Pat emailed asking about the Gizmodo-iPhone imbroglio, my reply turned into this post.

Here’s the backstory, The Tale of Apple’s Next iPhone. Gizmodo’s cheekiness takes on a whole other dimension in light of where this story has gone.

1. Journalist shield laws exist to protect journalists, not to grant journalists carte blanche to break laws. Everyone knew this was shady, Jason Chen and Gizmodo are reaping what they’ve sown.
2. The story that the prototype iPhone was “found” is entirely hearsay, reported by persons with demonstrably questionable ethics.
3. If the transaction is determined to be a crime, the $5000 price tag probably made that crime a felony.
4. The police raid on Chen’s home made me really uncomfortable. It seems excessively heavy handed and REACT’s appearance of collusion with Apple shouldn’t be dismissed. (Don’t fault Apple; do fault California) I felt especially bad for Chen’s wife, whose home was invaded and whose computer was most likely also confiscated.
5. And yet, in context, this was really funny.
6. Gizmodo’s decision to publish Gray Powell’s name and photo was wrong and among the biggest jerk-moves I’ve ever seen. It served no purpose other than public humiliation. (Karma’s a bitch)
7. I will be surprised if Gizmodo ever gets press credentials to another Apple Event.
8. The guy who “found” the iPhone is a moron. Yay, $5000 and a probable criminal investigation. Well played.

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Gourmet House Staudt is less than 20 miles from 1 Infinite Loop, there’s a 50-50 chance the guy lived between Apple and the beer garden. If it were me — well, if it were me I would have left the phone with the bartender — but if it were me and for some reason the phone came home with me, I would have driven it to Apple HQ and returned it personally. Who knows, maybe Steve Jobs would have even offered a personal thank you for doing the right thing.

Update: Wired found him.