Police Seize Gizmodo Editor's Computers and Other Property Related to Lost Next-Generation iPhone

[macUser2007]

... Apple undoubtedly holds a great deal of sway in these matters. Apple lost a phone. It is despicable that a company as large as Apple then relies on and pressures public resources, such as our police, to harass and steal from someone who embarrassed Apple over having lost said phone. Can you possibly imagine losing all your data in one day? All your computers, iPhones, iPads, and your backups of all your data too? It's unfathomable.

Yes, Apple holds a lot of power nowadays. I someone investigates who applied pressure on the local police to go so beyond reasonable response.

And it has shown that it can be much more "evil" than MS ever was.

Steve Jobs is a dangerous lunatic.

As to all the fanboys who approve of this, phew.... Sad, twisted losers in love with a psychopathic bearded guy.

 

[jcamdog]

This is all just so ridiculous on Apple's part.

Did they expect a prototype iphone being lost in the SJ area not to end up on the front page of a tech blog?

They should really just be happy that we still don't know anything about the type in terms of memory, processing power, etc. All we know is that a new design is in the works and that it might have a few new features that have been already been requested/speculated upon by the "community."

You'd be suprised what can be reverse engineered from those pictures. Look at twas Giz did post:

::: A high-res, full teardown of the device, with part numbers clearly listed. Its not like they took outside shots and said 'here it is' they took it apart and catalogued nearly every piece. I'm sure there are talented enough engineers who could reverse engineer the device based on the pictures.
::: Marketing features. A front facing camera, bigger battery, and high-res screen are the marketable features that every handset producer is working on to compete with the iphone.
::: SOP for handling the phone. Now everyone knows that a masked prototype might look exactly like a normal phone.

Remember that the general market apple shoots for is for people who care about experience over technical goodies. Gizmodo basically ruined that for them in terms of a marketing advantage against other companies.

And thats if they're unhappy to begin with! Think about all the free publicity they got about the new iphone and how positive (generally) the response has been? I'm sure some people will think twice about buying a new HTC until seeing what Apple officially unveils this summer as the next-gen iphone. Or a moto droid for that matter, or a Crackberry, etc.

Apple already has enough 'publicity,' did you watch TV on the day the iPad came out? Might as well have been 'iPad Day'! I guarantee they are more worried about losing market share to new devices that share similar features.

Apple didn't keep proper track of a prototype device. That was just a dumb mistake. I really feel for the gizmodo people who did what ANY tech blog would've done if it had the chance first.

You can say all you want about who did what or who should be punished for what, but I still feel that pursuing this so harshly makes apple look like the big bad wolf.[/QUOTE]

I think apple expected Gizmodo to follow the law, specifically the federal and state laws about the misappropriation of trade secrets.

 

[Schtumple]

QOTD...

 

[ct2k7]

TrueCrypt can hide that data is present on a harddrive. Put on a small dummy OS installation on a small partition and with TrueCrypt, no one could know or access the main OS data, despite the efforts any law enforcement software.

TrueCrypt do have decryption tools available to law enforcement labs.

 

[normang]

I know perfectly well what it is. I still think it's seriously OTT.

What if you created something that could potentially be worth millions, it had to be tested, and a tester lost it in public, subsequently found, then instead of trying to return the item, the finder it sells it to a blogger or even a newspaper for money, which then costs you potentially millions in revenue, because now the reveal factor is gone, competitors are copying your ideas and that's all fine with you..

If this is the case, I think your morally and ethically challenged as a number of other people that think Gizmodo had the rights to do this.

 

[troop231]

QOTD...

Thank you

 

[andiwm2003]

Gizmodo deserves the grief. Not only did they pay for stolen goods, but blabbered over the internets the whole story on how the phone was obtained for all to read. That was particularly dumb.

And I'm sure outing the name of the Apple employee just pissed off Apple even more.

Gizmodo got giddy like a freshman high school girl. Couldn't control themselves.

probably the best description of what was going on here. now we can sit back and wait for the fall out of this.

my prediction (i'm not a lawyer): a very expensive plea bargain for gizmodo and chen. both bankrupt. sad but that's how it will end IMHO.

