Well, it Finally Happened to Me...I Left My Pocket PC Behind

[Jason Dunn]

I can now, unfortunately, join the ranks of those of you who have left your Pocket PC behind on an airplane, taxi, etc. :( Thankfully, I'm also joining the much smaller ranks of those of you who have had it returned unharmed. :D<br /><br />What happened is likely not an uncommon scenario for many of you: I was returning home from CES on a midnight redeye flight, landing in Calgary at 4:30 AM local time. During the flight I had taken out my Jasjar to confirm the date I had left Calgary in order to fill out the Canada Customs forms, and I put the Jasjar in the front pocket of the airplane seat. And, of course, when the plane landed I was so completely exhausted that I forgot I had put it there.<br /><br />The story has a happy ending however: when I woke up the next day, still quite groggy, there was a voicemail on my work line from the airline (America West) saying that they had found my Pocket PC. My first feeling was one of shock, because the last significant item of value that I'd ever lost was my wallet when I was 10 years old. I tend to keep a very close eye on my things in public, so the fact that I left it on the plane stunned me. That was quickly replaced by a feeling of thankfulness to America West for having an honest enough employee to return it. I remember reading Wes Salmon's blog when he left his HP Jornada on a plane and it was never seen again...so I was very fortunate indeed.<!><br /><br />One thing that I'm sure helped get my device back was the fact that I had completely filled out the owner information, and had the device configured to display that when powered on. It's a mild inconvenience to have to dismiss it each time the device is turned on, but in this case I'm convinced it was responsible for getting my Jasjar back to me. I did not, however, have my device password protected :oops:, which concerned me a great deal. The person who found it could have accessed all my PIM data, checked all my email accounts, and generally learned enough about me to likely steal my identity and cause great havoc. 8O Of course, if I-Mate would have had the <a href="http://www.microsoft.com/windowsmobile/business/5/default.mspx">MSFP update</a> released by now, I could have had <a href="http://www.4smartphone.net/affiliates.aspx?go=referal&ref=JD10726">4smartphone</a> [affiliate] remotely wipe the device.<br /><br />Lessons learned? Always keep your Pocket PC close at hand, and even if you're tired, put it back in your bag, not into the seat pocket of a plane. Make sure you have your owner identification entered into the device, and have it configured to show up when the device is powered on. And if you have a phone edition device, don't put the phone number of the device in your owner information - make sure it's a landline phone that you can be reached at. Lastly, password protect your device - which I've now just done. ;-) <br /><br />It's unfortunate that the core OS doesn't allow for a screen that contains all of the owner information along with a password. I've had third party applications that replace the password screen with a combination of password, owner information, clock, and if I recall correctly, even your next appointments. I haven't looked at these applications in a while - does anyone have a suggestion for the best one that's Windows Mobile 5 compatible?<br /><br />And does anyone have any similar stories to share, with or without the happy ending?

[Jon Westfall]

Thankfully I've never left my device somewhere, but I have a fear of it. For those of us who have only one phone line, what to put in the Owner Information screen can be perplexing on a phone device. My solution was to buy a monthly subscription to ureach.com where I could get a 1-877 number for $15 a month that allowed me 30 minutes to call out (if necessary), send and receive faxes, and get voicemails over email. The service has saved me a few times (Especially when my 6315 revolted and wouldn't work and I had no spare GSM phone - it was a rough week waiting for a replacement to arrive), and it gives me a professional number to use on business cards, etc...

My device is set to lock after 15 minutes and when turned on displays my name and the 877 number. I figure that's about as much as people would need to get back to me if they were honest. I see you're just as anxious as I am, Jason, for that MSFP! Remote Wipe would have been a nice option, but then your owner info would have gone with it, so your chances of getting it back would have been about the same, but you would have probably had to do the legwork to call lost+found for America West (And deal with the mini-heart-attack while waiting for them to let you know if they had it)

[Darius Wey]

And if you have a phone edition device, don't put the phone number of the device in your owner information - make sure it's a landline phone that you can be reached at.

