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I look forward to the day when one of these makes an appearance on one of those prototype/collector forums. "So my friend who used to work at the DOE was getti

I look forward to the day when one of these makes an appearance on one of those prototype/collector forums. "So my friend who used to work at the DOE was getting rid of some stuff and he had this iPod, and it looks like a regular iPod but I took a look inside and does anybody know what the hell this is...?"

coopsmgoops 6y ago
Probably on Gizmodo. Steve Jobs will be rolling in his grave.
reaperducer 6y ago
I look forward to the day when one of these makes an appearance on one of those prototype/collector forums. It's surprising how frequently restricted computing devices end up in public hands. Through a relative who worked for a guy who knew a guy and so on, I ended up with the world's most awesome GRiD Compass back in the 80's. It was supposedly formerly used by someone in the Reagan administration, and had big stickers on the bottom listing all the countries where it was never to be used. I threw it away when I got my first IBM XT. Stupid of me.
- saagarjha 6y ago
  It's interesting to see Apple prototypes with serial numbers on them crop up all over the place…
- gambiting 6y ago
  A whole bunch of Sony devkits have gone on auction at one time, because the company went into bankruptcy and appointed administrators just went ahead to sell all company property. Of course Sony protested saying that they can't sell the devkits, but the administrators basically told them to get in the long line of people with some kind of claim. It's company property it's getting sold.
  - emiliobumachar 6y ago
    I'm missing some context. Why would Sony devkits be sensitive? What exactly do you mean by "devkit"? I though of those development kits with one specific processor you want to get familiar with, plus auxiliary hardware and software to help access it.
    - cdcarter 6y ago
      You're on the right track, but they're usually considered rentals not purchased property. The Apple ARM devkit Mac Mini, for example, has to be returned to Apple at the end of the preview.
      - saagarjha 6y ago
        What's interesting is that some people have the old (Intel) developer transition kits, even though Apple has done extraordinarily well in the intervening time period. One wonders how Apple missed them…
    - codebeaker 6y ago
      Exactly, and often times extraordinarily valuable because they can be used for reverse engineering, or learning how the key signing or DRM works, or can be bypassed. Of course, most legitimate indie communities stay away from this, preferring clean-room RE efforts.
    - jandrese 6y ago
      If you got your hands on the devkit without signing the NDA with Sony you could release details about how it works.
    - munificent 6y ago
      > Why would Sony devkits be sensitive? What exactly do you mean by "devkit"? "Devkits" (at least in the context used here) are hardware for developing console videogames. Console manufacturers work quite hard to control who gets to develop for their platform and how. The devkits are often quite expensive and you won't (usually) get your hands on one unless you work for a company that has signed a very detailed contract with the console manufacturer.
dylan604 6y ago
Or some drunk engineer leaves the device at at a bar.
- bnt 6y ago
  I still firmly believe it was a marketing stunt by Apple.
  - serf 6y ago
    yeah, me too , but the 'Apple Police' aspect of that marketing stunt left me with a negative impression -- so I guess it wasn't an all-around net good advertising wise.
  - dylan604 6y ago
    To what purpose? To get people talking about the newest version of the iPhone? Don't think this stunt was required for that.
    - kosherbeefcake 6y ago
      I remember reading a conspiracy that the iPhone 4 was left at that bar, because Samsung was about to announce the latest Galaxy phone. Apple did this to take the wind out of their sails.
      - rangibaby 6y ago
        To paraphrase a famous quote: Apple are not that dumb, and not that smart.
  - sneak 6y ago
    The drunk engineer is my friend, it was his birthday, and it wasn’t a stunt. He was authorized to have the device out for testing, and brought it with him to his birthday at a beer bar. You know the rest of the story. Apple is entirely familiar with the Osborne Effect.
hcarvalhoalves 6y ago
You bet! Does anyone have the link to the story about the guy who found a Made in China power strip w/ a hidden bug inside?
- csilverman 6y ago
  Not sure if this is the story you're thinking of, but I do recall hearing a while ago about Chinese irons and kettles that came with some, er, undocumented features: https://www.cbsnews.com/news/hacked-from-china-is-your-kettle-spying-on-you/ https://www.cbsnews.com/news/hacked-from-china-is-your-kettl...
- rockinghigh 6y ago
  You can buy them: https://www.trackers-cam.com/en/gsm-spy-microphone/329-gsm-connected-spy-microphone-power-strip.html https://www.trackers-cam.com/en/gsm-spy-microphone/329-gsm-c... The power strip calls you as soon as it detects a sound.
- ArnoVW 6y ago
  I remember Christmas cards produced in China, containing secret 'help me' messages from prisoners that were used as cheap labor: https://www.npr.org/2019/12/23/790832681/6-year-old-finds-message-alleging-chinese-prison-labor-in-box-of-christmas-cards?t=1597872203460 https://www.npr.org/2019/12/23/790832681/6-year-old-finds-me...

