Comment by simonw
8 hours ago
What's the grift?
By "rebuke" do you mean the thing where they didn't send any of their execs to be a guest on his WWDC podcast episode, presumably in retribution for his "Something Is Rotten in the State of Cupertino" post?
I don't see how that makes him irrelevant - I think it strengthens his credibility as someone willing to hold Apple accountable when he disagrees with their direction.
I really enjoy your content, Simon, but as someone who worked at Apple for years, you have absolutely no idea what you are talking about. I can't think of a single person at Apple, outside of marketing, who likes or respects John. John became a necessary evil for Apple during the Mac vs PC era.
In person, he acts as if he's an engineer who builds and innovates. He should stick to markdown.
I am supremely disappointed in your comments here. I've always assumed you only speak from experience. If you'd like to have a private conversation about my experiences with John at Apple, or why he is generally reviled on campus, I am happy to do so privately (my contact info is in my profile).
Why should my opinion of how credible he is as a writer about Apple be affected by people who work at Apple not liking him?
Because there are very specific reasons why people (who actually know his relationship to Apple) don't view him as credible. I don't know how else to communicate that point.
10 replies →
The comment asks what’s the grift? How is he irrelevant?
You ignore the questions and respond with ad hominem attacks.
Obviously, you’ve got a beef with Gruber. That’s fine. But you’re acquitting yourself well here (and make us suspect that whatever happened between you and Gruber, you might have had a significant hand in it).
Did you work at Apple when John was actually supremely relevant and useful to the company?
I am not going to talk about those things publicly (my contact info is in my profile), but everyone here is making assumptions without any direct experience. I'd bet my house that if you privately spoke to 10 Apple employees who spent any time with John (on campus, at WWDC, private parties, etc.), you'd hear exactly the same thing I'm stating.
John is a hanger-on and a conceited asshole. I think John believes that he's had a hand in creating things that actual engineers and researchers dedicated years of their lives to.
4 replies →
Apple prefers tech influencers / YouTubers like Marques Brownlee and the like who actually resonate with audiences (and don't harp on about Trump every week) rather than irrelevant bloggers.
> I don't see how that makes him irrelevant - I think it strengthens his credibility as someone willing to hold Apple accountable when he disagrees with their direction.
???
Accountable to what? Do you actually think Apple cares now about a random blogger who makes a living critiquing them?
That is the grift and by the looks of it I would say he is irrelevant since Apple declined his invitation.
Gruber needs Apple more than Apple needs him.
> Do you actually think Apple cares now about a random blogger who makes a living critiquing them?
Yes.
I mean, they clearly care enough to pull their execs from his podcast supposedly in response to something he wrote.
So is "the grift" the fact that he makes a living writing a blog? Who are the victims of this particular grift?