Stolen Apple gear (bad news and some good news)

[dXTC]

Well, I've become a statistic. My house was broken into yesterday.

Among the things that were taken were my beloved iMac, my 2nd gen nano, and my tv. Worse yet, the external drive I was using for Time Machine and video storage for my iTunes library was also taken. I had several music projects I was working on in Cakewalk SONAR via Bootcamp; much of it will have to be reprogrammed and/or vocals re-recorded.

(My big screen TV and my wife's jewelry were also taken.)

So, needless to say, big bummer here.

I've managed to see a few bits of silver lining in the clouds, however:

• No windows or door glass was broken, which is a BIG bonus since it's cold and icy in my city right now. (The thieves apparently slipped my sliding glass door off the tracks to gain entry, so we were able to put it back in place without too much trouble.)
• My family wasn't home, so no one was physically injured. My pets were still in their pet cage, unharmed.
• I still have my self-built PC, from which I'm posting this note. The thieves overlooked my network setup and my AEBS (the only Apple-branded item not taken), so my Internet is uninterrupted.
• I had my 5th gen nano on my person, so that wasn't taken, and I can begin to recreate my iTunes library from that. If that had been taken, I'd be like the 4chan "FFFFFFFFFUUUUUUUUUUUU" guy for sure, because I don't like the 6th gen nano.
• The vast majority of my iTunes collection, both audio and video, were either ripped from my CDs and/or my vinyl and/or HandBraked from my DVDs (none of which were taken-- the thieves went for the big ticket items), so it's nowhere near a total loss. See, people, this is one of the advantages of not being a torrent fiend!
• All of the photos can be found elsewhere; no loss there. The software I got from MacUpdate/MacHeist is backed up on DVDs; no loss there either.
• My homeowner's insurance has replacement coverage. I can buy a new base iMac to replace what was then a base-level iMac, and the company pays full cost instead of a pro-rated payout. This means I can also replace my old laptop with a newer one. YAY. (It wasn't a Mac though, so it'll have to be a Windows-based one or I have to eat the difference in cost. BOO.)

 

[rdowns]

Sorry to hear that. My apartment was robbed many years ago so I know how you feel. Hope you are well insured.

 

[dXTC]

Sorry to hear that. My apartment was robbed many years ago so I know how you feel. Hope you are well insured.

Thankfully, I am, with replacement cost coverage to help fend off depreciation. I have two choices: take the depreciated value of my old iMac, for example, or purchase a similar iMac replacement and get the difference in values in a second payout.

EDIT: Another question: How many of you out there have been "re-robbed", i.e. hit by thieves again soon after the initial break-in?

 

[Fubar1977]

You have my sympathy.
I have heard of the whole re-breaking in thing. They wait for you to replace your gear with new stuff and then come back for that.

I don`t wish to make you paranoid but I would definately upgrade your security with something very visible and obvious such as CCTV (real or otherwise) security lighting and DEFINATELY do something about that door if at all possible.

Most of these guys are opportunistic scum and will move on to something easier and less secure if your place looks like a lot of work/risk to get into.

 

[glocke12]

Thankfully, I am, with replacement cost coverage to help fend off depreciation. I have two choices: take the depreciated value of my old iMac, for example, or purchase a similar iMac replacement and get the difference in values in a second payout.

EDIT: Another question: How many of you out there have been "re-robbed", i.e. hit by thieves again soon after the initial break-in?

Sorry to hear about your loss. As a victim of robbery (car break in many, many years ago) I can sympathize.

I know of one person who was a victim of a re-break in. They caught the culprit eventually. It was one of his teenage neighbors. The kid committed the initial break in, and than re-robbed the place after he saw that the guy replaced his stuff.

Ditto the comment on a security system of some type. Large dogs are a good deterrent to break ins also.

 

[Demosthenes X]

A friend of mine had her work office broken into twice. The thieves stole her laptop, and stole the new one once it was replaced. So I'd definitely suggest upgrading your security - sounds like the sliding door is a big concern.

Glad to hear your hardware is replaceable. Sucks about the data, though.

 

[Eldiablojoe]

I'm very sorry to hear about your incident. It is a feeling of being violated, it lays open your vulnerabilities. It is truly a traumatic crime, despite how common it is and how little sympathy victims receive (either in the media or in court).

Not to split hairs, but your house was not robbed, and you were not robbed. Robbery is the taking of property from a person by means of force or fear.

Your house was burglarized. The subjects entered the four-sided structure with the intent to commit petty theft or any felony.

I hope your property is recovered without damage, and I hope the perpetrators receive their due rewards.

 

[dXTC]

Eldiablojoe, you're correct. This was technically a burglary. We weren't home at the time, so this doesn't exactly qualify as a robbery per se, and thank goodness; I'd truly be beside myself if any of my family had been harmed.

The vast majority of data I had on my iMac-- the music and video in my iTunes Library, the applications I had bought via MacUpdate/MacHeist-- were either converted from my CD/DVD/vinyl collections or backed up onto blank DVDs. The amount of actual data that I have to recreate from scratch is less than 2%, mostly my own unfinished music projects which I can re-record/re-program. The idiot(s) didn't take any of my synth gear or my Cakewalk installation disks; the synths would have been easier to pawn, frankly.

We had a house security system installed this past weekend, so if the burglars try to come back, they'll be sorry. A friend of my family who was in law enforcement says that most "Christmastime thieves" eventually let greed overcome reason and get caught, sometimes by accomplices ratting them out to lighten their own sentence when they're caught with five unopened Wii systems in their house, for example.

