Dan Gillmor Weighs in on Apple

Just as I knew he would, Dan Gillmor has commented this morning on the ruling which gives Apple the right to subpoena information that will help them find the Apple employees who leaked the information. I completely agree with this quote from Dan's post, "Apple's 'Trade Secrets.'"

"During the time Steve Jobs has run the company, Apple has been hostile to truly independent journalism about its products and policies. This current attack on journalism -- and that is precisely what is going on here -- reflects the side of Jobs that will someday lead the company back down from its current heights."

What few people realize is that this is the side of Jobs that has kept Apple from really being an alternative to Windows. I suspect it will be the reason that Linux eventually ends up as a more viable alternative to those of us who love Apple products but are learning to hate the company.

Apple is all about Steve and a very few key executives. It is not about delivering what the customer wants. Apple is all about delivering what Steve wants. The times that he guesses wisely, we get great products.

If you think Apple is tough on the press, try being an Apple employee advocating some customer requirements which haven't made it to the radar of key people at Apple. Of course there are times when Cupertino is so divorced from reality as to not understand what is missing from the OS even though the customers and potential customers are very clear in what is needed. For an indepth look at this try my Apple Peels posting "Employee Development."

Remember Apple is about Steve, not meeting the needs of customers, and certainly not building a great company. That's why you have employees leaking information. Apple's pursuit of the web journalist contacts is symptom of a much great problem.