Eric Marschner
Anil DashI guess I actually was pretty mad about that stupid golden paperweight https://www.anildash.com/2025/09/09/how-tim-cook-sold-out-steve-jobs/
Khalid ⚡
Kevin P. Fleming
bobocubedI don't blame you. I, too, believe Steve Jobs would be fuming at Tim Cook's broad deference to this authoritarian government, and Donald Trump in particular.
loombot 3000nailed it, Anil. This is the only time asking the “what would Steve have done?” question has ever been relevant and important. And Apple got it completely wrong.
DianeI was pretty pissed about the gold brick too.
I was almost ready to subscribe to apple TV to watch murderbot but now every time I think of that I say...
"Remember Apple's bribe to the guy who wants you dead"
and the temptation to subscribe passes.
CannedTuna@alienghic @anildash read the books, or listen to the audiobooks instead. Their short and enjoyable
I already read the first 4 books, but it looked fun to see as a TV series too.
@alienghic @anildash well, if you don’t want to support Apple, but still want to watch it you can always sail the high seas.
Also if your patient, I've been seeing some of the streaming shows DVD releases showing up at my local libraries.
"Why would Apple employees believe they should follow leaders who blatantly violate the ethics guidelines that every worker is asked to follow about offering bribes to government officials?"
As a former Apple employee, with many friends still there, I have the same question. I now work in the public sector, and we are specifically barred from accepting gifts over $50. Really unsure why we don't hold our government, specifically the people we sent to represent us, to the same policy.
drpatois
mattg@anildash 'There's no point in having fuck-you money in the bank if you never say "fuck you"!'
Nice.
Nice.
@anildash this feels a little like Tesla's MAGA turn. How does a brand reliant on being cool and stylish survive that association?
Riccardo Mori@anildash Every sane, informed, and well-adjusted person should be pretty mad about that stupid thing.
Ethan Marcotte@anildash EXQUISITE.
Computeforloot 
Rob Isaac@anildash Until today, I was still distastefully thinking “it’s Tim’s job to know more about this than I do,” but you’ve convinced me.
Scott Willsey@anildash I hope you still are!
Kevin Boyd (he/him) 🇨🇦@anildash Great post, though I take issue with one part.
You say that Jobs "would never" kiss that bloated orange buttock. And to an extent, you're probably right - were he here, he probably wouldn't.
However, what the past two decades has shown me is that the top of the oligarchy is where values and self-respect go to die.
We're living in the Klept, and there's every chance Jobs would have behaved no differently than Cook.
"Should never", yes, by all rights. "Would never"? We'll never know.
KielKontrovers Blog@anildash I think Steve Jobs was an asshole and its clear that Apple always bowed to governments like the chinese. I dont like what is happening right now, but Jobs never really cared about dying workers and human rights.
Steven Woolgar@anildash can you imagine Jack Tramiel doing what Cook did? Not in a million years.
Brad Grzesiak 🦆Anil, one comment and one question…
* I was browsing live TV in a hotel recently and landed (for some reason) on Hot Tub Time Machine 2
* Does this “award” remind you of anything from that movie, assuming you’ve seen it?
Alex Russell@anildash This is a pean to the Jobs of lore, not the Jobs of yore, but I hope it turns some heads.
@slightlyoff well, I don’t subscribe to the hagiographic view of his, and I pointed out how the many criticisms of him are valid. But there is a distinction in his approach to authority.
mav 
@anildash
Abolutely spot-on.
Abolutely spot-on.
Pax Ahimsa GethenAs a Black trans person and longtime Mac user, it also doesn't escape my attention that white gay men like Cook appear happy to ignore Trump's blatant transphobia when it suits their bottom line. He can't truthfully claim to represent the LGBTQ community - which Apple has frequently been vocal about supporting, at least during Pride Month - while throwing the "T" under the bus.
@funcrunch absolutely accurate.
Paul Fish 🐟Why anyone would rely on corporatists to pick up activism is astonishing. Systems of power can be found through organised individuals on the local level - better to spend the words there.
@anildash It appears Mr. Cook and his leadership team have crawled inside the box and closed the lid.
monkeydom, Ar.T
Bert@anildash „There's no point in having fuck-you money in the bank if you never say "fuck you"!“ 👍️
aeva@anildash i'm shock, shocked to hear that apple is not going to save us
David Fleetwood - RG Admin@anildash No, Steve would not have done anything different. He was an authoritarian asshole himself and historically never showed any concern for any of this in the past. He's not a saint, he was just another tech oligarch who loved control.
Ölbaum@anildash Nice, thank you.
Michael CritzAfter reading this twice I think this is the smartest thing ever written about Tim Cook’s Apple.
Chris Goss@anildash Seeing Cook line up to grovel at the coronation almost made me puke. I had already stopped using his over priced products back in T1 but on coronation day I went and cancelled my dormant icloud account. Also prompted me to start the process of moving off all tech platforms from #trumpistan
Ivan Sagalaev 
@anildash noticed a typo: "of cause" instead of "of course" in the first paragraph under "But they can’t do that!"
@isagalaev thanks, fixed!
Jonathan HendryWait until Cook realizes he has to do a bigger one every year.