In response to a Freedom of Information Act request by the American Civil Liberties Union and the Electronic Frontiers Foundation, the Justice Department has sent back evidence that law enforcement officials can use Triggerfish pretty much whenever they want, without consulting the phone companies. This looks like the use of was could most charitably be called a giant goddamn loophole: secret Triggerfish deployment is OK because it only provides its users with rough location data by pairing serial numbers, phone numbers and other identifiers to a particular tower, rather than the actual content of conversations. The moral problems here are multifaceted, but the practical ones for, you know, fugitives, are easily solved: turn off your phone. You're welcome! [Ars]

The Price: The Zoombak for pets is a steep $200, with water-resistant pouch; the one for cars costs $250, because of the installation kit. On top of that, there's a service charge of $10 per month—looking at the price, there's no forgetting that this device is, essentially, a little cellphone.

The Verdict: I don't have a dog, so I tested it on my in-laws. The thing is small and light, and it really, really works. I activated one of them, set a safety zone perimeter using my address plus 1/2 mile, then handed it over to my father-in-law. After a short while, I got a text message naming the closest street intersection to where he was. (This can also come in the form of an email; it's your call.)

The messages didn't start coming right when he crossed the invisible threshold, but the data seemed to be timely: throughout the day I periodically got new updates as to his whereabouts. At one point, when my father-in-law was sitting not far away, I got a text that he was at some address I didn't recognize. Then I looked at the map and realized it was, indeed, the closest intersection to my house, even though it was just through a patch of woods, and outside our development. If I were really looking for him, he probably wouldn't have been hard to find.

There are some things to keep in mind: as with any other cellphone, it's got a battery that needs recharging. This one lasts up to 5 days or 150 location requests, so keep it charged and put it on your pets (or in-laws) when they're out the door. Also, the web interface is in need of some improvements, but those are easily tweaked and I know Zoombak is adding additional features even now, so I'm not worried. It's a good start; if you're really worried about a wayward pet or other family member, check it out. [Zoombak]

Plus, with their Accidental Damage plan, they'll fix all the wear-and-tear incurred when your laptop was stolen as well. Sounds like a good plan if you're always out and about, flaunting your laptop like some kind of hussy. – Jason Chen

Press Release [Dell]

Some children carry phones and iPods [worth] over 600 and they are making themselves walking targets, he said.

But iPods are the prime target (just as in New York City), according to the Metropolitan police commissioner:

"In street robbery, our concern has been around the smaller portable pieces of kit — the new generation of mobile phones and iPods, he said. It is very obvious when someone is wearing an iPod. That is what is fuelling this.

Apple's "One More Thing" this week had best include an iPod LoJack.

Street robbery soars as iPod users targeted [The Sunday Times via Addict3d]