Stolen Xbox recovered by victim using controller, science
By Laura June 
posted December 15th 2008 4:26PM
posted December 15th 2008 4:26PM
People will go to great lengths to steal your gear -- no big surprise there. In a nice, semi-ingenious twist, though, one Xbox 360 thief on campus at Missouri State has gotten caught by the dupe himself. Thievery victim Ryan Kestenbaum was able to connect the controller (which the crook had left behind) up to the console, which of course meant that it was nearby. He then went on a fantastic journey with the controller, allowing the LEDs -- which flash if the controller is out of range -- to guide him to the room of the thief. Kestenbaum contacted the dorm's advisor, and the Xbox was recovered, although it had sadly been reformatted and all of Ryan's saved games were gone. He said he plans on prosecuting the thief "to the fullest extent of the law," which we hopes means he'll be getting back the thousands of bottle caps lost.
[Via Daily Tech]
[Via Daily Tech]
seriously, the clever bastard! thats amazing
Ben Heck needs to show us the way to mod our consoles for easy tracking: GPS, internet, or both
epic picture win
Moral of the story is: If you must steal, take the whole kit. Not just the console. Heck, take the power cord too. And the game DVDs. And that LCD TV. O don't forget that jar of change on the counter. What the hell, just lock the guy out and move right in.
But a better moral might be: Do not steal.
Who on earth betrays their peers like that.
One of my former coworkers had his PS2 stolen along with a bunch of other electronics.
The thief took out and left him his memory card before leaving.
haha, a "compassionate" theif...
I've collected so many bottle caps in fallout 3 that I'm starting to hoard them in real life. Next on my list: bobby pins!
GenoMalice, its truely funny that people still have their info listed. I practically dont exist in any phone book, cus well i havent had a landline since skype offered phone numbers, lol.
Where is the SCIENCE part in all this?!?!?!?
"He then went on a fantastic journey with the controller, allowing the LEDs -- which flash if the controller is out of range -- to guide him to the room of the thief."
Obviously he did it all through magic.
I'm confused... the controllers only pair to ONE console? Or you can re-pair them whenever you want but you have to push both buttons? =/
The controller will remember the console it was last connected to, so you're not reconnecting every time you shut off the controller. As long as you don't sync the controller to another Xbox, it will only be able to connect to the console it was last synced to. It can only connect if its about 30 feet away, so if the controller connected outside of someone's door, it's pretty safe to assume the Xbox that connects to that controller is inside.
What's movie is that picture in this post from?
yes it is Val Kilmer and it is from Genius - Rent it on Netflix and watch now with Xbox, it should be available.
This is a penis stretcher.
Fallout bottle caps reference FTW!
here's to hoping the perp gets expelled!
Well, I think the picture of the culprit to be posted on here and every other gaming website and start the "A Clowns" of gaming and then he should be expelled from college with not reimbursement of tuition. And I don't care everyone thinks it's too strict, this God damn country is going to Hell because of slap on the wrists.
In related news...
http://failblog.wordpress.com/files/2008/11/fail-owned-stereo-thief-remote-sign-fail.jpg
SCIENCE!!!
Good for this kid!
My brother had his X-Box and games stolen from his college dorm room.
Even after a year of trying and getting multiple law enforcement agencies involved Microsoft still REFUSES to help him.
three years ago my xbox 360 was stolen and i tried the exact same thing. i had a controller that was linked to the system but i never found it. im really glad to hear this story and im very happy that this guy recovered his xbox. i wish this wasnt the only way to find a stolen xbox tho. if only there was anti-theft solution people can buy to prevent atrocities like this.
the determination this guy showed in finding the xbox here is very honorable indeed
*bows*