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4G iPhone Misplacer Invited To Germany For Beer 164

Posted by samzenpus from the beer-makes-things-better dept.
eldavojohn writes "You may recall the hapless engineer who left a fairly sensitive iPhone at a bar recently. Well, in a PR stunt, Lufthansa has invited him to visit Germany on their dime after citing his latest Facebook status, 'I underestimated how good German beer is' as well as his obvious passion for German beer and culture. It's not clear if Gray Powell has decided to 'pick up where he last left off' (as the letter puts it). I know what my decision would be."

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4G iPhone Misplacer Invited To Germany For Beer More

4G iPhone Misplacer Invited To Germany For Beer

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  • First Prost (Score:5, Funny)

    by codeButcher ( 223668 ) on Friday April 23, 2010 @09:48AM (#31955350)
    Ein Prosit!

  • Dear Lufthansa (Score:5, Funny)

    by Nothing Special ( 700074 ) on Friday April 23, 2010 @09:49AM (#31955372)
    I lost my girlfriend at a bar, can you send me to the Bunny Ranch?
    • Dude

      So you are saying your "girlfriend" is a prostitute?
    • But was she a prototype? But I forget, we are on slashdot and usually the only girlfriends for Slashdotters tend to be prototypes with no further developments .

      • Re: (Score:2)

        by sznupi ( 719324 )

        Prototype implies quite...unused one. Not sure if such is typical for Slashdotters.

        PS. Wouldn't your sig be even more appropriate with "Face your inner daemons!"? ;> (crap, now I have an idea of using MRI scans to have a real model of my own skull...but no access to MRI ;/ )

    • Re:Dear Lufthansa (Score:5, Funny)

      by rvw ( 755107 ) on Friday April 23, 2010 @10:52AM (#31956364)

      I lost my girlfriend at a bar, can you send me to the Bunny Ranch?

      It's more probable that your girlfriend lost you, considering your name.

      • lolwhut? Did this just degenerate into a "Soviet Russia" joke?

      • Oh please. He is posting to Slashdot. The odds of him having talked to a girl are 1 in 1+5E. Her being a girlfriend, as opposed to a 1-900 number, increases the odds by a factor of 40.

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by geekoid ( 135745 )

      That way you can get something you can never lose.

    • "I lost my girlfriend at a bar, can you send me to the Bunny Ranch?"

      Sure, just twitter the Bunny Ranch...

      Anyone else think it was a bit strange they said "Please contact my team via Twitter..."? No phone number, no email, no... whatever, their preferred method of communication is twitter?

      Don't get me wrong twitter is great when you want to send message to a few dozen (or thousand) friends, but I don't usually hear of someone using it as a one-way communication tool to an individual. Seemed very

  • I'm still convinced this was intentional, all the way around.

    • Re:Everyone's getting in on this PR (Score:4, Insightful)

      by sznupi ( 719324 ) on Friday April 23, 2010 @09:56AM (#31955492) Homepage

      Next you know, Microsoft will benefit on it with something like "when you lose WinMob phone, it's sure to be there, waiting, when you get back"

      That could possibly mean it wasn't intentional on Apple side after all, though...

    • Re:Everyone's getting in on this PR (Score:5, Insightful)

      by rhsanborn ( 773855 ) on Friday April 23, 2010 @10:51AM (#31956336)
      i heard some commentary on this on NPR, and it makes sense, Steve Jobs operates with leaks, but he doesn't do uncontrolled leaks. I can't imagine he'd do anything that would take the wind out of his sail when he decides he's ready to get up on a stage and show off his new toy. He's far more likely to let little specs leak, a couple feature leaks, but not usually releasing the whole device into the wild.
      • You're forgetting that it deactivated itself very soon after they got it and are assuming that it really is close to the final version. Leaking an early prototype, missing some of the hardware and software features of the final version, would have the same effect as leaking specs but be a lot more believable.

