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iPod used to steal $100 million in ‘Firewall’ movie
Bloomberg’s Rick Warner notes that the iPod plays an important role in “Firewall,” the new action movie starring Harrison Ford.
“iPods are handy devices, though I never knew how handy until I saw ‘Firewall,’ where Harrison Ford uses his daughter’s pocket-size music machine to steal $100 million,” writes Warner. “While that might make for an interesting Apple commercial, it’s not enough to justify this absurd action-thriller about a computer security expert at a Seattle bank who’s forced to pull off an electronic heist on behalf of a psychotic thief who’s holding his family hostage.”
“I don’t doubt that computerized banking is ripe for theft, but the way Ford does it—by downloading information onto an iPod, then hacking into the bank’s computers and transferring the money with a few clicks of the keyboard—seems as far-fetched as James Frey’s resume.”
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1
Great… I can see it now, this is going to lead to iPods being banned from wrk places.
If I didn’t have my iPod at work, I think I would go nuts.
Posted by ort on February 10, 2006 at 10:03 AM (PDT)
2
You can also find an iPod in the Transporter 2. He uses it to download a picture from security cameras and then upload through his car.. far fetched, yes, but still product placement.
Posted by Steve on February 10, 2006 at 10:13 AM (PDT)
3
Next thing you know, somebody will be using an iPod to upload a virus to an alien invader’s computer.
Posted by rednever on February 10, 2006 at 10:29 AM (PDT)
4
Apple has already downloaded several hundred dollars of my money via the iPod.
Posted by PushButtonAction in Atlanta, GA on February 10, 2006 at 10:36 AM (PDT)
5
Great. And now, the next time a bank gets robbed, the bank will sue Apple for marketing an “inherently defective” device.
Posted by Jeff on February 10, 2006 at 10:42 AM (PDT)
6
People are lame…obviously they don’t understand how handy an iPod aka a portable Hard/Flash drive can be…
Posted by mpeng on February 10, 2006 at 11:07 AM (PDT)
7
When I read the title, I thought that it would be an article stating that iPod owners were the blame of the movie having a loss of $100 million to the box office because of piracy.
Posted by Matt174e on February 10, 2006 at 11:40 AM (PDT)
8
I saw the movie last week.
He uses a Pink iPod mini that is rigged MacGyver-style with another gadget to capture data images to steal the money.
I won’t spoil the movie, but it involves more than what the reviewer writes.
I found the iPod Mini gadget absurd, but I guess they were trying to come up with something that would be potentially feasible.
Posted by LA Dave on February 10, 2006 at 11:55 AM (PDT)
9
The concern over using an iPod for theft didn’t just start…there were reports within a couple of months of the 1G’s release that thieves were bringing their iPods into places like CompUSA, hooking them up to the display Macs and stealing software.
Posted by lkalliance on February 10, 2006 at 12:37 PM (PDT)
10
Matt174e, I thought the samething you did.
Posted by 3rdEye on February 10, 2006 at 2:07 PM (PDT)
11
Wasn’t there some deal involving CG footage for Lord of the Rings nearly getting stolen due to it being on an iPod?
Posted by phennphawcks on February 11, 2006 at 3:10 AM (PDT)
12
gee, thanks for the spoilers
Posted by don on February 12, 2006 at 12:48 AM (PDT)
13
Don, from the sound of it there’s not an awful lot to spoil.
Posted by phennphawcks on February 12, 2006 at 5:29 AM (PDT)
14
i think my ### could write a better script. my ###.
Posted by larry on February 12, 2006 at 6:02 AM (PDT)
15
In LOTR, they used an iPod to download data and take the iPod down the street to a hotel where Peter Jackson was staing. I saw on the ‘makeing of’ that one time, some people tried to mug the guy as he was going down the street, but he ran so fast that he got away.
Posted by onion on February 12, 2006 at 7:00 AM (PDT)
16
couple years back my friend and i were at the apple store in chicago; he had checked something on his mini by connecting it to a display model and withing seconds 5 employees surrounded him, checked his ipod, checked the computer . . . it was funny
Posted by hassan akber on February 13, 2006 at 7:45 AM (PDT)