Apple is smarter than dumb crooks
Discover more from Jefferson Graham's PhotowalksTV newsletter
Apple is smarter than dumb crooks
You don't want to steal an iPhone
I didn’t see this story get a lot of press this week, but it should have. This is the same week that Target announced it was closing 9 stores, due to rampant retail theft.
The news: you don’t want to steal from the Apple Store, as Tim Cook and co. are way smarter than you. Target, Canon, Sony, Walmart, Home Depot—please listen.
Here’s the gist: walk out with an iPhone without paying, and not only does the device become unusable instantly, but once you leave the store, Apple turns on the alarm.
As iMore noted: “Each iPhone can be tracked as well, so you might be leading police to your door. Stolen iPhones display on-screen messages that read “The device has been disabled and is being tracked. Local authorities will be alerted.”
I love this!
And if Apple can do this, why not others? Put this technology on every product, stop Big Tech companies from being allowed to re-sell stolen goods online and our lives will go back to normal! Remember that stolen merchandise doesn’t just hurt the companies, it hurts us as well, in the name of higher prices and neighborhood stores closing. Do you want to live in a world where we can only buy stuff online?
Oops, bad link in Saturday e-mail
Dedicated reader Roy pointed out that my offer of a cheat sheet companion to the “How to make a travel video on the iPhone” episode had a boo-boo.
Bad URL. Sorry, sorry. It’s a simple PhotowalksTV@gmail.com and I just checked—this one works! Just e-mail me and I’ll send off the cheat sheet.
ICYMI: here’s the video in question. The response has been fantastic, so far—thank you viewers!
Bev: “Your title says it all…MAKE a video as opposed to just “taking” a video. I stress MAKE v take when I teach iPhone Photography. Thx for your detailed behind the scenes information”
Mary: “Well done and informative! Better than tip 1, blah blah blah, tip 2 etc. Looking forward to Galaxy-specific video.”
Rick: “Hi Jeff, enjoyed your video on How to Make a Travel Video. It was jam packed with lots of great tips, especially doing your research prior to making your trip. Excellent. Keep up the great work.”
Sgt: “Hi Jefferson. You covered just about everything except Hair and Makeup. But I won’t hold it against you.”
Jack: “It was fun seeing all your BTS stuff. You are a master of self-production. I'm super impressed with your location energy and expertise. Awesome dude.”
Well, actually, Roy also asked about who helped me in making the how-to and Naples episode. That would be the one and only Mr. Fuji himself, Sean Fujiwara, who as always, did an amazing job. Many of the episodes I do are solo style, but when we travel, I can usually enlist my wife Ruth to lend a hand as well.
Finally, many again asked about the mobile gear used to produce these episodes. Here’s the latest link!
From Maine, (where else?)
Jeff
Apple is smarter than dumb crooks
RE: iPhone anti-theft. How exactly would this work outside of phones?
An iPhone is a cellular phone, connects to wifi and bluetooth, is a computer, and a GPS unit. It knows where it is, if it's been purchased, can detect movement outside of a geo-fenced area, can phone home to alert Apple it's been stolen, then contains code to deactivate/brick the phone. The phone also costs over $1000 and Apple is the designer, responsible for the build, and controls sale of the items.
So, how do you provide this level of protection for a screwdriver, a bag of cereal, or a blouse? Who pays for the extra security?
Items are already tagged with RFID tags that alert the store an item has left the building. Why not put a tag on everything? Well think about the time it takes to remove/deactivate the tag on higher cost items (double scans and/or physically remove a tag). Scale that up to 'every item in the store' and it becomes unworkable pretty quickly.
Let's not forget that the hysteria over retail theft is likely overblown and possibly the fault of the store (fewer cashiers, more self-checkout). (https://www.cnn.com/2023/01/18/business/retail-shoplifting-shrink-walgreens/index.html)
The idea you propose sounds pretty great but I think on closer inspection it'll be difficult and costly to implement. If you have specific ideas, I'm all ears.
I love this. I hope by the time I have to replace my camera body camera's will have this kind of technology. I don't suppose you could do it with lenses but still.
On a different note, the speck of dust that had appeared on my iPhone telephoto lens has miraculously disappeared. I swear it was on the sensor since cleaning it multiple times on the outside did nothing. but I'm glad it's gone - I hope it doesn't reappear elsewhere!