That's the best tip I've heard all week. For some reason (probably because I've used a standalone PDA for so long), I've always had my mobile number stored on my Phone Edition. Now that I've given it some thought, it makes so much sense to have a landline number listed there instead. I've just made the change!.

Glad to hear you got your JASJAR back, Jason. :way to go:

[dochall]

Think yourself very lucky. When the 3630 was new I left mine (complete with a pcmcia jacket and a 2gb pcmcia drive) in a seat pocket in row 2 on a 767? (anyway there was only row had to pass my seat to get to the door). When we landed I only got as far as the top of the air bridge before I realised and when I got back to my seat it was gone.

Only about 3 people would have passed my seat and I must have been gone around 5 minutes. I never saw it again.

[karen]

Jason -

You are very fortunate, indeed.

I fly every week, at least twice a week, all year long, pretty much for 20 years. This year the trips are Toronto - Calgary in back, for the most part. I've learned, the hard way, to use these cheats to ensure that I get everything where I'm going:

- Never put anything you can't live without in the seat pocket in front of you. I once saw someone shove their rather large laptop into the pocket, then walk away at the end of the flight and I had to chase him down to tell him. I put water bottles there, books, newspapers, trival things, because they can be replaced. Never eyeglasses or PDAs.

- When I leave to go to the airport, I count all the things I have that could be put down or left behind. Coat, suit jacket, laptop bag, purse, PDA on my belt. The magic number is 5 in that case. Then every time I leave a location, whether it be a lounge, bench, airplane seat, whatever, I count before I turn away. Then I use the same number for the entire one way trip, even if, I've put my purse in my laptop bag or my phone in my purse.
That way, I have to physically ensure that I have actually put the phone away properly and not left it on a desk somewhere.

- Sounds silly enough, but you wouldn't believe the number of people who don't do this: when I leave some location, I physical turn and face the chair or bench and look to see what's there. I don't just glance over my sholder, I turn and look.

All this seems common sense, but together they make for a good process to follow, especially the counting thing, which is quick and simple.

Oh, and I do have the full owner information and password thing, just for the reasons you mention. I make sure to put my toll free number on the owner info, because you just don't know who wants to call Canada to tell me I've lost my phone.

Karen

[Raphael Salgado]

If you don't mind permanently affixing a label on your mobile devices, I highly suggest a product such as StuffBak.

http://www.stuffbak.com/stuffbakadmin/index.aspx

http://www.stuffbak.com/stuffbakadmin/images/product_images/labels_64.jpg

Here's their FAQ on it: http://www.stuffbak.com/stuffbakadmin/faqs.aspx#faq1

CompUSA and lots of other retail stores offer this at a pretty cheap price.

[Ekkie Tepsupornchai]

Yeah, I was in the business class section of a Lufthansa flight from the US to Germany. I had forgotten that I had laid my iPaq 3850 (with CF sleeve) laying at my side. It was not easy to spot either b/c I had been using those blankets to cover myself during the flight and I'm sure that the blanket was at least partially covering the device when I left. I also had one of those iHolsters fitted that covers the screen, so the entire device was in black (the blankets were dark blue). Finally, because I was in the business class seat, there weren't too many passengers who would have had the opportunity to pass by my seat (the exit was well behind where I was sitting).

Anyway, I walked off the plane and within 5 minutes realized that I didn't have my brickpiece hanging off my belt. I ran back to the plane and the thing was gone with no trace. I lost the device, the battery-equipped CF sleeve, my 512MB CF card (that was a LOT of space back then), and my iHolster.

Lucky for me, I had just been through several incidents with HP where I kept sending the device in to get things fixed and they kept sending it back saying nothing was wrong with it (they finally got it right on the 3rd try). Well, an HP customer service rep called me shortly after my device was stolen (not knowing it was stolen of course) saying that he felt so bad about the support hassles I had gone through, that he was going to offer a swap of my 3850 for a new 3870 (same device exept with Bluetooth) free-of-charge. I told him thanks, but my device had just been stolen and he sighed and then said, "no problem, I'll give you the 3870 anyway... just remember HP on your next purchase"!

