Why did your employer have a problem with your small shareware app though? I don't see why anyone could possibly get fired over something like a drive utility.
My guess is that GP's knowledge that led him to be able to create the shareware was derived from his employment, and quite possibly involved trade secrets. Creating and releasing software related to his work likely violated his employment agreement.
The cited problem was trademark infringement. I had used “jazAwake” as the name and the drive was the Iomega Jaz(tm) Drive. They also mentioned that it might shorten the life of a drive, but that was not their primary complaint.
