Apple Working On Tech To Detect Purchasers' "Abuse" 539
Toe, The writes "Apple has submitted a patent application for technologies which would detect device-abuse by consumers. The intent presumably being to aid in determining the validity of warranty claims. 'Consumer abuse events' would be recorded by liquid and thermal sensors detecting extreme environmental exposures, a shock sensor detecting drops or other impacts, and a continuity sensor to detect jailbreaking or other tampering. The article also notes that liquid submersion detectors are already deployed in MacBook Pros, iPhones and iPods. It does seem reasonable that a corporation would wish to protect itself from fraudulent warranty claims; however the idea of sensors inside your portable devices detecting what you do with them might raise eyebrows even beyond the tinfoil-hat community."
Re:I guess this could make sense (Score:3, Interesting)
"Sir, we can't replace your Iphone for the blow speaker because our system shows the device was in 120+ degree weather for longer than 30 seconds."
"I drove here in a car with no AC. It's 113 degrees outside.. I just called first and you guys said it would be fine."
"Sorry sir, our sensor doesn't record when the event took place, simply that the event took place. Have a nice day."
Who's more evil? (Score:4, Interesting)
Is it just me, or is Apple more Evil than Microsoft these days?
Re:I believe that ... (Score:1, Interesting)
> as the abused get smarter, the abusers also get smarter at an equal or quicker pace
As an Apple consumer my whole adult life, I am getting fed up with their abuse. There is a freedom I am entitled to when I purchase their (or anyone's) products .. it is the freedom of OWNERSHIP, to do with it what I wish (that isn't outright illegal or causes harm to others), and Apple seems hell-bent on stripping me of that freedom. I expect this kind of draconian top-down use-policing from Microsoft .. not from Apple. It's getting to the point where I can't even tell the difference.
Re:It works really well (Score:3, Interesting)
Re:It works really well (Score:2, Interesting)
So anyone who buys that product containing this technology anywhere on the east coast of the US including Boston and New York, where it regularly reaches 100% relative humidity, and technology companies such as RIM and Apple *heavily* market their wares, is to blame when they *haven't* submerged their devices and the company says that they have? That's absolute nonsense. You sound like someone that has "bad tech-support employer Stockholm syndrome".
It's simply justification for a company who doesn't know how to solve a problem so they want to pretend it doesn't even exist and reflexively say it's the customers fault.
API's for the sensors (Score:2, Interesting)
Re:Its harder and harder to be an Apple fanboy... (Score:3, Interesting)
It won't lower the price. That is set by external market forces--supply and demand. The company's goal is then to minimize their costs to improve their margins. This will get them a few extra pennies of profit. You, as a consumer, will only see a benefit if you happen to be an Apple stock-holder.
Solution? (Score:5, Interesting)
I'm a bit surprised at the negativity towards Apple, lately. Every day for weeks, there seems to be a story about how Apple is screwing its customers or developers. That's fine; I really don't like them or their products. But I wonder if there is now a buzz-driven backlash against the company?
I suppose that a company that lives on trendiness, is particularly vulnerable to trends, as well. I would have thought that corporate management at apple would understand that the moment Apple begins being viewed as 'corporate' by American hopsters, their rapid ascension would come to a screeching halt. They need to loosen up a bit... or at least SEEM to loosen up. I know they won't ever open up their hardware, but they need to do something to stop the flood of stories portraying Apple as a vicious, tyrannical censorer of applications and information. The easiest way would be to STOP being a vicious, tyrannical censorer of applications and information.
Re:It works really well (Score:3, Interesting)
That's exactly what happened to a friend of mine. The LIS in her Samsung phone was set off merely with New York State summer humidity, without any liquid submergence.
LIS patches are notorious for false positives.
Re:Yes, but it's Apple (Score:3, Interesting)
i'll gladly flame apple for it. i forgive them for nothing. to me they're almost no different than microsoft.
Re:A patent for combining Retail products (Score:2, Interesting)
Engadget.com - What a horrible layout... (Score:3, Interesting)
3 paragraphs into the article, loading the 4th page view I gave up. Can't say as I've seen a site try and jam more ads into one page than that place, a top banner, both sides, and a failing bottom banner as well. I will say this as a support tech, apple is good, I don't like the hardware personally but you work with what the paying customer has and wants, but I've never had issues with Dell either, maybe it is being a partner instead of a general public caller that makes the difference. My experience with Gateway however has never been good, they are ridiculous about parts and shipping.
