Two good car antitheft measures are AirTags and stick shifts

Comments

• Reply 1 of 19

  badmonk Posts: 1,293member

  March 22, 2023 5:19PM

  Great story…
  
  
  

  

  E7041A84-55D2-46FC-ACBB-D2BF4177780B.jpeg 116K
• Reply 2 of 19

  mikethemartian Posts: 1,318member

  March 22, 2023 5:32PM

  It has to be embarrassing when you try to steal a car and can’t figure out how to drive it.

  
• Reply 3 of 19

  mSak Posts: 22member

  March 22, 2023 5:47PM

  mikethemartian said:

  It has to be embarrassing when you try to steal a car and can’t figure out how to drive it.

  I can imagine this will be increasingly more and more the case where more US folks don't know how to drive manual due to the proliferation of EVs.

  
• Reply 4 of 19

  antiprotest Posts: 7member

  March 22, 2023 6:05PM

  Apple's tracking device has saved others as well. For example, a woman in Australia discovered that her boyfriend was tracking her with an AirTag in February.
  

  
  "It wasn't until I told him I was going to the police to report it that he finally confessed," she continued. "I felt so violated and I was in a state of shock. It just blew my mind that someone I trusted so much could do something like this."
  
  She has since ended the relationship.
  

  
  The above is not another example of the AirTag saving somebody, but an example of iOS notification saving someone FROM an AirTag. It is an example of an AirTag used for a bad purpose -- the opposite of what the article tries to illustrate. 

  edited March 2023
• Reply 5 of 19

  AppleZulu Posts: 2,006member

  March 22, 2023 7:30PM

  antiprotest said:

  Apple's tracking device has saved others as well. For example, a woman in Australia discovered that her boyfriend was tracking her with an AirTag in February.
  

  
  "It wasn't until I told him I was going to the police to report it that he finally confessed," she continued. "I felt so violated and I was in a state of shock. It just blew my mind that someone I trusted so much could do something like this."
  
  She has since ended the relationship.
  

  
  The above is not another example of the AirTag saving somebody, but an example of iOS notification saving someone FROM an AirTag. It is an example of an AirTag used for a bad purpose -- the opposite of what the article tries to illustrate. 

  The article is correct. The Air Tag's anti-stalking feature alerted the woman to her boyfriend's misuse of the device, likely not the only nefarious thing he was up to. It gave her some vital information she needed to respond appropriately before things got further out of hand. The notification didn't save her from the Air Tag. It saved her from the untrustworthy boyfriend. Tracking tags have been on the market for years. Apple is the first to respond with a built-in solution to the fact that the device can be misused in this way. 

  
• Reply 6 of 19

  baconstang Posts: 1,105member

  March 22, 2023 7:57PM

  My anti-theft program includes: stick shift, 21 year old Focus and not fixing small dents.  Prevents break-ins too!

  
• Reply 7 of 19

  antiprotest Posts: 7member

  March 22, 2023 8:49PM

  AppleZulu said:

  antiprotest said:

  Apple's tracking device has saved others as well. For example, a woman in Australia discovered that her boyfriend was tracking her with an AirTag in February.
  

  
  "It wasn't until I told him I was going to the police to report it that he finally confessed," she continued. "I felt so violated and I was in a state of shock. It just blew my mind that someone I trusted so much could do something like this."
  
  She has since ended the relationship.
  

  
  The above is not another example of the AirTag saving somebody, but an example of iOS notification saving someone FROM an AirTag. It is an example of an AirTag used for a bad purpose -- the opposite of what the article tries to illustrate. 

  The article is correct. The Air Tag's anti-stalking feature alerted the woman to her boyfriend's misuse of the device, likely not the only nefarious thing he was up to. It gave her some vital information she needed to respond appropriately before things got further out of hand. The notification didn't save her from the Air Tag. It saved her from the untrustworthy boyfriend. Tracking tags have been on the market for years. Apple is the first to respond with a built-in solution to the fact that the device can be misused in this way. 

