15 May 2006

Undercover in Macworld

Undercover is among the 47 hot new Mac things being discussed in the June issue of Macworld. The description on page 58 reads: "If your credit card gets stolen, police can track it down by finding out where the thieves use it. Orbicule's Undercover 1.5 does the same thing for laptops. When you install the app, it registers a unique ID for your Mac on a server and checks in periodically. If your machine is stolen, the system transmits its internet location; Orbicule will then cooperate with law enforcement officials to locate the system physically and recover it. The latest version even adds support for iSight cameras, so your Mac can snap a mug shot of the miscreants."

Needless to say, we are very pleased to see Undercover being selected and discussed by one of the leading Mac magazines!

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

You're making innovative software. Good. I have an innovative idea, no time to make money out of it, and just the need to use it. Very simple : Communicating with (my) elderly.


She's in a bed. 780km away, at my father's. I can't phone 'cause she doesn't hear the sound. she can't phone 'cause she has difficulties typing the number or remembering how the 3 button memory works.

So I just need to be able to:

Call her, preferently with video. But a call session that I could initiate without her having to press a button (of course, there is some kind of identity list to enter on her side for 'immediate' call to be accepted. But at least I can configure this once with her. Even set hours.

Have a (reduced quality, low resolution, grayscale) surveillance feed for like 30seconds every so and then. It happened once I couldn't phone her, simply because her chair had fallen on the side. She stayed this way for like 30 minutes, on the floorn before anyone arrived and put her back in place. Of course, authorized lists, limited ability, secure feed.

Manage a list of like 3 items with videos and photos (like : preferred, last holidays, the kids) that I can update at distance, and that she can access quickly in like two remote clicks (she loves photos, she lives through them now. Unfortunately I'm not there to take the album for her, and them to her one by one, place a comment because she doesn't see very well, and put them back where they were.)

She could have :

A list of like 3 quickdial VOIP numbers : Emergency, my son, my grandson. Available in max 2 click. Big icons on the screen with distinctive sound. Easy, quick. Working like a SIP phone, through microphone and speakers (a possibility to adjust the mic or display big text to her at distance would be a plus).

The list of 3 photo/video item to watch whenever she wants.

The ability to leave a video message to a contact, for example if he's not on the phone. We could access them later. like 'Can't find this photo of yours in Barcelona. Did you remove it ?'.

etc etc...

with a frontrow-like interface to her. Maxing the use of a remote. (she can keep a remote in her hand. She's used to do this).

Anonymous said...

ps : vinouz AT yahoo DOT fr

Anonymous said...

Nice work! -on the Mac Recovery I have a $1700 Dell XPS. I consider it disposable. Why? If I insured all of the gadgets and hardware I take around with me, or used a service such as yours, it would exceed the value of the individual hardware. The truth is most police don't give a crap about a stolen laptop or even a stolen car -hence LoJack and OnStar are not the no-brainer theft deterrent paid-option the vendors thought they would be. Stolen property is now sadly a viewed as civil rather than criminal actions -regarless of the law. Still, good job and good luck!