iParent: Return if Found

Last fall, Daily Cup of Tech unveiled a small application for a USB drive to help recover the drive if it’s ever lost. When the drive is plugged in, the ‘Help! I’m Lost!’ application appears with the contact information of the owner, and a plea for the drive to be returned.

DCoT reader (and parent) Erik wondered if Lost Drive could work for a USB drive, why not something larger…like his children?

‘…My family, which includes two VERY energetic boys, five and three, went to Disneyland for a little get-a-way. Before we went I told my wife about the ‘I’m Lost’ program that one can install on a jump drive.

We decided to buy three 32Mb drives, which are a dime a dozen nowadays, one for each boy and one for us with the same program and ‘secret phrase’ on it. We also included our cellphone numbers. Two lanyards with dangling USB drives that had a ‘I’m Lost’ label adhered to them and tucked into their shirts later, we had two boys that if got lost would be found and be reunited with us quickly.

We told the boys to cry for mom or dad if they wander off or got lost and then give the USB drive to the person that found them.’

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Daily Cup of Tech

Guess what? One boy became lost. Know what else? Disneyland security plugged the drive into their computer, and called his parents. He was lost for 13 minutes.

Good. Idea. Right now, Office Depot has a 512MB drive for $8.

(Thanks, Lifehacker!)

3 Responses

  1. Jungle Pop
    Jungle Pop at | | Reply

    That is AWESOME. And so is Lifehacker, by the way. I’ve been a fan for several months now.

  2. Will
    Will at | | Reply

    That is absolutely brilliant!

  3. Undercover Angel
    Undercover Angel at | | Reply

    What an incredible idea! God knows I have enough trouble keeping track of my brood – I’m going to try that idea out for sure!

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