gizmodo

A short history of Apple's aggressive legal tactics

The missing iPhone 4G purchased and publicized by Gizmodo last week has developed into a legal soap opera taking some rather dramatic turns. The story line has involved police breaking down the door of a blogger, his computers being seized, and the local authorities tracking down the people who found and sold it.

We also know that Apple reported the phone missing to the local authorities, who then initiated a criminal probe, both into the person who sold the device, revealed by Wired.com Thursday as 21-year-old Brian J. Hogan, and the party that purchased the prototype iPhone for $5,… Read more

The people involved in sale of lost iPhone revealed

The saga of the lost prototype iPhone started with a 21-year-old Silicon Valley resident who says he regrets not trying harder to find its real owner, according to a published report.

Brian J. Hogan, a 21-year-old resident of Redwood City, Calif., is the person who found the iPhone and was paid by Gizmodo, according to a story published on Thursday by Wired.com.

Hogan's lawyer issued a statement to Wired and said Hogan was in the bar with friends when another patron handed him the phone after finding it on a nearby stool, asked around if anyone owned it, … Read more

Jon Stewart calls Apple 'Appholes' over lost iPhone

I understand there's been something of a kerfuffle over a lost iPhone prototype that might even have been a stolen iPhone prototype. Or not.

However, I could not decide whether this was news until America's foremost newscaster, Jon Stewart, offered an opinion on this pressing matter of state.

On Wednesday, Stewart declared that this was, indeed, a topic worthy of comment. On his Comedy Central show, Intelligent America's barometer seemed somewhat disturbed at the plight of Gizmodo editor Jason Chen.

Moreover, he seemed concerned that Apple, once the underdog, had become something of an overbearing hound. The … Read more

Buzz Out Loud 1216: Geek soap operas (podcast)

Between the legal drama playing out in the South Bay (Gizmodo raid! Dubious warrants! Potential counter-suits!) and the latest developments in the Infinity Ward/Activision internal drama (Involuntary labor! Withholding royalties and bonuses!), it's pretty much the Days of our Lives around here. Also, no Hulu in the UK, and Comcast gets a big, steaming pile of poo from its users. But at least it's Golden Poo.

Subscribe with iTunes (audio) Subscribe with iTunes (video) Subscribe with RSS (audio) Subscribe with RSS (video) EPISODE 1216

Microsoft inks patent licensing deal with HTC http://www.microsoft.com/presspass/press/2010/apr10/04-27mshtcpr.mspx… Read more

Gizmodo considers suing police after iPhone raid

A lawyer for Gizmodo says the gadget blog could sue the sheriff's office in San Mateo County, Calif., for raiding an editor's home last Friday as part of a criminal probe into an errant iPhone prototype.

The option of a lawsuit "is available because search is not the appropriate method in this situation," Thomas R. Burke, a media lawyer and partner in the San Francisco offices of Davis Wright Tremaine, told CNET. He said the search warrant violated a California journalist shield law designed to limit searches of newsrooms.

Burke added, however, that he has been … Read more

Prosecutors defend Gizmodo search in iPhone probe

San Mateo County prosecutors are defending the search of a Gizmodo editor's home and seizure of his computers that are part of a criminal investigation into an iPhone prototype lost by an Apple employee.

Stephen Wagstaffe, chief deputy district attorney, told CNET on Tuesday evening that prosecutors had considered whether reporter shield laws applied to the search and seizure aimed at the gadget blog--and decided to proceed after carefully reviewing the rules.

"My prosecutor who is handling it considered this issue right off the bat when it was being brought into him and had some good reasons why … Read more

Police ID person who found iPhone prototype

Police have identified the unnamed person who found the prototype iPhone lost by an Apple engineer in a Silicon Valley bar last month, a prosecutor confirmed to CNET on Tuesday.

Investigators have interviewed the person who sold the prototype to Gizmodo for $5,000, Stephen Wagstaffe, chief deputy district attorney for San Mateo County, said in a telephone interview. He did not disclose the name of the person, and it wasn't clear if whoever found the "4G" phone was responsible for selling it or how police found the person.

The phone has been the subject of massive … Read more

The 404 568: Where we have a warrant for your arrest (podcast)

Gizmodo's story of the lost iPhone just got a little too real, with San Mateo County police raiding Gizmodo editor Jason Chen's Fremont, Calif., home in search of any information surrounding the acquisition of the 4G prototype.

According to an account by Chen, the police used a search warrant to visit his home while Jason was away and immediately searched him for "weapons or sharp objects" upon his arrival.

After finding what we can only assume to be some change and maybe a couple of USB keys, the cops confiscated several of Chen's computers and servers in a bold move that Lucy Dalgish, executive director of the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press describes as "an incredibly clear violation of state and federal law."

With Gizmodo facing criminal investigation and possible felony charges, all of a sudden Gray Powell's fumble doesn't seem that bad!

Apple is facing its own charges in a class action lawsuit over the iPhone's Liquid Submersion Indicators. Charlene Gallion's iPhone stopped working after a year of ownership, but Apple Geniuses denied her a new phone on the grounds that Apple's warranty policy doesn't cover the phone if the liquid sensor is triggered.

An independent test shows that the external indicator can easily turn colors with moisture from sweat or even weather changes, yet still no word on whether the "mystery liquid" that drowned my old iPhone 3G is covered.

There are plenty more stories to get to on today's episode--listen to find out exactly what goes into a Fat Cat Sandwich, how we plan to streamline the theatergoing experience, and why the Black Eyed Peas are still relevant today!

EPISODE 568 Subscribe in iTunes audio | Suscribe to iTunes (video) | Subscribe in RSS Audio | Subscribe in RSS Video… Read more

Buzz Out Loud 1215: Law & Order: Lost Prototypes Unit (podcast)

Dun DUN! Police break down the door of a Gizmodo editor's house looking for evidence of some sort of crime involving the lost iPhone prototype ... meanwhile, Nokia has to kind of pathetically blog about how someone took a prototype of the Nokia N8 and they would really, really like it back. It's a weird world out there. Also, the "Boy Genius" has been outed, Samsung might make a Google TV, and we're storing your data for you in Unicorn Town.

Subscribe with iTunes (audio) Subscribe with iTunes (video) Subscribe with RSS (audio) Subscribe with RSS (video) … Read more

Journalist shield law may not halt iPhone probe

The criminal investigation into Apple's errant iPhone prototype took a new twist this week, when Gawker Media claimed that the warrant used by police to search an editor's home was invalid.

It's clear that federal and state law generally provides journalists--even gadget bloggers--with substantial protections by curbing searches of their employees' workspaces. But it's equally clear that journalists suspected of criminal activity do not benefit from the legal shields that newspapers and broadcast media have painstakingly erected over the last half-century.

No less an authority than a California appeals court has ruled that the state's … Read more