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What's the grift? By "rebuke" do you mean the thing where they didn't send any of their execs to be a guest on his WWDC podcast episode, presumably in retribut
by simonw 7mo ago
What's the grift?
By "rebuke" do you mean the thing where they didn't send any of their execs to be a guest on his WWDC podcast episode, presumably in retribution for his "Something Is Rotten in the State of Cupertino" post?
I don't see how that makes him irrelevant - I think it strengthens his credibility as someone willing to hold Apple accountable when he disagrees with their direction.
- _d3p9 7mo ago[flagged]
- jmull 7mo agoThe comment asks what’s the grift? How is he irrelevant? You ignore the questions and respond with ad hominem attacks. Obviously, you’ve got a beef with Gruber. That’s fine. But you’re acquitting yourself well here (and make us suspect that whatever happened between you and Gruber, you might have had a significant hand in it).
- _d3p9 7mo ago[flagged]
- simonw 7mo agoHow does he get paid by Apple? I thought he earned his living from $11,000/week blog sponsors and whatever he earns from the podcast. If Apple are paying him to cover them then yes, that's a grift. Is that happening? (I know they send him review hardware because he discloses that in his posts.)
- _d3p9 7mo agoAs I said, this is not something I will discuss publicly. But what I can say is that Apple wouldn't be the first tech company to pay for certain stories to be written, as I'm sure you're aware. There was a time when Apple needed John (along with his apparent "unbiased" takes). John's blog was critical for a period of time.
- replwoacause 7mo agoI found this exchange both entertaining and informative. Appreciate you sharing an insider's perspective (while also acknowledging I have no possible way to verify if any of this is even true).
- _d3p9 7mo agoHeh... thanks. I don't expect anyone to just believe this information verbatim; as you said, I'm just some rando on HN. But I did offer to discuss it privately with @simonw.
- simonw 7mo agoWhy should my opinion of how credible he is as a writer about Apple be affected by people who work at Apple not liking him?
- _d3p9 7mo agoBecause there are very specific reasons why people (who actually know his relationship to Apple) don't view him as credible. I don't know how else to communicate that point.
- colesantiago 7mo ago[flagged]
- simonw 7mo agoI have genuinely no idea how I'm sealioning here. The answer to my question appears to be "it's a secret, I'll tell you in private, everyone at Apple thinks like this". I know at least one person who works at Apple who respects Gruber, so I'm already suspicious of the confidence being expressed here.
- colesantiago 7mo agoThis person is more credible than your unknown source and he knows many that doesn't like Gruber. and Simon you're a indie journalist, why don't you contact him and find out?
- _d3p9 7mo ago> The answer to my question appears to be "it's a secret, I'll tell you in private, everyone at Apple thinks like this". Because that is the truth. I have no intention of sharing confidential information publicly. Your take is "someone won't betray their previous employer publicly, so they must be lying." I offered to share my thoughts, work experience, and other details with you privately. I've lost all respect for you as a journalist.
- colesantiago 7mo agoApple prefers tech influencers / YouTubers like Marques Brownlee and the like who actually resonate with audiences (and don't harp on about Trump every week) rather than irrelevant bloggers. > I don't see how that makes him irrelevant - I think it strengthens his credibility as someone willing to hold Apple accountable when he disagrees with their direction. ??? Accountable to what? Do you actually think Apple cares now about a random blogger who makes a living critiquing them? That is the grift and by the looks of it I would say he is irrelevant since Apple declined his invitation. Gruber needs Apple more than Apple needs him.
- simonw 7mo ago> Do you actually think Apple cares now about a random blogger who makes a living critiquing them? Yes. I mean, they clearly care enough to pull their execs from his podcast supposedly in response to something he wrote. So is "the grift" the fact that he makes a living writing a blog? Who are the victims of this particular grift?