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Four Men Arrested Over Million-Dollar MacBook Heist

An anonymous reader writes: In January of 2014, Anton Saljanin was hired to drive 1,195 Apple MacBooks, valued at over $1 million, from a vendor in Massachusetts to a pair of high schools in New Jersey. The day after picking them up, he told police that the truck disappeared overnight while he slept. Later that day, he told police he just happened to spot the truck abandoned in a parking lot while he was driving down the highway. Unfortunately for him, detectives quickly realized none of these things could be true. Footage from CCTV cameras and cell-site records for his phone indicated he met with his brother and drove to another suspect's house, where they unloaded the laptops. Later, a fourth man helped them sell some of the MacBooks, often at steep discounts. The four men have now been charged in federal court for the theft.

100 comments

  1. Doing the math... by Dancindan84 · · Score: 5, Funny

    That's what? 10 Macbooks?

    --
    "Always forgive your enemies; nothing annoys them so much." - Oscar Wilde
    1. Re:Doing the math... by TimSSG · · Score: 0

      That's what? 10 Macbooks?

      LOL. I was thinking how many Macbooks it was. Tim S.

    2. Re:Doing the math... by BitZtream · · Score: 5, Funny

      12, those were last years discounted models.

      --
      Persistent Volume manager for Kubernetes - https://github.com/dwimsey/openshift-pvmanager
    3. Re:Doing the math... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      Why do they send a truck? I thought Macbooks fit into mail envelopes?

    4. Re: Doing the math... by shitzu · · Score: 0, Troll

      Its in the first sentence - 1195 macbooks.

    5. Re: Doing the math... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      It's called a joke, you gomer.

    6. Re: Doing the math... by jazzis · · Score: 1

      Man that's insightful!

    7. Re: Doing the math... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Reading, it's FUNdamental

    8. Re:Doing the math... by slazzy · · Score: 1

      Packaging, so they don't get damaged.

      --
      Website Just Down For Me? Find out
    9. Re: Doing the math... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Its in the first sentence - 1195 macbooks.

      It's called a joke, you gomer.

      Yeah, except that it's the type of joke that only works if one can feign the pretence- however obviously tongue-in-cheek- that they don't know the answer already. The fact that the correct answer was given in the summary pulls out the rug from under the setup before the joke was even made.

    10. Re: Doing the math... by Hognoxious · · Score: 1

      You read the summary? ROFLMAO@Ueleventyone.

      --
      Confucius say, "Find worm in apple - bad. Find half a worm - worse."
    11. Re: Doing the math... by ruir · · Score: 1

      This is out of context deep linking to improve SEO ratios, please mod it down and block the account of the fucker please. If the account is not hacked already.

    12. Re:Doing the math... by Megane · · Score: 1
      --
      #naabhaprzrag, #sverubfr-000, #agi-fcbafberq, negvpyr[pynff*=' negvpyr-ary-'] { qvfcynl: abar !vzcbegnag; }
    13. Re: Doing the math... by sandeepbabu · · Score: 1

      ya really they should punished by US govt thanks to US GOVT

    14. Re: Doing the math... by tomhokky50 · · Score: 1

      Why not punished the criminals. They should be on the jail. Then these guy get a lesson forever.

  2. LoJack by Intrepid+imaginaut · · Score: 5, Insightful

    And once again another reminder that anyone carrying a cellphone is effectively transmitting their location to the authorities at all times.

    1. Re:LoJack by known_coward_69 · · Score: 2

      i think the fact that they are tracked by serial number from the factory along with all the components in there helps as well

    2. Re:LoJack by JustAnotherOldGuy · · Score: 1

      ^^^ This.

      It amazes me just how many people (criminals especially) just don't get this.

      They're carrying a GPS-enabled device, and if that's not enough, triangulating off the cell towers it passes near to is trivial and accurate.

      And they wonder how they get caught....

      --
      Just cruising through this digital world at 33 1/3 rpm...
    3. Re:LoJack by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      CDMA phones are.... GSM are carrying broadcasting their (swappable) SIM cards.. These geniuses dont sound like SIM swappers though....;

    4. Re:LoJack by ShanghaiBill · · Score: 4, Insightful

      It amazes me just how many people (criminals especially) just don't get this.