Re:might decrease the value of the warranty, thoug (Score:3, Interesting)
(but if you've installed third-party drives or memory to which a problem is attributable, tough luck, Chuck).
Do you use the Nintendo policy of "if it's there it's at fault" or do you actually check if it was at fault?
Re:might decrease the value of the warranty, thoug (Score:3, Interesting)
Conveniently, a fresh one looks very similar to the shinyness of generic sticker material or white nail polish or white out depending on the surface texture.
Just a thought.
Re:might decrease the value of the warranty, thoug (Score:5, Interesting)
Re:Holy crap! (Score:3, Interesting)
The Story:
Was at shooting range teaching a friend to "bump fire" a rifle. Technically it's not allowed in competitive shooting, but we all do it from time to time. (Not going to explain it, watch YouTube.)
There was a kid down a few lanes from us who was watching and listening. Well he didn't have such a great hold on his rifle and when it started going off like a full auto he freaked and turned. I got a 5.56mm round from an AR-15 to the wrist as a result and both he and his father got banned from the range. I'm surprised I didn't.
The watch face shattered and I got this NASTY bruise on my arm and a small cut where the wrist band broke, but no damage that cussing didn't make better. i sent in the parts of the watch that I could find and a polaroid of my arm telling them how happy I was that they made strong watches. Never asked for a replacement as I fully intended on buying a new one soon anyways. (The origional was scratched badly by that point after serving in the army with me.) within a week I had a box on my doorstep with the origional, a new watch, and a letter stating that they thought I should keep the origional as a keepsake but that I couldn't turn it in again for another free watch because it's serial number had been written down.
Re:might decrease the value of the warranty, thoug (Score:3, Interesting)
-Some bozo with his daughter and a cracked Macbook screen. She swore up and down that it "just happened" and her daddy refused to believe his precious snowflake would lie.
-A guy who left his Macbook in the back of his truck. It opened up and broke in half thanks to other heavy items and some rough road. Literally. The screen was smashed and snapped off the body. He was surprised that Applecare wouldn't cover it.
-A Macbook Pro that was just flat-out disgusting. Grime, crud, scratches, dents, and more. The screen was having issues, possibly because of an alarmingly large dent in the back. The keyboard reeked of coffee. Yeah, there was no coverage on that one.
-A Macbook Pro with several keys popped halfway off, which isn't entirely unusual, but they keys had chipped edges, which is. The bottom was bent upward right around the optical drive, and pretty noticeably, too. Problem: The keyboard and DVD drive don't work. Gee, I wonder why?
-A woman with an iBook G3 (about 7 years old at the time) that had died. She was incredulous that Apple wouldn't cover it, I kid you not. I told her to take it up with Apple because I didn't want to deal with that crap.
-An iMac that was absolutely FILLED with cigarette ash, nicotine stains, and other assorted grime. It was truly disgusting and reeked like ass. It most likely overheated and roasted itself. Turns out that Apple classifies that as abuse and the guy was out of luck. Don't smoke like a chimney around your computer.
I don't have any stories as dramatic as those with people trying to filch Apple, but man, you deal with some real tards in this business.
Anothe rrun-around the consumer (Score:3, Interesting)
Yet another run-around the consumer so that they can sell products with a "warranty" then fail to live up to it.
Scenario: 1 month into having my iPod, It suffers a light drop to the floor from the couch. Nothing is wrong with it - but the "drop sensor" records it as exceeding the impact tolerance. 6 months later, the battery fries itself and no longer works. I mail it back - guess what? WARRANTY DENIED for a totally unrelated occurrence.
Re:might decrease the value of the warranty, thoug (Score:2, Interesting)
Or just tell them you lost it, even if you haven't dropped it in water or lost it. And then do it again once you get the new one. Repeat ad nauseam. Profit. (Did I miss a step?)
Re:might decrease the value of the warranty, thoug (Score:3, Interesting)
Do you use the Nintendo policy of "if it's there it's at fault" or do you actually check if it was at fault?
I'd be stupid not to check. I always ask if any modifications have been made to the machine. If the original parts are available, I swap them in and test. If you don't have the original parts, you're out of luck. If you do have them and the original parts work, you're out of luck. If the machine doesn't work with the original parts replaced, then the problem is attributable to something else and is covered.
As Apple's representative to the customer, I owe the company and the customer my best effort