I couldn't believe it... that was actually one of the reasons I chose to stick with HP on my next two devices (2215 and the 4750).

I've had a few other bad experiences involved in losing magazines and books and other stuff on that front seat pocket. That front seat pocket is just a bad idea. Now I always have "gadget bags" with me on long flights and I always put everything back into that bag if I decide to catch a few Zs (I always remember my carry-on bags).

[JimPAQ]

Don't you just hate that feeling when you look at the spot where your PDA usually sets and it's not there. For a brief few seconds (or in some cases some frantic minutes) your wonder where you put it, looking around in all directions. Your heart starts beating really fast; you struggle to remember the last time you had it in your hands. Then you remember "Oh ya, I left it in the car"...

Or did you :?:

I had my first PDA a Jornada taken from me because I left it at a convenience store. I strongly believe that the store clerk found it there at the register and kept it for his self. Luckily it was also password protected and would have been wiped out if he used it. Unfortunately, it was in a leather case along with my drivers license, credit cards, etc.

To this day, when I drive by that store, I look at it in disgust because I know that guy has or had my Jornada. But I'm not bitter about it :evil:

- Jim

[da_17]

I once put a cap I bought in Disneyland in the front pocket of my plane seat, and I left it there... After that day I consider those pockets useful for the magazines they have, or whatever you want to get rid of, because almost for sure you will leave it there.

[Jon Westfall]

I guess the lesson to be learned here is that - when flying - NEVER use the seat pocket in front of you for items costing over $2 (DHMO (http://www.dhmo.org/) is OK to leave, as far as I'm concerned)!

[Janak Parekh]

I fly every week, at least twice a week, all year long, pretty much for 20 years. This year the trips are Toronto - Calgary in back, for the most part. I've learned, the hard way, to use these cheats to ensure that I get everything where I'm going:
Karen -- these are excellent points for not just planes, but trains, taxis, and about any other form of non-self-car-propulsion. I always make sure to look around/behind whenever I get up off my daily train seat, especially after I left a laptop on the train once. 8O (I managed to make it back to the train before it left -- it was sitting idling in Penn Station for the next trip.)

One other thing I do in addition to what you've mentioned (and, presumably, it's more of a "guy thing"), is to pat my pockets whenever I get up. I have four things: Smartphone, keys, wallet, Pocket PC. I *once* left my keys in my office and had to wait for my officemates to show up. Never again. ;)

--janak

[Jon Westfall]

I *once* left my keys in my office and had to wait for my officemates to show up. Never again. ;)

--janak

I once threw my office keys in my bag and closed the door at 9 PM with bag inside... I had to wait for campus police ;) Since then a tip I learned was that all office keys can go on one ring - but the keys to MY office goes on my main keyring - just in case!

[freitasm]

I forgot a couple of phones before... Once it was a i-mate Smartphone 2, left behind in a cab on the way to the airport. Once I realised I called my own number and the cab driver asked me to go back to the drop off point. He drove back there and handed my phone to me. He didn't accept my reward (a good dinner equivalent) though, saying no need for that.

The other time a (non smart)phone fell off my jacket inside a theatre, and there is no way to find this in the dark...

Anyway, I had the IMEI number and Vodafone was able to find out someone put a SIM card in it and was placing calls with (yes, every GSM phone negotiates a call by sending the IMEI, SIM card serial #, phone number and other bits of information, if you didn't know). The thing is, the person in case used a SIM card attached to a contract, so Vodafone had name, home phone, address. The person denied it at first, but when the constable showed up at his door he handed over the phone, and Vodafone sent it to me on a courier parcel next morning.

This was lucky - in general operators will simply shrug and say "Your loss", but having some friends inside is a good thing... And the fact that the phone was insured and they didn't want to pay for a new one :wink:

[Janak Parekh]

Since then a tip I learned was that all office keys can go on one ring - but the keys to MY office goes on my main keyring - just in case!
Agreed. I have two "critical" keys -- my office door and my home entrance -- and they never leave the pocket unless I'm actually at home. And, of course, in academia if one forgets their office keys officemates may show up at 2 in the afternoon or somesuch.

