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

BaldiMac said:
Like I said, it's only the stuff that people have made up that have tarnished Apple's reputation. :p
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So your "statement" that this low level guy was "Field Testing", in a beer garden, on his birthday, is not made up? Was he alone or with his team? Was he taking copious notes? Was the device chained to his wrist? Was he drinking? On the job?
 
MacToddB said:
So your "statement" that this low level guy was "Field Testing", in a beer garden, on his birthday, is not made up? Was he alone or with his team? Was he taking copious notes? Was the device chained to his wrist? Was he drinking? On the job?
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I think you may have a distorted view of what "field testing" actually entails. ;)
 
MacToddB said:
So your "statement" that this low level guy was "Field Testing", in a beer garden, on his birthday, is not made up?
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It's the only rational explanation. I'm not sure what point you are trying to make by questioning it.

Was he alone or with his team? Was he taking copious notes? Was the device chained to his wrist? Was he drinking? On the job?
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You seem to have made up your own idea of how Apple conducts its field testing.
 
MacToddB said:
So your "statement" that this low level guy was "Field Testing", in a beer garden, on his birthday, is not made up? Was he alone or with his team? Was he taking copious notes? Was the device chained to his wrist? Was he drinking? On the job?
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Lol you don't know what field testing is do you? The point is to treat it as if it is a regular device to see if it works in real world usage.
 
MacToddB said:
So your "statement" that this low level guy was "Field Testing", in a beer garden, on his birthday, is not made up? Was he alone or with his team? Was he taking copious notes? Was the device chained to his wrist? Was he drinking? On the job?
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NT1440 said:
Lol you don't know what field testing is do you?
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Thanks for pointing out that very funny post - - it's the biggest laugh I've had in days!


{Edit: Okay, I've read ahead and that poor guy just won't let it go - - now I'm feeling sorry for him. It seems to be a phenomena of Internet debating. When someone has clearly been proven wrong, they never seem to have the good graces to admit their mistake, but rather just keep digging themselves into a bigger hole. It's a very pitiful display of character. :( }
 
MacToddB said:
Field Testing? For real? One low level guy, out for drinks on his birthday is "Field Testing?"
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How do you know "low-level" he is/was? I would argue that the fact that he was in possession of the prototype iPhone shows that he isn't (or wasn't) low-level.

And I really doubt he is the only one who was/is field testing the new iPhone. There are likely dozens of people field testing the new iPhone all over, not just in Cupertino (who have by now likely been implanted with GPS monitors and forced to submit to truth serum every night to ensure the safety of their devices:D.)

Finally, yes, "Field Testing" is "testing a device under everyday use conditions in the field". As someone who has done field testing of devices before, this seems to be a perfectly legitimate example of field testing. He was using it as his everyday phone, disguised as an iPhone 3G(S).
 
Anonymous Freak said:
How do you know "low-level" he is/was? I would argue that the fact that he was in possession of the prototype iPhone shows that he isn't (or wasn't) low-level.
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The kid ain't high level and he ain't rising higher, I can tell ya that.

And I really doubt he is the only one who was/is field testing the new iPhone. There are likely dozens of people field testing the new iPhone all over, not just in Cupertino (who have by now likely been implanted with GPS monitors and forced to submit to truth serum every night to ensure the safety of their devices:D.)
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Exactly. And I highly doubt "Field Testing" such a secret device includes birthday binge drinking. Was he taking notes? Was he testing signal strength? Dropped calls? Did he have co-workers with him? Was anyone taking notes? Why was the device out of sight if it was being tested?

Sorry, but I worked for a silicon valley computer company for 16 years. This wasn't field testing.

Finally, yes, "Field Testing" is "testing a device under everyday use conditions in the field". As someone who has done field testing of devices before, this seems to be a perfectly legitimate example of field testing. He was using it as his everyday phone, disguised as an iPhone 3G(S).
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See above. He was "in the field" but maybe testing his drinking ability, which he failed.
 
