NYU warns students against wearing iPod Earbuds

[AppleInsider]

New York University has begun a campaign to warn its students against sporting iPod earbud headphones while venturing on and off campus, according to tipsters. The tiny, white earbud headphones, which ship with Apple's iPod digital music players, have become a telltale sign for thieves looking to hijack iPods in the fast-paced streets of Manhattan. This week members of the campus community began plastering NYU dorms with posters warning students not to wear the standard iPod headphones. According tipsters enrolled in the college, there have been an increasing number reports from students who've been held up by city crooks demanding that they hand over their iPod. They suggest it's time Apple begins offering a less recognizable alternative.

[ View this article at AppleInsider.com ]

[12houripod]

if apple offers a "less recognizable alternative"
it'll just become the new "telltale sign"

[ch@os]

Originally posted by 12houripod
if apple offers a "less recognizable alternative"
it'll just become the new "telltale sign"

Exactly what I thought. However, it could even be worse as new earbuds usually would mean brand new (latest revision) iPods.

[pismox]

And everyone and their Japanese brother are shipping white earbuds. I actually use white earbuds from Sony everyday with my iPod shuffle. Sony is in fact shipping, almost identical to Apple's, white earbuds with its new Portable PlayStation (PSP) this month is the USA.

Don't blame Apple, these people choose to live and work in one of the major cities in the world, they will be robberies and thefts, with or without Apple's white earbuds.

I was born in Northern NJ and spent time in NYC. I however chose to live in Orlando, FL where only tourists are stolen from. (Just kidding!)

p.s.

Maybe they should be posting tips how best to conceal an iPod, and how best not to attract attention to oneself in public, like clothing, jewelry, money exposure, loudness of music, etc (not by commenting on choice of earbuds or headphones).

[nagromme]

if these students really need to be TOLD not to show expensive valuables on the streets of New York... then I'm very glad someone is telling them!

[zingboy]

"have become a telltale sign for thieves looking to hijack iPods in the fast-paced streets of Manhattan"

1.) Lower Manhattan's streets are not as fast-paced (nor crime-ridden) as many think,
2.) EVERY NYU student has one and flaunts them while drunk (very wealthy private school),
3.) J&R probably started this rumor to get a boost in business.

[AWAL]

Originally posted by zingboy
"have become a telltale sign for thieves looking to hijack iPods in the fast-paced streets of Manhattan"

1.) Lower Manhattan's streets are not as fast-paced (nor crime-ridden) as many think,
2.) EVERY NYU student has one and flaunts them while drunk (very wealthy private school),
3.) J&R probably started this rumor to get a boost in business.

I have never seen a drunk student flaunt an iPod before, but maybe it's just because I am on the upper west side....

[Gray Fox]

you know if everyone had an ipod we wouldn't have this problem....
seriously speaking, I see an average of 10-15 people with ipods on my way to school, work and home on the train. I'm sure if an ipod owner was being held up, fellow ipod owner(s) would jump to the rescue.

[2112]

I just moved to NYC last year and for awhile I've wondered when some punk will work me over for my iPod. There may be much less crime than a decade ago, but make no mistake, this city is loaded with thieves and losers who live off others and it happens every day.

[e1618978]

Originally posted by 2112
I just moved to NYC last year and for awhile I've wondered when some punk will work me over for my iPod. There may be much less crime than a decade ago, but make no mistake, this city is loaded with thieves and losers who live off others and it happens every day.

When my neice wanted to go to Columbia, I looked up the crime statistics. Turns out that my area (Chapel Hill/Durham) has way more crime than NYC. I'll admit that I was scared riding the subway late at night (or walking on 125th street at night), but it was probably all in my mind I guess.

[Apparatus]

I couldn't agree more.

As a college student in the city, I can share NYU's sentiments. I ditched the iPod headphones long ago (partly due to their crappy sound) so that people wouldn't know I had an iPod just from seeing me on the street.

