The NYT has made Apple their target for destruction. They have lost their credibility, not just because of Apple articles, but just in general. I cancelled my subscription 2 years ago when the NYT brain drain began, but still find their tabloid style remake on the internet - they really should change their name to the New York Enquirer (unless there is such a publication already). This was very sad for me as they were once one of my absolute go-to sources for balanced content.
My niece iphone was stolen in NY and AT&T was able to track it but it's currently being used in China. Serious question, how AT&T or Apple can do something about stolen iphone being used in other countries?
"Without Apple product thefts, crime would have been down overall for 2012."
- Mayor Bloomberg
What kind of idiotic, baseless comment is this for him to make? So, because police spent X hours responding to iPhone theft complaints, we can therefore conclude that, with no iPhones to steal these would-be criminals would all spend their time dutifully looking for jobs??
"Without white colored cars, the number of car thefts would be down overall for 2012."
"Without left handed people, the number of homicides would be down overall for 2012."
"Without Apple product thefts, crime would have been down overall for 2012."
- Mayor Bloomberg
What kind of idiotic, baseless comment is this for him to make? So, because police spent X hours responding to iPhone theft complaints, we can therefore conclude that, with no iPhones to steal these would-be criminals would all spend their time dutifully looking for jobs??
That's the biggest problem that I have with this article, the implicit notion that if there were no iPhones crime would go down. No. A thief will just find something else to steal - wallet, jewelry, purse, whatever. Stopping iPhone theft will not stop theft, only redirect it.
My brand new iPhone 5 was stolen and the guy drove away in a big black SUV. I followed the guy with Find My IPhone. When he parked and powered off my iPhone I called the Sheriff. Sheriff spoke to him and he denied having it even though I saw him take it and tracked him with my wife's iPhone. The Sheriff did not search him or the car. The Sheriff wrote a report and then promptly dropped my case a week later because I had no videotape evidence of him a a actually stealing the phone. I was very upset and the Sheriff said "You're treating this like a murder case. It's just a phone. We deal with much bigger problems." And that was that. Without videotape evidence of a phone theft the Sheriff will do nothing. They completely dismiss phone tracking.
I really wish:
1) iOS would not allow people to power off a locked phone without entering a password. This would have allowed me to use Find My iPhone to make my iphone play a sound while the sheriff was there.
2) Apple would build a remote kill switch. AT&T blocking is not enough because the same phone will work in Europe thus can be sold on eBay.
It's way after the fact, but did you try calling your phone while the sheriff was talking to the guy? I had to resort to that once when I misplaced the thing in my house.... miught have been the only time I used my landline that whole Summer....
Recently, I had a friend's iPhone that got stolen in a Jersey mall. He just put the phone down for 5-10 seconds while attending to their kids where it got swiped.
I recommended to open Find my iPhone to show it's probably in Newark due to the type of people living there which happened to be true (thing with stereotypes its mostly true).
After them calling the NJ Police, they were told they don't retrieve stolen phones!!
What is up with NYT and Apple? Have they looked into Samsung's factories, their tax practices, their anti theft features?
Well Samsung is currently in the "destroying Apple and awesome" narrative, and Apple in the "bleeding to death and sucks" narrative, so they make sure to pick their stories as to not disturb that agenda they're pushing. They're calculated the predicted page-hits of staying on that narrative, at least for now. Despicable journalism without a shred of integrity or honesty.
If the next iPhone does indeed comes with a fingerprint scanner, will I have to worry about thieves cutting off my finger when stealing my iPhone? That was my wife's favorite finger...
My niece iphone was stolen in NY and AT&T was able to track it but it's currently being used in China. Serious question, how AT&T or Apple can do something about stolen iphone being used in other countries?
The only thing I can think of is a bricking code that just slags the phone. But I'd think anything that is doable from a distance is probably reversable by someone with enough tech, unless the phone is physically disabled in some permanent way....
The problem is not easy to fix as suggested as the following article from Fortune (http://tech.fortune.cnn.com/2013/05/02/apple-iphone-theft-times/) explains. The punchline is in the final bullet point. As an aside, the New York Times used to have a good reputation but this is invariably not the case in anything related to Apple - I can't comment on the rest of the paper but it seems reasonable to conclude that this kind of sloppy journalism has become par for the course. The extract below is in response to the NYT article.
"George Gascón, San Francisco's district attorney, says handset makers like Apple should be exploring new technologies that could help prevent theft. In March, he said, he met with an Apple executive, Michael Foulkes, who handles its government relations, to discuss how the company could improve its antitheft technology. But he left the meeting, he said, with no promise that Apple was working to do so.
He added, "Unlike other types of crimes, this is a crime that could be easily fixed with a technological solution."