      • Re:Everyone's getting in on this PR (Score:5, Funny)

        by Sponge Bath ( 413667 ) on Friday April 23, 2010 @11:53AM (#31957240)

        ...he doesn't do uncontrolled leaks.

        It takes a lot of beer for that to happen.

      • Re: (Score:2, Insightful)

        by secretcurse ( 1266724 )
        I agree that tightly controlled leaks are Apple's MO. However, I don't understand why Giz didn't post specs, a model number, or at least a good quality picture of the radio and the processor on the iPhone. If the radio is GSM and CDMA capable, it might mean that Verizon or Sprint will get the 4th iPhone. That's a way, way bigger scoop than just knowing that a new phone is coming out. I also wonder if the new phone is using one of Apple's new A4 processors. That's not as important as knowing what the ra

        • Re: (Score:2)

          by Nikker ( 749551 )
          Any site that posts speculation about anything Apple gets the same attention Giz is just more noteworthy for it. I have to agree it's fishy that they went all this way to try to be somewhat "credible" by outting the engineer when they could have broke open the device and started taking pictures. It looks like maybe they did stumble upon a real prototype and Apple sacrificed the engineer so Giz would still have some type of street cred. If any other site on the planet found anything that resembled a proto
    • Comment removed based on user account deletion

    • I'm still convinced this was intentional, all the way around.

      Yes, and you're still ignorant.

  • Taking some time off (Score:4, Funny)

    by Metrathon ( 311607 ) on Friday April 23, 2010 @09:55AM (#31955474)

    Thanks! - It just so happens I'm free the next few weeks!

  • Great PR potential for Apple to squander (Score:5, Funny)

    by jollyreaper ( 513215 ) on Friday April 23, 2010 @09:55AM (#31955480)

    The guy fucked up. He fucked up so bad it's gone past serious to not just epic fail but epoch fail. Apple should just run with it.

    Mac: Hi, I'm a Mac.

    PC: Hi, I'm a PC.

    Engineer: And I'm the idiot who lost the prototype iPhone.

    Mac: Ouch.

    PC: Wow. So that explains the sign around your neck? (points to sign reading "iDiot")

    Engineer: Yeah. Steve told me I had to wear it.

    PC: I lost a prototype Windows Mobile phone once.

    Engineer and Mac: (reaction shots indicating sympathy)

    PC: Actually I lost dozens of them, intentionally, hoping the tech blogs would take the bait. (casts eyes down.) Nobody cared.

    Mac: (pats PC's shoulder consolingly.) Oh, PC, that's because Windows Mobile sucks.

    • Re:Great PR potential for Apple to squander (Score:4, Funny)

      by xavierpayne ( 697081 ) on Friday April 23, 2010 @10:04AM (#31955618)
      That's actually a pretty awesome idea for a youtube spoof/skit. Bravo my friend. I am tempted to film it myself.
    • Well done sir. I look forward to a youtube version of this.

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by elrous0 ( 869638 ) *
      Have a little robot come and and kick them all in the balls at the end and I'll greenlight it, kid!

      • Have a little robot come and and kick them all in the balls at the end and I'll greenlight it, kid!

        Aye aye.

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by six11 ( 579 )

      That's one of the funniest /. posts I've ever read.

    • Steve Jobs should call Gray out of the audience and have *him* introduce the new iPhone at the unveiling.

      It would show he has a sense of humor...and no hard feelings. Probably won't happen but would be extremely cool.

      And Gray?

      Take the flight. Best way to end a bad week is to fly to Germany for a few free beers!

      • Steve Jobs should call Gray out of the audience and have *him* introduce the new iPhone at the unveiling.

        It would show he has a sense of humor...and no hard feelings. Probably won't happen but would be extremely cool.

