Karma’s Got Ebola: Man Steals Phone from Quarantined Patient – And Gets Infected

I’m sure your mother taught you not to steal when you were a kid and even as you were growing up. But guys, if you really had to steal, then be smart about it and avoid stealing stuff from people who have highly infectious diseases, will you?

Ebola PhoneAside from the fact that you could get infected, don’t you think it’s a little too mean to be stealing from people who are too sick to notice that you’re swiping their phones from their bedside table?

That’s what one Ugandan man did recently and he’s going to be paying for it dearly. After stealing the phone from a quarantined patient who’s got Ebola, the thief was subsequently admitted to the hospital himself because he also got infected. The patient who he stole from reported that his phone was missing shortly before he died.

If Karma’s as big a b#tch as people say she is, then the thief might end up sharing the same fate as his victim. The sad thing? The phone’s estimated to be worth about $23 (USD). (And even if it were worth millions, it still can’t compensate for the life of a human being.)

Now this is just sad.

[via Geekologie]


Apple granted patent for accelerometer-aided theft-detection system

Apple granted patent for accelerometeraided theftdetection system

Despite the added risk brought on by Apple's Find My iPhone feature, the iOS handset remains a frequent target for smartphone thieves, thanks to the device's resale value and compatibility with networks around the world. There's not much you can do to deter sticky fingers short of keeping your iPhone or MacBook in view at all times, but the issue does appear to have crossed the desks of Apple's design team, which was just granted patent number 8,217,792 for a sophisticated anti-theft scheme. The acceleration-based system would detect a "known theft condition" based on acceleration characteristics, sounding an alarm and disabling the device. The smartphone or laptop would ignore vibrations from passing cars or those caused by items being dropped onto a nearby surface, instead focusing on undisclosed scenarios that likely involve direct movement. The device owner would use a GUI to configure and disable the system, at which point the handset or computer would return to its pre-disturbed mode. Overall, it sounds like a fairly straightforward hardware/software solution, with the added benefit of a technique to filter out regular motion in an attempt to reduce the number of false alarms. You'll find the full patent at the source link below.

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Apple granted patent for accelerometer-aided theft-detection system originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 10 Jul 2012 15:16:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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