Beer, betrayal, lost iPhone

SAN FRANCISCO – FEARING ‘huge’ losses in sales after pictures leaked of its fourth-generation iPhone, Apple convinced police to launch a felony investigation and chief executive Steve Jobs contacted the offending Web site himself to try and recover the gadget.

A California court unsealed a search warrant on Friday in the case of the lost or stolen prototype 4G iPhone whose inner workings ended up on popular gadget site Gizmodo – weaving a bizarre tale of beer gardens, paranoid lawyers and emails to the Apple chief. Apple, which has released a new iPhone in each of the past three summers, is known for its secrecy. It is widely believed to be releasing its latest model this summer.

The story of the missing iPhone that belonged to an Apple engineer has captivated Silicon Valley since news broke last month. The missing phone apparently caused concern among Apple executives, according to a meticulously detailed April 23 search warrant by Matthew Broad, a detective with the San Mateo County Sheriff’s office. An outside lawyer for the company considered the missing prototype ‘invaluable’ and publication of its details ‘immensely damaging’ to Apple’s future sales, Broad wrote. The loss of the prototype, owned by Apple employee Robert Gray Powell, in late March, prompted a meeting between company executives and law enforcement.

‘Riley stated the publication of the device and its features is immensely damaging to Apple,’ wrote Broad in the warrant, referring to Apple’s outside counsel, George Riley of O’Melveny and Myers. Apple’s director of information security, Rick Orloff, and the company’s general counsel, Bruce Sewell, were also at the April 20 meeting.

Riley said Apple customers would delay purchases until the new iPhone was released, ‘thereby hurting overall sales and negatively effecting Apple’s earnings,’ the detective wrote. ‘Riley stated he could not currently provide an estimated loss, but he believed it was ‘huge’,’ Broad wrote. Apple officials were not available for comment.

The incident began when Apple engineer Powell lost the prototype iPhone while at a German restaurant and beer garden in Redwood City, in the San Francisco Bay Area. It was then either found or stolen by Brian Hogan, according to the search warrant. But Hogan’s room-mate, worried that the iPhone could be traced back to her after he plugged it into her computer, tipped off Apple that he had sold it to Gizmodo for US$8,500 (S$11,800). Photos and details of the new device – ripped apart to reveal its inner workings – subsequently appeared on the website.

Article from the Straits Time

Video

The video on Pastor Rony Tan

http://www.razor.tv/site/servlet/segment/main/news/43888.html

Pastor Rony Tan has done it again

Pastor Rony Tan, who had made headlines recently for making insensitive comments about Buddhism and Taoism, has also been targeting homosexuals and lesbians in his speeches.

In an 80-minute clip posted on a video-sharing website, the pastor portrayed gay people as ‘sad pathological creatures with dysfunctional families, victims of sexual abuse, abusers of drugs and alcohol, insecure and possessive individuals’.

He also equated homosexuality with paedophilia and bestiality.

It is unclear if this video was made after the Internal Security Department (ISD) called up Pastor Rony Tan for his anti-Buddhism remarks.

The ISD said on Feb 8 that his comments were highly inappropriate and unacceptable as they trivialised and insulted the beliefs of Buddhists and Taoists.

ISD told Pastor Tan that in preaching or proselytising his faith, he must not run down other religions, and must be mindful of the sensitivities of other religions.

The pastor had since issued a public apology and visited the Secretary-General of the Singapore Buddhist Federation Venerable Kwang Sheng, and Taoist Federation chairman Tan Thiam Lye to apologise and assure them in person that the mistake would not be repeated.

In this latest video targeting homosexuals and lesbians, Pastor Rony Tan tells of a Crimewatch story in which a ‘dirty old man’ seduced little boys for sex. He then used the story to suggest that homosexuals are created and not born.

“Don’t believe all those loud-mouthed gay people who tell you they are born this way.”

“If we don’t warn people against this, then there will be more and more homosexuals and many of these people will be harrassing and seducing young boys, and they in turn will become homosexuals.”

He goes on to compare gay people with those that practise bestiality:

“If you allow (homosexuality), next time people will want to get married to monkeys. And they will want rights. They’ll want to apply for HDB. With a donkey or a monkey or a dog and so on. It’s very pathetic.”

Lianhe Zaobao reported today (Feb 19) that S’porean filmmakers Sun Koh and Royston Tan have lodged police reports against Pastor Tan’s disparaging remarks about homosexuals.

Conan says his last goodbye

NEW YORK – ON HIS final Tonight Show last Friday, Conan O’Brien said walking away instead of accepting a demotion is the hardest thing he’s ever had to do.

Despite the rancour that led to his US$45 million (S$63 million) buyout, the red-haired comic urged fans not to be cynical and said their support made a sad situation ‘joyous and inspirational’.

He thanked his viewers and even thanked NBC for more than 20 years of employment but not before getting in a few final jabs during an earlier monologue.

O’Brien, who keeps a collection of guitars in his office, strapped one on for a raucous rendition of Free Bird with Will Ferrell, ZZ Top guitarist Billy Gibbons and Beck.

Jay Leno will replace him on March 1. In the interim, reruns will be aired, followed by Winter Olympics programming next month.

Faced with the flop of its prime-time Leno experiment, NBC asked O’Brien to move Tonight a half-hour later, past midnight. He refused, opening buyout negotiations that ended last Thursday, and triggering a remarkable period of late-night comics taking brutal shots at NBC and at each other.

Despite his sense of loss, O’Brien told fans that ‘I really feel this should be a happy moment’.