Every time I read, or hear anyone speak about, working for Apple, I always think, "Who would put up with crap like that from a multi-billion dollar corporation?"
And yet, many people do. Just goes to show what good design, maniacal focus, and a charismatic leader can do, I guess.
As somebody who may apply for a job at Apple in the near future: Because working for that multi-billion dollar corporation means getting to work on possibly the best set of electronic devices on the planet. If I work for a company rather than for myself, I want my work to be contributing towards as grand a project as possible, and if that end goal is valuable enough, working insane hours to meet insane requirements sounds like a fair trade.
The secret to programming is not intelligence, though of course that helps. It is not hard work or experience, though they help, too. The secret to programming is having smart friends.
I think there's a lot of truth to this. It's the real reason some of the best software comes from universities.
That was not their duty to do that. they were not on a pay roll, and nobody assigned that project to them. It seems they wanted to do some kind of commitment. Nice to see some people works not just for money, but for a higher good. I wish more people, and not just in software industry, have this kind of motivation.
I'm amazed by the effort that they went to, sneaking into the building to work on the code. I'm also tickled by the fact that other employees helped them, and knew about their situation despite the fact that the big shots in charge didn't.
In the This American Life episode referenced at the bottom of the story, it is mentioned that they ultimately received a sizable royalty check for licensing it to Apple.
i like these oldies but goodies, too, but can a story from 2004 really be considered (hacker) news ? i don't think the chronologically "what's new" aggregator is not the right solution for "best things of all time".
it's no good if this story pops up every year. hacker news should prevent duplicate urls, and perhaps provide more browsing options, eg monthly top stories.
And yet, many people do. Just goes to show what good design, maniacal focus, and a charismatic leader can do, I guess.