      In Hollywood movies, the criminals are usually brilliant masterminds, because that makes for an interesting story. But, in real life, most criminals are pretty stupid. There are plenty of risk-free legal avenues for an amoral smart person to get rich. For instance, they can go to law school, or become investment bankers.

    5. Re:LoJack by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Most criminals we catch are pretty stupid. That's why we catch 'em. I haven't seen any statistics on what fraction of crimes are solved and how that potentially correlates to number of criminals or number of uncaught criminals.

    6. Re:LoJack by Registered+Coward+v2 · · Score: 2

      It amazes me just how many people (criminals especially) just don't get this.

      In Hollywood movies, the criminals are usually brilliant masterminds, because that makes for an interesting story. But, in real life, most criminals are pretty stupid.

      Yup. As my cop friends say, "We only catch the stupid ones." One detective I know told me whenever they had a breaking that match a certain profile they'd go find "John" and ask him if he did it. If he did, he'd fess up and ask how did they know? The say because the last 10 times we had a burglary like this you did, so we decided to save some time and see if you did this one as well. Another favorite was the guy who, good citizen he was, called in a crime in progress form a payphone. Trouble was the crime he was reporting was occurring 10 blocks away. He was surprised when the cops caught him in progress of committing a crime and told them they were supposed to be at a crime 10 blocks away.

      --
      I'm a consultant - I convert gibberish into cash-flow.
    7. Re:LoJack by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I love these know it all Google search arm-chair engineers that try to talk the talk but have no real knowledge of the technology. GSM phones broadcast their IMEI even if you swap SIM cards therefore rendering them 100% trackable.

    8. Re:LoJack by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      The authorities know where my phone is, but not who it belongs to.

    9. Re:LoJack by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Changing the IMEI is trivial. If you're on a CDMA network, even if you change IMEI, you can't use your phone with another carrier. With a GSM phone you could.

    10. Re:LoJack by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      They're carrying a GPS-enabled device, and if that's not enough, triangulating off the cell towers it passes near to is trivial and accurate.

      You say that as if GPS broadcasts anything, it doesn't. They are one way transmissions received by your phone, similar to listening to AM/FM radio or watching OTA TV.

    11. Re:LoJack by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      ..or realtors.

    12. Re:LoJack by readin · · Score: 1

      And once again another reminder that anyone carrying a cellphone is effectively transmitting their location to the authorities at all times.

      The summary also mentioned CCTV. Just another reminder that anyone reflecting light is effectively transmitting their location to the authorities at all times.

      --
      I often don't like the choices people make, but I like the fact that people make choices. That's why I'm a conservative.
    13. Re:LoJack by ruir · · Score: 1

      New civil disobedience pastime, interchanging new iphones directly at the store with random strangers.

    14. Re:LoJack by fafalone · · Score: 1

      Actually the big difference is that in real life the brilliant criminal masterminds don't have an even more brilliant hero cop outfoxing them, don't attract attention to themselves by using automatic weapons and explosives in public, and move into even harder to detect and stop white collar crimes asap.

    15. Re:LoJack by ihtoit · · Score: 1

      GPS capability not required at all. CST is accurate to 3 feet and to the second.

      --
      Political debates have me rolling my eyes so much I think I got optical whiplash. I should sue. - Foamy The Squirrel
    16. Re:LoJack by YrWrstNtmr · · Score: 1

      New money-making pastime; interchanging broken/stolen iPhones with new ones, directly at the store with random strangers, under the guise of 'civil disobedience'.

    17. Re:LoJack by Uberbah · · Score: 1

      In Hollywood movies, the criminals are usually brilliant masterminds, because that makes for an interesting story. But, in real life, most criminals are pretty stupid.

      Hollywood scriptwriters can be pretty stupid, too. Every freaking season of 24 had a traitor that communicated with her handlers, right in the middle of the agency headquarters, with a cell phone.

    18. Re:LoJack by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      No need. My carrier doesn't have any of my personal information.

    19. Re:LoJack by tehcyder · · Score: 1

      Most criminals we catch are pretty stupid. That's why we catch 'em. I haven't seen any statistics on what fraction of crimes are solved and how that potentially correlates to number of criminals or number of uncaught criminals.

      Most civilised countries publish statistics on the number of unsolved crimes. For serious offences like murder it is generally quite low. Amateur criminals tend to be stupid and highly likely to get caught.