--janak

[Eriq Cook]

I've configured the owner information fields a bit differently to display the following on the home screen:

http://www.teqcomputer.com/images/temp/reward.gif

The way I figure people would be more willing to return a Pocket PC if they immediately saw "REWARD IF FOUND" message. Fortunately--knock on wood--I haven't lost a PDA in nearly 10 years.

[DaleReeck]

You lost a JasJar? Dude, that thing costs $1000. I know exactly where mine is at all times, what it's doing, who's it going to be with and, when I'm asleep, my subconscious takes over to keep track of it. When I leave the house, I strap it to my forehead to make sure its in sight at all times :D

[karen]

One other thing I do in addition to what you've mentioned (and, presumably, it's more of a "guy thing"), is to pat my pockets whenever I get up. I have four things: Smartphone, keys, wallet, Pocket PC. I *once* left my keys in my office and had to wait for my officemates to show up. Never again. ;)

--janak

Yes, more of a guy thing...now what is that cute rhyme that Austin Powers does? something, something, Spectacles, Testi----

I thought that was brilliant.

[tendomentis]

I keep my hw6515 in a case on my belt at all times (I've never let it off my person in fact). I got my belt case from maxpedition.com (sturdy, military grade equipment), and I never have to worry about the case falling off my belt or it accidentally being left open.

I spent over $800 on my handheld, and I'm pretty sure I'd hang myself if I left it somewhere...you're made of strong stuff if you can forget your JasJar, not freak out and die, and still have enough composure to get it back.

My pocket pc and I salute you.

[Constant Caffeine]

Jason you definitely got lucky. My co-worker left his PDA on a bus accidentally. He had his personal information on the device and indicated a reward if found. The person who found it called him and asked how much the reward would be. My co-worker told him $100 and the guy told him forget it, finder’s keepers and hung up the phone. My co-worker told me he did not have the device password protected, but fortunately had used file encryption on sensitive documents.

[warptime]

- When I leave to go to the airport, I count all the things I have that could be put down or left behind. Coat, suit jacket, laptop bag, purse, PDA on my belt.


I used to snow ski a lot and always accounted for equipment before travel: Skis, Boots, Poles. I haven't skiied in 7 years, but still check off with that mantra when I need to account for things. I also learned the hard way to turn around and check the area before leaving. The only time I did not while skiing, a friend left his ski poles.

I carry a second set of the important keys at all times. Adds a little bulk to one pocket, but it has proven beneficial. Just a house key and a car key. One day in high school, many moons ago, I locked the keys in the ignition. While the car was running of course. Fortunately, home was a block and a half away. Don't laugh... It was race day and we were going skiing. And I have carried a second set of keys since then.

Thank you all for the tips, I am making changes to my PPC-6700...

Warptime
Jornada -> iPAQ 1940 -> iPAQ 4155 -> Sprint ppc-6700

[tendomentis]

Yes, more of a guy thing...now what is that cute rhyme that Austin Powers does? something, something, Spectacles, Testi---- I thought that was brilliant.

Spectacles, testicles, wallet, and watch :wink:

[karen]

Jason you definitely got lucky. My co-worker left his PDA on a bus accidentally. He had his personal information on the device and indicated a reward if found. The person who found it called him and asked how much the reward would be. My co-worker told him $100 and the guy told him forget it, finder’s keepers and hung up the phone. My co-worker told me he did not have the device password protected, but fortunately had used file encryption on sensitive documents.

In the days before PDAs (probably even before PCs), I left my Daytimer in a rental car, at least that's where I think I left it.

I got a call a couple of days later from a guy who 'found' it. He said it would be expensive to mail it back to me, so could I give him some money to ship it back. I said I could arrange to have FedEx pick it up and he wouldn't have to do anything, not even fill out the form and that I would also send along a reward for his troubles. He had a couple of excuses as to why FedEx couldn't come pick it up, the eventually called and demaded several hundred dollars to return it. I told him "Happy DayTiming" and gave it up for gone. I never heard from him again. Come to think of it, I think that's when I came up with the counting thing.

