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Offender Locator iPhone software exiled from App Store by Apple - Page 2

post #41 of 91
8/7/09 at 4:28pm


I think an app that would let you log into the dash cams in squad cars would be cool! This way one could 'scan' the cams and when a cop is seen beating someone, you could record it and sell it to some sleaze bag attorney and/or sue!!!!!!
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post #42 of 91
8/7/09 at 4:41pm
What's next?
An App that shows the location and address of every legal gun owner...
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post #43 of 91
8/7/09 at 4:56pm
If one argues "it may be illegal in the state of California for anyone to profit from the sale of publicly-available criminal information." then someone should give me my next computer for free because I damned sure had to buy it to have access to the "free" database.

If my understanding of this app is correct, it facilitates access to the database, access that one would not otherwise have, just as one doesn't have access to the database unless one buys a computer and gets an ISP... (O.K. O.K..... but I don't like using computers at the library)

Now, if they are charging 0.99 for each access, that's different, but I'd like to know, based on my limited knowledge of the facts, is where's the beef?
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post #44 of 91
8/7/09 at 4:59pm
It's beginning to look more and more like The Joy of Mac "roadmap" for how apps get approved to the store is spot on.
Pity the agnostic dyslectic. They spend all their time contemplating the existence of dog.
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Pity the agnostic dyslectic. They spend all their time contemplating the existence of dog.
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post #45 of 91
8/7/09 at 5:11pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by palex9 View Post

apple is slowly becoming 'holier than the pope' in the sense of not wanting to offend anybody, anywhere, anytime.

another example of so-called 'political correctness gone mad'.

Let me guess, you were gettin' ready to go huntin' down some offenders?

Leave such knowledge to the Professionals we pay with our tax dollars.
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post #46 of 91
8/7/09 at 5:54pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by jcsegenmd View Post

Didn't know that such was available, but very useful app if the databases are reliable. This should be available as a free public service app. I don't know if Apple has considered the potential backlash of NOT putting that app out.

Can you see the lawsuit that Apple would have to deal with from a iPhone user who gets raped, killed or otherwise suffers harm that arguably would not have occurred had the software been made available--I'd think that the legal eagles should seriously weigh rejecting this one long term.

Sex offenders don't have much of a legal voice AND SHOULDN'T; but let someone get hurt because it was rejected? Big check that APple would have to write


You know next to nothing about criminal or civil law. But you *do* have a really active, if very flawed, imagination.
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post #47 of 91
8/7/09 at 6:14pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by macslut View Post

I'm personally VERY relieved that this app was banned. It saves me from having to file a lawsuit.

hmmm [Macslut] coincidence
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post #48 of 91
8/7/09 at 6:15pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Sofabutt View Post

Wow, what state classifies urinating in public as a sexual offense???

I think it might be categorized as indecent exposure.
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post #49 of 91
8/7/09 at 6:18pm
I want to share with others the information I found on the Attorney General's Megan's Law Website. Does the law prohibit me in any way from sharing this information?
A person may use the information disclosed on the Attorney General's Web site only to protect a person at risk. It is a crime to use the information disclosed on the Attorney General's Internet Web site to commit a misdemeanor or felony. Unless the information is used to protect a person at risk, it is also prohibited to use any information that is disclosed pursuant to this Internet Web site for a purpose relating to health insurance, insurance, loans, credit, employment, education, scholarships, fellowships, housing, accommodations, or benefits, privileges, or services provided by any business. Misuse of the information may make the user liable for money damages or an injunction against the misuse. Before using the information disclosed on this Web site, you may want to consult with an attorney or merely suggest to others that they view the Web site for themselves.

http://www.meganslaw.ca.gov/faq.aspx?lang=ENGLISH#1a
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post #50 of 91
8/7/09 at 7:08pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by dak splunder View Post

And there's no registration database for murderers, or thieves, or assholes. If some lowlife raped his girlfriend 20 years ago and went to jail and suffered for it and paid the price and cleaned up his life, why should he not have a chance to live a normal life again like other criminals get to?

This is how you force people into the shadows where their choices are limited and the chance that they'll commit more crimes increases.

(And don't give me the "they should have thought about that before they did _____" line. They didn't. They screwed up. And if they turn their lives around after serving their time, it's better for the rest of us.)

:d

almost 20 years ago they passed something called Megan's Law to start this. she was killed by a repeat sex offender
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post #51 of 91
8/7/09 at 7:47pm
That app could also locate the nearest hardware store, so you could stock up on pitchforks, torches, tar and feathers.


