04 · 20

How Apple Lost the Next iPhone

How Apple Lost the Next iPhone

How Apple Lost the Next iPhone

The Gourmet Haus Staudt. A nice place to enjoy good German ales. And if you are an Apple Software Engineer named Gray Powell, it's also a nice place to make the honest mistake of losing the next-generation iPhone.

The 27-year-old Powell—a North Carolina State University 2006 graduate and talented amateur photographer—is an Apple Software Engineer working on the iPhone Baseband Software, the little program that enables the iPhone to make calls. A dream job for a talented engineer like Powell, an Apple fan who always wanted to meet Steve Jobs.

How Apple Lost the Next iPhoneOn the night of March 18, he was enjoying the fine imported ales at Gourmet Haus Staudt, a nice German beer garden in Redwood City, California. He was happy. The place was great. The beer was excellent. "I underestimated how good German beer is," he typed into the next-generation iPhone he was testing on the field, cleverly disguised as an iPhone 3GS. It was his last Facebook update from the secret iPhone. It was the last time he ever saw the iPhone, right before he abandoned it on bar stool, leaving to go home.

It a simple, honest mistake. Something that anyone, from Steve Jobs to Jonathan Ive, could have done. Knowing how ferocious and ruthless Apple is about product leaks, those beers may have turned out to be the bitterest of his life.

(Almost) Impenetrable Security

Until now, Apple's legendary security has always worked perfectly. Perhaps there was a blurry factory photo here, or some last-minute information strategically whispered to some friendly media there. But when it comes to the big stuff, everything is airtight. At their Cupertino campus, any gadget or computer that is worth protecting is behind armored doors, with security locks with codes that change every few minutes. Prototypes are bolted to desks. Hidden in these labs, hardware, software and industrial-design elves toil separately on the same devices, without really having the complete picture of the final product.

And hidden in every corner, the Apple secret police, a team of people with a single mission: To make sure nobody speaks. And if there's a leak, hunt down the traitor, and escort him out of the building. Using lockdowns and other fear tactics, these men in black are the last line of defense against any sneaky eyes. The Gran Jefe Steve trusts them to avoid Apple's worst nightmare: The leak of a strategic product that could cost them millions of dollars in free marketing promotion. One that would make them lose control of the product news cycle.

But the fact is that there's no perfect security. Not when humans are involved. Humans that can lose things. You know, like the next generation iPhone.

Lost and Found

Apple security's mighty walls fell on the midnight of Thursday, March 18. At that time, Powell was at Gourmet Haus Staudt, just 20 miles from the company's Infinite Loop headquarters, having his fun. Around him, other groups of people were sharing the jolly atmosphere, and plenty of the golden liquid.

How Apple Lost the Next iPhone

The person who eventually ended up with the lost iPhone was sitting next to Powell. He was drinking with a friend too. He noticed Powell on the stool next to him but didn't think twice about him at the time. Not until Powell had already left the bar, and a random really drunk guy—who'd been sitting on the other side of Powell—returned from the bathroom to his own stool.

The Random Really Drunk Guy pointed at the iPhone sitting on the stool, the precious prototype left by the young Apple engineer.

"Hey man, is that your iPhone?" asked Random Really Drunk Guy.

"Hmmm, what?" replied the person who ended up with the iPhone. "No, no, it isn't mine."

"Ooooh, I guess it's your friend's then," referring to a friend who at the time was in the bathroom. "Here, take it," said the Random Really Drunk Guy, handing it to him. "You don't want to lose it." After that, the Random Really Drunk Guy also left the bar.

The person who ended up with the iPhone asked around, but nobody claimed it. He thought about that young guy sitting next to him, so he and his friend stayed there for some time, waiting. Powell never came back.

During that time, he played with it. It seemed like a normal iPhone. "I thought it was just an iPhone 3GS," he told me in a telephone interview. "It just looked like one. I tried the camera, but it crashed three times." The iPhone didn't seem to have any special features, just two bar codes stuck on its back: 8800601pex1 and N90_DVT_GE4X_0493. Next to the volume keys there was another sticker: iPhone SWE-L200221. Apart from that, just six pages of applications. One of them was Facebook. And there, on the Facebook screen, was the Apple engineer, Gray Powell.

