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Tracking a Move Via "Find My iPhone"
dmolnar writes "I recently helped my girlfriend move her stuff from Chicago, IL to Oakland, CA. The movers were scheduled to arrive at 8AM on the 5th of July, and we were stressing the day before about all the things that could go wrong with a move. We realized that if we knew where her stuff was, it'd make us feel better. This is a story about using the $99 iPhone to track the move ... and about a somewhat surprising potential use of Find My iPhone to track your friends' iPhones without them noticing."
Personally I would have gone with something from deal extreme, a GPSSMS bridge. It costs the same as the iPhone, but without the contract. You could have bought simple card from Walmart.
Not to mention it would have been designed for this and probably last a bit longer. Put in eBay after you're done and recoup some of the costs.
What does a iPhone cost without the data plan? (Say the phone broke and you need a new one, not to mention you just signed up for 2 years)
http://www.dealextreme.com/details.dx/sku.25332
http://www.dealextreme.com/details.dx/sku.21686
http://www.dealextreme.com/details.dx/sku.11314
Do people really buy in to the BS about an Iphone being $99? IT's only $99 if you sign your soul away for 2 years. The mobile carriers here are so fortunate to have an ignorant populace that is eager to go through the mental gymnastics required to truly believe that their iphone only costed $99.
-- Knowledge shared is power lost. -- Aleister Crowley
Where did you manage to get an iPhone without a contract? All the iPhones I've seen have cost way more than $99
From TFA, the "hack" only works if you have physical access to the phone. Security always fails when you give someone physical access. Nothing to see here, move along.
What peace of mind do you get from knowing where your stuff is? Is there anything you can do with that information?
I wonder if it isn't more a matter of control that you feel like you're giving up by letting professionals do their job. Do you also insist on driving everywhere instead of taking a plane or bus?
I, too, want to advertise for free on Slashdot. Who do I contact?
-Taylor
Worldwide Military budgets: $2100 billion. Worldwide Space Exploration budgets: $38 billion. Really, world? Really?
Won't google lattitude achieve exactly the same thing? I have it installed on my BB and I can get the location of half a dozen of my friends that have added me to their "friends" list on their devices (both BB and iPhones). There is also a google maps gadget you can use to check the location from your PC. What advantages do you get from using MobileMe and Find My iPhone ?
The "find my iphone" feature requires a MobileMe account. MobileMe is an expensive set of web based services that can easily be substituted with Flickr and Google's stuff. So, 79â a year for tracking my phone i n case I lose it? No thanks.
'Once scientists, even the dim-witted social scientists, get muzzled, the Western Civilization is finished.' - oldhack
Who in their right mind moves from Chicago to Oakland?
At least Chicago has a local hockey team.
So you can track the iPhone of someone else if you know their MobileMe password. Duh, I would never have guessed that you can actually change someone's settings if you have their password (and user name)!
I thought you needed a warrant or at least a private investigator's license to track people by GPS without their knowledge.
These posts express my own personal views, not those of my employer
I've been using my i415 with prepaid boost mobile and a program called Instamapper. Instamaper is free and for me it works without a data plan. So I don't pay anything extra to use it.
-t0ny
I've been through Oakland. It's nice.
Just lock your doors, keep the windows rolled up, and don't make eye contact with anyone. And for chrissakes, don't stop!
Only in the USA do people shout "think of the lawyers!" before considering innovations in technology.... ;-)
The guy is only tracking his own stuff. He doesn't know who's driving the truck, if they changed every 100 miles and different people are in the cab from when they picked up his stuff, if they are in the cab when the vehicle is stationary or if they've gone off to a cafe or home to sleep for the night. He only knows where his iphone is. For all he knows his stuff might have been shifted to another vehicle, he doesn't even know if it's in the same truck.
"As for returning the iPhone, I keep meaning to, but somehow it has become...precious...to me. Maybe Apple will claim a new iPhone user out of all this after all."
Where does it say he threw it away? That would be an idiotic thing to do in any case.
"Good news, everyone!"
Guy wants to do something bizarre and paranoid. Looks for an honest way of doing it. Concludes that would be too expensive, and notices that if he pretends to want a new cellphone, and pretends to want a set of web-based services for it, he can get them for $99, claim he doesn't like the phone or service, and cancel them up to 30 days later.
Plan works as intended and results in the exact same situation as if he didn't do the bizarre and paranoid thing (movers tell you they'll be at the destination at one time, but come at another).
