I could draw the parallel to a white hat who breaks into my house to steal some of my stuff, gives it to the Goodwill, and then blogs about it in order to publicize the vulnerability that I leave my front door unlocked.
"Hey man, you left your front door unlocked. Anyone could have done that."
I know. I leave my front door unlocked with the expectation that, in general, people won't. You're one of the bad guys.
"Hey, that's unfair. It's not like I'm profiting from it. I gave it to the Goodwill."
Next time you're feeling charitable, donate some of your own stuff. That's what I do. It's all the good feelings, without any of the stealing.
I agree. If Sam Odio's post had a graph or table with the suspicious changes highlighted, and a conservative total of them exceeding the amount he took, I think fewer people would have given him grief over it.
You might even draw the parallel to a white hat who publicizes a vulnerability rather than quietly exploiting it for profit.
edit: He did skim quite a lot to prove the concept. Maybe he was seriously considering that iPad.