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Steve Jobs asking for a no poaching agreement is not just unethical but illegal. His threat about Apple’s greater financial resources is just so petty and low.

Steve Jobs asking for a no poaching agreement is not just unethical but illegal. His threat about Apple’s greater financial resources is just so petty and low. It really changes my view of him.

jccalhoun 2y ago
There was a lawsuit about apple, google, intel, and adobe agreeing not to poach from one another. https://www.cnet.com/tech/tech-industry/apple-google-others-settle-anti-poaching-lawsuit-for-415-million/ https://www.cnet.com/tech/tech-industry/apple-google-others-...
jgerrish 2y ago
Keep in mind that Ed Colligan wrote that email probably with the knowledge it would come to light. Whether it was defensive or offensive, who knows. But the points he brings up aren't just critical issues for Palm, they're ones with very strong public optics. Hell, half of them are going over facts Jobs fucking already knows, including their Siemens patent portfolio. It's a PR release waiting for a lawsuit. Part of it is just life as an executive in today's culture where you know discovery is around the corner. But part of it is calculated here. Fuck man, I'm shifting around a few piddly gigabytes today just to get some work done. Can you imagine the costs for corporations for email legal compliance? What a sad barrier to entry.
- akira2501 2y ago
  > Can you imagine the costs for corporations for email legal compliance? 7 years of storage in an environment controlled by SOX. There is no requirement that the storage be online or accessible by the originating user, and in most cases, there's good reason to specifically avoid this. As a result it's not as bad as you'd think.
- wkat4242 2y ago
  Yes of course it's calculated. He was being asked to do something that was squarely illegal. Very good reason to think it would turn up. Still, reading between the lines I see nothing but fairness and balance.
protocolture 2y ago
The man who disowned his baby daughter being outed as an asshole. What next.
red-iron-pine 2y ago
> It really changes my view of him. his ruthlessness and misanthropy are pretty well known. he wasn't a nice or good guy, just effective at marrying design to marketing, and pushing a product.

Steve Jobs asking for a no poaching agreement is not just unethical but illegal. His threat about Apple’s greater financial resources is just so petty and low. It really changes my view of him.

jccalhoun 2y ago

There was a lawsuit about apple, google, intel, and adobe agreeing not to poach from one another. https://www.cnet.com/tech/tech-industry/apple-google-others-settle-anti-poaching-lawsuit-for-415-million/ https://www.cnet.com/tech/tech-industry/apple-google-others-...

jgerrish 2y ago

Keep in mind that Ed Colligan wrote that email probably with the knowledge it would come to light. Whether it was defensive or offensive, who knows. But the points he brings up aren't just critical issues for Palm, they're ones with very strong public optics. Hell, half of them are going over facts Jobs fucking already knows, including their Siemens patent portfolio. It's a PR release waiting for a lawsuit. Part of it is just life as an executive in today's culture where you know discovery is around the corner. But part of it is calculated here. Fuck man, I'm shifting around a few piddly gigabytes today just to get some work done. Can you imagine the costs for corporations for email legal compliance? What a sad barrier to entry.

akira2501 2y ago
> Can you imagine the costs for corporations for email legal compliance? 7 years of storage in an environment controlled by SOX. There is no requirement that the storage be online or accessible by the originating user, and in most cases, there's good reason to specifically avoid this. As a result it's not as bad as you'd think.
wkat4242 2y ago
Yes of course it's calculated. He was being asked to do something that was squarely illegal. Very good reason to think it would turn up. Still, reading between the lines I see nothing but fairness and balance.

protocolture 2y ago

The man who disowned his baby daughter being outed as an asshole. What next.

red-iron-pine 2y ago

> It really changes my view of him. his ruthlessness and misanthropy are pretty well known. he wasn't a nice or good guy, just effective at marrying design to marketing, and pushing a product.