Guy expresses shock that setting a phone up to report its location to a web service results in --gasp!-- the phone reporting its location to a web service!!! Notes that if you don't keep your web password or your phone secured, your security could be compromised!
Finishes by admitting he likes the phone, which is a relief because this isn't a story so much about hardware, but someone's lack of honesty and willingness to rip companies off in order to do a bizarre and paranoid thing.
My Contract Mobile is less than £15.00 per month with 200 minutes included.
Compare that to Vodaphone Pay as you go at 37p per min. It does not take a rocket scientist to work out the crossover point (40mins approx). I generally use between 100 & 130 minutes per month. That is not exactly expensive
However back on topic, I wish I could get an iPhone for the equivalent of $99.00.
They should have turned left at Alberqueque.
(see map on TFA)
Question on a related problem: :)
I'm looking for a cheap GPS logger that can save a timestamp - coordinate pair every few seconds. Main requisite is a long lasting battery and memory (an SD card slot is fine), bonus points if it has bluetooth that can be turned on if needed. Any advice?
It won't tell you where your stuff is but will reveal a lot of interesting info on where it has been
These are remarkably common gadgets and can be had surprisingly cheap. http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=sr_pg_2/103-3580931-0563800?ie=UTF8&rs=&keywords=gps%20tracker&rh=i%3Aaps%2Ck%3Agps%20tracker&page=2
Plenty of choice, and some for even about half the price, and in theory do a better job than the iPhone with more battery life.
After logging in slashdot still does not take you back to the page you were on. It's been that way for 20 years.
This device wouldn't have been fit for purpose:
quoting the first and second link you provided:
(emphesis mine)
Since he wanted to track goods shipping from Chicago to California (i.e. in America), this device wouldn't have worked for him at all. US GSM carriers use different frequencies than Europe (which is why those of us using cell phones in both places need Quad-band phones). Now there may well be a North American variant of this device that would work (I don't have time to dig it up if it exists), but the links as shown do not provide a viable alternative for task.
The Future of Human Evolution: Autonomy
Right, also Oakland was famous for this "high-tech system" to triangulate gun shots 8)
"La presi e te la pagai (480.000 Lire)"
Apologies and serves my bias right, I just assumed somebody shouting "what about the legal issues" was from the USA seeing as it's such a lawyer heavy culture. Apologies all US citizens.
Too many lawyers there, too many in the UK from where I am posting, in my opinion sounds like you've got a few as well...
I'd argue my original point: you could say he's not tracking the people, he's not tracking the truck, he's tracking his phone. He could argue that he has no idea about the whereabouts of anything else. If he'd stuck it onto the truck or on the truck driver's clothing maybe you could argue he's tracking them?
Maybe for a machine, but it's pretty normal for us mere humans to worry about where our stuff is.
*switches Find my iPhone off*
News @ 11, product (with additional services) works as advertised (badly)!
Why is it, when some arsehole uses an Iphone to do something, we're all meant to be amazed? And there is no such thing as a $99 Iphone. You are only kidding yourself.
You have all missed the point of the article. It's not that you couldn't have done this 10 years ago with any GPS-enabled tracking device. It's that iPhone users are *doing it now*, and they are *smarter* and *cooler* than you.
It's a common scam for fly-by-night moving companies to offer a great price in return for full payment up-front. You pay them and they pick up your stuff. Then they cart it to the new place, park a half a block away, and knock on your door. They tell you they can't unload unless you pay them another thousand dollars or so. (The excuses they come up with range from stupid to outrageous to simply "We've got your stuff and we're holding it for ransom.")
Under the laws of my state, since you've already paid money, their failure to turn over your goods isn't a criminal theft in which the police are willing to become involved. Rather, it's simply a civil contract dispute. After all, you gave them permission to take possession of your goods; now you're just arguing over the price. (Getting a patrol officer to take real, physical action to secure your belongings pursuant to the obvious criminal fraud is theoretically possible but, in practice, almost never happens. All the moving company has to do is drive away when you call the cops. The police aren't going to pursue until they hear what you have to say. Once you've had your say, even if the cop agrees with you, department procedure will probably require the incident be turned over to a detective to make the fraud case. By that time, your stuff is long gone.) You can sue to get your stuff back but that usually doesn't work. The fly-by-night simply flies away and you never see your stuff again.
