Tracking a Move Via "Find My iPhone" 216
Posted
by
kdawson
from the unintended-consequences dept.
from the unintended-consequences dept.
dmolnar writes "I recently helped my girlfriend move her stuff from Chicago, IL to Oakland, CA. The movers were scheduled to arrive at 8AM on the 5th of July, and we were stressing the day before about all the things that could go wrong with a move. We realized that if we knew where her stuff was, it'd make us feel better. This is a story about using the $99 iPhone to track the move ... and about a somewhat surprising potential use of Find My iPhone to track your friends' iPhones without them noticing."
Moving company? (Score:3, Insightful)
What peace of mind do you get from knowing where your stuff is? Is there anything you can do with that information?
I wonder if it isn't more a matter of control that you feel like you're giving up by letting professionals do their job. Do you also insist on driving everywhere instead of taking a plane or bus?
Re:Iphones are not $99 (Score:2, Insightful)
From TFA:
"AT&T has a clause in their contract where you can opt out within 30 days without paying the early termination fee."
Re:Much cheaper... (Score:5, Insightful)
Re:Iphones are not $99 (Score:3, Insightful)
If you also return the hardware, sure.
That caveat works fine for a scenario like this, until it's systemically abused, prompting AT&T to change its policies when it has too many returned phones (not just iPhones, but any other data-enabled device that might be used for just such a trick).
It works now because of the balance--it's a good supply of refurbed phones, which are still profitable for the carrier, to a point. As with most things, it's all about balance.
Re:Moving company? (Score:2, Insightful)
Is this even legal in most places? (Score:4, Insightful)
I thought you needed a warrant or at least a private investigator's license to track people by GPS without their knowledge.
Re:Iphones are not $99 (Score:3, Insightful)
Sorry, but the article specifically said the immortal "it's only $99!!!"
Re:Iphones are not $99 (Score:5, Insightful)
What they don't understand is that they have good alternatives. Get an unlocked Google, Nokia, or Windows Mobile phone and a prepaid plan and you pay much less for a smartphone that gets the job done (and actually is nicer for text messages and a lot of other uses).
Re:Moving company? (Score:3, Insightful)
The parent's point was that why do you need to continually call the removal people to find out where they are?
If you trust the company to move your stuff, then they'll get it to your new place as soon as they can. If they're late, they should call you. If you don't trust the company to move your stuff, then hire somebody else, or hire a van and move the stuff yourself.
Seems totally paranoid to want to 'track' the removal company, if you ask me!
Re:Iphones are not $99 (Score:3, Insightful)
Wow, what set that rant off? I don't think the OP said anything about a ripoff. It sounded more like surprise that so many people seem to focus exclusively on the $99 upfront cost and (apparently) ignore the monthly, as if that was irrelevant. Another example of this attitude is the fuss a lot of people made over the extra fee required to pay off the rest of their iPhone 3G contract when upgrading.
By way of comparison, in AU there is a fairly wide range of upfront vs monthly options. I pay full price for an unlocked phone and pay only $10/month (not unlimited, but sufficient for me), so 2 years of $60+/month extra payments would nearly double my overall cost, despite subsidies.
Re:Is this even legal in most places? (Score:3, Insightful)
Ahh... yes.
And Cheney had a valid warrant for every single act of spying he did.
But a bunch of college kids don't have the handy excuse, nor the political clout to keep themselves out of prison over a silly stunt.
Think of the lawyers! (Score:4, Insightful)
Only in the USA do people shout "think of the lawyers!" before considering innovations in technology.... ;-)
The guy is only tracking his own stuff. He doesn't know who's driving the truck, if they changed every 100 miles and different people are in the cab from when they picked up his stuff, if they are in the cab when the vehicle is stationary or if they've gone off to a cafe or home to sleep for the night. He only knows where his iphone is. For all he knows his stuff might have been shifted to another vehicle, he doesn't even know if it's in the same truck.
More accurate summary (Score:5, Insightful)
Guy wants to do something bizarre and paranoid. Looks for an honest way of doing it. Concludes that would be too expensive, and notices that if he pretends to want a new cellphone, and pretends to want a set of web-based services for it, he can get them for $99, claim he doesn't like the phone or service, and cancel them up to 30 days later.
Plan works as intended and results in the exact same situation as if he didn't do the bizarre and paranoid thing (movers tell you they'll be at the destination at one time, but come at another).
Guy expresses shock that setting a phone up to report its location to a web service results in --gasp!-- the phone reporting its location to a web service!!! Notes that if you don't keep your web password or your phone secured, your security could be compromised!
Finishes by admitting he likes the phone, which is a relief because this isn't a story so much about hardware, but someone's lack of honesty and willingness to rip companies off in order to do a bizarre and paranoid thing.
Re:Iphones are not $99 (Score:3, Insightful)
Re:Much cheaper... (Score:3, Insightful)
Wouldn't you rather have the iPhone in your pocket, to receive calls?
However if you have a *spare* iPhone 3G or 3GS, it's a great idea. How many people have spare iPhone 3Gs?
Re:Much cheaper... (Score:4, Insightful)
How did you come up with that conclusion.
The only point of that article is to advertise the crappy iPhone, which nobody would buy, were it not for the bubble of love they create around you and it. ^^
(Hmm... Sadly I think it may be more serious that I wished it to be.)
Re:More accurate summary (Score:3, Insightful)
I don't understand the point of this entire exercise. Where did he think the truck was going, on a Ferris Bueller-esque "joy ride" across the country?
He had his dates mixed up as well: movers were scheduled to come in at 8am on the 5th, Best Buy was open at 10am on the 5th, and after buying the phone, he says the movers are coming the next morning, which would would've been the 6th.
I don't have an iPhone, but would it get a signal while packed in a cardboard box while in a fully-enclosed metal container?
Re:Much cheaper... (Score:3, Insightful)
My phone doesn't have a camera. It doesn't have internet. It doesn't have ringtones. It doesn't have GPS. It doesn't run programs.
My phone makes phone calls, and I love it to death.
Re:Much cheaper... (Score:4, Insightful)
However if I already have an phone it is a useful feature nicely outlined in the article.
Fixed that for you. Yes, that was his point - this has been available on phones for years. Why do we need an article specifically for the Iphone, just because it finally joins the club? I thought Slashdot was once a place to find news on cutting edge technology - okay, I know we joke about stories turning up late, but...
What next? "Using Your Iphone To Talk To People"?
Re:Much cheaper... (Score:3, Insightful)
If the truck acts as a Faraday cage why would it block GPS but let through cellphone traffic? They are both just radio on different frequencies after all.
Re:Much cheaper... (Score:3, Insightful)