[zingboy]

http://nypost.com/news/regionalnews/40604.htm

It seems to be more about high schools than colleges in the Post, and

http://www.engadget.com/entry/0264939848437927/

it had been claimed to be a hoax previously.

[jouster]

A better reason to warn them would be because of the intense suckage of the standard ear phones.

Not only do they sound crappy, but they hurt like hell after an hour or so.

[ipodandimac]

shouldn't they be warning them of WIndows XP and how much it sucks?

[cpac]

The only way to get mugged these days in manhattan is to get lost, late at night, in a place where nobody is around. And if you happen to be in that sort of situation, I doubt the muggers will care whether you've got an iPod or not - you're the ONLY ONE THERE. The rest of the time there's far too many people *everywhere* for anybody to get mugged.

[Chagi]

Originally posted by nagromme
if these students really need to be TOLD not to show expensive valuables on the streets of New York... then I'm very glad someone is telling them!

Haven't been to New York, but in principle you are right, just a matter of having a degree of street smarts.

[admactanium]

Originally posted by e1618978
When my neice wanted to go to Columbia, I looked up the crime statistics. Turns out that my area (Chapel Hill/Durham) has way more crime than NYC. I'll admit that I was scared riding the subway late at night (or walking on 125th street at night), but it was probably all in my mind I guess.

not really. riding the subway after midnight and walking around above 95th street are not things i would recommend to anybody. while i only knew one person who ever got mugged in the 3.5 years i lived there, you were always trying to stay aware of your surroundings (to the point of near paranoia). the area around nyu isn't so bad though. i used to live a couple blocks from there. but the area around columbia, that's a different matter altogether.

[sunilraman]

Originally posted by ipodandimac
shouldn't they be warning them of WIndows XP and how much it sucks?

NYC is pretty intense though. But yeah maybe they could have made a poster with

DONT WEAR WHITE iPOD EARBUDS

ALSO, DONT USE WINDOWS XP IT SUCKS ASS

OH, AND PRACTICE SAFE SEX

see? i saved NYU thousands of dollars on their marketing/student services/ whatever budget

[Denmaru]

So what´s the problem if someone tries to steal something from you? Teach him the lesson that all he gets from you is a world of pain. That´s what I did, worked like a charm.

I don´t know about NYC though, never been there. But if you care about your security, learn to defend yourself.

[e1618978]

Originally posted by Denmaru
So what´s the problem if someone tries to steal something from you? Teach him the lesson that all he gets from you is a world of pain. That´s what I did, worked like a charm.

I don´t know about NYC though, never been there. But if you care about your security, learn to defend yourself.

You can go to jail if you try that. A friend of a friend was a marine, and he pistol whipped a robber in a macdonalds bathroom, and he was charged with assault (I don't know if he went to jail or not).

[TednDi]

Originally posted by admactanium
not really. riding the subway after midnight and walking around above 95th street are not things i would recommend to anybody. while i only knew one person who ever got mugged in the 3.5 years i lived there, you were always trying to stay aware of your surroundings (to the point of near paranoia). the area around nyu isn't so bad though. i used to live a couple blocks from there. but the area around columbia, that's a different matter altogether.

Bingo!!

NYC is a relatively safe city. Relative to London..

Crime exists here and the ipod is a product that many can't afford and still want. Badly enough to bop you over the head to get.

Evolution provided ears by which we hear danger approaching. Music can distract you from what is around you. That is mostly a good thing. Unless that danger wants your music.

Oh, and in a large school such as NYU there are bound to be many very sheltered kids who have never had to deal with a city environment. The area is mostly safe as it has gentrified to a great degree. However, it is still NYC and a short ride or walk from many crappy areas.

Gives a whole new meaning to

DON'T STEAL MUSIC!

Now, Let's be safe out there!

[Celco]

Originally posted by sunilraman
NYC is pretty intense though. But yeah maybe they could have made a poster with

DONT WEAR WHITE iPOD EARBUDS

ALSO, DONT USE WINDOWS XP IT SUCKS ASS

OH, AND PRACTICE SAFE SEX

see? i saved NYU thousands of dollars on their marketing/student services/ whatever budget

I have a better poster...

