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Posts Tagged ‘Angry Emails’

The tweet that made Steve Jobs furious

Filed under: Apple Corporate, Rumors, Steve Jobs

Apple doesn’t have a huge social media presence. There’s an iTunes Facebook page and what can arguably be called a MobileMe blog, but that’s about it. However, they do monitor the likes of Twitter, like any self-respecting company would, and a recent tweet reportedly ticked off Steve Jobs but good.

While publicizing the iPad, Steve met with a number of tech writers in New York including Wall Street Journal editor Alan Murray, who sent the following Tweet:

“This tweet sent from an iPad. Does it look cool?”

According to Vallyewag, the tweet infuriated Steve Jobs and was soon deleted. When Valleywag followed up with Alan to ask about the incident, he replied by simply saying that he can’t discuss it.

Apple is notorious for great design, extreme secrecy and what many have called paranoia. Teams working on unreleased products are kept under a “cone of silence,” and Steve has reportedly gone off on high-profile members of the press who had written disagreeable reviews of Apple products. This seems like another example.

Lest you think Steve is just a big meanie, he gets it as much as he dishes it out. In rather not-safe-for-work terms, Steve shared with the panel of journalists the flavor of some of the angry emails he’s received from disgruntled fans after product announcements. We’ll let you read that on your own.

[Via MacRumors page 2]

TUAWThe tweet that made Steve Jobs furious originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Mon, 08 Feb 2010 21:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Let My P2P Go: Uncle Sam Eyes File Sharing Again

In the wake of a leak of an international trade agreement on online file-sharing and copyright violation, U.S. House representatives are introducing legislation to curtail the greatest of American freedoms: the illegal download.

Let’s not kid ourselves, dear readers. P2P’s best use cases all revolve around the liberation of data, software, music, movies, and other copyrighted and rather expensive content. You may direct your angry emails to Rep. Edolphus Towns (NY-Dem.), who chairs the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee.

Sponsor

Towns is sponsoring the Federal Secure File-Sharing Act. Click the link and read it.

At the outset, the bill proposes the banning of P2P software use for government employees and contractors “and for other purposes.” The bill mandates the long-term examination of “each open-network peer-to-peer file sharing software program” that might currently be in use by government and law enforcement personnel.

Towns cited the exposure of sensitive information via such networks as the reason for the bill. He cited the following leaks as proof of the need for stricter P2P regulations:

• Schematics for the President’s helicopter, Marine One.
• Financial data on Supreme Court Justice Stephen Breyer.
• Location of a U.S. Secret Service safe house for the First Family.
• Specifics of a House Ethics Committee document containing a list of ongoing investigations

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But let us be realistic: Copyright claims, Creative Commons concerns, and IP violations are the molten core at the center of any legislation on P2P networks. And based on recent internationally agreed-upon efforts to uphold the claims and wishes of copyright holders, the U.S. government seems to be introducing yet more legislation to restrict piracy.

Are P2P networks truly responsible for such serious security breaches? Or are these claims merely politically motivated scapegoats for government to crack down on user behaviors – behaviors that may need more examination than legal discipline?

Most importantly, if this bill is made law, will it act as a precedent for stricter policing and eventual shutdown of P2P networks altogether? Or are we reactionary skeptics who need to calm down and quietly resume our download of our Hello, Dolly torrent files? Choose your own adventure in the comments.

Discuss

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