MacBook allegedly shot by Israeli security officers

Posted:
in General Discussion edited January 2014
When an American woman recently traveled to Jerusalem, she was allegedly questioned by border security guards about content on her MacBook. Lily Sussman said her computer was confiscated, and returned to her with three bullet holes in it.



She documented the experience and provided photos on her personal blog. Although the MacBook was completely destroyed, Sussman said she was able to remove her hard drive in-tact and retrieve all of her personal data.



She said she was provided with a form that included phone numbers and addresses of Israeli government officials that might help her get a replacement for her destroyed laptop. Officials she reached said she could expect compensation deliverable only to an Israeli bank account within a month.











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Comments

  • Reply 1 of 23
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by AppleInsider View Post


    When an American woman recently traveled to Jerusalem, she was allegedly questioned by border security guards about content on her MacBook. Lily Sussman said her computer was confiscated, and returned to her with three bullet holes in it.



    She documented the experience and provided photos on her personal blog. Although the MacBook was completely destroyed, Sussman said she was able to remove her hard drive in-tact and retrieve all of her personal data.



    She said she was provided with a form that included phone numbers and addresses of Israeli government officials that might help her get a replacement for her destroyed laptop. Officials she reached said she could expect compensation deliverable only to an Israeli bank account within a month.



    The MacBook must have thrown a stone at them.
  • Reply 2 of 23
    sandausandau Posts: 1,230member
    Hi, I'm a mac



    blam blam blam!



    I'm a PC-IDF.
  • Reply 3 of 23
    successsuccess Posts: 1,040member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by tonton View Post


    The MacBook must have thrown a stone at them.



    ironic.....destroying an apple.
  • Reply 4 of 23
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by AppleInsider View Post


    Although the MacBook was completely destroyed, Sussman said she was able to remove her hard drive in-tact and retrieve all of her personal data.



    I'd like to hear what their reasoning was to shoot the laptop. Are those "authorities" really that corrupt?



    Amazing that the hard drive was in-tact. I call that luck!
  • Reply 5 of 23
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by coolfactor View Post


    I'd like to hear what their reasoning was to shoot the laptop. Are those "authorities" really that corrupt?



    Amazing that the hard drive was in-tact. I call that luck!



    Despite what you and the article's author have written, "intact" is a non-hyphenated word.
  • Reply 6 of 23
    nagrommenagromme Posts: 2,834member
    I don?t know about Israel, but I know why laptops get shot here in the US: when there is suspicion that one may be a bomb. Shooting is a way to remotely detonate a laptop, suitcase, whatever.



    Corruption or incompetence could still come into play: the reasons for suspicion may have been insufficient. Or it may have just been bad luck: maybe some substance got on the laptop that triggered a chemical detector, or something.



    It sounds like they started the process at once to get her reimbursed, at least.



    Pretty crazy though!
  • Reply 7 of 23
    jj1jj1 Posts: 1member
    Here's video of the Macbook with bullet holes: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ihXtbB-4GWw
  • Reply 8 of 23
    Well MS has to get rid of them somehow.
  • Reply 9 of 23
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by nagromme View Post


    I don?t know about Israel, but I know why laptops get shot here in the US: when there is suspicion that one may be a bomb. Shooting is a way to remotely detonate a laptop, suitcase, whatever.



    Corruption or incompetence could still come into play: the reasons for suspicion may have been insufficient. Or it may have just been bad luck: maybe some substance got on the laptop that triggered a chemical detector, or something.



    It sounds like they started the process at once to get her reimbursed, at least.



    Pretty crazy though!



    I would think that there would be a more proper disposal process if they were genuinely worried about a bomb. Something involving, I don't know, robots and blast chambers and stuff.
  • Reply 10 of 23
    MacProMacPro Posts: 19,728member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by FuturePastNow View Post


    I would think that there would be a more proper disposal process if they were genuinely worried about a bomb. Something involving, I don't know, robots and blast chambers and stuff.



    I agree, shooting a bomb ... mmmm that makes sense ... NOT! What if it were a traditional bomb that might be triggered by hot lead? My guess is the guard was PC fanboy
  • Reply 11 of 23
    IMO, these young guys have seen a lot of gadgets vandalized in a blender, exploded, shot, etc...

    They surely read some blogs and some articles dealing with people that have been saved by their macbookpro; So they just decided to see if the unibody mbp was bulletproof. Or if you want to put it this way: if the MBP was bulletproof to the israeli bullets / forces.



    I call this arrogance.



    ...typical.
  • Reply 12 of 23
    vineavinea Posts: 5,585member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by FuturePastNow View Post


    I would think that there would be a more proper disposal process if they were genuinely worried about a bomb. Something involving, I don't know, robots and blast chambers and stuff.



    Well, sometimes they let a robot do the shooting.



    I guess you shouldn't try to use a macbook as armor...
  • Reply 13 of 23
    When things stop making sense, look at the funny side of life. This was a good one.
  • Reply 14 of 23
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by vinea View Post




    I guess you shouldn't try to use a macbook as armor...




    Methinks the MBP's aluminium unibody, as a soft metal, would be ideal for armor as it absorbs and distributes the impact energy.
  • Reply 15 of 23
    The future material for the MBP



    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rYIWfn2Jz2g







    happy new year
  • Reply 16 of 23
    oc4theooc4theo Posts: 294member
    They shoot Palestinians every minute of everyday. You think they care for a Macbook? They are scared of information being leaked out of the country. You don't need to shoot at a laptop to see if it contains a bomb, especially as sophisticated as Israeli security is.



    I am not worried, because I will never visit a country as racist as Israel.
  • Reply 17 of 23
    mactrippermactripper Posts: 1,328member
    Looks like the new unibody, which there isn't a way to open the device like the battery bay and sniff inside like previous MacBooks.



    So it's possible they assumed it was altered to appear un-openable, thus holding explosive inside.



    Good thing they missed the hard drive for her.





    It could also be that the drive was Filevault-ed and they could read it, so they shot it.





    They gave the computer back, so she could show it and make press, let the terrorists know they are watching.
  • Reply 18 of 23
    sequitursequitur Posts: 1,910member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by JJ1 View Post


    Here's video of the Macbook with bullet holes: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ihXtbB-4GWw



    Did you hear her discussion? You can tell from her accent that she's a Valley Girl. No wonder they shot her laptop. I'm surprised that she didn't flip her hair and say, "Oh my god."
  • Reply 19 of 23
    Looks like Steve Balmer has finally figured out a way to stop Apple in it's tracks.



    Next the Victory Monkey Dance.
  • Reply 20 of 23
    Once again it is PROVEN that Apple has poor designs and shoddy workmanship. Clearly Apple did not put the unit through this kind of validation testing prior to releasing it to the public or else they would have caught on how its components do not hold up under simple overseas travel scenarios. The screen, keyboard, and laptop lid are made of faulty materials obviously. I wonder if the owner is planning lawsuit against Apple like the person who had the exploding battery did.
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