A few problems with this thesis:
Apple does offer users a technological solution, as readers discover in the 14th paragraph. It's called Find My Phone, a free app that can locate a stolen phone and remotely erase its data as long as the phone is activated (more on that in a bit).
Google (GOOG) and Samsung and the other manufacturers of Android phones, we learn later, do not offer the equivalent of a Find My Android, yet executives at Google and Samsung are not interviewed for the piece.
The workaround that allows thieves to reactivate stolen phones -- hacking the phones' unique identifying code so that it can't be tracked -- is considered a "pro-privacy" measure that is defended by civil liberties groups such as the Electronic Frontier Foundation. We learn this fact -- which puts the "easy" technological solution the Times is calling for on a collision course with its core liberal beliefs -- five paragraphs from the end."
This is why the iPhone 5s is delayed. They are having trouble fitting a remotely operated Taser into the case and still keeping it thin.
But when they release the "iTaser the crook who stole my iPhone" app, it will be a big hit on the AppStore
NY Times - protecting the innocent criminals on the street against those evil corporations who make products that people would want to sell. I am waiting on an editorial promoting a "Obama iPhones for Everyone" policy.
Recently, I had a friend's iPhone that got stolen in a Jersey mall. He just put the phone down for 5-10 seconds while attending to their kids where it got swiped....
How's about writing this instead:
"Recently, I had a friend's roll of $700 that got stolen in a Jersey mall. He just put the money down for 5-10 seconds while attending to their kids where it got swiped..."
Why is carelessly putting down a $700 phone be more important than say, putting down that much in cash and not expecting anything?
Curious... has anyone reported a stolen iPhone (or any phone for that matter?) to the Police and later the Police recovered the phone?
Reporting to the police would simply be to place a theft on record, so that Apple/telcos can start the process of wiping clean/locating/blacklisting. Not dissimilar to how you need to file an incident report with the police before you can file an insurance claim for stolen items. It would not be to get the police to search on your behalf.
Comments
The NYT has made Apple their target for destruction. They have lost their credibility, not just because of Apple articles, but just in general. I cancelled my subscription 2 years ago when the NYT brain drain began, but still find their tabloid style remake on the internet - they really should change their name to the New York Enquirer (unless there is such a publication already). This was very sad for me as they were once one of my absolute go-to sources for balanced content.
My niece iphone was stolen in NY and AT&T was able to track it but it's currently being used in China. Serious question, how AT&T or Apple can do something about stolen iphone being used in other countries?
Quote:
Originally Posted by triggs
"Without Apple product thefts, crime would have been down overall for 2012."
- Mayor Bloomberg
What kind of idiotic, baseless comment is this for him to make? So, because police spent X hours responding to iPhone theft complaints, we can therefore conclude that, with no iPhones to steal these would-be criminals would all spend their time dutifully looking for jobs??
"Without white colored cars, the number of car thefts would be down overall for 2012."
"Without left handed people, the number of homicides would be down overall for 2012."
All equally useful probably true statements.
Quote:
Originally Posted by gbr2012
In comparison, what are other mobile device manufacturers doing to prevent this that Apple is not?
Making less-desirable phones that don't get stolen as often?
Quote:
Originally Posted by TeeJay2012
As far as Apple dropping the ball, stop trolling and go back to your Samsung shift.
How do you know it wasnt a Microsoft shift?
Quote:
Originally Posted by triggs
"Without Apple product thefts, crime would have been down overall for 2012."
- Mayor Bloomberg
What kind of idiotic, baseless comment is this for him to make? So, because police spent X hours responding to iPhone theft complaints, we can therefore conclude that, with no iPhones to steal these would-be criminals would all spend their time dutifully looking for jobs??
That's the biggest problem that I have with this article, the implicit notion that if there were no iPhones crime would go down. No. A thief will just find something else to steal - wallet, jewelry, purse, whatever. Stopping iPhone theft will not stop theft, only redirect it.
Quote:
Originally Posted by anantksundaram
I am not a techie, so I have no clue. But there has to be something better than "all hope is lost if the thieves erase the IMEI."
For example, is GPS tracking an option (assuming that the loss is reported to the police).
Well if you don't have some kind of solution then you can't bitch about it. Why is it Apple's responsibility for YOUR phone?
Quote:
Originally Posted by jd_in_sb
My brand new iPhone 5 was stolen and the guy drove away in a big black SUV. I followed the guy with Find My IPhone. When he parked and powered off my iPhone I called the Sheriff. Sheriff spoke to him and he denied having it even though I saw him take it and tracked him with my wife's iPhone. The Sheriff did not search him or the car. The Sheriff wrote a report and then promptly dropped my case a week later because I had no videotape evidence of him a a actually stealing the phone. I was very upset and the Sheriff said "You're treating this like a murder case. It's just a phone. We deal with much bigger problems." And that was that. Without videotape evidence of a phone theft the Sheriff will do nothing. They completely dismiss phone tracking.