Macintosh: It just WORKS!
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Macintosh: It just WORKS!
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post #52 of 91
8/7/09 at 8:59pm
i want an app that lets me track the whereabouts of, i don't know, maybe some of the idoit/savants on the forum, without their permission, because spying on citizens is kewl and exciting and necessary and oh so legal - maybe we can incorporate RFID tags into people and provide realtime GPS tracking in google maps.

oh wait, i thought everybody doesn't like big brother watching?

my bad, it is okay if you can do it but not government.
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post #53 of 91
8/7/09 at 9:06pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Sofabutt
Wow, what state classifies urinating in public as a sexual offense???

Quote:
Originally Posted by JeffDM View Post

I think it might be categorized as indecent exposure.

Yes, public urination is considered a sex crime in some states.

This is supposed to be the 21st Century.


Macintosh: It just WORKS!
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Macintosh: It just WORKS!
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post #54 of 91
8/7/09 at 9:33pm
Here's an Apple Store decision I agree with. There's already websites where you can see the location of sex offenders. Don't need bogus vigilantism and profiteering from publicly-available lists. I'd be fine with the way it was at first, too: if you want to know where the offenders are, you walk into the police station.
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post #55 of 91
8/7/09 at 9:34pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by al_bundy View Post

almost 20 years ago they passed something called Megan's Law to start this. she was killed by a repeat sex offender

True. And the first year of its application saw dozens of people beaten up, sometimes at the wrong address.
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post #56 of 91
8/7/09 at 10:02pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by AppleInsider View Post

Offender Locator, a controversial, high-profile application that allowed users to find registered sex offenders, was removed from the App Store this week.

....

While those reasons have not yet been made clear, some have speculated that it may be illegal in the state of California for anyone to profit from the sale of publicly-available criminal information. But according to a ThinAir Wireless employee, Sex Offenders Search, a competing application for $1.99, remained on sale even after Offender Locator had been pulled from the App Store.

I am baffled by the seeming inconsistency of it all. I can't fathom any good reason why they would banish one application and allow a directly-competing application to remain.

I don't think too many customers outside of us nerds here really give a crap about all this. The iPhone is still the coolest thing available and has the most functions that most customers want. Competition is good. But these sorts of moves have to be agitating lawyers, developers and federal authorities. I hope Apple gets some clarity on the approval process soon.
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post #57 of 91
8/7/09 at 11:08pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Swift View Post

Here's an Apple Store decision I agree with. There's already websites where you can see the location of sex offenders. Don't need bogus vigilantism and profiteering from publicly-available lists. I'd be fine with the way it was at first, too: if you want to know where the offenders are, you walk into the police station.

Why was this ever approved by Apple to sell in the first place?
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post #58 of 91
8/7/09 at 11:33pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by dak splunder View Post

And there's no registration database for murderers, or thieves ...

No, there is not... and there should be.
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post #59 of 91
8/7/09 at 11:35pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by JeffDM View Post

I think it might be categorized as indecent exposure.

Which is a specific classification of sex crime.
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post #60 of 91
8/8/09 at 12:33am
Quote:
Originally Posted by palex9 View Post

apple is slowly becoming 'holier than the pope' in the sense of not wanting to offend anybody, anywhere, anytime.

another example of so-called 'political correctness gone mad'.

seems like it, although i think it's because apple is pressured to approve apps quickly and can't thoroughly inspect the legality of everything so fast.

what apple has in their app store system right now is not quite ideal for customers or for apple themselves, and i don't know if there is a universally satisfying solution.
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post #61 of 91
8/8/09 at 1:55am
This is not information that should be freely available. If people are going to rehabilitate sucessfully that can only occur if they don't have some drunk asshole knocking on their door every Saturday night wanting to pick a fight. If they are not able to rehabilitate sucessfully they should not be in the community. Paedophilia is an insidious thing and it destroys entire families but there is still just way too much hysteria in our response to it as a community.
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post #62 of 91
8/8/09 at 1:58am
Quote:
Originally Posted by lordmorgul View Post

No, there is not... and there should be.

You could always live like a hermit on a small island somewhere. :-)
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post #63 of 91
8/8/09 at 2:13am
Quote:
Originally Posted by pep9454 View Post



I think an app that would let you log into the dash cams in squad cars would be cool! This way one could 'scan' the cams and when a cop is seen beating someone, you could record it and sell it to some sleaze bag attorney and/or sue!!!!!!