How Apple Lost the Next iPhone

Thinking about returning the phone the next day, he left. When he woke up after the hazy night, the phone was dead. Bricked remotely, through MobileMe, the service Apple provides to track and wipe out lost iPhones. It was only then that he realized that there was something strange that iPhone. The exterior didn't feel right and there was a camera on the front. After tinkering with it, he managed to open the fake 3GS.

There it was, a shiny thing, completely different from everything that came before.

He reached for a phone and called a lot of Apple numbers and tried to find someone who was at least willing to transfer his call to the right person, but no luck. No one took him seriously and all he got for his troubles was a ticket number.

He thought that eventually the ticket would move up high enough and that he would receive a call back, but his phone never rang. What should he be expected to do then? Walk into an Apple store and give the shiny, new device to a 20-year-old who might just end up selling it on eBay?

The Aftermath

Weeks later, Gizmodo got it. It was the real thing. Once we saw it inside and out, there was no doubt about it. We learnt about this story, but we didn't know for sure it was Powell's phone until today, when we contacted him via his phone.

Gray Powell: Hello?

John Herrman: Is this Gray?

G: Yeah.

J: Hi, this is John Herrman from Gizmodo.com.

G: Hey!

J: You work at Apple, right?

G: Um, I mean I can't really talk too much right now.

J: I understand. We have a device, and we think that maybe you misplaced it at a bar, and we would like to give it back.

G: Yeah, I forwarded your email [asking him if it was his iPhone], someone should be contacting you.

J: OK.

G: Can I send this phone number along?

J: [Contact information]

He sounded tired and broken. But at least he's alive, and apparently may still be working at Apple—as he should be. After all, it's just a fucking iPhone and mistakes can happen to everyone—Gray Powell, Phil Schiller, you, me, and Steve Jobs.

The only real mistake would be to fire Gray in the name of Apple's legendary impenetrable security, breached by the power of German beer and one single human error.

Additional reporting by John Herrman; extra thanks to Kyle VanHemert, Matt Buchanan, and Arianna Reiche

04 · 19

15 Uniform Payment Options Icon Sets for Ecommerce Design

A small but often overlooked aspect of most ecommerce sites designs are the flat and bland payment options icons (Visa, Mastercard, Paypal…). From a usability standpoint the icons do need to be instantly recognized by the user, and you can understand why designers opt to use standard icon designs rather than being a little bit more adventurous.

Part of the problem is finding a uniform collection of payment icons that are both the same size and style and that are equally suited to your sites design. You will tend to have a mixture of icons that grouped together look strangely out of place. This is what this post aims to address, by helping you find a uniform collection of icons.

Below, you will find a collection of beautifully designed free payment options icon-sets that dare to be unique and adventurous, while at the same time they clearly cover all usability bases and issues. They are all perfect for any ecommerce site, as well as for offline projects, such as custom GUIs, print media, and much more.

20 Free Payment Option Icons

20 Free Payment Option Icons - Payment Option Icons

This set contains 20 icons for popular payment methods such as MasterCard, PayPal, Visa, American Express, Diner’s Club and much more… All of the icons are in .png format and come in three different sizes: 130×80px, 80×49px and 50×31px.
This icon set has been licensed under the Creative Commons license and can be used for personal and/or commercial purposes.
20 Free Payment Option Icons »

Credit Cards Icons for Free

Credit Cards Icons for Free - Payment Option Icons


Credit Cards is a collection of 20 icons most online payments options and services. The icons are all in .gif format and available in the following sizes: 50×30px and 30×30px.
This icon set are subject to Creative Commons license: Attribution-Share Alike 2.0 UK: England & Wales. This means you are free to use them for both personal and commercial work, as long as you do not sell them.
Credit Cards Icons for Free »

Speckyboy Payment Method Icon Set

Speckyboy Payment Method Icon Set - Payment Option Icons


The Speckyboy Payment Method icon set is a collection of popular payment icons, that include: Mastercard, Visa, Paypal, Google Checkout, Check Payment and even icons for Wire-Transfers.
This icon sets download package contains the six icons, and include a choice of eight different sizes: 12px, 16px, 24px, 32px, 64px, 128px, 256px and 512px.
The icons are entirely free for personal or commercial use.
Speckyboy Payment Method Icon Set »

