The beauty with location-based devices - tablets, smartphones, laptops - is that if they get stolen there's usually a way to find out where they are and who nabbed them.

So, when one man had his MacBook stolen in Oakland, California he knew that his Hidden app would be just the tool to track down the bandit and bring him to justice. And he set up a blog to track the status of the case for all the internet to enjoy.

The app works by broadcasting its location, and taking pictures and screen grabs on the sly of what the laptop is being made to do against its will, helping to give the legitimate owner the chance for retribution.

So, our hero in this story saw the thief delete his account, log in to his Facebook page, take a quick nap, go for a drive and lie in bed ... although what he was doing in bed was thankfully not revealed to the wider internet.

Needless to say, the thief was oblivious and was soon picked up by the police, no doubt wondering how his perfect crime was solved. Well, this is technology, son. If you're going to nick it, you gotta know how to work it.

No doubt the policeman who collared the thief casually tossed off a well aimed quip, perhaps "MacBook him, Danno".

This is not the first time Sneak has been impressed by this sort of technology. Former England rugby captain Will Carling was involved in a dramatic game of cat and mouse over a stolen iPad, which also resulted in a happy ending.

01 Jun 2011