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Apple Gestapo: Engineer fired for showing iPad to Woz hours before launch [UPDATED]

G

GrindedDown

macrumors 6502a
Original poster
Jun 4, 2009
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Las Vegas
Over at gizmodo after interviewing Steve Wozniak:

The morning of the iPad launch, an engineer showed Woz an iPad for two minutes. For this he was fired.​

Someone: Secrets secrets are no fun unless you tell ev....

Apple: You're fired!

Source: Gizmodo Article

Update: According to several news sources including yours truly MacRumors, the engineer brought a 3G iPad to the wifi launch in a public mall and showed it to Woz. There is video floating around of the alleged engineer (I'll post source on request) showing it to Woz, but also demoing it to others around Woz.
 
GrindedDown said:
Over at gizmodo after interviewing Steve Wozniak:

The morning of the iPad launch, an engineer showed Woz an iPad for two minutes. For this he was fired.​

Someone: Secrets secrets are no fun unless you tell ev....

Apple: You're fired!
Click to expand...

Wow... that is not right. Especially since Woz is still considered an independent contractor of Apple. He is allowed to work at anytime if he chooses.
 
iMessengerApp said:
Wow... that is not right. Especially since Woz is still considered an independent contractor of Apple. He is allowed to work at anytime if he chooses.
Click to expand...

I guess all the engineers had orders to show the iPad to nobody. Including other employees, independent contractors, friends and family, people you've seen on TV, nobody.
 
It's awesome that threads come pre-Godwinized nowadays! Isn't the future amazing?
 
If your employer tells you not to do something, and you do it anyway, expect to be disciplined in some way. If you work for Apple, you know how they are about this kind of thing, so you should be extra careful.

Gray Powell is lucky that Apple is forgiving when it comes to mistakes. The "mystery engineer" deliberately disobeyed, therefore he was fired.

It sucks, but he has no one to blame but himself. I feel for the guy.
 
gnasher729 said:
I guess all the engineers had orders to show the iPad to nobody. Including other employees, independent contractors, friends and family, people you've seen on TV, nobody.
Click to expand...

I dont know. I think Woz is one of the few people that it should be ok to show it to. He's gotta be up there with Jobs, Schiller, and Ive.
 
DKatri said:
I dont know. I think Woz is one of the few people that it should be ok to show it to. He's gotta be up there with Jobs, Schiller, and Ive.
Click to expand...

Then Jobs, Schiller or Ive would have shown it to him. Presumably they didn't, so it wasn't this guy's place to make the decision.

Getting fired over it sucks, but occasional public lynchings are necessary to make sure the rest of the employees get the message.
 
dukebound85 said:
The only reason Powell isn't fired was because if he was, Apple would have such bad PR
Click to expand...

I don't really buy this. Would anyone really have such a huge issue with Apple firing someone for being so blatantly irresponsible (assuming the details of the story as we know it are true)? The guy was allowed to carry around a secret prototype and then forgets it at a bar. I'm guessing most companies would have a pretty serious problem with that. Not to mention that Apple knew he lost it long before (as in several weeks) his name showed up on Gizmodo.
 
no wonder Woz left apple... I bet he cant stand working with jobs... the guy is a nutcase.
 
Sounds like Woz' engineer buddy should have paid closer attention to the rules. I'll bet that story circulated pretty quick at Apple Inc....and I'll bet the result is their engineers will be a lot more careful from now on.

Sorry the guy lost his job, but he broke the rules and should have known better.

IF it's a true story...
 
My disenfranchisement with Apple

Some things about Apple, I just don't like.
Here's a story as told by the Woz
http://gizmodo.com/5523673/steve-wozniak-on-apple-security-employee-termination-and-gray-powell

During last week's iPhone leak saga, Steve Wozniak, co-founder of Apple, reached out to us with a story: The morning of the iPad launch, an engineer showed Woz an iPad for two minutes. For this he was fired.

It's a story that paints Apple as many people already see the company: ruthlessly secretive, and even vindictive. It also sheds some light on the story of Gray Powell, an Apple engineer whose breach of secrecy was at once less intentional, more severe and infinitely more public—until now.
Click to expand...

This emphasized text is basically how I'm starting to feel about the company.

Has anyone else been noticing a level of arrogance and/or vindictiveness about apple? While I like their products, I question by brand loyalty as more of these types of stories come out.

Thoughts/opinions.
 
Wha... wha... My employer told me not to do xyz and when I did xyz anyway, they fired me. How unfair! Wha! Wha!

Call the:

Whambulance.jpg



:rolleyes:

Mark
 
The guy should have paid closer attention to the rules.

Assuming it's a true story...


Opinions...? As for me, I don't give a crap how a company treats its employees...that's their business and something I am unqualified to judge. I do give a crap about how they treat me and Apple has treated me just fine.
 
Woz is still technically employed by Apple. Call me crazy but I'm guessing that if you were this engineer & the co-founder of Apple wanted to look at a product, you'd let them.

Its freakin Woz for christ sake.
 
dukebound85 said:
The only reason Powell isn't fired was because if he was, Apple would have such bad PR
Click to expand...

Yeah...right up there at the top of Apple's concerns...how their perceived by the public.

Apple's on a mission. Details aren't going to stand in their way. Who knows why Gray Davis wasn't fired and Woz' engineer buddy was? We certainly don't have all the facts and likely never will.
 
If you don't like the rules, don't play the game. The part where you get a paycheck is good, the part where you are supposed to do what you agreed to do is bad? Give me a break! There is certainly no secret about Apple's reaction to violating their rules.
 
dukebound85 said:
The only reason Powell isn't fired was because if he was, Apple would have such bad PR
Click to expand...

Or, because it was a controlled leak. He supposedly brought the thing out to a bar. C'mon! Would you have done that with your future? Him not being fired is a clear indication this whole "leak" thing was staged to get them on the national news for a few days. That's some awful cheap advertising.
 
Woz can do whatever Woz wants to do IMO.

Its likely this story isnt true as I dont believe Jobs would let them fire the guy since it was who it was. Its likely the guy would get his ass-chewed out, but I think if Woz told Jobs not to fire the guy, then he wouldnt be fired. Simple as that.
 
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