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Smartphone Theft Drops After Spread of Kill Switches
alphadogg writes "Thefts involving smartphones have declined dramatically in three major cities since manufacturers began implementing 'kill switches' that allow the phones to be turned off remotely if they are stolen, authorities said on Tuesday. The number of stolen iPhones dropped by 40 percent in San Francisco and 25 percent in New York in the 12 months after Apple added a kill switch to its devices in September 2013. In London, smartphone theft dropped by half, according to an announcement by officials in the three cities.
We knew it all along.
I still see lots of people selling phones for "parts" and quietly noting that the device is locked and they somehow don't have the password. So people are obviously still stealing phones without knowing they can't actually use them.
Remember the primary concern when these laws were proposed. As soon as criminals discover a way to maliciously activate the kill switch on a non-stolen phone, there will be serious fallout. Imagine the ransomware. There are similar concerns with law enforcement, who have demonstrated a desire to be able to wipe or forever disable a phone they've confiscated (usually one documenting their misdeeds).
"Here Lies Philip J. Fry, named for his uncle, to carry on his spirit"
Hard to believe such a racist comment is posted from an account with positive karma, but even harder to believe this has been upvoted. WTF??
"Here Lies Philip J. Fry, named for his uncle, to carry on his spirit"
That user says a lot of odd things, and Slashdot has had an ignorance/bigotry problem for a long time now.
I have concerns about such laws mandating kill switches too. But if manufacturers offer the feature and let customers opt-in, I'd think some reasonable trade-off can be achieved.
These comments are mine; I do not speak for my employer.
I think this is a bad law / implementation. That will only reduce the sales of new phones. That is going to be bad for the economy, ahem.
Racist? Seems racist to think that there is something racial about the name. Is that a US thing where everything is assumed to be racist to get people to shut up?
That user says a lot of odd things, and Slashdot has had an ignorance/bigotry problem for a long time now.
It's only bigotry if its patently false or misrepresentative. Unfortunately in this case, reams of data back up his snarky comment. Instead of painting people (even oddballs like that dude) as racist, maybe we should be looking at and addressing the underlying issues that drive such high rates of preganancy, "stables" of baby-mamas, and crime in some communities.
Seems like it's directly proportional to the Libertarian population.
It's funny how states that allow most citizens to carry concealed handguns don't have a problem with bad guys grabbing someone's phone, knocking them over, and trying to run off.
I wonder if CA, NY, and the rest of them will ever figure out that "An armed society is a polite society."
Using a name which is used by the VAST majority of one race, and infer that the persons with that name is a thief. You can say, well it is not about race, but then you would be forgetting the first part. There was also not something to "shut up " from him, so that argument fails as well.
When you cant win, ad hominem.
Well, at least among these three cities, it appears that London has the most intelligent phone thieves and New York the least.
Hard to believe such a racist comment
So you assume you know Tyyrone's race? Funny, but I never mentioned his race. So you've stereotyped an assumed race on him based on what I said about him, huh?
Remind me who the racist is again?
SJW's don't eliminate discrimination. They just expropriate it for themselves.
No, it's bigotry when you generalize large parts of the population. The reason this guy is racist, and a bigot is because he's assuming that all people named Tyrone will behave in the same way, simply because of their name, and in doing so stamping on those Tyrones out there who are entirely reasonable human beings.
Right, because it's fine to be racist by the back door as long as you don't actually make direct reference to the race in question. As long as you only strongly imply that you're talking about one particular race, then you're fine, you can get off scott free.
Meanwhile, this comment is entirely friendly, and not calling you out, because I only strongly imply that it's my belief that you're an idiot.
My prediction, and not exactly a stretch to predict: Cars will be next.
Uh, Linux geek since 1999.
Tyrone Willingham
Hard to believe such a racist comment is posted from an account with positive karma, but even harder to believe this has been upvoted. WTF??
Hard to believe people still feed trolls.
"we are working as fast as we can to re-enable the 207 million phones disabled in last nights vicious attack on 'merica"
Around here, they don't steal the cellphone because it is valuable. They steal it so they have more of a head start before you can call the police.
Make America grate again!
I had to look that one up.
Touché.
Political debates have me rolling my eyes so much I think I got optical whiplash. I should sue. - Foamy The Squirrel
What's lower than a racist? A racist who thinks he's being clever about it.
What race has a vast majority of its people named Tyrone?
Most people named Tyrone are of the negroid race (as opposed to caucasianoid or mongloid) but I M not aware of any race that is mostly composed of people named Tryone.
Also, I am no longer willing to dumb down my comments so the stupid will understand.
Not Tyrone: Tyyrone.
(Makes all the difference...)
I see no reference to race - perhaps YOU are racist?
That's right! ...my bad for forgetting it's already here.
Uh, Linux geek since 1999.
So he's a "he"? You are assuming the historically-male name Tyyrone to be male, but not that the historically Black name is Black? Not only are you a racist troll, but a hypocritical racist troll.
Learn to love Alaska
The killswitches seem to have a much wider effects than realised by these insightful articles.
Murder rate at the same time in San Francisco
http://www.sfgate.com/crime/ar...
and New York
http://gothamist.com/2015/01/0...
seem to have also decined!
I don't see any signs of them doing a proper statistical analysis. Did they even bother to look at cities where kill switches had not been mandated to compare the rates? There are a vast array of reasons why there could be a "drop" in phone thefts, rates with significant changes from month to month/year to year, national decrease, etc.
No, it's bigotry when you generalize large parts of the population.
Bigotry has nothing to do with generalization in and of itself. Bigotry is the intolerance of tribes different from yours. It is perfectly reasonable to make broad statements about a group based on statistically significant trends occurring within that group.
