Colligan Reportedly Rebuffed Apple Employee Offer
As the U.S. Justice Department probes potentially illegal collusion between tech companies with regards to recruiting practices, Bloomberg is reporting a particularly juicy piece of gossip: apparently, former Palm CEO Ed Colligan rebuffed an offer from Apple head honcho Steve Jobs back in August 2007 for the two companies to stop "poaching" each other's employees.
According to the report, Jobs first became concerned over the practice when Jon Rubinstein was brought on board the then-sinking Palm mothership:
"Steve Jobs, Apple's CEO, told Colligan he was concerned that Rubinstein was recruiting Apple employees. "We must do whatever we can to stop this," Jobs said in the communications. "
Colligan's response was apparently not particularly friendly; in addition to noting that Apple had hired "at least 2 percent" of Palm's employees in the run-up to the iPhone's debut, his alleged reply was:
"Your proposal that we agree that neither company will hire the other's employees, regardless of the individual's desires, is not only wrong, it is likely illegal."
Further adding to the already deliciously scandalous nature of all this, Jobs allegedly resorted to veiled threats, saying that Apple "had patents and more money than Palm" if it were to come to a legal battle. Is it true? Bloomberg does not reveal their sources, but if it is then it certainly puts a new spin on Palm's aggressive attacks on Apple's iTunes empire: it's personal, now.
Unsurprisingly, neither company was willing to comment.
Thanks to Gekko for the tip.
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RE: PC Guys ...
Get back to me when something actually illegal has occurred.
Colligan = media whore
RE: PC Guys ...
How else to explain your puppy-dog eagerness to dive into discussions about Palm's supposed legal transgressions*, yet when it comes to Apple potentially being, shall we say, naughty, you're all "meh, innuendo".
Just hilarious.
*See PIC comment threads:
http://www.palminfocenter.com/comments/7126/
http://www.palminfocenter.com/news/7125/palm-responds-to-apples-veiled-threats/
http://www.palminfocenter.com/comments/6800/
RE: PC Guys ...
jca666us wrote:
I thought this was palminfocenter.com not palminnuendocenter.comGet back to me when something actually illegal has occurred.
Colligan = media whore
(Looks like freakout beat me to it.)
jca666us, your schtick is really getting old. It's an interesting piece of news. It deserves an article. Give it a rest already.
Hey Palm! Where's my PDA with Wifi and phone capabilities?
RE: PC Guys ...
Next up by Freako, "Colligan reportedly flushed the toilet at his house!"
I'm all for throwing the books at Apple when they've done something wrong - however I've read and seen nothing substantial.
Just innuendo and a puff piece by Freak.
From the original article:
"The exact details of what Jobs proposed to Colligan aren't known; Jobs didn't mention a proposal in the communications reviewed by Bloomberg. Jobs said Apple had patents and more money than Palm if the companies ended up in a legal fight, according to the communications."
Doesn't sound like much here.
"In his August 2007 communications with Jobs, Colligan said Apple had hired at least 2 percent of Palm's workforce as the company developed the iPhone. Apple released the iPhone in June 2007."
Of course, Palm has been laying segments of their workforce for the past several years. If Apple was hiring, I'm surprised they don't have a higher % of ex-Palm folks.
RE: PC Guys ...
RE: PC Guys ...
Wow
OT: Apple drops Palm OS HotSync conduit from Snow Leopard
Monday, August 24, 2009
Apple drops Palm OS HotSync conduit from Snow Leopard
By Prince McLean
Published: 06:00 PM EST
Apple has discontinued support for legacy Palm OS devices in Mac OS X Snow Leopard's iSync 3.1.0, according to sources familiar with the latest Gold Master build, requiring users of Palm OS devices to obtain third party support for syncing their Palm Desktop information with Mac OS X's Sync Services.
Palm continues to provide a very old version of Palm Desktop 4.2.1D for Mac users, enabling legacy Palm Centro, Treo, Zire, Tungsten, LifeDrive, and Pilot models to synchronize with its Mac OS X Universal Binary desktop software. That software is based upon what was originally Apple's Claris Organizer, which Steve Jobs sold to Palm over a decade ago as Apple divested itself of its already long in the tooth Claris apps.
In concert with launching its Macs as the "digital hub" and selling the iPod, Apple developed iSync for Mac OS X, which enabled devices from any manufacturer to sync their data with a common store shared by desktop apps including iCal and Address Book. It eventually allowed users to also sync that information with Apple's .Mac service, now called MobileMe.
Palm never bothered to update its Palm Desktop for Mac software to make it compatible with Apple's iSync, but Apple, in an effort to keep Macs compatible with Palm's device, created its own Palm Conduit software that linked Palm Desktop's HotSync system into iSync. This software was then incorporated as part of iSync 2.0, released as part of Mac OS X Tiger nearly half a decade ago.
With Palm all but abandoning its "classic" devices developed prior to the new Palm Pre, which does not use the same legacy Palm OS nor its HotSync or Palm Desktop software, the value of maintaining HotSync support in Mac OS X has dropped dramatically, leaving Apple to cut the support from the version that ships with Mac OS X Snow Leopard entirely.
It does not appear that the discontinuation of legacy Palm OS support in iSync is at all related to efforts by Palm to trick iTunes into syncing data with the new Palm Pre as if it were an iPod. While Apple doesn't provide a public syncing system for using iTunes, it does provide public APIs for any developer to hook into Mac OS X's Sync Services.
Third party software, including the Missing Sync from Mark/Space, enables Mac users to sync calendars, contacts, bookmarks, music, documents and other information between older Palm OS devices as well as other hardware including the new Palm Pre, BlackBerry, Symbian, and Windows Mobile phones and the Sony PlayStation Portable.
RE: OT: Apple drops Palm OS HotSync conduit from Snow Leopard
RE: OT: Apple drops Palm OS HotSync conduit from Snow Leopard
sorry man. not intentional - just trying to contribute. i'll try to institute a time delay.
RE: OT: Apple drops Palm OS HotSync conduit from Snow Leopard
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PC Guys ...
2% is pretty high to go to one company. But, I really don't know what Ed was so torqued about? It was not like Palm had used them for that 1/2 decade for anything more than figuring out how to make next gen devices with less features, and getting the same phone certified for yet another cell carrier.
All Apple had to do to create the iPhone was read PIC posts begging, pleading, moaning, and whining for a "Palm iPhone" device since the early part of this century. Then hire away a handful of movers and shakers that were part of the original Palm revolution until 2003. Cook on high for 12months and wallaaaah! Yet another revolution.
That probably sums up the basic plan out in the valley I would say.
Pat Horne