Apple, simmer down now!
February 21, 2005 8:06 PM   Subscribe

Apple Computer founder and community speak on Tiger leak defendants.
Remember Canadian student that leaked Tiger (Mac OS X 10.4) and got him self sued. DrunkenBlog did a very unblog like thing and interviewed the kid. And now has collected comment from 24 different mac developers and one Woz.
posted by rschroed (16 comments total)
 
Maybe I missed something here, but when was doing email interviews and then posting the contents *un*blog-like?

And I'm glad DrunkenBlog dug around to find shareware developers as a rallying cry, I'm not sure why I - or Apple, for that matter - should listen to Kristofer Szymanski or Jonathan ‘Wolf’ Rentzsch or any of the rest give legal advice. They're software programmers and small businessmen, not lawyers.

But that's just me.
posted by Remy at 9:00 PM on February 21, 2005


What really strikes me about this is that the kid is so clearly defenseless that all of the language concerning the case is about Apple doling out punishment, as opposed to the legal system. By mere ability to bring suit, Apple has already inflicted huge damage on this kid, before any decision is rendered.

Sounds like a decided step towards corporate government, to my ears.
posted by kaibutsu at 9:08 PM on February 21, 2005


I never read agreements that I signed when I install other software or when I sign up for things like Hotmail, etc. I did violate the NDA (a term I've become incredibly familiar with over that last few days), so in that regards I think Apple isn't in the wrong. The violation of the NDA isn't my qualm with this whole mess. My problem is their accusation that I did so maliciously.

Holy crap, there's a reason you're not supposed to speak to anyone before a trial!! (certanly not 'be as helpfull as you can' to your opponents lawyers, geez).

Sounds like a decided step towards corporate government, to my ears.

Duh, it's been this way since, like, forever.
posted by delmoi at 9:29 PM on February 21, 2005


The idea that this poor defenseless child didn't know what he did was wrong/against the law is utter nonsense. Kids are far more savvy than they are often given credit for. If a lengthy ADC sign-up, NDA checklist and stern legalese weren't enough, you'd have thought the previous Tiger-related legal smackdowns might alert even the most mentally-challenged of Apple's userbase to the dangers of pirating pre-release 10.4.

That said, I think the RIAA has already blazed this path (you know... the whole vilifying children thing) and Apple should take note of how well that went. But to be perfectly schizophrenic, I do sympathize with Apple's desire to quickly put down this sudden onslaught of information leaks and pre-release software piracy. I imagine Apple figures they can quickly "correct" the more unsavory aspects of our iPod-come-lately neophytes in the short-term. By that time Steve-o can win their maleable hearts, minds, parents' discretionary income and their souls come June.
posted by basicchannel at 1:09 AM on February 22, 2005


I can't wait for the dissonance between Apple as design cult and Apple as corporation to cause some iPod owners' to have seizures.

That way I can get an iPod for free by just picking it up off the ground.
posted by srboisvert at 3:58 AM on February 22, 2005


"Kids are far more savvy then they're often given credit for." Sure. Let's run with it. Why do we let any of these little brats get away without being tried as an adult? Is this somehow hypocritical, since they're not allowed to drink or vote or sign contracts? Hmmm.
posted by mek at 4:59 AM on February 22, 2005


srboisvert, that was gorgeous, you magnificient bastard.
posted by squirrel at 5:59 AM on February 22, 2005


When Woz says

I wish that Apple could find some way to drop the matter

what does he mean? Is he saying that they're put something in motion that they (Apple) are now powerless to stop?
posted by kcds at 7:02 AM on February 22, 2005


Could we stop calling him a kid? He's a 23 year old pre-med.
posted by Remy at 7:09 AM on February 22, 2005


.....old enough to drink, vote and obey the law then.
posted by dabitch at 7:32 AM on February 22, 2005


Yeah, this guy is not a kid, but a collage student. He may be smart, but he's got the Legal savvy of a 12 year old, though.
posted by delmoi at 7:35 AM on February 22, 2005


I'm sure Apple doesn't enjoy suing college students any more than anyone else does. So the real question here is, what can large corporations do to improve their security?

Unlike, say, an early cut of Star Wars Ep.3 or a pre-released Eminem album, Apple could actually live or die because of leaks like this. (They sure know how rampant thievery is in the OS business.) So should Apple sequester all its programmers and cut their internet lines? Or should they just open-source the whole damn thing?
posted by fungible at 7:55 AM on February 22, 2005


"Kids are far more savvy then they're often given credit for." Sure. Let's run with it. Why do we let any of these little brats get away without being tried as an adult? Is this somehow hypocritical, since they're not allowed to drink or vote or sign contracts? Hmmm.
posted by mek at 4:59 AM PST on February 22


Straw man, much?
posted by basicchannel at 8:14 AM on February 22, 2005


Apple could actually live or die because of leaks like this

Apple is a hardware company. They're not Microsoft. The "secrets" in Tiger are available on their website.
posted by bonaldi at 9:22 AM on February 22, 2005


I'm not sure I get your point. Tiger is software. How does that make them just a hardware company? And if all of your competitors get their hands on your new OS, reverse engineer it, and steal your ideas, how can that not be bad?

And yes, there are secrets worth keeping in both hardware and software. Leaks caused people to find out about their MacMini and ipod shuffle early too. If it had been leaked just a month earlier, they would have lost a lot of business and competitive edge.

Remember, Apple's come awfully close to going out of business before. Their market share is still tiny. I think they're just worried that some overzealous fans will ruin it for everyone.
posted by fungible at 1:12 PM on February 22, 2005


Dude, who's going to steal their OS ideas? Microsoft? They essentially have an OS monopoly on their home-brewed hardware platform, and I doubt the game is much about people jumping from one platform to another because of leaked beta-versions of the popular OS....
posted by kaibutsu at 1:29 PM on February 22, 2005


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