“What if Apple put the whole thing together simply to smoke out some moles in the company, to find out who was spilling genuine juicy information to the press?”

I can tell you from experience that this is not an unreasonable assumption. It’s hard to overstate the culture of paranoia that surrounds new product development there. When I was working on documenting one aspect of Mac OS X 10.0, I was not allowed to install it on my system. I had to go to the secure section of the campus, get badged in by one of the team members, and see this particular technology in his office. Any screenshots I wanted had to go through them and be approved by the team leader. As we approached release, there was a demo at Town Hall by none other than Steve himself. The list of invitees was short and double-screened, with security at the door. He brought the demo with him – they didn’t want it on the network. You get the idea, I think…

Says John:

It is obvious that the night owl does not understand, appreciate or even know the elements of Apple’s court case. The night owl needs a little sleep.

It seems to me that, after being asked several days ago to deliver specifics of his claim, maybe he has been too sleepy to respond. Besides, the article wasn’t about the elements of the case, but a possible reason why it was brought in the first place. That’s a distinction that John evidently didn’t notice. Maybe he needs some rest.

Peace,
Gene

Did you notice how quickly the head legal eagle at Apple quit shortly after that ruling?

Or great minds think alike. I didn’t see that story, but I’m not surprised others have come up with variations on this theme. It sort of flows into the recesses of your mind if you consider the possibilities.

Peace,
Gene

A week ago my aunt Anne Onymous printed a similar speculation at

http://lowendmac.com/rumormill/06/0609.html

Was that a “trial balloon” of this idea that you posted pseudonymously? Have I discovered her secret identity? Wheels within wheels…

–Anakin Onesimus

And maybe you could explain to all of us those “elements” that we do not understand.

Peace,
Gene

It is obvious that the night owl does not understand, appreciate or even know the elements of Apple’s court case. The night owl needs a little sleep.

In a way, Apple set the path for first ammendment protection of “media” sites on the internet. By doing so, they helped make the internet that much more a democratic system. It has also discovered it needs to do a better job of containing leaks within its organization, since once it is out in the open, there is nothing it can do to stop it. And the court basically said, not even a lawsuit would stop it. Apple will have to make sure people with knowledge of the product never leave the company until it is complete, and it may have to bow to employee demands more frequently since someone could say they will want to release a secret if they don’t cave in to the demands of certain employees. In the end, it will make Apple a better company, because when the employees are happy, they’ll be able to make higher quality products. And it will have to take seriously those demands.