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This looks great, but it makes me very sad and annoyed through no fault of its own. I started building a Plex/Jellyfin clone in 2019 (around the same time it l

This looks great, but it makes me very sad and annoyed through no fault of its own. I started building a Plex/Jellyfin clone in 2019 (around the same time it looks like!), got pretty far into it as well, using a pretty similar messaging system and everything (using ZeroMQ instead of Rabbit). I was working for Apple at the time, and I wanted to open source it, so I had to talk to a bunch of management, eventually someone just two levels below Tim Cook, who told me that it was a "competitive" product, because it served video, and Apple sold video. He also informed me that if it's found out I open sourced it, I would be promptly terminated and would potentially face legal action as it would be in direct violation of my non-compete, and moreover since I was working for Apple they legally owned it anyway. He then explained that there's no such thing as "my own time", as Apple really wants me to be focused on Apple, and nothing else I genuinely had to hold back tears in that managers office, because it really felt like a punch in the gut. I went in optimistic that I'd be able to open source my passion project, and I instead was threatened with termination and a lawsuit. I was so upset that I just left the office at 2pm and drove back to my hotel (I live in NYC but was visiting the California office). Anyway, </rant>, this is cool and I will be playing with it tonight. ETA: I have no doubt that some people might be able to figure out the specific individual in this story, and that's fine, but I humbly ask that you do not post that person's name publicly here. I wasn't fired from Apple and I didn't have to sign a non-disparagement clause as far as I am aware, but I still don't want any extra drama from the company.

RajT88 3y ago
> I still don't want any extra drama from the company Yeah, they are really good at that. I had a friend discover a vulnerability once, and behind the scenes they took it very seriously. But publicly, they disparaged him mercilessly and even got DaringFireball in on it. (Yes, he takes Apple money; of course he does)
therealfiona 3y ago
That sucks dude, I'm sorry. I mean, I get it from the company's perspective. They have a product that serves video, you were building a thing that served video. The thing that irks me is that since they build multiple operating systems and a wide range of software, literally anything you write and publish on the public internet is theirs simply because they will fire you and sue you into oblivion. Even if you _technically_ slip through a loop hole, they have more money and time than you do. Stories like this remind me that I have to be careful about who I work for, the scope of that work, and where I publish it. Thankfully, I think I'm in the clear as long as I don't invent a thing that solves the traveling salesman problem.
- tombert 3y ago
  I personally don’t really think Plex/Emby/Jellyfin are really “competing” with Apple. Jellyfin and the like require a geeky person to maintain and supply video files of their own, Apples products are easy and streamlined by design. They’re superficially kind of similar but, like, depending on how abstract we wanted to get we could basically say that anything is competitive with anything e.g. “Your product has text, and we sell books that contain text, so it’s competitive” Regardless, I guess what they said worked, because despite me not having worked for Apple for more than three years now, I still don’t want to open source I am still a bit worried about being sued (especially since I didn’t leave on the best of terms with them). That said, my current job is much more reasonable about this stuff (and also much more domain-focused), so maybe I’ll be able to dust off my public GitHub again some day. (Again, I am sure you can figure out which company I work at (I have public profiles) but I ask that you don’t post it here.)
craftkiller 3y ago
> since I was working for Apple they legally owned it anyway IANAL but I think they were lying to you. CA law protecting your after-hours code from your employer: https://law.justia.com/codes/california/2011/lab/division-3/2870-2872/2870/ https://law.justia.com/codes/california/2011/lab/division-3/... NY law doing the same thing: https://casetext.com/statute/consolidated-laws-of-new-york/chapter-labor/article-7-general-provisions/section-203-f-inventions-made-by-employees https://casetext.com/statute/consolidated-laws-of-new-york/c...
_factor 3y ago
Even the FTC commissioner can’t get air time. As far as Apple is concerned, an informed public is competition with Apple.
deleted 3y ago
[deleted]
xyst 3y ago
You got the Jon Stewart treatment when Apple execs tried to suppress the segments on “AI” and “China”. This company is completely ruined for me. Feels disgusting to have dumped nearly 6 figures into this company across a decade. (this includes hardware, software, media, “App Store” purchases, merch, services, phones, music players) It’s not much to the bottom line but to me I was in deep.
- acangiano 3y ago
  I'm getting less and less impressed with the company, so I started diversifying. I got Linux installed on my desktop and started using it more often. Switched from Apple Music to Spotify. Got rid of my Apple Watch Ultra and switched to Garmin. Went from Things to TickTick since it's cross platform. From Notes to Notesnook for the same reason. I know it's a drop in the bucket and I'm still pretty invested, but they are steps towards independence should I decide to abandon their ecosystem altogether at some point.
- BeetleB 3y ago
  > This company is completely ruined for me. BTW, OP's anecdote is how it's always been at Apple. Definitely in the early 00's, and probably all the way back to the 80's. I've known a bunch of great open products die because the person behind them got a job at Apple and was not allowed to work on it while employed.
  - xyst 3y ago
    More of a reason why tech needs to be unionized. This shit has gone on for way too long.
gosub100 3y ago
The richest company on earth is insensitive, you say?

