Apple is getting this wrong • Hacker News Board

Re: Apple is getting this wrong

#231

Post by JKCalhoun » Tue, Aug 04, 2026, 12:55 PM UTC

dannyw wrote: post #23

prmoustache wrote: post #5

When I look at the imessage conversation, one thing strikes me: that guy looks to be using the same icloud account he used when working for Apple with OpenAI. Is he using his own personal account? Why do both Apple and OpenAI allow that in the first place, this look so amateur. I would have assumed each company would have opened a different account for him and locked him when leaving. Is it standard practice at both…

Apparently Apple encourages their employees to use their personal iCloud accounts for company information, because their own OS doesn't support one iPhone, multiple iCloud identities. Source: https://appleinsider.com/articles/26/08/03/confidential-appl... So yeah.

We created dummy accounts all the time when I was at Apple.

Testing/QA generate loads of them. I still remember one of mine: test_testerson@apple.com

Re: Apple is getting this wrong

#232

Post by tokioyoyo » Tue, Aug 04, 2026, 1:06 PM UTC

tomburgs wrote: post #196

Despite whether what OpenAI alleges in the blog post is true or not, it's super odd that a company of their size would make a blog post about it. This looks like a company that's in a downward spiral. They're doing anything they can to attempt to salvage their reputation, maybe because when the court date finally rolls around it might already be too late.

A few years ago Epic made a whole event out of deliberately breaking AppStore rules, writing blog posts and suing Apple.

Public opinion matters, and narrative control is important if you don’t want to be perceived as “morally wrong company”.

Re: Apple is getting this wrong

#233

Post by hashstring » Tue, Aug 04, 2026, 1:11 PM UTC

> after confusing two Asian last names

The addition that the last names are Asian is insane and just put there to make the opposite party look bad. Ironically, all it does is reflect the spirit of OpenAI.

Re: Apple is getting this wrong

#234

Post by thehappypm » Tue, Aug 04, 2026, 1:15 PM UTC

dannyw wrote: post #163

AceJohnny2 wrote: post #143

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Granted, Apple does do this weird thing where you're invited to use your personal iCloud (/Apple) account for work-related things (I suspect because they're just bad at supporting multiple accounts simultaneously). As part of the deal, your iCloud account gets upgraded during your employment. But they're also quite explicit and repeat the directive (including during the exit interview) about removing Apple files from…

That's not just weird, that's completely ridiculous for the most valuable public US company. And it gets more ridiculous when you realise Apple makes the software, the hardware, the OS, and the cloud services. I... really question the rationale here.

Nit-but Apple has fallen to Nvidia and Alphabet, which is a sign of the times.

Re: Apple is getting this wrong

#235

Post by ethbr1 » Tue, Aug 04, 2026, 1:22 PM UTC

efnx wrote: post #26

Is it normal for a company this big to make a public blog post like this with almost no introduction to what they’re on about? I would expect them to start out with something like Apple is suing us for yada yada yada, but instead it reads like the diary of a hurt teenager.

No. This is a fucking legal case. It will be decided in the courtroom, not on the internet.

Posting this is insane in the sense of "What will posting this possibly improve for OpenAI?"

It's not going to change the court case. It's not going to impress professional adults.

I guess... teenage reddit users with too much time on their hands who are fans of OpenAI? Though struggling to see how that demo would care about a theft of trade secrets case.

Whatever executive decision-making thread led to this being released needs to be recalibrated. I'd expect >13 year old maturity from a company even 1/10 the size of OpenAI.

Re: Apple is getting this wrong

#236

Post by ethbr1 » Tue, Aug 04, 2026, 1:25 PM UTC

dgellow wrote: post #110

onion2k wrote: post #75

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Every company does that. It's literally a whole industry: Public Relations

It’s supposed to be subtle. Or at least, more subtle than whatever that is

Exactly. This reads like someone decided PR firms don't know what they're doing and decided to handle it themselves.

But... it turns out that professional people and consulting companies who have years of experience in a subject area might have something to offer. Who knew?!

Re: Apple is getting this wrong

#237

Post by [deleted] » Tue, Aug 04, 2026, 1:30 PM UTC

chneu wrote: post #57

efnx wrote: post #26

Is it normal for a company this big to make a public blog post like this with almost no introduction to what they’re on about? I would expect them to start out with something like Apple is suing us for yada yada yada, but instead it reads like the diary of a hurt teenager.

This reads like a mypillow CEO type post. Its insane this is coming from a company with as much scope as openai. Scope may not be the right word.

[deleted]

Re: Apple is getting this wrong

#238

Post by ethbr1 » Tue, Aug 04, 2026, 1:30 PM UTC

like_any_other wrote: post #161

anon373839 wrote: post #136

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Direct and unrehearsed doesn't seem like the right tack for a high-stakes legal dispute between two (allegedly) trillion-dollar companies. Especially since they've not been able to make a coherent point here.

Yes, we've built a society where being two-faced and false is rewarded. The least we can do is temper our criticism when someone "fails" to adhere to that.

Or as the point was made in The Big Short movie https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=TpCb3xjh-Kk&t=127s

Re: Apple is getting this wrong

#239

Post by Supermancho » Tue, Aug 04, 2026, 1:34 PM UTC

tomburgs wrote: post #196

Despite whether what OpenAI alleges in the blog post is true or not, it's super odd that a company of their size would make a blog post about it. This looks like a company that's in a downward spiral. They're doing anything they can to attempt to salvage their reputation, maybe because when the court date finally rolls around it might already be too late.

> super odd that a company of their size would make a blog post about it.

There is no "non-company blog" that wouldn't have to trace it back to OpenAI for verification anyway.

This looks like a personal message to a specific audience, which may include the employees who are nervous about the company's positioning.

It's unusual, but this is a blog. It's literally a web log and this is something that is going on with the company.

Re: Apple is getting this wrong

#240

Post by ethbr1 » Tue, Aug 04, 2026, 1:34 PM UTC

tom1337 wrote: post #165

AceJohnny2 wrote: post #143

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Granted, Apple does do this weird thing where you're invited to use your personal iCloud (/Apple) account for work-related things (I suspect because they're just bad at supporting multiple accounts simultaneously). As part of the deal, your iCloud account gets upgraded during your employment. But they're also quite explicit and repeat the directive (including during the exit interview) about removing Apple files from…

Funny to hear that even Apple themself struggle with that. In the past it's been such a PITA for us to decide whether employees can use private account or shall use company apple ids. As we have a pretty lax policy, most of them use their private accounts to have iCloud sync or to simply access purchased apps but having a simple way for dual account usage would be too easy i guess.

Apple's always been ambivalent about big-E enterprise support.

Probably a Jobs-era vibe about work-life unification.