MacToddB said:
Exactly. And I highly doubt "Field Testing" such a secret device includes birthday binge drinking. Was he taking notes? Was he testing signal strength? Dropped calls? Did he have co-workers with him? Was anyone taking notes? Why was the device out of sight if it was being tested?
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Um, re-read mine. There is a difference between "taking something out and playing with it outside the lab", and actual field testing. Proper field testing isn't just carrying it somewhere, saying "Can you hear me now?" then going back into the lab. Proper field testing means using it just like a normal end user. This doesn't just mean "use it under strict conditions", it means use it as your everyday phone in this case. This means it gets carried to the grocery store, the bar, etc. If the testers were required to have a second non-secret phone, they wouldn't use the new one as their everyday phone, thereby negating the point of field testing.

For prior iPhones, Apple announced the phones in January, so when they were spotted in public, it wasn't such a big deal. Same with the iPad, people were spotted field testing them, but because the iPad was already public, it wasn't a big deal. (It still made tech gossip sites, though.)

Because they made an iPhone 3G shell for this, they probably figured they could field test it in public view without being noticed, then have it appear with no prior notice. It's only because someone lost theirs that it became noticed.

MacToddB said:
Sorry, but I worked for a silicon valley computer company for 16 years. This wasn't field testing.
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Well, then your company had a different definition of "field testing" than the three field tests I've been involved in.
 
MacToddB said:
And I highly doubt "Field Testing" such a secret device includes birthday binge drinking. Was he taking notes? Was he testing signal strength? Dropped calls? Did he have co-workers with him? Was anyone taking notes? Why was the device out of sight if it was being tested?
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If you don't know the answers to those questions, you probably shouldn't state "birthday binge drinking" as if it was fact either.
 
dejo said:
If you don't know the answers to those questions, you probably shouldn't state "birthday binge drinking" as if it was fact either.
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Okay, folks, I take it all back.

Gray Powell was a high-level Apple exec.

He was doing appropriate field testing. In fact, those tests include:

- NOT PAYING ATTENTION to the sensitive, secret prototype he was carrying.
- Testing how much beer he could drink, on the job, on his birthday, to forget about it when he left
- Testing the real world stealability of the device
- Testing the subsequent retrievability via Find My iPhone.
- Testing potential purchase prices, of a no-contract iPhone 4G, which turns out to be $5,000.

Next time, he should try a Field Sobriety Test.

BTW, on your iPhone, place the following call to see what Apple calls a Field Test.

*3001#12345#*
 
.Andy said:
Again he hasn't been charged nor has it been established that a crime has been committed. It's odd that you're banging on about "how we don't know the full story" yet you're more than willing to condemn a young man as a thief.

Low moral character indeed.
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Hey dot Andy, Did you check out the 10-page affidavit? Still think your buddy Brian Hogan is an honorable guy?

I repeat again... HE IS A THIEF and of LOW MORAL CHARACTER!

Mark
 
MacToddB said:
BTW, on your iPhone, place the following call to see what Apple calls a Field Test.

*3001#12345#*
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This is a diagnostic field test, not the same type of field test Robert was performing.

You really don't know what field testing is do you?
 
ct2k7 said:
This is a diagnostic field test, not the same type of field test Robert was performing.

You really don't know what field testing is do you?
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I know it's not putting the phone in a bag and going drinking, which is what he did. Read the affadavit.

Robert wasn't performing (^&*%. He was out drinking.
 
MacToddB said:
I know it's not putting the phone in a bag and going drinking, which is what he did. Read the affadavit.

Robert wasn't performing (^&*%. He was out drinking.
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Mr. Powell was using the phone as his everyday phone, just as would be expected for a genuine field test. And just as you or I would take our phones to a bar or restaurant, so should Mr. Powell as part of "real world" field testing. You can be sure that Mr. Powell is not the only Apple engineer that has been -and will continue to be- testing prototype phones in the real world by using them as their everyday phones.

Mark
 
Mark Booth said:
Mr. Powell was using the phone as his everyday phone, just as would be expected for a genuine field test. And just as you or I would take our phones to a bar or restaurant, so should Mr. Powell as part of "real world" field testing. You can be sure that Mr. Powell is not the only Apple engineer that has been -and will continue to be- testing prototype phones in the real world by using them as their everyday phones.

