Criminal Me

[llcoolvad]

So today on my dinner break I took a stroll over to the Mall next to my building to see how the Apple iPhones launch was going. The stores are all closed until 6pm so that (according to Steve Jobs) people don't have to take off from work to get an iPhone. The reality (of course) is that it's so that news teams can get nice visuals of hundreds of people waiting in line — free advertising!

I guess advertising only goes so far, though, because one thing you can't do for Apple without being hassled by a giant security guy is take a picture of the (CLOSED AND BLACKED OUT) front of an Apple store:



I was snapping pictures of the people in line and just took this one when a guard practically ran up to me and told me not to do that. I asked why, he said "because it's private property". I wish I knew the rules of what's legal in photography a little better, because after all I AM inside a mall. So the MALL might be private property, but the OUTSIDE of a store is not normally private property (anything visible from a public area is fair game, I know that much). The guy basically followed me almost to the door of the mall, and I argued with him the whole way. He asked me if I'd like to discuss it with the police. Nice huh? Way to promote a warm fuzzy feeling about your phone, Apple.

I'm thinking I will NEVER buy an iPhone now. Bite me, Apple!

Other pictures from the event.

Comments

[ceo]

Was it an Apple security guard, or a mall security guard?

[llcoolvad.livejournal.com]

I wish I had the presence of mind to notice. He wasn't wearing a mall security guard outfit. In fact, I don't know for sure that he was any kind of security guard. He was dressed in a polo shirt, but had some kind of ID badge. Feh. I would make a really bad witness to a crime! :-)

From his attitude he could have been the mall manager, or perhaps just a hired event mercenary. No idea!

[ceo]

I am told that, if a security guard threatens to call the police, the most effective response is to tell them to go right ahead. (Depending on what you were doing, of course.)