K

[mrmagoo]

I doubt that an American West employee found the PDA. More likely a general cleaner that's contracted out. But, nevertheless, good to hear that some people made an attempt to get your PDA back to you.

In this day and age, I'm getting more jaded by the fact that anyone returns anything to the rightful owner.

[miterb]

About 5 years ago my Casio fell off my belt clip (it was a bad design of clip which has since been changed) at a gas pump as I got out of the car. It was winter and I did not notice it had gone. Pumped my gas, drove the two miles to home and discovered it was gone. Jumped in the car, drove back. Looked around the pump island and nothing. Went inside the station and it had not been turned in. Utter dejection :cry:

The next morning I decided to go back to the station just in case it was turned in to a different clerk. Well, it hadbut , shortly after I had inquired the day before. It seems that the person who pumped gas after me had seen the Casio on the ground and was honest enough not to steal it but not neighborly enough to take it in to the clerks -- He/she just set it on top of the pump. It must have been there when I returned to look for it the day before. Another kind patron had seen it on top of the pump and turned it in just after I left talking with the clerks. As I did not have the Owner Information screen activated at power on, they had not called me. I still have the 6-year old Casio being used by my wife.

Brad

[ctmagnus]

I should start with the counting thing. I generally just do the pocket pat and check behind me when I leave.

The pocket pat failed me once, however. Fortunately I was house-sitting at the time and my beloved was right where I thought I had left it in the house. I could swear I checked my pockets before I left, but I guess not that time.

[doc]

Some PDA phones have the funky little GPS stuff built into them for 911 purposes. I remember hearing about a laptop program would send emails with the IP address if the computer had been stolen, then connected to The Internet. The program lived in some hidden partition so that it couldn't be deleted by reinstalling the OS.

I was thinking it would be really helpful to have something like this for the GPS enabled PPC-phones that would send connection or location info when activated.

[Jon Westfall]

There's always <A HREF=http://wiki.xda-developers.com/index.php?pagename=IIWPO> IIWPO </A> at Xda-Developers. I believe they have versions out for newer devices as well as the older ones.

Intriguing idea, but it banks on the fact someone else will use the phone portion of your device. I bet most people looking at a K-Jam or JasJar would take awhile of playing with it before they realized it was a phone, despite the phone icons.

[Jonathon Watkins]

I'm glad it worked out for you Jason. :) Cheers for the landline tip. A good thought that. :!:

[Paragon]

Well Jason, at least you didn't leave it in a taxi for some idiot to find and make calls on it.....that would make a great video, wouldn't it. ;)

About a year ago I was in Toronto for a few days doing a show. I had been out for dinner. Once I was back to my hotel I took off my pullover jacket. A few minutes later I went to get my JAM out of the pocket and it was gone. I figured that being a pullover the JAM probably *flew* out of the pocket when I pulled it over my head. I proceeded to absolutely trash my room looking for it. I looked under beds, behind dressers, and tvs. It was no where to be found. My next guess was that it fell out of my pocket coming in from the car, so I retraced my steps out of the hotel into a blizzard of ice and rain. I was blown across the parking lot where I did face plant into an inch of freezing slush on the hood of my car. Still, it's no where to be found. Next I completely shakedown my car looking for it. Still no luck. Now the only place it can be is in the parking lot of the restaurant I ate at. I remember taking a call just as I left, so it had to be between the car and the door to the restaurant. I scream back to the restaurant . Pull into the parking lot, and slowly check the lot using my headlight to scan the lot. NO LUCK. So here I am sitting in the car shivering because I'm soaking wet from the face plant and I was too frantic to go back to my room and change or grab a coat. I figure I'll go in the restaurant and check on the outside chance that someone found it and turned it in. I open the door, swing my legs out, and look down....into the pocket on the door....It had fallen out of my coat pocket and landed in the pocket on the door. It was right there the whole time. :lol:

Dave

[Darius Wey]

Agreed. I have two "critical" keys -- my office door and my home entrance -- and they never leave the pocket unless I'm actually at home.

