This story really made my day:
Laptop helps man in Germany bust burglar in Brazil (CNN)
A technically savvy man wired his home in Brazil to trigger a message to his cell phone in the event that the security system was tripped. He then logged in remotely and watched the man who had entered his house. The police were called and the man was apprehended.
That's just brilliant! Maybe all of our newfangled technology really is good for something: catching crooks.