Apple vs its Admirers -
p2pnet.net News:- Bearing in mind the Apple vs Its Admirers fiasco in which the latter wants to sue the former into revealing confidential sources, here’s an intriguing slashdot post.
“Back in 1995 Steve Young of CNN told me ‘CNN protects its sources’,” is says, going on:
“I was on the phone with him discussing having CNN send a camera crew to interview me the next day.
“I had just told him there was no way he could put me on the air. Intel was at that time reeling from the consequences from the fiasco that was the math flaw in the Pentium processor.
“What I had in my possession made that math flaw look like a minor hang nail.
“I had trade secret documents from Intel, legally released to me under non-disclosure agreement (since expired, so now the tale can be told).
“The contents of those documents revealed flaws in Intel 486 processors that basically rendered them ‘Unsafe at any speed’.
“Countless users were suffering crashes, data loss, God alone only knew what forms and totals of lost productivity, revenue, opportunities were being wracked up daily due to the serious flaws. And even Microsoft was being unfairly painted with creating even less reliable software than they genuinely deserved to be excoriated for (the infamous BSOD’s weren’t always their fault…)
“Steve was trying to convince me that ‘the public good’ out weighed my honoring Intel’s non-disclosure agreement.
“He told me that I could mail the documents to him and that ‘CNN protects its sources.’
“Here it is 10 years later and I wonder, how many folks would agree with Steve and how many will support my decision to not hold Intel accountable for their abuses of the public trust.
“The simple math flaw had reportly cost Intel $600 million for a few million chips shipped. The cost of a recall for the far more serious flaws in the 100’s of millions of 486 processors shipped could very well have bankrupted Intel, many 486 chips were soldered to their boards.
“Or at the very least have damaged their reputation so badly they would have had a very hard time regaining the public’s trust.
“I just wanted to say, the Judge today served up a nice fat juicy sound bite for the press to report. But he’s wrong. The right of large corporations to protect their trade secrets is not absolute.
“I also can’t help but wonder what the Judge in today’s case would have had to say to CNN if I had been at risk in breaking my non-disclosure agreement with Intel?
“Apple has their problems, and if enough customers are persistent enough they generally own up to them and take responsibility for making things right. And today’s ruling didn’t cover the kinds of information being disclosed that I had from Intel.
“But if Apple rides success with their iPod’s upwards and loses the ability to take responsibility, I hope today’s ruling doesn’t come back to bite us in the ass.
“Yeah I know, sounds great coming from the guy that covered Intel’s ass when he had the chance.
“But for a moment, just a moment there, I was tempted to mail those documents.
“What motivated me to silence wasn’t a fear of CNN being forced to turn me over. No, it was the advice I got from the local Intel distributor: if anything about the 486 showed up on CNN, Intel would act like I had released it to CNN, whether Intel could prove it or not.
“Turns out, the company I worked for had already gone to Intel and covered their asses… (and Intel paid them off very nicely too)
“After today’s [Apple] ruling, I wouldn’t even be tempted.
“Bravo Judge, on this day that will live on in infamy for the actions of a few in Spain this date 3/11/4, you have indeed struck a blow to protect truth, justice and the American way.”
(Thanks, stief )
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See:-
fiasco – Judge rules for Apple in ID case, p2pnet, March 11, 2005
slashdot – I can’t help but wonder ‘If it have been CNN…’ , March 11, 2005
