Linked List: September 25, 2018

Tuesday, 25 September 2018

Qualcomm Says Apple Gave Its Trade Secrets to Intel 

Ina Fried, reporting for Axios:

The most high-stakes legal battle in tech just got even juicier. In court documents, Qualcomm says new evidence shows Apple made improper use of its modem technology to help Qualcomm rival Intel develop a more competitive alternative. […]

In the new filings, Qualcomm says that, at Apple’s request, it allowed the iPhone maker deep access to its software and tools, but with strict limits on how those products could be used. Rather than just use it to improve the performance and functioning of Qualcomm chips, the company alleges that Apple used it to understand how the modem works and to help Intel improve their chips.

That’s a serious accusation. They’re accusing Apple of theft.

Hodinkee Radio: Apple and the Future of Watchmaking 

There are two parts to this episode of the Hodinkee Radio podcast. First, a roundtable discussion with Ben Clymer, Jack Forster, and Stephen Pulvirent. Then, an interview between Pulvirent and yours truly. Both parts, of course, focus on Apple Watch Series 4 and where Apple fits in the world of watchmaking.

See also: Pulvirent’s excellent Series 4 review.

Instagram’s CEO 

Ben Thompson has the take of the day on Instagram, in the wake of last night’s news that co-founders Kevin Systrom and Mike Krieger are leaving:

Controlling one’s own destiny, though, takes more than product or popularity. It takes money, which is to say it takes building a company, working business model and all. That is why I mark April 9, 2012, as the day yesterday became inevitable. Letting Facebook build the business may have made Systrom and Krieger rich and freed them to focus on product, but it made Zuckerberg the true CEO, and always, inevitably, CEOs call the shots.

See also: Similar thoughts from Om Malik.