WEAR WHITE iPOD EARBUDS WITH A RIO MP3 PLAYER
USE WINDOWS XP, WALK AROUND LATE AT NIGHT IN NYC.
GIVE THE WORLD THE GIFT OF ONE LESS LOSER.

[monkeyastronaut]

That's the dumbest campaign I've ever heard of. "Don't wear iPod earbuds. Oh yeah and don't drive your Jaguar and don't live in an expensive house. They're going to rob you."

[nd32k3]

i dont understand why they want apple to make less recognizable ipod headphones. if people are that insecure in the city they can go out and by normal crappy black headphones for 5 bucks.

[Zweben]

I have a solution.

Buy a junky old flash MP3 player off of Ebay and put it in your pocket with the iPod. When someone tries to mug you, hand them the old junk MP3 player and say "I don't HAVE an iPod."

Duh.

[hugodrax]

Funny thing is you can walk in the middle of Tokyo and never feel unsafe or at risk.

Something is wrong in America.

[nd32k3]

Originally posted by hugodrax
Funny thing is you can walk in the middle of Tokyo and never feel unsafe or at risk.

Something is wrong in America.

Ok I have been to Tokyo and you are correct, it is one of the safest cities the world. But I dont feel unsafe in New York either. Many cities are just as bad as New York, so it's not that something is wrong with America it's that something is done better in Tokyo then anywhere else, which is hard to replicate.

[admactanium]

Originally posted by hugodrax
Funny thing is you can walk in the middle of Tokyo and never feel unsafe or at risk.

Something is wrong in America.

oh please. you're telling me you can walk ANYWHERE in tokyo without fear of being mugged? i can walk out into the middle of battery park city without worrying about being mugged too. all major cities have their dangerous areas.

[a_greer]

Why the big focus on iPod theft, walking arround a major univ. near here I observe that stealing a laptop would be easy, maybe easier than an iPod...I understand that iPod theft seems like a problem, but how much is hype? Remember a couple years ago when everyone was freaked out about sharks because 3 attacks got reported? a little media hype goes a long way.

[sunilraman]

Originally posted by a_greer
Why the big focus on iPod theft, walking arround a major univ. near here I observe that stealing a laptop would be easy, maybe easier than an iPod...I understand that iPod theft seems like a problem, but how much is hype? Remember a couple years ago when everyone was freaked out about sharks because 3 attacks got reported? a little media hype goes a long way.

yeah concerns for students aside (stay safe kids!!) i'm all for the word iPod being bandied about even more

(personally i've never actually used my white iPod earbuds and they kinda got lost... umm.. along with my charger and USB cable...) so i've just got black headphone wires for my JVC street-style headphones. 2 years and 1000 drops later, it still works and the felt hasn't worn off. why did i drop it so many times? well when at work fo example i would always walk away from the computer forgetting that my headphones were on and they would snap off my ears and crash to the ground still nice sound quality after all this while though ) </ramble>

[Denmaru]

Originally posted by e1618978
You can go to jail if you try that. A friend of a friend was a marine, and he pistol whipped a robber in a macdonalds bathroom, and he was charged with assault (I don't know if he went to jail or not).

Well, then he didn´t know how to defend himself properly. You have to be sure that your means are appropriate for the threat you face. Also, the goal is not to beat him unconscious, it´s to give the police time to deal with this looser (Well, I admit, even I overdid it somehow back then...)

But back to topic :3

[e1618978]

Originally posted by monkeyastronaut
That's the dumbest campaign I've ever heard of. "Don't wear iPod earbuds. Oh yeah and don't drive your Jaguar and don't live in an expensive house. They're going to rob you."

A jaguar is less likely to be stolen than a Honda, because of the on-call tracking system and alarm system. An expensive house has an alarm system, probably with cell phone backup, so it is less likely to be robbed.

Both of these things decrease your chance of loss, while (it seems) the iPod headphones increase your chances.