Weby Icon Set

Weby Icon Set - Payment Option Icons


These icons are available in .png, .ico and .icns format. They are free to use for both personal and commercial projects, including websites, templates & software.
Weby Icon Set »

Free PNG Credit Card, Debit Card and Payment Icons

Free PNG Credit Card, Debit Card and Payment Icons - Payment Option Icons

This collection of popular credit card, debit card and payment icons comes packaged with two versions (curved edge and straight edge), in three different sizes (32, 64 and 128px) and all are in .png format.
These icons are released free of charge and can be used without credit.
Free PNG Credit Card, Debit Card and Payment Icons »

Credit Card Icons – 3D Icons for Applications Development

Credit Card Icons - 3D Icons for Applications Development - Payment Option Icons


This unique 3d Credit Card Icons Collection comes packaged with .jpg, .gif, .icn, .png, .bmp and ico formats, and in two sizes: 48×48px and 72×72px. The set includes icons for Visa MasterCard, Discover, Amex, e-Check and Paypal.
Credit Card Icons – 3D Icons for Applications Development »

Credit Card Web Icons

Credit Card Web Icons - Payment Option Icons


This completely original and custom payment option set comes with icons for Mastercard, Visa, AMEX, and Paypal. They are all 32×32px and the .psd file is included in the download, allowing you to create your own payment option icon.
Credit Card Web Icons »

Ecommerce Payment Mini Pixel Icon Pack

Ecommerce Payment Mini Pixel Icon Pack - Payment Option Icons


This ecommerce payment icon pack includes 15 icons of credit card and popular payment gateway symbols. They are all in .png format and come packaged with the following sizes: 16×16px, 24×24px and 32×32px.
The Ecommerce Payment Icon Pack by The Colour Mill is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 2.0 UK: England & Wales License.
Ecommerce Payment Mini Pixel Icon Pack »

Payment Type Icons and Buttons

Payment Type Icons and Buttons - Payment Option Icons


There are 12 icons in this set, all in .gif format and all sized at 60×32px. Icons are free to use.
Payment Type Icons and Buttons »

Titan Icons – Free Ecommerce Icons

Titan Icons - Free Ecommerce Icons - Payment Option Icons


These highly detailed icons, from Titan Icons, are perfect for a wide variety of on and offline projects, such as spreadsheet use, web design, custom graphical user interfaces [GUI], print media, and much more.
The download package includes the following sizes: 512×512px, 128×128px, 48×48px, 32×32px and 16×16px. And the following formats: .psd, .png, .jpeg, .gif and .ico.
Titan Icons – Free Ecommerce Icons »

Chalkwork Payments Royalty-Free Icons

Chalkwork Payments Royalty-Free Icons - Payment Option Icons


Chalkwork Payments is a free set of online payments icons, featuring 21 original icons and 105 variations, these graphical representations of common payment services and payment-related imagery are a completely free icon set available for personal and commercial projects alike.
Chalkwork Payments is available in three (16×16px, 24×24px and 32×32px) sizes and 6 file formats: transparent PNG, TIF, GIF, BMP, Windows ICO, and Mac ICNS.
Chalkwork Payments Royalty-Free Icons »

Free Glossy eCommerce Icons

Free Glossy eCommerce Icons - Payment Option Icons

Free Glossy eCommerce Icons »

Credit Card Logos & Images

Credit Card Logos & Images - Payment Option Icons


To display the Visa Master Card logos or credit card logos on your site, you will need to copy and paste the html code available to the right of each logo on this page. All you have to do is simply paste the code anywhere on your website, and thats it.
Credit Card Logos & Images »

InfoMerchant – Credit Card Images

InfoMerchant - Credit Card Images - Payment Option Icons


Just in case you might have been searching around for the right image to use on your E-Commerce web page or shopping cart, here are some images that might help. Just right click on the image and save it to your hard drive and you are ready to upload it to your server. There are also test credit card numbers below for testing transactions.
InfoMerchant – Credit Card Images »

Creditcard Pack – 365psd for €1

Creditcard Pack ‹ 365psd for €1 - Payment Option Icons

This beautiful icon set is not free, but when it only costs €1 ($1.40), its well worth it. There are fifteen perfectly crafted icons in the set for all major payment option services. Great resource.
Creditcard Pack »