  You have a point. The AirTag did not only help this person in the article catch the car thief. But it saved the car thief from a life of crime, and possibly from more violent situations that could have cost him his life. In fact, a person that would high jack cars but could not even drive a stick shift could have been easily manipulated into dangerous and much more nefarious projects that somewhere down the line would have resulted in the extinction of humanity. This simple AirTag did not only save a set of keys. It saved humanity. What some might consider farfetched equivocations and fallacies in your comment, I admire as profound insights about technology and humanity. I will think deeper about these things in the future. 

  edited March 2023
• Reply 8 of 19

  dewme Posts: 5,361member

  March 22, 2023 10:27PM

  I vastly prefer manual transmissions over automatics. Most of the cars I've owned throughout my driving years have been equipped with a manual transmission. I like having the far greater control over the vehicle and the more engaged driving experience. I think there would be far fewer distracted driving issues if all cars had manual transmissions.  The ability to push-start or roll-start a car with a manual transmission has kept me from getting stranded a few times. Clutches have come a long way in the past few decades. You don't need a body builder's left leg to manage the clutch like on some older muscle cars used to require. I still had some hair raising experiences switching between manual and automatic cars when my left leg buries the brake pedal on the automatic when pulling up to a light or stop sign.
  
  Unfortunately it is getting much more difficult to find newer cars equipped with manual transmissions. Of course manual transmissions aren't a panacea, especially if you're driving in stop & go traffic or uncomfortable with stopping and starting on hills.

  
• Reply 9 of 19

  NotSoMuch Posts: 23member

  March 22, 2023 10:56PM

  Think his last name is spelled wrongly....

  
• Reply 10 of 19

  AppleZulu Posts: 2,006member

  March 23, 2023 1:05AM

  antiprotest said:

  AppleZulu said:

  antiprotest said:

  Apple's tracking device has saved others as well. For example, a woman in Australia discovered that her boyfriend was tracking her with an AirTag in February.
  

  
  "It wasn't until I told him I was going to the police to report it that he finally confessed," she continued. "I felt so violated and I was in a state of shock. It just blew my mind that someone I trusted so much could do something like this."
  
  She has since ended the relationship.
  

  
  The above is not another example of the AirTag saving somebody, but an example of iOS notification saving someone FROM an AirTag. It is an example of an AirTag used for a bad purpose -- the opposite of what the article tries to illustrate. 

  The article is correct. The Air Tag's anti-stalking feature alerted the woman to her boyfriend's misuse of the device, likely not the only nefarious thing he was up to. It gave her some vital information she needed to respond appropriately before things got further out of hand. The notification didn't save her from the Air Tag. It saved her from the untrustworthy boyfriend. Tracking tags have been on the market for years. Apple is the first to respond with a built-in solution to the fact that the device can be misused in this way. 

  You have a point. The AirTag did not only help this person in the article catch the car thief. But it saved the car thief from a life of crime, and possibly from more violent situations that could have cost him his life. In fact, a person that would high jack cars but could not even drive a stick shift could have been easily manipulated into dangerous and much more nefarious projects that somewhere down the line would have resulted in the extinction of humanity. This simple AirTag did not only save a set of keys. It saved humanity. What some might consider farfetched equivocations and fallacies in your comment, I admire as profound insights about technology and humanity. I will think deeper about these things in the future. 

  If you keep abusing your reductio ad absurdum like that, you’ll go blind. 

  
• Reply 11 of 19

  radarthekat Posts: 3,842moderator

  March 23, 2023 1:38AM

  AppleZulu said:

  antiprotest said:

  Apple's tracking device has saved others as well. For example, a woman in Australia discovered that her boyfriend was tracking her with an AirTag in February.
  

  
  "It wasn't until I told him I was going to the police to report it that he finally confessed," she continued. "I felt so violated and I was in a state of shock. It just blew my mind that someone I trusted so much could do something like this."
  
  She has since ended the relationship.
  

  
  The above is not another example of the AirTag saving somebody, but an example of iOS notification saving someone FROM an AirTag. It is an example of an AirTag used for a bad purpose -- the opposite of what the article tries to illustrate. 

  The article is correct. The Air Tag's anti-stalking feature alerted the woman to her boyfriend's misuse of the device, likely not the only nefarious thing he was up to. It gave her some vital information she needed to respond appropriately before things got further out of hand. The notification didn't save her from the Air Tag. It saved her from the untrustworthy boyfriend. Tracking tags have been on the market for years. Apple is the first to respond with a built-in solution to the fact that the device can be misused in this way. 

  What the boyfriend did is unethical but it doesn’t suggest he may have been up to other nefarious activities.  If we want to speculate, then I might speculate that a significant reason for tracking a romantic partner might be if you suspect he or she is cheating.  In that case the nefarious activity of tracking them would be due to suspected nefarious activity on the partner’s part.  We don’t know if that were the case here, so best not to speculate on either side.  

  
• Reply 12 of 19

  mattinoz Posts: 2,316member

  March 23, 2023 4:47AM

  badmonk said:

  Great story…
  
  
  

  Why are none of the cars in that photo parked legally?

