Four Palo Alto teenagers raised in the heart of Silicon Valley got the scare of their lives when they thought they might be banished from all Apple stores worldwide, for life.
Their crime, the teens said, was downloading a third-party car racing game onto iPhones at Apple’s University Avenue store in Palo Alto last weekend. For that, the two Palo Alto High School students and two recent graduates said they were detained 2 1/2 hours at the store and permanently banned by management.
“I can’t walk down University Avenue without going in there,” said Paly senior Daniel Fukuba, who camped out for the first iPhones last year. Fukuba, who works at a local start-up when not in school, said he and two friends – junior Eric Vicenti and Paly alum Noah Rogers – had some time to kill before meeting up with Paly alum Anjay Patel on Saturday, so they headed over to the Apple store. Showing off the capabilities of the iPhone to Vicenti, Fukuba downloaded a car racing game called “Raging Thunder” – a third-party application created by the Swedish company Polarbits – onto the store phone.
“We thought that it was completely harmless,” Vicenti said. When an employee stopped by and asked what they were doing, Fukuba told him they were “playing around with the phones.” Rogers, who said he worked for the Palo Alto Apple store during the holiday season, said employees are trained to restore the iPhones and computers each night so any downloaded applications would be erased before the next day. “All you have to do is plug it in a laptop to restore it to normal,” he said. The employee did not seem alarmed, but a few minutes later a manager came over and asked whether they needed help, Fukuba said. He replied that they were doing fine, and shortly after Patel arrived the group left the store. Patel said he had spent less than five minutes in the store, doing nothing but checking his Facebook page and barely chatting with his friends. “I may have said one or two words to them,” he said.
But the group had time to talk over the next 2 1/2 hours. “We’re halfway down the block when the manager comes running out and tells us to stop right there,”‘ Fukuba said. The students were ordered to return to the store, where a security guard and the manager called police, Vicenti said. Sgt. Sandra Brown confirmed that the store called the Palo Alto Police Department and an officer responded, but made no arrests. She said the store issued the teens an “admonishment” to leave the store, but police did not force them out. After being lectured by the manager on the dangers of “hacking” into the phones, the teens were photographed and told their pictures were being sent to all Apple stores “so they’d be on the lookout for us,” Rogers said.
Never, ever, cross an Apple store employee, lest ye too shall be banned for life.
It’s funny how we don’t see the “Think Different” ads anymore…
These kids were just showing the capabilities of the Iphone. Something Apple should be doing on it’s own. These guys have become worse than Microsoft.
#1 – step back for a minute and maybe you’re being as foolish with your sweeping generality as the manager dweeb was pompous.
Fact is – Apple will probably offer Rolling Thunder through their 3rd Party App Store – in a few more weeks.
Apple elitists have always been worse than MS guys. This ‘we’re better than you’ attitude was always frowned upon, and stuff like this proves it.
Their photos were passed to all the apple stores? Hah. If I were them, I’d walk in there everyday to see what possible reason they could have for banning me.
And apple wonders why they can never get more than a small fraction of the PC market share? Crap like this proves why.
They jailbroke an iPhone THEY DIDN’T OWN! How would you like it if someone came to your house or place of business and installed or modified files on your computer. Most likely, your be pretty pissed too.
The kids should have bought the iPhone and then down what ever shit they like to do.
As far as i’m concerned those kids are douche canoes
Jeez, Good going Apple. Great for PR.
Just how’d they get the app on the iPhone, they Jailbreak it? If that’s the case, then asking them to leave and a stern warning would be in order, otherwise Apple’s just being Apple. Media darling, though they are, they get away with far more crap than say Microsoft would be able to. What other company could get away with having to make an appointment for sales help in their own store. We seem to take it time and time again…
Looks like the Crapple dweebs are showing their true colors. The iPhone is a horrible phone coming from a horrible company.
And they willingly obeyed the manager to return to the store and be placed under citizens’ arrest because why?
If a manager told me that I had to follow him, I’d tell him where to stick his idea. Call the cops bozo.
Can’t stores be prosecuted for false arrest for stunts like this?
Gee, whats wrong, just sounds like the Apple mentality to me..
“Four Palo Alto teenagers raised in the heart of Silicon Valley got the scare of their lives ”
Uh .. we must live in a rather gay society if being banned from an Apple store is the “scare of their lives”.
I’m with #5 — sue for false arrest, it’s bullshit to be tied up 2 1/2 hours when no crime was committed.
Apple is a whine, Apple users are the cheese.
So if I go into a bestbuy and start installing Linux on the vista machines this is ok. Besides the fact of the obvious upgrade.
