The personal website of Matt Henderson.
17 September 2013
I once saw an ad for a fake Rolex that read:
Don't spend $5,000 for a real Rolex, because wearing that kind of money on your wrist is likely to get your hand chopped off! Instead, spend 45 bucks on our imitation Rolex, which, we guarantee, is indistinguishable from the real thing!
The obvious point this advertiser missed is that if their watch is indistinguishable from from the real thing, then you're still just as likely to get your hand chopped off. And if that happened, it wouldn't be that satisfying to know they only made off with $45, rather than a $5,000. You'd be thinking about your lost hand!
I was reminded of this story today when I read on TUAW how a disembodied finger can't be used to unlock the Touch ID sensor on the now iPhone 5S, since activation of the sensors requires the presence of electrical charges that wouldn't be emitted by a severed finger.
That's great, but I suspect your average finger chopping street thief is unlikely to know that. So after he makes off your with iPhone 5S and your finger, I doubt you're gonna be jumping up and down thinking, "YES! Just wait until he tries unlocking that thing!"
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