I'd love it if someone can explain to me this obscene preoccupation people have with being "the first" to get shit.

Yeah, I have an iPhone 4, but I wasn't on line @ the Apple store at 4am on the day it was released.

What's the damn rush to buy (not free btw) a piece technology that will surely see several iterations before it reaches it's prime performance capacity?

In China an Apple reseller is already accepting pre-orders for the iPhone 5 without so much as an official announcement for iPhone 5 from Apple.

Don't get me wrong.  I get that most Apple products are great and that Apple's iPhone can be credited with bringing consumers technology that they didn't know they couldn't live without.  However, the constant need to overload our already saturated media with pre and post Apple-ware propaganda is unnecessary at the very least.

So in theory, can I start a rumor in the blogosphere claiming to be in possession of a most coveted iPhone 6 prototype, then sell a faux mock up to a technology publication?

I think that would make an interesting case study and highlight the lunacy behind society's collective irrational desire to be the first to acquire stuff and when's enough enough?