      Professional criminals are dealing with things like drug or people smuggling, prostitution and protection racketeering, which don't generally result in a reported crime in the first place. High profile crimes like armed bank robberies are a pretty stupid thing to do nowadays, the police are forced to put a lot of effort into solving them one way or another.

      One reason that countries are starting to include things like drug sales and prostitution in their GDP figures is to get at least some idea of the scale of illegal economic activity, although it's never going to be very accurate.

      --
      To have a right to do a thing is not at all the same as to be right in doing it
    20. Re:LoJack by ruir · · Score: 1

      I actually could get an anonymous SIM, but it would be of little use when my IMEI is already associated with me.

  3. book 'em Dano, grand theft by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Funny

    ...just think of the poor kids having to suffer with windows even longer than necessary....

    1. Re:book 'em Dano, grand theft by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Man that's funny!

  4. Don't any of them watch TV? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

    Granted that TV cop shows are not the most technically accurate, but, still....

    Have they never seen a cop show? Do they not know that iPhones are wonderful little tracking devices (better than ankle bracelets because they are actually useful to the holder)? Do they not know that the cops are going to investigate their statements? Do they not put any effort into backing their lies?

    Lying to me is bad. Telling me lies that assume I'm either lazy or stupid is really bad.

    1. Re:Don't any of them watch TV? by Rei · · Score: 1

      Answer key:

      1) No.
      2) No.
      3) No.
      4) No.

      --
      You don't exist. Go away.
    2. Re:Don't any of them watch TV? by Rei · · Score: 1

      Perhaps if they had gotten out one of those Macbooks and used it, they could have watched cops episodes online, read about phone tracking, learned about the details of how police conduct investigations, and found advice on how not to be an awful liar.

      --
      You don't exist. Go away.
    3. Re:Don't any of them watch TV? by amiga3D · · Score: 1

      I'd bet they spent all their time watching the Simpsons.

    4. Re:Don't any of them watch TV? by __aaclcg7560 · · Score: 1

      If they did, they would've ripped off $1M in donuts.

      http://simpsons.wikia.com/wiki/Donuts

    5. Re:Don't any of them watch TV? by tsa · · Score: 1

      Answer key:

      1) No
      2) Yes
      3) Yes
      4) Yes

      FTFY

      --

      -- Cheers!

  5. Re:Yeah, and? by Rei · · Score: 1

    "In other news, a truck full of 3d printers was stolen just outside of Salem, MA last night. Driver Anton Saljanin III reported that he had been hired to drive 1,195 Makerbot XPs, valued at over $1 million, from a vendor in Massachusetts to a pair of high schools in New Jersey. The day after picking them up, according to his report, the truck disappeared overnight while he slept. The truck was spotted again the subsequent day, abandoned in a parking lot, but its cargo was no longer present."

    "Also on Police Beat today: a large shipment full of polyamide filament, copper pellets, capacitors, resistors, silicon wafers, lithography photoresist, and 530 other raw materials was reported stolen just outside of Boston this morning. Driver Gjon Saljanin III described to the police how he had been hired to drive the supplies to a pair of New Jersey high schools from their warehouse in Massachusetts..."

    --
    You don't exist. Go away.
  6. Mac video surveillance strikes again? by Antique+Geekmeister · · Score: 2

    I was actually wondering if they were reported by the vice principal trying to monitor children in their homes with "educational spyware" installed on the laptops, much like that previously reported on Slashdot.

                          http://www.pcmag.com/article2/...

    1. Re:Mac video surveillance strikes again? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      But then you read the summary, right? Am I right?

    2. Re:Mac video surveillance strikes again? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      There are new, still in the box TURNED OFF MacBooks so no.

  7. Re:Yeah, and? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Luddite. Things always improve, remember? 3D printers will print new printers on-demand, of course in between printing houses and cars.

    My hard drive got better, therefore filament will be free.

  8. Interesting names. by Rei · · Score: 5, Funny

    On or about January 15, 2014, ANTON SALJANIN

    Anagram for "Anal Ninja Snot"

    brought his brother, GJON SALJANIN, with him

    Anagram for "A Ninja Logs NJ"

    and CARLOS CACERES,

    The ironically anagramed "Car case closes"

    the residence of UJKA VULAJ

    ... I got nothing. Are we sure this wasn't a cat walking on the keyboard at the police department?