#11 right on. This is the “no consequences” generation. http://tinyurl.com/3qcxfc
>>“I can’t walk down University Avenue without
>>going in there,” said Paly senior
>>Daniel Fukuba
That’s just pathetic.
What if someone walked into a Microsoft store and unlocked a Microsoft cellphone? Oh wait, there aren’t any Microsoft stores and no Microsoft phones. Damn. Ok, worse yet – what if someone walked into Wal-Mart or rode their fat ass on one of the little carts over to the Zune display and installed DRM free music? Not that anyone would care because they can’t give those POS things away.
14- Wow, you’re not biased, are you douchbag?
As far as the other clowns saying apple was justified in this, are you f***ing insane?
A 2 1/2 hour detention so the barney fife-esque ‘sheriff’ of the apple store can feel like his life has meaning and power?
Give me a break. I’d definitely be suing these asshats for false arrest, false imprisonment, and mental duress. The negative PR alone would get apple to settle in 6 figures.
#15 – Brian, I forwarded Apple your picture so they’ll be on the lookout for you. http://tinyurl.com/5mjt5k
BTW – I admit to being level 4. http://tinyurl.com/44kbk9
Perhaps, I am out of the loop but is hanging out at a Apple store the say as hanging out 7-11 posting quarters to mortal kombat 1?
Installing software or modifying a device you do not own is criminal mischief, plain and simple. Its illegal and these douches should be prosecuted. It no different then if you went into any store and started fucking with their stuff.
What dweebs go into a shop and start meddling with the display devices and think they can get away with it!!!
OH! the ones that believe that Apple is “Good” and cares for you. Reality check kids: “We’re not only in it for the money. We want to look magnificent too.” it’s Apple’s moto. Just only Steve gets to look magnificent. The rest just sucks up to…
That’s what I’m wondering, when did people start hanging out in the Apple store? Around here it’s mostly overweight retired guys with nothing better to do than try to make eye contact with the patrons so they can launch into their complaint du jour. Sounds like a bunch of kids with too much time on their hands. Too young and naive to know what most iPhone users already know, Apple products are garbage and need to be hacked to perform the slightest feature.
Well..as far as the “walking into Walmart posts go…I do not believe that Walmart advertises a style of shopping that includes the ability to “mess with the machines”.
If you don’t want people to play with the toys, don’t make it a marketing ploy to begin with..
When you do..and they do..STFU. There is only one question. Did they in any way damage the toy they were playing with? If so…they get to pay for it. If not, go pound salt fanboys.
#14: There are Microsoft phones, but they’ve never caught on.
The Apple phones have caught on, but apparently Apple doesn’t want their users to add any third party apps to them, so what’s the advantage to them when other cell phones are Internet compatible (but only if you have the AT&T carrier signal available). Based on experience when AT&T was Cingular, if you use the Web feature on their phone you’re charged through the nose for it.
So what’s the use for either of them?
#15
“I’d definitely be suing these asshats for false arrest, false imprisonment, and mental duress..”
Sounds like you’re already experiencing mental anguish. So what was the duress? Someone holding a gun to your head and making you use an iPhone?
Kinda reminds of me of years ago at a CompUSA when I got an old DOS-box to run Defrag, and a salesguy got all scared, told his manager, and the manager looked at me and asked sternly, “You do that?” I answered “Yes” and he smiled and asked in turn, “Would you like to work here? You can have his job” whereupon he walked away with the young employee and asked quietly, “How the f*** did you get a job here?”
Hell, this store was lucky they actually had a customer that could translate the words “third party app” into action, even if that customer was an Apple Store Stalker. If you have found true love with Apple, great. But, this wasn’t the Golden Child in a newborn ICU they were fiddling with, it was a DEMO unit. And unless there was a signed contract fully agreeing to some fantard terms of the “I Wanna Be Apple’s E-bitch” Prospective Customer docs, this was just screwing around with a DEMO unit. It’s not like they tried to change the phone’s battery in the store.
Wow, tough crowd. I’d hate to see what would happen if the topic was nun beating. It’s a just computer guys. I use both but I have to admit that Windows is way better at fighting crime:
http://tinyurl.com/5d7k7k
Using Microsoft and ridiculing Apple is like driving a Ford and ridiculing Honda.
No, they just want to make some money off of it. In a few weeks you will be able to buy apps for the iphone.
I guess you consider $20 a month for unlimited data to be through the nose.
You really shouldn’t comment of things you know nothing about. It just makes you look stupid.
A totally fabricated story.
An Store manager would never run after someone.
Facebook is blocked from the machines on the floor.