I really wish:
1) iOS would not allow people to power off a locked phone without entering a password. This would have allowed me to use Find My iPhone to make my iphone play a sound while the sheriff was there.
2) Apple would build a remote kill switch. AT&T blocking is not enough because the same phone will work in Europe thus can be sold on eBay.
It's way after the fact, but did you try calling your phone while the sheriff was talking to the guy? I had to resort to that once when I misplaced the thing in my house.... miught have been the only time I used my landline that whole Summer....
I recommended to open Find my iPhone to show it's probably in Newark due to the type of people living there which happened to be true (thing with stereotypes its mostly true).
After them calling the NJ Police, they were told they don't retrieve stolen phones!!
Quote:
Originally Posted by jakeb
What is up with NYT and Apple? Have they looked into Samsung's factories, their tax practices, their anti theft features?
Well Samsung is currently in the "destroying Apple and awesome" narrative, and Apple in the "bleeding to death and sucks" narrative, so they make sure to pick their stories as to not disturb that agenda they're pushing. They're calculated the predicted page-hits of staying on that narrative, at least for now. Despicable journalism without a shred of integrity or honesty.
If the next iPhone does indeed comes with a fingerprint scanner, will I have to worry about thieves cutting off my finger when stealing my iPhone? That was my wife's favorite finger...
Quote:
Originally Posted by tomjava
My niece iphone was stolen in NY and AT&T was able to track it but it's currently being used in China. Serious question, how AT&T or Apple can do something about stolen iphone being used in other countries?
The only thing I can think of is a bricking code that just slags the phone. But I'd think anything that is doable from a distance is probably reversable by someone with enough tech, unless the phone is physically disabled in some permanent way....
A few problems with this thesis:
Apple does offer users a technological solution, as readers discover in the 14th paragraph. It's called Find My Phone, a free app that can locate a stolen phone and remotely erase its data as long as the phone is activated (more on that in a bit).
Google (GOOG) and Samsung and the other manufacturers of Android phones, we learn later, do not offer the equivalent of a Find My Android, yet executives at Google and Samsung are not interviewed for the piece.
The workaround that allows thieves to reactivate stolen phones -- hacking the phones' unique identifying code so that it can't be tracked -- is considered a "pro-privacy" measure that is defended by civil liberties groups such as the Electronic Frontier Foundation. We learn this fact -- which puts the "easy" technological solution the Times is calling for on a collision course with its core liberal beliefs -- five paragraphs from the end."
Stealers gonna steal.
This is why the iPhone 5s is delayed. They are having trouble fitting a remotely operated Taser into the case and still keeping it thin.
But when they release the "iTaser the crook who stole my iPhone" app, it will be a big hit on the AppStore
NY Times - protecting the innocent criminals on the street against those evil corporations who make products that people would want to sell. I am waiting on an editorial promoting a "Obama iPhones for Everyone" policy.
That phone might never be allowed to be activated on another carrier... but that won't completely deter iPhone theft.
A thief could still salvage the screen and other parts... and resell those.
Face it... that little $600 pocket-sized device will always be a valuable target. That's just something we'll have to be aware of.
The only thing you can do is try to be more careful and not let it get stolen in the first place.
Quote:
Originally Posted by anantksundaram
I am not a techie, so I have no clue. But there has to be something better than "all hope is lost if the thieves erase the IMEI."
For example, is GPS tracking an option (assuming that the loss is reported to the police).
Exactly. You are clueless.
Quote:
Originally Posted by aleksivic
Recently, I had a friend's iPhone that got stolen in a Jersey mall. He just put the phone down for 5-10 seconds while attending to their kids where it got swiped....
How's about writing this instead:
"Recently, I had a friend's roll of $700 that got stolen in a Jersey mall. He just put the money down for 5-10 seconds while attending to their kids where it got swiped..."
Why is carelessly putting down a $700 phone be more important than say, putting down that much in cash and not expecting anything?
Quote:
Originally Posted by tarfungo
Curious... has anyone reported a stolen iPhone (or any phone for that matter?) to the Police and later the Police recovered the phone?
Reporting to the police would simply be to place a theft on record, so that Apple/telcos can start the process of wiping clean/locating/blacklisting. Not dissimilar to how you need to file an incident report with the police before you can file an insurance claim for stolen items. It would not be to get the police to search on your behalf.
Quote:
Originally Posted by jonshf
Exactly. You are clueless.
A fairly idiotic statement.
Quite obviously, you're not a techie either.