The Register - How to trace stolen notebooks over the Net

[John Doe #N]

Choate pointed & grunted to: 

		Software which pinpoints the exact location of laptop
                thieves via the Net is due to land in Europe by the end
of
                this year. 

                The software, developed by US company zTrace, activates
                a tracing technology when stolen laptops are connected
to
                the Internet. 

Boy that's hard.  All you need is a fixed IP (for laptop to check if its
been
reported stolen) and a 1-800 number (well, the Euro equiv which gives
caller's number) and a warrant (ergo the required police report) for
the number's meatspace loc'n from the local Telecom.  Someone should do 
a freeware knock off.

A software dead-man switch (tell the laptop a secret or it reports
itself stolen
to a 1-800 trace...) would work just as well.

And you can forget the 1-800 if you can count on the equiv of 911
service.