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Comment by badman_ting | Hacker News Reader

This thing is really bothering people, and I totally do not understand why.

techies don't want the bling crowd to encroach on their territory?

If anything, its a gift to the snatch and run crowd.

Sadly there is a clique out there that sees status in what type of phone or laptop you have. Its this generations 3 series. Personal expression of wealth, or pseudo wealth. Jersey Shore, Kardassians, and the ilk.

The techies reject this use of their domain, hence the disdain expressed by many. My opinion, gaudy.

Re: "Snatch and Run" - if the anti-theft properties of IOS 7 hold up, then it may the opposite - a "Gold iPhone" may be seen to have significantly less resale value.

Time will tell.

Is there some superior anti-theft mechanism to IOS7 beyond the 'Lock iPhone' and 'Find my iPhone' features that wasn't there before?

There is. If you lose your phone, you can remotely disable it. Your AppleID and password are needed to re-enable the device, or to factory restore it. In other words, short of some software vulnerability, it is not possible to use a stolen iPhone with iOS7 except as a paper-weight. And, although there surely will be some software vulnerabilities, it will definitely increase the bar for profiting from a stolen iPhone.

Additionally, when you connect an iOS7 device to a new computer, you need to unlock it and confirm you trust that computer before it'll talk/sync to it (before that, it just treats the computer as a charger.) Which will stop unqualified attackers (who aren't aware of DFU mode) from just swiping your phone and putting their own stuff on it, or attempting to naively restore it.

> "Jersey Shore, Kardassians, and the ilk."

I don't think this is an accurate distinction at all. Conspicuous consumption is everywhere, even within techies - you really don't have to reach as far as Jersey Shore and the Kardashians to find people who wear their electronics like jewelry.

Hell, even Uber is conspicuous consumption in a lot of cases. Why roll up to the club in a cab when you can do so in a sleek, black SUV? And we know how popular that is with the technology crowd.

The "techies" have not rejected this use of their domain, they're just a little peeved that they no longer have monopoly of using technology as bling.

Hell, the very first iPhone quickly became a status symbol, since it was both expensive and had a very distinctive, trend-setting design. For a a brief moment, it was a pocket computer to the digerati, and a fashion accessory for everyone else. (Actually, I'm not sure that's changed much...)

Jeez, there is just so much wrong here. "Territory"? This is a mass-market product. Has been from the start. And the techie resentment you're espousing so well is another matter unto itself.

I really don't understand how an industry rooted in one of the shallowest, most manicured places on the whole planet can be so sanctimonious about other peoples' lifestyle choices.

It's easy to pretend that we don't care what other people think.

The gold colored iPhone is polarizing. Those that don't like it care that others do like it, and want to convince people to agree with them. (and vice versa).

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