Working on prototype in Apple must generate a lot of focus, from my point of view. I agree there are only few involved but they do work on it almost 24/7. We all know SJ and his approach to details/hard work at Infinite Loop.
Prototype Laptop Stolen from Apple in December?
- Thread starter MacRumors
- Start date
- Sort by reaction score
Working on prototype in Apple must generate a lot of focus, from my point of view. I agree there are only few involved but they do work on it almost 24/7. We all know SJ and his approach to details/hard work at Infinite Loop.
The days when Sony knew how to make great products with excellent quality have long been over.
Now, Sony products are mediocre, and are made in China, and cannot even last for more than the warranty period.
Winni
macrumors 68040
I made two minor corrections to that statement, the rest was absolutely correct:
The days when Apple knew how to make great products with excellent quality have long been over.
Now, Apple products are mediocre, and are made in China, and cannot even last for more than the warranty period.
Porco
macrumors 68040
But no Blu-Ray
lol, yes, I almost added that until I remembered that Blu-ray support is something even really cheap laptops have these days...
Joe The Dragon
macrumors 65816
and intel GMA video.
scissorband
macrumors member
Didn't this happen last December in 2008 too...? I remembering reading on Slashdot about a prototype notebook stolen from Apple and I was telling everyone on IRC about it
Never mind, it was a prototype iPhone where the employee killed himself over it
Never mind, it was a prototype iPhone where the employee killed himself over it
Nice blanket statement. Tell that to the eMac I've had for the past 5 years that is working perfectly. Tell that to the iMac I've had for 2 years that is in excellent shape. My new iMac I purchased in October is working fabulously. My Time Capsule from Spring of 2008 hasn't had a single problem.
Apple products are STILL far superior to the competition in build quality and design. They certainly last through the warranty period. A few errors here and there don't mean the entire product line is failing. They are manufacturing more products than ever before.
I hear the Chinese sweatshop workers are whipped harder when working the Apple production lines.
Consultant
macrumors G5
I like the comparison between Apple and the American car industry. Apple today reminds me of the Big Three in their heyday; a history of pleasing the American people with original hardware and design giving. Then, when some big money has been made, and the reputation established within the mass media and the LCD (lowest common denominator) of consumers, the upper management can start to really make money by stealing other ideas and letting standards and production costs fall. It's beautiful
What is being quoted is not the just the parts cost but the intellectual property and labor involved with the design. Under FTC law, if any product under development or trade secret is acquired via illegal means, all labor costs to create that work can be claimed as the value stolen. This is how a lot of hackers are arranged for breaking into computer systems if then end up exposing source code or engineering diagrams.
Honestly, I'm surprised that they only claimed $100K in expenses. This claim of ownership lost puts this as a Capital Crime and not just petty or felony theft. Typically what happens in cases like this is there is a plea bargain, the criminal record for the defendant is taken into consideration. If this was just a single prototype unit stolen, the defending attorney typically challenges the claim of the loss and try to work the charges down.
Also, whatever is said in court will go on public record thus companies like Apple will be very careful to give out specifics to avoid any disclosure of other trade secrets. But without evidence to prosecute, the sentence could be reduced or the case dismissed; a hard balance to make in modern corporate America.
Considering the record of the guy and if there was any conspiracy involved, this can end up in many ways. This will make for an interesting story into the summer.
I agree. This is only conjecture, but my guess is that one of the "campus" prototypes was walked off with all the really bleeding edge "bomb shelter" prototypes still in tact.
Again, this is a guess, but I would not be surprised that a student intern with some charm and zeal got a hold of one and got a bit too loose bragging about it at a bar, coffee or donut shop along De Anza or Stevens Creek. Someone that knew someone tried to make a cheap buc or someone working facilities ripped one off from someone who let their unit lay around somewhere on campus unattended for just a few minutes.
Finally, I bet they found the unit by activating the GPS and cell phone embedded in it and had the cops get it back like the way that LoJack systems works on stolen vehicles.
katananz
macrumors newbie
You might have not noticed, but a while back there was an article on MacRumors about how apple was not the most reliable manufacturer based on warranty redemptions and other tests, Asus was. And their laptops are amongst the cheapest and also often well-equipped. Perhaps if you did get what you'd pay for, Macs would be able to solve global warming or something.