    --
    You don't exist. Go away.
    1. Re:Interesting names. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      *** should read "Car Case Closer", not "Car Case Closes"

    2. Re:Interesting names. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      by Rei (128717)

      Anagram for Ire. Are we to assume then that you are angry at something? ;)

    3. Re:Interesting names. by rmdingler · · Score: 1
      Anagram for anonymous coward: runaways cod moon

      Patently, you pay freight charges at lunar customs for those who left without permission.

      --
      Happiness in intelligent people is the rarest thing I know.

      Ernest Hemingway

    4. Re:Interesting names. by Bing+Tsher+E · · Score: 1

      'runaway cods moon' works better, although punctuation trolls will squee.

    5. Re:Interesting names. by wonkey_monkey · · Score: 4, Funny

      Anagram for anonymous coward

      A rad sunny moo cow.

      --
      systemd is Roko's Basilisk.
  9. IT FELL OFF the TRUCK by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Modern Day version of it "fell off the truck"

  10. The Real Thieves, Though... by Bing+Tsher+E · · Score: 5, Interesting

    The real thieves are whomever specified and ordered all those Macbooks for school kids. Overpriced status hardware that will mean nothing to rooms full of impatient adolescents. The theft victims are the taxpayers. I'm sure there's an Apple sales rep involved and some school adminstrator who got nice swag out of the deal.

    Why not more reasonably priced hardware? Chromebooks or even some 'doze laptops. Apple branded stuff, like Coach handbags is for snobby individuals, not semi-enterprise settings like a school.

    Here's your TCO cue, shills.

    1. Re: The Real Thieves, Though... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      They should have ordered 3000 laptops with Linux for less money.

    2. Re: The Real Thieves, Though... by malignant_minded · · Score: 2

      Oh come off it. I bought tons of ChromeBooks for the secondary school I work at but there is no way a ChromeBook == MacBook. For my Python course I am not using any of the ChromeBooks because cloud programming is not a practical and the Python apps are OK but lack Python 3 in many cases and in both options I can't easily add modules and students need to agree to terms of service they might not be able to so we will keep working in the computer lab with Windows installs. I'm not installing crouton in dev mode for security and user experience reasons. If I had MacBooks I would be thrilled as it would reduce security concerns as ChromeBooks do and provide a tidy environment where kids could learn version control and other programming tools if they so chose as I don't have time to cover it in a four month intro course but many of my students will go beyond. Not every discipline needs that flexibility and ChromeBooks are great--though hardware quailty is a bit lacking due to the price--but they are not always the solution. You want to browse the Web, use an app, or write using Google Drive great get a ChromeBook but that is not all I expect from kids taking AP Physics or programming courses. You don't know what these MacBooks were for and it's New Jersey where some of the most affluent people in the US live. 80 year old dad and 35 year old mom probably don't give a shit that little Alvin got a $2000 laptop when they just bought him a BMW for his first car.

    3. Re: The Real Thieves, Though... by bkmoore · · Score: 1

      ....80 year old dad and 35 year old mom probably don't give a shit that little Alvin got a $2000 laptop when they just bought him a BMW for his first car.

      80 year old dad probably won't be around long enough to see him graduate.

    4. Re:The Real Thieves, Though... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I've been an Apple user since the Lisa came out and I have to agree. The latest iteration of the Macbook seems to be Tim Cook testing the water with how little people care about specifications when it comes to Apple products. It's unfathomable how one could justify spending that sum of money on such ridiculously underpowered devices. Hopefully the schools were receiving sufficient discounts that it made sense, but I fear that's not the case.

    5. Re: The Real Thieves, Though... by malignant_minded · · Score: 1

      I don't think that was his goal in marring her.

    6. Re: The Real Thieves, Though... by malignant_minded · · Score: 1

      Haha hilarious typo. marrying

    7. Re: The Real Thieves, Though... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Try Datajoy for online Python.

      For security, I am amused that you prefer Windows over Chromebooks using Crouton.

