Give iPod Thieves an Unchargeable Brick

Svippy writes "Apple has patented a technology for new generations of iPods that would detect when a user tries to operate the iPod on an unauthorised machine ... and will refuse to charge. Indefinitely. From the article: 'Every portable gadget with a rechargeable battery has a charging circuit that recognises when the external mains charger has been plugged in. It then manages the transfer of current to the battery. Apple's patent suggests that by attaching a "guardian circuit" to the charging circuit, it would be possible to block the charging process. When a device is plugged into an unauthorised computer, software would compare a security code in the device to a code buried in the software in the computer. Apple already employs a similar technology to "pair" iPods to iTunes running on a specific Mac or PC. If the codes do not match, then the guardian circuit could be triggered to prevent any further charging.'"

Re:weeee

[balamw]

You can use any iPod with multiple computers. Just set it to manually manage music and it'll work fine with any machine you throw at it.

B

Re:weeee

[Cahrin]

Rockbox [rockbox.org] is a good open source solution that allows you to manage your iPod on any machine without using iTunes.

Re:weeee

[Hijacked Public]

Lots of people think so, because Apple stopped including wall chargers with iPods somewhere around Gen 4ish. You just get the USB to iPod cable.

They can be had for about $5US at Fry's.

Re:False positives

[hey!]

Well sorta. But how well it works makes a big difference, doesn't it?

They've already got this in place to protect DRM'd music bought through the iTunes store, and as far as I can see it works perfectly well. You don't have to run around finding any little faux-stock-certificates, you don't have to call up an Apple representative and provide a justification for what you are doing. The Apple system is simple, permissive, and reasonably fool proof provided you have an email account that you can rely upon.

I will take a moment to remind people

[geekoid]

that this is a patent, not an implementation.

False patent

[pegr]

Patent? Prior art. Heck, my Verizon Razr has been doing this since day one. I have to load a special driver to get it to charge from my laptop's USB port. Without it, the screen just says "Unauthorized Charger"... It rejects any charger it didn't come with, even other Motorola chargers. Forget 3rd party devices. Bastards...

Oh, yeah, Apple, um, good luck with that...