This is NEVER going to happen. Ever. Sounds very ridiculous too IMO.
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post #64 of 91
8/8/09 at 5:45am
The sex offender register shows 674,000 offenders in the US. While some of those are dangerous, the majority are not. There is an article in this week's Economist about the kind of things people are on the register for; one woman is on there because she had oral sex at the age of 17 with a boy two weeks short of his 16th birthday, 13 years ago. It says she's convicted of sodomy (because is the forward looking state of Georgia, oral sex was considered sodomy in the 1990's).

Lazy journalists from shitty cable TV news stations pounce on these stories to fire up people's fear as well. The whole sex offender issue needs a good hard look.

Do not overrate what you have received, nor envy others.
15" Matte MacBook Pro: 2.66Ghz i7, 8GB RAM, GT330m 512MB, 512GB SSD

iPhone 5 Black 32GB

iPad 3rd Generation, 32GB

Mac Mini Core2Duo 2.26ghz,...

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Do not overrate what you have received, nor envy others.
15" Matte MacBook Pro: 2.66Ghz i7, 8GB RAM, GT330m 512MB, 512GB SSD

iPhone 5 Black 32GB

iPad 3rd Generation, 32GB

Mac Mini Core2Duo 2.26ghz,...

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post #65 of 91
8/8/09 at 6:13am
This is exactly the sort of thing I have been talking about for some time. There is a certain class of app developer that makes their living on the edge. They are trying to be racy, or provocative, or political, or copy cats of someone else's work. They want to take the app store place where Apple has no intention of going. They are the same types of people who want to get porn into Blockbuster and none family friendly products into Walmart. Well, Blockbuster and Walmart have drawn their line in the sand and are very comfortable telling potential partners to go pound sand. Apple needs to grow the same set of balls and be done with it. Most of us don't want these bored Windows developers on our platform anyway. This is partly why Apple didn't want to do apps. It is a whole new can of worms outside of their core competency. Apple has a image and reputation to uphold and do not wish to spend so much time and resources policing those who do not know or care about the culture of Apple.

These are precisely the types of things that keep the app store police occupied and keeping Apple from focusing on improving the overall experience. I sincerely wish most of the app store developers would just leave.
Apple has no competition. Every commercial product which competes directly with an Apple product gives the distinct impression that, Where it is original, it is not good, and where it is good, it...
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Apple has no competition. Every commercial product which competes directly with an Apple product gives the distinct impression that, Where it is original, it is not good, and where it is good, it...
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post #66 of 91
8/8/09 at 6:22am
Gosh, seems to me that the store belongs to Apple and they can offer what they want, when they want, and change their mind if they want. This is, or was, the American way. I don't want the government telling them they can or can't provide as long as it doesn't break any laws.

When did it become some god given 'right' to demand what someone sells in their store?

Sometimes this 'me, me, liberal' crap just bugs me.

And no, I'm not a sex offender. But I know of dozens of places to get that information but never once felt it was something I needed on my phone.
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post #67 of 91
8/8/09 at 8:22am
Quote:
Originally Posted by SGSStateStudent View Post

This is NEVER going to happen. Ever. Sounds very ridiculous too IMO.

Your school must have a very stringent admittance policy.
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post #68 of 91
8/8/09 at 8:25am
Quote:
Originally Posted by AI7R View Post

This is, or was, the American way. I don't want the government telling them they can or can't provide as long as it doesn't break any laws.

Sometimes this 'me, me, liberal' crap just bugs me.

it may be illegal in the state of California for anyone to profit from the sale of publicly-available criminal information.

Maybe you should read the article before spouting off.

Or would that be something a "liberal" would do?
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post #69 of 91
8/8/09 at 8:41am
When my brother was 17 he had sex with his 16 year old girlfriend = They were caught by her dad and he has been a registered sex offender since 1987 because of this.
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post #70 of 91
8/8/09 at 9:38am
Quote:
Originally Posted by Proximityeffect View Post

When my brother was 17 he had sex with his 16 year old girlfriend = They were caught by her dad and he has been a registered sex offender since 1987 because of this.