    8. Re:The Real Thieves, Though... by kheldan · · Score: 2

      Actually, wasn't there at least one study done lately that shows that issuing computers to students hasn't improved their grades significantly enough to justify the expense, regardless of who manufactured the hardware? And that they're just screwing around on them instead of doing actual schoolwork anyway? If I'm correct then the 'real thieves' would be anyone who advocated buying any laptops for students in the first place. Also, virtual modding you down by one for using this as a vehicle for your personal agenda.

      --
      Are YOU using the TOOL, or is the TOOL using YOU? Think about it!
    9. Re:The Real Thieves, Though... by Solandri · · Score: 2

      The real thieves are whomever specified and ordered all those Macbooks for school kids. Overpriced status hardware that will mean nothing to rooms full of impatient adolescents.

      Let me preface this by stating that I think most programs to use computers in school are trash, and less effective than traditional teaching methods. Of course they make sense in specialized courses like intro to CS, but not for teaching regular courses.

      That said, if you start with the assumption that having the kids use a computer is helpful, then "status" hardware will in fact mean a lot to the kids. Back in the 1990s I set up my aunt's household with a dialup Internet account. I picked AT&T as their ISP because at the time they had the most dialup nodes, best reliability, and lowest wait time for a free modem, all at a reasonable cost. When I visited the following week, I learned that the jr. high daughter had canceled the AT&T account and switched them to AOL (which was substantially worse). Because among her peer group, it was oh so important to have that @aol.com in her email address.

      So if your premise is to try to get the kids to use the computers, then using status-symbol hardware is certainly one way to promote it. I should also point out though that Apple has had a very strong educational program since the 1970s. The computers in the "Computer Math" course I took in jr. high in the early 1980s were all Apple II+s. This is one niche Microsoft has mostly ignored, while they sought out higher profits in the business sector. Google is not ignoring it though, and a lot of schools are using inexpensive Chromebooks instead of Macs.

    10. Re:The Real Thieves, Though... by Ash-Fox · · Score: 2

      Let me preface this by stating that I think most programs to use computers in school are trash, and less effective than traditional teaching methods.

      My personal opinion is that schools shouldn't be doing this to begin with if they don't understand technology. They will only set false expectations and poor knowledge forward in students with it.

      --
      Change is certain; progress is not obligatory.
    11. Re:The Real Thieves, Though... by swb · · Score: 2

      You have obvious proof that issuing computers doesn't make for smarter adults. The people who put men on the moon went to schools where advanced learning tools included paper, pencils, slide rules and a chalkboard. Electric lighting was their most valued educational technology. The laptop generation can't put a man on the moon and their big achievment is...Snapchat?

      Issuing laptops to students is kind of the perfect storm of misguided intentions. The affluent parent wants to insure their kids have all perks and potential advantages. The middle class parent is afraid if their kids don't have laptops, they'll fall behind. The poor families either don't know what a laptop is or thinks they're being discriminated against somehow if they don't have one.

      School administrators want any kind of efficiency they can get and chase the dream of less paper and automation (in addtition to loving big projects that parents like), so they like laptops. Teachers like anything that they think will get the kids to engage. School boards and social welfare actvists within schools don't want anyone to be left behind, so they support laptops for everyone.

      Everybody wants a laptop, but teachers don't really have any idea how they make education better, often lack technology skills and are often hampered with disasterous, outdated software. For the most part, nobody's motivated by an idea about how they make learning better, they're just motivated to acquire an economic good for various selfish reasons.

    12. Re: The Real Thieves, Though... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Datajoy requires you to include repos for modules which is more trouble than it's worth YMMV and binstar has its own Terms of Use requiring kids to make another account just to make modules and Pygame is stale there. Also it's not all security but have you put a ChromeBook in dev mode. It warns you every time you boot and wipes your data if you follow the fear warning which makes just prone to problems as kids keep wiping them. At least I can run Antivirus and freeze a Windows OS where a ChromeBook in dev mode offers non of these protections. Your AC so you'll never get this but whatever.

    13. Re:The Real Thieves, Though... by BasilBrush · · Score: 0

      TCO? Meh. MacBooks are better computers. They can afford them, you can't. Sucks to be you.

    14. Re:The Real Thieves, Though... by mjwx · · Score: 2

      Let me preface this by stating that I think most programs to use computers in school are trash, and less effective than traditional teaching methods.

      My personal opinion is that schools shouldn't be doing this to begin with if they don't understand technology. They will only set false expectations and poor knowledge forward in students with it.

