Imagine having your laptop stolen and days later being confronted with pictures of what could possibly be the faces of the dreadlocked new owners.
That’s what happened to Fred Viljoen, picture in circle, when his Apple MacBook was stolen from his bedroom four months ago.
Thanks to the wonders of cloud technology – a service which automatically uploads pictures transferred on to the laptop to the internet – he has been able to keep track of the new owners’ activities.
The activities include, but are not limited to, playing in a band, amateur modelling (towels are in this winter, haven’t you heard?) and arranging copious amounts of what looks like marijuana on a coffee table (obviously for decorative purposes).
The new owners seem to be unaware of the installed cloud technology because new images are still being uploaded on to the internet, including a picture of who may be the dreadlocked owners. But perhaps they are more focused on puffing up their own version of “cloud technology” to notice.
The bizarre sequence of events began when 29-year-old Viljoen arrived at his Vredehoek home in February to find a thief rummaging through his bedroom.
To avoid confrontation, and possible bloodshed, Viljoen ran away and alerted the authorities, watching helplessly as the thief rushed from his house with the laptop under his arm.
“I informed the police but they dropped the case when they couldn’t track him down,” Viljoen told the Cape Argus.
However, last Thursday – four months after the burglary – Viljoen, who has already had his laptop replaced by his insurers, discovered a stream of images in his online storage.
Viljoen shared the pictures with friends on Facebook and Twitter.
Friends and followers were determined to track down the new owners, with some even saying they knew the people in question.
“I’m just enjoying the ride,” said Viljoen, who is a graphic designer. “But I wouldn’t mind getting the laptop back. It contained a lot of work.”
The cloud technology has even allowed Viljoen to track the location of the new owners through looking at the address they were uploaded from.
According to him, the laptop’s new owners are still in Cape Town. But if that info isn’t enough, Viljoen has pictures of their car – complete with licence plates, house and, uh, crops.
Cape Argus