In those cases, it sure would be nice to know where your stuff is located so you can load up a few friends, grab a couple of shotguns, and go get your stuff back.
since when does an iphone cost $99? i thought it was $200 + sell your soul to at&t...
weinersmith
The guy is only tracking his own stuff.
No he's not. There are five paragraphs at the end of the article in a section called "Tracking Your Friends' iPhones". Really!
Only in the USA do people shout...
Does "syousef" look like an American name to you? ;-)
Be careful, if you start throwing stereotypes around like that, you're liable to splash a little bit on yourself too.
(Especially since you were intentionally vague about where YOU are from.)
He bought the phone without even considering keeping it, thus acting in bad faith... If AT&T learns about this, I wouldn't blame them for refusing to let him off. Either way, the guy's action was unethical, and the claim, that it "only costs $99" is misleading...
In Soviet Washington the swamp drains you.
I was making a bit of a joke but if you want to be serious, I can do that, too.
I know of two cases where this scam was successfully overcome by the victim. In both of them, the victim told the guy who knocked on the door to come on in and get his money. When the fraudster stepped inside, the victim's mate (in both these cases, the scammers thought they were dealing solely with a defenseless woman) proceeded to beat the scammer varying degrees of senseless and then walk him back out to the truck to order the cargo unloaded. The cargo was duly unloaded (in one case, they just put everything on the front lawn, but at least they unloaded) and the scammers then beat a hasty retreat, never to be heard from again.
People who pull scams like this generally have been on the wrong side of encounters with the cops before. They don't want to involve them again and are loathe to dial 911 unless the shit has really hit the fan and someone's bleeding. Thus, the judicious application of force or the threat of it, if done properly and in a low-key way, is a valid negotiating tool with cretins like this.
Now, arming yourself and starting a confrontation is probably a bad plan. But arming yourself, finding your stuff, and stealing it back when the bad guys aren't around may be a workable one. YMMV.
Personally, I've only used movers three times in my life and I've been very careful to select established, reputable firms. I don't hook up with dodgy characters to save a few buck. I think that's a better strategy, overall. But I am willing to grant that some physical force or the threat of it, employed properly so that the authorities are never involved, can be a reasonable approach.
Sound better?
PS - I had a scumbag brother-in-law who used this kink in the law to great advantage. He ripped off dozens of old ladies by finding out when coin collectors died. He would then approach the widows, offer to market the collections of their deceased spouses, pay them a small "advance" on what he assured them would be a big return, then leave with the coins. He never paid them another dime. There were a number of criminal complaints filed and his defense was always the same. "I paid her for the coins. There was no deal for anything else. This was not a theft. It's just a contract dispute." He beat the rap several times before, finally, the state got so many complaints that they opened a combined fraud case on him He settled for some pitiful amount of restitution and five years probation. From personal experience, I believe that people who pull these kinds of scams are cowards who won't call the police unless they're forced to and deserve a beating for their actions. So I don't apologize for taking a hard line on these situations.
... you can use InstaMapper, which has an iPhone app, and works with some other devices.
http://www.instamapper.com/howto.html
rooooar
It's primarily angst ridden geeks who worry about all the crap they've accreted.
Deleted
Fixed that for you. Yes, that was his point - this has been available on phones for years. Why do we need an article specifically for the Iphone, just because it finally joins the club? I thought Slashdot was once a place to find news on cutting edge technology - okay, I know we joke about stories turning up late, but...
This story isn't about the iPhone. It's about a clever application of technology.
If there's a similar older story about something similar being done a couple years ago with another phone (realtime, not the I-mailed-my-GPS-logger stories), then I'm speaking out of turn, but this seems new.
My God, it's Full of Source!
OUTSIDE_IP=$(dig +short my.ip @outsideip.net)
1. buy a GSM module. The cheapest ones don't even have GPRS. Ex - wavecom fastrack go. (http://www.wavecom.com/modules/movie/scenes/products/index.php?fuseAction=wirelessCPU&productName=fastrack_GO)
2. Write a small application on the module to do the following:
i. read the location using LBS(location based service) on the GSM network. It basically gives you the cell-id of the nearest GSM cell site (200m-1km accuracy)
ii. send out an sms after every hour containing the location
Total cost = $20-$30 for the module + $30 for a pre-paid sim card + $0.15/sms
"Unfortunately, none of these were easily available on the day after the 4th of July."
I'm pretty sure he meant to say the day before the 6th of July.