      Forget false expectations for students.

      There are people leaving school these days without basic knowledge of how to use a computer and are having to be trained by employers. Whilst I know that school shouldn't be strictly preparation for the work force, it should still teach basic skills. Hand Holding mac's combined with rote memorisation teaching methods ensure that people leave school with no idea on how to find a file using a file manager. I'm serious, I've seen support cases for "I cant find my word" because once it disappears from their recent documents, they've go no clue where to look.

      It has become a risk to hire someone under 25 these days for any job that requires them to use a computer.

      --
      Calling someone a "hater" only means you can not rationally rebut their argument.
    15. Re:The Real Thieves, Though... by kheldan · · Score: 1

      Let's be fair: The reason we haven't put personnel back on the Moon is mainly economic and political, not a technological deficit, and you have to admit that we didn't put men on the Moon in the first place for any scientific reasons, we did it for purely political reasons, specifically to beat Russia there. In fact now that I think about it for a moment, it hits me that we might not have had developed the first nuclear bombs if Germany hadn't been working on such a thing themselves, am I right?

      You're mostly complaining, but I get it. Personally I think it's a mess, and there are too many people with their own personal agendas screwing it up even worse. Meanwhile it's increasingly considered career suicide to go into teaching, when the real chemo to cure the public school systems' cancer is more talented, dedicated teachers, and fewer overpaid administrators.

      Would a computer for every child be a good thing, if it were implemented properly? Of course. But as you're pointing out, the implementation is poor at best. Hell, I think what would be a better plan is all textbooks published as e-books, and give a Kindle to every kid. Changes or corrections to their textbooks get uploaded to them all wirelessly, automatically. Meanwhile the school library is all e-books, and they can 'check out' downloaded copies of whatever they want to read; might even encourage them to read that way, make it easy for them. Throw in major news publications for free and who knows what else might be enriching for them, and it might just make a difference.

      --
      Are YOU using the TOOL, or is the TOOL using YOU? Think about it!
    16. Re:The Real Thieves, Though... by swb · · Score: 1

      The point isn't that we don't put men on the moon now technologically, the point is that we DID manage to produce a large population of highly educated adults with very simple educational tools and we did it in spite of fairly substantial things that are currently considered justifications for issuing laptops today -- fewer than half of the population finished high school before then 1930s (meaning mom and dad didn't have much of an education at all), 5% of the population was totally illiterate in any language (the rates were surely higher in lower income groups, higher still if you factor in English proficiency -- mom and dad weren't just uneducated, they couldn't aid their children's education at all), more than 10% of the population was foreign-born (higher by at least a third than present rates) and everyone was poorer.

      In a short period of time, we took a population that was broadly educationally deficient in every imaginable way and managed to produce a literate, technically capable population in under a half a century with educational tools whose sophistication hadn't changed much in quite literally centuries.

      While, yes, the notion of putting a man on the moon is something of a rhetorical device, there are rational arguments why we don't do it now, and the motivations for doing it may have been less pure from a scientific perspective, the point remains that it was a monumental scientific and engineering achievement and done by people who had only the simplest of educational materials available during their education.

      I'd even dispute the notion that e-books make that much of a difference. Most of the arguments for doing so (and most of yours) aren't focused on the development of reading habits or engagement in literature and reading, they're arguments for an economic efficiency in reading materials. We don't have a shortage of books or a lack of access to them. Our county library system (alone) has the 42nd largest book collection in the entire US, combined with the local University collection (available via the public library as well), it's #7, yet the so-called achievement gap remains low and even the white reading proficiency rate is under 70%. Making books available via e-reader isn't likely substantially change this, and I don't doubt that existing e-book readers and e-books provide the visual variety and stimulation to capture young readers the way printed materials do, either.

      I'd argue that the biggest problem with our educational system isn't a technology problem, but rooted in the relentless obsession with the achievement gap since the widespread integration of the school system. It's definitely a worrisome issue, but the obsession with this issue has come at the expense of the quality of the educational system. Rather than acknowledging the socio-demographic nature of the problem and continue with demonstrably successful educational methods, we've gyrated between "innovative" curricula to "solve" the problem, diverted educational resources within the schools to social welfare programs and, lately, glommed onto computers as the dues ex machina solution. The lack of achievement isn't an *educational* problem, its a sociology problem in the community. If total social welfare spending can't solve it, diverting education spending into social welfare won't solve it, either, and reduces the value of everyone's education.