  
• Reply 13 of 19

  BlueLightning Posts: 128member

  March 23, 2023 5:38AM

  The shift pattern on different manual transmission vehicles is also different.  In the past, I've driven a manual GMC, five VW's (Beatles and a Type3/Fastback), a Toyota Corolla, and a couple of Jeep CJ-7s.  The shift pattern on the older, air-cooled (no radiator) VW's,  and the water-cooled CJ-7's is essentially reversed, and the VW's required you to press down on the shift lever to engage reverse.  At one time, VW sold what they called an automatic stick shift that (if I remember correctly) could be driven as a manual or an automatic.  Some manuals had a feature in the transmission that prevented slipping backward when starting off from a traffic light.  
  
  I've also driven a few hybrids.  Several have different start methods/procedures.  Most have antitheft mechanisms.  I expect eye scans or fingerprint activated starters in the future for most cars (to reduce theft insurance).  Not knowing the steps to start a given hybrid could also slow down a thief (or not having the correct key fob).    
  
  Maybe none of the cars in the photo are parked legally because the drivers had to pay more attention to not stalling out at low speed than to properly centering the vehicle in the parking space.  A certain amount of practice with the clutch is needed.  Or maybe the drivers were drunk on moonshine or otherwise intoxicated.  The license plate is from Colorado.  Believe wacky tebacky is legal there.
  
   I don't enjoy driving a manual in the city.  Country roads with low traffic are more suited to a manual.  Many hybrids have a continuously variable, computer controlled transmission (a power share device with the engine and motors, also used during regenerative braking to charge the traction battery).  Some hybrids seem to have a "normal" automatic.  Many hybrids lack a starter motor, belts, and a few other devices found on a conventional infernal combustion engine.  I've never driven a purely electric vehicle (either one that is charged, or one that uses hydrogen and a fuel cell).  I live about 5 miles from a Tesla dealership, but likely will keep my Prius for some time to come.  The two Prius units I've owned have been much more reliable than my Saturn, two Escorts, Chevy Nova, VW or the company owned cars and trucks that I've driven in the past.  

  
• Reply 14 of 19

  AppleZulu Posts: 2,006member

  March 23, 2023 12:47PM

  radarthekat said:

  AppleZulu said:

  antiprotest said:

  Apple's tracking device has saved others as well. For example, a woman in Australia discovered that her boyfriend was tracking her with an AirTag in February.
  

  
  "It wasn't until I told him I was going to the police to report it that he finally confessed," she continued. "I felt so violated and I was in a state of shock. It just blew my mind that someone I trusted so much could do something like this."
  
  She has since ended the relationship.
  

  
  The above is not another example of the AirTag saving somebody, but an example of iOS notification saving someone FROM an AirTag. It is an example of an AirTag used for a bad purpose -- the opposite of what the article tries to illustrate. 

  The article is correct. The Air Tag's anti-stalking feature alerted the woman to her boyfriend's misuse of the device, likely not the only nefarious thing he was up to. It gave her some vital information she needed to respond appropriately before things got further out of hand. The notification didn't save her from the Air Tag. It saved her from the untrustworthy boyfriend. Tracking tags have been on the market for years. Apple is the first to respond with a built-in solution to the fact that the device can be misused in this way. 

  What the boyfriend did is unethical but it doesn’t suggest he may have been up to other nefarious activities.  If we want to speculate, then I might speculate that a significant reason for tracking a romantic partner might be if you suspect he or she is cheating.  In that case the nefarious activity of tracking them would be due to suspected nefarious activity on the partner’s part.  We don’t know if that were the case here, so best not to speculate on either side.  

  Follow the links to the story describing the case. They’d been dating for only six months. When forced to confess to stalking her lest she go to the police, he told the girlfriend “he’d been hurt before” and didn’t want to take any chances. It doesn’t take much knowledge about abusive relationships to think that a guy who goes that far out of bounds in a new relationship is likely to be up to other unhealthy behaviors as well, or is likely to do so in the future. This is evidently the assessment the girlfriend made when she dumped him after this incident.

  
• Reply 15 of 19

  chutzpah Posts: 392member

  March 23, 2023 12:53PM

  AppleZulu said:

  antiprotest said:

  Apple's tracking device has saved others as well. For example, a woman in Australia discovered that her boyfriend was tracking her with an AirTag in February.
  

  
  "It wasn't until I told him I was going to the police to report it that he finally confessed," she continued. "I felt so violated and I was in a state of shock. It just blew my mind that someone I trusted so much could do something like this."
  
  She has since ended the relationship.
  

