But he NEVER contacted the bar in which he found it. Most honest people, including me, would have turned over a phone found at a bar to the bartender. At the time he didn't even know it wasn't a 3G or 3GS because it was in disguise. (at least thats what he claimed) I think he realized pretty quick what he had and never had any intention to return it to its owner.
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Finder of Lost Next-Generation iPhone Identified
- Thread starter sravana
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But he NEVER contacted the bar in which he found it. Most honest people, including me, would have turned over a phone found at a bar to the bartender. At the time he didn't even know it wasn't a 3G or 3GS because it was in disguise. (at least thats what he claimed) I think he realized pretty quick what he had and never had any intention to return it to its owner.
Don't tell me he had to use that $5000 to consult a lawyer. That didn't work out very well. I wonder if his story will change when he is under oath?
I have a question. Lets say you find an iPhone prototype in a bar and are 100% sure it belongs to Apple. Can you give it to a third party, bartender etc. without being liable if something happens or should you give it back to Apple directly?
Probably the best bet is Apple directly or the Police.
Probably the best bet is Apple directly or the Police.
I personally would have eMailed a photo to Steve Jobs and asked if he would like it back, meet him for lunch and coffee and asked if he had any open positions for an honest person... He probably would at least gave me someCredit.
Steve Jobs would have had his goons beat the crap out of you. Apple needs to just back off... they got the phone back... now what, apple vs the 21 year old kid? While apple can press charges and be the bully and win in the courts with their high priced legal talent... do they win in the court of public opinion... not you guys but everyday citizens when they read about this in the paper or hear it on the nightly news at 6pm.
Uh... I asked who Jesus was in this analogy.
If there's a Barabbas (Hogan) and the crowd is chanting "free Hogan", it implies that the crowd picked Hogan over the the Jesus figure in this story. Now, since the one the crowd is turning against is Steve Jobs, I can only assume that someone here thinks Steve Jobs is Jesus which I've suspected for some time that some people believe, I just never saw it in writing.
Oh well, the Pope recently pardoned the Beatles, so I'm sure another pope will let this one slide in about 40 years.
Really? I am a Christian myself, but was that sentence necessary? Obviously, he feels bad about it, and while it may be wrong what he did, it's not like he bought the iPhone for $5,000.
He's 21 and he profiteered from stolen property that turns out to be worth billions in projected revenues.
He committed two felonies. Jail time and a hefty fine seem reasonable.
You are assuming he knew what his middlemen were up to. He may have. He may not have
Everything here is "purported", and whether he made the actual call or a friend did is irrelevant. The effort is equally reasonable.
So what? If Apple abandoned it, it's his, and he's welcome to make a million from it and live out the rest of his life selling "I went to a German bar and all I got was..." t-shirts.
Erm, me, if the owner's nowhere to be found in the bar, because I'm going to contact him myself or report the item to the police. If no-one in the bar is either the owner of or responsible for the property, then giving it to them is equivalent to selling it to Gizmodo and/or Satan. Just leaving it where I found it is the unfriendly but acceptable alternative.
Quite. If you find something you recognise as perhaps hot, in a bar, then you'd be daft to assume that the owner of the bar is upstanding (but don't tell him that). Unless they're taking their marketing campaign to the next level, the last thing I'd assume is that Apple'd be stupid enough to let their employees go out drinking with unreleased prototypes - so it'd be not entirely unreasonable to suspect that the guy who lost it shouldn't have had it in the first place. If you want to be proactive, as you say, Apple or police.marcfogel said:
Yes, and he's not the Messiah, he's a very naughty CEO. Sorry. ;-)Anuba said:
If it were me, I would have either given the phone directly to Apple in return for something ridiculous like a job for life, with full training and some complimentary hardware..
OR
I would have sold it for much more than $5000, probably to a rival company (there are probably 'foreign' tech firms out there joking about how they would have paid $500k). And I would have never revealed my identity, to anyone. Common sense really.
OR
I would have sold it for much more than $5000, probably to a rival company (there are probably 'foreign' tech firms out there joking about how they would have paid $500k). And I would have never revealed my identity, to anyone. Common sense really.
Which he never did. I would just turn it into the manager. The most logical place the owner is going to return to looking for his lost property. Most honest people would do the same.
You are bending over backwards to defend what are clearly a series shady activities by someone looking to profit from something that wasn't his, that he had no business taking from where it was found.
@GFLPraxis - applause.
@SteveJobs - go pick on someone your own size. if you - or someone @Apple - had found a competitor device, you too would have taken the damn thing apart trying to give your technology team an edge. you would have paid $5000 for a Palm device while you created the first iPhone.
@sravana - look of "are you kidding me?!".
@SteveJobs - go pick on someone your own size. if you - or someone @Apple - had found a competitor device, you too would have taken the damn thing apart trying to give your technology team an edge. you would have paid $5000 for a Palm device while you created the first iPhone.
@sravana - look of "are you kidding me?!".
This is just way out of the line. Shame on you Apple. A bunch of arrogant pricks.
As above.
It doesn't matter. The manager's not responsible for the lost property (results in your jurisdiction may vary), the manager has no spell cast on her to prevent her pocketing a valuable item, and unless /you/ are prepared to vouch for the manager's honesty, you shouldn't be giving away stuff which is not yours to some girl you just met behind the bar.
What's wrong with *looking to* profit from something which isn't yours? If your first step is making it yours - say, by hoping that the owner doesn't recognise its value and abandons it by refusing to take it back - you're cool.
Exactly, the guy thought he can make a quick buck in a illegal way, so he is going to pay for it now. If I lost my phone, I will try to contact the person who have my lost/stolen phone first. Apple Employee must have filed a report with Police only after failing all attempts to recover it. I think Apple Employee did the right thing.
He wanted to make a quick buck, and if he didn't have any morality/ethics to return the phone, how is it apple's fault?
Most thieves deny it. Does it really matter what was stolen. I think he should be punished the same amount as if he stole, say a motorcycle worth $5K.
Then Chen gets punished for the purchase of stolen goods. And then you add on top of that trade secret dissemination (criminal). Then Chen gets the civil suit.
Need to hang these guys from a tree for other idiots to realize there are ethics and consequences.
Part of me is pretty disgusted at how everybody's name and business are being put out there on the internet. First it was the Apple guy who lost the phone, now it's the "finder" and his friends. This entire situation has just been blown way out of proportion. The world's gone crazy over a damn phone.
I would be very surprised if he gets a single day in jail for this. If charged, he'll plead to a lesser charge and get off with probation. I can't imagine that the DA is gonna press for jail time for the relative chump change that changed hands here.
I would be very surprised if he gets a single day in jail for this. If charged, he'll plead to a lesser charge and get off with probation. I can't imagine that the DA is gonna press for jail time for the relative chump change that changed hands here.
That is nothing better than rationalized thievery.
I have no doubt you are the kind of person, who if you found a wallet would just take the money and toss it.
Personal ethics are apparently in short supply these days.
I agree. I am so surprised and disappointed to see that many people doesn't have any morality/ethics left.
Since so many people support these thieves, I came to the realization that if you loose/misplace your items somewhere, the chances of getting back is slim to nothing.
Cool, I'm listening to Hulk Hogan right now on Howard Stern.
Anyway, judging by some of the hate towards Gizmodo, I think these guys should be careful when they go outside. It only takes one nut to cause harm.
Anyway, judging by some of the hate towards Gizmodo, I think these guys should be careful when they go outside. It only takes one nut to cause harm.
If the Apple Gestapo showed up at my door and wanted in I'd kick them in the nuts and send them back to Stalag Cupertino hurting real bad.
"May we come inside?"