 

[daxomni]

Why is everybody slamming Gizmodo while many sites, including THIS one, were very eager and happy to link to and repost the stories and show the photographs that Gizmodo made? Isn't that a bit hypocritical as well?

My thoughts exactly. If MR are really such good little boys they should have kept it quiet with nary a peep. Except, how could MR know it was the real deal? I guess the same way Giz could know. Telepathy!

 

[redrabbit]

TrueCrypt do have decryption tools available to law enforcement labs.

Really? That's interesting.

Do you have links to more info on this? Are these tools open source? Do they sell the software to law enforcement?

 

[tdream]

You're trying to prove that Giz is right because Apple is also in the wrong. Who cares? Why do people keep making the mistake of assuming one side is right and one side is wrong? In this case, both sides are wrong. Apple was wrong for allowing a highly coveted item out into the field without proper security, and Giz was totally wrong for buying an item that they only paid top dollar for because it was Apple's (and not the person's who they paid $$$ to).

If you lose your laptop on a train, you made a mistake. It's your fault. You were wrong in allowing it to be lost.

However, that doesn't mean that anyone can simply take it, know it's not theirs, sell it on craigslist and/or publish the contents of your laptop on the internet. That's wrong as well.

Only trying to provide balance to the argument. The general sway seems to be nail giz to the wall.

Yes you're right both made mistakes. But it's the chicken and the egg argument. If the first event doesn't happen the second can't.

 

[ct2k7]

Because apple did not email gizmodo again but more importantly IT WAS NOT ON THE LIST OF WHAT WAS SEIZED!!! There was one iphone on the list of what the police took but it was clearly his iphone because it was a 16 gb iphone and it was never revealed what the capacity of the prototype is.

Can you confirm that he did not hide the iPhone?

 

[fishmd]

What honestly pisses me off more than anything about this whole deal is now, taxpayer dollars are being wasted on this! This is absolutely ridiculous. There really should be a huge outcry about this. With all the crime that goes on, you are wasting police resources on something this stupid. The phone was returned to Apple. Done deal. They got their property back. As far as we know, nobody broke in to Apple headquarters and stole the phone. It was lost, found by a guy, guy gives it to Gizmodo (for a fee), Gizmodo gets a huge scoop, phone goes back to Apple. If Apple wants to prosecute, do it in a civil court. Don't wast taxpayer dollars by getting a police task force involved and raiding some guys home! Seriously.

WTH, stop wasting my money Apple. The police have much bigger fish to fry.

Ok, done now.

 

[spacehog371]

As I was opening my Google Reader, I was hoping that I would see news on the progress of this. I don't think I could have been happier seeing the headlines...

Is anyone seriously buying that someone whose life is entrenched by technology would take hours to realize that they left their prototype iPhone at a bar?

Take a minute and ask yourself this question... how long would it take you to realize you left your phone at a bar? Hours? I don't even think an average person would take more than an hour at most. Now factor in that the phone was an iPhone prototype, and ask yourself that question again.

Gray Powell was VERY active on his twitter... had made multiple updates that night already... and somehow people believe that he left the bar without his phone and didn't realize for hours? He couldn't make calls, receive texts, update his twitter, plug his phone in so it's charged in the morning... and he didn't realize for HOURS?

He would have reached for his phone probably within minutes of leaving the bar and realized he didn't have it.

Not only that, but once he went back and couldn't find it, he would have definitely used a friends phone to call it... as is pretty much standard when you lose your phone while you are out. You call to see if someone found it.

It's ********. He would have realized very quickly after leaving, and he would have gone STRAIGHT back... probably calling the bar while he was on the way.

The guy found the iPhone and took it immediately. He never planned to give it back, he didn't hang around the bar and wait for someone to come back. He never tried to give it back to Apple.

After he discovered what he had actually stolen, he shopped it.

This phone was stolen 100%.

Incidentally, it's also why Gray Powell hasn't been fired... It was stolen from him, had nothing to do with him doing anything wrong with it.

Put all of that into context with Gizmodo ridiculing the engineer who "Lost" it because he was drunk. Gray Powell is getting an unbelievable amount of ****... "idiot," "moron," "Drunken Frat Boy," and similar words/phrases have been used in this thread to describe him because he lost an iPhone Prototype.

 

[zub3qin]

The phone doesn't belong to Gray Powell.

