[HN Gopher] Apple Execs on Facebook (2011)
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       Apple Execs on Facebook (2011)
        
       Author : cocacola1
       Score  : 43 points
       Date   : 2023-06-11 21:02 UTC (1 hours ago)
        
 (HTM) web link (www.techemails.com)
 (TXT) w3m dump (www.techemails.com)
        
       | B1FF_PSUVM wrote:
       | I rabbit-holed to the 2005 "irate call" from Steve Jobs:
       | https://www.techemails.com/p/sergey-brin-irate-call-from-ste...
       | 
       | Does anyone know who was the REDACTED browser expert being
       | recruited by Google?
        
       | stubybubs wrote:
       | > if we eliminate _Fecebooks_ third proposal
       | 
       | Ah, so they knew it was shit long ago.
        
       | bsaul wrote:
       | reading this makes wonder what scott forstall is doing now. I
       | hope he's not completely disgusted by what happened to him at
       | apple and will get back to creating tech. We need people with
       | truely innovative ideas from that era.
        
       | tpmx wrote:
       | "--S."
       | 
       | That is one odd signature (from Scott Forstall).
        
       | vlovich123 wrote:
       | I'm kind of curious how this shook out at the time and then
       | evolved to what the experience is today. That's kind of missing
       | from just the emails.
       | 
       | Also, aren't these emails normally deleted with very short
       | retention? How are they showing up in court cases a decade later.
        
       | idoh wrote:
       | I worked on Birthday Cards, one of the apps listed out. Warms my
       | cold pm heart to know that something I worked on was vaguely
       | known about by high level Apple execs.
       | 
       | At the time it was hugely advantageous to have a native app
       | linked to fb, I remember the week where we made it and released
       | v1, we were the #1 app in lifestyle instantly.
        
       | shmerl wrote:
       | _> So, for example If Adobe comes in with an app that links to
       | new web apps that they promote we need to allow that  "app store"
       | in, even worse Google could come up with an app that runs all
       | their 3rd party Chrome web apps and we would need to allow that
       | in too! I don't see why we want to do that. All these apps won't
       | be native, they won't have a relationship or license with us, we
       | won't review them, they won't use our APIs or tools, they won't
       | use our stores, etc._
       | 
       | What a horror - someone won't be using Apple APIs and tools.
       | 
       | This perfectly shows how Apple's ban on other browser engines and
       | all similar restrictions in general are not about security or any
       | other bogus excuses they like to present, but about being anti-
       | competitive lock-in control freaks.
        
         | astrange wrote:
         | If other browsers were allowed Chrome would become an all-
         | platform monopoly and there would no longer be real web
         | standards.
        
         | tambourine_man wrote:
         | If you're steering a platform, you want people to use your APIs
         | and tools. I don't see how that's controversial. Otherwise,
         | what are you even doing?
        
           | shmerl wrote:
           | It's not about using their APIs and tools. It's about banning
           | competition. That is beyond controversial - it should be
           | illegal.
           | 
           | What they should be doing? Competing on merit. Not pushing
           | lock-in.
        
             | tambourine_man wrote:
             | You were specifically disdaining Apple's push to APIs and
             | tools adoption:
             | 
             | "What a horror - someone won't be using Apple APIs and
             | tools."
        
             | pxue wrote:
             | Allowing third party also circumnavigates Apple's approval
             | process.
             | 
             | Personally I don't care about giving up choice if it means
             | reduction of spam.
        
         | DrBenCarson wrote:
         | They don't make that argument at all in the quote you pulled.
         | 
         | The objection could very well be for security reasons.
        
           | hgsgm wrote:
           | Charging 30% doesn't enhance security.
        
           | shmerl wrote:
           | Anti-competitive reasons hidden with security excuses is
           | Apple's modus operandi.
        
             | DrBenCarson wrote:
             | Sure I don't disagree. My point was that the quote isn't
             | "proof."
        
           | badsectoracula wrote:
           | > The objection could very well be for security reasons.
           | 
           | It could also be for control over users but claiming
           | "security reasons" whenever anyone asks since that has become
           | a "think of the children" topic in tech.
        
             | DrBenCarson wrote:
             | Sure I don't disagree. My point was that the quote isn't
             | "proof."
        
         | Dudester230602 wrote:
         | If your store is big you can sabotage your providers: Apple to
         | Facebook.
         | 
         | If your store is small your providers can sabotage you: Google
         | to Microsoft (Windows Phone).
         | 
         | I wonder whom will Apple be begging for more content for their
         | Vision - perhaps Valve?
         | 
         | Big respect to Apple though for inadvertently protecting their
         | customers from web "apps". But times will change...
        