I'm in the same boat, though I have lost a set of keys at home. It took me half a day to find it, and for some bizarre reason, it was in my shoebox. 8O

[Jason Dunn]

...and for some bizarre reason, it was in my shoebox. 8O

Australians keep their shoes in BOXES? Blimey, do you have to un-box them every time you want to wear them? :lol:

[wangsanegara]

Once, I left my O2 XDA Mini inside a Cab in NYC. Luckily I realized that I left the PDA-Phone within minutes. However, it still made me run several blocks to catch the Taxi. Luckily, I remember the Taxi number (my habit when entering a taxi is remembering the Taxi Number), so that it is easy to spot the Taxi in a field of same looking NYC Yellow Cab.

Got the Mini O2 back...

A.W :D

[Jeff Rutledge]

Been there (http://www.pocketpcthoughts.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=18066&amp;highlight=westjet) (over 2 years ago...wow).

You feel so useless when you first realize it's gone, don't you? And such a feeling of relief when it's back.

Glad to hear it worked out for you.

[pocketpcadmirer]

For a student like me, if someone gets my PDA and that person is a vb.net or a c programmer, he'll in heaven because I carry all of my important data and documents. I never password protect my PDA because I use it for quick reference.

Sunny

[ucfgrad93]

Congrats on a happy ending! :D

[Darius Wey]

Australians keep their shoes in BOXES? Blimey, do you have to un-box them every time you want to wear them? :lol:

Actually, they were my football boots, not my everyday shoes. I keep my boots in the box when I'm not using them; my everyday shoes are left outside... on the ground. 8)

[nickpope]

A few years ago I left my wallet with over 700 bucks in the front seat pocket. I had already cleared immigration before I realized. I bolted back to the plane, I wasn't allowed to reenter at that time but told the gate staff my seat number; they came back to tell me that it was not there. I think it was too early for the cleaners to be on board, and the gate staff I asked to check swiped it. Since then I use the number system when getting off a plane.

-----------

Last year I was flying with my new baby (JasJar). After composing some emails I dozed off and reclined my seat. When I woke I started looking for my JasJar, I couldn't find it so I stood up without (what's the opposite of reclining a seat?) I lifted my blanket. There was my JasJar wedged in the hinge of the seat in anwful looking position, the screen was twisted about 30 degrees and flexing. It was a sight that would make any JasJar owner physically ill. I tried to gently pry it out, but it was no good it was firmly stuck in there. I slowly returned the seet to the upright position and managed to retrieve it. To my suprise the JasJar was still working and only suffered a few scratches.

[craigvalk]

I had my IPAQ fall out of my briefcase in the Xray machine at the airport in Boston, when I got to CA I got a voicemail from TSA saying they had it. I picked it up at their office on my return, and was very fortunate to have listed my name and address on it.

Now I put in the tray with my cell phone and laptop in security....

Craig

[jcmoffitt]

I am one of the few folks who have walked off from their PPC left behind on a retail store counter and drive all the way home before I realized I had done such an air headed stunt. LOL...

Luckily for me the clerk at the cash register found it and gave it to the gentleman who had been helping me in their PDA section. I spoke to them both on the phone and they assured me it was waiting on my return. Several other times I have come very close to leaving the darn thing behind. I carry a laptop bag with a laptop , accessories, my PPC and my glasses. So, I try to always put everything in my laptop bag before I go somewhere and when I am getting ready to come home. I too make sure to do a visual inventory and look around at where I have been sitting to make sure I have my "brain" and eye glasses since I would be almost blind and without all of my information should I foget to do it.

I am glad that you shared this story and that you too were fortunate enough to get your gizmo back safe and sound. You reminded me to put my owners information in my device and have it show on boot up. I would have thought I had done this already but apparently not. I looked for a way to password protect my PPC but it only gives you that option after so many minutes of non use. I only want it to password protect the device on boot up. I dont want to have to enter in the password every so often while I am trying to use it.

Thanks again

[russpetrone]

I had a similar experience w/my iPAQ hx4705, upgraded to 128megs of RAM, with a 4gig CF HD and a 1 gig SD card on board. You do the math, it's a ton of Do-Ra-Me in a small case.

