Thomson SA, the French parent company of RCA, is proposing a new method for locking our expensive gadgets to a single domicile, and it's a pretty neat idea. The plan is to have a watchdog transmitter modulate the home's electricity supply along a specific pattern, and configure appliances to recognize that pattern as an approved signal.

Electronics check in for the proper pulse pattern when they are plugged in, and refuse to operate without the authorization. A thief that steals a computer would be unable to power it without having possession of the in line watchdog device. This could be a great idea for high security military installations where machines are never meant to be used outside of approved areas.

The system is sufficiently sneaky since the authorization device could be hidden anywhere in the house, or even secreted inside of a ubiquitous gadget like a clock radio. The only way to defeat the system would be to steal everything plugged into the electrical system, or to hack the hardware, providing the thief was aware of the limitation.

From New Scientist's Barry Fox, and SAWF.