Dateline tracks stolen iPods

[dolphin]

Saw this on Dateline NBC tonight!

Tracking Stolen iPods

[Bruce_F]

Interesting program!

I think Apple would be smart to do something like Chris Hansen reporting suggested.

[Gregg]

Slightly related: reports of police using tips from text messages to apprehend purpetrators of crime. Seems that people are secure in the "privacy" of texting after witnessing crimes, while they wouldn't think of using the phone to speak to someone for fear of being caught in the act.

[krissel]

Saw that program. The biggest flaw in their premise is in ignoring that many used iPods are stolen not for the iPod itself but for the music that is on it. The iPod may only cost a couple hundred dollars but some people have many hundreds of dollars worth of songs on it. And if potential thieves know that they can be tracked by iTunes, they just won't buy from Apple. Likewise, the supposed patent that would prevent the iPod from recharging on the computer wouldn't stop theft. You can buy recharging bases for $10 that plug into the wall.

Big hype, 99.9% anti-Apple by a program produced by MSNBC.  

[dolphin]

QUOTE(krissel @ Aug 3 2007, 02:29 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Saw that program. The biggest flaw in their premise is in ignoring that many used iPods are stolen not for the iPod itself but for the music that is on it. The iPod may only cost a couple hundred dollars but some people have many hundreds of dollars worth of songs on it. And if potential thieves know that they can be tracked by iTunes, they just won't buy from Apple. Likewise, the supposed patent that would prevent the iPod from recharging on the computer wouldn't stop theft. You can buy recharging bases for $10 that plug into the wall.

Big hype, 99.9% anti-Apple by a program produced by MSNBC.  

VERY GOOD point Kris.  Hadn't thought of it that way, but that makes so much more sense.

A thought just came to me...did the new iPods they used as bait have any songs on them??? Maybe...I think they were only able to locate 8 of them!

[krissel]

The new iPods were clean, no songs. They were able to locate 12 of the 20 that were stolen. And in many of the cases where they were able to track down the individual iPod, the person who had it was not the one who stole it. Some were given it by friends, husband (who bought it at a flea market), etc.  I can't imagine Apple or any law enforcement authority taking the time to do what the TV program did. It just wouldn't be cost effective. Heck, the police rarely find cars that are stolen and they may be worth a hundred times what an iPod is worth.

And I can hear the privacy people now complaining that their info is being held in a massive database. Maybe that's MicroSoft's way of trying to get Apple to join its own league of Big Brothers.

No, that program was just MSNBC's way of putting a dig into Apple.
They obviously couldn't use Zunes for this program theme since the one that was purchased was put away in a drawer by its owner.  

[dolphin]

QUOTE(krissel @ Aug 4 2007, 03:29 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>

The new iPods were clean, no songs. They were able to locate 12 of the 20 that were stolen. And in many of the cases where they were able to track down the individual iPod, the person who had it was not the one who stole it. Some were given it by friends, husband (who bought it at a flea market), etc.  I can't imagine Apple or any law enforcement authority taking the time to do what the TV program did. It just wouldn't be cost effective. Heck, the police rarely find cars that are stolen and they may be worth a hundred times what an iPod is worth.

And I can hear the privacy people now complaining that their info is being held in a massive database. Maybe that's MicroSoft's way of trying to get Apple to join its own league of Big Brothers.

No, that program was just MSNBC's way of putting a dig into Apple.
They obviously couldn't use Zunes for this program theme since the one that was purchased was put away in a drawer by its owner.  

  Good one Kris!!!