I really, really hope the likes of Anonymous decide to go all vendetta on Apple for this (although I doubt it).
Nevertheless if you were a journalist you will think long and hard before accepting the iPhone Mk-V. You may decide the hassle is worth it and will make your career but weighed against having your door bashed in and cops raiding your place and a few years in court. Steve Jobs is not put out…the journalist is.
The most troubling part to me is the ability of Apple to get a Gestapo like response.
I have had my cell phone stolen, called the phone company to track it (they couldn’t give a shit) and called the police to report it (they couldn’t give a shit either). Granted Apple has more at stake but in the end it is a lost cell phone.
I didn’t realize until today that Gizmodo is a Nick Denton/Gawker Media property (sue me, I don’t get out enough)–yellow journalism at its finest. It’s no surprise that they were legally prepared for the search warrant. An independent journalist might shrink in fear of his Steveness, but Denton and the Gizmodo editors are loving every second and every clickthrough of this drama. $5,000 is a cheap price for this much publicity, and Chen’s got a gold star now on his muckraking resume.
Did they really do a SWAT style knock down the door raid? What the fuck are our police forces coming to? “This guy picked up a lost cell phone from a bar. He probably has hand grenades and machine guns! USE THE TEAR GAS!”
It wasn’t a no-knock raid AFAICT – I think they knocked, but he was out to dinner, then they broke the lock (and kindly offered to replace it – how nice!). Still, doing this at night, on an exigent basis, when Apple already had the phone back – I say BS.