           | zitterbewegung wrote:
           | From the latest WWDC (2023) Apple has actually encouraging
           | web app support. In Safari Version 17:
           | 
           | Added support for web apps on macOS Sonoma. Add any website
           | to the Dock from the File menu or Share Sheet to get to them
           | even faster. Web apps open in their own window, and integrate
           | with system features like Stage Manager, Screen Time,
           | Notifications, and Focus. (68606770) [1]
           | 
           | [1] https://developer.apple.com/documentation/safari-release-
           | not...
        
             | shmerl wrote:
             | Encouraging support while banning competing browser engines
             | doesn't look like encouraging.
        
               | hgsgm wrote:
               | Why? As a web app developer or user, the browser engine
               | is low on my list of priorities.
               | 
               | Browser engine preferences are about far more niche
               | concerns.
        
           | rafamaddd wrote:
           | > I wonder whom will Apple be begging for more content for
           | their Vision - perhaps Valve?
           | 
           | If you're talking gaming content for Vision, I think they
           | would go with Sony. They have what seems to be a good
           | partnership. There's official support for the dualsense on
           | apple devices and apple brought AppleMusic to the playstation
           | store. Steve Jobs himself was a fan of Sony[1]
           | 
           | [1]: https://www.kitguru.net/lifestyle/mobile/apple/anton-
           | shilov/...
        
       | htk wrote:
       | This might not be a popular view here, but I'm surprised how
       | professional they are in these exchanges. I would expect a much
       | more visceral discussion on how the other party is trying to
       | bypass paying them, how they can get more money the other way,
       | etc.
        
         | tyingq wrote:
         | They've developed a sort of polite code that stands in for more
         | precise/honest wording they would use in person. Execs
         | understand the discoverable nature of email.
        
           | hgsgm wrote:
           | This email was shortly after Steve Jobs and Eric Schmidt
           | blatantly discussed their illegal wage suppression scheme
           | until Schmidt _sent an email_ saying basically  "let's stop
           | emailing about our crimes".
        
             | tyingq wrote:
             | Yeah, I suppose hubris or anger sometimes blinds them to
             | being prudent. I think they really got caught up in
             | "poaching" somehow being the big problem.
        
             | anthlax wrote:
             | Link to this?
        
         | mempko wrote:
         | Huh? That's what the whole conversation was about. How other
         | parties, Adobe, Google, etc could bypass them if they allowed a
         | new rule that made facebook happy to be a native app.
         | 
         | It's clear their concern was how other parties would get around
         | their walled garden and huge cut they get via their app store.
        
       | [deleted]
        
       | tambourine_man wrote:
       | I find these emails exchanges fascinating and a treasure trove
       | when you consider a company as secretive and influential as
       | Apple.
       | 
       | What I don't understand is how they used an unencrypted form of
       | communication for such important topics.
        
         | Andrex wrote:
         | > What I don't understand is how they used an unencrypted form
         | of communication for such important topics.
         | 
         | ?
         | 
         | What would encryption have changed? Apple were compelled to
         | produce these as part of Epic v. Apple.
        
           | tambourine_man wrote:
           | Couldn't they've said they didn't have the key anymore? Or
           | automatically delete emails after two years or so?
           | 
           | Seems reckless to keep confidential information like that,
           | but I'm not familiar with the legal obligations large
           | companies have, of course.
        
             | smlavine wrote:
             | Yes, they could have lied to the court if they wanted to.
             | That wouldn't have gone well.
        
         | Someone wrote:
         | > What I don't understand is how they used an unencrypted form
         | of communication for such important topics.
         | 
         | How do you know they did? For all we know, this was on an
         | internal mail system that encrypted messages everywhere, except
         | when showing their content to humans
         | (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Analog_hole)
         | 
         | Also, FTA: _"[This document is from Epic v. Apple (2021).]"_
         | 
         | I think that means they would have been forced to disclose
         | this, even if it were encrypted ("we lost the keys" would be a
         | viable defense to that, but would require a really, really good
         | set of arguments supporting the claim that happened before a
         | court order arrived)
        
         | rblatz wrote:
         | What do you mean? Client to server on both sides is encrypted.
         | I can't say for sure, but it's not unlikely to think the emails
         | would be encrypted at rest on the email server.
         | 
         | The server itself is owned by Apple and is fully trusted to be
         | secure by the exec team using it.
        
         | extr wrote:
         | ? It's not about encryption. These emails were subpoenaed.
        
           | hgsgm wrote:
           | Encrypt the email, rotate and delete keys after 18months.
        
             | judge2020 wrote:
             | Unlike Google, Apple isn't trying to hide anything (post-
             | High-Tech Employee Antitrust Litigation)
        
             | rblatz wrote:
             | Or just set a company policy around email retention. Then
             | delete anything older than that?
             | 
             | Apple chose to keep these emails around because the value
             | of the emails was greater than the risk of keeping them.
        
               | macintux wrote:
               | The company to whom I'm currently contracted has a
               | 2-month retention policy on inboxes and it drives me
               | crazy.
        
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       (page generated 2023-06-11 23:01 UTC)