In case there was any concern that the umbilical cord between US corporations and government has never been thicker (especially in light of recent revelations that the NSA views the AAPL Borg Collective as useful "zombies [6]", abusing their credit cards just so they can be spied upon in new and improved ways) the New York Police Department is here to remind everyone of just that.
NYPD has a message for you iPhone and iPad folks pic.twitter.com/cxzHLpgh60 [7]
— Jim Rosenberg (@jimrosenberg) September 21, 2013 [8]
The NYPD notice zoomed in:
[9]
Why is the NYPD so transfixed by the Apple operating system upgrade cycle? Their justification (punctuated by five exclamation marks):
Attention Apple Users!!!!!
As of Wednesday, September 18, 2013 the new iOS 7 feature brings added security to your Apple devices.
By downloading the new operating system, should your device be lost or stolen it cannot be reprogrammed without an Apple ID and password. The download is FREE from Apple.
The download is FREE from Apple.
Odd: so previous AAPL operating systems did not have a lock screen? Or perhaps the NYPD was confused and meant zombies consumers should upgrade to the new 5S iPhone with a handy fingerprint scanner, which superficially at least would make theft more problematic?
Some were as cynically inclined as we are regarding the NYPD's push into product placement:
NYPD cops are in front of Apple stores passing out flyers telling me to update my iOS. Corporation and government never felt so united.
— Tam Nguyen (@tambnguyen) September 20, 2013 [10]
It wasn't just NYPD: as All Things Digital reports [11], everyone is in on it:
Earlier in the week, New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman and San Francisco’s District Attorney George Gascón issued a joint statement [12]praising Apple and urging people to download iOS 7.
Joking aside, as DigitalTrends explains [13], there is some added functionality to the new OS:
The new Activation Lock feature means an Apple ID and password is required before anyone can switch off the device’s Find My iPhone tool, wipe the phone’s data, or reactivate it. Cops sometimes use Find My iPhone to help relocate stolen devices and apprehend suspects.
Apple explains on its website that Activation Lock can “help you keep your device secure, even if it is in the wrong hands, and can improve your chances of recovering it. Even if you erase your device remotely, Activation Lock can continue to deter anyone from reactivating your device without your permission. All you need to do is keep Find My iPhone turned on, and remember your Apple ID and password.”
Ah yes, all that is needed is for the NSA to be able to track you down at any given moment courtesy of the Find My iPhone function being enabled. But at least once the phone is lost and one falls off the NSA grid, Apple can shut it down remotely.
As DT concludes:
While Apple executives will surely be delighted to learn that cops in the city are going around effectively promoting the tech company’s latest mobile operating system on its behalf, it’s not clear how the majority of the city’s residents feel about the law enforcement officers’ novel approach to fighting crime.
Assuming today's AAPL news of 9 million sales of the new iPhone and an unprecedented update to the new OS is accurate, NY residents have zero qualms about having not being willing participants in the NSA's grand fingerprint database expansion, but paying to have a locator beacon on their person at all times.
But at least the NYPD, and all other law "enforcement" units will be happy. And so is Obama: recall "You can't have 100 percent security and also then have 100 percent privacy and zero inconvenience [14]."