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Favorite quote for multiple reasons: We were reluctant to show it to Steve, knowing that he would want to commandeer it, but he heard about it from someone and

by kfarr 5y ago

Favorite quote for multiple reasons: We were reluctant to show it to Steve, knowing that he would want to commandeer it, but he heard about it from someone and demanded to see it. We showed it to him, and, unfortunately, he loved it. But he also insisted that Apple owned all the rights to it, even though we had developed it in our spare time.

mywittyname 5y ago
This kind of greed is so sad. It would have cost Steve pocket lint to compensate them fairly for that contribution. Probably a new car or family vacation would have made them feel like they got something out of this. I think at this point, both were fairly wealthy, so they probably only wanted some token of gratitude. I wonder how many great products remained toys left on engineers floppy disks because of this greedy attitude and the environment it created? This is the epitome of no good deed goes unpunished.
- dboreham 5y ago
  Ah but...NPD.
- simondotau 5y ago
  I unreservedly agree that Steve should have compensated these engineers for their work, even if only for the selfish reason of encouraging its engineers to push boundaries of engineering, and to slow the rate of engineers leaving. But on the same token these engineers should have known that as full time employees, work they did during "outside hours" belonged to their employer. And I think that's fair, since that work relied upon knowledge and materials acquired through their employer. Not to mention access to people like Bud Tribble whenever you need it! The moral of the story is that if you want to engage in skunkworks and you think you should be rewarded for its outcomes, talk to your manager ahead of time (in abstract terms, if necessary) about potential bounties or bonuses for doing such work. If you don't set any expectations ahead of time, expect nothing.
tdeck 5y ago
Reminds me of a similar story from the guy who wrote Switcher (which basically hacked task-switching into Mac OS): https://www.folklore.org/StoryView.py?project=Macintosh&story=Switcher.txt https://www.folklore.org/StoryView.py?project=Macintosh&stor...
- musicale 5y ago
  > Reminds me of a similar story from the guy who wrote Switcher aka Andy Hertzfeld, the creator of the site! The negotiation with Bill Gates went a lot better than the negotiation with Steve Jobs. > Predictably, the hardest part of finishing Switcher was making it work smoothly with the Microsoft applications :D

by kfarr 5y ago

mywittyname 5y ago

This kind of greed is so sad. It would have cost Steve pocket lint to compensate them fairly for that contribution. Probably a new car or family vacation would have made them feel like they got something out of this. I think at this point, both were fairly wealthy, so they probably only wanted some token of gratitude. I wonder how many great products remained toys left on engineers floppy disks because of this greedy attitude and the environment it created? This is the epitome of no good deed goes unpunished.

dboreham 5y ago
Ah but...NPD.
simondotau 5y ago
I unreservedly agree that Steve should have compensated these engineers for their work, even if only for the selfish reason of encouraging its engineers to push boundaries of engineering, and to slow the rate of engineers leaving. But on the same token these engineers should have known that as full time employees, work they did during "outside hours" belonged to their employer. And I think that's fair, since that work relied upon knowledge and materials acquired through their employer. Not to mention access to people like Bud Tribble whenever you need it! The moral of the story is that if you want to engage in skunkworks and you think you should be rewarded for its outcomes, talk to your manager ahead of time (in abstract terms, if necessary) about potential bounties or bonuses for doing such work. If you don't set any expectations ahead of time, expect nothing.

tdeck 5y ago

Reminds me of a similar story from the guy who wrote Switcher (which basically hacked task-switching into Mac OS): https://www.folklore.org/StoryView.py?project=Macintosh&story=Switcher.txt https://www.folklore.org/StoryView.py?project=Macintosh&stor...

musicale 5y ago
> Reminds me of a similar story from the guy who wrote Switcher aka Andy Hertzfeld, the creator of the site! The negotiation with Bill Gates went a lot better than the negotiation with Steve Jobs. > Predictably, the hardest part of finishing Switcher was making it work smoothly with the Microsoft applications :D