Technology FTW

Let me start with, life doesn't suck.  I'm down in Aruba with my family...drinking beer, and thinking about how to distract Belgian fans by throwing waffles at them during the next US game of the World Cup on Tuesday.  (For those playing the home game, yes, I bought small waffle cookies so that we can eat'em and beat'em). 

That said, I want to wrap up from last week...and, answer some of the questions that have been repeatedly posed to me about the incident without getting too deep in the details.

First, as you know, and most of Facebook and NJ knows, my parents dog, Pepper, has been returned.  Turns out, as I surmised, the "alleged" criminals weren't smart, and what led to their capture/incarceration, was, ultimately, their stupidity (not "alleged").  That said, a couple of tricks with technology made all the difference, and, I believe, grossly shortened the entire experience:

One, register your iDevices.  Apple, in its infinite wisdom, makes things pretty easy for you.  With your single Apple ID, the associated devices can be located using iOS 7+ location services.  How?  Using iCloud.com, you can enter your Apple ID and password, and, if the router you're using has an associated address (and if you're using a TV company's router, it likely does), Apple will show you on a street grid where those devices are.  Go ahead, try it.  I'll wait.  That goes for iPads, iPhones, Mackbooks, iMacs...the entire family of devices, wifi and 3G.  Even when they are off/offline, you can set those devices to play a sound, lock, or erase once they reconnect to the internet.  Our "alleged" moronic friends decided to try to access the iPad's internet at 7pm last Tuesday in an apartment complex in New Brunswick.  Police were dispatched and, while they couldn't logistically go door to door in the entire complex, they, smartly, recorded license plates of all the vehicles in the parking lot.

A couple of notes about that.  People notoriously don't lock their wifi, allowing neighbors to jump on without much notice.  Logistically, even if the PoPo found the apartment with the wifi, it wasn't necessarily going to be the one with the stolen merch.  And, the electronics could have been fenced/sold by that point to someone other than the ones who had the puppy.  In hindsight, I believe that the detectives, knowing their business, did the right thing.  More on that later.  Two hours after the iPad pinged, the laptop did as well.  Same lot.  Same complex.  Same "alleged" morons.

Secondly, it made sense that, before too much time passed, it was time to enlist help.  That's where you came in.  In addition to posting to my wall, I also hit some FaceBook pages, the largest of which was the NJ SPCA with over 56,000 likes.  In a couple of hours, we had 300 shares...which was very encouraging, because each of those people, on average, had a minimum 100 friends.  Now, boom, I'm no mathematician, but that's people, and moreso, people I am not FB friends with.  So, new people, and NJ people.  A step in the right direction.

Also, a slow day in NY News maybe?  But, I private messaged NY's local NBC, Fox, and ABC affiliates (I'll never recognize CBS as a real station...kidding, kinda?).  Minutes after I posted, NBC wrote me back asking for a phone number.  I gave, they called, and in 5 minutes, Roseanne Colletti was on her way to my mom's house.  None of the others called, but who cares, we were going to get the story on the news!  Thanks FaceBook!  The number of shares was growing by the hour, up to around 500 on NJ SPCA.

Story was given, and the news report kicked the effort into high gear.  The police department's press release reached all of the...uh...press, and the story ran in nearly every NJ paper and crossed media platforms: 101.5fm, CBSfm, 1010 WINS...and, two other networks (if you call Verizon 1 a network) were on their way to interview my mom for TV.  Even the SF Gate carried the story! 

Now, when you're an "alleged" criminal, and the dog that's running around your apartment matches, exactly, the description running on the news, AND, the map shows the parking lot where your car is parked...maybe it's time to give up the ghost...uh, dog.  When the "alleged" morons drove the dog to the vet, two days after the abduction, the plates of the car matched those that were "allegedly" in the parking lot the night the iPad and MacBook sang out.  The police, in plain clothes, were there, at the vet, with my mom, ahead of the "alleged" morons.  Dog returned; people taken back to Franklin Police HQ in the back seat of some very comfortable Crown Vics, and car was towed for further investigative review.

When it was all said and done, and I was told by the authorities that I could thank everyone for their help, there was over 2,500 shares on NJ SPCA alone and the location of the electronics was revealed to the police.  SUCCESS!  The lessons learned I think are obvious, but bear repeating, learn how to use your electronics.  Kill switch software will soon be ubiquitous across all portable media, so it pays to read the occasional blog, or visit the manufacturers store (Apple or Microsoft) to figure out how to use it.  Second, trust the police.  While at first it seemed like they were working slowly, eventually their tactics were completely appropriate and contributed greatly to the resolution.  There's still a bit of departure between equipment manufacturers and the authorities, but that gap gets narrower every day.  And three, trust that your cause is worthwhile and turn to your friends.  Suggestions of how to get the word out digitally came from so many friends on FB.  And, while we can't thank you all, know that the community is how this thing came together.  So, thanks again.  Now, if you'll excuse me, there's a drink with a fancy little umbrella calling my name.