[NewsPoster]

Apple's 29th Street retail store in Boulder, CO was burglarized on Saturday, resulting in $64,000 worth of merchandise being stolen. The thief used large rocks to smash through a custom-made door which was actually appraised as more valuable than the merchandise stolen before police arrived. The robbery happened in the early-morning hours on Saturday. Taken were several laptops, iPads and iPhones, which remain easy to fence and resell despite some security measures.

Should any of the stolen merchandise be connected to a network, police will be able to trace the location and potentially retrieve the items, even if they have been sold to an unsuspecting victim. Under Colorado law, the original owner has a right to reclaim the lost items at no cost even if they have been resold to innocent third parties. Apple has technology built into Mac and iOS devices that allows them to be tracked if stolen. However, the company would be unlikely to demand a return of the devices from unknowing buyers, as insurance claims would cover the cost of both the actual items stolen and the replacement of the glass door. Though aesthetically distinctive, Apple's policy of using extensive glass storefronts has come into question as smash-and-grab and vehicle-based destruction of the storefronts has become a common method for stealing Apple merchandise. The company has thus far resisted the usual metal-barricade or concrete post protective defenses adopted by stores that also use glass doors and storefronts. Though store video from Apple has not yet been released publicly, police say the suspect is likely to be male, and was wearing white gloves along with a black hoodie and baseball cap, which may have made getting a description of the suspect difficult. Anyone with possible information on the theft is encouraged submit tips anonymously through Crime Stoppers or contact the Boulder Police Department by calling 303-441-1974.

[Lazarus]

I'm not sure the goal of the security measures is to recover the merchandise as much as it is to trace the chain of possession back to the thief/thieves.

[ccrider]

Maybe they should use Gorilla Glass?
No one would EVER be able to break it! ; )

[davedawgnyc]

'nuff said!

[apostle]

Maybe the Operating System (OS) could be removed from all of the display units and instead run from a remote server. Stolen units would lack an OS and be unable to even start up. Anyone trying to install the OS online could be blocked by checking the hardware serial number against stolen units. Physical store inventory could be kept in a secure basement vault.

As a previous poster noted, a better grade of glass (gorilla or bullet proof) could be employed. At the first sign of "impact" a 120 decibel alarm could sound, waking everyone within a half mile of the store.

Then again I expect the people at Apple have already considered similar options and found that paying the insurance was more cost effective.

Personally I would find a perverse pleasure in installing a sprinkler system that dispensed tear gas and/or pepper spray once the alarm has been sounded and infrared cameras have sensed body heat, once the store had closed. At the very least it'd make a great YouTube video...

=0)

[PJV]

The word is "burgled". A burglar burgles. No need to make it more complicated! Why not go the whole hog and say that they had been the victims of a "burglarization"?

[coffeetime]

Well then. Problem solved. Use it to store Apple products.

[Spheric Harlot]

Originally Posted by PJV 

The word is "burgled". A burglar burgles. No need to make it more complicated! Why not go the whole hog and say that they had been the victims of a "burglarization"?

Because a noun for the act already existed.

A burglar commits burglary. Both forms of the verb are derived from the noun "burglar", with the British form apparently being a tongue-in-cheek back-formation. The references I've been able to find point to "burglarize" being the older form.

Welcome to the Internet, where various forms of English are used interchangeably by people from all over the Commonwe world.

Next, you'll be complaining about "aluminum" without the second "i", despite the fact that the American form is actually the proper one, and the British retroactively added an (etymologically incorrect) "i" to make it sound more edumacated. (Compare: Plumbum, Ferrum, etc.)

[gooser]

even if apple doesn't go after the new owners who's to say the insurance company won't.