Maybe Gray Powell should be the one being investigated by police.
He is the one that removed the phone not belonging to him from Apple headquarters.

Remember, the iPad wasn't allowed outside of a windowless room and was required to be chained down AFTER apple showed it publicly at a Keynote address.

Is it so far-fetched to think we don't know the whole story here? Would Apple ALLOW an iPhone prototype outside the walls of HQ? Now yes, Apple needs to test the phone, but does anyone know if the phone can be tested without an FCC license? And why would they be tested 15 minutes from Apple HQ- is that really a representative test of the nation's cell phone towers?

Maybe Gray thought it would be cool to take the new car out for a spin when nobody would know. Maybe he thought he could impress the guys, or hit on some chicks with this. Maybe it just sat in his pocket but made him feel important and cool that he was the only person in the world with a magical, remarkable new device so secretive, billions of dollars could be made of it. He or his buddies had made a fugly disguise for the iPhone, or maybe it was a disguise that Apple made-- but they didn't plan on the phone going outside the walls just yet.

So perhaps the phone was technically "stolen", in fact, by Gray- at least for the night. For a company that prides themselves on secrecy, this would be quite the embarrassment. Apple to deflect bad press lets the police go forward against Gizmodo and will handle the Gray thing internally.

If there is an accusation of theft, I think it is only fair that Gray Powell and Apple also get a search warrant. Why are we just assuming that the phone left the walls of Apple HQ with their permission? Let's get to the truth of what happened.

 

[MacQuest]

They already had iphone 4g!!!

Oh sh*t!

I better go buy my brand new 4g iPhone then.

Why am I having trouble finding one?

Oh... the HARDWARE hasn't been released and THAT'S what JIZZMODOPE had payed $5,000 for?

It makes sense now.

 

[realeric]

The prototype iPhone is not a phone of $5,000. Technical value of it could be $50 million and the damage of Apple might be more than $1 billion. (2 month sales x 30% profit).

 

[inaka]

Only trying to provide balance to the argument. The general sway seems to be nail giz to the wall.

Yes you're right both made mistakes. But it's the chicken and the egg argument. If the first event doesn't happen the second can't.

It's irrelevant. If an ATM machine accidently spits out thousands and thousands of dollars and you keep it, you're toast. It's theft. It's a crime.

 

[HLdan]

did you even read this post? it clearly shows that this was legally theft even if the phone was lost in the beginning. see the RED part.

I think you meant "Bona fide Theft". You can't put "Legal" and "Theft" together. . At any rate, I agree with you. I really pains me the people on this thread who are calling foul on Apple. How old are some of the people here??? It wasn't just that Apple got their phone back, it's not that cut and dry. It involves trade secrets and that guy who stole the phone needs the law on him full force. It would be bad business for Apple to just take the phone back and call it even.

I hope Apple's actions give some of the naysayers here a hint that Apple doesn't look the other way in terms of their EULA's or NDA's.

 

[modul8tr]

Just saw this:

http://gizmodo.com/5524843/police-seize-jason-chens-computers

Apple undoubtedly holds a great deal of sway in these matters. Apple lost a phone. It is despicable that a company as large as Apple then relies on and pressures public resources, such as our police, to harass and steal from someone who embarrassed Apple over having lost said phone. Can you possibly imagine losing all your data in one day? All your computers, iPhones, iPads, and your backups of all your data too? It's unfathomable.

Yeah, now you know how Apple feels. They had a prototype worth billions in revenue (kept secret for competitive reasons), stolen from them....in a day.

Gizmodo knew what they were risking when they committed the crime. Hence the multiple revisions to the story following the leak.

 

[Anuba]

Some of the responses here are ridiculous. If Gizmo committed a crime, they should be punished.

Well, the responses will be all over the map because this situation creates sort of a catch-22 for fanboys. On one hand they hate Gizmodo for pulling down Apple's pants, and feel that this serves Gizmodo right, but on the other hand they know that if Apple goes after them too hard there will be a backlash (and judging by the fact that the majority of ratings are negative, it may already have started). It was all fun and games, but once the police march in and seize computers and servers, it becomes a David vs. Goliath thing like Pirate Bay in Sweden – and the media loves that kind of narrative and will twist it to Gizmodo's advantage, even if they did commit a crime. It'll be "Corporate giant Apple steamrolls poor little Asian guy" and Apple will be painted as nazis just in time for the release of the new iPhone; not the best PR.