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04 · 19

This Is Apple's Next iPhone - iPhone 4

04 · 19

Jailbreak iPhone 4.0 with Redsn0w 0.9.5

The iPhone Dev-Team is back! They have just released a test version of redsn0w 0.9.5 (Mac only for now) to jailbreak the latest iPhone OS 4 Beta. This release is targeted towards developers only to help them upgrade their existing app on Cydia for this upcoming latest firmware.

redsn0w 0.9.5

Note: This release WILL NOT help you hacktivate or unlock your phone. You’ll need a registered UDID with Apple to get past the activation process. Therefore, DO NOT update to iPhone OS 4 Beta if you rely on an unlock, as upgrading will upgrade your baseband which will leave you locked.

The following step by step guide will help you jailbreak your iPhone 3G ONLY (for now) on iPhone OS 4 Beta.

Step 1: Download iPhone OS 4 Beta for iPhone 3G.

Step 2: Update to this latest firmware file: iPhone1,2_4.0_8A230m_Restore.ipsw

Step 3: Start redsn0w 0.9.5 and point it to the original iPhone OS 4 Beta firmware for iPhone 3G to proceed.

Jailbreak iPhone OS 4

Step 4: Now select “Install Cydia” and click “Next”.

Jailbreak iPhone 4.0

Step 5: Now make sure your device is both OFF and PLUGGED IN to the computer before you click “Next”.

Step 6: Connect your device in recovery mode by pressing the Power and buttons continuously.

Jailbreak iPhone 4.0 Beta

At this stage you will be presented with a screen where you will have to quickly hold “Power” button and then while holding the “Power” button, you will now have to hold “Home” button too. Now after few seconds release “Power” button but keep holding “Home” button until installation begins.

Step 7: Sit back and enjoy while redsn0w will do all the rest for you. Once done, your iPhone 3G will restart automatically and you will find it jailbroken with iPhone firmware version 4.0.

You will now notice that Cydia has a blank white icon. You’ll also notice that Cydia has no sources. Go to the Sources panel and add http://apt.saurik.com/cydia-3.7 repo. Now restart your phone and you should see the regular standard Cydia logo now.

How-to Enable Multitasking:

Once done, you can now enable multitasking on iPhone 3G, OS 4 by simply editing a N82AP.plist file as mentioned here. Open the said .plist file and change the multitasking key to = TRUE. If the is not there, add it and you’ll be done.

How-to Enable Wallpapers:

You can now enable support for Wallpapers on iPhone 3G and iPod touch 2G on OS 4 by following the step by step guide posted here.

For iPhone 3.1.3 firmware, you can follow our complete jailbreaking guide for iPhone 2G, 3G, 3GS and iPod touch 1G/2G using redsn0w 0.9.3, redsn0w 0.9.4, sn0wbreeze, PwnageTool 3.1.5. Unlocking can be done using ultrasn0w or blacksn0w.

For iPhone 3.1.2 firmware, you can use blackra1n, PwnageTool, redsn0w, sn0wbreeze, ultrasn0w and blacksn0w to jailbreak and unlock your iPhone and iPod touch.

Disclaimer: This guide is for testing & educational purposes only. I’m not responsible for any loss of important data or malfunctioning of your iPhone.

Download iTunes 9.1 for Windows and Mac
Download the Original iPhone OS 4 Beta for iPhone 3G
Download redsn0w 0.9.5 for Mac [Fast Mirror link]

UPDATE 1: iPhone 3G with 05.08 Bootloader can be unlocked using ultrasn0w if the baseband is downgraded to 04.26.08 from 05.13.03 using Fuzzyband. Step by step guide can be found here.

UPDATE 2: Redsn0w 0.9.5b2 Brings SMS and Data Issues Fix for iPhone OS 4 Beta Jailbreak. Download it from here.

You may also like to check out:

04 · 19

iPhone Apps, iPad Apps, iPhone 3GS Apps, iPad games, iPod Touch games, app reviews and forum

That all the apps you have been looking for.

Kyle Reddoch

I am an aspiring Web Developer, Android Fanatic, Family Man, and all around Web Geek! I also do Freelance Development work.

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