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I don't think that's the issue...

The issue is why did the PO-lice go into the editor's house and search the crap outta it...

Apple asked for it, they gave it back. What purpose was solved by searching the guy's HOME? Work, sure, home??

WRONG! and this is where I think the perception is getting skewed here... Apple asked for it but before giving it back Gizmod did a tear down of the equipment... That is ILLEGAL... You CANNOT take a part another companies prototype or any type of property for that matter without their consent and definitely cannot post pictures and video AFTER they asked for it back. There are actual black and white in writing laws against this. Gizmodo broke the law... I don't care if they were playing a prank or trying to scoop a good story or whatever excuse they might use, THEY BROKE THE LAW. End of story.
 
Sure you can, but as a private individual don't expect much. Even if somebody bought your stolen car and returned it to you (as Gizmodo bought the iPhone and then returned it to Apple) I wouldn't expect the police to do much. They'd just tell you to consider yourself lucky that you got your car back and to leave them alone since they have more important crimes to deal with. But if you're a huge corporation like Apple they'll apparently bend over backwards to help them out.

Horrible analogy. Horrible.
 
What in the world does it have to do with MBP? Why is it in this MBP forum?

I'm typing this on my MBP, and I don't necessarily like the way Apple is behaving lately. Besides, some folks on this forum have such sweet and helpful dispositions ...
 
I don't think that's the issue...

The issue is why did the PO-lice go into the editor's house and search the crap outta it...

Apple asked for it, they gave it back. What purpose was solved by searching the guy's HOME? Work, sure, home??

Because he was handling stolen goods? And he was handling stolen goods at his home? And because he was illegally publishing Apple's trade secrets, also from his home?
 
It's Apple's phone. The problem with them reporting it is what?

This wasn't a retail phone, this was a prototype with unreleased IP. There are actual laws against running this story. And even if running the story wasn't illegal (which it was), they still damage/vandalized someone else's property before they gave it back... That is illegal 100%. Also Gizmodo was at that point disassembling stolen property as well. Lost or not, they purchased a phone from someone whom the phone DID NOT BELONG to and they did this knowingly... this is also Illegal, there is no disputing it because the law is black and white on this. Point blank, Gizmodo handled this whole thing like little snot nosed kids and they deserve to be treated like little punks.
 
Sure you can, but as a private individual don't expect much. Even if somebody bought your stolen car and returned it to you (as Gizmodo bought the iPhone and then returned it to Apple) I wouldn't expect the police to do much. They'd just tell you to consider yourself lucky that you got your car back and to leave them alone since they have more important crimes to deal with. But if you're a huge corporation like Apple they'll apparently bend over backwards to help them out.

If your car was stolen and you were able to show the police pictures of the thief with your car, his comments how he obtained the car and the thiefs address, I bet the police would be very interested. Even if you did get your car back. You can't steal something, and then return it weeks later (after you have earned lots of money with that stolen item like Gizmodo did) and assume that everything is a-ok. Nor can you knowingly buy stolen property and assume everything is a-ok. Really, this isn't rocket-science people!

Like I said, something similar has happened with stolen MacBooks. People managed to fond out where it was and they managed to get pictures of the thief with Photobooth. And the police took care of it, even whn it was just some individuals laptop.
 
Holy f***balls. Just read the Brian Lam letter. I always thought these guys were tools, but this is off the charts.


He first states that he needs Apple to say it's their phone because it could hurt Gizmodo's business and reputation otherwise. Then goes on to say he "GETS THAT IT WILL HURT SALES to say this the next iPhone.":eek:

And he's writing this to Steve Jobs....


How dumb do you have to be?
 
The reason people are so bent out of shape about this is because this is further proof that our country has become a corporatocracy...Corporations have more privileges than ordinary citizens with none of the responsibility. A lot of people like myself are tired of it. But as long as our government is bought and paid for by lobbying and campaign contributions, it will never change.

While everyone else is barking "why should this be news? etc. etc." You hit the nail right on the head why this issue is important.