  11. stuff that matters? mod down entire article ? by vpness · · Score: 1

    If this hadn't been an apple product - like say some TVs for schools - would this have warranted mention? I don't track the changes in editors and who's now putting these up (dice, etc), but this article calls out for moderators being able to moderate the post-worthiness of the article. It'd be useful if those with mod points can mod-down the article so it doesn't appear unless you have your thresholds set to view meaningless filler posts. How bout it, editors?

    1. Re: stuff that matters? mod down entire article ? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      If they had been smart they would have lit the entire load of crapple on fire. Fuck macbooks, apple, and schools who teach nothing.

  12. Ah yes... Foreign names jokes... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Not quite racist, but with the same "depth" of insight in their "humor".

    Fucking foreign cultures, can't they do any shit right?

  13. The moral of the story by kheldan · · Score: 1

    There's a cynical, snarky, conspiracy-theory-esque part of me that wants to say, "This is propaganda from the authorities, indoctrinating the general public that law enforcement is infallable, nigh-unto omniscent and omnipotent, so you'd better never consider breaking any law for any reason because you'll always get caught", but the truth of the matter is, the average crook really isn't that smart in the first place, otherwise they'd probably apply themselves to legitimate enterprises to make money instead of turning to crime. Obvious poor planning and a lack of foresight and imagination is what brought this little heist down in the end, not any top-notch police work. I think the average slashdotter could have planned and executed it better.

    --
    Are YOU using the TOOL, or is the TOOL using YOU? Think about it!
    1. Re:The moral of the story by dmt0 · · Score: 1

      I think the moral of the story is simpler. The only thing in this article that makes it relevant for the "News for nerds" site is the presence of computers in the story. It's a paid PR article for Apple. The message is that Mac laptops are as valuable as money. Nothing more. Everything else is just fluff to feed the discussion.

    2. Re:The moral of the story by kheldan · · Score: 1

      If that's what you really feel then why are you still coming here? Listening to you, Slashdot has 'sold out' to whoever they'd sell out to, and is effectively dead; shouldn't you be moving on to somewhere more to your liking?

      --
      Are YOU using the TOOL, or is the TOOL using YOU? Think about it!
    3. Re:The moral of the story by dmt0 · · Score: 1

      Why? Overall Slashdot is not bad at all. Lot's of interesting stories. From time to time there's a paid story coming through. It's useful to identify them for what they are.

  14. Re:stuff that matters? mod down entire article ? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    If it was about Surface's or Dell laptops? Probably. This is a way of techies laughing at non-techies for not understanding how tech works, while stealing something that is representative of technology.

    He tried to get one up on us by stealing our tech, but our tech was superior! Hah! Stupid delivery guy.

  15. If you ever want to get away with something... by jjhues7676 · · Score: 1

    If you ever want to get away with something, NEVER TELL ANYONE, especially SIRI and Cortana !!!

  16. Re: Yeah, and? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Indeed, I don't care about dumb burglars.
    Oh yeah, Apple. I don't care. So much I ve lost time complaining...

  17. This is normal by Etherwalk · · Score: 1

    Modern Day version of it "fell off the truck"

    This is an everyday occurrence. Maybe not this particular variety, but a whole bunch of stuff "falls off the truck." I had an aunt who had all of her wedding gifts stolen by the moving company basically the same way, a fortune worth of irreplaceable gifts. The town plumber when I was out east would poke his head out of jobs every few minutes to check on his truck because another plumber had just had his truck stolen with all of his plumbing equipment in it. When I suggested a camera, he pointed out, "yeah, but I'd rather not get shot."

    Engineers don't usually knowingly deal with real criminals, fortunately. But it turns out crime is a thing.

  18. Welcome to 1984 and the NWO by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Footage from CCTV cameras

    ... shouldn't be admissible. We fought a war in 1776 over shit like this and we won. Which is why we're CITIZENS and they're SUBJECTS.

