Thanks,

I'm testing an opensource app that is available from Washington.edu.

John

>>Anyone have any ideas about this? My thoughts are to write it quickly in VFP and post it for Windows users. I guess I could rewrite it in python or perl for MAC users.
>>
>>TIA
>
>John, there are a number of free and for-fee software packages out there that do this type of tracking already (e.g., LoJack -- http://www.lojack.com/pages/laptop.aspx or Locatemylaptop.com -- http://www.locatemylaptop.com/features.html).
>
>Mac users can just use Apple's back-to-my-mac -subscription -based service. I recently saw a fun article about one Macintosh laptop recovery using IP addresses and the laptop's own web cam to catch a few crooks Here's a snippet from that article:
>
>Using the Back To My Mac service, Ms Duplaga was able to connect to the computer and take a photograph of the person sitting in front of it through the webcam mounted above the screen.
>
>She also found photos of a second man using the computer after it had been stolen, police said.
>
>One of Ms Duplaga's flatmates recognised the two men as having attended a party at their apartment a few weeks before the burglary.
>
>The next day police arrested Edmon Shahikian, 23, and Iain Frias, 20, and said they recovered most of the $US5000 worth of electronics stolen in the robbery.
>
>Full article: : http://www.news.com.au/story/0,23599,23684544-1702,00.html.