At home? In a bar? They are completely different. In a bar, it becomes the property of the bar owner. Who is very likely to give it back, but in no way obliged to do so by law.
Covered adnauseum in the 'iPhone prototype left in a bar' thread. Sorry, I haven't learned to search HN history for articles.
It does seem bizarre, doesn't it? Sometimes petty legal issues are resolved using precedent and it can seem arbitrary, probably because it is.
For instance, its accepted in the US that in a rear-end collision its the car in back that is at fault. In Austria I've been told the car in front is at fault!
Both sides could be argued. But like in baseball with the infield-fly rule, a rule gets made to settle it once and for all, and it is really arbitrary.
> Covered adnauseum in the 'iPhone prototype left in a bar' thread.
What on Earth are you talking about? That phone was still the property of Apple. Gizmodo's blogger was investigated for involvement in felony theft. Leaving your property does not stop it from being your property. If someone finds your property and refuses to return it (or in some cases simply neglects to turn it into the police), they are guilty of a crime.