    1. Re:Welcome to 1984 and the NWO by ihtoit · · Score: 1

      footage from CCTV isn't admissable as evidence, it's useful for extracting confessions and that's it. Cell-site tracking, on the other hand, is not only admissable as evidence, so are call records that can be used to prove in the first instance that the handset was in the possession of the accused the entire time, and then the map is revealed showing a time-ticked track of the route he took with pinpointed location of CCTV cameras showing stills of him passing their fields of view and his signed confession that the images are in fact showing him.

      --
      Political debates have me rolling my eyes so much I think I got optical whiplash. I should sue. - Foamy The Squirrel
    2. Re:Welcome to 1984 and the NWO by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      footage from CCTV isn't admissable as evidence, it's useful for extracting confessions and that's it. Cell-site tracking, on the other hand, is not only admissable as evidence, so are call records that can be used to prove in the first instance that the handset was in the possession of the accused the entire time, and then the map is revealed showing a time-ticked track of the route he took with pinpointed location of CCTV cameras showing stills of him passing their fields of view and his signed confession that the images are in fact showing him.

      Umm ... of course video recordings can admissible as evidence as long as it can be substantiated. IE the cop gets the tape, shoves it into an evidence bag etc. Similar to computer backups being admissible. Again, as long as the backups are being done on a regular basis in the normal manner they can certainly be used as evidence.

    3. Re:Welcome to 1984 and the NWO by ihtoit · · Score: 1

      CCTV isn't admissable as evidence because PHYSICS.

      At twelve feet, even a HD CCTV camera, which has a coverage angle of ~120 degrees, cannot separate a person's eyes.

      Sure, you can make out what colour clothes someone is wearing, but all you can do with that is extract a confession.

      "Do you own a yellow t-shirt and blue jeans?"
      "Yes."
      [established, show CCTV]
      "Is this you walking down the street?"
      "Yes."
      "This footage is taken from the bank CCTV outside right before you robbed that old lady. You are hereby charged with armed robbery and murder."

      --
      Political debates have me rolling my eyes so much I think I got optical whiplash. I should sue. - Foamy The Squirrel
  19. So, you are _against_ TCO analysis? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    If you aren't looking at TCO, and including factors like the time to set up new boxes every 3 years, maintaining driver sets, etc, you're doing it wrong.

    The Macbook Pro I bought in 2007 finally died this summer after daily use.

    The Mac Pro I also bought in 2007 is still in daily use and runs the latest OS, happily builds and tests my vmware images, etc. etc.

    At work, it is pretty much always Dell enterprise stuff. Easy to maintain and lasts a lot longer than the white box junk from the corner shop. Funny, when I compare it feature for feature with Apple gear, it comes out almost exactly the same price.

    Btw, I still use the Coach briefcase my wife bought me in 1997. I admit I was upset when she did it ($400?!??!), but good stuff lasts.

    1. Re:So, you are _against_ TCO analysis? by ihtoit · · Score: 1

      your Macs and your Dells were likely built in the same building.

      --
      Political debates have me rolling my eyes so much I think I got optical whiplash. I should sue. - Foamy The Squirrel
    2. Re:So, you are _against_ TCO analysis? by Uberbah · · Score: 1

      your Macs and your Dells were likely built in the same building.

      If you grill up a Big Mac and a t-bone steak in the same kitchen, are they going to be of the same quality?

    3. Re:So, you are _against_ TCO analysis? by ihtoit · · Score: 1

      probably, if you use actual beef in your big mac rather than the rusk-packed crap they use...

      --
      Political debates have me rolling my eyes so much I think I got optical whiplash. I should sue. - Foamy The Squirrel
    4. Re:So, you are _against_ TCO analysis? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Who cares? They are both disgusting flesh of dead animals that only a primitive barbarian would want to eat.

  20. "La la la I can't hear your quantitative reasoning by Uberbah · · Score: 1

    Here's your TCO cue, shills.

    ...over my Hateboi Hatorade!"

    Why not more reasonably priced hardware? Chromebooks or even some 'doze laptops.

    You mean more cheaply made laptops? Sure, the school could have done that, but then they'd be getting what they paid for. A plastic Chromebook isn't going to take the abuse of an aluminum case and is going to be far more limited in what it can do. An equivalently speced "doze" laptop is going to cost you an equivalent price, with any meager savings made up for by the higher maintenance cost of running Windows.

  21. sandeep by sandeepbabu · · Score: 1

    hoo really nice article :)