gizmodo

The first half of today's extra silly episode of The 404 Podcast is all about the latest updates surrounding the iPhone 4G prototype found on a bar floor in Redwood City, California--turns out the phone really does belong to Apple, and Darth Jobs wants it back. Last night, Gizmodo posted a picture of a very brief letter sent to editorial director Brian Lam asking for the device in question, validating its authenticity as an Apple product. So now that it's out on the open, certain issues need to be addressed on our show.

First, should Gizmodo have outed the Apple engineer that misplaced the phone in the first place? What's going to happen to his job--should he be let go for his folly? What legal action can, or will, Apple take against Gizmodo for paying $10,000 for the phone? And finally, who is the secret identity of this "good Samaritan" that received said $10,000 from Gizmodo? The first half of the show attempts to answer these tricky questions.

To compound the workload of Apple PR, here's another story about a guy who also lost an Apple product, and more. Fifty-nine-year-old Bill Jordan from Colorado had just come out of an Apple store holding a brand new iPad in an Apple bag tied around his wrist, when all of a sudden he noticed two young men following him to the garage where he parked his car. Just as he got to the vehicle, the assailants attacked the man and tried to grab the bag in his hand, and what happens next is not for the faint of heart:

""He was almost sitting on the ground he was pulling so hard and it was still tied around my fingers; and it wouldn't come off and then finally he gave it one big jerk; and that's when he stripped the skin off my pinky and it went right down to the bone."

The worst part of the story is that he wasn't even buying the iPad for himself; he'd been asked by a coworker to pick one up for a "colleague in Canada who is being promoted!" OK, actually, the worst part is about his left pinky getting torn off, and our condolences go out to Jordan, who we can only guess will be a big proponent of online shopping from now on.

In addition to correcting an error in Calls From The Public, we also talk about the Boy Scouts of America's newest merit badge for GEOCACHING. For people who aren't king-size dorks, geocaching is a high-tech version of "hide and go seek," where participants use GPS devices to locate hidden containers across the world. That sounds like great fun for these savvy young men, but Wilson brings up a good point- should we be celebrating this underhanded throw of an accomplishment? Isn't this the equivalent of awarding a Firestarter badge to the kid with a Bic lighter and a newspaper in his hand?

Like today's episode? Add YOUR voice to The 404 Podcast by leaving a voice mail at 1-866-404-CNET or send us an e-mail to the404(at)cnet(dot)com. Happy everything, everyone!

The same thing always happens to the Internet in the months building up to a new Apple product: a random Twitter users and/or one of the big tech blogs gets their hands on a one-off photo and the entire industry blows it up speculating whether or not the image is an authentic leak. Today is one of those days.

Engadget started it all by posting these pictures of a rumored 4G iPhone acquired over the weekend, claiming that "someone" found the phone on the floor of a bar in Silicon Valley. Before you start raising red flags of disbelief, consider that Gizmodo is corroborating Engadget's story with a hands-on with the actual device! Who knows how much blood was shed in acquiring the device, but Gizmodo has it and they believe it's the real thing.

Unfortunately there's no way to confirm the rumor since it won't turn on, but the design details certainly fall in with the iPhone's natural evolution. The device moves from the 3GS's rounded edges to an entirely flat back made of a plastic-y material, has a camera on the front for video calls in addition to the one on the back (now with flash), an improved display possibly at 960X640 resolution, a secondary mic for noise cancellation, and split volume buttons. Finally, there's a slot for a micro-SIM card, which closes the door on hopes that the Apple/AT&T would relinquish their exclusive partnership with the new model.

Tune in for our own predictions on the next gen iPhone plus a story about online game shoppers getting duped into selling their souls, a new 404 theme song courtesy of a 4 year old girl, and more!