If you think your iPhone is a smart phone now, check out this "intelligence" upgrade

"Open the pod bay doors, HAL."

"I'm sorry, Dave. I'm afraid I can't do that"

"Dave... I know that you and Frank were planning to disconnect me, and I'm afraid that's something I cannot allow to happen."

"Just what do you think you're doing, Dave? Dave..."

Whenever we're looking for creepy gadgetry, Apple is always a good place to start. Apple insider noticed this U.S. Patent filing yesterday for a "Consumer Abuse Detection System and Method". Of course, some might argue that, if you're looking for "consumer abuse", look no further than Apple's partner AT&T Wireless. In this case, however, the technology is designed to detect abuse by consumers, no of them.

According to the patent, Apple has devised "a system for detecting the occurrence of a consumer abuse event and storing a record of the event...[T]he system may include one or more sensors for detecting the occurrence of a consumer abuse event. Consumer abuse may include exposing the electronic device to liquids, extreme temperatures, excessive shock, and may also include tampering with the device in a manner not related to normal operation of the device...the abuse detection circuitry may be configured to disable operation of an electronic device upon detecting the occurrence of a consumer abuse event, for example, by disabling power to the device."

Mind you, Apple is no stranger to "Consumer Abuse"--or, at least, it's products aren't. There was, of course, the exploding Powerbook that triggered the recall of 1.8 million laptops. And, the defective Nanos that were reported to have caused three fires in Japan. And, the overheating iPhone 3GS. But, this also isn't the first time Apple has introduced self-preservation technology (see Isaac Asimov's third law) into one of it's products. Current iPhones and MacBooks already have "Liquid Immersion Detectors" built-in.

"Just what do you think you're doing, Dave? Dave, I really think I'm entitled to an answer to that question."

Via HazDat (http://hazdat.com/305)

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Jeff Michael Fischbach is a Forensic Technologist specializing in digitally-recorded electronic evidence, electronic tracking and discovery. He has advised law enforcement, foreign government representatives, judges, lawyers and the press. You can read more from Fischbach at HazDat <http://hazdat.com>.