Steve Jobs’ iPad was reduced to music player in hands of a clown

“Kenny the Clown,� the most famous clown in the world Friday, had no idea what a serious device he had in his hands while using an iPad stolen from the home of the late Steve Jobs.

“I didn’t notice anything special or anything like that,� said Kenneth Kahn, 47, a professional clown. “It was silver -- it looked normal. I was basically using it like an iPod.�

Kahn received the iPad from his friend, Kariem McFarlin, who has confessed to stealing it and several other items last month from Jobs’ Palo Alto home.

The clown didn’t think too much of it or how to use it, relegating the tablet to tasks performed by iPods more than a decade ago and simply using it to play music.

It was a sad fate for any iPad -- which is capable of running apps, playing movies, reading books and so much more -- but an especially sad one for a device formerly owned by the creator of the gadget.

However, after McFarlin was charged with the crime, Kahn had to give the device back. McFarlin’s daughter, who also got a Jobs iPad, had to return hers as well. Kahn called the whole thing bizarre.

“It would be like getting a football from Joe Montana that was stolen out of his house,� Kahn said. “It’s bizarre; it’s really bizarre.�

Kahn, who was using a 64 GB iPad, loaded the device with the “Pink Panther� theme song and Michael Jackson tunes to entertain kids and tourists, according to the San Jose Mercury News.

But Kahn, who thought the iPad was simply a hand-me-down from his friend who he thought was getting a newer iPad, now wants to let the world know that McFarlin isn’t a bad person. He’s just someone who made a “horrible, horrible decision.�

“Before the public sees him as this horrible monster, I’d like to hopefully think we can somehow get across that he just made the worst mistake of his life,� Kahn said about McFarlin, whom he coached in basketball 10 years ago at McFarlin’s high school.

Despite the crime, Kahn recognized the humor in the situation.

“It still hasn’t really 100% set in for me. It was Steve Jobs’ iPad -- literally,� he told the San Jose Mercury News. “If this thing weren’t so tragic, it would be comical.�

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