        There's precedent for this, kinda. After Pirates of Silicon Valley was released, the next Macworld Keynote started off with Noah Wyle coming on stage as Steve Jobs, before Jobs himself came on, exchanged a few jokes, and took over the show. This despite the final tone of the film which made it seem Steve Jobs was left humbled before a victorious Gates.

        Meanwhile, though I can't find anything after a quick Google, I remember reading that BIll Gates complained about inaccuracies in the film and how he was port

  • I read the letter and it seems to offer to fly him *to* Munich, but nothing about flying him back again. Maybe they think he'll get so drunk in their business class lounge that he won't realise where he is.

  • I know what my decision would be

    It's sweet, but not like a once in a lifetime opportunity or anything. Assuming he is a typical software engineer in silicon valley, an airplane ticket to Germany is the equivalent of a week or so worth of work. So it's kind of a nice condolence prize, but not really worth losing your job.

    • Re: (Score:3, Insightful)

      by magsol ( 1406749 )
      but not really worth losing your job.

      Do we know that he hasn't lost his job already?

    • Ummm..... I'm not sure what kind of work you do, but if you have to work *ONE* week to be able to afford an air ticket to Germany....

      • Re: (Score:2)

        by xaxa ( 988988 )

        Doesn't that depend where you work? It seems to be about $600 from New York, but twice that from San Francisco (it's approaching double the distance, after all).

        Personally, I can afford a flight to Germany with last night's leftover cash (£25, London to Berlin in August, plus £15 for luggage). I can buy a flight to Denmark for £8 (again, plus £15 if I want to take checked luggage). I really should book a holiday somewhere...

  • Unprofessional, guys; (Score:5, Insightful)

    by Doches ( 761288 ) <Doches@gma[ ]com ['il.' in gap]> on Friday April 23, 2010 @10:06AM (#31955660)

    I was already aghast at Gizmodo for running a story with the poor engineer's name -- there was absolutely no journalistic reason to give his name other than to give Gawker's editors a bit of titillation. He's a human being; human beings make mistakes. I'm more than slightly disappointed that Slashdot, a community that should be sympathetic to the guy, is having a laugh at his expense. Seriously -- who hasn't ever lost their phone or their wallet?

    If, mind you, it was even legitimately lost in the first place -- which I still don't believe.

    • Re:Unprofessional, guys; (Score:5, Funny)

      by whisper_jeff ( 680366 ) on Friday April 23, 2010 @10:32AM (#31956066)

      Seriously -- who hasn't ever lost their phone or their wallet?

      Me.

      Of course, having said that, I'm now going to lose both _and_ my car keys... Thanks.

      • Re: (Score:3, Funny)

        by mseeger ( 40923 )

        Seriously -- who hasn't ever lost their phone or their wallet?

        Me.

        The only hypothesis that could explain for such an unlikely event is: You have neither wallet nor phone.

        CU, Martin :-)

    • Re:Unprofessional, guys; (Score:4, Insightful)

      by elrous0 ( 869638 ) * on Friday April 23, 2010 @10:33AM (#31956068)
      Just because you laugh at someone's foibles doesn't mean you aren't sympathetic with their plight.

    • Can open, worms everywhere (Score:5, Interesting)

      by SuperKendall ( 25149 ) on Friday April 23, 2010 @10:41AM (#31956198)

      I was already aghast at Gizmodo for running a story with the poor engineer's name

      Me too. Uncalled for.

      I'm more than slightly disappointed that Slashdot, a community that should be sympathetic to the guy

      They (we?) are... I mean, his name is known, so why not promote one positive thing that has happened for/to him in the last week? It's a way of saying, we feel terrible for you, but at least you can get a free trip to Germany and a nice beer to drown your sorrows.

      I don't see this as having a laugh at his expense or mean spirited at all.

      • They (we?) are... I mean, his name is known, so why not promote one positive thing that has happened for/to him in the last week?

        Do you want to be the one to tell your boss you cleared this guy for a security-sensitive job? After he has seen the YouTube videos of him whooping it up in a Munich beer hall at Lufthansa's expense?

