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shrug I work at Apple I’ve just moved out of an R&D group, and yes, there’s things I won’t talk about because Apple pay me very well to keep their “surprise an

shrug I work at Apple I’ve just moved out of an R&D group, and yes, there’s things I won’t talk about because Apple pay me very well to keep their “surprise and delight”, well, just that There’s no culture of fear though, like some are saying, it’s just that there are projects I’ve spent years bringing up from bare bones, then there’s the time it takes to turn that into a product that Apple will sell. I’m willing to wait for that to happen, good news can always wait. Now I work in icloud. I’m the DRI for privacy in my group, which is something that Apple take very seriously, it’s a fun job although there’s a lot of “it’d be really cool to do that, we could offer X, but we need a good way to keep the users data private under circumstance Y, so we can’t”. There’s going to be some interesting work along those lines in the future. In the past I’ve worked in software (Aperture, Final Cut), and on technologies (precursor to Spotlight, and then the mechanisms behind Spotlight itself). None of the above is anything that Apple would have any problem with me talking about, though they’d obviously not want me to disclose anything in the future that I might be working on. I’ve also worked for the Ministry of Defence, and frankly no company I’ve ever worked for has the security of a government agency like that. To compare the two situation borders on the absurd. I like the various jobs I’ve had at Apple, it’s the longest I’ve ever stayed at any company, even ones I owned! I’m in the fortunate position of being able to choose where I work, and I choose Apple. That’s the strongest statement I can make.

amelius 6y ago
Thanks for your reply, but your comment still doesn't explain why we never (except now) see Apple employees in forums chiming in on things. There's never a "Hi I work at Apple, let me correct that...", or even a "disclaimer: I work at Apple, but my opinion on this is ...". This can't be because of what you say, that Apple wants to "keep their surprise and delight". Also your reply seems to be very much in contrast with some other replies here. Which leaves me puzzled.
- quesera 6y ago
  I've seen plenty of acknowledged Apple employees commenting here. I know several others who never publically acknowledge their employment, but are active here. The thing that they won't do though, is engage in a discussion about Apple products or features, particularly when the issue is an active industry discussion. Apple PR is very explicit about who speaks for the company, and how the company feels about unapproved spokespeople. All corps do this, but Apple takes it very seriously. For what it's worth, the people I know who work at Apple today, either directly or through acquisition, have the usual set of opinions about big companies, but are well-above-average happy at Apple. I don't know anyone who wouldn't change a thing or two here or there...and the folks that came through acquisition are more mixed, but that's all to be expected.
- saagarjha 6y ago
  Apple engineers comment here all the time. Occasionally they will identify themselves, sometimes they will comment with something that is easy to tie them back to. And sometimes they’ll comment anonymously too. That being said, you’ll see the last two a lot more than the first, because “I work at Apple” predictably gets people thinking that you are also speaking for the company in an official capacity.
- Apocryphon 6y ago
  Apple’s culture of secrecy is partly self-imposed rather than fear of litigation or Global Security tac squads rappelling through your window or any fantasy fear like that. It’s nothing cult-like, just simple conformity in following social convention. People get used to not broadcasting what they work on, and an over-imaginative public does the rest. I do think that the overall organization’s relative lack of participation in industry conventions and conferences (unlike the rest of FAMNG) seems to percolate to the rank and file as well, though you do see occasional tech talks from Apple engineers[0]. There’s also a sense that Apple is a world unto itself, there’s certainly enough decades worth of technology to work on and to study, that perhaps there’s relatively less interest in the outside. [0] https://youtu.be/7UC7OUdtY_Q https://youtu.be/7UC7OUdtY_Q
- spacedcowboy 6y ago
  I just checked, and the last time I mentioned that I worked at Apple on here was 4 days ago [1]. I’ve seen others do it too. Perhaps you just haven’t noticed it because frankly it’s rarely germane; at best it’s an aside to add colour to an argument. This time the topic is Apple and it’s relevant... [1] https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=25491234 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=25491234

amelius 6y ago

Thanks for your reply, but your comment still doesn't explain why we never (except now) see Apple employees in forums chiming in on things. There's never a "Hi I work at Apple, let me correct that...", or even a "disclaimer: I work at Apple, but my opinion on this is ...". This can't be because of what you say, that Apple wants to "keep their surprise and delight". Also your reply seems to be very much in contrast with some other replies here. Which leaves me puzzled.

quesera 6y ago
I've seen plenty of acknowledged Apple employees commenting here. I know several others who never publically acknowledge their employment, but are active here. The thing that they won't do though, is engage in a discussion about Apple products or features, particularly when the issue is an active industry discussion. Apple PR is very explicit about who speaks for the company, and how the company feels about unapproved spokespeople. All corps do this, but Apple takes it very seriously. For what it's worth, the people I know who work at Apple today, either directly or through acquisition, have the usual set of opinions about big companies, but are well-above-average happy at Apple. I don't know anyone who wouldn't change a thing or two here or there...and the folks that came through acquisition are more mixed, but that's all to be expected.
saagarjha 6y ago
Apple engineers comment here all the time. Occasionally they will identify themselves, sometimes they will comment with something that is easy to tie them back to. And sometimes they’ll comment anonymously too. That being said, you’ll see the last two a lot more than the first, because “I work at Apple” predictably gets people thinking that you are also speaking for the company in an official capacity.
Apocryphon 6y ago
Apple’s culture of secrecy is partly self-imposed rather than fear of litigation or Global Security tac squads rappelling through your window or any fantasy fear like that. It’s nothing cult-like, just simple conformity in following social convention. People get used to not broadcasting what they work on, and an over-imaginative public does the rest. I do think that the overall organization’s relative lack of participation in industry conventions and conferences (unlike the rest of FAMNG) seems to percolate to the rank and file as well, though you do see occasional tech talks from Apple engineers[0]. There’s also a sense that Apple is a world unto itself, there’s certainly enough decades worth of technology to work on and to study, that perhaps there’s relatively less interest in the outside. [0] https://youtu.be/7UC7OUdtY_Q https://youtu.be/7UC7OUdtY_Q
spacedcowboy 6y ago
I just checked, and the last time I mentioned that I worked at Apple on here was 4 days ago [1]. I’ve seen others do it too. Perhaps you just haven’t noticed it because frankly it’s rarely germane; at best it’s an aside to add colour to an argument. This time the topic is Apple and it’s relevant... [1] https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=25491234 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=25491234