Insofar as getting my iMac back: Yeah, that might happen, but if it doesn't, I'm ultimately not too torn up about it. My replacement-cost insurance policy gives me the option to replace it with a current base-level iMac-- it's somewhat of an upgrade. The Core i3 will breeze through Handbrake jobs, so I'll have my media library recreated even quicker than before.

The idiot(s) left the restore disks, so I hope my old iMac kernel panics on 'em. If I do get it back, I may either give it to my wife, who's been wanting a replacement for her aging Compaq (which was ignored by the thieves-- a good thing, as it was our photo repository) or dedicate it as an always-on iTunes media server.

We're having the doors replaced entirely, Demosthenes X. That sliding glass door had been a pain in the a** for a while anyway.

 

[r1ch4rd]

Sorry to hear about that. My house was burgled a few years back. Very little was taken, but it's not a nice thought that somebody is in your house. I was in bed at the time!

To save you a bit of time ripping your CD collection again, this is a great app for getting your music from your iPod - http://www.fadingred.com/senuti/

A friend of my family who was in law enforcement says that most "Christmastime thieves" eventually let greed overcome reason and get caught, sometimes by accomplices ratting them out to lighten their own sentence when they're caught with five unopened Wii systems in their house, for example.

A friend of mine was mugged recently. She had her iPhone on her, but then only 64p in her purse. There were half a dozen attackers who all assumed she would have more and thought one of the others pocketed the money. Because of that, they ratted each other out! Even more stupidly, they overlooked a massive wad of cash in an envelope in her handbag!

 

[Tilpots]

dXTC,

That's awful you were burgled. Glad to hear you and your family were OK. Shame that this type of thing happens more frequently around this time of year. I'm also glad you were insured and I wouldn't wish that on anyone, but as you seem to be looking at silver linings, maybe your loss really is someone else's gain. Maybe the people who stole your stuff really needed it. Maybe your belongings were their Christmas Miracle. I'm not suggesting we all get robbed this year for the betterment of society, but maybe, just maybe, your stuff saved a life. Just trying to think positive. I hope the Holidays vastly improve for you!

 

[jknight8907]

dXTC,Maybe the people who stole your stuff really needed it. Maybe your belongings were their Christmas Miracle. I'm not suggesting we all get robbed this year for the betterment of society, but maybe, just maybe, your stuff saved a life.

I didn't realize having Mac stuff was a life-or-death situation?

[*]My homeowner's insurance has replacement coverage. I can buy a new base iMac to replace what was then a base-level iMac, and the company pays full cost instead of a pro-rated payout. This means I can also replace my old laptop with a newer one. YAY. (It wasn't a Mac though, so it'll have to be a Windows-based one or I have to eat the difference in cost. BOO.)
[/LIST]

I would get a spoon and start eating. You'll likely never have a chance again to get mid-range Apple stuff for only the cost difference between it and the base models that they'd pay for 100%.

 

[dXTC]

Sorry to hear about that. My house was burgled a few years back. Very little was taken, but it's not a nice thought that somebody is in your house. I was in bed at the time!

To save you a bit of time ripping your CD collection again, this is a great app for getting your music from your iPod - http://www.fadingred.com/senuti/

A friend of mine was mugged recently. She had her iPhone on her, but then only 64p in her purse. There were half a dozen attackers who all assumed she would have more and thought one of the others pocketed the money. Because of that, they ratted each other out! Even more stupidly, they overlooked a massive wad of cash in an envelope in her handbag!

There's only one recent iTunes song I purchased that I hadn't yet burned a backup. Luckily, it's on my iPod, and I know of several ways to get it back, including Senuti. As for the others, I had recently considered re-ripping my collection to a higher bitrate, as most of my files were only 192 Kbit. Time to start fresh...

The police officers that took our report said that burglars and robbers are usually not the "sharpest tools in the shed." Your friend's experience appears to confirm that.

dXTC,

That's awful you were burgled. Glad to hear you and your family were OK. Shame that this type of thing happens more frequently around this time of year. I'm also glad you were insured and I wouldn't wish that on anyone, but as you seem to be looking at silver linings, maybe your loss really is someone else's gain. Maybe the people who stole your stuff really needed it. Maybe your belongings were their Christmas Miracle. I'm not suggesting we all get robbed this year for the betterment of society, but maybe, just maybe, your stuff saved a life. Just trying to think positive. I hope the Holidays vastly improve for you!

I strongly doubt this was a "Christmas Miracle" for the burglars' families. Otherwise, they would have taken some food or clothes. If the burglar was being forced by a superior to get particular items upon penalty of death, then he/she should REALLY rethink this whole crime career thing. An iMac, great as it is, is not worth going to jail or dying for, as jknight8907 hints below.

I didn't realize having Mac stuff was a life-or-death situation?

I would get a spoon and start eating. You'll likely never have a chance again to get mid-range Apple stuff for only the cost difference between it and the base models that they'd pay for 100%.

I hear ya. However, my wife is more comfortable with Windows than OS X, and we're not exactly in a strong enough financial position to pay the difference between a Windows laptop and a MacBook right now. Besides, I need something to run Cakewalk SONAR anyway, and it's a Windows-only application. (If I want to have something besides Windows, I can create a dual-boot situation with Linux later.)