Apple patent may thwart iPod thieves
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Apple’s technology for disabling an electronic device by not charging it when plugged into an unauthorized charger could help reduce some thefts.
You don’t really notice how small a sleek Apple iPod, especially a Nano, is until it’s gone. They’re easy to steal and conceal.
Leslie Shapiro gave Apple a smack over its less-than-helpful approach to consumers who have lost their iPods:
Apple does a lot to make sure its DRM-encoded music is protected. But, what does Apple do to protect my music, my music stored on my iPod? Apple knows when I plug my iPod into my computer. If I report it stolen, why can’t they tell when it’s been plugged into someone else’s computer?
Because that would take effort, as Leslie noted:
Apple obviously knows when an authorized iPod is connected to iTunes, but company reps have told police that tracking stolen ones is just too big of an undertaking for them.
Help could be on the way in the form of a technology that would link a device to its recharger. Trying to connect an iPod to a charger the iPod doesn’t recognize would prevent the iPod from being recharged.
Apple doesn’t want the burden of being a tracking center, especially the customer service headaches that accompany managing such an endeavor. The charger authorization patent sounds like it will bring along some headaches for iPod fans too; what if you legitimately lose a charger?
Via SciFi.com
August 24th, 2007 at 2:15 pm
Really what is needed is tracking software that the iPod owner can install that would enable an iPod to phone home with the IP address it’s plugged into, when it’s not plugged into it’s “authorized” computer. Talk about an incentive to get an iTunes account.
There’s something kind of like this that’s open source for a PC, but nothing to my knowledge that does this from a Mac. Nonetheless, if Apple created it, and it held up in court, how sweet would that be!
I suspect greed is why Apple hasn’t offered this easily manageable solution.
Mike Ward
August 24th, 2007 at 5:25 pm
Cue the Apple haters trying to say that it’s DRM’ing the chargers so that you can only buy Apple chargers…
August 30th, 2007 at 7:51 am
Does someone have to be a hater to think this is the case?
September 30th, 2007 at 1:41 am
So, your iPod let’s you know the IP of the machine it has been plugged into. The thief starts reformatting, whilst you track down the ISP of the thief. Then, about 3 days later, you tell the police where your device is… by which time your music, and your device, are both gone. Also, a pro at moving electronics would have an isolated machine for doing reformats (ipods), unlocks (phones), etc. Only a totally lame thief would leave idenifiable data on the device.
Having said that, a plumber once tried to sell me a laptop stolen from my company, still with the identification badges and company logo on it. Some people really are dumb.