Photo: Justin Sullivan (Getty Images).
While Shayer offered them the tools they required to figure out how to build the gadget, he states he never ever saw the customized hardware Paul and Matthew included to their modified iPod. When it came time to figure out how to hide the taped data, Shayer recommended they create a hidden partition so that if anyone plugged the secret iPod into a computer system, “iTunes would treat it as a typical iPod and it would look like normal iPod in the Mac Finder or Windows Explorer.”.
While we may never know what that custom iPod was used for, thanks to Shayers story– which is honestly a terrific read– we do understand it existed. If thats not fodder for Apple conspiracy theories, I dont understand what is.
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At Apple, Shayer states, no record was kept of the task, and only four people, consisting of Shayer, understood about it at all. Shayer believes it was likely a type of Geiger counter DOE representatives could utilize to surreptitiously tape radioactivity levels while appearing to listen to music.
Its not terribly unexpected that the U.S. federal government might approach a significant tech company for aid with this example. There are reasons that executives at these companies frequently have a federal government security clearance– and Steve Jobs was no exception. While its not clear why Jobs was offered leading security clearance, Wired notes that it may have had something to do with his work at Pixar, which was contracted by intelligence agencies for rendering reconnaissance flight and satellite details utilizing its Pixar Image Computer.
This bonkers story comes courtesy of David Shayer, a former Apple software application engineer who was with the business for 18 years and worked on gadgets such as the iPod and Apple Watch. Shayer, who composed the story for TidBITS, recounts a “gray day in late 2005” when his bosss employer, the director of iPod software application, informed him that he was designated to a top-secret project with two engineers from the U.S. Department of Energy to construct a “unique iPod.”.
The request was to develop a typical, working iPod that might also privately record data onto customized hardware. Thats because according to Shayer, the iPods operating system wasnt based on any other Apple operating system. TL; DR– the iPod OS was complicated, and there wasnt an easy method to figure out how it worked without assistance from Apple.
While Shayer gave them the tools they needed to figure out how to construct the gadget, he says he never saw the custom hardware Paul and Matthew included to their customized iPod. When it came time to figure out how to hide the recorded information, Shayer recommended they create a concealed partition so that if anyone plugged the secret iPod into a computer system, “iTunes would treat it as a regular iPod and it would look like typical iPod in the Mac Finder or Windows Explorer.”.
Thats due to the fact that according to Shayer, the iPods operating system wasnt based on any other Apple operating system. TL; DR– the iPod OS was made complex, and there wasnt a simple way to figure out how it worked without aid from Apple.
Back in 2005, prior to the iPhone, Apple purportedly helped a U.S. Department of Energy contractor modify a 5th-generation iPod to privately tape-record and keep information. The precise factor why stays a mystery, but an ex-Apple engineer involved in the task believes it could have been a surreptitious Geiger counter.