RajT88 3y ago

> I still don't want any extra drama from the company Yeah, they are really good at that. I had a friend discover a vulnerability once, and behind the scenes they took it very seriously. But publicly, they disparaged him mercilessly and even got DaringFireball in on it. (Yes, he takes Apple money; of course he does)

therealfiona 3y ago

That sucks dude, I'm sorry. I mean, I get it from the company's perspective. They have a product that serves video, you were building a thing that served video. The thing that irks me is that since they build multiple operating systems and a wide range of software, literally anything you write and publish on the public internet is theirs simply because they will fire you and sue you into oblivion. Even if you _technically_ slip through a loop hole, they have more money and time than you do. Stories like this remind me that I have to be careful about who I work for, the scope of that work, and where I publish it. Thankfully, I think I'm in the clear as long as I don't invent a thing that solves the traveling salesman problem.

tombert 3y ago
I personally don’t really think Plex/Emby/Jellyfin are really “competing” with Apple. Jellyfin and the like require a geeky person to maintain and supply video files of their own, Apples products are easy and streamlined by design. They’re superficially kind of similar but, like, depending on how abstract we wanted to get we could basically say that anything is competitive with anything e.g. “Your product has text, and we sell books that contain text, so it’s competitive” Regardless, I guess what they said worked, because despite me not having worked for Apple for more than three years now, I still don’t want to open source I am still a bit worried about being sued (especially since I didn’t leave on the best of terms with them). That said, my current job is much more reasonable about this stuff (and also much more domain-focused), so maybe I’ll be able to dust off my public GitHub again some day. (Again, I am sure you can figure out which company I work at (I have public profiles) but I ask that you don’t post it here.)

craftkiller 3y ago

> since I was working for Apple they legally owned it anyway IANAL but I think they were lying to you. CA law protecting your after-hours code from your employer: https://law.justia.com/codes/california/2011/lab/division-3/2870-2872/2870/ https://law.justia.com/codes/california/2011/lab/division-3/... NY law doing the same thing: https://casetext.com/statute/consolidated-laws-of-new-york/chapter-labor/article-7-general-provisions/section-203-f-inventions-made-by-employees https://casetext.com/statute/consolidated-laws-of-new-york/c...

_factor 3y ago

Even the FTC commissioner can’t get air time. As far as Apple is concerned, an informed public is competition with Apple.

deleted 3y ago

[deleted]

xyst 3y ago

You got the Jon Stewart treatment when Apple execs tried to suppress the segments on “AI” and “China”. This company is completely ruined for me. Feels disgusting to have dumped nearly 6 figures into this company across a decade. (this includes hardware, software, media, “App Store” purchases, merch, services, phones, music players) It’s not much to the bottom line but to me I was in deep.

acangiano 3y ago
I'm getting less and less impressed with the company, so I started diversifying. I got Linux installed on my desktop and started using it more often. Switched from Apple Music to Spotify. Got rid of my Apple Watch Ultra and switched to Garmin. Went from Things to TickTick since it's cross platform. From Notes to Notesnook for the same reason. I know it's a drop in the bucket and I'm still pretty invested, but they are steps towards independence should I decide to abandon their ecosystem altogether at some point.
BeetleB 3y ago
> This company is completely ruined for me. BTW, OP's anecdote is how it's always been at Apple. Definitely in the early 00's, and probably all the way back to the 80's. I've known a bunch of great open products die because the person behind them got a job at Apple and was not allowed to work on it while employed.
- xyst 3y ago
  More of a reason why tech needs to be unionized. This shit has gone on for way too long.

gosub100 3y ago

The richest company on earth is insensitive, you say?