        I didn't think so.
         

        • Do you want to be the one to tell your boss you cleared this guy for a security-sensitive job?

          Nope. That's why I was in my ORIGINAL MESSAGE wholly against Gizmodo revealing his name. If they had not done so, I'd be wholly against Lufthansa doing so as well.

          But if you recall from my ORIGINAL MESSAGE plus a ton of stories elsewhere, the damage is done already. It's not like his name being revealed a second time matters any more. so at least he potentially gets something positive - a free trip to Germany pl

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by geekoid ( 135745 )

      OK, his name is out, and he talked about it on his blog. At that point it's fine.

      We are sympathetic, but he is getting a free trip to Germany out of it.

    • I suspect this is a "Cat's out of the bag" situation. When Lufthansa is e-mailing you free ticket offers, it's probably time to accept that your name is out there and roll with it. Publishing his name now isn't going to make him any more or less famous (or infamous).

  • See, now I would have gone for the much more direct "iPhone Loser" summary title.

    Relax people, it's meant as a joke, not a troll/flamebait/whatever.

  • Lufthansa is planning to get him drunk on the flight and hoping he'll leave his phone on the plane.

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by geekoid ( 135745 )

      ANd he shoud get a phone with a bunch of fake features in it... Or fill it full of seawater and seal it.

    • Re: (Score:2, Flamebait)

      by TheRaven64 ( 641858 )
      If it's anything like my experiences with Lufthansa - the company trying single-handedly to prove that German efficiency is a myth - then they're hoping he'll put it in his checked luggage, where they can recover it when it ends up on a different continent to him.

  • I guess the thinking is that since he lost one, he probably has a replacement now. All they have to do is get him over to Germany, get him drunk, and hopefully he'll misplace his new one. Which will be an even later prototype to scoop Gizmodo.

    After all, aren't C't and Heise based in Germany?

    (Yes, that was a joke)

    On a more serious note - it could also be that Apple realizes that iPhones just aren't news anymore. Look at their Macs - they tend to just get quietly refreshed these days unless there's some major

  • What about the money? (Score:4, Interesting)

    by Neoprofin ( 871029 ) <neoprofin@hotmai[ ]om ['l.c' in gap]> on Friday April 23, 2010 @10:29AM (#31956026)
    Should a company that's asking for millions of Euros in government bailouts be paying for publicity stunts? I mean I know a single flight from Seattle to Frankfurt isn't going to cost the airline itself much of anything, but what kind of message does it send to the tens of thousands of people who have been stranded for the last week or all of the Germans who are going to pay the potential bailout money if Lufthansa starts handing out free flights to guys just because they like German beer.

    P.S. Saying "German beer" is like saying "American beer". I'd honestly be curious what he was drinking, most of the interesting stuff is the local city brews and I can tell you some of them are every bit the flavorless piss water of Coors.

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by geekoid ( 135745 )

      "Should a company that's asking for millions of Euros in government bailouts be paying for publicity stunts?
      yes. DO you know why companies do them? It's to get more business.

      Al;so, German Beer as strict guidelines that don't apply to American Beer. I see you point, but you can get 'beer' made from rice in Germany.

      • When Germany has a strict guideline of "beer isn't alcoholic piss water" I'll care.

        I'm not some snob either, I probably put down more Highlife than anything else but this idea that people have that ALL Belgians or Germans are incredible just shows that they've never drank in Europe. The real bastard with Belgians is that I spent five months there drinking anywhere a train can go, and every beer they serve is available at my local grocery store at the same price. Stupid globalization is taking all the fu

        • Re: (Score:2)

          by geekoid ( 135745 )

          I was talking about that when you get a beer in Germany, it's a beer with 4 ingredients in it! Not one or two or three but four! What the hell am I supposed to to with rice beer?
          .
          .
          .
          .
          .
          Sorry.