coopsmgoops 6y ago

Probably on Gizmodo. Steve Jobs will be rolling in his grave.

reaperducer 6y ago

I look forward to the day when one of these makes an appearance on one of those prototype/collector forums. It's surprising how frequently restricted computing devices end up in public hands. Through a relative who worked for a guy who knew a guy and so on, I ended up with the world's most awesome GRiD Compass back in the 80's. It was supposedly formerly used by someone in the Reagan administration, and had big stickers on the bottom listing all the countries where it was never to be used. I threw it away when I got my first IBM XT. Stupid of me.

saagarjha 6y ago
It's interesting to see Apple prototypes with serial numbers on them crop up all over the place…
gambiting 6y ago
A whole bunch of Sony devkits have gone on auction at one time, because the company went into bankruptcy and appointed administrators just went ahead to sell all company property. Of course Sony protested saying that they can't sell the devkits, but the administrators basically told them to get in the long line of people with some kind of claim. It's company property it's getting sold.
- emiliobumachar 6y ago
  I'm missing some context. Why would Sony devkits be sensitive? What exactly do you mean by "devkit"? I though of those development kits with one specific processor you want to get familiar with, plus auxiliary hardware and software to help access it.
  - cdcarter 6y ago
    You're on the right track, but they're usually considered rentals not purchased property. The Apple ARM devkit Mac Mini, for example, has to be returned to Apple at the end of the preview.
    - saagarjha 6y ago
      What's interesting is that some people have the old (Intel) developer transition kits, even though Apple has done extraordinarily well in the intervening time period. One wonders how Apple missed them…
  - codebeaker 6y ago
    Exactly, and often times extraordinarily valuable because they can be used for reverse engineering, or learning how the key signing or DRM works, or can be bypassed. Of course, most legitimate indie communities stay away from this, preferring clean-room RE efforts.
  - jandrese 6y ago
    If you got your hands on the devkit without signing the NDA with Sony you could release details about how it works.
  - munificent 6y ago
    > Why would Sony devkits be sensitive? What exactly do you mean by "devkit"? "Devkits" (at least in the context used here) are hardware for developing console videogames. Console manufacturers work quite hard to control who gets to develop for their platform and how. The devkits are often quite expensive and you won't (usually) get your hands on one unless you work for a company that has signed a very detailed contract with the console manufacturer.

dylan604 6y ago

Or some drunk engineer leaves the device at at a bar.

bnt 6y ago
I still firmly believe it was a marketing stunt by Apple.
- serf 6y ago
  yeah, me too , but the 'Apple Police' aspect of that marketing stunt left me with a negative impression -- so I guess it wasn't an all-around net good advertising wise.
- dylan604 6y ago
  To what purpose? To get people talking about the newest version of the iPhone? Don't think this stunt was required for that.
  - kosherbeefcake 6y ago
    I remember reading a conspiracy that the iPhone 4 was left at that bar, because Samsung was about to announce the latest Galaxy phone. Apple did this to take the wind out of their sails.
    - rangibaby 6y ago
      To paraphrase a famous quote: Apple are not that dumb, and not that smart.
- sneak 6y ago
  The drunk engineer is my friend, it was his birthday, and it wasn’t a stunt. He was authorized to have the device out for testing, and brought it with him to his birthday at a beer bar. You know the rest of the story. Apple is entirely familiar with the Osborne Effect.

hcarvalhoalves 6y ago

You bet! Does anyone have the link to the story about the guy who found a Made in China power strip w/ a hidden bug inside?

csilverman 6y ago
Not sure if this is the story you're thinking of, but I do recall hearing a while ago about Chinese irons and kettles that came with some, er, undocumented features: https://www.cbsnews.com/news/hacked-from-china-is-your-kettle-spying-on-you/ https://www.cbsnews.com/news/hacked-from-china-is-your-kettl...
rockinghigh 6y ago
You can buy them: https://www.trackers-cam.com/en/gsm-spy-microphone/329-gsm-connected-spy-microphone-power-strip.html https://www.trackers-cam.com/en/gsm-spy-microphone/329-gsm-c... The power strip calls you as soon as it detects a sound.
ArnoVW 6y ago
I remember Christmas cards produced in China, containing secret 'help me' messages from prisoners that were used as cheap labor: https://www.npr.org/2019/12/23/790832681/6-year-old-finds-message-alleging-chinese-prison-labor-in-box-of-christmas-cards?t=1597872203460 https://www.npr.org/2019/12/23/790832681/6-year-old-finds-me...