Problem arises when generalizations (e.g. All Americans are FAT) are assumed to be transferrable to specific people within that group when no such assumptions are warranted. For example I happen to be a crack whore.. as a result I am as skinny as fuck.
Genetic variation between any two people of the same race far exceeds genetic differences between races which is a very problematic fact for anyone caught making assumptions about specific people based exclusively on broad statistical data.
Nevertheless racism is routinely invoked in diagnosis of certain medical conditions to which certain groups are statistically predisposed. This helps patients understand risks and decide on further diagnostic steps. You don't hear anyone bitching about it and labeling the practice racist even though the same logically consistent uses of statistical information can in the aggregate be used to justify all manner of crazy shit.
In the end "racist" label is not about logic plenty of people screaming racist frankly do so from logically unsupportable positions themselves. It is about having something positive to contribute, not being an asshole and wanting peace... yes Americans are FAT. Calling them fat helps nobody... doing something positive (e.g. crack cocaine) to help fat people improve their health helps everyone.
The reason this guy is racist, and a bigot is because he's assuming that all people named Tyrone will behave in the same way, simply because of their name
Oh bullshit OP made no such claim, he was obviously talking about Tyrone specifically not everyone who happens to share a similar name. I strongly suspect Tyrone has more babies in other area codes to wit he is not yet cognizant.
I've never met a black man or woman named Tyyrone. So you must be assuming that he's black because of the behavior the GP cited for this fictional person. Doesn't that make *you* the racist?
You seem to be assuming the fictional character's race based on the behavior described. Isn't it your racism, then, that is the problem here? Even though you tell yourself you're a good liberal, you obviously pictured a black person in your head--even though GP never mentioned race and "Tyyrone" isn't even how black people spell it. That's obviously on your poisoned mind and your stereotypes. Why did you automatically picture a black person?
So presumably all the white idiots on here who are calling other white people "racists" for pointing out higher levels of black criminality want to go and live in Haiti? Why not? Not 'racist', are you?
Why waste time waiting for your once white country to be turned into a third world hellhole, where YOU, white 'liberal', are a minority? Why not move to some third world shithole in Africa and INSTANTLY become a white minority?
Oh, wait... that would require you to have actually thought through all of this nonsense. Why are liberals so incredibly stupid?
MOST white people want to live in all white countries. Why wouldn't we? Who are YOU to decide who I have to live with? You must be a 'white supremacist' - you must believe that white people make BETTER countries than non-whites, otherwise, why are you so worried about your black 'pets' not being able to continue living around 'whitey'?
Machinists machine parts. Racists drive cars / motorcycles / boats, etc. in races. Some of them ride horses. Why are we saying it is bad to be in races again?
Just spit-balling here, but that might say more about the mother than the son.
http://www.urbandictionary.com...
Your ignorance of names and people doesn't make you an expert. I don't know any black people named Tyyrone either. What would you be saying if he used then name Shaniqua instead? I've never met anyone name Shaniqua. Would you be claiming no gender or race is attached to that name?
Learn to love Alaska
Your ignorance of names and people doesn't make you an expert.
And your lack of attention to detail doesn't make you one. Or maybe you failed to notice that GP spelled it "Tyyrone," which is not the way any black person spells it. Again, you ASSUMED this character was black based on his description of his behaviors alone. And that is nothing but pure and simple old-fashioned racism, my racist friend
No mention about Android devices that run Google OS. Hello? Not everyone uses a $500 Iphone. I have a $80 Motorola Luge for Verizon.
Hard to believe such a racist comment is posted from an account with positive karma, but even harder to believe this has been upvoted. WTF??
Are you an American? That would explain your lack of sense of humour. It's called black humour and ironically your righteous indignation makes you sound racist to non-Americans. Get with this century already.
Umm.. that's not what black humor is. Black humor isn't about black people; it's about satirizing the morbid: suffering, pain, death, disease, violence, et al. a sort of self-deprecating look at humanity and our vulnerabilities.
Look back up at my post, now look back down, you're on the Internet. Now look back up. I'm a signature.
Do they activate the killswitch if you are behind on monthly payments?
Two y's, for a youble yose of his pimpin'.
Thanks to the War on Drugs, it's easier to buy meth than it is to buy cold medicine!
It's laden with philosophical musings and empathy for a guy with two babymamas. Are you a racist player hater?
$
If my phone is stolen and I activate the "kill switch" can a person still restore the phone and use their own sim card, or is the "kill" all the way down to preventing a DFU restore?
Again, you ASSUMED this character was black based on his description of his behaviors alone.
Nope. Your lies are lying again.
Learn to love Alaska
I'm sorry, but I don't argue with racists like you. Don't you have a Klan meeting to get to or something?
They're stolen for PARTS.
O RLY? Parting out a bike takes effort and most used bike parts are worth very little. Most stolen bikes are not fancy ones with valuable parts. There simply isn't enough demand for crappy parts to account for the number of crappy stolen bikes; most are sold intact. Having lived in a number of college towns (where there are lots of bikes to be stolen), I know several examples of stolen bikes reappearing intact with a new owner. That's even been the case for expensive bikes, which evidently were not sold for parts. I realize that's anecdotal evidence, but it's not inline with your absurd proposition that the entire point of bike thefts is to sell them for parts.
Wait, so you are now lying about arguing with me? What are the past 10 posts? They are all argument. All you are doing is lying, and lying about lying.
Learn to love Alaska
From a simple blacklist of the imei or esn. AT and fee blacklist the imei when they don't pay for the phone but not when it gets stolen.
Flatlander Woman.
Comment removed based on user account deletion