PICK ONE, GUYS.
The issue is that the article is titled "Why you don't steal from a hacker". This is not actually an appropriate name for the article, because it's not the writer's status as a hacker that leads to the final result. It is the writer's position as an application user that leads to the final result. In that sense, this article be should called, "Why you don't steal from someone that knows how to use an application to track their stolen laptop". Hence, by replacing the the "application user" with "hacker" you are diluting the meaning of hacker that everyone here loves to use. I'm not trying to be critical, just explaining why people are stating this and that they are attempting to express a consistent stance. You may associate this type of activity with a hacker, but understandably, it is not what you'd come up with when you attempted to define a hacker.
Honestly, I see your point, and both sides. I've just met a few people that have a similar service installed onto their phones, and I certainly would not call them hackers. Similarly, if someone told me they had this installed on their computer, I wouldn't think, "Oh, cool! S/he's a hacker!" On the other hand, if I saw someone starting "Learn Python the Hard Way" I _would_ think, "Oh shit, s/he's becoming a hacker!". Anyway, I don't really care too much. You do make a good point though. In general, a hacker might be more likely to aggressively try to track you down :)