Palm’s CEO emails Steve Jobs (2007)

Original Article ↗ Hacker News Discussion ↗

An unearthed 2007 email exchange shows Apple’s CEO pressuring Palm’s chief executive to agree to an illegal no‑poaching pact, with Palm refusing on legal and ethical grounds. Commenters contrast Palm’s principled stance and eventual failure with Apple’s ruthless tactics and later dominance, tying the episode to the broader Silicon Valley wage‑fixing scandals of the era. The thread also revisits Palm’s technical trajectory—Foleo, webOS, and missed hardware and market bets—and how those strategic choices, more than any hiring policy, led to its decline.

Ed Colligan’s Email & Strategic Tone

  • Many see Colligan’s response to Jobs as measured, principled, and legally astute.
  • Email is read as intentionally detailed to create a legal paper trail, not casual correspondence.
  • It explicitly frames no-poach as likely illegal and patent threats as inappropriate, while still sounding professional and non-combative.

Jobs’ Threat, No‑Poach Agreements, and Legal Fallout

  • Jobs’ attempt to secure a mutual no‑hire pact is widely characterized as unethical and illegal.
  • Thread connects this to the broader Silicon Valley “no-poach” scandal (Apple, Google, Intel, Adobe, etc.) and later antitrust litigation and civil settlements.
  • Many feel the financial penalties were trivial “slaps on the wrist” that failed to deter similar behavior.

Palm’s Products: Foleo, webOS, and TouchPad

  • Foleo is mostly judged a bad product: expensive “thin client” tied to an outdated phone OS, not a true netbook.
  • A few users liked the idea and say a slightly earlier, better-executed version might have worked.
  • Developers recount technical missteps (cheap, broken browser engine; late screen-resolution change).
  • webOS and the Pre are remembered fondly as the only early iPhone-class competitor, but hampered by weak hardware and lack of resources.
  • HP’s TouchPad is seen as a huge missed opportunity: killed too fast, then dumped cheaply despite showing demand.

Palm OS, Cobalt, and Lost Lead

  • Palm once had a major lead (e.g., Treo 600), but Palm OS aged badly.
  • PalmSource’s Palm OS 6 (“Cobalt”) reportedly suffered from severe performance issues due to heavy IPC and microkernel design and never shipped on devices.
  • This lost half‑decade is viewed as fatal to Palm.

Apple’s Success vs Palm’s Fate

  • Some argue Apple’s dominance is primarily due to superior products, vision, and execution, not wage-fixing.
  • Others counter that illegal collusion suppressed wages, reduced competition for talent, and may have indirectly shaped the mobile landscape.
  • Several note the irony that the bullying company is now worth trillions while the more principled one is defunct.

Ethics, Culture, and Capitalism

  • Strong thread that capitalism rewards aggressive, even lawbreaking, behavior over ethics.
  • Some stress the intrinsic value of integrity and good leadership, even if it doesn’t “win” in market terms.
  • Debate over how much of Apple’s trajectory is due to Jobs’ unique vision vs being in the right place at the right time and later execution by successors.