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by xaxa ( 988988 )

      It's called marketing. They thinks it's cheaper than an advertising campaign, and they're almost certainly correct -- they're on the front page of several technical news sites. Next time you book a flight you're meant to think good things about Lufthansa and choose them.

      • Too bad they're massively more expensive than most of the competing airlines, although from what I hear they're also far more flexible if there ends up being a situation where you need to change things. I've flown trans-Atlantic three times in the last four months, Delta/KLM and Aer Lingus and paid nearly half what I would have with Lufthansa.

        • Re: (Score:2)

          by geekoid ( 135745 )

          and how are those airlines doing?

          Airlines are too cheap anyways. They should cost double what they do. And they would if they weren't propped up by the government.

          • Couldn't tell you, like most people I shop with my wallet not with my accountants eye for sound financial policy. They can worry about their bottom line, I'll worry about mine.

            Sure I have to pay the bailouts, but if the government is going to take my money I'd rather get cheap air fair out of it then bridges to no where or another state of the art embassy.

  • Free (Score:5, Funny)

    by jDeepbeep ( 913892 ) on Friday April 23, 2010 @10:39AM (#31956156)
    Free. As in beer.

  • So the guy who lost the phone is getting bailed out with beer.

    Interesting.

  • 4G? (Score:2)

    by paul248 ( 536459 )

    Is this just the 4th-generation iPhone, or will it operate on 4G LTE/WiMAX networks?

    Apple really seeded confusion when they called their second-generation device the "3G", but got back in sync by calling their third-gen device the "3GS". If their 4th-gen device doesn't have 4G wireless, it'll be a mess again.

    • Re: (Score:2, Insightful)

      by Jake Griffin ( 1153451 )
      I don't see how that's confusing... There is the original iPhone (iPhone), the 2nd generation with 3G capabilities (iPhone 3G), the 3rd generation with some new features still on the 3G network (iPhone 3GS)... Would you rather they had called the 2nd iPhone the "iPhone 2G with 3G capabilities"? Now THAT would have been confusing...

  • Dear Steve,

    We haven't met, but unsolicited advice from a 30 year Apple customer, developer and publisher.

    Developers, and also a bunch of executives, investors and publishers, are starting to get pissed off and could use some love as you tighten the screws.

    This is an excellent opportunity to build good will. Don't fire the guy. Shit happens, and you will make a lot of points if you forgive him and let him get back to work. He'll take it to heart.

    Remember, Google is not the only company that can attempt to "D

    • Sees to me that if they were going to fire him, they would have by now. And since apparently the world reads his Facebook page, we'd probably know about it. Personally I hope they keep him on and use some of these hilarious advertising/promotional ideas I'm reading.

  • I thought the airlines were struggling after the EU airspace was closed? so how can they throw around free flights and hospitality?

    Of course, they're hoping to get business out this publicity I suppose.

  • No shock they ran his name. These are the same guys who got tossed out on their ear at CES after all.
  • There is no 4G network to speak of in the United States
    THEREFORE: Apple will NOT release a 4G phone.
    The next iPhone will be a 3G phone.

    Tech writers and journalists are really showing their true colors with this Apple prototype fiasco. Not a single one of them has gotten the name right, nor have they acknowledged their mistakes. And don't tell me they're referring to Apple hardware generations. It is universally accepted that the capital 'G' after a number refers to only cell technology generations. Fur
  • Update: Steve Wozniak shows sense of humor as well as solidarity with Apple engineer Gray Powell, recently had himself photographed drinking a beer, staring into an iPhone and wearing a T-shirt that reads: "I went drinking with Gray Powell and all I got was a lousy iPhone prototype."

    Story:

    http://news.cnet.com/8301-13579_3-20003345-37.html?tag=mncol;posts

    Picture:

    http://i.i.com.com/cnwk.1d/i/tim//2010/04/23/wozGRAY_270x360.jpg

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