 

[chaosconan]

One more thing that popped up: Why is everybody slamming Gizmodo while many sites, including THIS one, were very eager and happy to link to and repost the stories and show the photographs that Gizmodo made? Isn't that a bit hypocritical as well?

Is MacRumors an accessory to being sleazy?

Because Gizmodo's mistake was taking the phone apart and posting the insides of the phone all over the web. They transgressed beyond what was understood as acceptable and that was limited to pictures or designs.

If they just showed pictures of the prototype and returned the phone without taking it apart none of this would have happened.

 

[eoblaed]

Here's hoping this backfires in Apple's face. Big Time.

Apple didn't do this.

The DA, a San Mateo County Superior Court Judge, and multiple law enforcement agencies did this. Apple does not decide when and where law enforcement does their job, or how they do their job, or if they issue warrants, collect evidence, or any of it.

Don't get mad at Apple.

Get mad either at the above listed law enforcement entities who looked at the evidence, decided a crime was indeed committed and then followed their own protocol for felonious acts ... or, get mad at Gizmodo/Gawker for engaging in illegal activities that they should've known darned well would land them in serious, serious trouble.

If you honestly think Apple has superior court judges, district attorneys, and multiple law enforcement agencies in their back pocket, you give them far more credit than is even remotely rational.

Once again: civilian entities don't tell law enforcement what/where/why/how to do their jobs. The actions we've read about here are strictly and solely the actions of independent law enforcement personnel ... not a company with a private police squad and puppet judges.

 

[DakotaGuy]

My question is what would have you done if you had found this prototype iPhone? It sounds like the person who found it knew it was something special before he even left the bar it was found at. Would have you taken pictures of it before handing it over to the bar management? Would have you taken it home and then taken it to the police? Would have you tried to contact Apple?

No doubt this was stolen property and should have been turned over to authorities, but who here would have not at least taken some pictures or tried to get into contact with some Apple rumors website?

I know some of you would have turned it over and never taken pictures or said a word, but I bet a lot of people would have done something with their discovery.

 

[trip1ex]

Btw, does the protection of journalists apply when the journalist tells the entire internets he knowingly committed a crime and gives all details but the name of the guy he bought the stolen goods from?

I doubt it.

To say otherwise only means this will encourage illegal behavior.

 

[notabadname]

The comparing of this story and the possible litigation to "Imagine if this happened to you because you bought a phone off someone and it wasn't theirs", is truly laughable.

Most of us have probably bought or sold a phone in the past. But that transaction cost probably more like $100-$200. It is reasonable to assume in those cases that the seller has the property rights in those situations. By Gizmodo's own admission, and purchase price, they knew they were purchasing property that was not that of the seller. Would it even make sense that they would pay $5,000 for a regular iPhone 3GS? Of course not. They had full knowledge that the property was not that of the seller. You can bet they even inspected it to confirm that it WASN'T a 3GS before completing the transaction. And if you want to argue that this is some sort of "journalistic freedom", then you must believe it would be equally acceptable for "Car and Driver" to steal or purchase a stolen prototype vehicle from BMW so they could exercise "journalistic freedom". No one would second guess a DA or police department's responsibility to pursue charges in that instance. Whether you like Apple or not is irrelevant. Purchasing known stolen or lost property is against the law. Gizmodo has fully detailed their crime as well as their motive for committing their crime. And contrary to what many of you seem to believe, Apple need not file charges for the police and DA to pursue charges. That would only be the case if their lack of willingness to participate would create the absence of evidence of a crime. (for example, a woman claiming her husband struck her (battery) in the privacy of their home - if she doesn't bear witness to the crime-press charges- there are no charges that can succeed). Apple very realistically may not be pushing this case, but the municipality or state does not need Apple to participate. That is why the criminal case would likely be named as California versus the defendant and Apple wouldn't even need not be named.

This crime, and that is exactly what it is, could potentially cost Apple millions. It allows competitors significant lead time to prep and launch a "counter" product "clone" to match Apple's release in a multi-billion dollar industry.