I went to Starbucks, sat in one of their overstuffed chairs, put the PDA on the seat next to me as I read the paper. Got up and walked out and didn't realize the loss until much later in the day and after having traveled almost 50 miles away.

When I reached for the unit to activate an Audible.com book I was listening to while driving, I almost hit another car in panic that it was nowhere to be found. I turned around and began the journey to the Starbucks in question and got on the cell phone immediately ...... SURPRISE, there are honerable people in this world ...... someone had turned it into the cashier and it was there waiting for me to pick it up.

My statement to the clerk as she handed it to me was, "this renews my faith in humanity"!!!

In response to a previous post by EKKIE, my experience with Hp since the previous incident has been anything but pleasant.

The unit stopped powering on, I sent it to Hp for 'non-warranty' repair. It turned out to be nothing more than a bent pin on the battery door. In the process of repairing this very EXTERNAL item, someone noted the 128megs of RAM and decided it would best serve them and REMOVED AND CHANGED THE MOTHER BOARD. The unit was returned to me with only the original 64megs of RAM. I'm doing battle with Hp on this issue, they think I'm going to go away and keep stonewalling me, but they will rue the day they have chosen to ignore me and this issue. That not a threat, it's a promise!! :devilboy:

[G M Fude]

This is such a depressing thread. The number of you unfortunate souls who have lost expensive equipment to what appears to be a "finders keepers" mentality is appalling. Okay maybe the item was misplaced or left behind through carelessness, but the person who takes it is a thief regardless of how they justify it to themselves (probably "Well if the owner is that careless they deserve to lose it"). Opportunistic ****holes.

I was holidaying in Sydney last week and a barmaid and I had to chase two Chinese tourists down Liverpool Street for a whole block so we could return their camera to them. Never occurred to us to keep it. And yet last November a guy in Melbourne found $10,000 and handed it in, which incited a rash of "How dumb was he? Giving back ten grand... no way!" comments from the general public on talk-back radio etc. I would have thought to do anything less than hand it to the authorities would be theft, pure and simple -- taking that which does not belong to you.

Whatever happened to the ethic of possession our parents taught us? The Production Manager of my company was in the US a few years ago and found a wallet at LAX; the ground staff of the airline were so flabbergasted that he actually handed it in, they bumped him to Business Class for the rest of the leg to Houston.


Ah... it's currently 42 degrees in Melbourne and that felt good... :)

[iant54]

I've only managed to lose mobile 'phones:

The first time was when I was living in a village in Oxfordshire, and the mobile dropped out of the mesh pocket on the front of my backpack. I didn't realise until after I was home for a while and thought I'd better put it on charge. When I figured that I'd lost it, I tried ringing it - it was answered by the people in Lost Property in Stagecoach Oxford's depot in Cowley, on the outskirts of Oxford. Unfortunately, there was no way I could get there under my own steam unless I took a work day off, and I was in the middle of Y2K testing in Croydon, so that was a no-no. They came up with a really novel suggestion - they hand it to the driver of one of the Oxford Tube services they ran between Oxford and London, and I would meet the driver at the terminating stop by Victoria station. I tried to give the driver a reward, but he wouldn't take it.

The latest time is somewhat funny (and a bit embarrassing for me!). I was shopping in Sainsburys, using a scanner (Fast Track) and a carrier bag in a wire basket. My phone was on a clip on my belt. I was walking around picking up my shopping, scanning it, putting the item in the carrier bag, when I suddenly realised that my 'phone was no longer on my belt. I retraced my steps, looking everywhere for it, and even asking the customer services desk, to no avail. I decided that I would check out, and use the nearest public telephone to ring my mobile. Got to the checkout, and discovered my mobile lying in the top of the carrier bag! The method of release from my belt was pushing a little lever outward from my body, and I figured that my beer belly had managed to operate it!

Now, I;ve got a little pouch for the 'phone which lives on the waistband of my waistbag (which holds my PDA - currently a Loox 720).