Being killed for your Smart Phone...One reason NOT to have the latest version...

Most phone companies are partly to blame in that they allow the phone to be used elsewhere. They know the internal phone number. If I report it stolen, then it should be blocked or even switched off by the manufacturer.

As it is, they know you'll get a new one on your insurance and the manufacturer sells another phone.

But phone theft has gone on for years. I was always having scammers trying to 'obtain' my mobile from me when I was a taxi driver.

Personally, I'm very tempted to go back to a basic phone after my experience of my android phone. Sure it does all these weird and wonderful things, but it also eats data and being google it continuously tries to get me to use their services, links facebook with contacts etc. I don't want or like that. I don't like that these undeleteable google items are always communicating with HQ and using my data allowance. I believe Apple is the same.

My gf likes her old Blackberry and refuses to get a new touch screen one and I might just get a simple Nokia next time. At least the old phones had a week of standby and picked up a signal in places my smart phone just doesn't.

 

Around here, if you wear Uggs or Northface, you take you life in your hands...

 

Interesting article, but the title is classically misleading by reversing cause and effect....to gather more attention.

A more correct title would be "Governments sit idle in the battle against Smartphone theft." All it takes is some basic telecommunications legislation to make a huge U-turn in this battle.

 

The feds could do a lot of things... why do you think we now have tire pressure monitors...(ford exploders), fed could mandate faraday cages in all cars. Or an app installed on the phones hardware that prohibits the use of the phone without a hands free device while its in motion. to limit distracted driving...they could mandate a speed limiting chip so car could not exceed the speed limit on a given road based on current navigational data...

Why do have so many warning labels on stuff from hot coffee to rotating mower blades...government intrusion...

when does it become too much????

 

Don't confuse 'government' with ' personal injury lawyers'. Most of those labels are not mandated by any government agency.

 

fuzzy, last time I checked judges are government representatives. If judges would get serious and begin throwing out stupid frivolous lawsuits before they even got to the court stage, the ambulance chasing lawyers would have no where to peddle their wares.

who would of thought, using a generator indoors could kill you
New Danger Label Required on All Portable Generators | CPSC.gov

who would have though that sticking your hand under a mower could result in an injury
eCFR — Code of Federal Regulations

the CPSC is the long arm of the federal government that mandates safety labels and such on products. Don't get me wrong yes there are some thing that need labels and extra warnings but you can't legislate common sense.

I'm sure that a person got a lawyer to sue toyota or garmin, ect adn that why our nav units are locked out when moving....

Sorry I got off topic, I'm just not a huge fan of more government.

 

Lawyers have a place, but equally they're responsible for a lot of the ills of modern day living.

I had to chuckle the other week when a number of legal aid lawyers went on a protest here due to their fees being cut.

Barristers walk out in protest at plans to slash £220million from legal aid budget | Mail Online

Nothing wrong in that I guess, other than they were holding designer handbags worth £1,100/$1,800. Hmmm, if you can't make ends meet off the public purse, then go get some proper business or shut up. Hardly going to feel sorry for you if you have a bag worth as much as someone earns in a month.

 

Makes a nice headline, but one does not make a trend.

 

I see what I want to see

 

I'm satisfied with my dumb phone

 

I'm usually a 'late adopter' but I upgraded to an S4 and haven't looked back. The Tablet version (7") allows me to switch seamlessly from phone and tablet without using too many lumens of diminishing brain energy.
Are they worth a life?
Hell no.
I'm an armed citizen, but if I see somebody running down the street with my gear in their paws, they're going to get away clean for two reasons:
1. I'm an old fart and I don't run that fast any more.
2. See above. No phone is worth somebody's life. Even on my humble salary...I can stroke a check and replace them both.
This afternoon.
Setting them back up would almost be worth popping a cap on some cretin, BUT I back my crap up, so it won't be that bad.

Police get paid for, and are trained for the law enforcement gig. Pay and training could always be better, but even a 19 year old rookie LEO gets paid and trained more than I do.
She or he (we have both) also took an oath and wears a badge.

Is BIG PHONE doing enough to stop cloning cell phones?
That depends on how you look at it.
I think they put forth an honest effort, but it's like credit card theft.
No effort is ever good enough to either satisfy the sheeple or thwart the wolves.
No matter how assiduously you track MAC, IMEI, or RFID or GPS, storage or Processor ID data?
They can all be changed, altered, cleansed by high school students, and you have virgin hardware again.....uh....almost.
Yeah.
I guess you could use a DNA lock with an explosive booby-trap, but the Fourth Amendment idiots want anonymity AND security which is a tough combination to get juuuuust right, which would preclude DNA databases.
If you blow off some crack addict's fingers with the booby trap the phone will be trashed, and the addict will be even LESS able to contribute to society than he or she was before the phone theft.
Besides....
Idiots who use their phone while driving are much more likely to kill or maim than some pathetic drug addict trying to jack a phone for some quick cash, but I'm biased.
The last two or three times I was almost killed over a cell phone?
I was on a motorcycle and some cretin poking a smart phone instead of doing the stick and rudder thing almost turned me into road pizza!

 

I don't have one... I still have a flip phone (cause I'm an old fart and I really was imprinted when Star Trek came out with the communicator... of which I also have several toys) and I am happy with it...

I don't get texts... and I don't surf the web with my phone.

 

I always thought Motorola missed an opportunity when they didn't make their flip phones make that Star Trek sound when you opened them.

 

Likely didn't want to pay the royalities.

 

Appreciate that, but unless the StarTrek people got greedy, it would have been worth the money.