nation, which is famed for its wildlife, rain forests and lava-spewing volcanoes.
Police said the guard, who has been detained, shouted at Johnston and another schoolmate as they tried to enter their hotel room, prompting them to run and for the guard to fire.
Costa Rica, which has no standing army, is one of Latin America's safest vacation spots. Deaths of foreign tourists are more likely to be attributed to a heart attack, drowning or fall from a balcony.
(Reporting by Alex Leff. Edited by Peter Bohan)