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I really have to wonder who Gruber’s sources are. His statement “prior to today never heard much about [Steve Lemay]” leads me to think he doesn’t have intimat
by gyomu 10mo ago
I really have to wonder who Gruber’s sources are.
His statement “prior to today never heard much about [Steve Lemay]” leads me to think he doesn’t have intimate access to anyone deeply familiar with design decisions, because anyone who’s spent a little bit of time behind closed doors in that space absolutely knows who Lemay is.
But then he quotes sources who are supposedly “in a position to know the choices”, which would imply they are quite embedded in the design org…
Maybe it’s all voluntary misdirection on his behalf.
- avalys 10mo agoI’m not sure you’re drawing the right conclusion. It’s possible that Gruber’s regular sources know who Lemay is and just never talked about him much.
- pavlov 10mo agoIf you think about Gruber as a gossip columnist, then it's quite natural that people who just do their job well don't generate much gossip that would reach his ears.
- gyomu 10mo agoFair enough, I guess I was just surprised to read from someone who makes their living from Apple insider baseball and Cupertinology that they have “never heard much” about one of the most influential software designers at the company over the last 20 years.
- troupo 10mo agoMe feeling is that his sources are mostly programmers and perhaps some managers. It's also possible he has very few sources left: he's an outsider to the company, and it's hard to maintain sources since people leave, move to different positions etc.
- philistine 10mo agoHis Something rotten in the state of Cupertino piece earlier this year broke his relationship with the upper echelons of Apple, and to be frank he's no longer inevitable as an Apple commenter. He cannot understand the European Union at all, so he devolves into saying they're idiots. Really? The EU, the whole thing, idiots? Really?
- jbm 10mo agohttps://daringfireball.net/2025/03/something_is_rotten_in_the_state_of_cupertino https://daringfireball.net/2025/03/something_is_rotten_in_th... This article? If it caused consternation it boggles the mind. These are all completely normal reactions to Apple's AI missteps. If detailed but milquetoast criticisms are grounds for excommunication, maybe the company really does have serious management issues.
- philistine 10mo agoWell excommunication is not appropriate as a term. Apple has cut off access to the most important cardinals for interviews, not told John he's out of the Catholic Church.
- troupo 10mo agoOh, there also was the mildly sensational "I wonder too, what taste Cheetos-dusted 78-year-old testicles leave in one’s mouth. Whatever the flavor, I hope it lingers." https://daringfireball.net/2024/11/i_wonder https://daringfireball.net/2024/11/i_wonder
- Daishiman 10mo ago> If detailed but milquetoast criticisms are grounds for excommunication, maybe the company really does have serious management issues. This has always been the case at Apple. Tons of ex-employees have commented about challenges in criticism.
- klabetron 10mo agoI don’t think we should conclude that a tech columnist who regularly shits on EU tech policy really intends to attack the EU writ large. If he sounds like he’s generalising to the “whole thing,” I’m pretty sure he understands most readers know he’s not talking about the entire EU experiment. Just the backward tech regulation.
- giancarlostoro 10mo agoI took it as him not knowing the person then asking about the person from sources within the company.