What sounds like the story from a thriller is said to have happened at Apple’s headquarters in Cupertino in 2005: like the developer David Shayer, who was involved in the project at the time reported on Tidbits, on behalf of Apple, he helped a defense company build a modified iPod for the US Department of Energy.
Stellenmarkt
In addition to two Bechtel employees, only four people at Apple knew about the project: Shayer, the vice president of the iPod department, the director of the iPod software department and the senior vice president of the hardware department. Shayer’s direct line manager was not involved in the project.
Shayer was not informed of the details, but reported the basic framework of the project. The two Bechtel employees wanted to work in one 5th generation iPod install additional hardware that is not visible from the outside. This should be activated via an inconspicuous menu item and be able to determine measured values in the background and save them on the hard drive of the music player. The storage space used for this should also not be visible.
Apple only provided the software
Shayer supplied the Bechtel employees with the source code of the iPod, which was not allowed to leave Apple’s headquarters. The two developers got their own office in the Apple headquarters, where they worked on the implementation of their project. According to Shayer, neither he nor any other Apple employee directly helped the two with the implementation. The two people were initially registered as guests every day, and later they were given a seller ID with which they could enter the Apple building. They had to buy the required hardware themselves, including the required iPods.
The Bechtel developers were shown how to handle the source code. In addition, Shayer claims to have given impetus to various problems, such as the question of how best to hide the recorded data on the hard drive. Shayer had recommended a hidden partition, which should then be implemented. Music could still be heard on the modified iPod – at first or second glance it should not have been apparent that the device had an additional function.
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Shayer doesn’t know exactly what the Bechtel employees built on behalf of the Ministry of Energy – this detail was withheld from him. In view of the size of the device and the client’s Ministry of Energy, he suspects that a Geiger counter was also built into the housing. Hidden in an iPod, radiation could also be measured inconspicuously in busy areas.
Cooperation should not have been documented
According to Shayer, there are no records of the collaboration, all four informed people no longer work at Apple. Accordingly, according to Shayer, today’s employees would deny such a project out of ignorance.
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