[monkeyastronaut]

Originally posted by e1618978
A jaguar is less likely to be stolen than a Honda, because of the on-call tracking system and alarm system. An expensive house has an alarm system, probably with cell phone backup, so it is less likely to be robbed.

Both of these things decrease your chance of loss, while (it seems) the iPod headphones increase your chances.

Well, that might be the case where you live in... So while in the US it might work like that... over here...

The iPod headphones don't increase your chances of being robbed. You're driving a Jaguar in Mexico City and they'll kidnap you and steal your car and if you're lucky you'll keep both of your earlobes.

You're wearing an iPod or iPod earphones or whatever in Mexico City and chances are most people don't even know what an iPod is.

So it all depends where you're from.

[e1618978]

Originally posted by monkeyastronaut
Well, that might be the case where you live in... So while in the US it might work like that... over here...

The iPod headphones don't increase your chances of being robbed. You're driving a Jaguar in Mexico City and they'll kidnap you and steal your car and if you're lucky you'll keep both of your earlobes.

You're wearing an iPod or iPod earphones or whatever in Mexico City and chances are most people don't even know what an iPod is.

So it all depends where you're from.

Interesting! That explains the big market for armored luxury cars. Is Mexico becoming more or less safe as time goes on?

I know that Brazil is a huge market for helicopters, for just this reason - it is too dangerous to drive.

[monkeyastronaut]

Originally posted by e1618978
Interesting! That explains the big market for armored luxury cars. Is Mexico becoming more or less safe as time goes on?

I know that Brazil is a huge market for helicopters, for just this reason - it is too dangerous to drive.

Mexico City -- yes, less safe as time goes on. There's definitely a market for armored luxury cars but sadly those aren't the only targets for kidnappings anymore.

[israces]

Originally posted by e1618978
You can go to jail if you try that. A friend of a friend was a marine, and he pistol whipped a robber in a macdonalds bathroom, and he was charged with assault (I don't know if he went to jail or not).

I'm so sick of people spreading this kind of monkey-crap. "A friend of a friend did [something likely justified] to some [low-life] and now this friend of a friend is [in jail, charged with treason, on death row, etc.].
If someone is "robbing" you in a fast food joint's bathroom and you have the means, kick his monkey-ass. Of course, only do so in proportion to the degree of force allowed by law under the circumstances in the jurisdiction in which you find yourself (or just get out of there before anyone else shows up). [/OT Rant]

[e1618978]

Originally posted by israces
I'm so sick of people spreading this kind of monkey-crap. "A friend of a friend did [something likely justified] to some [low-life] and now this friend of a friend is [in jail, charged with treason, on death row, etc.].
If someone is "robbing" you in a fast food joint's bathroom and you have the means, kick his monkey-ass. Of course, only do so in proportion to the degree of force allowed by law under the circumstances in the jurisdiction in which you find yourself (or just get out of there before anyone else shows up). [/OT Rant]

So you shoudn't say it even when it is true?

[sunilraman]

Originally posted by israces
I'm so sick of people spreading this kind of monkey-crap. "A friend of a friend did [something likely justified] to some [low-life] and now this friend of a friend is [in jail, charged with treason, on death row, etc.].
If someone is "robbing" you in a fast food joint's bathroom and you have the means, kick his monkey-ass. Of course, only do so in proportion to the degree of force allowed by law under the circumstances in the jurisdiction in which you find yourself (or just get out of there before anyone else shows up). [/OT Rant]

umm... "..charged with treason...." ??

[israces]

Originally posted by sunilraman
umm... "..charged with treason...." ??

Well, it was a rant. I tend to get sort of frothy at times during a good rant. "I have a friend of a friend" is the urban myth version of "Once upon a time" in my world.

Anyway, I disagree with e1618978's point and I doubt the validity of his story, sounds like a myth to me. But I also understand that other people aren't as sensitive to these kind of things so I'll get off of this box of soap and go back to lurking.

[oceansize]

Anyone who can afford to attend NYU is not concerned about losing a $300 iPod.