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https://tidbits.com/2020/08/17/the-case-of-the-top-secret-ipod/ https://tidbits.com/2020/08/17/the-case-of-the-top-secret-ip... The Case of the Top Secret iPod

https://tidbits.com/2020/08/17/the-case-of-the-top-secret-ipod/ https://tidbits.com/2020/08/17/the-case-of-the-top-secret-ip... The Case of the Top Secret iPod It was a gray day in late 2005. I was sitting at my desk, writing code for the next year’s iPod. Without knocking, the director of iPod Software—my boss’s boss—abruptly entered and closed the door behind him. He cut to the chase. “I have a special assignment for you. Your boss doesn’t know about it. You’ll help two engineers from the US Department of Energy build a special iPod. Report only to me.” Discussion (2020): https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=24212520 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=24212520

thriftwy 4y ago
> Only four people at Apple knew about this secret project. Me, the director of iPod Software, the vice president of the iPod Division, and the senior vice president of Hardware I wonder what Steve Jobs would have thought if he got to know.
fatnoah 4y ago
Apple is no stranger to secret projects. A few years ago, when I worked for a large (> $25 billion in revenue) software company, we were approached by Apple to be part of a beta program for a new API feature. Their requirement was that no more than 4 people in our entire company could know about it, which made it really awkward for the lone Engineer in the loop since even his manager didn't know what he was doing.