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Are there other solutions to remedy the pain? Yes. Could they not just get back the same laptop they already have? Most definitely. Whenever there's a story sh

Are there other solutions to remedy the pain? Yes. Could they not just get back the same laptop they already have? Most definitely. Whenever there's a story shared on HN that implies a negative sentiment towards an Apple policy, people come out of the woodwork talking about how we can work around the policy or why Apple has to do it the way everyone hates. Why? Why does the biggest company in the world get volunteers spitshining their PR?

Aeolun 3y ago
Apple has to do it the way everyone hates to prevent apple device owners from being regular victims of armed robbery.
- eptcyka 3y ago
  It doesn't have to be this way :)
  - bananapub 3y ago
    in what way do you think apple's process should be altered to provide the same level of assurance but also let the blogger get their laptop back? or are you suggesting that everyone else should just accept more risk?
    - eptcyka 3y ago
      If you have receipts for an iDevice and you have the iDevice in your possesion, Apple could just unlock the device. They could also lock the device to an iCloud account even if the user doesn't enable FindMyDevice on it. And I will re-iterate, what's with all this risk management from unpaid volunteers for the biggest tech company in the world? :)
      - jms703 3y ago
        So if I have your receipt I get access to your device?
        Hizonner 3y ago
        If you have the receipt, and ID showing your picture and the name under which I ordered the device, and can receive physical mail at the address to which the device was shipped, and/or at the address listed on the cloud account that we both know the device effectively forced me to create, then yes.
        LeafItAlone 3y ago
        > at the address listed on the cloud account From my reading of the post, this piece is missing. The blogger doesn’t recognize the iCloud account _currently_ associated with the device.
        eptcyka 3y ago
        If you have access to the apple ID that paid for a device, sure, why not.
      - LeafItAlone 3y ago
        An old invoice doesn’t necessarily indicate current ownership. I have the invoice of pretty much everything I’ve purchased in the past decade (I scan in anything physical), including for a lot of items that I no longer have ownership of. Unfortunately, except for the invoice, all of the other evidence pointed to the blogger _not_ being the current owner.
      - averageRoyalty 3y ago
        In this blog posts scenario, the user has the device and the receipt, but the device is locked to another iCloud account. Is that sufficient here? What stops me from selling my laptop anonymously, robbing it from the person I sold it to, then having Apple unlock it? I know it seems a weird case, but there are some pretty wild and convoluted scams out there, and this is pretty tame in comparison.
- IshKebab 3y ago
  I'm really skeptical that any of this stuff significantly deters thieves.
  - paulmd 3y ago
    https://techcrunch.com/2015/02/11/apples-activation-lock-leads-to-big-drops-in-smartphone-theft-worldwide/amp/?guccounter=1 https://techcrunch.com/2015/02/11/apples-activation-lock-lea... > 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.

Aeolun 3y ago

Apple has to do it the way everyone hates to prevent apple device owners from being regular victims of armed robbery.

eptcyka 3y ago
It doesn't have to be this way :)
- bananapub 3y ago
  in what way do you think apple's process should be altered to provide the same level of assurance but also let the blogger get their laptop back? or are you suggesting that everyone else should just accept more risk?
  - eptcyka 3y ago
    If you have receipts for an iDevice and you have the iDevice in your possesion, Apple could just unlock the device. They could also lock the device to an iCloud account even if the user doesn't enable FindMyDevice on it. And I will re-iterate, what's with all this risk management from unpaid volunteers for the biggest tech company in the world? :)
    - jms703 3y ago
      So if I have your receipt I get access to your device?
      - Hizonner 3y ago
        If you have the receipt, and ID showing your picture and the name under which I ordered the device, and can receive physical mail at the address to which the device was shipped, and/or at the address listed on the cloud account that we both know the device effectively forced me to create, then yes.
        LeafItAlone 3y ago
        > at the address listed on the cloud account From my reading of the post, this piece is missing. The blogger doesn’t recognize the iCloud account _currently_ associated with the device.
      - eptcyka 3y ago
        If you have access to the apple ID that paid for a device, sure, why not.
    - LeafItAlone 3y ago
      An old invoice doesn’t necessarily indicate current ownership. I have the invoice of pretty much everything I’ve purchased in the past decade (I scan in anything physical), including for a lot of items that I no longer have ownership of. Unfortunately, except for the invoice, all of the other evidence pointed to the blogger _not_ being the current owner.
    - averageRoyalty 3y ago
      In this blog posts scenario, the user has the device and the receipt, but the device is locked to another iCloud account. Is that sufficient here? What stops me from selling my laptop anonymously, robbing it from the person I sold it to, then having Apple unlock it? I know it seems a weird case, but there are some pretty wild and convoluted scams out there, and this is pretty tame in comparison.
IshKebab 3y ago
I'm really skeptical that any of this stuff significantly deters thieves.
- paulmd 3y ago
  https://techcrunch.com/2015/02/11/apples-activation-lock-leads-to-big-drops-in-smartphone-theft-worldwide/amp/?guccounter=1 https://techcrunch.com/2015/02/11/apples-activation-lock-lea... > 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.