Swedish professor rejoices over laptop thief's memory stick miracle
Published: 15 Oct 10 12:18 CET | Double click on a word to get a translation
A professor at Umeå University in northern Sweden was stunned after a thief who stole his laptop copied and returned the contents of the computer to him - on a USB memory stick.
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"This story makes me feel hope for humanity."
The professor, who wished to remain anonymous, is one of the most successful in his field, according to the newspaper.
Having recently had surgery, the professor could not be bothered to drop off his backpack in his apartment before first going to the laundry room.
He instead left the bag behind a door in the stairwell, thinking it would be safe for a few minutes.
But when he returned a short time later, the bag was missing, along with the computer, keys, calendar and other documents inside.
The professor was most upset by the loss of his calendar.
"It is my life. I have documented everything in it that has happened in the last 10 years and beyond," he told the newspaper.
He then called the police to report the incident and blocked the credit cards which were also in the bag.
But when he went down to the stairwell a short time later, he couldn't believe his eyes.
"The backpack was there again. With all the papers, calendar and credit cards. It was just the computer that was missing," he explained.
"Unfortunately, I have been bad at backing up my computer."
Resigned to having lost his computer, the professor was nevertheless happy to have the rest of his belongings back.
But the considerate thief had yet one more surprise in store.
About a week after the theft, the professor returned home to find an envelope containing a USB memory stick which had been taken along with the computer.
The professor was shocked to discover the thief had copied all the documents and personal files from his laptop to the memory storage device, a process which likely took hours.
All things considered, the professor is delighted at the outcome, despite the loss of his computer. He hopes, however, that other thieves can learn to be as compassionate.
"Often when people lose their computers and cameras, it is understandably not the gadget itself that is the most important. The content is often irreplaceable," he told the newspaper.
Besides the computer, the only other item that has not yet been returned is the professor's library card.
"Perhaps the thief needs to improve him or herself," the professor joked.
I found this on Digg but the original source is http://www.thelocal.se/29636/20101015/
I wanted this blog to have outrageous science and tech posts that would blow your mind, but for my first post I thought I would share an article about a kind of random act of kindness. While the theft of a laptop is in no way kind, any one who relies on their data for work knows the opportunity to get that data back is priceless.
If only thief's of America would be this nice. I had a Netbook stolen from me a few months ago. Even though I have come to terms that it's gone for good, I would love to be able to get my data back. Almost every day I sit at my laptop and say "Damn I wish I had that file. So to all thief's out there, I send a big FUCK YOU and to those that take the time to give back the data you're still a shitbag for stealing stuff, and if you have the smarts to back up a computer and send the data back to it's owner, you shouldn't have to steal to get a real job in the tech field.
Well, enough of my rants from hear on out, I promise to deliver the best and bizarre tech news you can read!