Mark
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I get all that. Believe me. I understand both the point and value of using devices, even unreleased prototypes in real-world situations, outside of the campus. You want to measure reception, etc.

I just maintain that I don't think this guy was doing that. Speculation, of course (hey, it's Mac Rumors), but he was drinking, on his birthday, with his uncle, in a beer house. He didn't pay enough attention to his phone to even REALIZE he didn't have it. What's the point of field testing if you don't pay attention to the device?

BTW, MY phone is practically attached to my hip. I even have a $25 Bluetooth bracelet that alerts me when they're separated. And MY phone isn't a top secret prototype that could cost millions if discovered.

I'm just saying this field testing excuse doesn't hold up. If he was officially authorized to field test the unit, then he didn't do a good job. And I can guarantee there will be policy changes about such 'field testing' in the future, if there haven't been already. Such as 'no drinking' for starters. And those bracelets would be a bargain.
 
MacToddB said:
I get all that. Believe me. I understand both the point and value of using devices, even unreleased prototypes in real-world situations, outside of the campus. You want to measure reception, etc.

I just maintain that I don't think this guy was doing that. Speculation, of course (hey, it's Mac Rumors), but he was drinking, on his birthday, with his uncle, in a beer house. He didn't pay enough attention to his phone to even REALIZE he didn't have it. What's the point of field testing if you don't pay attention to the device?
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No you DON'T get it and you DON'T understand! My understanding is that these phones get field tested by being handed to engineers who are told to use them for some extended period of time as their normal, everyday phone! This wasn't some 24-hour test unit that Gary Powell checked out with that afternoon. It had his PERSONAL information set up in it. It was, for all intents and purposes, HIS phone to use. And, perhaps, his ONLY phone to use for the extended test period.

THAT is the point of real world field testing. Powell could have been using the phone for a couple of weeks, if not months, before it was stolen. And, yes, it WAS stolen.

Mark
 
MacToddB said:
I know it's not putting the phone in a bag and going drinking, which is what he did. Read the affadavit.

Robert wasn't performing (^&*%. He was out drinking.
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Field testing is normal usage of the subject being tested.

How do you know that he was drinking to inebriation?
 
ct2k7 said:
Field testing is normal usage of the subject being tested.

How do you know that he was drinking to inebriation?
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He was drinking, period. Enough to the point that he forgot about his top secret prototype whose loss represents "huge" damages (Apple's words, in the affadivit).

Mark Booth said:
THAT is the point of real world field testing.
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I agree with ALL of that. I get it. Whether it's short term or long term field testing, that's all good and useful and appropriate. I agree. But you have to USE the thing you're testing. And using it requires knowing where it is. If he was field testing, he wasn't doing a good job.

And, yes, it WAS stolen.
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I agree, that it's stolen property. Just to clarify, are you saying he was robbed/pickpocketed, i.e. stolen from him?
 
Drunk, tipsy, nearly or completely sober; he messed up. Losing it doesn't absolve what the rest did. Their actions don't absolve his losing the phone. I take it you guys agree on all that, so what is the problem?

With Gizmodo's story, it wasn't stolen until money changed hands. With the new info, makes me wonder if the guy asked around if it was anyone's phone only so he wouldn't get tackled as he left the business with it, a theft as he hit the parking lot.
 
tingly said:
Drunk, tipsy, nearly or completely sober; he messed up. Losing it doesn't absolve the rest of what they did. Their actions don't absolve his losing the phone. I take it you guys agree on all that, so what is the problem?
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I agree. Not sure why these guys want to gang up. If he was officially authorized to "Field Test" he did a lousy job, drunk or otherwise.

With Gizmodo's story, it wasn't stolen until money changed hands. With the new info, makes me wonder if the guy asked around if it was anyone's phone only so he wouldn't get tackled as he left the business with it, a theft as he hit the parking lot.
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Yeah, the new details show Gizmodo, and the 'finder' in a very bad light.
 
MacToddB said:
He was drinking, period. Enough to the point that he forgot about his top secret prototype whose loss represents "huge" damages (Apple's words, in the affadivit).
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Please quote the exact page, paragraph number and line reference in the affidavit.
 
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