Moral relativism:
Our neighbor's phone, car, wallet, lucky keychain, whatever is stolen - we tell them to chill out. It's not a big deal. All replaceable - besides, you make good money - maybe the poor clod needed it more than you.
Our own phone, car, wallet, lucky keychain, whatever is stolen - we get indignant. You don't understand - I had some important things in that wallet. I had contacts on that phone I didn't have anywhere else. My grandfather gave me that keychain. It's mine! I hope the bastard that stole it rots in hell.
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A CRIMINAL has a lawful search of his home. Our founding fathers knew much about search & seizure from the British Empire... which is why, when forming our way of governing here, they protected citizens against random searches. The police had a warrant. A judge had to sign it - and for just cause. There was plenty of evidence - on the suspect's website. A warrant was justified. If all you had to do to avoid a lawful search was to not come home or pretend like you weren't home, then no evidence would be gotten in many criminal cases, if not all... just store all the evidence in your home and never open the door when police are around.
The police were acting on a warrant. The tenant was not home and they forced their way in - as is their right under the law.
One of the primary roles of government is to execute justice. The justice system works when all parties do their part. Apple reported a stolen phone. And yes, little children, it was stolen. It ceased being a 'found' item when the person who found it did not return it to the owner or turn it over to the police in a reasonable time frame. Just because you might sympathize with the person who 'found' the phone because you could see yourself doing the same thing doesn't make this an innocent act. The guy held onto property he knew was not his, and then sold it. Gizmodo knew the phone was not the property of the guy who sold it to them, yet they bought it anyway - knowing full well they were committing a crime, but figured they could hide behind the first amendment. You cannot hide behind the shield laws when you have committed a crime. IF the guy who sold them the phone instead just provided photos of the device, and Gizmodo reported on it, then they would be protected. No - they fenced stolen property - and across state lines. This was theft under the guise of journalism. Kinda like when they used jammers at CES - that was vandalism and criminal mischief under the guise of journalism - and it got them banned from CES for life.
What's so ironic is that Gizmodo could have not only saved $5K by not buying the phone, but could have been heroes in the eyes of Apple and not criminal suspects had they contacted Apple and the police concerning the 'buy' of this phone. Apple would have their item back, Gizmodo would make friends with Apple - big time, and would likely be given products to review in advance. They had the opportunity of a lifetime in their hands and decided to forgo the law, thinking they could get away with whatever they wanted.
Gizmodo is Chen's blog. The blog is ranked 234 of visited sites in the US. Chen gets gigantic ad revenue. This is not a case of some kid sitting in his mom's garage apartment, blogging about freedom and then getting waterboarded by the CIA as many of the crybabies in this forum have been claiming.
Apple is not evil because it is a successful company or because it rightfully reported a crime. Apple is not perfect, but in this instance, there is no reason to demonize them. The company is the victim of a crime. They did nothing wrong or irresponsible as a company. They are criticized for issuing phones to their engineers to test in the wild. What if the engineer was held up at gun point for his phone? Would it still be Apple's fault for having its employees field test their prototypes to make sure they're functioning rightly in the wild? To the moral relativists, the answer is yes - until they buy the 4G and something doesn't work right, then they will demonize Apple for not doing more thorough field & real-life testing of the units.
It's time to put on the big panties, people. Apple's phone was held for over a month, disassembled and exposed online, causing untold costs for the company. They reported a crime and it is being investigated by the proper authorities. For those of you that will no longer buy Apple products from now on because of Apple's supposed bullying - it's because you are clearly not mature or intelligent enough to use them. Apple will not miss you. For those who commented that they are glad they are not in this country - I am in agreement with you. I'm glad you're not here, either. We have enough idiots as it is. We don't need you to help us meet our idiot quotient.
This IS a real issue. A theft (among other crimes) has occurred. Our tax dollars are well spent in the investigation and prosecution of this crime. This is how the real world works.
