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Taking pictures with your MacBook every time the lid opens

benjamin-meyer-home.blogspot.com

31–36 of 36 posts

Re: Taking pictures with your MacBook every time the lid opens

#31
post #9
post #5

Really cool, I always look at these 1 pic a day programs and think I should do that sometimes, and the longest I've done is ~1 week. What I think would be cooler is if you could randomize it a bit. Privacy concerns?

I'd personally want to do a daemonized process so I and anyone else would be none the wiser, with a randomized delay of under a minute after the lid was opened. Regarding privacy? I doubt anyone would get into any sort of trouble with it. If it's your laptop, you can install whatever you want on it, even rootkits and keyloggers.

Check my comment earlier with shameless self plug for iTried (http://bit.ly/hEDJTw) :)

Re: Taking pictures with your MacBook every time the lid opens

#32
I have a daemon that snaps my photo every odd 30 minutes. I was the first thing i built after getting a new laptop with an isight 4 years ago. Should I leave nothing else to the world, there will at least be tens of thousands of crummy jpegs of my face scrunched before a monitor when I die.

Mine are far less cutesy than his because the only indication that a photo is being taken is the little green light activating for a split second. But more authentic i think.

Re: Taking pictures with your MacBook every time the lid opens

#33
post #10

This would be a neat way to catch a laptop thief.

But wouldn't a slightly smart thief be able to beat it by using a small sticker on the webcam?

I know a smart lady who (after reading about webcams on compromised machines being used to take snaps without the knowledge of unsuspecting users) used a simple fix; stick a bindi(http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Bindi.jpg) on the webcam.

Re: Taking pictures with your MacBook every time the lid opens

#34
post #28
post #27

Became far less interesting the moment he started posing for the pictures, IMO. There's tons of photos on the web of geeky types mugging for the camera. It's those moments of unguarded excitement, waiting for your MBP to finish waking up from sleep that are novel. At least in my opinion.

When you open the lid of a MacBook mine have always been ready and running, there is no waiting for them to finish waking up like on Windows.

Haha, I know, that was just a bit of artistic prose. Still, I think unposed photos would have been more interesting.

Re: Taking pictures with your MacBook every time the lid opens

#35
post #23
post #20

Earlier quoted context omitted.

that's what I was thinking. make it send the pics to a web archive whenever it finds an open connection. then you'd almost want your laptop to get stolen

You could create a honeypot netbook and take it with you to places like Starbucks and just leave it out when you go to the bathroom,etc.

Do this, follow it up, expose the thief, make a blog of it, and the advertising income from the blog will probably recoup the laptop cost.

Re: Taking pictures with your MacBook every time the lid opens

#36
post #23
post #20

Earlier quoted context omitted.

that's what I was thinking. make it send the pics to a web archive whenever it finds an open connection. then you'd almost want your laptop to get stolen

You could create a honeypot netbook and take it with you to places like Starbucks and just leave it out when you go to the bathroom,etc.

That's pretty close to entrapment.
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