Aaron Adams’s Blowhard Blog

Yesterday Apple Computer made its displeasure over the leaking of unannounced products known to the world via Santa Clara County California Superior Court. From this Reuters article:

The complaint alleges that “an unidentified individual, acting alone or in concert with others, has recently misappropriated and disseminated through Web sites confidential information about an unreleased Apple product.”

The question I have at this point is, what product has been leaked? The only thing I can think of at the moment is the alleged iPod flash.

[UPDATE 12-21-2004]: It turns out that the product in question is a FireWire audio breakout box code-named “Asteriod”. This article at The Mac Observer has more details.

(Even though I have linked to TheMacMind, I’m not in any way accusing them of being the party Apple is accusing of leaking secrets. I chose that link because it has an interesting iPod flash mock-up graphic, nothing more.)

I have no way of knowing whether the iPod flash is a real product, although such a device seems to make a lot of sense for Apple at the moment. I also have no way of knowing if that is indeed the information Apple feels has been inappropriately released. However, I can’t think of anything else that has been talked about in the same detail as the iPod flash. The only thing for sure is that someone must have hit the nail on the head pretty hard for Apple to react this way. Rumors are commonplace in the Mac community, especially around Expo time, and Apple rarely reacts this way to most of them.

I know from personal experience that Apple is very strict when it comes to confidentiality agreements. Two and one-half years ago when I was chosen for the Switch ad campaign, I signed such an agreement, stating that I wouldn’t tell anyone I was participating in the production until it was released, if ever.

To film the commercial, Apple was going to fly me to one of three possible locations for a few days. At the time, I worked at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, and I had to tell my employer that I could be called away for a few days on short notice for a reason I wasn’t allowed to tell them. That went over like a ton of bricks, but they trusted me enough to OK some short notice leave. I had to inform my mother that I would be out of town, but I wasn’t permitted to tell her where or why. (When I asked an Apple rep if I could at least tell my mother where I was going, the rep replied, we’d rather you didn’t. And I didn’t.) Mom was pretty sure I was on some kind of secret trip for the Air Force (even though I was a contractor and not a member of the military), and all secret trips for the Air Force are dangerous, of course, and she was unhappy that I wouldn’t tell her. A month or so later when my giant head was on her TV screen, she understood.

Take it from me, Apple takes secrecy seriously. I wasn’t about to ruin an opportunity to work with Apple by opening my mouth when I shouldn’t, and I pity whoever they’re after now. Rumors are fun, cool secrets are hard to keep, and curiosity has gotten every one of us into trouble at some time or another in our lives. I can understand Apple’s need to keep things quiet, and by creating that veil they invite things like this to happen, It’s a tough spot for everyone involved. We’ll see how it plays out.