4 ms·

It may. Or it may not be. The default assumption that it's stolen causes a lot of needless waste. And frankly, even if it is stolen, is it really in the best in

by dTal 4y ago

It may. Or it may not be. The default assumption that it's stolen causes a lot of needless waste. And frankly, even if it is stolen, is it really in the best interests of society to effectively destroy such a large investment of time and raw materials as a Macbook? One cannot but help noticing that this policy, like many of Apple's "for your own good" policies, are awfully convenient for Apple's bottom line. There are so many ways this could be resolved without destroying working equipment. Apple presumably knows who the registered owner is - they could be contacted. They could be unlocked at Apple stores, with various details taken to facilitate any potential theft investigation.

GeekyBear 4y ago
> even if it is stolen, is it really in the best interests of society When laws were passed to require Apple to enable the feature by default on it's phones, society certainly seemed to think it was in everyone's best interests. >The temptation of a smartphone for a thief is dropping, thanks to Apple’s decision to implement a remote kill switch via Find My Phone that can erase and disable a phone once it’s been stolen or gone missing. A new report from Reuters found that iPhone theft dropped by 50 percent in London, 40 percent in San Francisco and 25 percent in New York. The drops represent theft activity as measured during the 12 months following Apple’s introduction of the remote locking feature in September 2013 as part of iOS 7. With iOS 8, Apple made its so-called said “kill switch” active by default, in accordance with California regulation, and that should help the rates of theft continue to trend downwards. https://techcrunch.com/2015/02/11/apples-activation-lock-leads-to-big-drops-in-smartphone-theft-worldwide/ https://techcrunch.com/2015/02/11/apples-activation-lock-lea...
michaelt 4y ago
> The default assumption that it's stolen causes a lot of needless waste. We're talking about 2-year-old M1 macbooks [1], some of which are worth $1000 unlocked and approximately $0 locked. Even with broken screens etc, the owner can unlock them online. Large institutional owners like schools can get them unlocked in bulk through device management. And even if the institutional owners messed up the device registration and it's been locked to a fired employee's personal account, Apple can unlock them using the original sales records. In the absence of theft, it's difficult to imagine why the owner would be refusing to unlock the device, given they could share $1000 of value with the recycler. There aren't that many macbooks being repossessed by bailiffs. But if the devices have been stolen? That easily explains what is otherwise mysterious. [1] https://www.vice.com/en/article/xgybq7/apple-macbook-activation-lock-right-to-repair https://www.vice.com/en/article/xgybq7/apple-macbook-activat...
- nicoburns 4y ago
  > In the absence of theft, it's difficult to imagine why the owner would be refusing to unlock the device, It's generally not the owner refusing to unlock. It's the owner not being able to work out how to do it. Forgetting or not knowing they needed to do it. And/or not being contactable.
  - michaelt 4y ago
    So these recyclers have records so thorough they're completely sure these laptops aren't stolen, and yet so incomplete they can't contact the owners at all? Even when hundreds of dollars is at stake, which could surely pay for a few hours of phone calls walking people through the unlock procedure? If you believe that, I've got a bridge to sell you.
    - nicoburns 4y ago
      What if neither side of the sale has the technical competence to do this?
      - bzzzt 4y ago
        Then they have no reason to be in the used computer business.
        nicoburns 4y ago
        Who said anything about businesses? Hugh swathes of the used tech market are peer to peer sales on craigslist, facebook market, the literal village noticeboard, etc.
        chongli 4y ago
        The original story is about large scale recyclers complaining about bulk bricked machines. If you buy a used MacBook on Craigslist then it’s on you to make sure the seller properly transfers ownership to you. Same as buying a house or a car. Buyer beware!

by dTal 4y ago

GeekyBear 4y ago

> even if it is stolen, is it really in the best interests of society When laws were passed to require Apple to enable the feature by default on it's phones, society certainly seemed to think it was in everyone's best interests. >The temptation of a smartphone for a thief is dropping, thanks to Apple’s decision to implement a remote kill switch via Find My Phone that can erase and disable a phone once it’s been stolen or gone missing. A new report from Reuters found that iPhone theft dropped by 50 percent in London, 40 percent in San Francisco and 25 percent in New York. The drops represent theft activity as measured during the 12 months following Apple’s introduction of the remote locking feature in September 2013 as part of iOS 7. With iOS 8, Apple made its so-called said “kill switch” active by default, in accordance with California regulation, and that should help the rates of theft continue to trend downwards. https://techcrunch.com/2015/02/11/apples-activation-lock-leads-to-big-drops-in-smartphone-theft-worldwide/ https://techcrunch.com/2015/02/11/apples-activation-lock-lea...

michaelt 4y ago

> The default assumption that it's stolen causes a lot of needless waste. We're talking about 2-year-old M1 macbooks [1], some of which are worth $1000 unlocked and approximately $0 locked. Even with broken screens etc, the owner can unlock them online. Large institutional owners like schools can get them unlocked in bulk through device management. And even if the institutional owners messed up the device registration and it's been locked to a fired employee's personal account, Apple can unlock them using the original sales records. In the absence of theft, it's difficult to imagine why the owner would be refusing to unlock the device, given they could share $1000 of value with the recycler. There aren't that many macbooks being repossessed by bailiffs. But if the devices have been stolen? That easily explains what is otherwise mysterious. [1] https://www.vice.com/en/article/xgybq7/apple-macbook-activation-lock-right-to-repair https://www.vice.com/en/article/xgybq7/apple-macbook-activat...

nicoburns 4y ago
> In the absence of theft, it's difficult to imagine why the owner would be refusing to unlock the device, It's generally not the owner refusing to unlock. It's the owner not being able to work out how to do it. Forgetting or not knowing they needed to do it. And/or not being contactable.
- michaelt 4y ago
  So these recyclers have records so thorough they're completely sure these laptops aren't stolen, and yet so incomplete they can't contact the owners at all? Even when hundreds of dollars is at stake, which could surely pay for a few hours of phone calls walking people through the unlock procedure? If you believe that, I've got a bridge to sell you.
  - nicoburns 4y ago
    What if neither side of the sale has the technical competence to do this?
    - bzzzt 4y ago
      Then they have no reason to be in the used computer business.
      - nicoburns 4y ago
        Who said anything about businesses? Hugh swathes of the used tech market are peer to peer sales on craigslist, facebook market, the literal village noticeboard, etc.
        chongli 4y ago
        The original story is about large scale recyclers complaining about bulk bricked machines. If you buy a used MacBook on Craigslist then it’s on you to make sure the seller properly transfers ownership to you. Same as buying a house or a car. Buyer beware!