Apple patent application promises means to detect gadget abuse
By Donald Melanson 
posted August 6th 2009 4:06PM
posted August 6th 2009 4:06PM
Apple's already put liquid submersion sensors in some of its recent products, but a recent patent application seems to suggest that it has some considerably grander plans in mind to detect and prevent gadget abuse. Described as a "Consumer Abuse Detection System and Method," the new system would apparently make use of a whole range of sensors to various issues that might void the warranty of the device, like exposure to extreme cold or heat, drops, or submersion in liquid. What's more, unlike the current liquid sensors that simply change color when something bad happens, the new system would apparently store the damage digitally in memory which, presumably, wouldn't be as susceptible to damage as the device itself. The system would also apparently do its best to protect the devices by disabling them if it detects some imminent danger, although Apple doesn't make any bones about the fact that it's primarily designed to save money on returned products that have been abused by the user.
@vanilla
you're so full of shit
Apple DID invent moisture sensors (not to mention copy+paste, the mp3 player, non-alcoholic beer, and whoopie cushions)
You're gonna have to do better than using mere facts and common sense to convince me...
:P
Fine by me - I don't see why a company should have to replace stock if the users used it in ways that were explicitly stated to damage it in the instructions. As long as the detection system matches its criteria with what is in the manual and those operational criteria are reasonable then I have no issue with this.
think of this like the airplane "black box" or flight data recorder for your iphone or laptop or tablet-pc or whatever.
it will be a source of information. could it possibly be mis-interpreted or mis-applied? sure. but generally speaking, more information should result in better ability to diagnose problems and improve products and practices over time.
ideally, apple would make it so that users could access the data, so they could track and react to data to answer questions like "how many g's did my laptop pull on my bike commute yesterday?"; "how close did i come to frying my laptop when i left it in the glove compartment of my car during lunch?", etc.
http://www.australianit.news.com.au/story/0,27574,25873861-15306,00.html
"we deny all responsibility, lady... it's clear you've tampered with your unit and our embedded abuse-detecting chippery is toast!"