Good job.
 
When one entity uses its clout to get special treatment, the fault lies with the one doing the pushing AND the one taking the push. I blame Apple and the legal system. Apple shouldn't be bullying, and the legal system shouldn't be bending over and handing Apple a bottle of KY.



And therein lies one of the many many problems with this absurd concept of "intellectual property." The phone itself cost maybe a few hundred to make, but Apple can make up whatever number they want to and claim it as potential lost sales because their "intellectual property" was stolen.

You misunderstand my point, well maybe you don't but I'll clarify. Apple isn't using any clout at all. The police are investigating because Apple had property stolen. It's not rocket science. The police are actually doing their job here because they don't want bad publicity, which by the way, is not coming from Apple. Don't get mad at Apple because the police are actually doing their job. Likewise, if Apple were using their clout, it would still ultimately be the police forces fault for following through. I mean, if someone told you to jump off a bridge, would you do it?
 
Wow, I love that Katherine Martinson is the one smart person in this scenario.

She contacted Rick Orloff (Apple's Director of Information Security) to absolve herself of any wrong doing that might be pinned on her, due to her moron roommates (Hogan) bad behavior.

They do say girls are smarter than boys. She's the one person that clearly understood the gravity of the situation.

This says is all.. Lots of crimes were being committed. They were obviously planning etc, how to make money etc.

Bad stuff is going to happen to someone...
 
Please post a quote of the law they broke.


They did no such thing and made the proper actions to get the phone back to the original owner.

Paying the 5 grand was a felony, even if it was just for access. The laws have been quoted in several threads about 3 dozen times each if you wanna go digging.
 
I am pretty sure an average citizen couldn't get the police to break into your house, AFTER I already had my phone given back to me.
Even if we assume that is the case, how much does your phone contribute to your state's economy or tax receipts?
 
Still reading thru the CNET docs. It's just jaw dropping.

This is like a combination of "Burn after Reading" and "Fargo".

As John Gruber said, "When are they gonna buy the woodchipper?"




Depending on how badly this ends for all parties involved....I think we'll be seeing a feature film at some point. You just can't write this stuff, it's ridiculous.
 
Paying the 5 grand was a felony, even if it was just for access. The laws have been quoted in several threads about 3 dozen times each if you wanna go digging.

However, they did not pay the $5,000 for the stolen or lost phone. They paid for the exclusive rights to the story and access to the phone, something very common in journalism. They did not avoid getting the phone back to Apple at all. Gizmodo really made all the right moves.
Proper action includes holding property ransom?
Requesting proof of ownership is not holding property for ransom.
 
Sewell told me that after Gizmodo.com released its story regarding the iPhone prototype on or about 4/19/2010, Steve Jobs (Apple CEO) contacted the editor of Gizmodo.com, Brian Lam. Jobs requested that Lam return the phone to Apple. Lam responded via the e-mail address...that he would return the iPhone on the condition that Apple provided him with a letter stating the iPhone belonged to Apple.

That really puts the nail in the coffin. If this irons out to be true, Gizmodo is in a lot of trouble.
 
However, they did not pay the $5,000 for the stolen or lost phone. They paid for the exclusive rights to the story and access to the phone, something very common in journalism. They did not avoid getting the phone back to Apple at all. Gizmodo really made all the right moves.

Requesting proof of ownership is not holding property for ransom.

The "exclusive rights" junk is simply the spin they put on the situation after they got caught.

So you are saying they didn't know it was Apple's?
 
TuffLuffJimmy said:
They did no such thing

They paid $5000 for a stolen phone. That is an undisputed fact. Trafficking in stolen goods can land you in jail for a year.

and made the proper actions to get the phone back to the original owner.

that does not change the fact that they committed a felony when they bought that phone and that they earned lots of money with that stolen property before they returned it to Apple.

Or do you think that it would be OK for me to steal your car, disassemble it and return it to you two weeks later?
 
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