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Re:Ask HN: He stole my laptop, and sent me this, what would ... by kabuks on Sunday September 19, 2010 @09:54AM (#1706127)
Here's what I ended up sending him:

---- Wow.

I really appreciate the offer for the backup. Good to know it was stolen as opposed to carelessly left somewhere.

You're actually pretty unlucky. I have this software installed for this occasion:

lojackforlaptops.com

please call me at 510.213.2990 in the next hour

if you don't I will immediately activate the lojack theft alert which means law enforcement is showing up at your door promptly.

I don't actually know your location, but they reveal it to the cops, who show up at your door with a lot of questions.

thank you in advance for doing the right thing

cheers, shereef ----

and what I got in return:

----

I use the laptop in public places. And have no internet at home. Sorry but your info is now deleted. Torrenting copyrighted files is illegal also just to let you know.

-----

Re:Ask HN: He stole my laptop, and sent me this, what would ... by jacquesm on Sunday September 19, 2010 @10:31AM (#1706198)
This is why you never bluff but just take action.

What a silly move.

Re:Ask HN: He stole my laptop, and sent me this, what would ... by dwwoelfel on Sunday September 19, 2010 @01:38PM (#1706543)
"What a silly move."

More like, what an infuriating move. Why didn't he take the well-considered advice of the people in the comments? Or post a comment with his intentions so that someone could talk him out of it?

Re:Ask HN: He stole my laptop, and sent me this, what would ... by jacquesm on Sunday September 19, 2010 @01:41PM (#1706548)
I don't think that's limited to this particular Ask HN.

It's a pretty good object lesson in what happens when you ask for advice and then proceed to completely ignore it. Kudos for posting the results though.

Re:Ask HN: He stole my laptop, and sent me this, what would ... by meric on Sunday September 19, 2010 @10:11AM (#1706154)
That doesn't sound good. :( If I had that installed I'd just have activated it without telling him. Or if I didn't I wouldn't have told him about the software in the first place. Anyways... good luck.
Re:Ask HN: He stole my laptop, and sent me this, what would ... by george_george on Monday September 20, 2010 @04:09AM (#1708180)
I think this was probably one of the worst responses you could have given. The email seems to indicate that the guy feels guilty about buying your laptop, and that his offer is an attempt to ease his conscience. Now he's thinking to himself that he tried to set things right but couldn't because you responded by being a jerk.

The second best thing would have been to cooperate and get the files - and I would have suggested this if you needed them - but the best would have been to refuse to cooperate with him on the grounds that you don't want to ease his conscience when you belive him to be guilty.

Too late now, I guess, but that's what I think.

(Apologies if I sound rude or blunt in this comment; I don't have the time to revise/edit it.)

Re:Ask HN: He stole my laptop, and sent me this, what would ... by whatusername on Sunday September 19, 2010 @10:16AM (#1706159)
I would have thought talking to the cops first might have been a good idea... let us know how well lojack works out.
Re:Ask HN: He stole my laptop, and sent me this, what would ... by kabuks on Sunday September 19, 2010 @10:26AM (#1706187)
Yeah, I was attempting a bluff. Clearly not a very good one.
Re:Ask HN: He stole my laptop, and sent me this, what would ... by jolan on Sunday September 19, 2010 @03:39PM (#1706764)
File a police report and have Apple flag the serial number as stolen. If it ever makes its way into the Apple store you'll get it back.
Re:Ask HN: He stole my laptop, and sent me this, what would ... by J3L2404 on Sunday September 19, 2010 @10:48AM (#1706221)
loljack Theft Alert System - True vaporware.