Much like so many other crimes there needs to be levels. I don't think any sane person cares if a 17 year old had sex with a 16 year old or at least gives a crap they live down the street. In fact in many states they are pushing a "Romeo and Juliet" law where, such as in Kansas I believe, there has to be a greater than 2 year age difference between the people involved so a 16 year old won't be potentially sending their 18 year old bf/gf off to jail and onto the sex offenders list because they had sex. Considering the multitude of levels we have for misdemeanors, speeding tickets, 3 or 4 different kinds of murder we can't simply categorize (at their trial) sex offenders as either 1) potentially dangerous and put on the list (child molesters) or 2) busted by the law (had sex w/ their bf/gf) and pose no more danger than average jo schmo next door.

Of course DC is too busy passing out 1/200th of the stimulus package every other week to look at something that actually needs looked at.
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post #71 of 91
8/8/09 at 9:46am
Quote:
Originally Posted by bigmc6000 View Post

Can I get a locator for cops ...

That'd be a great way to see where all the doughnut shops are located.
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post #72 of 91
8/8/09 at 10:59am
Quote:
Originally Posted by skottichan View Post

shhh, you may frighten them with logic.


Really, how hard is it for the software supplier in question to offer it for free? Secondly, I'd like to see them be a little more transparent about what database(s) they use.

The dumbasses that wrote it wanted to make a profit off of free public information. Yes, it is illegal to charge people for that information.

Why do you need an app when you can go to the webpage in your area and look up the information, if you really want to know that information.
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post #73 of 91
8/8/09 at 11:02am
Quote:
Originally Posted by Proximityeffect View Post

When my brother was 17 he had sex with his 16 year old girlfriend = They were caught by her dad and he has been a registered sex offender since 1987 because of this.

Someone I know was caught taking a leak outside of a bar because the bathroom was occupied. He is now registered as a sex offender because of "indecent exposure."
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post #74 of 91
8/8/09 at 11:14am
Quote:
Originally Posted by svesan03 View Post

If one argues "it may be illegal in the state of California for anyone to profit from the sale of publicly-available criminal information." then someone should give me my next computer for free because I damned sure had to buy it to have access to the "free" database.

If my understanding of this app is correct, it facilitates access to the database, access that one would not otherwise have, just as one doesn't have access to the database unless one buys a computer and gets an ISP... (O.K. O.K..... but I don't like using computers at the library)

Now, if they are charging 0.99 for each access, that's different, but I'd like to know, based on my limited knowledge of the facts, is where's the beef?

You can also go to your local police department and obtain the information as well. It does not require a computer. Before Megan's Law, the information was not disclosed, no matter how you requested it.
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post #75 of 91
8/8/09 at 11:16am
Quote:
Originally Posted by svesan03 View Post

If one argues "it may be illegal in the state of California for anyone to profit from the sale of publicly-available criminal information." then someone should give me my next computer for free because I damned sure had to buy it to have access to the "free" database.

If my understanding of this app is correct, it facilitates access to the database, access that one would not otherwise have, just as one doesn't have access to the database unless one buys a computer and gets an ISP... (O.K. O.K..... but I don't like using computers at the library)

Now, if they are charging 0.99 for each access, that's different, but I'd like to know, based on my limited knowledge of the facts, is where's the beef?

The issue isn't charging for access, it's that they're re-purposing the data. Take a look at my previous post. The official site and original source database doesn't incorrectly show my house. This app is messed up as it takes the data and re-purposes it by mapping it on to another service (Bing) which in the process does incorrectly label my house.

The database was never intended to be used like this, and it's totally irresponsible for the app developer to have done this. It wouldn't be any problem at all if all they did was provide an interface into the datase.
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post #76 of 91
8/8/09 at 11:16am
Unfortunately, studies have shown that Megan's Law has done nothing to reduce the number of victims. It has only charged taxpayers more money to maintain such a law.
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post #77 of 91
8/8/09 at 11:23am
Retail stores, just like the App Store, do have the right to refuse service to anyone. That is their right. There is nothing illegal about that. As famously stated in Fast Times At Ridgemont High, "No Shoes, No Shirt, No Dice"
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post #78 of 91
8/8/09 at 2:32pm
in the UK a Paediatrician was assaulted by a mob. The unpalatable truth is that most child abuse is committed by family members. This sort of application gives a false sense of security by locating "monsters" elsewhere.
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post #79 of 91
8/8/09 at 7:30pm
I downloaded the free version today.
So the free version wasn't included in the ban?
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post #80 of 91
8/8/09 at 8:31pm
One of the most troubling behaviors in our society today is the belief that if we think it is right, it must be true.

CGC
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