charlesn

sdw2001 said:

From what I understand,  I find it extremely difficult to believe Apple will win this. It seems to be more of an intimidation tactic to shut him up. Unless they can prove he knowingly, accessed trade secrets in an unlawful way, they would have a very difficult time at trial, I think. But the point is, they have unlimited resources and he does not.  So he really can’t win.   

Exactly right--Apple has Prosser between a rock and a hard place. Apple could lose at trial and still inflict huge financial pain on Prosser through what his defense will cost. And I'm sure there are all kinds of legal maneuvers Apple could use to run up the bill. It's really a question now of how big an example does Apple want to make of Prosser. 

retrogusto said:

 I would love it if they could make something with the same thickness (6.9mm), weight (129g) and battery life as the iPhone 6 from 2014 (or in that ballpark) but with more modern specs. And maybe they should devote more resources to developing really great battery cases for people who don’t mind the bulk but need more battery life.

Apple already made the phone of your dreams: it was called the iPhone 12 Mini and iPhone 13 Mini. Same thickness as the 6, just a touch heavier (6 grams, about one-fifth of an ounce), significantly better battery life than the 6 and a significantly larger screen. Did you buy it? I'm guessing not, since it doesn't sound like you've upgraded in forever. See, that's the thing, people say they want this or that, but then Apple offers it and they don't buy it. That was the case, writ large, for the Mini, which died a quick death due to lack of sales. And when Apple kills a new product after just 2 cycles, you know sales had to be really dismal. 

Samsung's Galaxy Edge, the iPhone Air dupe but with a better camera system, is already a flop in sales, proving what many people have been saying right along: there isn't a real market for a phone that compromises features and battery life for thinness, while serving up that combination at a higher price point. I mean, maybe there's a burst of Air sales out of the gate because of the novelty and the desire for something new in an iPhone form factor, but it won't be sustainable. 

Mike Wuerthele said:

wood1208 said:

Anyone who publish trade secret of a company without company's written approval; that person weather works for that company or stole directly or indirectly is considered trade secret criminal, traitor of country. Company and country where this company resides should punish such individual or a group to maximum extent including large fine and multiyear jail time with worse criminals in prison.

Why ? Because such act puts company's product at dis-advantage against it's competitors. Millions of developers and investors like me in Apple and thousands of employees suffer financially in a short and long run.

While you are welcome to believe what you want, none of what I have bolded is legally true in the slightest, and this is a civil matter, not a criminal one. "Traitor of country" is just ridiculous.

And, I guarantee that "developers and investors" have not suffered one whit because of what Prosser has published.

Yes, Apple has filed a civil lawsuit here, but "theft of trade secrets" is both a federal crime as well as a crime in most states. That said, what the OP is alleging is that publishing a trade secret is criminal, and I don't believe that's the case unless the publisher also did the theft. 

Oof! It's a lose/lose situation for Prosser. Even if Apple loses the case, Prosser is still stuck with the costs of defending himself which, against Apple Legal, Inc, has got to reach well into the six figures range. I suspect Prosser will be moving back in with his parents or other relatives, and trading his car for a bike, by the time this is over. A settlement in advance of trial would probably still leave him feeling, like the secrets-leaking engineer sued by Apple, that this was "a profound and expensive mistake." 

hexclock said:

Get back to live keynotes. Make the videos if you wish, but the live events were so much better. 

Live events are better when you have a consummate live showman like Jobs as ringmaster. And listen, I'm a big Tim Cook fan, but "consummate live showman" he is not. Jobs also had the advantage of being a worshipped genius, and the biggest of tech rock stars, which supplied its own kind of electricity to a live event, even before he said a word. The truth is that current Apple leadership is either pretty dull in front of an audience, or tries too hard not to be dull (which is even worse), with the possible exception of Eddie Cue. The videos allow for retakes, editing and production value that can mask the dullness. But I do agree that they are over-produced and overly slick, which actually results in its own kind of dullness. Honestly, if they created these videos entirely in AI this year, we probably wouldn't know the difference between AI Tim and real Tim, and that's NOT a good thing. (And if not this year, AI is the probable likely future for these videos--they'd save a fortune not having to actually shoot any of it.) 

Rogue01 said:

Poaching AI talent from Apple?  Really?  Has Meta never used Siri?  Are they following the disaster of Apple Intelligence?  One would think poaching from Apple for AI talent would be the last place anyone would look. 

I have to admit, this is pretty funny and not untrue--but maybe you missed the part about the $200 million bonus just to sign--god only knows what the actual compensation package is! Name the absolute top athlete in any sport and they're not getting anything remotely in the same galaxy as this just to sign their contract. All of which to say: you don't spend money like this to acquire B players. I have to assume that Ruoming Pang is the shit when it comes to AI expertise, and now he has taken some top people with him. This has to be a real hit to Apple, considering that they need top AI talent now more than ever.