  
  The above is not another example of the AirTag saving somebody, but an example of iOS notification saving someone FROM an AirTag. It is an example of an AirTag used for a bad purpose -- the opposite of what the article tries to illustrate. 

  The article is correct. The Air Tag's anti-stalking feature alerted the woman to her boyfriend's misuse of the device, likely not the only nefarious thing he was up to. It gave her some vital information she needed to respond appropriately before things got further out of hand. The notification didn't save her from the Air Tag. It saved her from the untrustworthy boyfriend. Tracking tags have been on the market for years. Apple is the first to respond with a built-in solution to the fact that the device can be misused in this way. 

  It's not "built in" if you don't have an iPhone.
• Reply 16 of 19

  jeffythequick Posts: 269member

  March 23, 2023 1:48PM

  radarthekat said:

  AppleZulu said:

  antiprotest said:

  Apple's tracking device has saved others as well. For example, a woman in Australia discovered that her boyfriend was tracking her with an AirTag in February.
  

  
  "It wasn't until I told him I was going to the police to report it that he finally confessed," she continued. "I felt so violated and I was in a state of shock. It just blew my mind that someone I trusted so much could do something like this."
  
  She has since ended the relationship.
  

  
  The above is not another example of the AirTag saving somebody, but an example of iOS notification saving someone FROM an AirTag. It is an example of an AirTag used for a bad purpose -- the opposite of what the article tries to illustrate. 

  The article is correct. The Air Tag's anti-stalking feature alerted the woman to her boyfriend's misuse of the device, likely not the only nefarious thing he was up to. It gave her some vital information she needed to respond appropriately before things got further out of hand. The notification didn't save her from the Air Tag. It saved her from the untrustworthy boyfriend. Tracking tags have been on the market for years. Apple is the first to respond with a built-in solution to the fact that the device can be misused in this way. 

  What the boyfriend did is unethical but it doesn’t suggest he may have been up to other nefarious activities.  If we want to speculate, then I might speculate that a significant reason for tracking a romantic partner might be if you suspect he or she is cheating.  In that case the nefarious activity of tracking them would be due to suspected nefarious activity on the partner’s part.  We don’t know if that were the case here, so best not to speculate on either side.  

  Another reason to track people is that you want to know where they are, and they give you permission to do so.  My wife tracks me (with my iPhone; I know two different things) just in case my blood sugar goes low.  With my older kids, we track each other, so we know when each other are at work, so we can call each other when we’re at home.
  
  The list of bad reasons to track someone is infinite, but so are the good reasons to do so.  The most important thing is the permission from the person being tracked.  (Duh…)

  
• Reply 17 of 19

  AppleZulu Posts: 2,006member

  March 23, 2023 2:03PM

  chutzpah said:

  AppleZulu said:

  antiprotest said:

  Apple's tracking device has saved others as well. For example, a woman in Australia discovered that her boyfriend was tracking her with an AirTag in February.
  

  
  "It wasn't until I told him I was going to the police to report it that he finally confessed," she continued. "I felt so violated and I was in a state of shock. It just blew my mind that someone I trusted so much could do something like this."
  
  She has since ended the relationship.
  

  
  The above is not another example of the AirTag saving somebody, but an example of iOS notification saving someone FROM an AirTag. It is an example of an AirTag used for a bad purpose -- the opposite of what the article tries to illustrate. 

  The article is correct. The Air Tag's anti-stalking feature alerted the woman to her boyfriend's misuse of the device, likely not the only nefarious thing he was up to. It gave her some vital information she needed to respond appropriately before things got further out of hand. The notification didn't save her from the Air Tag. It saved her from the untrustworthy boyfriend. Tracking tags have been on the market for years. Apple is the first to respond with a built-in solution to the fact that the device can be misused in this way. 

  It's not "built in" if you don't have an iPhone.

  Right. Apple hasn't found a way to conteract every possible way someone can abuse Air Tags. They have, however, released an Android app, so that Android users can also identify Air Tags that are following them around. So, built-in on iPhones, download a free app on Android.
  
  Once again, let's remember how tracker tags had already been around for years before Apple introduced Air Tags. Nobody else did anything to prevent the abuse of their tracking devices until after Apple released Air Tags and very publicly included anti-stalking features. Tile introduced an anti stalking Tile scanner app in response, and then backtracked, giving stalkers an option to make Tile tags invisible and stalk anyway, as long as they agree to pay Tile One Million Dollars if they're caught stalking with a Tile tracker. 

  
• Reply 18 of 19

  AppleZulu Posts: 2,006member

  March 23, 2023 3:05PM

  jeffythequick said:

  radarthekat said:

  AppleZulu said:

  antiprotest said:

  Apple's tracking device has saved others as well. For example, a woman in Australia discovered that her boyfriend was tracking her with an AirTag in February.
  

  
  "It wasn't until I told him I was going to the police to report it that he finally confessed," she continued. "I felt so violated and I was in a state of shock. It just blew my mind that someone I trusted so much could do something like this."
  
  She has since ended the relationship.
  

  
  The above is not another example of the AirTag saving somebody, but an example of iOS notification saving someone FROM an AirTag. It is an example of an AirTag used for a bad purpose -- the opposite of what the article tries to illustrate. 

  The article is correct. The Air Tag's anti-stalking feature alerted the woman to her boyfriend's misuse of the device, likely not the only nefarious thing he was up to. It gave her some vital information she needed to respond appropriately before things got further out of hand. The notification didn't save her from the Air Tag. It saved her from the untrustworthy boyfriend. Tracking tags have been on the market for years. Apple is the first to respond with a built-in solution to the fact that the device can be misused in this way. 

  What the boyfriend did is unethical but it doesn’t suggest he may have been up to other nefarious activities.  If we want to speculate, then I might speculate that a significant reason for tracking a romantic partner might be if you suspect he or she is cheating.  In that case the nefarious activity of tracking them would be due to suspected nefarious activity on the partner’s part.  We don’t know if that were the case here, so best not to speculate on either side.  

  Another reason to track people is that you want to know where they are, and they give you permission to do so.  My wife tracks me (with my iPhone; I know two different things) just in case my blood sugar goes low.  With my older kids, we track each other, so we know when each other are at work, so we can call each other when we’re at home.
  
  The list of bad reasons to track someone is infinite, but so are the good reasons to do so.  The most important thing is the permission from the person being tracked.  (Duh…)

  The difference between use of the phone and a tag is pretty fundamental. With the phone, the track-ee can and must knowingly opt in to being tracked on their own phone. There is no reliable means for a second party to knowingly opt in with an Air Tag. That's why it's tied to a single user. That limits the tag's function to noting that it's either proximate to that user's phone, at designated safe locations (e.g., home, work, etc.) or that it's not. The single user's phone in that scenario can therefore be used to opt-in for each tag, since it's directly associated with the user who is opting in, and will be subject to being tracked with those tags.
  
  Find My on phones allows two people to track each other for all kinds of positive reasons, and they know what those positive reasons are when they opt in. Tracking another person with a tag doesn't ensure that opt-in decision, and therefore is simply not allowed by the device's programming. 
  
  EDIT: Now that I think of it, there actually is a way for a track-ee to opt in to being tracked with an Air Tag, and it's the anti-stalking feature that enables it. Person A can tell Person B that there's an Air Tag in the car Person B is borrowing (or whatever), and when an alert about that tag comes up later on their phone, they'll know what it is and dismiss it, because they have knowingly opted in.

  edited March 2023
• Reply 19 of 19

  maltz Posts: 453member

  March 23, 2023 9:49PM

  radarthekat said:

  AppleZulu said:

  antiprotest said:

  Apple's tracking device has saved others as well. For example, a woman in Australia discovered that her boyfriend was tracking her with an AirTag in February.
  

  
  "It wasn't until I told him I was going to the police to report it that he finally confessed," she continued. "I felt so violated and I was in a state of shock. It just blew my mind that someone I trusted so much could do something like this."
  
  She has since ended the relationship.
  

  
  The above is not another example of the AirTag saving somebody, but an example of iOS notification saving someone FROM an AirTag. It is an example of an AirTag used for a bad purpose -- the opposite of what the article tries to illustrate. 

  The article is correct. The Air Tag's anti-stalking feature alerted the woman to her boyfriend's misuse of the device, likely not the only nefarious thing he was up to. It gave her some vital information she needed to respond appropriately before things got further out of hand. The notification didn't save her from the Air Tag. It saved her from the untrustworthy boyfriend. Tracking tags have been on the market for years. Apple is the first to respond with a built-in solution to the fact that the device can be misused in this way. 

  What the boyfriend did is unethical but it doesn’t suggest he may have been up to other nefarious activities.  If we want to speculate, then I might speculate that a significant reason for tracking a romantic partner might be if you suspect he or she is cheating.  In that case the nefarious activity of tracking them would be due to suspected nefarious activity on the partner’s part.  We don’t know if that were the case here, so best not to speculate on either side.  

  
  Um, it kind of sounds like you're saying that surreptitiously tracking your partner is justified if you SUSPECT them of seeing someone else?  I'm quite confident that you're wrong, both ethically and legally.